Chapter 146: The Origin of the Jade Pendant

October 16, 2023

Author: Zi Tao

As expected, Uncle Long was there.

After exchanging greetings, Uncle Long brought it up himself. “Xiao Xuan, it’s thanks to your reminder to Xiao Huan that he was able to warn me. Before this, I hadn’t examined the jade pendant carefully. Otherwise, I might have gotten into serious trouble.”

There was no one else in the shop at the moment, so Chu Xuan felt at ease and asked directly, “Uncle Long, have you already found out where the jade pendant came from?”

“I can only say I’ve found out a little. Come with me to the backyard.”

“Okay.”

Chu Xuan followed Uncle Long to the backyard.

She saw Xiao Huan there, carving a wooden box.

Uncle Long sent Xiao Huan to watch the shop.

Xiao Huan nodded at Chu Xuan as a greeting, then took the wooden box and his carving tools inside.

Uncle Long led Chu Xuan into a study.

The furnishings were very simple.

There was only a desk and two chairs, plus a two-meter-high bookshelf with a few scattered books.

Uncle Long took a ten-centimeter-thick book from the shelf and opened it. The inside was hollowed out, with a jade pendant placed inside.

Chu Xuan recognized it at a glance—it was Feng Chunhua’s pendant.

The round jade pendant was carved with two monkeys, one big and one small, the big one carrying the little one on its back.

Uncle Long pointed at the pendant. “Xiao Xuan, do you know the meaning behind this jade pendant?”

Chu Xuan smiled. “I’m not very knowledgeable, so I really don’t know.”

Uncle Long explained, “This pendant symbolizes generations of nobility. It’s round, and at the hole for the string, there are two tiny characters carved inside—‘Jing Yuan’. You can only see them clearly with a magnifying glass at the right angle. This means it comes from the Yuan family in Jing City.”

“The Yuan family?” Chu Xuan had never heard of them, but immediately felt she’d found a clue. “Uncle Long, I can draw a portrait of a man—he might be from the Yuan family. Could you take a look and see if you recognize him?”

Uncle Long said a little sheepishly, “I’ve only had the honor of meeting the head of the Yuan family once. I don’t know the other members. I’m afraid I can’t help much. But go ahead and draw.”

As he spoke, he took out paper and pen.

“Alright.”

Chu Xuan took them and focused on her drawing.

In less than fifteen minutes, she’d finished a portrait of a refined-looking man in his forties.

Uncle Long studied the portrait carefully, then shook his head apologetically. “I don’t know him. But I can send someone to ask around.”

“I’ll cover the expenses.”

Chu Xuan took a wad of cash from her pocket and handed it to Uncle Long.

Uncle Long didn’t take it. “No need. I should thank you for providing clues. I wanted to get to the bottom of this jade pendant’s origins anyway.”

Chu Xuan reminded him, “Once you find the seller, get your money back and return the item. That way you won’t have to take any risks.”

“Xiao Xuan, to tell you the truth, I just found out who the seller is.”

“Who is it?”

Chu Xuan thought to herself, Could it be Feng Shuai?

Uncle Long replied in a low voice, “It was Feng Shuai. That day, my guy offered a very low price—three gold necklaces and the jade pendant for a total of 1,500 yuan. Feng Shuai agreed without hesitation. My man suspected the items might have a dubious origin, but didn’t expect they’d be connected to the Yuan family in Jing City. The Yuan family’s carving skills are famous nationwide. They’re not people you can just make connections with. If I could use this opportunity to get in touch with them, my jade business could reach a new level, and I could sell pieces for double or even ten times the price.”

“So you mean, this jade pendant might have been stolen from the Yuan family and then ended up with Feng Chunhua?”

“That’s possible. But it could also have been bought from them, or maybe someone from the Yuan family stole it themselves. That’s why I need to get to the bottom of it. Let me keep this portrait of the man. I’ll send someone to Jing City to investigate as soon as possible.”

In the end, Chu Xuan’s money stayed in her pocket.

After chatting a bit more, Chu Xuan took her leave.

She used a public phone to call the security team and asked for Wei Qiang.

“There’s someone in the county who wants to harm me. Could you bring a few colleagues and protect me in secret?”

Wei Qiang agreed without hesitation. “No problem. Where are you?”

“I’ll be at the north gate of the county in about twenty minutes. Those people know I’m coming to town today—they’ve got lookouts. As soon as they know I’m here, they’ll send word.”

“Got it.”

After hanging up, Chu Xuan rode her bike to the county seat.

Wei Qiang slapped his forehead—why did he agree without asking for details?

But there was no time to think. He called two close colleagues, put on plain clothes, and went out on patrol.

Patrolling the streets was part of their usual work, so he didn’t specifically mention Chu Xuan’s situation. About ten minutes later, he suggested to his colleagues that they check out the north gate.

That area was also under their jurisdiction.

“Let’s go.”

When they arrived at the north gate, it wasn’t long before they saw Chu Xuan pushing her bike through.

Wei Qiang thought to himself that Chu Xuan was smart—pushing her bike was safer than being pulled off it by thugs.

They followed her from a distance, blending in, and saw someone leave to report back.

Wherever that person went, Wei Qiang and his colleagues followed.

They chatted as they walked.

Three minutes later, Chu Xuan caught sight of not only Wei Qiang and his colleagues, but also other people tailing her. She deliberately turned into a secluded alley.

Soon, six burly men surrounded her.

Chu Xuan remained calm. “What do you want?”

The leader grinned. “Someone hired us to erase part of your memory.”

Chu Xuan sneered. “Erase my memory? How?”

The thug rubbed his hands, looking lewd. “By smashing your head open, of course! Even if you don’t die, you’ll be a vegetable! But before that, we’re going to let you have a taste of—”

Before he could finish, Chu Xuan kicked him hard, right in the groin.

Then she shouted for help at the top of her lungs.

Wei Qiang heard her and quickly called his colleagues over.

They saw five thugs cornering Chu Xuan, while another was on the ground clutching his crotch, screaming that he was going to kill her.

Wei Qiang flashed his badge. “We’re with the security team. You all need to come with us!”

The five thugs froze, then scrambled—some climbing walls, some running.

Wei Qiang was quick and caught one trying to scale the wall.

His two colleagues each caught one as well.

The one Chu Xuan had kicked tried to run too, but she tripped him.

They caught four; the other two got away.

Wei Qiang and his team took the thugs back for questioning.

Chu Xuan went along to give her statement.

It didn’t take long to find out that the person who hired them was a man named Sheng Fang.

Sheng Fang was brought in for questioning.

Chu Xuan was surprised—the person who wanted to harm her wasn’t Feng Jun or Niu Ping.

How could it be Niu Ping’s husband, Sheng Fang?

Feng Jun and Niu Ping were the ones who most wanted her dead.

Sheng Fang insisted he hadn’t hired anyone to attack Chu Xuan.

When the thugs saw Sheng Fang, they realized the man who’d paid them wasn’t him.

Sheng Fang was 1.65 meters tall.

The man who hired them was much taller.

Chu Xuan suspected Feng Jun had used Sheng Fang’s name.

She borrowed paper and pen from Wei Qiang and drew a portrait of Feng Jun.

She suggested Wei Qiang show the picture to the thugs.

Wei Qiang took the portrait and agreed.

Chu Xuan waited patiently in his office.

After about ten minutes, instead of Wei Qiang, one of his colleagues came in.

“You’re Chu Xuan, right? Wei Qiang asked me to tell you to go home and wait for news.”

Chu Xuan muttered under her breath, “So it wasn’t Feng Jun?”

“Those thugs never saw the employer’s face.”

“Where’s Wei Qiang?”

“Someone from the city security team came and asked to see him. He won’t be back for a while, so he sent me to let you know. You’d better head home!”"