The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

"Was it blissful just now?"

The clouds and rain having just settled, Wei Shao was still holding Xiao Qiao, whispering into her ear as they rubbed temples affectionately on the pillow.

Xiao Qiao's body felt lazy, and she did not particularly want to move, so she kept her eyes closed and ignored him. Suddenly, feeling a sharp pang on her buttock, Wei Shao's large palm heavily pinched her there.

She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her. Biting her lip, she had no choice but to mumble a vague "mm-hmm" twice. Wei Shao then smiled, revealing a slightly smug expression as he gathered her into his embrace. A moment later, he said, "Your younger brother seems to harbor a prejudice against me." His tone was indifferent.

Xiao Qiao was taken aback, and she carefully observed his expression.

His countenance was calm, as if he had merely chanced upon the thought and stated such a sentence to her, revealing no other underlying emotions. Furthermore, with just such a simple statement, it truly left her somewhat uncertain of his purpose in suddenly mentioning it, so she asked, "Could it be that my younger brother's etiquette was lacking, and he offended Husband?"

Wei Shao paused for a moment. "He has not."

Xiao Qiao breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Since he has not offended you, why does Husband say he harbors a prejudice against you?"

Wei Shao remained silent.

Xiao Qiao could not quite understand what he meant exactly. After a brief thought, she explained, "How could my younger brother harbor a prejudice against Husband? It is just that he is usually unruly at home and is still rather ignorant. Fearing that his behavior upon arriving here might be improper and invite ridicule, I specifically cautioned him at the start that he must strictly abide by etiquette in every instance, and absolutely must not speak without restraint or utter wild words as he does at home, maintaining the dignity of an adult at all times. Having listened to my strict advice, he was likely somewhat constrained in your presence, which must be what invited your misunderstanding."

Hearing this, Wei Shao cast a glance at her and merely smiled, as if letting the topic pass. He raised his hand and changed to twirling her long hair around his fingers. After playing with it for a moment, he suddenly seemed to recall something else: "That Gao of Bohai, has he departed?"

With one side of her cheek pressed against his chest, Xiao Qiao closed her eyes and hummed an assent. "He left last month. At that time, he came to the estate to pay his respects and bid farewell; Grandmother even received him."

Wei Shao let out a snort from his nose. "Did you actually agree to let him act as your guide to go to Hanzhong and view the cliffside calligraphic inscriptions in the future?"

Xiao Qiao was rendered textually stunned for a moment by this sudden, inexplicable sentence of his. Thinking back for a while, she finally recalled the origin. It seemed that on the day she was casually conversing with Gao Heng inside the Queen Mother's Temple, Gao Heng had merely spoken a sentence. Wei Shao happened to come over at that time and had likely overheard it as well; with so much time having passed, it was quite a feat that he still remembered. She could not help but find it somewhat amusing, opening her eyes: "That day was merely a casual remark, yet you actually took it seriously?"

Wei Shao's palm slowly caressed her smooth, satin-like bare body, which had not yet been dressed in her clothes, approaching her ear as he said, "That piece of cliffside calligraphy at Yunmen in Hanzhong, created during the previous dynasty, is indeed extraordinary. It is a pity that Hanzhong is currently still in the hands of Lezheng Gong. If you truly wish to admire it, wait until the day I capture Hanzhong in the future, and I shall chisel the entire cliffside down and move it home to let you look at it to your heart's content."

Xiao Qiao let out a sharp laugh and reached out her hand to heavily pinch his arm. "I absolutely do not want you to perform such a coarse, mood-spoiling act as burning a lute to cook a crane! If I wish to view it, I shall go and view it myself in the future!"

Wei Shao raised his brows slightly. "Do you think of me as merely a martial man who only knows how to fight and kill? I entered school at five and learned painting at seven; at that time, my maternal elder cousin and I simultaneously bowed to Master Meng, who had served as a Doctor of the Imperial Academy for twenty years, as our teacher. 'Meng of the North excels in painting, Zhang of the South is skilled in calligraphy.' How can the likes of Gao Heng even be compared to Meng and Zhang? You must have also heard of Master Meng's name in the North, correct?"

Xiao Qiao suppressed her laughter, speaking with an intensely serious expression: "It is I who have been disrespectful. So it turns out you are a man of hidden depths. Had I known this earlier, the murals of the Queen Mother's Temple ought to have troubled the Marquis to personally paint them; perhaps they could have been passed down to posterity, establishing a grand reputation in painting for you."

Wei Shao laughed and said, "Do you think I am deceiving you? I studied for two or three years, but had no great interest and stopped halfway. Maternal Elder Cousin, however, studied much longer than I did, and can paint an exceptionally wonderful hand of figures. It is just that few people know of it nowadays. There seem to be several pieces of my practice works from those years remaining in my study; if you do not believe me, I shall fetch them to show you."

Xiao Qiao repeatedly nudged him. "Very well, go and fetch them, let me behold the grace of the Marquis's masterly hand at painting from those years."

Her words were filled with a vibrant smile, urging him continuously.

It was the first time Wei Shao had seen her reveal such a natural and lively manner in his presence. Her long hair was scattered across the pillow, her eyes contained a smile, and her charmingly endearing expression was simply difficult to depict with ink and brush. Being pushed on the shoulder by another lift of her jade palm, his bones felt as if they had lightened by a fraction. How could he possibly withstand the provocation? He immediately flipped himself out of the bed and leapt onto the floor, stating as he donned his garments, "Wait here and I shall fetch them to show you! It is not my own boast; Master Meng praised me back then for possessing spiritual resonance, it was merely that I myself lacked the patience to study and thus abandoned it halfway! Nowadays, although I do not wield a paintbrush, I can still discern the good from the bad in calligraphy and painting!"

Xiao Qiao lay prone on the pillow, supporting her chin with both hands clenched into fists, looking at him with a beaming smile as he casually threw on a piece of inner clothing and hurriedly exited the room. Leaving Xiao Qiao alone on the bed, recalling Wei Shao's proud expression when boasting about his understanding of calligraphy and painting just now, she felt increasingly amused. Flipping over, she pulled the quilt high to cover her face, giggling into it all over again.

Xiao Qiao waited for a short while, thinking that Wei Shao ought to have retrieved the paintings and returned, yet he was nowhere to be seen. She gradually grew suspicious. Just as she was thinking of heading over herself to see exactly what he was doing, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching the door. At first, she thought it was Wei Shao, but upon listening closer, it was not. The door was subsequently pushed open, and a maidservant entered, bowing as she stated that the Lord requested her to personally go to the study.

Xiao Qiao thus dressed herself. Facing the mirror, she used her fingers to lightly comb through her loose, draped hair, securing it with a silk ribbon so it hung loosely behind her head, and stepped out to head toward the study. Reaching the front of the door, she pushed open the slightly ajar door, seeing Wei Shao standing with his back to her before that storage cabinet grid on the western wall, and smiled, saying, "Did you not say you would fetch them for me to look at? Why must I come myself instead..."

Wei Shao slowly turned his head. Xiao Qiao was slightly taken aback, and the smile on her face froze completely.

She saw that Wei Shao's countenance was indifferent, and the two eyes he threw over carried not a fraction of tender warmth. He was like a completely different person compared to his manner in the bedchamber just a moment prior, as though he had suddenly switched faces.

Xiao Qiao hesitated slightly, and the smile on her face faded away as well. Nonetheless, she stepped over the threshold of the study, walking a few paces toward him as she asked tentatively, "Husband called for me just now?"

Wei Shao stared at her for a long moment, then said coldly, "Have you moved this chest of mine?"

Xiao Qiao glanced at the drawer compartment.

What he pointed to was precisely the chest that she could not resist taking out to look at a few times when she came to the study several days ago, after he had left for Zhuo County and forgotten to bring a document scroll, dispatching someone back to retrieve it.

She remembered that she had returned it exactly as it was at that time; she had not expected that even so, he would discern traces of it being moved. Her heart was suddenly filled with intense regret—regretting that she ought not to have ignored his original warning that day, only to invite this unpleasantness upon herself at this moment.

Xiao Qiao lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, "It is truly my fault. On the day you dispatched someone back to retrieve the document scroll, when I came over, I happened to see it inadvertently, and out of a moment of curiosity, I handled it briefly..."

She truly felt ashamed of her own conduct, and her face grew slightly hot and flushed.

"But rest assured, I did not open the chest..." She took a breath and added.

"I am afraid it is because you could not open it, correct?"

Wei Shao coldly interrupted her words.

Xiao Qiao was taken aback, raising her eyes to look at him. She saw that his gaze was icy, and hidden within it, there seemed to be a faint trace of disgust.

It had been some time since she last saw him reveal such a gaze toward her. Furthermore, just a moment ago, the two of them were deeply affectionate with each other; for him to suddenly revert to his former appearance left her without the slightest psychological preparation. Stunned, she stared at him fixedly. Realizing the situation a moment later, she directed her line of sight toward that chest. She saw that several obvious scratches had unexpectedly appeared upon the nine-palace grid lock, as though someone had attempted to forcefully break it open using a tool akin to a knife. It was merely that it could not be opened, which was why the attempt had been abandoned.

Xiao Qiao was shocked and immediately said, "I admit that I did handle this chest briefly at that time, but I returned it very quickly. I absolutely have never touched this nine-palace grid lock, much less attempted to break the lock!"

Wei Shao said coldly, "In this study of mine, who else enters and exits at will besides you? I remember on your first day arriving at my estate, I spoke to you, telling you not to touch this object! Why did you still move it? It appears I have treated you far too leniently!"

Xiao Qiao's face turned slightly pale, and she said, "It is my fault for failing to heed your warning and moving the chest. I know my mistake. However, I still maintain those same words: I handled it briefly at that time and returned it very quickly. As for who scratched the lock into this state, I do not know."

Wei Shao stared at her, his brows knit tightly. Suddenly, he walked past her side, pushed open the door, and exited the study without once turning his head.

Once his footsteps gradually faded into the distance and finally vanished beside her ears, Xiao Qiao slowly turned her head. She saw the two doors of the study wide open, the night outside dark and gloomy, the doorway completely empty, with only a patch of dim shadow cast upon the ground by the candlelight.

Xiao Qiao's heart beat somewhat fast, and a thin layer of cold sweat broke out across her back. Gradually, her two legs also seemed to turn weak, making it somewhat grueling to stand. In the end, supporting herself against the grid shelf, she slowly sat down upon a nearby couch, falling into a daze alone.

After a short while, a flurry of footsteps sounded, and someone crossed the threshold, entering swiftly.

Xiao Qiao raised her eyes, seeing that Nanny Chun had arrived.

She came straight before Xiao Qiao and crouched down, supporting both of her arms as her face revealed a look of worry: "What has occurred? Everything was perfectly fine originally, yet when the Lord returned to the room just now, this servant saw that his expression was terrible; he donned his garments and headed outside without uttering a single word. And the Lady is sitting here all alone! Exactly what has occurred?"

She grasped Xiao Qiao's hand and cried out, "Why is your hand so cold? Follow this servant back to the room quickly."

Xiao Qiao had already gradually steadied her state of mind. Withdrawing her hand, she stood up and spoke with her usual expression, "It is nothing major. It is merely that a slight misunderstanding has arisen."

Nanny Chun was her own confidante, so Xiao Qiao did not conceal it from her either, mentioning the reason that had incensed Wei Shao just now.

Nanny Chun was greatly shocked and said anxiously, "Since the Lady stated that the lock was not opened, then it naturally was not opened! The Lord refused to believe it, which is why he departed in anger? What is to be done about this?"

"During these past few days in our western chambers, have any outsiders entered or exited?"

"These past few days this servant was present throughout, and did not see any outsiders entering or exiting. It is only today that this servant accompanied the Lady to escort the Old Madam to the Jinlong Temple." Nanny Chun furrowed her brows. "The Lady should return to the room first; there is no need to worry. This servant shall go and interrogate them immediately. Lady, await my news."

Nanny Chun intended to support her up.

Xiao Qiao nodded her head, stating that she was fine, and rose by herself to head straight back to the bedchamber.

...

Wei Shao exited the western chambers and went outside, subsequently ordering someone to lead his horse. Flipping himself atop it, he headed straight toward the administrative government office.

The night wind blew against his face, and his originally somewhat heated forehead gradually cooled down. The image of the Qiao daughter explaining herself to him in the study a moment prior continuously surfaced before his eyes.

Usually, when she spoke with him, she always loved to lower her eyes, leaving him somewhat unable to see clearly what exactly was hidden within her gaze. Yet just now, when she defended herself, her two eyes had been locked in a mutual gaze with his from beginning to end, without a fraction of hesitation, evasion, or concealed unease.

Or rather, it was that he could not discern any meaning of hesitation, evasion, or concealment within her gaze.

In that case, there were only two possibilities. The first was that she was adept at lying, to the extent that even he could not catch the slightest flaw from within her gaze. The second was that she truly had never pried at the nine-palace lock.

If it were the first possibility, the Qiao daughter was far too deep, her calculation terrifying.

But if it were the second possibility...

Wei Shao's mood suddenly grew somewhat chaotic, and he felt an incomparable surge of vexed irritation.

Drawing close to the front gates of the government office, he suddenly halted his horse, turned his steed around, and returned to the Wei estate. Entering the gates and heading inward, upon reaching that fork in the road, he came to a stop. Casting a distant glance toward the direction of the eastern chambers, he turned his body and walked over with large strides.