The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 112
Chapter 112
Wei Shao's grand army had now shifted its camp to Jingbian, the very place where he had previously been ambushed by the poisoned crossbow bolt.
A month ago, following the battle of Anding Commandery, Liangzhou fell completely into Wei Shao's hands.
The vast majority of the Qiang tribes in Huangzhong followed in the footsteps of the Beihe tribe, surrendering one after another.
Now, only the Guyuan region, occupied by the Shaodang Qiang, remained.
Jingbian and Guyuan faced each other from afar; the final battle was on the verge of breaking out.
So long as Guyuan was taken, the three regions of Binzhou, Huangshui, and Liangzhou would be thoroughly linked into a contiguous territory. In the future, once the Western Qiang were fully pacified, the communication lines to the Xiongnu cut off to the north, and the strategic passes of Liangzhou secured to the west, then advancing would allow a descent to the south, while retreating would permit an unassailable defense. Combined with Youzhou and Jizhou, nearly half the realm would be securely inside Wei Shao's grasp.
Gongsun Yang found himself somewhat unable to believe the lightning-fast progress achieved in this western expedition.
As Han Feizi once wrote: He who is skilled at spreading a net pulls its main cord. Gongsun Yang had realized very early on that the "main cord" of the Lord's grand strategic plan for the western expedition lay with the Qiang people.
In his original estimations, achieving the present stage would require at least a full year. After all, subduing the Qiang and subsequently crushing Feng Zhao were by no means easy tasks that could be accomplished overnight.
He never expected that once luck turned in their favor, it would be absolutely unstoppable. First, the Beihe tribe motivated the majority of the Qiang clans along the Huangshui River to surrender smoothly. Consequently, the Qiang soldiers within Feng Zhao's army mutinied, causing their combat effectiveness to plummet. After two major battles and several minor skirmishes, Feng Zhao surrendered Liangzhou entirely.
From its inception on New Year's Day when Wei Shao arrived in Jinyang, this western expedition had taken less than half a year in total.
Although the Shaodang Qiang were fierce and aggressive—having attacked Shang Commandery several times while Wei Shao personally led the main army against Feng Zhao, placing immense pressure on the garrison troops—they were now isolated and without external aid. Fighting alone, it was absolutely impossible for them to hold out for long.
Taking Guyuan was merely a matter of time.
Every officer and soldier under Wei Shao's banner was boundlessly joyful, each one eager for battle and yearning to perform meritorious deeds. The military morale was incredibly galvanized.
...
Inside the main commander's tent, a brief military council had just concluded.
Wei Shao issued orders for Li Chong, Zhang Jian, and Wei Liang to lead three separate columns of the army, launching an all-out assault against the Shaodang Qiang to completely seize Guyuan.
The reason he decided to launch an active offensive against Guyuan so swiftly was not only to capitalize on the residual prestige of the Anding Commandery victory and achieve their goal in a single, decisive push, but also because they had captured a messenger last night who had been sent to the Shaodang Qiang by Xing Xun.
The messenger carried an imperial decree issued by Xing Xun in the name of the young Emperor, investing Diaomo as the Golden Qiang King and promising him lavish benefits of gold and silk. It commanded him to continue rallying the Qiang people to rise up together in opposition against Wei Shao.
Wei Shao executed the messenger and issued the order today for an all-out assault on the Shaodang Qiang.
...
Ever since New Year's Day at the start of the year, when he refrained from rushing to the imperial palace in Luoyang to participate in the New Year's court congratulations, it had served as a tacit announcement of Youzhou’s break with Luoyang.
By today, Xing Xun, who sat in power at Luoyang, could absolutely no longer watch him expand his influence any further.
As for Wei Shao, he would truly initiate the first step of his grand blueprint for hegemony in his capacity as the undisputed Overlord of the North: challenging the supreme authority of Luoyang.
This final battle against the Shaodang Qiang served as the pivotal juncture connecting what came before with what was to follow.
The shadow of a true war, vast enough to throw the entire realm's grand trajectory into absolute chaos, was about to descend.
...
Following a massive battle, Diaomo and his Qiang soldiers were left with fewer than two thousand riders, ultimately surrounded by Wei Shao's grand army within a stretch of desolate grasslands.
The rest were either dead or captured.
Diaomo made a desperate, cornered stand, attempting several times to organize his remaining cavalry into formations to break through the heavy encirclement, but they were repeatedly driven back by a barrage of arrow storms. The ring of encirclement grew tighter and tighter. Arriving at the end of his rope, just as he was about to draw his blade to commit suicide, his subordinates bitterly pleaded and held him back.
In this engagement, the Shaodang Qiang suffered a catastrophic defeat; their cavalry was completely wiped out, their vital energy severely crippled, and Diaomo was taken alive as a prisoner.
Three days later, Diaomo accepted Gongsun Yang's terms of surrender and submitted a formal document of submission to Wei Shao.
In his letter of surrender, he stated that the guilt lay entirely with his person alone and had nothing to do with his clansmen. Since he was fortunate enough to receive the Lord's clemency, he was willing to lead his entire tribe to pledge allegiance without harboring any duplicity.
By this time, Wei Shao had already set out on his journey back to Jinyang.
The moment he received Xiao Qiao's letter half a month ago, he had immediately penned a reply and commanded a messenger to deliver it back posthaste.
Yet she had never replied since then.
Wei Shao felt a little anxious.
Now that the military campaigns had finally settled like dust, how could he possibly sit still? Dumping all the post-war arrangements onto Gongsun Yang's shoulders, he threw himself onto the return route toward Jinyang.
His heart flew ahead like an arrow; the thing he desired most right now was to see her as quickly as possible.
...
On this particular late evening at the end of the seventh month, Wei Shao arrived back in Jinyang, thoroughly covered in travel dust.
As his horse approached the government administrative estate in the northern part of the city, its pace gradually slowed down.
Ultimately, Wei Shao brought his horse to a stop. He pondered in silence by the roadside for a brief moment before turning his horse's head around, heading off in a completely different direction.
...
Su Ehuang's chronic headaches had shown no improvement over these past several days. Since returning from the administrative estate that day, she had been unable to resume her journey and had remained resting inside the courier station.
On the very first day she checked into the station, the station master had learned of her identity through the mouths of her attendants.
The Lady of the Marquis of Fengyi—this particular layer mattered little, as she was merely the widow of a deceased Han imperial kinsman who held nothing but an empty title.
What truly caused the station master to view her in a different light was that she shared ties of kinship with the new master of Jinyang, the Marquis of Yan, Wei Shao.
On the second day after her arrival, she had gone to pay her respects to the Marquis of Yan's wife, who usually lived in deep seclusion. Upon her return, her chronic headaches had flared up. When the Marquis of Yan's wife received word, she had specially dispatched a physician to examine her illness.
Evidently, their relationship was indeed far from ordinary. Coupled with the fact that Madam Su was exceptionally generous with her rewards, the station master had provided flawless service during the half-month she remained staying here to recuperate, holding her in very high regard.
On this evening, the station master hurried toward the rear hall, arriving before an elegant, pristine, and secluded room, where he knocked upon the door.
Su Ehuang's maidservant opened the door, showing her face, and the station master said, "The Marquis of Yan has arrived! He is currently in the front hall and requests Madam to come over for a conversation."
When the station master spoke these words, his demeanor was deeply respectful.
He truly had not expected this. For this Lady of the Marquis of Fengyi to actually trouble the Marquis of Yan to personally grace this place with his presence, it seemed their friendship was profound indeed.
The maidservant asked the station master to wait a moment, then turned back inside to repeat the words.
Su Ehuang was currently reclining sideways upon the bed couch, propping her neck up with a single arm, her eyes closed as though fast asleep. A maidservant knelt by her side, gently massaging her legs and feet.
She opened her eyes. Forcing down her accelerated heartbeat, she said, "Go tell him to relay a message to the Marquis of Yan. Say that my chronic headaches have flared up, and ask if the Marquis of Yan might be willing to step inside to converse?"
The maidservant went out to deliver the message, returning a moment later to report, "The station master said that he had already mentioned the matter of Madam recuperating from her illness just now. The Marquis of Yan replied that if Madam's sickly body is too frail to make a meeting convenient at this moment, he will come back another day."
Su Ehuang said, "No need. Have him pass word that I will go see him after a brief rest."
The station master departed, and Su Ehuang swiftly flipped herself up from the couch. Attended to by her maidservants, she changed into a thin, light-pink silk robe she had prepared many days ago. A delicate orchid embroidered along the lapel rested snugly against her shapely chest, serving as an exceptional draw for the eyes. Around her waist, she tied a slender, long sash from which a jade pendant hung. This outfit fully accentuated the voluptuous, mature beauty of her figure. Facing the mirror, she applied a light layer of rouge to her cheeks and lips, yet she refrained from doing her hair properly. Instead, she deliberately loosened a few strands of hair at her temples, letting them drape down loosely as though she had just risen from a brocade bed curtain a moment ago, adding a touch of languid, sickly vulnerability to her appearance.
Su Ehuang stole a final glance at herself in the mirror, then stepped out of the room while supported on both sides by her two maidservants.
As she crossed into the reception hall, she saw the silhouette of a man standing before the wide-open western window.
A beam of dusky, crimson evening sunlight shot in at an angle from the window, enveloping the man. A long shadow cast across the ground, making his already grand stature appear even more imposing.
He seemed to be gazing out into the distance, or perhaps he was lost in deep thought over something; his silhouette remained absolutely motionless.
Beginning three years ago, Su Ehuang had spent every waking moment plotting to draw close once more to this man whom she had once abandoned.
Yet it was only now that she truly obtained an opportunity to meet face-to-face with him like this again, with no one else around.
Su Ehuang drew a deep, long breath. Just as she was about to open her mouth to call out to him, Wei Shao had already turned around, walking briskly toward her. He came to a halt in the middle of the room, a few paces away from her, his gaze dropping straight onto her face as he said, "How is Madam's health? I was away from Jinyang for some time recently. I received a letter from my wife, who mentioned Madam in her correspondence, which was how I learned that Madam had actually arrived in Jinyang."
His tone was perfectly ordinary. Yet Su Ehuang froze ever so slightly.
She had previously envisioned many kinds of openings for when she ran into Wei Shao and the two of them were alone together.
Yet not a single one resembled the present scenario.
Inserted right in the middle was the person he referred to as his "wife."
The news of her own arrival had actually been relayed to Wei Shao through the mouth of his "wife."
Within her heart, a faint sense of discomfort, akin to being humiliated, slowly welled up.
She gazed intently at Wei Shao for a brief moment, then spoke in a slow, measured tone, "My chronic headaches have plagued me for many years since I married out. It flares up whenever my mood is unsettled, and during those flare-ups, life feels worse than death itself. I sought medicine from various sources, yet all were without effect. Later, I encountered a divine physician who provided a prescription, telling me to roll pills according to the formula and ingest them whenever the illness strikes, which is the only way to suppress the pain. When I inquired with the divine physician regarding the root cause of the affliction, the physician remarked that this is an illness of the heart; while medicine can halt the pain, it cannot cure the root. Only when the illness of the heart is eradicated one day can a full recovery be attained."
Wei Shao watched her. "In that case, Madam must place even greater emphasis on nurturing your disposition in daily life, and ensure that matters do not become stifled within your heart. My coming here was also to ask Madam how your recuperation is progressing?"
For a moment, Su Ehuang was somewhat uncertain as to his meaning behind this question. She hesitated slightly before saying, "After resting for these many days, it is mostly manageable now..."
Wei Shao nodded. "That is excellent. Did Madam not mention that you intended to head south to Luoyang? How about tomorrow? I will dispatch men here tomorrow morning to escort Madam on your journey to Luoyang."
Su Ehuang was taken aback. She said, "When the station master came to pass word just now, I was lying down, and my body felt rather exhausted. Originally, I had no desire to step out of my room, and only managed to struggle to my feet upon hearing that the Lord had arrived here. I am afraid I will still be unable to travel tomorrow..."
Wei Shao nodded once more. "Very well. Then Madam may recuperate from your illness with a peaceful mind. On whichever day you have completely recovered, have someone deliver a word to my wife. At that time, I will once again dispatch men to send Madam on your way. Since Madam's body is unwell, please return to your room now."
With that, Wei Shao turned around to leave.
Su Ehuang stared fixedly at his retreating back. Just as he was about to step out of the room, she chased after him by a few steps, her voice raspy as she spoke, "Erlang, will you truly not ask a single word regarding why I abandoned you to marry another all those years ago? Or why I ended up plagued by these chronic headaches, to the point that even my voice was ruined?”