The next day, Xiao Qiao received a visiting card from Su E’huang. It stated that Su was traveling south to Luoyang and, passing through Jinyang, had learned Xiao Qiao was also in the city. Delighted by this news, Su had sent the card to request a meeting.

Chunniang said, “My lady need not bother with her.”

Xiao Qiao replied, “I have nothing else to do. Since she’s come and sent a card, there’s no harm in meeting her.”

Chunniang paused, glancing quietly at Xiao Qiao. Seeing her mistress smiling with a normal expression, she turned to go and respond to the request.

After Chunniang left, Xiao Qiao discarded yesterday’s half-written reply letter. She picked up her brush anew and composed a fresh letter. After briefly describing her recent situation, she wrote in a teasing tone: “I’m most honored that my husband dreams of me nightly. How could Manman dare to have any other man in her dreams?”

At the end, she added: “I hear that Madam Liu Su, wife of the Duke of Zuofengyi, has also recently arrived in Jinyang. As she has come from afar, and knowing my husband has an old acquaintance with the Liu Su clan, I dare not be remiss. I wish to extend hospitality on my husband’s behalf. My husband need not worry or be concerned.”

After finishing the letter and waiting for the ink to dry, she rolled it up, placed it in a message tube, and had yesterday’s messenger take it on his way.

…

Xiao Qiao received Su E’huang in a side hall of the official residence’s inner quarters.

Nearly a year had passed since Su E’huang left Yuyang after the Deer Mountain gathering at the end of last year. Yet she appeared just as Xiao Qiao remembered – elegantly dressed, alluring, and carrying herself with poise.

Upon seeing Xiao Qiao, Su immediately praised her beauty as surpassing her former self. She smiled and said, “Do you know why I’ve always called you ‘younger sister’? Apart from my closeness with the Elder Madam and my childhood association with Zhonglin, I’ve always envied how other families’ elder and younger sisters would go out together and share their innermost thoughts. Being an only daughter, I couldn’t help feeling regretful. Seeing such an extraordinary person as yourself, I admire you. As I’m a few years older, I took the liberty of addressing you so familiarly. I hope you won’t laugh at me?”

Xiao Qiao invited her to sit and replied with a smile, “Madam, there’s no need for such modesty. The beauty of Madam Yulou is known throughout the land. I’m merely a woman of the inner quarters. Back in Yuyang, I spent my days busy with household matters, serving the Elder Madam and my mother-in-law. Here, I simply devote myself to serving my husband. I know nothing else and don’t deserve such praise. As for how you address me, it’s a small matter. Please do as you wish – it’s just a form of address, why would I laugh?”

Su E’huang looked at Xiao Qiao, still smiling, but her expression faltered slightly.

…

Last year, in the State of Zhongshan, she had first met Lady Qiao. Though they had encountered each other several times since Madam Xu was always present nearby.

Su E’huang noticed that Lady Qiao was mostly silent, with their conversations being sparse.

Even in these few brief encounters, Su E’huang had privately assessed Wei Shao’s wife from the Qiao family of Yanzhou.

Young, beautiful, and favored by Madam Xu – these were Lady Qiao’s greatest advantages.

Wei Shao harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Qiao family and had ulterior motives for marrying her. Lady Qiao herself lacked any sharp edges, with a temperament as bland as water. She was like a shadow behind Madam Xu – these were Lady Qiao’s disadvantages.

Youth and beauty, along with Madam Xu’s favor, might keep Wei Shao in Lady Qiao’s bed for a few more nights. But Su E’huang didn’t believe such a woman could capture Wei Shao’s heart.

Moreover, compared to Lady Qiao’s disadvantages, how much weight did her advantages truly hold in Wei Shao’s eyes?

Thus, Su E’huang had always been confident about her return.

From the moment she began to turn her gaze back to Wei Shao, her girlhood acquaintance, years ago, she had similarly analyzed her advantages and disadvantages.

Having rejected him in her youth to marry another, and now being older, these were her disadvantages.

But she also had advantages, unique ones that no one else possessed: no one knew Wei Shao’s temperament, his likes and dislikes, better than she did.

In the eyes of the world, Wei Shao’s ruthless treatment of his enemies was chilling.

But Su E’huang knew how sincere and devoted he was to those who held a place in his heart.

No one understood better than she the pain he had suffered from the deaths of his father and brother. It was precisely because his dearest loved ones had been harmed that he harbored such deep resentment towards his enemies.

So Su E’huang’s confidence was not without reason.

When Wei Shao was twelve and experienced the tragedy of his father and brother, lying bedridden for half a year due to severe injuries, it was she who constantly cared for him, comforting him in every way.

Based on this bond, ten Lady Qiaos could not compare to her.

Moreover, Su E’huang still clearly remembered that later, when she was to marry into a family in Luoyang, she had sought an opportunity to bid him farewell before leaving.

She had sent someone to deliver a message, asking to meet him.

Although Wei Shao hadn’t come to the meeting, the fifteen-year-old boy had his messenger relay a single sentence to her.

He said, “I can only wish you endless blessings from afar.”

Though it was just one simple sentence, Su E’huang had discerned countless youthful sentiments within it.

So for today’s meeting with Lady Qiao, Su E’huang had prepared for a long time and had been looking forward to it for just as long.

Since her first attempt with Madam Xu had failed, she naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to confront her directly again.

She could change her approach.

After waiting patiently for so long, she felt the time was right and finally came here.

This time, she wanted to face Wei Shao directly. This time, it was also the first face-to-face meeting between her and Wei Shao’s wife from the Qiao family without Madam Xu present.

This was a battlefield. Like battlefields between men, the result would also be corpses and bloodshed, but the weapons were invisible knives.

Right from the start, Su E’huang knew she had hit a wall. Her opening remarks, which seemed friendly but contained hidden provocations, ended up making her look foolish under Lady Qiao’s response.

What made Su E’huang even more wary was that for a moment, she couldn’t tell whether Lady Qiao’s response was a veiled barb or simply her natural thoughts.

For the first time, she felt that addressing Lady Qiao as a “younger sister” from the beginning had made her appear somewhat hasty and foolish.

But now she couldn’t change how she addressed her.

Although countless thoughts flashed through Su E’huang’s mind, her face betrayed nothing as she continued to chat and smile. After some idle talk, she suddenly said, “I mentioned briefly in the visiting card I sent you yesterday. I’m heading south to Luoyang, and passing through here, I learned you were also in town. I thought it would be remiss to pass by without seeing you, so I sent the card to pay a visit. I heard that Zhonglin is currently in the west. From Yuyang to here is over a thousand li, yet you’ve followed all this way to serve him – such devotion is truly Zhonglin’s good fortune. It’s a pity that he’s busy with his affairs and has left you alone here, which must be lonely. But men are different from us women; they only see the sky above their courtyard. Moreover, I’ve known Zhonglin since we were young and grew up together. I know his ambitions are lofty, beyond what ordinary people can match, so he may neglect a woman’s feelings. I hope you won’t blame him for it.”

Chunniang, standing nearby, smiled and said, “Madam is truly considerate. Originally, I shouldn’t speak of my lady and master’s affairs to outsiders. But since Madam is not an outsider, I’ll say a few words to put your mind at ease. Madam may not know, but my lady is different from other women. Other women can’t bear to be away from their husbands for a moment, always fearing that if they don’t keep a close eye, some shameless stray dog might sneak in through a gap in the fence. But my lady never thinks of such things. At the beginning of the year when my master came to Jinyang, at first my lady was unwilling to come along. My master had already been on the road for several days when he suddenly returned in the middle of the night, insisting that my lady accompany him. Only then did my lady come with him. Although my master is busy with military affairs here, messengers come and go constantly. Just yesterday, my master sent another letter. It’s quite amusing – every time a messenger delivers a letter, he must wait here. If there’s no reply from my lady, he doesn’t dare return, fearing he’ll face my master’s reproach if he goes back empty-handed…”

“Chunniang! What nonsense are you speaking in front of Madam!” Xiao Qiao interrupted with a slight frown.

Chunniang quickly said, “I was afraid Madam Liu would worry, so I spoke out of turn. I’ll say no more.” With that, she closed her mouth.

Xiao Qiao looked at Su E’huang and smiled apologetically, “My wet nurse is talkative. I hope Madam won’t take offense.”

Su E’huang slowly shifted her gaze from Chunniang’s face back to Xiao Qiao, smiling faintly, “Not at all! Zhonglin and you are so affectionate, it makes others envious…”

…

As Su E’huang was escorted out of the official residence gates and seated in her carriage to return to the guest house, her heart was pounding, somewhat out of rhythm.

Her hands were also a bit cold.

While inside, although she had continued to smile and chat with Lady Qiao, her mind had become somewhat chaotic.

The words that came out of Chunniang’s mouth had disturbed her thoughts.

This visit was originally intended to further probe Lady Qiao’s true situation.

However, she hadn’t expected such a result.

The “stray dog” Chunniang mentioned was alluding to her.

If Lady Qiao hadn’t backed her up, a servant, even if she was Lady Qiao’s wet nurse, would never dare to say such words to her.

This shows that Lady Qiao does not merely exist in the Wei family as a shadow of Madam Xu, as Su E’huang had originally imagined. She must have also sensed Su E’huang’s intention to get close to Wei Shao.

This didn’t matter. Su E’huang didn’t mind, knowing it was impossible to keep her intentions hidden forever.

What made her thoughts chaotic were those daily interactions between Wei Shao and Lady Qiao that the wet nurse had spoken of.

Wei Shao might share a room and a bed with this Lady Qiao. But Su E’huang couldn’t believe that Wei Shao would be on such good terms with the daughter of his enemy.

It must be that the wet nurse had been instructed by her mistress to fabricate these stories in front of her, to make her give up.

On the way back, Su E’huang told herself this over and over again.

By the time the carriage stopped outside the guest house gates, her previously chaotic thoughts had gradually settled down again.

As long as she could get close to Wei Shao, she was confident she would have the chance to awaken the young man in Wei Shao’s heart who had once wished her endless blessings from afar.

“Tell the guest house manager that I’ve developed a headache and need to stay to recover,” Su E’huang coldly instructed her maid upon entering the guest house.

…

Three days ago, Wei Shao received a reply letter from Xiao Qiao.

Reading her letters was always a very pleasant experience for Wei Shao, who was going through one bloody battle after another. He had even specifically assigned a messenger solely for delivering personal letters between himself and her.

This was the Marquis’s secret, unknown even to Gong Sun Yang.

Wei Shao always felt her letters were too short. They were finished after just a few glances. So he never read them all at once. He would read a section, savor it, and then continue to the next section.

This time was no exception.

At the time, he read it slowly, section by section, away from others. When he read Xiao Qiao saying, “I’m most honored that my husband dreams of me nightly. How could Manman dare to have any other man in her dreams?” Wei Shao felt quite pleased. He could almost see her playful expression as she said these words and the corners of his lips curled slightly.

He continued reading to the end when his gaze suddenly froze.

Su had come to Jinyang? What did she want to do? Surely Manman wouldn’t overthink this?

These three thoughts immediately popped up in his mind in succession.