The Prisoner of Beauty

Xiao Qiao slowly closed her eyes.

Wei Shao had been lying beside her, keeping her company as she slept. After a long while, he opened his eyes and glanced down at her.

Xiao Qiao’s eyes were shut, her long lashes resting gently, her breathing even as she drifted into a deep slumber.

Wei Shao thought for a moment, then slowly released her, carefully got out of bed, and tucked the blanket around her. He then turned to put on his clothes.

As he bent down to put on his boots, he heard a soft, delicate voice from behind him: “It’s already dark, husband. Where are you going?”

Wei Shao paused, turned his head, and saw Xiao Qiao sitting up in bed, her eyes now open. He coughed lightly, turned back to her, and said with a casual smile, “Nothing important. I just remembered there’s something I need to ask Jia Si about. Did I wake you?”

Before she could answer, Wei Shao kicked off the boot he had just put on, lay back down, and pulled her back onto the pillow, saying gently, “My fault. I’ll stay and sleep with you.”

Xiao Qiao nestled into his arms, her eyes closed for a moment, then suddenly opened them again.

Wei Shao seemed to sense this and stroked her hair. Seeing her look up at him, he asked, “Can’t sleep?”

“You’re keeping something from me,” Xiao Qiao said with certainty.

Wei Shao raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think that? Don’t overthink it.” He pulled her closer into his embrace.

Xiao Qiao shook her head and broke free. “You’re definitely hiding something. I can feel it…”

She hesitated, relying on her intuition. “Could it be related to that Chen Rui you mentioned earlier?”

At the mention of Chen Rui, Wei Shao’s eyelids twitched, and a dark shadow flickered in his eyes.

Having been with him for over a year, Xiao Qiao had grown familiar with his subtle expressions and immediately noticed the change, sensing a hint of hostility. She pushed his arm lightly. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Did I guess right?”

Wei Shao had initially stopped himself from finishing his earlier sentence, fearing it might frighten her.

Earlier, when Xiao Qiao had fallen asleep, he thought about how he hadn’t left the inner courtyard since he returned last night and had no idea how Jia Si had handled the matter. He wanted to take advantage of her sleep to go out and get some answers.

Moreover, he didn’t want her to know about such things.

Now, pressed by her questioning, he spoke lightly, “That scoundrel tried to harm you before, and he was lucky to survive. This time, he caused you such distress. Letting him die so easily would be too lenient. I plan to exhume his body and dismember it again. Only then can I vent my anger and ease my fury.”

Xiao Qiao was startled, her eyes wide as she stared at him, making sure he wasn’t joking. She quickly shook her head. “Husband, don’t!”

Wei Shao looked straight at her, not hiding his slight displeasure at her objection. “You feel sorry for him? I heard from Jia Si that it was you who specifically ordered him to be buried properly that day.”Xiao Qiao sat up, holding the blanket to her chest, her eyes fixed on Wei Shao. "It was indeed I who instructed Lin Huben to bury him in a coffin. There was no ulterior motive in doing so. Although he was someone I found detestable, he had already lost his life, and thus his karma in this life was settled. He died before my eyes. I could have ordered his body to be left exposed in the wilderness, but such an act would not have brought me any additional peace of mind. Therefore, I treated him as an ordinary person and had him buried. It was merely a small, insignificant act. Why not do it?"

Wei Shao continued to gaze at her, but the trace of displeasure in his eyes gradually faded.

"I also do not agree with my lord exhuming him again. Since he has been buried, why not let him rest in peace? Exhuming him now might vent momentary anger, but my lord, if you search your heart, even if you were to tear him to pieces a thousand times, would it truly erase your hatred for him?"

Wei Shao remained silent.

Xiao Qiao leaned closer to him, her arms wrapping around his waist, her face nestling against the pulse throbbing in his neck. She whispered softly, "Moreover, Manman is afraid. Manman does not wish for my lord to do such a terrifying thing."

The seething rage that had nearly burst Wei Shao's blood vessels since he learned the details last night slowly subsided inch by inch under her gentle words.

Finally, when she softly leaned into his embrace and said that Manman was afraid and did not want him to do such a terrifying thing, although Wei Shao still did not find it particularly frightening, he genuinely felt a sense of remorse.

He wrapped his arms around her in return, kissed her forehead comfortingly, and said in a low voice, "I will listen to Manman. I won't bother with that scoundrel anymore."

...

The reason she did not want Wei Shao to do such a thing was actually quite complex.

Part of it might have been because of Chen Rui. Although she had indeed despised him when he was alive, now that he was dead, subjecting him to such treatment again felt somewhat excessive.

Part of it was because of Wei Shao. She did not want him to bear the stigma of desecrating a corpse because of her. After all, in any era, that was not a reputation one would want.

Lastly, perhaps in her subconscious, she could not help but draw a parallel to Wei Shao's hatred for her Qiao family.

Although she knew that Wei Shao's hatred for Chen Rui could not compare to his hatred for the Qiao family, if Wei Shao was willing to spare Chen Rui because of her, did that mean she could hope that one day, Wei Shao might also let go of his hatred for the Qiao family because of her presence?

In the end, he had indeed responded in the way she had hoped to see.

Xiao Qiao felt relieved and joyful, and also a little grateful.

She tilted her face up, gently extended her delicate arms to hook around his neck, and with her cherry lips slightly parted, she said softly, "My lord, you are so good."

Wei Shao grinned, "thud" tossing off the boot that was still on his other foot, and pulled her down to lie with him.

"Let's sleep. I'm not going out."

He said.

...

A few days later, Jia Si finally managed to see Wei Shao and asked about the follow-up.

That night, he had hurriedly led his men to do the arduous work of digging three feet deep, and then had people guard the exhumed remains, waiting and waiting, but never received any further instructions from the lord.

After waiting for so many days, he could no longer hold back and asked.

"You dug it up? Bury it back."Wei Shao seemed to have just remembered and casually mentioned.