Jia Si stood motionless, hesitating to respond.

Xiao Qiao instructed a maid to take Xia Gu away to change clothes and wash her face. With only Jia Si remaining, she asked, “Why doesn’t General Jia follow my orders?”

Jia Si hurriedly replied, “Please don’t be angry, My Lady. It’s not that I’m disobeying your command. But Lord Marquis ordered me to protect you as my sole duty. If I were to leave your side to chase after a Qiang person and something were to happen to you, I would deserve a thousand deaths. Moreover…”

He hesitated for a moment.

“A lone Qiang woman traveling from Yangqu to here, though only about a hundred li, is still suspicious. And those words are just her side of the story. If it’s a trap, I fear leaving you would be dangerous.”

Xiao Qiao smiled slightly and nodded, “General Jia’s concerns are not unreasonable. But did you notice Xia Gu’s feet? When she left a few days ago, she was wearing shoes. Now she’s returned with disheveled hair, covered in dirt, with one bare foot full of scratches and blisters, and her big toenail completely torn off. This shows she indeed experienced a difficult journey. I also observed her expression. Her anxiety seemed genuine, and her gaze didn’t avoid eye contact, showing no signs of being coerced. That’s why I’m inclined to believe her.”

Jia Si exclaimed, “I see! My Lady is observant. I didn’t notice these details. If this Qiang woman truly escaped and came back to report, that young man is merely the grandson of a Qiang chief, far less valuable than you, My Lady. Shall I send my men to pursue and rescue him?”

Xiao Qiao shook her head, “His value is far greater than you imagine, but I can’t say more. Whether the Qiang woman’s words are true or false, you must go personally. If it’s true, spare no effort to bring him back!”

She emphasized each word of “spare no effort to bring him back” with great force.

Jia Si was taken aback.

“General Jia, you may not know the gravity of this matter. I initially wanted to send a message to Lord Marquis for him to handle personally. But Diao Mo must know Xia Gu has escaped and will hasten to leave. I fear the delay would jeopardize the situation. I’ve heard that when General Jia was in the Huben Camp, you were not only skilled in martial arts but also renowned for your tracking abilities. That’s why I’m asking you to pursue it personally. I hope General Jia can successfully rescue that young man! When we report to Lord Marquis later, he will surely commend you!”

Faced with such a beautiful lady placing such high hopes on him, Jia Si met Xiao Qiao’s gaze and felt a surge of passion. He said, “My Lady, please rest assured! I will do my utmost to fulfill this mission! I’ll take a hundred men with me and leave four hundred soldiers to guard here under my deputy’s command. My Lady, please don’t go out unnecessarily and await my news!”

Xiao Qiao smiled and said, “General Jia, go with peace of mind. I’ll be here waiting for good news!”

Jia Si’s blood was boiling with excitement. He immediately accepted the order. After withdrawing, he summoned his deputy, handed over the responsibility of protection, notified the guards of the four cities, and immediately set off towards Shangjun with the Qiang woman Xia Gu.

…

Two days earlier, at dawn, upon discovering Xia Gu’s escape, Diao Mo immediately sent people back to search for her. Finding no trace, he decided to take small paths to bring Yuan to Shangjun as quickly as possible.

Last night, the group traveled until midnight, barely finding a place to rest. After just a short nap, they continued on their journey, traveling until this evening, inevitably becoming hungry and tired.

For someone as resilient as Diao Mo, this level of travel hardship was nothing.

However, Chen Rui, the Polu General under Feng Zhao’s command who was traveling with him, couldn’t help but start grumbling.

Diao Mo knew a bit about Chen Rui. He was the son of Chen Xiang, the former Governor of Bingzhou, known as the Jade-faced Rakshasa. Last year, Chen Xiang lost Bingzhou and was rumored to have gone south to join Cao Jin of Hedong. This year, he borrowed troops to return to Bingzhou but was blocked by Wei Shao at Shangdang.

In that battle, Chen Xiang was defeated again, completely losing the possibility of a counterattack. He died of depression soon after. Chen Rui led the remnants of less than a thousand men to seek refuge with Feng Zhao in Liangzhou.

Liangzhou bordered Bingzhou, and Feng Zhao and Chen Xiang had frequent friction in the past. Now that Chen Rui came to seek refuge, claiming to have an irreconcilable hatred for Wei Shao, Feng Zhao accepted him but only gave him the miscellaneous title of Polu General. Chen Rui, depressed and unable to achieve his ambitions, coupled with the severe humiliation he suffered at Wei Shao’s hands, became even more peculiar in temperament.

These past few days, being forced by Diao Mo to travel hard, and now hungry, he couldn’t help but think of his former carefree days as a young master in Bingzhou. He became even more irritable and started cursing as they walked. Suddenly, he stopped his horse, turned back to Diao Mo angrily, and said, “Why do you insist on protecting this little lamb? In my opinion, we should just kill him, have someone throw his head in front of that old fool, use Wei Shao’s name to threaten him, and the old fool will naturally send troops! Why bother with this tiring journey?”

Diao Mo coldly replied, “General’s words are mistaken. Do you think the old chief would fall for such a trick so easily? Moreover, Feng Zhao initially promised me that I could make my own decisions on all matters, which is why I agreed to collaborate in this war. Could it be that the General’s position is above Feng Zhao’s?”

Chen Rui was choked by these words, his snow-white face turning red with anger. But as the saying goes, “When under someone’s roof, one must bow their head.” Unable to do anything about it for the moment, he had to swallow his anger. After traveling another ten or so li, they saw a dilapidated temple in the fields and suggested staying there for the night.

Diao Mo wanted to continue, but seeing Chen Rui had already dismounted and gone inside, he hesitated. He thought that even if Xia Gu had gone back to report, Wei Shao’s wife might not necessarily send people to pursue. Even if they did, his group had been traveling day and night and was quite far from Jinyang, taking small paths. He figured it would be difficult for pursuers to catch up. It was just one night’s rest. If he insisted on continuing, Chen Rui might cause trouble with his unpredictable temper. Known for being difficult to deal with in Bingzhou, he also had a few men with him now. If they turned against each other, it would only cause problems.

After considering this, he swallowed his pride and signaled his men to dismount and spend the night here.

That night, Chen Rui slept on a pile of straw. Initially exhausted, he fell into a deep sleep, but woke up in the middle of the night with old memories flooding back, unable to sleep again. For a while, he thought about how he had narrowly escaped death, surely a sign of heaven’s favor. If one day he could avenge himself, kill Wei Shao, and capture Lady Qiao, how satisfying it would be. As he imagined Lady Qiao’s beautiful face, capable of expressing both joy and anger, he suddenly remembered that he was no longer a complete man. Even if he got Lady Qiao, he would be powerless to do anything.

There is no greater suffering in the world than this. A proud man of seven feet, living in a world like this, what meaning was there to speak of?

A wave of sorrow washed over Chen Rui, making it even harder for him to sleep. As he tossed and turned, suddenly a plan came to mind.

Feng Zhao didn’t take him seriously, using a miscellaneous title to dismiss him like a beggar. Since that was the case, why not take this opportunity to kidnap the Qiang youth? Once in his hands, he could threaten Beihe to send troops. Then, leading the Qiang army to attack Wei Shao, whether he lived or died, it would be a fight to the death, certainly more satisfying than living in humiliation, neither man nor woman.

Chen Rui made up his mind and secretly opened his eyes to peek around. He saw the Qiang youth tied up, lying in the corner inside. Diao Mo’s few subordinates were lying on the ground, snoring loudly. Diao Mo was sitting by the door, not asleep, seemingly keeping watch. Unable to find an opportunity for the moment, Chen Rui thought hard and came up with an idea. He was about to pretend to go out to relieve himself, intending to sneak around to the back of the dilapidated temple and set a fire, using the chaos to kidnap the Qiang youth. Suddenly, he seemed to hear footsteps approaching outside the temple. He quickly got up.

Diao Mo, sitting by the door, also immediately sensed it and quickly flipped up from the ground, loudly waking his sleeping subordinates inside.

Everyone woke up from their dreams in a hurry, hastily grabbing their weapons and rushing out. They heard a series of orderly footsteps, and the originally pitch-black area outside the dilapidated temple was suddenly illuminated by torches. In the firelight, they saw soldiers filling the area outside the temple door. Jia Si was at the forefront, pointing his sword at Diao Mo and saying, “Are you Diao Mo? Quickly hand over the Qiang youth, or face death!”

Diao Mo was secretly shocked, immediately guessing that this military officer must have been sent by Wei Shao’s wife. He hadn’t expected them to be caught up. He quickly looked around and saw that the other side had over a hundred men, while he and Chen Rui together had less than twenty. The difference was truly vast.

However, it was not in his nature to just hand over the person like this.

Having taken on the position of leader, he was solely focused on seeking freedom for his suffering people, with no fear of death for himself. He drew his waist knife without a word and stood with Jiang Meng and others who had quickly followed, outside the temple door, coldly saying, “If you want to take him, fine, but you’ll have to step over my dead body!”

Jia Si was startled, then said, “I respect you as a man of honor! I didn’t want to use numbers to overwhelm you. But I’m here on My Lady’s orders to bring back that Qiang youth! Don’t forget, you promised My Lady to bring him back safely. Since you’ve gone back on your word first, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Diao Mo said, “Wei Shao’s wife is indeed a rare gentle, and kind person. It’s a pity that the rest of you Han people are all cunning and greedy. I may have broken my promise, but I have no shame in my actions! If you want to fight, then fight. Do you think I fear you?”

Jia Si waved his hand, and the soldiers immediately surrounded them.

Although Jia Si’s side had the advantage in numbers, Diao Mo and the dozen or so men he had brought with him were all tough fighters who didn’t fear death. They fought fiercely, making it difficult for Jia Si’s men to subdue them quickly.

As the battle raged outside the temple, Chen Rui loudly ordered his subordinates to rush out and join the fight, while he slowly retreated. When he reached the inside of the temple, he kicked open a rotted window at the back, grabbed Yuan who was tied up, and tumbled out through the window. Seeing Yuan struggling fiercely, he knocked him unconscious with the back of his sword, then carried him on his back to where the horses were. He threw Yuan onto a horse, mounted it himself, and circled to the back of the temple. Squeezing the horse’s belly, he successfully escaped under the cover of night.

Chen Rui galloped frantically for several dozen li, estimating that he couldn’t be caught up to from behind. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. Seeing his horse foaming at the mouth, he stopped to rest for a while.

He had taken advantage of the chaos to not only escape but also take away this important Qiang youth. His pride was indescribable. After catching his breath and seeing the sky gradually brightening, he was about to head towards Beihe’s territory in Huangshui when he suddenly stopped, remembering what he had heard at the entrance of the dilapidated temple earlier.

He had always thought that Lady Qiao was in Youzhou at this time.

Youzhou was Wei Shao’s home territory, and although he hated Wei Shao, he had never imagined going to Youzhou to cause any trouble.

But he hadn’t expected that Wei Shao had brought his beautiful wife to Jinyang.

Lady Qiao was in Jinyang, while at this moment, Wei Shao must be in Xihe County.

Chen Rui was lost in thought for a moment when suddenly a brilliant idea came to him.

Why not take this opportunity to secretly sneak back to Jinyang and use the Qiang youth in his hands as bait to get Lady Qiao?

As long as Lady Qiao fell into his hands, using her to threaten Wei Shao would be much more effective than the Qiang army, and more satisfying too.

Chen Rui once again envisioned Lady Qiao’s enchanting appearance. Thinking that she might fall into his hands, even though he was no longer whole, the lower half of his body that had been sleeping suddenly seemed to awaken, as if jolted by electricity. His entire body shook, and his manly vigor seemed to fill his body once again. Without any further hesitation, he immediately turned his horse around and galloped towards Jinyang.