The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Unlike Lady Zhu, when Grandmother spoke these words, her tone sounded no different from usual, and her face showed none of the excitement one might have expected.

If there was anything unusual at all, it was a look of near-pride that Xiao Qiao caught gleaming within her single eye.

These heroes and warlords had created this chaotic age, and it was this chaotic age, in turn, that forged new heroes and warlords.

Wei Shao’s grandmother truly had every right to be proud. To have a grandson who, at barely twenty years of age, had already established himself as a regional hegemon—Xiao Qiao thought to herself—was a remarkable feat, to say nothing of the fact that he had now captured Jinyang. In a military sense, Jinyang was by no means just a single city. Its incorporation into Wei Shao’s hands meant far more than simply achieving the true unification of the North and becoming its undisputed master; most importantly, he had secured a prized region known as the granary of the world.

Having an assured, ample supply of grain and forage was the ultimate guarantee for any future designs on the heartlands of the Central Plains. The Chen father and son had sat upon a land of bounty only to weave wedding gowns for another in the end; they could only blame their own incompetence.

The future that could be called a nightmare—one that had repeatedly plagued her since her very first day in this world—was, with the appearance of the woman named Su Ehuang and the pace of Wei Shao’s unification of the North, shifting step by step into reality along its predetermined track.

Barring any unforeseen accidents, her husband, Wei Shao, would eventually ascend the throne as emperor.

Reaching this conclusion was not merely due to her nightmare or some mysterious, profound talk of heavenly mandate. Rather, since arriving at the Wei estate, she had witnessed firsthand within this man, Wei Shao, a soaring ambition, boundless energy, an arrogant conviction that the world belonged to him alone, and a resilient, step-by-step advancement.

A man like this, capable of walking to the very end amidst the chaotic warfare and shifting alliances of a troubled age, could never have done so by mere chance.

Consequently, the doubts in Xiao Qiao’s heart naturally intensified. In this lifetime, Wei Shao’s wife was no longer Da Qiao. Since the wife had been changed, would that Su woman—who had finally materialized before her eyes as a living, breathing person during this trip to Zhongshan—still follow the trajectory of her past life, standing by his side in the end to become the founding emperor and empress of this beautiful realm, just as she knew?

All her knowledge regarding the past life had come to an abrupt halt right at the moment Wei Shao declared himself emperor, Da Qiao committed suicide, the Su woman was instated as empress, and Liu Yan’s city fell.

She suddenly found herself wondering very much about that Wei Shao of the past life: after fulfilling his desire to ascend the throne, walking hand-in-hand with his beloved, and finally utterly destroying the Qiao family he loathed to his very bones—whenever he chanced to remember that pitiable woman he had treated coldly all her life, who was barred even in death from entering the Wei family mausoleum—would there be even a single shred of pity or remorse within his iron heart?

And what would his own ultimate end be?

...

(The Past Life)

Three months ago, Wei Shao’s grand army stormed into Luoyang, pressing up to the Vermilion Bird Gate of the imperial palace. Xing Xun, who had previously deposed the last Han emperor and faced south to declare himself emperor, found himself surrounded on all sides with no path of escape, ultimately burning himself alive in the Northern Palace.

The great fire in the Northern Palace raged for three days and three nights before it finally subsided.

Half a month later, Wei Shao offered sacrifices at the northern suburbs, proclaimed his ascension to Heaven, and took the throne at the Hall of a Thousand Autumns and Ten Thousand Years, establishing the dynastic title "Yan."

In this year, he was only in his early thirties, yet he had become the new master of Luoyang, an imperial capital boasting a population of a million.

He established ancestral temples and state altars, formed ministries and judicial courts, rewarded merit, and punished offenses, yet the position of empress in the inner palace remained vacant.

In his current inner palace, there were two women.

One was Da Qiao, his principal wife whom he had married ten years ago.

The other was the Su woman, his favored consort who had already accompanied and served him for many years.

He had unified the North many years prior, and by now, the warlords of the Central Plains, along with those of Luoyang, big and small, had been utterly wiped out. The remaining few who slipped through the net were merely drawing their last breaths and could form no significant presence; he gave them no mind.

The only territory that caught his eye but had not yet fallen into his hands was Yongzhou.

Two years ago, in rebellion against Xing Xun's usurpation of the throne, a portion of officials loyal to the Han house had welcomed the former Heir Apparent of the King of Langya, Liu Yan, to the capital of Yongzhou, establishing a minor Han court with its capital situated in Yong.

So long as he seized this minor court of Yong, the entire world would belong to Wei Shao.

In fact, just a few days after Wei Shao had first stormed Luoyang and Xing Xun had self-immolated, an envoy had brought an imperial edict from the minor court, appointing him Grand Prime Minister and Grand Marshal, and inviting him to the capital of Yong to escort the emperor’s carriage back to Luoyang, honoring the legitimate ruler, Liu Yan, as the emperor of the world.

Wei Shao had laughed uproariously at the time, his contempt and arrogance plain for anyone to see.

He said, "When Heaven offers a gift and it is not taken, one will surely suffer the consequences."

Half a month later, he raised troops to launch a campaign against the minor court.

Before setting out with his army, he still did not invest Da Qiao as empress, nor did he, as others speculated, elevate the Su woman, whom he had favored for many years, to the position of empress.

He performed only a single act: investing the Su woman as a Lady.

This was the highest-ranking consort title below the empress in the inner palace.

Subsequently, he departed Luoyang to personally lead the expedition against the capital of Yong.

On the second day after his departure, Su Ehuang arrived at the Hall of Sublime Virtue in the Northern Palace.

...

The imperial palace of Luoyang was grand and magnificent, divided into the Southern and Northern Palaces. The Southern Palace was where the emperor received congratulations and deliberated on state affairs, while the Northern Palace served as the residential quarters for the emperor's consorts and ladies.

The great fire ignited by Xing Xun half a month ago had destroyed most of the halls within the Northern Palace, leaving only a few surviving structures. Driven by urgency to annihilate the minor court, Wei Shao had not immediately ordered repairs; he merely had people clear out a few palace chambers salvaged from the fire to serve as temporary residences.

Su Ehuang resided in the most magnificent Hall of Prolonged Rest. The consorts, concubines, and palace maids from the inner palaces of Xing Xun and the former Han emperor who had fortunately survived were all settled in the Observatory of Increasing Joy to the east, while Da Qiao was placed in this most remote corner, the Hall of Sublime Virtue.

She had been ill for a long time. By her side, there was only a single old maidservant who tended to her medicine and meals.

Long ago, back when she had not yet married, she and her younger sister, Xiao Qiao, were celebrated by contemporaries in their hometown of Dongjun as the "Two Qiaos" on account of their beauty.

Now she was twenty-five or twenty-six, which should have been the most splendid years for a woman’s life to bloom, yet she had grown so gaunt she was deformed. The hand resting upon the bed couch possessed a back that retained only a layer of skin, through which one could clearly see the dark blue veins crawling and spreading like a spiderweb. Only when she opened her eyes could a faint trace of the former beauty's reflection still be vaguely found within their gaze.

Da Qiao felt incredibly thirsty. She had been thirsty for a long time. Knowing the old maidservant was unwilling to serve her, she had intended to struggle down herself just now to pour some water, but she truly could not climb up. The strength throughout her body seemed to have abandoned her, inch by inch.

Once more, she called out to the old maidservant in a low, weak voice. The old maidservant finally walked in, her footsteps producing a sharp clack-clack sound against the polished brick floor.

The old maidservant poured a cup of water that had already turned ice-cold and brought it to the bedside, unexpectedly setting the cup down heavily against the edge of the bed.

Half the water splashed out, soaking the bedding.

"This servant is busy brewing your medicine! If there is no major matter, it is best to call less."

The old maidservant grumbled irritably, turned around, and left.

This woman she had been assigned to serve might be the principal wife of the Great Yan Emperor in name, but everyone knew the Emperor had never come to cast a single glance at her.

In fact, those people were even whispering among themselves in private that far from casting a glance at her, the Emperor had never touched a single finger of hers over all these years.

For a woman to reach such a state, living was nothing but a shame.

...

Da Qiao struggled to sit up slowly.

Her body was too thin. Sitting up like this, she could feel a grating pain from her own bones.

Just as she reached out to take that cup of water she had managed to call for with great difficulty, she suddenly felt as though her vision brightened. The dim, lightless palace chamber seemed to be abruptly illuminated by something.

It was a woman walking toward her bed couch.

The woman was past thirty, yet she was exceptionally well-preserved, her skin radiant and plump, forming a stark contrast with Da Qiao upon the bed. Her hair was styled in an intricate and exquisite Nine-Ring Immortal-Welcoming Bun, adorned with a bright, gleaming phoenix-headed dangling hairpin. The strands of glass beads hanging from the phoenix’s beak emitted a soft, pleasant rustling sound with her every step. This hairstyle alone required two maids to style simultaneously for a full half-hour. She wore a magnificent tapestry-woven purple skirt patterned with a hundred flowers gathering around a phoenix. This type of kesi brocade possessed intricate weaves and was exceedingly precious nowadays; twenty seamstresses could only weave a single bolt in a year. Men of status usually utilized it only as an ornament for their waistbands, yet she used it for the entire surface of her skirt. The embroidered shoes upon her feet featured soles three inches high, their uppers bound with gold thread and adorned entirely with pearls of identical size. A lifelike, gold-wrapped jade butterfly was affixed to each toe, its wings trembling lightly with her steps, making it impossible for anyone to look away.

She was the Su woman, Wei Shao’s favored consort, currently a Lady of the inner palace, and the only woman who had remained by Wei Shao’s side over all these years.

Catching sight of Lady Su, the old maidservant immediately revealed a fawning expression, kneeling down to kowtow.

Su Ehuang told the old maidservant to leave. The old maidservant backed out. Only Da Qiao and Su Ehuang remained in the palace chamber.

Su Ehuang walked to the bedside, sat down, and personally picked up that cup of ice-cold water. Bringing it to Da Qiao’s lips, she said with a smile, "I heard you are severely ill. His Majesty has gone on campaign to Yong, and since you and I share a bond as sisters after a fashion, it can be considered fate. I have come to see you."

Da Qiao remained completely motionless.

Su Ehuang glanced at her dry, cracked lips, her brow furrowing slightly.

Though she was a woman over thirty who was well-preserved, this casual, minute movement still caused a few fine lines of varying lengths to appear at the skin between her brows and the corners of her eyes.

She said, "How have these treacherous servants been serving you! To have the audacity to bring such ice-cold water for you to drink even during the winter!" Having spoken, she cast the cup away. The bamboo-carved cup was hurled to the floor, producing a strange rolling sound as it spun forward, spilling a puddle of water across the blue bricks of the floor.

Da Qiao still did not move.

Su Ehuang scrutinized Da Qiao for a brief moment: "Before His Majesty left the imperial capital, he invested me as a Lady. You must know of this by now?"

Da Qiao naturally did not know. No one had told her. Nor did she care about such matters.

"His Majesty originally ought to have performed one more act: investing you as Empress. Yet he did not. Naturally, it is impossible for His Majesty to invest you as Empress. However, so long as you remain alive for a single day, it is likewise impossible for me to become His Majesty’s Empress."

Finally, she let out a sigh, gazing at Da Qiao with a look of sympathy and pity: "Therefore, I truly do not understand. Since you have reached such a state, why do you still draw your remaining breaths and refuse to die?"

...

Indeed, why draw her remaining breaths and refuse to die?

Da Qiao asked herself as well.

Having reached this state, the thing still sustaining her life was perhaps that patch of moonlight in the back garden of her home in Dongjun that refused to scatter from her heart, and the man with a single green eye who had watched her departing figure beneath that moonlight.

...

Seeing that Da Qiao did not respond, Su Ehuang fixes her gaze upon her.

"Qiao girl," she said in a tone that sounded like casual conversation, "in this world, everyone has something they desire. Men seek high office and rich stipends to bring glory to their ancestors; women seek honor through their husbands' status, or at the very least, to win the heart of a single individual and marry an ideal husband. Yet I expect you do not know that nothing in this world is ever obtained easily. Even if Heaven bestows a gift, one must still reach out to take it themselves. I know you must loathe me intensely in your heart, yet you do not know that everything I possess today—how could it have come easily?"

A sliver of a smile slowly appeared upon her vermilion lips, and then she let out a soft sigh, which carried a hint of self-pity.

"Originally, I would likely never have an opportunity to speak these words to anyone in my entire life," she said. "Yet for some unknown reason, at this moment, I suddenly wish to speak of them with you."

She fell silent for a moment, appearing to sink into memories of past events.

"I was born of the marquisate of Zhongshan and have known His Majesty since childhood. I am two years older than him. By the time I turned fourteen, I had already resolved in my heart that he would become my husband in the future. Unfortunately, Heaven does not grant human wishes; a calamity befell the Wei family, and by the time I was seventeen, my parents married me off to Liu Li instead. Naturally, I was unwilling in my heart. Yet I also knew that even if I defied my parents' commands and His Majesty was willing to wed me, the Wei family would never accept me. For I did not possess the favor of His Majesty’s grandmother, whereas His Majesty held his grandmother in absolute reverence and affection..."

At the mention of "His Majesty’s grandmother," a slightly peculiar expression of aversion appeared near her lips, only to vanish immediately.

"After weighing the options, I followed my parents' words and married Liu Li. That incompetent Liu man—I submitted my body to him for nearly ten years, yet in the end, far from ascending the imperial throne, he died in a wretched, cowardly manner himself. I became newly widowed, and that old fellow Xing Xun, who had taken charge of Luoyang, coveted my beauty and intended to take me. How could I ever submit my body to him? At the time, I returned to the Kingdom of Zhongshan, and after navigating several twists and turns, I finally beheld His Majesty's face once more..."

She stared intently at Da Qiao: "Upon our meeting, His Majesty inquired in surprise why my voice had been ruined. I replied that I knew His Majesty loved my singing voice, so before I was wed back then, I had personally poisoned and ruined it with medicine. Even if I was forced to marry another and could not preserve my body for His Majesty, I could nonetheless preserve my singing voice for His Majesty. His Majesty was deeply moved at the time. Yet he did not know that this throat of mine was merely due to a past illness, where I had mistakenly ingested the wrong medicine..."

"Qiao girl, from that very moment, I knew His Majesty had been awakened to our old affection. When His Majesty wed you, he was twenty-two years of age. Yet there was not a single concubine or consort within his chambers. Do you know why? Because back then, I had once joked with him, saying in jest: why is it that even when men in this world have a beloved woman, they still take three wives and four concubines, while women must solely keep their bodies as pure as jade for their husbands? He had broken off contact with me for many years, so why did he keep his distance from women? It must be because he remembered my careless words from back then, which led him to view the women of the world as nothing but dirt..."

Su Ehuang broke into laughter, a slight gleam of triumph surfacing in her gaze.

"Even though he and I went our separate ways back then, what of it? He was merely a youth just growing up at the time, and within his heart, the things left to him by this elder sister who was two years his senior are things he can never forget in his entire life. To say nothing of the fact that when he was heavily wounded back then and his mother also fell bedridden, I remained within the Wei estate for a full half-year, sparing no effort day after day to tend to the two of them, mother and son. Solely on account of such an affection, even if I were to commit the greatest of offenses, he could never harden his heart to deal with me."

Da Qiao stared at her blankly.

Su Ehuang’s gaze, however, gradually turned ice-cold.

"Qiao girl, your fate is indeed pitiable, and given your state today, I originally did not desire to do anything to you. It is merely unfortunate that if you do not die, His Majesty's position of empress will likely remain vacant indefinitely. It is not that I lack patience to wait for such a duration. But do you know that while the position of empress remains vacant, I am invested merely as a Lady—and that this is a form of humiliation to me? For the sake of today, I have truly exhausted my schemes. Yet what have you ever done, that in your capacity as the daughter of the Wei family’s mortal enemy, you should vacantly occupy the position of His Majesty’s principal wife for ten years? It is simply because you were the one His Majesty's grandmother chose to marry into his doors! Only when you are dead will His Majesty invest me as Empress."

"Therefore, why is it that you still refuse to die?"

Finally, she stood up, looking down at Da Qiao with a cold gaze as she spoke once more, slowly.