The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Leaving Yuyang and traversing two hundred li southwest past Zhuo County, there lay a walled city named Yi.

The carriage carrying Su Euhuang away from Yuyang had traveled at an unhurried, leisurely pace. On this day, they arrived at this walled city. Because the people were weary and the horses fatigued, and she herself felt physically indisposed, the entire party halted to rest in the city for several days.

She was the widow of the late Emperor Xuan's younger brother, the Duke of Zuo Fengyi, Liu Li. Born into a noble family of the Kingdom of Zhongshan, she was also connected by blood and marriage to the Wei family. Possessing an elevated status, the Magistrate of Yi City treated her with proper etiquette when he learned that she had paused her journey back to Zhongshan due to physical indisposition.

On the evening of the second day, her nephew Su Xin caught up with them. The very first words out of his mouth upon meeting were: "I did not receive any message from our contact as agreed, so I followed your prior instructions, Aunt, and swiftly departed the city. Nanny Jiang must have failed."

Su Xin's expression was exceedingly dejected.

A pair of beautiful eyebrows knit tightly on Su Euhuang's face. A deep flash of disappointment flitted through her eyes, but her expression returned to normal very quickly. She said indifferently, "If she failed, she failed. Why be so dejected? Most things in this world do not go as one wishes. When I was planning this, I had already prepared myself for failure."

Seeing her so calm, Su Xin's dejection was entirely swept away. He said, "I acted according to your instructions, Aunt. While the marquis's Madam was fast asleep, I fed her the Bodhi Goodness, and I quietly departed before the sky even turned bright."

Thinking of that woman who was bound to lose her life whether the matter succeeded or failed, he ultimately felt it was a bit of a pity. He could not resist adding, "I saw that she was highly sycophantic toward you, Aunt, and my interactions with her were prudent. I estimate we did not fall into the eyes of outsiders. Let alone if the matter succeeded, even though it has failed now, I reckon nothing will happen on her end. Why did you insist that I kill her, Aunt?"

Su Euhuang said, "How do you know your interactions with her never fell into anyone's eyes? And how do you know that in the event of failure, she wouldn't confess my name? What is wrong with killing a few people? For men to scheme for hegemony and power, a million corpses are laid out, and blood flows far enough to float pestles. For the sake of what I desire, why can I not kill a few people? You are a tall, grown man—how can you possess such womanly compassion?"

Rebuked by her, Su Xin's face showed a look of shame. He gritted his teeth and said, "What Aunt says is right. Your nephew accepts the teaching. It is only hateful that Nanny Jiang was incompetent, wasting Aunt's painstaking efforts."

He suddenly seemed to recall something: "But how did Aunt know that Nanny Jiang would keep her mouth sealed like a bottle for you? In the event that she cannot withstand a forced confession under interrogation and speaks of you, Aunt, what should be done?"

Su Euhuang said, "The hardest thing to control in the world is the human heart. The easiest thing to control is also the human heart. If you can clearly discern what a person truly thinks and what they want, you can manipulate them just like maneuvering a puppet."

"Not only will this Nanny Jiang not confess my name, I reckon she has already taken her own life by this moment to repay my kindness to her."

Su Euhuang said with a slight smile.

Su Xin stared blankly at Su Euhuang for a long while before asking, "Aunt has always been exceptionally wise and prudent; your nephew respects and submits to you immensely. But there is one matter your nephew does not understand, and I hope Aunt will grant me enlightenment. Although the matter failed this time, and it is an immense pity that we failed to eliminate the old woman of the Wei family, I still do not understand. Since Aunt wishes to win the heart of the Marquis of Yan, why didn't you borrow Nanny Jiang's hand to directly eliminate the Qiao girl this time? Instead, you went to such great lengths and put such painstaking effort into eliminating that old woman?"

Su Euhuang said, "Who is the Qiao girl? Nothing more than a daughter of the Wei family's enemy. Zhong married her only for the land of Yanzhou; what is there to fear? That old woman is different. Her prejudice against me is extremely deep, and Zhong listens to her every word, never opposing her. As long as she is at his side for one day, even if Zhong has feelings for me, he would absolutely never dare draw near. You excel at riding and archery. To shoot a rider, one must first shoot the horse. There should be no need for me to say more on this principle."

Su Xin's face showed a look of deep respect and submission. He flattered her, saying, "Aunt is indeed no ordinary, vulgar woman. Your nephew throws himself to the ground in admiration! From now on, I swear to serve Aunt unto death, hoping that one day wealth and honor will be bestowed upon us to revive our Su family's threshold and console our ancestors!"

Su Euhuang smiled and remained silent.

When Su Xin asked her just now why she didn't eliminate the Qiao girl first, aside from that answer, she did not tell her nephew that her reluctance to touch the Qiao girl right now actually stemmed from a subtle, competitive woman's heart that refused to admit defeat.

It was in the Kingdom of Zhongshan that Su Euhuang had encountered the Qiao girl for the first time.

At the very first glance of the Qiao girl, the habitually conceited Su Euhuang had to admit that Wei Zhong's wife was not only younger than herself, but her beauty completely eclipsed her own.

As for that special aura about the Qiao girl—something difficult for her to describe in words, but deeply palpable to anyone who looked upon her, akin to a beauty that permeated her very bones—it was something that no matter how much Su Euhuang cultivated herself in this lifetime, she would never be able to obtain.

At that time, the seeds of jealousy had been planted in Su Euhuang's heart. Up until not long ago, when she arrived in Yuyang, below the Luli Terrace, she had tilted her head back to witness the Qiao girl ascend the high platform under the admiring eyes of tens of thousands of soldiers and officers to strike the turtle-skin drum.

At that moment, the great gale upon the platform whipped against her sleeves, and the tens of thousands below the platform responded to her rallying cry.

That scene was deeply engraved into Su Euhuang's mind, never to be erased again.

If the jealousy before had merely arisen from nature, then from that moment on, she knew precisely what she wanted to do to this Qiao girl.

If Zhong did not like her, she wanted the Qiao girl to see her not only favored by her husband, but also taking away the status and glory that originally ought to belong to her.

If Zhong liked her, she wanted all the more to snatch Zhong from her hands, making her taste the immense torment and pain of being gnawed by loss and jealousy.

From the moment of her birth, Su Euhuang had carried the astrological prediction of a destiny of "unspeakable nobility." Toward this, she herself had also never doubted it in the slightest. In order to make that unspeakable nobility a reality, she had personally severed the last sliver of innocent emotion from her maiden days. From the first day of her marriage, she had exhausted her thoughts and spent her life's blood, even acting in a sycophantic and scheming manner. She had endured untold grievances and suppressed untold aspects of her nature. Yet, ten years were like a dream; she discovered that her life's blood had been poured down the drain, and everything had returned to the starting point—nay, far inferior to the starting point.

She had lost her youth, her dreams had fallen through, yet her entire clan pinned their hopes on her alone.

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

Yet this Qiao girl, with the status of an enemy's daughter, effortlessly possessed the things she currently wanted most: youth, beauty, and the status of Zhong's wife.

Su Euhuang had always felt that in the depths of Wei Shao's heart, the influence left upon him by her—who was two years older than him, like an elder sister, and like the one who had enlightened his ignorant adolescent self—was absolutely unique.

Wei Shao had always harbored old feelings for her. Even when her seventeen-year-old self had bid farewell to the fifteen-year-old him back then, resolutely marrying far away to Luoyang.

It was just that his character had been patient and restrained since childhood; he was accustomed to hiding his thoughts beneath layers in the depths of his heart. By the time he endured the immense double blow of losing his father and elder brother during his youth, his character becoming even more profound and even unpredictable was only a matter of course.

This time, borrowing the opportunity of the Luli Grand Assembly, she had finally stepped into Yuyang. After scouting his daily schedule of traveling to and from the government office, she manufactured that chance encounter of that day.

It was also that chance encounter that made her even more certain of her thoughts.

Though at the very beginning, she had felt a bit of frustration over the fact that Wei Shao unexpectedly did not know a single fraction about her arrival despite her having been in Yuyang for so many days.

But this sense of frustration passed very quickly.

When she proposed to go visit Madame Xu, Wei Shao had initially refused.

But when she used the old days to persuade him again, she observed him and saw him hesitate for a bit, subsequently relenting and granting her request.

It was precisely this point that made Su Euhuang feel exhilarated, and even more certain that in Wei Shao's heart, she still occupied a place—perhaps he simply had not walked out of the shadow caused by her marrying someone else back then. Otherwise, after so many years, before he married his wife, with his status, why was there not even a single concubine at his side?

As long as she could draw near him, she could grasp the man's weakness, and then execute an attack upon his heart.

No one was more skilled at doing such things than she.

This was also the reason why she wanted to eliminate Madame Xu.

In her original design, if Madame Xu had died as wished, Nanny Jiang would then scheme to bring Lady Zhu's suppression of her mother-in-law to light before the world, reporting it before Wei Shao. Given Wei Shao's feelings for his grandmother, from then on Lady Zhu would never have the possibility of turning her situation around. No matter how much she detested her, she would be nothing more than a pitiful wretch who had completely lost her maternal dignity before her son, completely unable to block her own steps.

In passing, she could also fiercely avenge Lady Zhu's continuous humiliations against her back then.

But now, her meticulous planning had failed. Not only that, she had also lost her eyes, ears, and talons within the Wei family. It could be described as a heavy loss.

To want to borrow the Wei Estate's lack of preparedness to eliminate Madame Xu again was probably highly unlikely. Furthermore, for a period of time to come, she would probably have to temporarily stay away to avoid the brunt of the storm.

But she would not give up just because of this.

What she needed to do now was adjust her mood, bide her time, and then properly make separate plans.

When she looked at people during her maiden days, she had misjudged once.

Over these past ten years, though her efforts had been like drawing water with a wicker basket, in truth it could not be counted as entirely without harvest.

At least, she had cultivated a more precise vision for judging people than before. She believed that Wei Zhong, in this current troubled world, would absolutely achieve great things in the future.

This time, she would not misjudge again.

...

The Yuyang Magistrate brought the Leling Physician, personally coming to the Wei Estate to report the case of the marquis's Madam to Madame Xu.

The marquis's Madam had already died last night.

The Leling Physician said that when he administered treatment, he felt that the marquis's Madam's symptoms appeared to be a stroke, but her fingernails were dark purple and her lips were swollen, slightly different from a stroke. Furthermore, the onset of the illness was far more violent than a stroke. Coupled with the fact that the marquis's Madam also did not quite fit the usual age for a stroke, he took the residual fluid attached to the marquis's Madam's tongue coating. After smelling it carefully, he felt it ought to be poisoning. Furthermore, the dosage was not small, which was why the onset was rapid and there was no medicine that could save her.

As for what exact poison it was, it was still difficult to reach a conclusion for the time being.

The Yuyang Magistrate interrogated the Li family's servants, only then learning that the marquis's Madam was a widow in name but promiscuous in reality, having secret affairs with several male servants in the household. He applied heavy torture to force confessions, but these several male servants should have nothing to do with the marquis's Madam's death.

Because the progress of the case yielded no results, the Yuyang Magistrate was extremely ashamed. Madame Xu comforted him with a few words, and after sending him off, she spoke as if to herself: "It seems that I, this old woman who refuses to die, am blocking someone's path."

Nanny Zhong cast a glance at her and remained silent.

"This marquis's Madam is said to have stayed in Luoyang for some time in the past?" Madame Xu asked again.

Nanny Zhong complied.

"Dispatch someone to Luoyang to carefully investigate her past associations. The more detailed the investigation, the better."

Madame Xu pondered for a bit, finally giving her instructions.

...

Xiao Qiao originally believed this matter would deliver a tremendous blow to Madame Xu, just like the matter of Wei Yan last time, making her bedridden from illness. Therefore, although the danger was temporarily cleared, at the beginning she was still very uneasy. Fearing her illness would worsen, she accompanied her side morning and night.

But very quickly, Xiao Qiao discovered that the blow this matter brought to Madame Xu appeared far from as severe as she had imagined.

After a few days, her spirit appeared to be about as good as usual, and she also frequently went down to the floor to walk about.

After a few more days, the Leling Physician came for a follow-up examination and said that the medicine could be stopped; she only needed to quietly rest for a while longer, and her body would be fully recovered.

Xiao Qiao was immensely joyful, and her heart finally settled down. Thereafter, she took care of Madame Xu, managed affairs, and handled social engagements, being busy and bustling. When she had free time, she cradled the cat, basked in the sun, and thought of her own concerns. In the blink of an eye, the season entered the eleventh month.

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

The letter was written by her younger brother, Qiao Ci. It said that he had already arrived home safely and had also delivered his elder sister's handwritten letter to their father. Her paternal uncle had heard from the envoy that the trip to Yuyang was smooth and that they were treated with exceptional leniency, making him extraordinarily joyful. Everything at home was well, except that her paternal aunt had fallen ill and had been bedridden for half a month already. There were also other miscellaneous matters, too numerous to mention individually.

Looking at the date of the signature on the letter, it had been written immediately after Qiao Ci left Yuyang and arrived in Dongjun. It was merely that the delivery on the road expended time, and it was only now that it arrived in her hands.

After Xiao Qiao finished reading the letter, she fell into deep thought for a long while. The thought that had been revolving in her mind these past days became even more intense.

She finally made up her mind. Changing her clothes, she went toward the Northern Rooms.

Following Madame Xu's illness some days ago, Xiao Qiao's status in the Northern Rooms was also almost identical to that in the Western Chambers.

When the serving women saw her coming, they were extremely respectful. Xiao Qiao went toward Madame Xu's room. At the doorway, she heard Madame Xu currently speaking with Nanny Zhong about Lady Zhu.

After the matter was settled, Lady Zhu was sent back to her own Eastern Chambers. It was merely that the serving women originally in the Eastern Chambers had all been dismissed, leaving only a few serving women dispatched from the Northern Rooms. It served both for attendance and for the responsibility of watching over her.

The Grand Shaman of Mount Yu and Zheng Shu had already been apprehended by the Yuyang Magistrate and thrown into prison. Because the matter concerned Madame Xu, they were temporarily not dealt with, merely waiting for the Marquis of Yan to return and personally decide.

Madame Xu was asking about Lady Zhu's situation over these past few days.

Nanny Zhong replied: "I just went to look this morning. The Madam does not cry out her grievances continuously like at the beginning; she has quieted down quite a bit, looking somewhat listless." Pausing for a bit, she asked again: "Is the Old Madame waiting for the Lord to return before making a decision?"

Madame Xu said: "She is Shao'er's birth mother after all. How to handle it is best left until Shao'er returns to speak on it. She is nothing more than a muddle-headed, foolish person; just watch over her firmly. Now that the weather has turned cold, pay attention to the provisions on her end, and do not let her be in short supply."

Nanny Zhong said: "This servant understands." She added, "The Lord's return should also be fast, right?"

Some days ago, news of Wei Shao reporting his safety to Madame Xu had been received. It said the military campaign was smooth, and he should be able to conclude it and return before the end of the year.

The serving women outside reported the Lady's arrival. Xiao Qiao was beckoned by Madame Xu to sit down at her side.

After chatting for a few phrases, Xiao Qiao said, "Grandmother, I wish to return to Dongjun for a trip. I wonder if Grandmother might permit the journey?”