The Prisoner of Beauty

Xiao Qiao awoke from a long and heavy slumber.

It was already dark outside, and the room was lit with lamps. The bed curtains hung quietly, and not a sound could be heard.

She was alone in the bed.

She hadn’t expected to be so thoroughly drunk, sleeping until this late hour.

Xiao Qiao slowly sat up, wrapping herself in the blanket.

Her head still felt a bit dizzy. Her mouth was parched, dry and uncomfortable.

Moreover, her body didn’t feel quite right.

Her skin felt sticky all over. Even...

Between her legs, it was damp...

Xiao Qiao couldn’t help but glance down.

She was still wearing the undergarments from earlier in the day, only her outer robe was missing.

Chun Niang must have helped her remove the outer robe. Though the undergarments were slightly disheveled, they were mostly tidy.

After such a long sleep, it was only natural.

Xiao Qiao pressed her forehead, pushed aside the bed curtains, and climbed down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she felt her limbs go weak, her knees buckling, and she leaned forward, catching herself on the bedpost to avoid collapsing to the floor.

She steadied herself and called out, “Chun Niang,” her voice hoarse and soft. She had to call several times before footsteps approached from outside the room.

“My lady, you’re finally awake?”

Before her was Chun Niang’s familiar, reassuring smile.

Xiao Qiao, still holding onto the bedpost, slowly sat back on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

She had never been drunk before.

She hadn’t expected that after being drunk, not only would her head ache, but even her limbs and most private areas would feel this way—a sensation that was strangely familiar, as if...

Xiao Qiao bit her lip, feeling a slight sense of shame.

“Chun Niang, I’d like to bathe.”

Her body really didn’t feel comfortable. She raised her eyes and spoke.

……

In the steamy bathing room, Xiao Qiao immersed herself in the tub, gradually feeling more at ease. She let out a long sigh.

She soaked for a while, her delicate skin slowly turning a faint pink. Her cheeks were like two peach blossoms. Her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, floating on the water like seaweed, while a few tiny droplets of water clung to her dark eyebrows and lashes.

Chun Niang stood behind her, washing her long hair.

Xiao Qiao closed her eyes and suddenly remembered the events of the morning. She rested her arms on the edge of the tub and asked, “Did I pass out on the way back today? Was it you who carried me in?”

Chun Niang recalled the scene.

The Lord had carried the drunken lady into the room and placed her on the bed, then dismissed her and Lin Ao.

After that, she didn’t know what happened, but when he reappeared from the room, the sun was already setting.

He told Chun Niang, who had been waiting outside, that the lady was still drunk and not to disturb her.

Then, as if hesitating, he added that she should not let the lady know he had returned during the day.

The Lord’s expression was unreadable as he spoke, then left.

Chun Niang had been puzzled at the time. After the Lord left, she quietly entered the room to check.

There was nothing particularly unusual.

The lady was indeed still deeply asleep, as the Lord had said. Her clothes were tidy, and a peach-colored brocade quilt was neatly draped over her shoulders. The only noticeable difference was her flushed cheeks, a layer of fragrant sweat on her forehead and neck, and her uneven breathing, her breath carrying a faint, intoxicating fragrance. Her drunken slumber was so alluring, even a sleeping peony could hardly compare.

……Chun Niang attended to Xiao Qiao closely. Whether she and the Lord were close or distant, even if she couldn't see inside through the closed door, it was impossible to hide from her.

From the day after New Year's Day, before Chun Niang could fully emerge from the joy of her lady finally being able to formally enter the family temple, she sensed that the two seemed to have grown distant again.

Although the Lord still stayed in the room as usual, and the lady continued to see him off in the morning and welcome him in the evening, Chun Niang noticed a difference in the way they looked at each other.

Not to mention, when the two were on good terms, the lady would often straighten his collar or adjust the silk tassel hanging from his waist ornament before seeing him off at the door.

And the Lord would take the opportunity to squeeze her small hand, not at all avoiding Chun Niang's presence.

For the past half month, since the Lord returned from patrolling the city after the Lantern Festival until now, such scenes were no longer seen by Chun Niang.

……

Chun Niang hesitated and did not answer.

Xiao Qiao, however, did not notice her expression, thinking she had tacitly agreed, and hugged her with her jade-like arm, saying, "Chun Niang, you are so good to me. I'm so glad you're here. Otherwise, I don't know what kind of embarrassment I would have caused. It's so mortifying. I remember I didn't drink much, yet I got so drunk. I won't dare to do it again next time..."

Chun Niang couldn't withstand her lady acting so coquettishly and showing her girlish demeanor in front of her. Her heart was filled with tenderness, and she was about to speak when she suddenly remembered the Lord's expressionless reminder before he left during the day, and she swallowed her words.

Her long hair had already been washed. She instructed the lady to turn around and lean against the tub wall, then took a jade palm with smooth, raised beads and massaged her back to relieve fatigue.

Chun Niang's technique was skilled, and she knew how to control the pressure. Xiao Qiao closed her eyes, feeling completely relaxed, when she suddenly heard Chun Niang say from behind, "The Lord might also leave Yuyang in the next few days. Will the lady really stay alone and not accompany the Lord?"

Xiao Qiao opened her eyes briefly, then closed them again, remaining silent.

Unlike before, when she would always share her thoughts or her relationship with Wei Shao with Chun Niang without reservation.

Now she didn't want to talk about it. She didn't know how to bring it up.

Chun Niang continued to massage her smooth, snow-white back with the jade palm and sighed, "On New Year's Day, I clearly saw that the lady and the Lord were still on good terms. The lady even went to the family temple to pay respects. I was so happy. But I don't know why, the lady seems to have grown distant from the Lord again? The lady now seems unwilling to share some things with me. But in my opinion, it would be better to go together. If the lady really has to stay alone at home for half a year..."

"Chun Niang, I'm done."

Xiao Qiao turned her head and smiled at Chun Niang.

……

It was very late, and Wei Shao still hadn't returned.

Xiao Qiao had nothing to do. Seeing that he was delayed, she went to bed herself.

After sleeping off the drunkenness during the day and taking a bath, she felt much more comfortable. But now she had no desire to sleep. She closed her eyes, thinking about her thoughts, and it was nearly the end of the hour of Hai when she heard Wei Shao's footsteps returning.

"I'll leave early tomorrow morning."

After lying down, Wei Shao suddenly said this.

Xiao Qiao opened her eyes and turned her face toward him, meeting Wei Shao's gaze.

In the depths of his eyes, there was a hint of darkness. His gaze tightly intertwined with hers.

"I thought my husband would also leave in the next few days. Have a safe journey, husband. I'll see you off tomorrow morning."

Xiao Qiao said softly.

……

Wei Shao had Gongsun Yang follow the army at a normal speed to Bingzhou, while he rode lightly on horseback.

His pace was fast.Yesterday morning, they had just departed from Yuyang, and by tonight, they had already arrived in Zhuojun.

They would rest here for the night and continue westward tomorrow morning.

At this pace, it wouldn’t take many more days to reach Jinyang.

The current prefect of Zhuojun had learned from his retainers the reason for his predecessor’s unfortunate dismissal.

It was said that once, when Lord Wei Shao had come to Zhuojun on official business and stayed overnight, his predecessor, in an attempt to curry favor, had sent a beautiful woman to his room. This was a common practice. However, Lord Wei Shao had been furious, and the woman had fled the room in terror. The next day, the prefect was dismissed.

After this incident, rumors spread secretly among the people of Zhuojun that Lord Wei Shao had no interest in women and might even have a preference for men.

With this precedent in mind, the current prefect naturally wouldn’t repeat the same mistake.

To welcome Lord Wei Shao, he arranged a banquet and escorted him to the posthouse for lodging. He even borrowed a steady and reliable maidservant from Madam to attend to his needs.

He neither sent a beautiful woman nor a male companion, ensuring that nothing would go wrong.

……

Wei Shao went to bed that night but tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Closing his eyes, the scene from two days ago flashed before him.

Even now, recalling it made his ears burn, his heart race, and his palms sweat. He felt overwhelmed by a deep sense of shame mixed with intense stimulation.

……

Wei Shao admitted that he liked this woman. Sometimes he even felt that he loved her to the core, to the point of being utterly infatuated.

He was willing to make some concessions for her, if those concessions could please her.

For example, promises like allowing her to hit him.

But Lord Wei Shao also had his own boundaries.

He couldn’t tolerate that on the night of New Year’s Eve, she had taken advantage of his affection for her to so boldly challenge his limits.

At that moment, he had felt embarrassed, humiliated, angry, and even a little heartbroken.

So, from that night on, he had truly resolved to cool things off with her.

He hadn’t touched her for a month, and he had managed just fine, even feeling quite good.

But at that moment, lying in bed, she looked so different from her usual awake self.

She was completely drunk, her eyes tightly closed, her long lashes curled, and her face flushed.

As he leaned in to smell her breath, he caught a sweet, intoxicating fragrance.

Wei Shao had initially had no intention of touching her again. But perhaps he had also been intoxicated by her scent. Unable to control himself, he undressed her. The sight of her fair, jade-like body, which he hadn’t seen in a month, lay before his eyes.

It was breathtakingly beautiful. He couldn’t bear it.

This body was his to enjoy, and she didn’t even know it. What could be more tempting than that?

Besides, he was her husband. What couldn’t he do?

So Lord Wei Shao hesitated no longer. Not only did he take her into his arms, but he also knelt before her, opened her jade-like legs, and did something he had often fantasized about but had always been too ashamed to do…

……

Wei Shao suddenly woke from his dream, his heart racing, his mouth parched, and his throat burning.

Without lighting a lamp, he got up and groped his way to the table, where he picked up the teapot and gulped down half its contents.

The tea was cold. The icy water flowed down his throat, finally quenching his thirst.He let out a long sigh, placed the teapot back on the table, and was about to lie down again when he suddenly noticed a faint glow of fire outside the window. He pushed the window open and saw flames rising from the roof of a nearby house not far from the post station.

A fire had broken out.

Wei Shao immediately left the room and summoned the stationmaster to organize people to put out the fire.

It was shocking that a fire had started near the residence where the Lord was staying in the middle of the night. The stationmaster, greatly alarmed, not only called for people to extinguish the fire but also sent someone to inform the prefect.

Upon receiving the news, the prefect, not even having time to dress properly, immediately dispatched a large team of people to rush to the scene.

Fortunately, the fire was discovered early, and with the recent rain a few days ago, the flames were extinguished within half an hour. However, several neighboring households were still affected.

The streets and alleys were filled with noise throughout the night, interspersed with faint cries of distress.

Fearing that the Lord might be disturbed, the prefect, pale with anxiety, hurried over to apologize as soon as the fire was under control.

Wei Shao, already wide awake, inquired about the fire.

In the chilly depths of early spring, the cold was still biting.

Yet the prefect was drenched in sweat. Wiping his forehead with his sleeve, he said, "A woman was burned to death in the center of the fire. Neighbors say her husband has been away on business for years, and the woman, left alone at home, had taken a lover. In the evening, a neighbor saw her inviting the lover into her room. Somehow, a fire broke out. In the aftermath, only the woman's charred body was found; the lover must have escaped on his own..."

As the prefect spoke, noticing Wei Shao's grim expression, he grew even more fearful and hastily added, "This woman, taking advantage of her husband's absence, invited her lover to stay overnight, leading to a fire that not only burned down her own house but also affected her neighbors. She deserved her death. As for the lover, I have already sent people to capture him. Once caught, he will be severely punished to uphold public morality..."

Wei Shao stood up, walked to the window, and faced the pitch-black night outside, his silhouette motionless.

Author's note: I had a lot to do this morning, so I'm late. My apologies!