{"id":3570,"date":"2026-05-24T01:31:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T01:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pursuit-of-jade-33\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T01:31:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T01:31:49","slug":"pursuit-of-jade-33","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es_co\/chapter\/pursuit-of-jade-33\/","title":{"rendered":"Pursuit Of Jade 33"},"content":{"rendered":"

The old residence was even more rundown than Fan Changyu\u2019s home. It clearly hadn\u2019t been cleaned much either. The things inside were piled together haphazardly, and because they burned a fire pit indoors during winter, the tables, chairs, and benches were coated with soot that no one had bothered to wipe away.

If you didn\u2019t clean the seat before sitting down, your clothes would be stained black when you stood up again.

The furnishings inside were all cheap earthenware jars and pottery. Fan Da and his son were both gamblers, and anything even slightly valuable in the house had long since been pawned off for money.

The elderly Fan couple lived in the west room. Standing by the door, Old Man Fan called inside, \u201cOld woman, Changyu\u2019s here.\u201d

Lying on the bed, Old Madam Fan immediately turned over and faced her back toward the doorway, clearly unwilling to even speak to Fan Changyu.

Old Man Fan looked awkward and explained to Fan Changyu, \u201cEver since Da Niu died, she\u2019s been like this.\u201d

Fan Changyu didn\u2019t care in the slightest, nor did she bother trying to greet her. Ever since she could remember, Old Madam Fan had never shown their family a pleasant expression.

Using the cloth Old Man Fan handed her, she wiped down a bench and sat beside the fire pit in the main hall to warm herself.

As Old Man Fan hung the cured meat she brought above the fire pit to continue smoking it, Fan Changyu noticed the bowls and chopsticks still sitting on the nearby table.

It looked like the old couple had eaten rice gruel this morning. Even during the New Year, there wasn\u2019t the slightest trace of meat on the table.

Fan Changyu frowned. After Old Man Fan sat down, she asked, \u201cAfter Uncle died, the authorities gave twenty-five taels as compensation. Didn\u2019t you use that money?\u201d

Twenty-five taels was no small amount. For an ordinary family living frugally, if no one fell ill and needed medicine, ten taels would be enough to cover a whole year\u2019s expenses.

Old Man Fan muttered, \u201cThat money has to be saved for your cousin\u2019s marriage\u2026\u201d

Fan Changyu lifted a brow. \u201cDon\u2019t tell me he already gambled it away again?\u201d

Old Man Fan replied, \u201cYour aunt is keeping the money. She\u2019s worried the mourning period will delay his marriage prospects, so she plans to have him marry during the mourning period itself. She\u2019s already looking at girls for him.\u201d

Hearing that, Fan Changyu said nothing more.

Everyone lived their own lives. In the past, the old couple had always given the best things to Fan Da. Now that their son was dead, naturally all the good things went to their grandson instead.

As long as the old house stopped coveting her family\u2019s property, she was willing to continue maintaining this distant peace between the two households.

She asked, \u201cEarlier, you said there was something related to my father. What was it?\u201d

The firelight reflected across Old Man Fan\u2019s deeply wrinkled face, making him look even thinner and frailer. He slowly sighed.

\u201cDa Niu\u2019s death may also be my punishment.\u201d

Fan Changyu found the remark strange but stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

\u201cYour father wasn\u2019t my biological son, but he was still my own younger brother\u2019s child. Back then, during the famine, your real grandfather followed the villagers to rob the government grain stores and was beaten to death by the soldiers. Your grandmother left all the food in the house for your father and starved to death herself. Before dying, she entrusted your father to me\u2026\u201d

As Old Man Fan spoke, tears flickered in his cloudy eyes.

\u201cI truly wanted to raise that child as my own flesh and blood. But those were famine years\u2026 People dying by the roadside were being cooked and eaten. Even Guanyin clay had been fought over and exhausted. One more mouth to feed meant everyone had to give up a little food for your father. Your two aunts whom you never met\u2014the older one was only thirteen. She was sold to a wealthy master as a concubine in exchange for half a sack of white flour\u2026\u201d

Old Man Fan\u2019s voice trembled as tears streamed down his face.

\u201cLater that wealthy master moved to another province. Decades have passed, and neither my wife nor I have ever seen that child again. I don\u2019t know whether she\u2019s dead or alive. The younger girl was only eight. She was sold to traffickers for three hundred coins and vanished without a trace. At that point, only Da Niu, Er Niu, and your father were left in the family, and we still couldn\u2019t fill our stomachs. Your father was the same age as my Er Niu, but my Er Niu was weak and sickly. During our flight from the famine, he became gravely ill. To pay for his treatment, I had no choice\u2026 but to sell your father to traffickers too\u2026\u201d

\u201cYour father had always been sensible since childhood. When the traffickers bought him, he even kowtowed to me three times.\u201d At this point, Old Man Fan choked with sobs. \u201cThose five hundred coins haunted me with guilt for the rest of my life\u2026 Er Niu was unfortunate. Even after several doses of medicine, he still couldn\u2019t be saved. I thought I would never see your father again in this lifetime. Who would\u2019ve thought that sixteen years ago, he would return to this town on his own with your mother?\u201d

\u201cAs for those two daughters we sold, your father spent years trying to find news of them. He never found the elder one, but he did locate the younger one. I heard she married into a military household, but later died during the war. In times of famine and war\u2026 human lives are cheaper than grass.\u201d

Fan Changyu had never expected there to be so many hidden truths behind her father being \u201clost\u201d back then. Her emotions became complicated, and after a long while she finally asked, \u201cAfter my father returned, why did he use your second son\u2019s name?\u201d

Old Man Fan replied, \u201cWhen your father came back, he told me he\u2019d made enemies while escorting caravans outside and asked whether he could live in town under Er Niu\u2019s identity. How could I refuse? So I told everyone he was Er Niu, who\u2019d gotten separated during the famine years. Your grandmother hated your father all these years. She believed her two daughters were sold because of him. After your parents came to town, she often went to cause trouble for them, constantly saying she sacrificed her own daughters for your father, and she took quite a few benefits from your parents because of it. Later, after your mother became ill from giving birth to your younger sister, she saw your family had no sons and started wanting to adopt Da Niu\u2019s second son into your household so he could inherit your father\u2019s property someday.\u201d

Old Man Fan sighed heavily, his face full of shame.

\u201cShe became obsessed. But in those famine years, even if we hadn\u2019t taken in your father, those two girls\u2026 probably still wouldn\u2019t have survived. One child after another was lost until only Da Niu remained. She spoiled him endlessly, and that\u2019s how he turned out crooked. It\u2019s my fault too. Back then, I lacked the ability to support such a large family. Later, even knowing she was wrong, every time she cried over those two daughters, I couldn\u2019t harden my heart enough to discipline Da Niu\u2026\u201d

Originally, Fan Changyu had greatly disliked Old Madam Fan, finding her harsh and mean toward their family. But after hearing this story, she only felt that pitiful people often had hateful sides as well. Still, her opinion of the old woman hadn\u2019t improved at all.

Just as Old Man Fan had said, even after selling her father, they still couldn\u2019t save Fan Er Niu. So how could Old Madam Fan insist that if they hadn\u2019t taken in her father, her daughters and youngest son wouldn\u2019t have left her?

Her father had simply become the outlet for all her resentment.

Fan Changyu said, \u201cWhat\u2019s past is past. As long as you don\u2019t come causing trouble for my family anymore, however my father treated you before, I\u2019ll continue treating you the same way in the future.\u201d

Old Man Fan replied, \u201cI didn\u2019t tell you all this for that reason. Before your parents died, your father came to see me.\u201d

Surprise appeared on Fan Changyu\u2019s face.

Old Man Fan said with both shame and guilt, \u201cHe already arranged how your family\u2019s house and shops would be divided. He even wrote a will, saying the pork shop could go to your uncle, while everything else would be left to you and your sister. I asked him whether enemies from his past had found him, but he refused to say much and only asked me to look after you sisters in the future. But your grandmother has a loose tongue. After your parents died, she let it slip to Da Niu. Da Niu had already become addicted to gambling by then and grew increasingly muddleheaded. He stole the will and burned it, trying to seize all your family\u2019s property. These old bones of mine were useless. I couldn\u2019t stop him at all\u2026\u201d

The moment Fan Changyu heard that her parents might have knowingly gone to their deaths after preparing everything in advance, her hands and feet turned cold. The hands resting on her knees unconsciously clenched into fists, and her lips paled from how tightly she pressed them together.

\u201cYou mean\u2026 before that happened, my father may already have known he and my mother didn\u2019t have long to live?\u201d

Old Man Fan hesitated before nodding.

Fan Changyu felt cold all over, her thoughts in complete chaos.

According to the authorities, the bandits searching for the treasure map had found her father and came demanding the map.

But if that were true, why would her father believe that once he and her mother died, the bandits wouldn\u2019t come kill her and Changning afterward?

Unless\u2026 the bandits had already obtained the treasure map.

Yet afterward, their family still encountered bandits twice, which clearly meant the treasure hadn\u2019t actually been found.

However, those later groups of bandits obviously didn\u2019t know her family beforehand. They only managed to identify them after learning something from Fan Da.

Fan Changyu could only think of one possibility\u2014the bandits who killed her parents and the bandits who later searched her house for the treasure map were not the same group.

The first group obtained the treasure map but still killed her parents. Perhaps her parents knew some secret and had to be silenced?

Originally, Fan Changyu had believed her parents\u2019 deaths were avenged after the authorities suppressed the bandits. But now she suddenly felt the true murderers might still be alive.

After all, not long ago there had been news that the treasure map resurfaced in the hands of rebels in Chongzhou. Those rebels had recruited many nearby mountain bandits and outlaws. The bandits who killed her parents might very well now be serving under the rebels.

The entire walk home, Fan Changyu was lost in thought.

As soon as she entered the house, she heard Xie Zheng\u2019s calm voice from inside.

\u201cWood, yao, wood, and then a big character underneath. Put together, that makes the character Fan.\u201d

Changning said pitifully, \u201cI don\u2019t want to learn characters anymore. I want to learn how to slaughter pigs like Sister.\u201d

\u201cYou sister knows how to slaughter pigs and read.\u201d

Changning sniffled, looking as though she were about to cry.

The moment she heard the door open, she immediately ran over on her short little legs, spread her arms, and hugged Fan Changyu\u2019s thigh. Tilting her head up, her face scrunched together miserably.

\u201cSister, why do you still have to learn characters even if you slaughter pigs?\u201d

Fan Changyu was still distracted by her thoughts. She only reached down and rubbed the little tuft of hair atop Changning\u2019s head.

\u201cMother used to say that after learning to read and write, you understand proper conduct and right from wrong. Only then can you avoid making mistakes in how you live your life.\u201d

Changning looked blank, clearly not understanding the meaning of those words.

Xie Zheng lifted his brows slightly and added, \u201cDoesn\u2019t seem like you enjoy studying much either.\u201d

There was a teasing note in his voice. Normally, Fan Changyu would definitely have argued back, but today she only replied tiredly, \u201cI\u2019ll study slowly in the future.\u201d

Xie Zheng finally noticed something wrong with her expression and asked, \u201cWhy do you look like a frostbitten eggplant after going out for just one trip?\u201d

Fan Changyu sat beside the fire pit and sighed softly. After telling him everything Old Man Fan had said, she said dejectedly, \u201cIf my parents weren\u2019t killed just because of the treasure map, then I have to find out the real reason they died.\u201d

After listening, Xie Zheng\u2019s gaze darkened as well.

Since her father had anticipated everything beforehand and even prepared his affairs after death, then perhaps the people who took his life had met him before the incident?

Her suspicions weren\u2019t unreasonable. However, the thing those people were searching for wasn\u2019t a treasure map at all, but a letter that Wei Yan considered extremely important.

The people who killed her parents obtained the letter, while she and her sister knew absolutely nothing about their parents\u2019 past. Was that why they had been spared?

Xie Zheng had once served as Wei Yan\u2019s blade, so he knew Wei Yan\u2019s methods well. Wei Yan always preferred to eliminate every root entirely.

The fact that those people spared the sisters might mean they had some prior connection with her parents. Combined with the fact that they had met her parents beforehand, the theory seemed even more plausible.

Then there was the later incident of Wei Manor\u2019s death soldiers coming to her home to kill and retrieve the item, followed by Governor He Jingyuan suddenly deploying troops to Lin\u2019an Town. All of it was deeply suspicious.

Most importantly, with Wei Yan\u2019s ruthless temperament, the fact that he could remain patient even after losing so many death soldiers in Lin\u2019an Town was completely unlike his usual style.

If He Jingyuan intended to protect the sisters, and Wei Yan currently had no one more useful than He Jingyuan in the northwestern war situation, then perhaps the two had reached some kind of agreement. If so, everything would make sense.

The moment Fan Changyu raised her head, she saw Xie Zheng staring at her with a dark, unreadable gaze.

Confused, she asked, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d

Instead of answering directly, Xie Zheng asked, \u201cDo you want to avenge your parents?\u201d

Fan Changyu nodded. \u201cOf course I do.\u201d

Only then did she notice that the headband tied around his hair was the one she had bought for him earlier. It seemed to be the first time he\u2019d worn it.

The dark blue color made his features appear even colder and sharper, adding an even stronger sense of distance to him.

Xie Zheng said, \u201cIf everything the authorities said when they closed the case was false, what would you do then?\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-3570","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es_co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es_co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es_co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es_co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3570"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es_co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3571,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es_co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3570\/revisions\/3571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es_co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es_co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}