The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 126

Chapter 126

During the day, Jia Si had escorted the Mistress as she departed Xindu and headed north. He had not dared to relax for even a single moment throughout the entire journey.

Although the route they took fell entirely within the Lord's territory, and theoretically, no major problems should arise.

Yet, the lesson from the recent incident involving Chen Rui of Bingzhou remained vivid in his mind. Even though it had been an accident, the mere memory of it still left him with lingering trepidation.

Furthermore, back when the Lord had first wed, he had sent the Mistress back to Yuyang the very next day. It was on this exact same road that an accident had occurred. The Mistress had been abducted, and in the end, the Lord had actually concluded the matter by launching an attack on Shiyi.

Most importantly, he knew that the Mistress's departure today was not according to the Lord's wishes. If an accident truly occurred, he would not be able to redeem himself even if he died ten thousand deaths.

Therefore, even though this was merely a courier station, he not only arranged rotating guards near the Mistress's chambers that night, but also personally kept watch during the latter half of the night.

While on the road during the day, he had also secretly wondered whether the Lord would send anyone to pursue them after receiving the news he had dispatched.

The answer arrived sooner than expected.

Not only had the Lord personally rushed over, but he had actually ridden over a hundred miles from Yuyang to this place during such a dark night, amidst crashing thunder and a violent downpour. He arrived at the hour of Yin, when the night was at its deepest.

Wearing a bamboo rain hat and a coir raincoat, his feet splashing through the accumulated puddles, he walked directly from outside the gates of the courier station into the main hall.

He left a trail of wet water stains in his wake.

Jia Si was struck dumb with astonishment. He dropped to one knee before the Lord, lowering his head as he braced himself for a severe reprimand.

The Lord, however, only asked him one question: "Where is the Mistress?"

His tone betrayed neither joy nor anger.

As Jia Si answered, a gust of wind from the Lord's robes swept past his face. By the time he raised his head again, the Lord had already walked past his side...

...

Xiao Qiao slowly sat up from her pillow.

Chun Niang draped an outer robe over Xiao Qiao's shoulders, then turned her head to glance toward the doorway. Unable to conceal her unease, she leaned in and whispered in her ear, "The Master is soaked through, and his expression looks terrible."

Having said this, she turned and went out, coming before Wei Shao, who was still standing outside the door.

There was no trace of anger in his expression, yet there was no other emotion either.

His entire body exuded an aura that made one feel suffocated.

Chun Niang suppressed the unease welling up in her heart.

She truly wanted to offer an explanation for the Mistress's unannounced departure today, hoping to appease the Master's anger.

Yet, she unexpectedly could not think of a single thing to say.

"The Mistress is awake..."

Wei Shao's figure blurred, and he stepped over the threshold.

Right before Chun Niang's eyes, that door closed with a creak.

...

The light from the candlestick flickered dimly.

From head to toe, there was not a single part of Wei Shao that was not dripping wet.

He had been under the roof for a short while now, but at this moment, water droplets still continuously fell from his saturated hair, tracing across his forehead and down his handsome face.

His garments were soaked through even more, clinging tightly to his chest as water went drip-drop onto the floor. In just a brief moment, a puddle of water accumulated on the dry ground beneath his feet where he stood by the doorway.

Xiao Qiao's gaze slowly shifted from his face down to the puddle of water beneath his feet.

"Take off your clothes, you are soaked through!" she said.

Wei Shao did not speak.

He stood there, completely motionless.

Xiao Qiao waited for a brief moment.

She let out a cold snort: "If you catch a cold tomorrow, do not blame anyone else!"

With that, she turned her body around, lay back down, and faced away from him.

She closed her eyes, yet she could not hear any sound behind her from beginning to end.

Ultimately unable to restrain herself, she opened her eyes and turned her head slightly to look back.

She saw that Wei Shao was still standing there just as he had been a moment ago, his two arms hanging perfectly straight down.

His silhouette was cast by the candlelight onto the wall behind him, completely motionless, looking like a hanging shadow puppet.

He actually seemed to be throwing a tantrum.

She suddenly grew vexed, sat up abruptly, flung aside the quilt, stepped out of bed, and walked straight up to him. Frowning, she said, "Since you and I cannot see eye to eye, I am returning to my Yuyang, and you can stay to continue your great matters as the Lord. Wouldn't that be convenient for both sides? For you to chase after me in the middle of the night and disturb my peaceful sleep like this, do you feel we did not argue enough yesterday?"

Wei Shao still stood there just as stubbornly. Only a single crystal droplet of water rolled down from the widow's peak in the exact center of his forehead, dripping onto the straight bridge of his nose.

Perhaps because he had endured the wind and rain for most of the night, his handsome face was slightly pale, his eyes were bloodshot from the irritation of the rainwater, and a hint of fatigue lingered between his brows.

Xiao Qiao resentfully raised her hands and began to strip off his clothes: "I simply do not want you to fall ill while you are with me. Lest Grandmother finds out in the future and blames me!"

He submissively allowed her to strip him bare, leaving his physique completely naked.

Xiao Qiao then pulled a large bath towel out from the clothes chest and tossed it toward him.

Wei Shao caught it, and finally began to wipe the water from his head, face, and body himself.

Xiao Qiao gathered up his clothes, which were wet enough to be wrung out, and took them to the doorway to hand over to Chun Niang.

Chun Niang was attentive. When she had gone out just now, she had already obtained a set of clean inner garments from Jia Si, and was currently waiting outside holding them.

Xiao Qiao took the clothes, returned to him, and handed them over: "Put them on."

Wei Shao took them and silently put them on.

"For you to come over like this, what exactly do you want to do?" Xiao Qiao's tone finally softened slightly.

Wei Shao said, "I have sent a letter to Yang Xin to withdraw the troops."

This was the first sentence he spoke after entering.

Xiao Qiao was startled.

"Are you satisfied now?"

The second sentence. It carried a tone of petulance.

Xiao Qiao remained silent.

The room then fell into a deep stillness.

The drumming of the night rain on the roof suddenly grew rapid, the rustling sound clear to the ear.

"I did this entirely for your sake,"

Wei Shao suddenly said, word by word.

"The leader of the refugees is no ordinary person; if he becomes my enemy in the future, he will certainly be a trouble. The Military Adviser advised me to recruit him. However, he counts as half a member of your Qiao family, so even if he possessed the capability to reach the heavens, I would absolutely never employ him!"

"Manman, since things have reached this point, I might as well stop hiding it from you. I know that all this time, you have wanted me to let go of the hatred in my heart. I want to as well! However, this is too difficult for me. Every time I think of the manner in which my father and elder brother died back then, I cannot suppress the hatred. I cannot do it!"

Xiao Qiao's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly raised her eyes.

"Earlier today, I thought you had returned to Yanzhou! I pursued you all the way to the southern city gates! Manman, do you know what kind of thoughts crossed my mind at that time?"

He paused for a moment.

"At that time, I was very shocked, and also extremely furious. I thought, if you cast me aside and truly never return, then so be it. I would have no misgivings left. Whenever I want to attack Yanzhou, I will go attack it! If I want to exterminate the people of the Qiao family, I will go exterminate them!"

Xiao Qiao's eyes widened.

The paleness on Wei Shao's face from the lashing rain remained unchanged.

Because his face was pale, his two sword-like brows and his dark pupils appeared exceptionally dark.

Within his eyes, bloodshot veins were densely interwoven like a spider's web.

The sight of it sent a thrill of horror through her.

"Then... now that you have come, what exactly do you want?"

She was already doing her utmost to control herself, yet the voice she produced still carried a slight tremor.

Wei Shao closed his eyes. Then he suddenly opened them.

"Let you and I make a pact, how about it? I am fond of you, and I want you to be fond of me just as I am fond of you. Listen to my words, bear my children, and do not leave me. If so, from this day forward, as long as your Qiao family does not harbor treacherous intentions, I promise you that I will not move against them."

Xiao Qiao's heart thudded wildly, beating so hard it almost leaped out of her chest.

The late-night air of early autumn was cool and thin; she felt cold, and goosebumps broke out across her skin. Yet a trace of warmth welled up in her eyes.

"Alright."

She looked into his bloodshot eyes and said.

A flash of white light illuminated the window.

Above the distant mountaintops, a low rumble of thunder seemed to rise again. The low thunder gradually rolled closer, suddenly seeming to explode right over their heads.

Xiao Qiao's shoulders trembled.

Wei Shao extended his arms and pulled her tightly into his embrace.

The two of them tumbled onto the bed.

However, no matter how he caressed her, Xiao Qiao's body kept trembling, her teeth chattering.

He continued to kiss her without pause, enveloping her with his burning hot body. Once she gradually stopped shivering, he suddenly released her and lay on his back before her.

Had he wanted to, he could have possessed her long ago.

Yet he did not move. He just stared straight at her with his eyes.

Xiao Qiao knelt by his side. From his eyes, she read the deed he wanted her to perform for him.

Once before, during a moment of tender passion, he had also asked her to do that.

She had merely spat at him in response back then, and he had sheepishly let the matter drop.

She stiffened for a moment.

She closed her eyes briefly.

She complied with him.

...

He panted, the bloodshot veins in his eyes turning even redder. In an instant, hearing a delicate, sobbing wail by his ear that sounded like both a weep and a complaint, all of the desolation, anxiety, and uneasiness that Wei Shao had felt while riding alone through the wind and rain tonight vanished without a trace.

He thrust into her heavily, as if wishing to drive himself deep into her very heart.

To utter such words, he was reluctant, and even more so despised himself.

The Qiao family had used a honey trap against him.

And he had fallen for the trap.

Even though he knew it clearly, he was already unable to extricate himself.

He could only demand pleasure and satisfaction from her. He wanted her to bring him enough pleasure and satisfaction—so much that it would allow him to forget the deep-seated hatred engraved in his heart.

Only in this manner,

Would it be fair.

...

Luoyang

If one were to ask the noble ladies of Luoyang what the most fashionable makeup style was nowadays.

It was no longer the long, willow-leaf brows that reached the temples, nor was it the floral forehead ornaments that illuminated bright eyes. Instead, it was a delicate half-mask, partially concealing a jade-like face, as precious horses and fragrant carriages drove through the streets of Luoyang, causing countless passersby to crane their necks and look back.

Madame Yulou, who had finished her period of mourning for the Duke of Zuofengyi, had finally returned to Luoyang.

After a separation of two years, a month ago, she had appeared for the first time at a night banquet in the imperial palace, her face covered by a golden butterfly mask.

The very next day, the noble ladies of Luoyang began to vie with one another to emulate her. Her followers were countless, and it instantly turned into a sweeping trend.

...

In the early morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Xiao Qiao woke up.

The crashing thunder and sudden downpour that had clamored all night had already dissipated without a trace.

A few crisp chirps of birds came from outside the small window.

This made the room feel exceptionally quiet.

Xiao Qiao slowly opened her eyes.

She was still lying on the bed of the courier station. Her body felt sore and weak, as if she had not yet detached herself from the physical entanglement of last night.

Wei Shao was fast asleep.

Perhaps last night, he truly had been too exhausted.

A person who was usually so vigilant did not even wake up when she gently moved away his arm, which was extended to encircle her.

Only his eyelashes fluttered slightly, and his brow furrowed a tiny bit.

The early morning of early autumn in Xindu already carried a hint of chill.

Xiao Qiao draped a robe over herself, gently pulled up the corner of the quilt that had slid down to his abdomen, and walked in her slippers to the window, pushing open a small pane.

Outside the window, upon the locust tree branch that had emitted the wails of a demonic beast under the abuse of the wind and rain last night, two light-vented bulbuls had perched.

They affectionately preened each other's rain-drenched feathers with their beaks, intertwining their necks and hopping about while chirping merrily.

She had just been awakened by these two little creatures moments ago.