The Prisoner of Beauty

Xiao Qiao set off on her journey south.

Apart from necessary stops at post stations to change horses and rest, she spent almost all her time, day and night, traveling on the imperial highways.

The journey spanned thousands of miles, yet in just seven or eight days, she had already crossed the Yellow River and was heading straight for Yanzhou.

As she finally approached Yanzhou, she heard along the way that Marquis Yan's army had passed through several days earlier and must have already reached Dongjun by now. Burning with anxiety, she pushed forward without pause until she arrived.

The day she reached Dongjun was a clear evening in early summer.

The setting sun cast golden rays across the endless plains outside the city walls.

The light also fell upon the seemingly infinite rows of military tents and the war dragon banners fluttering in the evening breeze.

Xiao Qiao did not enter the camp immediately. Instead, she stopped far outside the northern encampment and sent Qiao Ci ahead to seek out Bi Zhi for news.

When Qiao Ci returned after nightfall, his expression seemed slightly more relaxed than before.

He told Xiao Qiao that their father had regained control of power and executed Ding Qu. He had hoped to clarify the misunderstanding with Wei Shao, but Wei Shao seemed unwilling to listen.

Bi Zhi, fearing Wei Shao might attack the city in his fury, had led troops here as a precaution.

Fortunately, although Wei Shao refused to meet with envoys, he had not launched an assault on the city.

This standoff had already lasted several days.

...

During her journey, Xiao Qiao had imagined many possibilities.

The most terrifying was that Wei Shao, in his rage, would storm Dongjun, resulting in her father's death.

If that had truly happened, she couldn't imagine what purpose her rushed arrival would serve.

To her immense relief, her worst fear had not come to pass.

The moment she learned this news, the tightly wound tension in her body finally loosened.

As the tension faded, she felt a wave of dizziness and swayed slightly, only to be steadied by Qiao Ci.

"Elder Sister!"

"I'm fine. Stay here; there's no need to follow me inside."

...

"Lady, please follow me."

Lei Ze emerged and led Xiao Qiao inward.

Along the way, he seemed to hesitate, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he remained silent. Finally, he brought her to the central command tent and whispered, "The Lord is inside."

As she raised her hand to lift the tent flap, Xiao Qiao suddenly felt nervous again, her movements slowing for a moment.

Steadying herself, she pushed aside the flap and entered.

The tent was brightly lit by candles.

She saw Wei Shao standing before a weapon rack, his back to her.

Motionless, like a rock frozen in place, as if he had been there for a long time.

She paused at the entrance, gazing at that familiar silhouette, waiting for what felt like an eternity before finally speaking softly, "Husband, I'm sorry."

A gust of wind slipped through the tent flap behind her, causing the candle flames to flicker.

Wei Shao's enlarged shadow on the tent wall wavered slightly.

He turned slowly, his gaze settling on Xiao Qiao's face.

Their eyes met.

They had not seen each other for over half a year. He had grown noticeably darker and thinner.

His expression held none of the fury she had anticipated.

Instead, he looked eerily calm.

Unnaturally so.

Xiao Qiao's heart suddenly felt as though it had been silently sliced by a blunt knife, a dull ache spreading through her chest.

"Thank you... for not attacking Dongjun—"

"Go back. Take good care of Fei Fei. After all, you bore me a daughter. As repayment, I will spare Yanzhou. Tomorrow, I will withdraw my troops."He interrupted her.

His tone was as calm as his expression, so composed it hardly seemed like something he would say.

Xiao Qiao stared at him in a daze.

After speaking, Wei Shao walked behind the desk and sat down, casually picking up a bamboo scroll and lowering his head to read.

Xiao Qiao remained standing where she was, motionless.

At first, Wei Shao was perfectly calm, steadily flipping through the scroll in his hand.

The faint clatter of bamboo strips occasionally sounded.

Gradually, however, he flipped faster and faster, the veins on the back of his hand gripping the scroll becoming more pronounced.

Suddenly, with a loud smack , he slammed the scroll onto the desk.

The noise was so sharp that the candle flame flickered in shock.

"Are you still not leaving? What more do you want from me before you're satisfied?"

He raised his head, glaring at Xiao Qiao, his words gritted out one by one.

Xiao Qiao slowly walked to his side and knelt beside him.

"My lord, you already know the truth, don't you?"

She gazed at the sharp, sculpted lines of his profile and asked softly.

Wei Shao closed his eyes briefly before slowly turning his head.

The candlelight reflected in his eyes, giving his pupils a cold, almost translucent glaze.

"On my way here, I was afraid you had already begun the siege. When I arrived at dusk and saw you hadn’t, I knew then it couldn’t be because of Bi Zhi. If you truly wanted to take Yanzhou, nothing—not even Bi Zhi—would have stopped you. You must have realized there was a misunderstanding, didn’t you?"

...

Wei Shao remained silent.

Xiao Qiao looked into his eyes. "Before I came, when I bid farewell to Grandmother, I told her that I wanted to see you—not to absolve the Qiao family of blame. General Wei Liang’s fate remains unknown, and the soldiers who traveled with him lost their lives unjustly. The Qiao family bears responsibility for all of it. Even if every member of the Qiao family paid with their lives, it wouldn’t ease the pain of those who grieve. These are not empty words. So when I arrived just now and learned you hadn’t attacked the city, I felt nothing but gratitude. Through this ordeal, I’ve come to understand that it’s because my family lacks virtue and ability that such troubles arise again and again. I will have my father surrender Yanzhou. I know this reparation is insignificant compared to the harm already done, and you may even scorn it. But for the damage caused, whether by me or my father, we will do everything in our power to make amends, however small."

Wei Shao’s expression remained cold as he slowly shook his head.

"After all that you’ve said, there’s one thing you got right. I haven’t attacked Yanzhou—not because Bi Zhi stood in my way."

"Do you know why I decided to spare Yanzhou?"

Xiao Qiao held her breath, her heartbeat suddenly quickening.

Wei Shao’s gaze shifted toward the tent entrance as he barked, "Bring him in!"

Xiao Qiao looked up and saw a man in coarse linen being shoved inside, collapsing to his knees with a thud.

It was Qiao Yue’s advisor, Zhang Pu.

His face was ashen, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Xiao Qiao was startled and swiftly turned to Wei Shao, only to find his icy gaze fixed on her. "You recognize this man, don’t you?"

Her heart lurched violently, and she stared at Wei Shao in slight bewilderment.

From the moment he first spoke to her after she entered, she had sensed something was off about him.Such a major incident had occurred. From Wei Shao's perspective, the Qiao family's actions this time were akin to the entire clan betraying their trust once again.

Yet he simply let her go back, saying that as repayment for bearing him a daughter, he would spare Yanzhou.

When he spoke those words, he was unusually calm.

But her intuition told her this was by no means his true emotions at that moment.

The more rational the calm appeared, the greater the anger likely concealed beneath.

She just didn't understand why he hadn't unleashed his fury upon her then, instead choosing to mask his rage in this deeply unsettling manner.

Now she faintly began to comprehend.

Perhaps it had something to do with this Zhang Pu.

But what exactly had Zhang Pu said?

Wei Shao rose from behind the desk, grabbed the sword lying across it, unsheathed the blade, and strode toward Zhang Pu.

Zhang Pu fell to the ground, scrambling backward on all fours, pleading incessantly.

"Spare me, my Lord—spare—"

A flash of steel swept through the air. A head that had been attached to its neck moments earlier suddenly flew off, rolling to the corner before coming to rest.

A fountain of blood gushed skyward.

It splattered across Wei Shao's robes and onto his face.

Xiao Qiao screamed in horror as she watched Wei Shao turn, the blood-dripping sword in hand, advancing step by step toward her.

The long-forgotten memory of that final scene from her previous life's dream suddenly came crashing back upon her like a tidal wave.

She clenched her jaw tightly to keep her teeth from chattering audibly.

Wei Shao stopped before her, his blood-spattered face lowering slightly as he gazed down at her. Then with a metallic clang, he threw the sword aside.

"This man came to pledge allegiance bearing Qiao Yue's head. You Qiao family can keep Yanzhou for yourselves. You may leave."

His voice was icy.

Xiao Qiao forced her cotton-soft legs to support her as she struggled to stand.

"What's wrong with you? What did Zhang Pu say?"

Wei Shao remained silent.

"Husband—"

"Guards! Escort her out!"

Wei Shao suddenly erupted, roaring the command before sweeping everything from the desk between them onto the floor with a single violent motion.

Bamboo slips, documents, inkstones, along with command arrows and tiger tallies, scattered across the ground in complete disarray.

Lei Ze hurried in, quickly taking in the sight of Zhang Pu's headless corpse before hastily dragging it away himself.

"Get her out of here!"

Wei Shao roared again.

Lei Ze froze momentarily before understanding, casting a stunned glance at Wei Shao.

His expression was thunderous.

Hesitating, Lei Ze began: "My Lady—"

"General Lei, please leave us first. I still have words for the Lord," Xiao Qiao said.

Lei Ze immediately bowed and removed Zhang Pu's body along with the severed head.

"Husband—"

"Don't call me husband!"

Xiao Qiao paused briefly: "What exactly did Zhang Pu tell you..."

His lips remained tightly sealed.

Xiao Qiao's mind was in turmoil, her back soaked with cold sweat.

She could sense that Wei Shao's anger toward her wasn't solely about the Yanzhou matter.

There seemed to be something else mixed in.

What could it be?

She closed her eyes, desperately searching her memories.

Suddenly, it felt as though she'd been struck by something heavy.

Her eyes flew open."In the year after I married you, when I returned to Yanzhou, I urged my father to strengthen our forces and recruit soldiers."

She gazed into Wei Shao's dark, brooding eyes.

"At that time, one of the reasons I convinced my father was to guard against you."

She spoke slowly.

When her father persuaded Qiao Yue, naturally he couldn't say it was her suggestion.

But Yanzhou's actions began precisely after her departure.

It must have been Zhang Pu, seeking to prove his loyalty to Wei Shao, who revealed that Yanzhou's military buildup was intended to guard against his revenge.

Zhang Pu might not have mentioned her.

But Wei Shao couldn't have failed to realize this.

Her face gradually paled, her lips losing their color.

She looked at him silently.

She didn't want to cry.

From the day she bid farewell to Madam Xu until this moment, she hadn't shed a single tear.

She didn't want to weep.

She had only hoped that things hadn't taken the worst turn, that there might still be room for reconciliation.

Until now.

Her eyes suddenly grew hot.

She fought back the tears, forcing them away.

"I know what you hate me for. You hate that I married you to scheme against you. But our union was always a marriage of convenience, each with our own motives, like strangers sharing a bed. At that time, I feared you, I couldn't trust you, so I advised my father thus. I dare not say I was blameless, but neither can I say in good conscience that my decision then was entirely wrong. After all, none of us can foresee the future, nor truly know what lies in another's heart, can we? My mistake was urging my father to strengthen our forces without paying enough attention to the dangers within the Qiao family, which led to today's disaster, causing Wei Liang and others to suffer unjustly, betraying the pressure you bore and the promises you made for my sake..."

Wei Shao suddenly laughed coldly, his smile eerie.

"I remember clearly how I chased after you southward, eager to bring you back sooner. At Wuchao Ferry, you were so affectionate with me, yet in your heart..."

He stopped abruptly, his eyes filled with disgust.

"Enough! Never speak to me again of anything concerning your Qiao family! The Qiao family schemed to marry you to me, and you endured three long years of service, even bearing a child. I'll grant your wish and spare your family. Tell your kin that if they cross me again, the next time won't be like this. Don't think I'll restrain myself for fear of reputation. If I wish to kill, I will kill. What do I care for the world's judgment?"

Wei Shao wiped the blood from his cheek with his palm, leaving a dark red smear that made his face appear even more ferocious.

He turned and left.