The Prisoner of Beauty

Jia Si stood motionless, hesitating to respond.

Xiao Qiao then instructed her maid to take Xia Gu away to change her clothes and wash her face. With only Jia Si left in front of her, she asked, "General Jia, why are you not following my orders?"

Jia Si hurriedly replied, "Please do not blame me, my lady. It is not that I am defying your command. But the Lord has ordered me to prioritize your safety above all else. If I were to leave your side to chase after a Qiang person, and something were to happen to you, I would be unable to atone for my failure even with my death. Moreover..."

He hesitated for a moment.

"That Qiang woman came alone from Yangqu to here, although it is only a little over a hundred miles, it is still suspicious. And those words she spoke are all from her own mouth. If there is any deceit, I fear that my departure would put you in danger."

Xiao Qiao smiled slightly and nodded, "General Jia, your concerns are not without merit. But have you noticed Xia Gu's feet? When she left a few days ago, she was wearing shoes. Just now when she returned, her hair was disheveled, her body was filthy, and one of her feet was bare, covered in scratches and blisters, with the toenail of her big toe completely torn off. It is evident that she has indeed gone through a difficult journey. I also observed her expression. She looked anxious, and it did not seem like she was pretending, her gaze did not avoid mine, and there were no signs of her being coerced. Therefore, I choose to believe her."

Jia Si exclaimed, "So that's how it is! My lady is indeed meticulous, I did not notice these details. If that Qiang woman truly managed to escape and return to deliver the message, that young man is just the grandson of a Qiang clan leader, his value is far less than yours. I will send my subordinates to chase after him and bring him back, how about that?"

Xiao Qiao shook her head, "His value is far greater than you think, I cannot elaborate further. Regardless of whether the Qiang woman's words are true or false, you must personally go and investigate. If it is true, spare no cost to bring him back!"

When she said "spare no cost to bring him back," each word was firm and resolute.

Jia Si was taken aback.

"General Jia, there is something you do not know. This matter is of great importance. I originally wanted to send a message to the Lord and have him handle it personally. But Diao Mo knows that Xia Gu has escaped and will surely accelerate his departure. With the back and forth, I fear it will delay matters. I have heard that General Jia was not only skilled in martial arts in the Tiger Guard Camp but also renowned for his tracking abilities. That is why I wanted to ask you to personally pursue him. I hope General Jia can successfully rescue that young man! When I report to the Lord in the future, I will surely credit you with this achievement!"

Such a beautiful lady placing such high hopes on him, Jia Si felt a surge of passion in his chest as he met Xiao Qiao's gaze, and he said, "My lady, rest assured! I will risk my life to fulfill this mission! I will take a hundred men with me, leave four hundred soldiers behind, and entrust my deputy with the task. My lady, please do not go out unless necessary, wait for my news!"

Xiao Qiao smiled and said, "General Jia, go with peace of mind, I will be here waiting for good news!"

Jia Si was filled with fervor and immediately accepted the command. After retreating, he called his deputy, entrusted him with the responsibility of guarding, informed the city's garrison, and immediately took the Qiang woman Xia Gu with him, heading towards Shangjun to pursue.

...

Two days ago, early in the morning, when they discovered that Xia Gu had escaped, Diao Mo immediately sent people back to search for her, but to no avail. He decided to take a side road to quickly bring Yuan to Shangjun.

Last night, the group walked until midnight before they randomly found a place to rest, but after only a short nap, they continued on their way, traveling until this evening, inevitably causing both people and horses to be exhausted.

With Diao Mo's resilience, the difficulty of this journey was nothing at all.However, Chen Rui, the General of Breaking the Barbarians under Feng Zhao's command who was traveling with him, couldn't help but start cursing and grumbling.

Diao Mo also knew a bit about Chen Rui's background. He was the son of Chen Xiang, the former Governor of Bingzhou, and was known as the Jade-Faced Rakshasa. Last year, Chen Xiang lost Bingzhou and was said to have fled south to join Cao Jin in Hedong. This year, he borrowed troops to retake Bingzhou but was blocked by Wei Shao in Shangdang.

In that battle, Chen Xiang was defeated again, completely losing any chance of a counterattack. Not long after, he died of depression. Chen Rui led a remnant force of less than a thousand men and went to seek refuge with Feng Zhao in Liangzhou.

Liangzhou bordered Bingzhou, and in the past, Feng Zhao and Chen Xiang had frequent conflicts. Now that Chen Rui had come seeking refuge, claiming to have an irreconcilable enmity with Wei Shao, Feng Zhao accepted him but only granted him the nominal title of General of Breaking the Barbarians. Chen Rui, depressed and frustrated, and having suffered great humiliation at the hands of Wei Shao, found his temper growing increasingly erratic. These past few days, being forced by Diao Mo to travel hard, and now being famished, he thought of the carefree and luxurious life he had led as a young master in Bingzhou, and his anger only grew. As he walked, he cursed and grumbled, then suddenly stopped his horse, turned around, and angrily said to Diao Mo, "Why must you protect this little lamb? In my opinion, we should just kill him with a single stroke, send his head to that old fool, and use Wei Shao's name to coerce him. The old fool would naturally send troops! Why go through all this trouble of traveling so hard?"

Diao Mo coldly replied, "General, you are mistaken. Do you think the old clan leader would fall for such a trick so easily? Moreover, Feng Zhao promised me that I could make all decisions on my own, which is why I agreed to cooperate in this campaign. Are you saying your position is above Feng Zhao's?"

Chen Rui was left speechless by this retort, his pale face flushing red. As the saying goes, when under someone else's roof, one must bow their head. Unable to do anything about it for the moment, he had no choice but to endure. After traveling another ten or so miles, they came across a dilapidated temple in the fields and decided to spend the night there.

Diao Mo wanted to continue traveling, but seeing that Chen Rui had already dismounted and gone inside, he hesitated for a moment. He thought that even if Xia Gu had gone back to deliver the message, Wei Shao's Madam might not necessarily send anyone to pursue them. Even if they did, their group had been traveling day and night and had already gone quite far from Jinyang, taking small paths, so it would be difficult to catch up. It was just a night's rest, after all. If he insisted on continuing, Chen Rui, who was known for being difficult and unpredictable even back in Bingzhou, might cause trouble. He had brought a few men with him, and if they really turned against him, it could lead to problems.

After some consideration, Diao Mo suppressed his anger and signaled his men to dismount and spend the night there.

That night, Chen Rui slept on a pile of straw. At first, exhausted, he fell into a deep sleep, but in the middle of the night, he woke up, and old memories flooded his mind, making it impossible to sleep. He thought about how he had miraculously survived a great disaster, believing that heaven must have taken pity on him. If one day he could avenge his great enmity, kill Wei Shao, and take Qiao Nü, how satisfying it would be. He imagined all the things he would do, and in his mind, Qiao Nü's beautiful face, capable of both joy and anger, seemed to appear before him. Just as he was reveling in these thoughts, he suddenly remembered that he was no longer a whole man. Even if he got Qiao Nü, he would be unable to do anything.

The greatest pain in the world was nothing compared to this. What was the point of living as a seven-foot-tall man in such a state?

Overwhelmed by sorrow, Chen Rui found it even harder to sleep. As he tossed and turned, a plan suddenly came to mind.Feng Zhao clearly did not hold Chen Rui in high regard, treating him like a beggar by offering him a miscellaneous title to dismiss him. Since that was the case, why not take this opportunity to abduct the Qiang youth? Once he had the boy in his hands, he could threaten Beihe to send troops. Then, leading the Qiang army to attack Wei Shao, whether he lived or died, it would be a fight to the death. That would be far better than living in humiliation, neither man nor woman, enduring such a disgraceful existence.

Having made up his mind, Chen Rui secretly opened his eyes and glanced around. He saw the Qiang youth, bound hand and foot, lying in the corner. Diao Mo's men were sprawled on the ground, snoring loudly. Diao Mo himself was sitting by the entrance, not asleep, seemingly keeping watch. Unable to find an opportunity, Chen Rui racked his brains and came up with a plan. He was about to pretend to relieve himself and sneak around to the back of the dilapidated temple to start a fire, intending to take advantage of the chaos to abduct the Qiang youth. Suddenly, he seemed to hear footsteps approaching from outside the temple and quickly got up.

Diao Mo, sitting by the entrance, also noticed immediately. He swiftly rose from the ground and loudly woke his sleeping men.

The men, startled from their sleep, hurriedly grabbed their weapons and rushed out. They heard the sound of orderly footsteps, and the previously pitch-black area outside the temple was suddenly illuminated by torches. In the light, they saw a large number of soldiers outside the temple gate, with Jia Si leading the charge. He drew his sword and pointed it at Diao Mo, saying, "Are you Diao Mo? Hand over the Qiang youth immediately, or face death!"

Diao Mo was secretly shocked and quickly guessed that this officer must have been sent by Wei Shao's wife. He hadn't expected them to catch up so quickly. He glanced around and saw that the enemy numbered over a hundred, while he and Chen Rui together had fewer than twenty men. The disparity was too great.

However, simply handing over the boy was not his style.

Having taken the position of leader, he was solely focused on seeking freedom for his suffering people. He himself had no fear of life or death. Drawing his waist sword, he stood silently with Jiang Meng and others at the temple gate, coldly stating, "If you want to take him, you'll have to go over my dead body!"

Jia Si was momentarily taken aback, then said, "I respect you as a man! I had no intention of overwhelming you with numbers. But I am under orders from my lady to retrieve that Qiang youth! Don't forget, you personally promised her that you would return him safely. Since you broke your word first, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Diao Mo replied, "Wei Shao's wife is indeed a rare gentle and kind person. Unfortunately, the rest of you Han people are all cunning and greedy. I may have broken my word, but I have no regrets! If you want to fight, then fight. Do you think I fear you?"

Jia Si waved his hand, and the soldiers immediately closed in.

Although Jia Si's side had the numerical advantage, Diao Mo and the dozen or so men he had brought with him were all tough fighters, unafraid of death. They fought fiercely, making it difficult to subdue them quickly.

Outside the temple, chaos erupted as swords clashed. Amid the sounds of battle, Chen Rui loudly ordered his men to rush out and join the fight, while he himself slowly retreated. Once he was back inside the temple, he kicked open a rotten window at the back, grabbed the bound Yuan, and rolled out through the window. Seeing Yuan struggle fiercely, Chen Rui knocked him unconscious with the back of his sword, then carried him to the horses nearby. He threw Yuan onto a horse, mounted it himself, and circled around to the back of the temple. Spurring the horse on, he took advantage of the cover of night and successfully escaped.Chen Rui galloped dozens of miles in one breath, estimating that he could no longer be caught from behind, and only then did he relax. Seeing that the horse beneath him was foaming at the mouth from the run, he stopped to rest for a while.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he not only escaped but also managed to take with him an important Qiang youth. His heart was filled with pride. After catching his breath and seeing the sky gradually brighten, he was about to head towards the territory of Huangshui Beihe when he suddenly stopped, recalling the words he had heard at the entrance of the ruined temple.

He had always thought that Qiao Nu was currently in Youzhou.

Youzhou was Wei Shao's hometown. Although he hated Wei Shao, he had never imagined going to Youzhou to stir up trouble.

He never expected that Wei Shao would bring his beloved wife to Jinyang.

Qiao Nu was in Jinyang, and at this moment, Wei Shao must be in Xihe County.

Chen Rui was lost in thought for a moment, and suddenly a brilliant idea popped into his head.

Why not take this opportunity to sneak back to Jinyang and use the Qiang youth in his possession as bait to get Qiao Nu into his hands?

Once Qiao Nu was in his grasp, using her to threaten Wei Shao would surely be more effective than the Qiang Barbarian Soldiers and would also be more satisfying for his hatred.

Chen Rui's mind once again conjured up the captivating image of Qiao Nu. Thinking of her possibly falling into his hands, even though she was no longer untouched, the lower half of his body, which had been dormant, suddenly awakened, sending a shiver through him. His manhood seemed to instantly fill with vigor. Without further hesitation, he immediately turned his horse around and galloped towards Jinyang.