The Prisoner of Beauty

After leaving Yuyang and traveling southwest for two hundred li past Zhuojun, there lies a city named Yi.

Su Ehuang's carriage departed from Yuyang and traveled at a steady pace. On this day, they arrived at this city. Due to exhaustion and discomfort, the group rested in the city for several days.

She was the widow of Liu Li, the Duke of Zuopingyi and younger brother of the late Emperor Xuan. Born into a noble family from Zhongshan and related to the Wei family, she held a high status. The magistrate of Yi City, upon learning that she had stopped due to illness on her way back to Zhongshan, treated her with courtesy.

On the evening of the second day, her nephew Su Xin caught up with them. The first thing Su Xin said upon meeting her was, "I did not wait for the message as agreed and left the city quickly as you instructed. I presume Jiang Nao has failed."

Su Xin's expression was filled with disappointment.

Su Ehuang's delicate brows furrowed, and a deep look of disappointment flashed in her eyes. However, she quickly regained her composure and said indifferently, "If it failed, so be it. Why be so disheartened? Most things in the world do not go as planned. When I made the plan, I was already prepared for failure."

Seeing her so composed, Su Xin's disappointment also vanished. He said, "I acted according to your instructions. I fed the Marquis' wife the Bodhi Elixir while she was asleep and left quietly before dawn."

Thinking of the woman who was doomed to die whether the plan succeeded or failed, he couldn't help but feel a bit of regret. He couldn't resist adding, "I saw how she flattered you, and I was careful in my dealings with her. I believe our interactions did not fall into the eyes of outsiders. Even if the plan failed, I doubt she would be implicated. Why did you insist on having me kill her?"

Su Ehuang said, "How do you know your interactions with her were not noticed? And how do you know that if the plan failed, she wouldn't expose me? What does killing a few people matter? Men who seek power and dominance leave behind millions of corpses and rivers of blood. For my goals, killing a few people is nothing. How can you, a man of stature, be so soft-hearted?"

Su Xin, chastened by her words, clenched his teeth and said, "You are right, Aunt. I have learned my lesson. It's just a pity that Jiang Nao was incompetent and wasted all your efforts."

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked, "But how do you know Jiang Nao will keep your secret? What if she can't withstand the interrogation and reveals you?"

Su Ehuang said, "The hardest thing to control in the world is the human heart. But the easiest thing to control is also the human heart. If you can understand what a person truly desires and what they want, you can manipulate them like a puppet."

"This Jiang Nao will not only not betray me, but I also believe she has already taken her own life by now, to repay the kindness I showed her."

Su Ehuang smiled faintly as she spoke.

Su Xin stared at Su Ehuang for a long moment before asking, "Aunt, you have always been exceptionally wise, and I deeply admire you. But there is one thing I don't understand, and I hope you can enlighten me. Although this plan failed, it is a great pity that we could not eliminate the old woman of the Wei family. What I don't understand is, since you want to win the heart of the Marquis of Yan, why didn't you use Jiang Nao to directly eliminate Qiao Nü this time, instead of going through all this trouble to remove the old woman?"

Su Ehuang said, "Who is Qiao Nü? Just the daughter of an enemy of the Wei family. Zhonglin married her only for the land of Yanzhou. What is there to fear? The old woman is different. She has a deep prejudice against me, and Zhonglin listens to her without question. As long as she is around, even if Zhonglin has feelings for me, he would never dare to approach me. You are skilled in archery. When shooting a person, you must first shoot the horse. This principle should not need further explanation."Su Xin's face showed a look of admiration as he flattered, "Auntie, you are truly no ordinary woman. I bow to you in reverence! From now on, I pledge my life to serve you, hoping that one day I may attain wealth and honor, revive the glory of our Su family, and bring comfort to our ancestors!"

Su Ehuang smiled without speaking.

Earlier, when Su Xin asked her why she didn't first eliminate Qiao Nu, besides her response, she didn't tell her nephew that the reason she didn't want to move against Qiao Nu yet was also due to a subtle, unyielding feminine pride.

In the Kingdom of Zhongshan, Su Ehuang first encountered Qiao Nu.

At the first sight of Qiao Nu, the usually self-assured Su Ehuang had to admit that Wei Zhonglin's wife was not only younger than her but also surpassed her in beauty.

As for the indescribable, bone-deep special aura that Qiao Nu carried, which could be deeply felt just by looking at her, it was something Su Ehuang could never achieve, no matter how much she cultivated herself.

At that moment, a seed of jealousy was planted in Su Ehuang's heart. Not long ago, when she came to Yuyang and witnessed Qiao Nu ascending the high platform under the gaze of thousands of soldiers to strike the drum at the foot of Lu Li Terrace.

At that time, the strong wind on the platform blew her robes, and the crowd below responded to her call.

That scene was deeply imprinted in Su Ehuang's mind and could never be erased.

If the previous jealousy was just innate, from that moment on, she clearly knew what she wanted to do to this Qiao Nu.

If Zhonglin didn't like her, she wanted Qiao Nu to see that she not only gained favor from her husband but also took away the status and glory that should have belonged to her.

If Zhonglin liked her, she would snatch Zhonglin from her hands and make her taste the immense torment and pain of loss and jealousy.

From birth, Su Ehuang was burdened with the fate of being "noble beyond words." She herself had always firmly believed in this. To make this noble fate come true, she personally severed the last trace of naive emotion from her girlhood. From the first day of her marriage, she exhausted her spirit and energy, even to the point of scheming and maneuvering. She endured countless grievances and suppressed her true nature. However, after a decade-long dream, she found that all her efforts had been in vain, and everything had returned to the starting point, or even worse.

She lost her youth, her dreams were shattered, and yet the entire family placed their hopes on her alone.

For a woman, what could be more terrifying than this?

But this Qiao Nu, as the daughter of an enemy, effortlessly possessed what Su Ehuang now desired most: youth, beauty, and the status of Zhonglin's wife.

Su Ehuang had always believed that in Wei Shao's heart, the influence she had left on him, being two years older, like an elder sister, and the one who enlightened his youthful ignorance, was absolutely unique.

Wei Shao still held old feelings for her. Even back then, when she was seventeen and he was fifteen, she had bid him farewell and resolutely married off to Luoyang.

It's just that he, from a young age, had a reserved personality, accustomed to hiding his thoughts deep within. After suffering the dual blows of losing his father and brother in his youth, it was only natural that his character became even more profound and unpredictable.

This time, she finally stepped into Yuyang by taking advantage of the Lu Li Assembly. After figuring out his daily schedule to and from the government office, she orchestrated that chance encounter.That chance encounter further solidified her belief.

Initially, she felt somewhat defeated that Wei Shao remained completely unaware of her arrival in Yuyang after so many days. However, this sense of defeat quickly passed.

When she proposed to visit Madam Xu, Wei Shao initially refused. But when she used her old persuasive tactics, she observed him hesitate before eventually relenting and agreeing to her request. This small victory invigorated Su Ehuang and reinforced her conviction that she still held a place in Wei Shao's heart—perhaps he simply hadn't yet moved past the shadow of her marrying someone else all those years ago. Otherwise, why, given his status, had he remained without even a concubine before his marriage?

As long as she could get close to him, she could exploit a man's weaknesses and manipulate his emotions. No one was better at this than her.

This was also why she wanted to eliminate Madam Xu.

In her original plan, if Madam Xu had died as intended, Jiang Nao would then orchestrate exposing Zhu Shi's mistreatment of her mother-in-law, bringing it to Wei Shao's attention. Given Wei Shao's deep affection for his grandmother, Zhu Shi would never recover from such a scandal. No matter how much Zhu Shi despised her, she would be reduced to a pitiful figure who had lost all maternal dignity in front of her son, utterly incapable of standing in Su Ehuang's way.

Additionally, this would serve as a harsh retaliation for the repeated humiliations Zhu Shi had inflicted upon her.

But now, her meticulous plan had failed. Not only that, but she had also lost her spies and allies within the Wei household. The losses were substantial.

Attempting to eliminate Madam Xu again by catching the Wei household off guard seemed unlikely. Moreover, she would likely have to lay low for a while to avoid suspicion.

However, she would not give up.

What she needed to do now was to adjust her mindset, bide her time, and then carefully devise a new plan.

In her youth, she had misjudged someone once.

Over the past decade, though her efforts had come to naught, she hadn't gained nothing. At the very least, she had honed her ability to read people more accurately than before. She believed that Wei Zhonglin, in this chaotic era, would undoubtedly achieve great things in the future.

This time, she would not misjudge again.

...

The magistrate of Yuyang, accompanied by the physician from Leling, personally visited the Wei residence to report on the case of the Marquis' wife.

The Marquis' wife had died the previous night.

The physician from Leling explained that while the symptoms appeared to be a stroke, the Marquis' wife's nails had turned purplish, and her lips were swollen, which differed slightly from a typical stroke. Moreover, the illness had been far more severe than a stroke, and the Marquis' wife was not of the usual age for such an affliction. After examining the residue on her tongue, the physician concluded that it was likely poisoning, and a significant dose at that, which had caused the rapid and fatal onset.

As for the exact nature of the poison, it was difficult to determine at the moment.

The magistrate interrogated the servants of the Li household and discovered that, though the Marquis' wife was officially a widow, she had been secretly involved with several male servants. He subjected them to harsh questioning, but it seemed these men were unrelated to her death.

With the case at a standstill, the magistrate felt deeply ashamed. Madam Xu offered a few words of comfort before seeing him off. Afterward, she murmured to herself, "It seems this old woman is standing in someone's way."

Zhong Ao glanced at her but remained silent."The Marquis' wife, it is said that she once stayed in Luoyang for some time?" Madam Xu asked again.

Zhong Ao confirmed.

"Send someone to Luoyang to thoroughly investigate her past associations. The more detailed, the better."

Madam Xu pondered for a moment before finally giving the order.

……

Xiao Qiao had originally thought that this matter would deal a great blow to Madam Xu. Just like the incident with Wei Yan before, which had caused her to fall seriously ill. Although the danger had been temporarily removed, she was still very worried at first, fearing that Madam Xu's condition might worsen. She stayed by her side morning and evening.

But soon, Xiao Qiao discovered that the impact of this matter on Madam Xu seemed far less severe than she had imagined.

After a few days, her spirits appeared to be almost as good as usual, and she often got up and moved around.

After some more time, the physician from Leling came for a follow-up and said that she could stop taking the medicine. She only needed to rest a bit longer, and her body would fully recover.

Xiao Qiao was overjoyed. Her heart finally settled. After that, she busied herself with taking care of Madam Xu, managing affairs, and socializing. When she had free time, she would hold her cat, bask in the sun, and think about her own matters. In the blink of an eye, the season had turned to November.

On this day, Xiao Qiao received a letter from Dongjun.

The letter was from her younger brother, Qiao Ci. He said that he had safely returned home and had also delivered her letter to their father. Their uncle had heard from the envoy that the trip to Yuyang had gone smoothly and that they had been treated with great kindness, which made him extremely happy. Everything at home was fine. However, their aunt had fallen ill and had been bedridden for half a month. There were also some other miscellaneous matters, but they were not worth mentioning.

The date on the letter indicated that it had been written immediately after Qiao Ci left Yuyang and arrived in Dongjun. However, it had taken some time to be delivered, and it had only just reached her hands now.

After reading the letter, Xiao Qiao pondered for a long time. The thought that had been lingering in her mind these days became even stronger.

She finally made up her mind. She changed her clothes and headed to the north house.

After Madam Xu's recent illness, Xiao Qiao's status in the north house had almost become equivalent to that in the west house.

The maidservants were very respectful when they saw her coming. Xiao Qiao went to Madam Xu's room and, at the door, overheard Madam Xu talking to Zhong Ao about Zhu Shi.

After the incident was resolved, Zhu Shi had been sent back to her own east house. However, all the maidservants from the east house had been dismissed, and only a few maidservants from the north house had been sent over. They were there both to serve and to keep an eye on her.

The Great Witch of Yushan and Zheng Shu had been arrested by the Yuyang magistrate and thrown into prison. Since the matter concerned Madam Xu, no action had been taken yet, and they were waiting for the Marquis of Yan to return to make a decision.

Madam Xu was asking about Zhu Shi's recent condition.

Zhong Ao replied, "I went to see her this morning. She is no longer constantly proclaiming her innocence as she did at first. She has become much quieter, almost as if she is in a daze." After a pause, she asked, "Is Elder Madam waiting for the Lord to return before making a decision?"

Madam Xu said, "After all, she is Shao Er's birth mother. How to deal with her should be decided when Shao Er returns. She is just a confused and narrow-minded person. Keep a close eye on her. Now that the weather has turned cold, make sure her supplies are adequate and not lacking."

Zhong Ao said, "This servant understands." She then added, "The Lord should be returning soon, right?"

A few days ago, they had received a message from Wei Shao assuring Madam Xu of his safety. He said that the war was going well and that he should be able to return by the end of the year.

The maidservant outside announced the arrival of the lady. Xiao Qiao was called to sit by Madam Xu's side.

After some casual conversation, Xiao Qiao said, "Grandmother, I would like to return to Dongjun for a visit. I wonder if Grandmother would permit me to go?"