Jade, the Precious Green Gemstone

Jade, the precious green gemstone, the heirloom of the Shang family.

Recap: Timothy was not a dream character. He was real and existed.

“Ruby, I’ll leave now and return before dawn,” the green gemstone, Jade, said to the red gemstone.

“Make sure you come back before Master wakes up,” Ruby cautioned Jade.

Jade had visited Hannah a couple of times since they met at the Quay. She was his previous master, which he hadn’t met in 200 years. He was overjoyed to see her again. Even though Hannah couldn’t remember him, she could feel his energy, and the connection between them remained.

200 years ago, Jade was the Shang family’s heirloom. She was given to Han, the first male grandchild of the Shang family, at his first-month birthday. Since then, Han wore Jadye everywhere he went until Han grew up and met Tian, a girl he adored dearly.

“This is an heirloom passed down through many years in my family. I’ll give it to you now so you can pass it on to our son later.” Han said to Tian as he put Jade in her hand, showing his affection for her and determination to marry her.

“But you are already engaged, and your family would never accept me,” Tian was both happy and sad.

Han’s father, Yi, was the imperial governor and their family had served in the imperial court for three generations. Tian’s father, Wen, on the other hand, was a wealthy rice merchant. At that period, merchants was regarded as belonging to a lower caste than imperial officials.

“I’ll convince my father to call off the engagement,” Han said, assuring Tian, “Leave all the problems to me. All you have to do is believe me. I’ll take care of everything. It’ll all work out in the end. We’ll marry, have a number of kids, and live happily ever after.”

However, things did not progress as Han had hoped. Yi was enraged when Han mentioned his wish to call off the engagement.

“This is nonsense, you and Jin have been engaged since you were children. It’s an agreement between two families. We must fulfil our promises.” Yi shouted angrily.

“But Father, I only regard Jin as a sister,” Han objected.

“You’ll come to see her as your wife after you’ve been married,” Yi said, holding back his anger.

“But Father, …” Han didn’t back off.

“Han, as the future head of the noble family, you must keep your word. You have to stop seeing the merchant’s daughter and prepare to marry Jin.” Yi concluded the conversation.

Jin’s family had also learned of Han and Tian’s relationship.

“They met each other at a school concert. Ms. Tian sang as Mr. Han played the guzheng string instrument.” The guards informed Jin’s father, Tong.

“Look at what I’ve previously said to you. A noble girl must study music, chess, writing, and painting, but you simply will not put in the effort,” Tong reprimanded Jin.

Jin bowed in despondency. She made a silent vow to learn music and win Han’s heart back.

“However, whether you’re a musical genius or not, you and Han are engaged, and I wouldn’t let him backtrack on his words.” Tong said angrily as he stormed out of the house and directly to the Han’s.

The fathers, Yi and Tong, were both imperial officials and comrades. Yi assured Jong that he disapproved of Han’s action and that he would not allow Han to break the engagement. They also agreed to hold Han and Jing’s wedding next spring.

When Han learned that the wedding would be held next spring, he retaliated aggressively and wanted to leave the family, but Yi wouldn’t allow him. Instead, Yi confined Han to his room.

On the other hand, Tong was satisfied with his agreement with Yi. He informed Jin of the arrangement but Jin was still concern because Han was madly in love with Tian.

Tong accounted this to the merchant’s greed to affiliated with an imperial official thus to raise their caste. To prevent Tian and Han from meeting again and thus jeopardised the marriage, Tong dispatched his guards to disrupt Wen’s business and drive them away.

“I’m sorry, Father,” Tian apologised to her father. “It’s all my fault.”

“Tian, forget about Han. We’ll go to America to join your uncle,” Wen said, petting his adored daughter on the back.

“America?” Tian was taken aback by Wen’s plan. She would never see Han again if she went to America.

Tian wrote a letter to Han. She informed Han about Wen’s plan to leave for America and that Han must ask her father for her hand in marriage or they would never see each other again. However, the letter never made it to Han. It was hijacked and held up by Yi.

Han attempted to flee a couple of times but was unsuccessful. He instructed servant to inform Tian that he would not give up and that he needed her patience. However, the servant did not dare to defy Yi’s orders and did not inform Tian.

Tian hadn’t heard from Han in weeks. On the other hand, the news of Han and Jing’s marriage swept the town. Tian didn’t believe Han would betray her and dismissed the news as rumours. However, her faith in Han eroded as time passed. When Han still hadn’t shown up the day before she was meant to leave, Tian totally lost faith in him.

Tian felt enraged and heartbroken. She was convinced that the news of Han and Jing’s marriage was genuine. She cried the entire night. She hated Han for his betrayal and was angry with herself for putting her trust in him. She returned the Jade to Han and left for America.

Han was heartbroken. He was angry that Tian did not trust him and married Jing in revenge. However, Han couldn’t forget Tian even after his marriage. He missed her terribly and hoped he could see Tian again, but Tian was long gone.

Soon after, war broke out, and Han enlisted in the army. He was killed in a battle. Despite he married Jing, they have no children. Hence, Jade was always with Han and was buried alongside him.

This brings us to the end of this chapter. Could you guess the relationship between Jade, Hannah, Tian and Han? Keep an eye out for the next chapter to find out what will happen to them.

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