The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 68

Chapter 68

During the Luli Assembly yesterday, the person who had stolen the spotlight the most was undoubtedly Qiao Ci. Not only had he valiantly claimed the title of Stag Champion, winning over everyone's hearts with his distinguished demeanor, but his dashing silhouette as a beautiful young youth in a white robe wielding twin ji halberds in the riding and archery arena had spread throughout Yuyang overnight. When the group passed through the main thoroughfare to leave the city, word got out that the younger brother of the Stag Champion Lady was departing today, and countless women vied to flood the streets just to catch a glimpse of Qiao Ci's handsome youthful presence. Being watched out of the city like this along the entire road, Qiao Ci's spotlight even eclipsed that of his brother-in-law, the Lord.

Once outside the city gates, Wei Shao brought his steps to a halt. After Yang Feng, the Yanzhou envoy, finished delivering a stream of conventional pleasantries expressing gratitude for their host's thoughtful hospitality during these days, Qiao Ci also expressed his thanks to Wei Shao. It was merely that toward this brother-in-law of his, he ultimately could not generate a feeling of closeness. Observing that Wei Shao was also somewhat distant toward him, a layer of estrangement seemed to lie between them, and once his thanks were expressed, there was nothing more to say. In his heart, he was actually somewhat concerned about Wei Yan. Recalling that after the Luli Assembly yesterday, he had not seen him at the feast at all, he could not resist peering back inside the direction of the city gates a few times.

Wei Shao guessed he must be looking for Wei Yan, yet his face did not betray a single shred of it, and he merely uttered a word to take care on the road. Qiao Ci had no choice but to mount his horse and turn around. The group departed Yuyang, embarking upon the southward road back to Yanzhou.

...

After Wei Shao left, Madame Xu dispatched someone to summon Zhu Quan over to inquire about Wei Yan's whereabouts. Hearing him say that he had not caught a glimpse of Wei Yan's face since yesterday either, she asked, "You serve him closely; have you detected any differences between him and his usual self recently?"

Zhu Quan said, "Reporting to the Old Madame. This servant was also thinking of coming over to report a word these past few days. The Commandery Duke has indeed been somewhat different from before during these recent days."

"Different in what way? Relate everything; do not leave anything out."

"The Commandery Duke has not frequently drawn close to his concubines recently, and I saw him appearing as if his mind were heavily burdened. Before going toward Dai County some days ago, he even dismissed all three of the women in the house. He also locked the door of his bedchamber from the inside, giving strict orders that no one was permitted to enter without authorization."

"Do you know why he is being so anomalous?"

"This servant truly does not know." Zhu Quan shook his head. "It was also a coincidence; a few days later, the house caught fire."

Madame Xu pondered for a moment. "Aside from this, was there any other difference? For instance, whether he had any unusual interactions with anyone?"

"The Commandery Duke has lived in seclusion and seldom gone out recently. This servant has not seen any anomalies. When he returns during the night, he also drinks wine alone."

"Where does he usually go? Have you gone to inquire if anyone has seen him?"

Zhu Quan said, "Reporting to the Old Madame, seeing that the Commandery Duke did not return the entire night, I thought of how he frequently went to the Luozhong Quarters in the past, so I sought him out over there this morning. I did happen to hear of a matter..."

He revealed a look of hesitation and stopped.

"What matter?" Madame Xu's single eye cast over.

"I heard the gatekeeper mention that after night fell yesterday, the Lord actually went there to look for the Commandery Duke. According to the gatekeeper's words, the Lord appeared to be intoxicated by wine at that time, barging straight inside, and the room door was also kicked open by the Lord. At that time, he seemed to have a conflict with the Commandery Duke. Subsequently, the Lord and the Commandery Duke left the door one after the other, and what happened after that is unknown."

Madame Xu's brows knit together slightly. Zhu Quan held his breath and restrained his composure. After a moment, Madame Xu said, "I am aware. You may go down."

After Zhu Quan responded and withdrew, Madame Xu was lost in thought alone for a brief moment, then had someone summon Lady Zhu over again.

Lady Zhu had spoken of that matter to her son on an impulse last night. Although she initially felt a sense of relief in her heart, upon careful reflection afterward, she ultimately still felt somewhat terrified. She had not slept a good night's sleep either. She had just been summoned once by Madame Xu for questioning this morning, and before her backside could even warm her seat upon returning, she saw another word coming from over there telling her to go over. Suspecting that the matter of last night was already known by Madame Xu, she was immensely terrified. After hesitating again and again, knowing that hiding was impossible to manage, she could only steel herself to come over, bowing down as she said, "For what matter has Mother called me here?"

Madame Xu said, "Last night you went to the western rooms to see Shao'er. Regarding the wounds upon his face, how did he speak of it to you?"

Hearing that she was asking about this, Lady Zhu let out a sigh of relief and hastily repeated Wei Shao's words, saying with resentment, "I, however, do not believe it. Looking at the condition of the injuries upon his face, it was clearly beaten out by someone! I asked him, yet he refused to admit it to the absolute death, biting firmly onto the claim that he was injured by riding a horse. I do not know what audacious creature actually dared to injure my son. If it is made known to me, I will certainly show no light mercy!"

Madame Xu acted as if she had not heard, merely asking, "Afterward when Shao'er escorted you back to your room, did you two speak of anything else?"

Lady Zhu's heart gave a sudden leap. Meeting that single eye of Madame Xu that was currently looking over, she forced herself to maintain composure and said, "We did not. After he escorted me to my destination, he returned." Although her mouth spoke in this manner, her gaze unconsciously betrayed a trace of a guilty conscience. She dared not lock eyes with Madame Xu all the more, lowering her line of sight as soon as she finished speaking.

Inside the room, there were only the two of them, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and at this moment it was so quiet that the sound of a needle dropping to the ground could seemingly be heard.

Lady Zhu knew that Madame Xu opposite her was watching. Holding her breath, she dared not breathe even a large breath of air. After a long while, she heard Madame Xu's cold voice coming over: "Last night, you were the person who saw the final glimpse of Shao'er. I heard from my grandson's wife this morning that he was still perfectly fine before he was called out the door by you. How is it that after he escorted you for a trip, turning his head, the person could not be seen for the entire night? To speak the truth to you, I already know everything! It was you who told him about Yan'er's matter, correct?"

Lady Zhu's shoulders trembled slightly, and raising her eyes, she saw Madame Xu's single eye staring dead at her, her expression ice-cold. She instantly thought of how her son had come to the northern rooms upon returning this morning; it ought to be that he failed to heed her reminders from later last night and had already spoken of the matter to Madame Xu. Her heart could not help but burst into a fit of wild thumping, her face revealing panic as she became tongue-tied, temporarily unable to speak a word.

Madame Xu had originally merely harbored this single layer of doubt. When she called Lady Zhu for the first time this morning, she saw that her gaze was unsteady. Having interacted for several decades, she could tell with a single glance that she was concealing something. Only then had she called her over again just now. Seeing this kind of reaction from her, the suspicion was verified within her heart. She could not help but explode in a towering rage, fiercely striking the table as she barked sternly, "What immense audacity you have! To actually dare go behind my back to speak wild nonsense before Shao'er, driving a wedge between brothers!"

During these past several decades, although Madame Xu did not highly favor Lady Zhu, she would absolutely never berate her with such stern looks and rapid tones as at this moment. As for before outsiders, she gave her all the due face she deserved. Lady Zhu's face turned sallow from fright, and she almost could not remain kneeling and sitting. Tears then gathered within her eyes as she prostrated upon the ground to defend herself, saying, "Mother appease your anger, allow me to utter a word of defense. It is not that I deliberately wished to drive a wedge between brothers. It has been nearly thirty years; if I had always harbored a wicked mind, I would not have waited until now to speak of it either. Mother does not know, I am truly worried. Shao'er's character is loyal and upright, never setting up defenses against anyone. If it were another matter it would be fine, but that Wei Yan'er carries a complex origin. My Wei family has raised a Xiongnu child, one raising lasting for thirty years, which will be a disaster sooner or later. If Shao'er does not know a single bit of it, I fear he will suffer a great loss in the future..."

With a huala sound, Madame Xu was unable to restrain her towering rage, actually fiercely overturning that heavy fragrant solid-wood low table beside her hand onto the ground. The entirety of the objects upon the table smashed down, and the dishes, basins, bottles, and jars shattered and bounced across the ground. The noise startled Nanny Zhong outside the door, who flurried inside in a haste. Seeing Lady Zhu crawling upon the ground, while Madame Xu on that side had a deathly pale face, her finger pointing at Lady Zhu on the ground as if she could not catch a single breath of air, she was struck with immense panic, rushing up to support her in a firm grip, continuously rubbing her chest and back. After a long while, a long ah sound came out from Madame Xu's throat, and only then did she ease a breath of air out, saying in a trembling voice, "Tell her to get out!"

Nanny Zhong cast a glance at Lady Zhu, and seeing that she was already shivering all over from fright, hastily requested her to withdraw first. Lady Zhu's hands and feet were soft, and she barely managed to crawl up from the ground, departing in a hurry and carrying shame, which needs no further mention. Nanny Zhong and another servant woman supported Madame Xu to the bedside, where she lay down. She ordered the servant woman to go out, remaining by her side to accompany her herself. After a long while, seeing that Madame Xu's originally deathly pale face gradually recovered some color, only then did she feel slightly at ease. Just as she was about to ask what food and drink she required, she suddenly saw Madame Xu slowly open her eyes, saying, "Prepare the carriage. I wish to go out."

Although her voice still carried some fatigue, it was already her habitual composure.

Nanny Zhong assented.

...

Wei Shao escorted Qiao Ci out of the city, and it was already past noon when he returned, heading straight to the Luozhong Quarters.

During the daytime, the Luozhong Quarters was quiet and devoid of people. He entered through the back door, passing through a corridor shaded by dark green trees, and stopped before the doorway of a secluded lodging. Pushing open the half-closed door, he stepped inside.

Wei Yan had been here since last night. The large windows on the left and right of the room were open opposite each other, and the wind passed through the chamber from north to south. He sat cross-legged upon a couch in the middle, his hair uncombed, wearing only a loose piece of white inner clothing upon his body, his collar wide open, his two eyes closed, and his cheeks having sprouted a layer of short, chaotic beard stubble, his state being extremely wretched, completely devoid of his usual elegant and untrammeled romance of riding a horse past a slanting bridge while a whole building of red sleeves beckoned. Hearing the door open and Wei Shao's footsteps drawing near, he slowly opened his eyes. Seeing him in the full formal attire of a feudal lord, standing opposite himself, his originally formidable and tall form set off by the formal attire to appear increasingly upright and awe-inspiring, he looked out at him for a moment, then suddenly said, "You already know of my secret communication back and forth with the Xiongnu people, yet you leave me here like this. Are you not afraid I might flee?"

Wei Shao went to his opposite side, sitting across the table from him as he said, "If you deliberately choose to flee like this, I shall just consider that I lost a brother of twenty years."

Wei Yan did not speak.

Wei Shao said, "I only want a single phrase from you, to sever all communication back and forth with the Xiongnu from now on. Then how it was in the past, is how it will still be in the future."

"How it was in the past, how it will be in the future..."

Wei Yan murmured and repeated it once, raising his eyes, his gaze lingering upon his face, lost in thought, when suddenly he revealed a trace of a peculiar expression.

"Even the crime of my harboring adoration for and even going behind your back to defile your wife, you will no longer count it against me either?"

He gazed fixedly at Wei Shao, speaking in a slow and deliberate manner.

A trace of dark, heavy gloom quickly welled up within Wei Shao's eyes, yet his expression remained without a ripple.

"How could I possibly slaughter every single person in the world who offends me?"

He said flatly.

Wei Yan was startled, then suddenly let out a wild, hearty laugh, even rocking back and forth: "Second Brother, in the past although I honored you as the Lord, in the depths of my heart I have always refused to submit to you. It is only today that I know, just based on this phrase you can utter, the position of the Patriarch of the Wei Family belongs to none other than you!"

He kept laughing, his posture wild and uninhibited, laughing to the point that tears appeared to come out.

Wei Shao kept looking at him. Waiting until he stopped, only then did he say, "How is it? Have you thought it through?"

The state of wild laughter from just now gradually faded from Wei Yan's face, and turning his head to look at a patch of mottled tree shadows cast from the foliage through the southern window, he was lost in thought for a moment. Turning his head back, he said slowly, "Second Brother, you can choose not to count my offense toward your wife, and you can also choose not to count the vile Xiongnu blood born inside my body, it is merely that I can only tell you, I cannot return to the past, and I can never again become that elder brother who takes assisting you as his heavenly mandate! Unless you kill me, otherwise I shall..."

"Otherwise you shall what?"

An aged voice suddenly rang out from outside the door, and following that, the door opened in response to the sound.

Wei Shao and Wei Yan looked over together, seeing Madame Xu standing outside the door leaning upon her walking stick at an unknown time. Both of them were startled together.

Wei Shao reacted very quickly, hastily rising to welcome her, his expression slightly tense.

"Grandmother, why would you come here..."

Madame Xu, however, did not look at him. She stepped into the study on her own, walking past Wei Shao's front, her single eye gazing at Wei Yan, whose expression was still stiff as he sat upon the couch. She walked toward him, finally stopping before him.

"Otherwise you shall what?"

Madame Xu fiercely thumped her walking stick, questioning him once more, her single eye shooting forth a chilly light that made one dare not look straight at her.

Wei Yan finally rose his body slowly. Suddenly, he knelt down once more, performing a grand ceremony, knocking his forehead against the ground, not rising for a long time.

"Unfilial maternal grandson Yan, takes the audacity to earnestly beseech Maternal Grandmother to fulfill my wish and release me to depart."

He said word by word.

Wei Shao's face revealed a look of rage, the green veins upon his forehead faintly bursting forth.

Madame Xu stared at Wei Yan, who was kneeling for a long duration before herself. Her expression initially turned to rage, and that hand holding the walking stick was also trembling slightly.

After a long while, the look of rage upon her face gradually faded away.

"Well said." She said, "You ask me to fulfill your wish. If I fulfill your wish, who then comes to fulfill my heart's wish?"

Her voice carried fatigue, revealing a trace of a helpless kind of desolation.

Wei Yan slowly raised his head, meeting Madame Xu's gaze.

"The greatest mistake your Maternal Grandmother has made in this lifetime is you, Yan'er. My mistake, the mistake lies not in having raised you, but in that I mistakenly taught you!"

Wei Yan remained silent.

Madame Xu appeared to fall into the memory of past events. After a moment, she said, "Yan'er, your mother was my only daughter. I loved her like a pearl upon my palm. Yet she was unfortunately abducted and forcibly taken by the Xiongnu King. Returning three years later, she had already nurtured you inside her belly, and she departed from the world upon giving birth. Clearly knowing your father was an adversarial person, clearly knowing your life origin might become an inherent hazard in the future, I still kept you to raise you to adulthood. This was not a mistake. If I were to return to that initial moment when your mother gave birth to you, I would also make such a decision. You are the sole remaining bone and blood of your mother in the world; regardless of who your father is, you are my maternal grandson, and I would absolutely never abandon you. My mistake lies in my teaching and upbringing of you!"

She exhaled a long breath of air.

"The Han and the Xiongnu stand opposed, and all along, attacks and campaigns have been continuous. The wronged souls of Han natives who have perished beneath the iron hooves of the Xiongnu are countless, and the Xiongnu herders slaughtered by Han natives are also equivalent. I have always worried that if you were told of your life origin, it would cause you to be at a loss as to what to follow, and even cause suspicion to grow within your heart. Therefore when you were young, I tightly concealed this matter. Thinking in my heart to wait until you grew a bit older, then relate it to you in detail. Waiting until you grew a bit older, I saw you full of mettle, carefree and without worries, and I could not bear to open my mouth to add to your disturbances. Waiting until you grew older still, to fourteen or fifteen years of age, you had already followed your maternal uncle to begin killing the Xiongnu. At that time I could open my mouth to you even less—that you and those Xiongnu people whose heads were chopped off by you were actually of the same clan! Day after day, year after year, Maternal Grandmother harbored hesitation and fluke, while you already grew up, up until today!"

 

"Yan'er! I should not have mistakenly taught you, causing you to mistakenly believe you are a Han native. I ought to have let you know early on that although half of your bloodline comes from an alien race, you are eternally and generationally a person of my Wei family! Up until today, everything is entirely a mistake cast by myself! You want to leave now; could it be to punish Maternal Grandmother's mistake of teaching and upbringing?"

As Madame Xu spoke to the point of emotion, two rows of tears fell down.

Within Wei Yan's eyes, there was also a faint tearful light.

"Maternal Grandmother! Not only do you bear no blame for teaching and upbringing, but you conversely hold the grace of nurturing and raising toward me! I also know you acted out of care and love, and only because of this did your mind become disordered, delaying and failing to let me know! My gratitude is insufficient; from where would a claim of punishment come? Today's mistake is truly completely a mistake of my own self! What does it have to do with Maternal Grandmother again!"

Madame Xu said, "Since you do not blame me, why must you insist on having your own way?"

Wei Yan closed his eyes for a brief moment. Opening them, he said, "The mistake lies entirely in me, in the inherent evil and incorrect state of mind inside my bloodlines! Maternal Grandmother, you have never known that from the moment I understood matters, I thought of why I share the surname Wei, I am older than Second Brother, and my talents also receive the recognition of others, yet why is Second Brother naturally destined to be the Patriarch, while I can only be a family vassal on the side? This thought has followed me like a shadow for over ten years, burrowing into my heart like a snake. Even though I hate it, I cannot drive it away! In the past I was still able to exercise restraint. Three years ago, after I learned of my life origin from the mouth of a Xiongnu person who sought me out, this evil thought daily germinated, and I could no longer rid myself of it!"

Madame Xu's face revealed shock. Wei Shao on the side also stared fixedly at Wei Yan, his expression freezing slightly.

"I am jealous of Second Brother, and I also hate the unfairness of creation! Second Brother is a natural Patriarch with outstanding talents, marrying a beautiful woman as his wife, while what do I have?"

Wei Yan's expression was peculiar, carrying a half-smile that was not a smile, "Maternal Grandmother, from when I was young, you hired a Doctor of the Luoyang Imperial Academy to earnestly instruct and teach me. Yet I only remembered a single phrase: rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. Maternal Grandmother, it is your grandson who has failed you. The evil of my paternal bloodline destines that I shall be unable to remain content with the status of a Wei family vassal! I am not a gentleman either! My state of mind causes me to have never been able to become a so-called gentleman! Now that matters have reached this point, even if Maternal Grandmother and Second Brother do not count past grudges, I myself have no face to remain. Remaining by force, it will also be difficult for me to change back into that Wei Yan of the past! I shall also suffer the torment and pain of day and night. Maternal Grandmother, your grandson begs you, it would be better to release me to depart, calling me to obtain liberation."

"Elder Brother!" Wei Shao suddenly let out a shout to stop him, "You actually dare to speak such wild words so brazenly before Grandmother!"

Wei Yan turned his head, gazing at Wei Shao as he revealed a trace of a bitter smile: "Second Brother, I am different from you. You possess the demeanor of a great man. If I am naturally born a fierce outlaw, I cannot walk that righteous path of a gentleman."

He turned toward Madame Xu, knocking his head heavily: "Earnestly beseech Maternal Grandmother to fulfill my wish!"

Within that single eye of Madame Xu that was covered with a white film, it was at this moment also filled with tearful light, gazing at Wei Yan who was knocking his head toward her upon the ground: "Do you suppose that by going to an alien race, you can truly be as you wish, from then on doing as you please, ruling as a king and claiming hegemony?"

"Succeeding is my fortune. Failing is my fate. Though I die, I shall have no regrets." Wei Yan said.

Wei Shao fiercely drew his long sword, the tip of the sword pressing toward Wei Yan's throat, his two eyes crimson red as he uttered word by word, "Do you actually suppose I will let you go to the Xiongnu alive?"

Wei Yan closed his eyes, entirely in a posture of seeking death.

Wei Shao's breathing gradually became rapid, the tip of the sword piercing toward Wei Yan's throat inch by inch, trembling slightly.

Madame Xu stared fixedly at Wei Yan, and suddenly said, "Forget it, each person has his own ambitions. He is bent on seeking departure, and he cannot be kept by force."

Wei Shao turned his head abruptly, looking at Madame Xu.

Madame Xu's eye still contained tears, yet her expression gradually turned cold and condensed. Staring at Wei Yan, she said slowly, "You want to leave, I shall not block you. For a person to be alive in the world, to be depressed and fail to achieve his ambitions is indeed a life worse than death. In the future if you are willing to recognize me, I am also your Maternal Grandmother. It is merely that there is a phrase I must speak clearly with you. If there comes a day when your weapons are turned back, assisting the Xiongnu people to cruelly abuse Han natives, even if I turn into a ghost, I shall absolutely never forgive you!"

Wei Yan placed his left hand flat upon the table, his five fingers spread out, and his right hand drew a short dagger from inside his boot. A chilly light flashed past, and he actually severed his pinky finger cleanly at the root.

His face turned slightly pale, blood gushing like a spring from the cut of the pinky finger, yet his expression remained completely motionless as he said, "Yan swears with this severed finger: during Maternal Grandmother's lifetime, Yan shall absolutely never injure a single nail or a single individual of the Han natives! In the future when Grandmother passes after a hundred years, if Yan is fortunate enough to achieve his ambitions, if the Han natives do not offend me, I shall also certainly not offend them first!"

Madame Xu stood in silence for a brief moment, then turned her body around to walk slowly toward the doorway.

Her steps were sluggish, and her back silhouette in this split second appeared to have become stooped by countless degrees.

Wei Shao stared fixedly at Wei Yan, and suddenly let out an enraged roar, swinging his sword straight down toward Wei Yan's head with a sudden chop.

Wei Yan still remained motionless.

The sword edge grazed slantingly past the top of his head, severing a corner of that low table before Wei Yan with a single strike, and a wisp of hair strands also subsequently drifted down slowly onto the ground.

With a dang sound, Wei Shao tossed his sword onto the ground, turned his body around, and departed with rapid steps.