{"id":4029,"date":"2026-06-17T03:56:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T03:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pursuit-of-jade-135\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T03:56:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T03:56:31","slug":"pursuit-of-jade-135","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/chapter\/pursuit-of-jade-135\/","title":{"rendered":"Pursuit of Jade 135"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 135

The sky was like a canvas drenched in black ink, and all sounds had fallen silent.

The two people locked in each other’s embrace stood so close that they could hear nothing but the beating of each other’s hearts.

Fan Changyu pressed her lips together and suddenly shoved Xie Zheng away with all her strength.

After confirming that he was unharmed, all the worry she had carried on the way here transformed into lingering fear, a surge of anger, and a sense of grievance that even she herself could not fully understand.

She demanded, \u201cI shouldn’t have come. But what about you, coming here alone? If you had really fallen into Wei Yan’s trap, what would happen to the Xie family? What would happen to all the officers serving under you?\u201d

The image Xie Zhong had described flashed before her eyes.

Xie Zheng kneeling before the ancestral tablets of the Xie family, receiving one hundred and eight lashes. By the time the punishment was over, there had not been a single patch of intact flesh left on his back. He had been kneeling in a pool of blood, unable even to stand.

Fan Changyu did not know whether the mountain wind had irritated her eyes, but a faint redness appeared in them.

She stared at the man before her.

Her fists clenched tightly within her sleeves, trembling uncontrollably.

Forcing herself to maintain a cold expression, she asked her final question:

\u201cThen what am I supposed to do?\u201d

The words made Xie Zheng suddenly raise his eyes.

His pupils trembled ever so slightly.

It was as though he could not believe she would say such a thing.

Fan Changyu’s eyes were red-rimmed. Gritting her teeth, she glared at him fiercely like a wounded leopard driven into a corner.

\u201cFrom the day I learned who you really were, I never intended to have anything more to do with you. You’re the one who kept coming back and provoking me again and again!\u201d

\u201cLater, you were the one who said we should part ways. With General Xie’s death between us, I never blamed you.\u201d

\u201cBut after the victory banquet in Lu City, it was also you who told me that whether my surname was Fan or Meng, all you wanted was to be with me.\u201d

\u201cAnd now you’re trying to go back on your word?\u201d

The emotions she had suppressed in her chest surged up like a tidal wave, threatening to drown her reason.

Ever since she was old enough to understand things, Fan Changyu had rarely shown her grievances in front of others.

This was the first time she had completely lost control.

Facing the man before her, she shouted hoarsely:

\u201cXie Zheng, you’re a bastard!\u201d

Why hadn’t he brought anyone with him?

He did not have to tell her that today was his mother’s death anniversary. There was still no concrete proof that her father had been innocent. Bringing along the daughter of someone who might have been his parents’ enemy to pay respects would naturally leave him feeling ashamed before them.

She did not blame him for that.

But why had he put himself in danger?

Ever since learning that he had accepted punishment before coming to Lu City to find her, Fan Changyu had understood that Xie Linshan’s death remained a mountain weighing heavily on his heart.

Before her, he never showed it.

But in secret, he had been seeking redemption from his parents in his own way.

Had coming here alone tonight also been part of that redemption?

Fan Changyu had always been slow when it came to matters of the heart.

When Xie Zhong first told her that today was his mother’s death anniversary, she had merely been stunned for a moment.

Only now did all the sadness and grievance she had deliberately suppressed finally break free from their cocoon and surge into her heart at once, choking her throat.

Her eyes stung unbearably.

She did not want to cry.

She stubbornly refused to blink, refusing to let the tears gathering in her eyes fall.

Yet Xie Zheng’s figure, standing only a few steps away, gradually blurred through the shimmering tears.

Even though she could no longer see him clearly, she still stared at him unyieldingly.

Speaking with difficulty but absolute determination, she said:

\u201cWithout concrete evidence, I can’t prove my father was innocent. Maybe we’ll never find proof of the truth.\u201d

\u201cThen my father may always remain a suspect in General Xie’s death.\u201d

\u201cIf you stay with me, you’ll spend the rest of your life burdened by guilt, trapped in pain and struggle.\u201d

It felt as though the cold wind had torn a hole through her chest.

The chill hurt.

Her throat had become so raw that her voice was nearly hoarse.

The tear she had been holding back finally spilled over her lashes and rolled down like a shattered pearl, not even pausing on her cheek.

Drawing in a deep breath, she said:

\u201cIf that’s the case, then maybe we should separate after all. I don’t want this.\u201d

\u201cWatching you suffer alone hurts me too. Maybe you never should have come back to find me in the first place. Sometimes… long-lasting pain really is worse than short-term pain\u2014\u201d

She never finished the sentence.

Suddenly, a hand seized the back of her neck and slammed her against a cypress tree as thick as a bowl before the grave.

Pain shot through her back, but she had no attention to spare for it.

Xie Zheng’s scorching breath was right in front of her.

His eyes were bloodshot.

His jaw was clenched tight.

He looked fierce and violent, like a beast on the verge of madness.

The hand gripping her neck bulged with veins.

The force behind it was terrifying.

Lowering his head to look at her, he seemed to be struggling desperately to control himself, fighting not to do something that might hurt her.

The last remnants of reason wrestled against the dark fury raging inside him.

Finally, with great difficulty, he spoke.

\u201cDon’t ever say things like that again…\u201d

For that brief instant, there truly was hatred in his eyes.

\u201cYou were right to call me a bastard.\u201d

\u201cEven if I die, I’ll drag you into my coffin with me.\u201d

\u201cAnd you’re talking about separating from me?\u201d

He laughed softly.

The blood splattered across his face made him look breathtakingly beautiful and deathly pale beneath the moonlight.

Then he suddenly lowered his head and bit down viciously on her shoulder.

His eyes were filled with near-mad love and reckless determination.

Fan Changyu grunted in pain and tried to struggle.

But he had her pinned against the tree and held her firmly with all his strength.

When Xie Zheng raised his head again, the wind had disheveled the hair across his forehead.

A smear of blood stained his lips.

His already striking features became even more mesmerizing.

He looked exactly like the seductive demons from storybooks who appeared at night to drain away people’s life force.

In a low voice, he murmured:

\u201cSeparate?\u201d

\u201cFan Changyu, do you know how many times I’ve thought about chewing you up and swallowing you piece by piece?\u201d

Fan Changyu raised her eyes and stared at him expressionlessly.

When he lifted a hand to touch her face, she suddenly struck.

Her entire body exploded into motion.

She seized his arm, twisted it, and threw him over with brute force.

Caught completely off guard, Xie Zheng was hurled to the ground.

His back crashed heavily against the bluestone paving before the grave with a dull thud.

Before he could get up, Fan Changyu pounced like a leopard.

One hand locked around his throat.

Her legs pinned both sides of his waist.

Exactly as he had restrained her moments ago, she pressed him firmly to the ground.

Grinding out her words through clenched teeth, she said:

\u201cAnd who was it that knowingly walked straight into danger by coming here alone while Wei Yan was watching you?\u201d

\u201cIf you didn’t want to tell me because of my identity, then couldn’t you at least have brought a few guards?\u201d

As she spoke, her voice began to choke.

\u201cYou feel guilty toward General Xie and Madam Xie for being with me.\u201d

\u201cDo you think I feel any better about it?\u201d

Xie Zheng stared at the girl straddling him, fiercely locking her hand around his throat.

She looked both fierce and pitiful.

For a moment, he was stunned.

Only then did he finally understand why she had said all those things.

He lifted a hand and pressed it against her back, pulling her forcefully toward him.

\u201cIt’s not what you think…\u201d

Fan Changyu broke free from his embrace.

Sitting upright, she glared at him fiercely.

\u201cThen tell me what it is!\u201d

After being pushed away, Xie Zheng made no effort to get up.

He simply lay on his back upon the stone pavement before the grave.

His eyes darkened slightly as he stared into the black night sky.

\u201cI never told you about my mother, did I?\u201d

\u201cNot long after my father’s coffin was brought back to the capital, she hanged herself.\u201d

\u201cI was four years old that year.\u201d

\u201cOn the day she died, she even made osmanthus cakes for me. She wore her favorite clothes, sat before a mirror, and carefully painted her brows and lips.\u201d

\u201cShe coaxed me outside to eat a pastry.\u201d

\u201cWhen I came back… she was already hanging from the beam.\u201d

Fan Changyu froze.

\u201cShe entrusted me to Wei Yan.\u201d

\u201cI spent sixteen years living under another person’s roof in the Wei household.\u201d

\u201cWhen I was young, Wei Yan’s precious son stuffed snakes into my bedding during summer.\u201d

\u201cHe poured freezing well water onto my bed during winter.\u201d

\u201cHe tore up the assignments my tutor gave me.\u201d

\u201cWhenever those things happened, I would think about her.\u201d

\u201cAnd I hated her.\u201d

\u201cI hated her for being too weak to shoulder the responsibilities of the mistress of a great household.\u201d

\u201cI hated her for abandoning her duties as a mother and leaving me behind.\u201d

\u201cOn countless nights, I would wake from nightmares after seeing that bright skirt hanging beneath the beam.\u201d

Xie Zheng smiled faintly.

\u201cI thought Wei Yan hated me because I greedily stayed behind to eat that plate of osmanthus cakes and left my mother alone, giving her the chance to hang herself.\u201d

\u201cThe truth is… I hated myself too.\u201d

Listening to him calmly recount the tragedies of his childhood as though he were speaking about someone else’s life, Fan Changyu unconsciously clenched her hands on her knees.

She had only heard from Zhu Youchang that Madam Xie had died to protect Xie Zheng and the former Xie subordinates involved in exposing Wei Yan.

She had never known there had been so many misunderstandings between mother and son.

When her own parents died unexpectedly, if not for Changning, she would never have recovered so quickly.

He had lost both parents as a child.

Back then, his entire world must have collapsed.

He had blamed himself for his mother’s death and endured endless bullying in the Wei household.

Fan Changyu suddenly remembered how, after learning that she had once given Song Yan a pair of clay figurines as a child, he had insisted she make another pair for him as well.

At the time, she had thought he was childish.

Now, however, she seemed to understand.

Because he had never received warmth or comfort growing up, he had wanted even the little clay figurines she had once given someone else.

Her heart twisted painfully.

Looking at the man lying beside her, she reached out and gently patted his head.

\u201cMadam Xie’s death… wasn’t your fault.\u201d

Xie Zheng laughed bitterly.

\u201cI hated her for seventeen years before learning that she died for my sake.\u201d

\u201cThe reason I didn’t tell you today was her death anniversary wasn’t because I cared about your identity.\u201d

\u201cIt’s because I still didn’t know how I was supposed to face her myself…\u201d

A complicated mixture of emotions filled Fan Changyu’s heart.

Softly, she said:

\u201cI’m sorry.\u201d

She had misunderstood him.

Turning his head to look at her, Xie Zheng smiled.

\u201cWhat are you apologizing for?\u201d

\u201cI never told you any of this.\u201d

\u201cIt was only natural for you to misunderstand.\u201d

He bent one knee and sat up.

Even beneath his robes, the powerful lines of his shoulders and back were clearly visible.

\u201cWas it Xie Zhong who told you I was here?\u201d

Afraid he might blame the lame old man, Fan Changyu quickly replied:

\u201cI asked him myself after visiting Uncle Zhu and realizing you weren’t there.\u201d

Xie Zheng said,

\u201cHis mouth is getting looser and looser.\u201d

Pressing her lips together, Fan Changyu replied:

\u201cHe was worried about you. No matter what, coming here alone to pay respects to Madam Xie was too dangerous.\u201d

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Moonlight outlined the side of his face, revealing a trace of stubbornness beneath its coldness.

Thinking he was still grieving over his mother, Fan Changyu did not continue the subject.

She only said:

\u201cIt’s good that nothing happened.\u201d

Xie Zheng suddenly spoke.

\u201cIn the past, whenever I came to visit my mother, he taught me not to bring outsiders.\u201d

Fan Changyu looked puzzled.

\u201cWho?\u201d

But Xie Zheng did not answer.

Instead, he stood and turned toward the gravestones of his parents.

Then he knelt and kowtowed three times.

Fan Changyu silently considered who the \u201che\u201d might be.

After thinking it over, the only possibility was Wei Yan.

The realization startled her.

If he already knew Wei Yan was the enemy who had killed his parents, why was he still remembering things Wei Yan had taught him?

But then she remembered that Wei Yan was still his uncle.

For over a decade, Xie Zheng had regarded him as his only living relative.

He had even become the sharpest blade in Wei Yan’s hand.

Though Wei Yan had treated him harshly, he had never deprived him of education or martial training.

Even now, despite becoming enemies, Xie Zheng probably still held feelings toward Wei Yan that were far from ordinary.

Looking at his tall, slender back, Fan Changyu’s emotions became exceptionally complicated.

After finishing his kowtows, Xie Zheng rose to his feet.

Then he suddenly looked at Fan Changyu and said:

\u201cCome kowtow to my parents.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-4029","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/4029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4029"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/4029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4030,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/4029\/revisions\/4030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=4029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}