The Prisoner of Beauty - Chapter 129

Chapter 129

The banquet concluded.

Wei Shao noticed that Wei Quan looked as if he had something to say. He quickly waved his hand, claiming he needed to use the latrine, and strode away.

Wei Quan pursued Wei Shao all the way, finally cornering him outside the western latrine to offer his counsel: "My Lord, you are planning to bring order to the entire realm. Right now, you ought to broadly recruit heroes and gather the hearts of the people. Guo Quan proactively sent his daughter not only to forge good relations with you, but also to seek stability. You should accept her, yet I know not why you refused? I saw that Guo Xing’s eyes were filled with bewilderment at the time, and his mind was surely unsettled. Fearing he might harbor suspicions, I offered a few words of comfort before he could barely set his mind at ease. I beg my Lord to think twice!"

Wei Shao said, "I have already turned her down. Are you telling me to ask for her back? Say no more. I drank too much wine just now and urgently need to use the latrine."

Having said his piece, he stepped inside with quick strides.

Wei Quan possessed a naturally upright disposition and was never one to act according to the expressions of others. Once he decided that something ought to be done, he would absolutely insist on spelling out the exact rights and wrongs until he was satisfied.

Once in the past, in order to persuade Wei Shao to accept his counsel, he had pursued him for three full days. In the end, Wei Shao had no choice but to grant his request before the matter was dropped.

Wei Shao also knew that his rejection of the Guo family's daughter just now was unexpected. Therefore, the moment he saw Wei Quan heading toward him after the banquet, he immediately fled to the latrine.

He never expected that the man would actually chase him all the way here.

Wei Shao held his breath inside, dawdling for a long while. It was only when he could no longer hear any movement outside and assumed Wei Quan had left that he finally came out.

To his surprise, the man was still guarding the doorway. Wei Shao turned around to go back inside, but his path was already blocked by Wei Quan.

"My Lord! A feudal lord is entitled to one primary wife and eight concubines! Currently, my Lord has only the Mistress alone. Taking a few more concubines into your quarters is perfectly natural and proper. My Lord should accept her!"

Wei Shao acted as if he had heard nothing and raised his foot to leave, but his sleeve was firmly grabbed from behind by Wei Quan.

Wei Shao grew annoyed. He turned around and said, "Today Guo Quan sends a daughter, and if I accept her, tomorrow another will come, and you will want me to accept her too? From where am I to produce an endless supply of essence to sprinkle rain and dew upon them all equally? Speak no more!"

Wei Quan was stunned. He hurriedly argued, "My Lord misunderstands my meaning. My original intent is that since the Guo family is showing goodwill this time, if my Lord does not accept her, Guo Quan might harbor suspicions, which would be detrimental to a solid relationship."

Wei Shao yanked his sleeve away with a forceful jerk and said furiously, "Am I to rely on a woman's skirt strings to scheme for the realm?" Having said his piece, he strode forward.

Wei Quan felt that the Lord's words seemed reasonable, yet they also seemed to go against common sense.

He stood frozen outside the latrine door in hesitation. Looking up, he suddenly saw Gongsun Yang approaching from the opposite direction and hurriedly rushed forward to greet him: "Military Advisor! You have come at just the right time!"

Gongsun Yang had also felt the urgent call of nature after drinking wine. Glimpsing the silhouettes of the Lord and Wei Quan outside the latrine from afar, he immediately halted his steps, turned around, and was about to leave in a hurry.

Unfortunately, he had already been spotted by Wei Quan. Hearing the man call out to him from behind, he could only stop his steps, put on a smile, and walk over.

Wei Quan then repeated the counsel he had just offered.

"Does the Military Advisor believe my words are reasonable? Should my Lord accept her or not?"

Gongsun Yang stole a glance at the Lord, whose face beside them was as dark as a thunderstorm, and began to cough: "Cough... cough... regarding this matter, the Lord surely has his own thoughts... Chief Secretary Wei has already fulfilled his duty of offering counsel, and that is enough... as for the rest... cough cough... the Lord himself should have his own considerations..."

Wei Quan had originally thought that Gongsun Yang would join him in offering persuasion.

He never expected that after coughing for half a day, the man would come out with such a sentence.

He was stunned once again: "Why does the Military Advisor not persuade him? It is not that I am forcing the Lord to accept a beauty. I also know the Lord is not someone who covets beautiful women. It is just that the Lord's actions during the banquet today can truly not be called proper, which is why I boldly offered my counsel. Why the Lord refuses to accept her, I truly cannot understand either..."

"I fear my wife, what of it?"

Having spoken, Wei Shao raised his foot and departed in a furious huff.

Wei Quan froze in sheer astonishment. With his mouth wide open, he stared blankly at the receding figure of the Lord as he left in an arrogant manner, watching until he was no longer in sight before slowly turning to Gongsun Yang.

Gongsun Yang waved his hand: "Chief Secretary Wei, do not ask me. I know no more than you do. I am going to use the latrine."

...

It was the middle of the hour of the Dog (around 8:00 PM).

It was not early, yet it was not considered too late either.

During the few days since Xiao Qiao had been brought back from the courier station, she always felt a lack of energy during the daytime.

Tonight, once the banquet preparations were complete and there was nothing left for her to attend to, she felt weary again and lay down.

Though she lay down, she simply could not fall asleep.

The moment she closed her eyes, the scene from that thunderous, rainy night several days ago would surface in her mind once more—the scene of Wei Shao appearing before her, completely drenched like a drowned rat.

On that night, the surging tides of her heart were beyond words.

When she first married into the Wei family, the sole mission she carried, which was also her own only purpose, was her hope of dissolving the hatred between the Qiao and Wei families that had been forged by the previous generation.

And compared to the rest of the Qiao family who remained ignorant of the future, the desire Xiao Qiao harbored was, in fact, far more urgent.

Because she knew what Wei Shao, the founding emperor of the Great Yan who was filled with absolute hatred in her past life, had once done to the Qiao family.

Two years had passed.

She was fourteen when she married into the family, and now she was sixteen.

During these two years, from her initial trepidation where she feared taking a wrong step or saying a wrong word, she had finally and gradually integrated into the Wei family. She had even gained the favor of her husband, Wei Shao, to the point where she could now rely on his favor to throw little tantrums before him.

However, she had never dared to imagine that she would actually obtain a guarantee from Wei Shao right now that he would not harm the Qiao family.

Exactly how deep and heavy the obsession with revenge buried in the depths of Wei Shao's heart was—arising from the deaths of his father and brother back then—she was completely aware.

And exactly what kind of arrogant, cold, and near-cruel man he was, Xiao Qiao also knew full well.

Therefore, at that moment, when his eyes, which were filled with bloodshot veins stimulated by the rainwater, stared at her, and he suddenly spoke those words while she was completely unprepared, she was shocked.

Strangely enough, at that moment, what she felt was not the sense of relief she ought to have felt.

There was no relief; instead, she wanted to shed tears.

For him, and also for herself.

He was willing to make such a promise to her just to have her "pleased with me as I am pleased with you," and she knew how incredibly difficult that was for him. Therefore, he was also entitled to attach those conditions that resembled a naked transaction. It was only natural and proper. Even if this method made it unavoidable for her to feel as though she were a sacrificial offering upon an altar.

But perhaps, in the final analysis, he merely wanted her heart—a heart that would love him completely.

Xiao Qiao understood this point.

Yet Xiao Qiao also knew that she could not do it.

The "alright" she had uttered at that time was a deception to him.

She did like Wei Shao—this man who could make one's teeth itch with hatred when he was bad, yet could also make her flesh tender, her bones soft, and her soul ripple with desire when he was good.

But it was impossible for her to completely set her mind at ease regarding the future because of this promise of his.

Floating clouds resemble white garments, yet in an instant, they change into grey dogs. The events of the world contain far too many variables.

Ten or twenty years were far too distant, so she chose not to think about them.

How could her past self at this exact moment last year have known what she would be thinking at this exact moment today?

She believed that Wei Shao's promise at that moment was out of his genuine sincerity.

However, she also knew that the man-eating fierce beast in his heart was merely being forcibly locked inside a cage with iron chains by his own hands right now.

She knew not on which day it might break free from the cage once more due to some unforeseen circumstance.

She was willing to do everything within her power to repay this promise Wei Shao had made to her.

Yet she was still waiting for her father to strengthen the Qiao family, exactly as she had initially planned.

Hatred relying solely on a woman's love—or even with the addition of children—might perhaps be restrained.

But it could absolutely never be eradicated.

Xiao Qiao knew this point.

...

Knowing that Xiao Qiao had not yet fallen asleep, Chun Niang entered the room to keep her company. Seeing Xiao Qiao appearing lost in thought, she offered further comfort: "Mistress, do not think too much on it. The Guo family..."

Xiao Qiao sat up, interrupting her with a smile: "I see that Chun Niang is actually thinking far more than I am!"

Chun Niang let out a sigh with a smile, shaking her head in self-mockery: "The Mistress is right. I shall hold my tongue."

Xiao Qiao said, "Chun Niang may set her mind at ease. My husband will not accept the Guo family's daughter."

As for those two beauties, she placed them even less in her heart.

If Wei Shao encountered a similar situation a few years down the road, she dared not guarantee how he would handle it.

But this time, she did not even need to think about it; her intuition told her that Wei Shao would absolutely never accept them.

Chun Niang was taken aback, and a look of delight immediately surfaced on her face. She squeezed Xiao Qiao's hand, and feeling that her fingertips were chilly, she hurriedly urged her to lie down, helping her tuck in the corners of the quilt. She then turned around to clean up the bowl of chicken soup that had already grown cold, of which Xiao Qiao had only taken a few bites.

Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps approached, and turning her head, she saw Wei Shao entering.

Chun Niang called out to the Master and was about to carry the leftover bowl out when she was stopped by Wei Shao.

"What is that?"

"Black bone chicken soup."

Chun Niang said, "It is to nourish the Mistress's body. The Mistress could not eat it, and it has grown cold sitting here, so I was just about to carry it out..."

"Let me taste it."

Wei Shao lifted the bowl from the tray. Before Chun Niang could even stop him, she saw him gulp it down in a few mouthfuls, returned the bowl to the tray, and let out a full belch.

"The taste is strange!" He smacked his lips, offering a critique.

"No wonder Manman did not eat it. Make it taste better next time. If the kitchen staff cannot do it, replace them!"

Chun Niang was speechless. She stole a glance at Xiao Qiao, then left the room carrying the tray.

During the few days since her return, Xiao Qiao's emotions had originally felt somewhat afloat.

Suddenly, she was moved to laughter by this scene of his.

Unable to help herself, she pulled up the top of the quilt to cover her face, her shoulders shaking as she let out low, giggling laughs.

Suddenly, the bedside felt as though it sank, and the top of the quilt was pulled down by someone.

Wei Shao had already leaned down beside her, staring at her, his two eyebrows giving a twitch.

"What are you laughing at?"

Xiao Qiao shook her head.

"Speak!" He put on the demeanor of a tyrannical bully.

Xiao Qiao still shook her head.

A few strands of hair clung to her pink cheeks, making her look both beautiful and playful.

Wei Shao gazed at her fixedly for a moment, then extended his fingers to help remove the strands of hair sticking to her face, saying, "Manman, today Guo Quan presented me with two beauties. Extremely beautiful, extremely beautiful. One can sing, her voice resembling a lark. The other can dance, appearing light enough to fly..."

He paused.

"But I did not spare them a single glance."

Xiao Qiao gave him a sidelong glance and smiled: "If you did not look, how do you know they are extremely beautiful? If you did not look, how do you know she can fly?"

Wei Shao paused: "I only took a single glance."

He hurriedly continued: "Not only that, Guo Quan actually wanted to send his daughter to be my concubine!"

His expression was filled with indignation.

"At that time, I thought to myself, I already have Manman. Let alone a mortal daughter from Guo Quan's house, even if it were a divine maiden from the Jade Pool, I would absolutely never spare her a single glance! I refused him on the spot. Yet that Wei Quan simply knew no better, pursuing me all the way and insisting that I must accept the Guo family's daughter! In the end, he only withdrew in shame after being severely reprimanded by me!"

Once he finished speaking, he closed his mouth, his two pitch-black eyes fixated intently upon her.

...

During the few days since their return, he had likely perceived that her spirits were not high, coupled with her listless state.

Xiao Qiao could also tell that Wei Shao seemed to carry a hint of cautious pleasing before her.

During these past few nights, he merely held her to sleep. Seeing that her enthusiasm did not seem high, he did not ask for her body again.

At this very moment, Xiao Qiao read something within his gaze.

She gazed back at him. She extended her two snow-white, lotus-root-like arms toward him, looping them around his neck, and pressed her lips to his ear, whispering, "Manman knows that my husband treats me well."

Her two soft, fragrant lips pressed a kiss against his cheek.

Wei Shao closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of her fragrance, and leaned down to kiss her lips.

Xiao Qiao caught a whiff of the chicken soup flavor mixed with the scent of his wine.

A wave of churning suddenly rolled through her stomach once more.

She endured it for a moment, but could no longer restrain it. Pushing him away with force, she scrambled up and leaned over his thighs, vomiting a mouthful of impurities from her stomach.