The Prisoner of Beauty

Wei Shao was taken aback.

Realizing what had happened, he asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Seeing her lying motionless against his thigh, he carefully lifted her and turned her around.

Xiao Qiao leaned limply in the crook of his arm, closing her eyes briefly.

"What's the matter?" Wei Shao asked again, his palm brushing against her cheek.

It felt cold.

"I'll call for a physician!"

He gently laid Xiao Qiao on the pillow and rose to leave, but she tugged at his sleeve from behind.

"I'm fine," Xiao Qiao shook her head. "I just smelled the alcohol on you earlier, and it must have unsettled my stomach, so I retched."

Wei Shao froze, then lifted his sleeve to sniff it. "Damn it! I'll go wash and change right away—"

Before he could finish, Xiao Qiao's stomach convulsed again. She crawled to the edge of the bed and vomited once more.

This time, it was severe. Everything she had eaten that evening, barely digested, came up—right onto the black boots of Wei Shao.

His expression darkened. While patting her back, he craned his neck and shouted for Chun Niang.

His voice was so loud it nearly summoned every servant in Sheyang Residence.

Chun Niang rushed in, startled, and pushed the door open. She saw Xiao Qiao slumped weakly over the bed, vomit splattered on the floor and even on the Lord's boots. The Lord stood beside her, flustered.

"Call a physician now!" Wei Shao bellowed before bending down anxiously to check on her.

Chun Niang had heard the Lord's thunderous shout earlier and had been terrified, thinking something terrible had happened.

In her haste, she nearly tripped on the steps.

Upon entering and seeing Xiao Qiao vomiting, she was surprised but quickly turned to order someone to fetch the physician while hurrying to the bedside.

Xiao Qiao finally finished retching. Chun Niang helped her sit up against the pillow and rinsed her mouth, then wiped her lips with a handkerchief.

With her stomach emptied, Xiao Qiao finally felt better, though she was still weak, leaning back with her eyes closed.

Servants came in to clean the mess on the floor.

Wei Shao paced back and forth without even changing his boots. Only when he saw Xiao Qiao had stopped vomiting did his tense heart ease slightly.

But then he glanced at her again—her lips pale, her body limp—and turned to Chun Niang, his eyes flashing with anger. "How are all of you serving her? What unclean thing did you feed her tonight?"

Xiao Qiao opened her eyes. "I'm fine. Don’t be so harsh."

Wei Shao paused, swallowing his temper, though his expression remained grim.

Chun Niang had also been alarmed at first. But after Xiao Qiao finished vomiting, she quietly asked a few questions and, upon learning her stomach didn’t hurt, relaxed slightly.

Then, a sudden thought struck her, and her heart began to race.

As Xiao Qiao’s personal attendant, she knew the exact timing of her mistress’s monthly cycles.

This month’s period was delayed again—several days late, and still no sign today.

In the past, there had been delays—sometimes four or five days, other times half a month.

At first, she had thought it might be pregnancy, but each time, it turned out to be false hope.

Two years had passed since the Lady’s marriage—not a short time—yet there had been no joyful news.

Gradually, Chun Niang had stopped holding out much hope.

So when this month’s cycle was delayed again, she hadn’t given much thought to the possibility of pregnancy.

But tonight, Xiao Qiao had suddenly vomited like this.

Chun Niang’s eyes gleamed with excitement, the words nearly spilling out—but she forced them back down.

Afraid she might be wrong and disappoint the Lord, she bit back the words on the tip of her tongue and instead said to Wei Shao, "My Lord, don’t panic. The Lady should be fine."Seeing the Lord approaching the bedside, she quickly rose to her feet and stepped aside.

Anxious in her heart, she hurried out to wait for the physician.

Wei Shao sat on the edge of the bed and helped Xiao Qiao lie down.

“What would you like to eat?”

Though her stomach was empty from vomiting, Xiao Qiao had no appetite at all. She shook her head.

Her complexion had slowly regained some color compared to earlier, but her delicate face remained pale as snow, her eyes slightly closed, her lashes half-veiling them like a fragile flower battered by wind and rain.

Wei Shao’s heart ached unbearably—he wished he could just hold her in his arms and comfort her.

“Then rest for now. The physician will be here soon.”

With that, he lay down beside her on the outer side of the bed, still fully dressed. His hand slipped beneath the quilt, enveloping her slightly cold, delicate fingers in his warm palm, gently massaging them.

The room fell into silence.

Xiao Qiao rested her forehead lightly against his chin and closed her eyes.

Only the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed.

Wei Shao grew impatient. Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded from outside—the physician had finally arrived.

Chun Niang went to greet him, whispering a low account of Madam’s earlier discomfort as they walked.

Upon hearing that her monthly courses were delayed and that she had vomited despite not having eaten anything spoiled that evening, the physician’s first thought went in that direction.

Following Chun Niang hastily inside, he saw a tall, powerfully built young man emerge from behind a painted floor screen adorned with green-bodied, red-scaled dragons and phoenixes. Dressed in a magnificent black robe embroidered with gold clouds and auspicious beasts, the physician recognized him as the master of Xinguo Palace—Marquis Yan Wei Shao—and hurriedly bowed in greeting.

Wei Shao’s expression was displeased. “Why are you only arriving now? My wife was vomiting and unwell earlier. Examine her at once!” With that, he turned and strode back inside.

The physician murmured an acknowledgment and followed Marquis Yan into the inner chamber. A warm, intoxicating fragrance filled the air as he caught sight of a young woman, seemingly no more than fifteen or sixteen, reclining on a bed draped in brocade quilts and cloud-patterned pillows. Her skin was radiant as snow, her delicate form pitiable at a glance. Not daring to look too closely, he lowered his gaze and approached the bedside, seating himself on a low stool brought by a maidservant. Lightly placing two fingers on the jade-like wrist extended from beneath the embroidered quilt, he closed his eyes, calming his mind to focus on the pulse.

Wei Shao stood nearby, watching intently.

After only a short while, the physician opened his eyes and smiled. “The pulse is smooth and flowing like beads rolling on a plate—this is the pulse of pregnancy. Earlier, the elder maidservant mentioned that Madam’s monthly courses were delayed, which aligns with the pulse. There is no doubt—this is the pulse of joy.”

Wei Shao’s gaze sharpened.

A moment later, he slowly turned to look at Xiao Qiao.

Hearing this, Xiao Qiao was momentarily stunned. A sense of bewilderment rose in her heart.

She met Wei Shao’s intense gaze.

A brief silence fell.

Chun Niang was overjoyed and exclaimed, “My Lord! Did you hear? Madam is with child! How delighted Elder Madam will be when she finds out!”

Wei Shao abruptly turned back to the physician. “You’re not mistaken?”

The physician rose and said, “Rest assured, my Lord. I have been practicing pulse diagnosis for over twenty years. If I could misdiagnose something like this, you may smash my signboard. However, while examining Madam’s pulse, I noticed her qi and blood are somewhat deficient. Given her young age and this being her first pregnancy, I shall prescribe a tonic to help regulate her condition.”

Wei Shao nodded. “Write it quickly!”

Beaming, Chun Niang led the physician out to draft the prescription.

Now, only the two of them remained in the inner chamber.

Xiao Qiao finally emerged from her initial daze, clearly realizing one thing—

She was pregnant.

At this moment, her heart suddenly raced.

A strange emotion surged within her—something akin to joy, yet not entirely just joy.

Slowly, she raised her eyes.

Wei Shao still stood before the bed, staring straight at her.

She shifted slightly.With just a slight sway of his shoulders, Wei Shao suddenly lunged toward her, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

He said nothing, only held her close without letting go.

Xiao Qiao's face was pressed against his chest.

Her eyes closed, she could feel the rapid, powerful beating of his heart.

It was as if she could hear the rush of blood flowing through his entire body.

"My lord, have you gone silly? Why aren't you speaking?"

Finally opening her eyes, she tilted her face up and spoke softly.

Wei Shao's hand slowly moved to her abdomen, giving it a gentle caress.

"Manman, is it here? Right here?"

Xiao Qiao nodded.

Wei Shao's brow twitched. After staring at her belly for a moment, he suddenly burst into loud laughter.

Xiao Qiao felt his chest tremble slightly.

"Manman! You're really going to bear my child! Wei Shao is going to be a father today!"

His expression was one of wild joy and immense pride.

Kisses rained down haphazardly on her forehead, cheeks, and lips.

After showering her with kisses, he seemed to suddenly remember something and abruptly stopped.

"I forgot! Earlier you were sickened by my scent!"

He quickly released her, carefully laying her back on the pillow. Getting off the bed himself, he paced before it as if still unable to contain his overwhelming joy, then suddenly strode out.

Whatever he said, Xiao Qiao heard a clamor of congratulations and thanks from the servants outside.

Lying on the pillow, Xiao Qiao closed her eyes and placed a hand on her still-flat abdomen where he had touched her.

A new life, created by her and this man Wei Shao, had unknowingly begun to grow within her.

How miraculous.

The initial confusion and that indescribable, peculiar feeling she couldn't quite name when she first learned the news suddenly vanished.

In her heart, it was finally and completely filled with a clearer, purer joy.