Wei Shao’s army had now moved to Jingbian, where he had previously been ambushed and hit by a poisoned crossbow bolt. A month ago, after the battle in Anding Commandery, Liangzhou fell into Wei Shao’s hands. Most of the Qiang tribes in Huangzhong also followed in the footsteps of the Beihe clan and submitted to him. Now only the area around Guyuan, occupied by the Shaodang Qiang, remained. Jingbian and Guyuan faced each other, with the final battle on the verge of eruption. Once Guyuan was taken, Binzhou, Huangshui, and Liangzhou would be thoroughly connected. In the future, by pacifying the Western Qiang, cutting off communication with the Xiongnu to the north, and holding the passes of Liangzhou to the west, they could advance southward or retreat and defend. Adding Youzhou and Jizhou, almost half of the world would be in Wei Shao’s grasp.

Gongsun Yang was somewhat incredulous at the swift progress of the Western conquest. As Han Feizi said, “Those who are good at spreading nets pull the main rope.” Gongsun Yang had long realized that the “main rope” in the Duke’s Western conquest plan was the Qiang people. Originally, in his estimation, it would have taken at least a year to reach this point. After all, subduing the Qiang and then defeating Feng Zhao were not easy tasks that could be accomplished quickly.

Unexpectedly, once luck turned in their favor, it became unstoppable. First, the Beihe clan led most of the Qiang tribes in Huangshui to submit smoothly, and then the Qiang soldiers in Feng Zhao’s army mutinied, greatly reducing their fighting capacity. After two major battles and several minor ones, Liangzhou was completely handed over.

This western expedition, marked by Wei Shao’s arrival in Jinyang at the beginning of the year, had taken only half a year. Although the Shaodang Qiang were fierce and had previously attacked Shangjun several times when Wei Shao was personally leading the army to fight Feng Zhao, putting considerable pressure on the defending forces, without outside support and fighting alone, they could not hold out for long.

Taking Guyuan was just a matter of time. All the soldiers under Wei Shao were overjoyed, eager for battle, and hoping to establish merit. The morale of the army was exceptionally high.

…

In the commander-in-chief’s tent, a brief military meeting had just concluded. Wei Shao ordered Li Chong, Zhang Jian, and Wei Liang to lead three routes of the army to attack the Shaodang Qiang with full force and completely take Guyuan.

The decision to launch a proactive battle against Guyuan so quickly was not only to capitalize on the momentum from the victory in Anding Commandery but also because last night, they had captured a messenger sent by Xing Xun to the Shaodang Qiang.

The messenger carried an imperial edict issued by Xing Xun in the name of the young emperor, conferring the title of King of Jin Qiang upon Diao Mo, promising generous rewards of gold and silk, and ordering him to continue persuading the Qiang people to unite against Wei Shao.

Wei Shao killed the messenger and today ordered a full-scale attack on the Shaodang Qiang.

…

From New Year’s Day when he had not rushed to the imperial palace in Luoyang to participate in the New Year’s court greetings, it had subtly announced the rift between Youzhou and Luoyang.

By now, Xing Xun, who held power in Luoyang, could no longer allow him to grow stronger.

And Wei Shao, as the de facto hegemon of the north, was truly about to take the first step in his grand ambition: challenging the supreme power of Luoyang.

This final battle against the Shaodang Qiang was a pivotal point, connecting the past and future.

The shadow of a war capable of disrupting the balance of power in the world was about to arrive.

…

After a major battle, Diao Mo and his Qiang soldiers were left with less than two thousand troops, finally surrounded by Wei Shao’s army in a patch of wild grassland.

The rest were either dead or captured.

Diao Mo resisted stubbornly, attempting several times to organize a final cavalry charge to break through the encirclement, but was repelled by arrow formations each time. As the encirclement grew tighter and he reached the end of his rope, he was about to take his own life with his sword when his subordinates desperately dissuaded him.

In this battle, the Shaodang Qiang suffered a great defeat, their cavalry was annihilated, their strength severely depleted, and Diao Mo was captured.

Three days later, Diao Mo accepted Gongsun Yang’s offer of surrender and submitted a letter of surrender to Wei Shao.

In his letter, he stated that the guilt lay with him alone and had nothing to do with his tribespeople. Having fortunately received the Duke’s clemency, he was willing to lead all his people to submit and would not harbor any disloyalty.

By this time, Wei Shao had already set out on his journey back to Jinyang.

More than half a month ago, after receiving that letter from Xiao Qiao, he immediately sent a reply back with a messenger.

But she had not responded since.

Wei Shao felt a bit uneasy.

Finally, when the dust of war had settled, how could he sit still? He dumped all the aftermath work on Gongsun Yang and set off on his journey back to Jinyang.

His heart yearned to return, and now what he wanted to do most was to see her quickly.

…

Wei Shao returned to Jinyang, travel-worn, on this evening at the end of July.

As his horse was heading towards the northern government office, its pace gradually slowed down.

Finally, Wei Shao stopped his horse, pondered by the roadside for a moment, and then turned his horse in another direction.

…

Su E Huang’s headache had not improved these days. After returning from the government office that day, she was unable to continue her journey and had been resting at the courier station.

On the first day, she stayed at the courier station, the station manager learned of her identity through her attendants.

Being the wife of the late Duke of Left Pingyi was one thing, but merely the widow of a deceased Han imperial clan member with an empty title.

What made the station manager view her differently was her kinship with Wei Shao, the new lord of Jinyang.

On the second day of her arrival, she went to visit the reclusive wife of Duke Yan. After returning, her headache flared up, and upon hearing the news, Duke Yan’s wife specially sent a doctor to examine her illness.

This showed that their relationship was indeed extraordinary. In addition, Lady Su was generous, so during the half month she stayed to recuperate, the station manager served her attentively and held her in high regard.

On this evening, the station manager hurriedly rushed to the back hall, came to a clean and quiet room, and knocked on the door.

Su E Huang’s maid opened the door, showing her face, and the station manager said, “Duke Yan has arrived! He is now in the front hall, requesting Madam to go there for a conversation.”

When the station manager said this, his attitude was extremely respectful.

He hadn’t expected that this Lady of Left Pingyi would be able to have Duke Yan personally come here, showing that their friendship was indeed deep.

The maid asked the station manager to wait a moment, then returned inside and repeated the message.

Su E Huang was lying on her side on the bed, supporting her neck with one arm, eyes closed, as if asleep. A maid knelt by her side, gently massaging her legs.

She opened her eyes. Trying hard to suppress her quickened heartbeat, she said, “Tell him to inform Duke Yan that I am suffering from a headache. Could I ask Duke Yan to come inside to talk?”

The maid went out to relay the message and soon returned, saying, “The station manager said he had already mentioned Madam’s illness. Duke Yan said that if Madam is too weak to meet at this moment, he will come another day.”

Su E Huang said, “No need. Tell him to relay that I will rest briefly and then go to see him.”

After the station manager left, Su E Huang quickly got up from the bed. With the help of her maids, she changed into a thin, water-red silk dress that she had prepared days ago. A delicate orchid embroidered on the neckline lay snugly on her full chest, drawing one’s gaze. She wore a thin, long belt around her waist, with a jade pendant hanging down. This outfit completely displayed the mature beauty of her figure. She looked in the mirror, and lightly dabbed a layer of rouge on her cheeks and lips, but didn’t arrange her hair. Instead, she let a few strands of hair fall loosely, as if she had just risen from her bed, adding a touch of languorous, sickly charm.

Su E Huang took a final look at herself in the mirror, then left the room supported on both sides by two maids.

She stepped into the hall and saw the silhouette of a man standing in front of the wide-open west window.

A beam of dusky sunlight shot in diagonally from the window, enveloping the man and casting a long shadow on the ground, making him appear even more imposing.

He seemed to be gazing into the distance or lost in thought, his back motionless.

Three years ago, Su E Huang had begun to scheme about how to get close again to this man she had once abandoned.

But it wasn’t until now that she truly had the opportunity to meet him face to face like this, with no one else around.

Su E Huang took a deep breath, just as she was about to call out to him, Wei Shao had already turned around and walked quickly towards her, stopping in the middle of the room a few arms’ lengths away from her. His gaze fell directly on her face as he said, “How is Madam feeling? I haven’t been in Jinyang for some time. I received a letter from my wife mentioning you, and that’s how I learned that you had also arrived in Jinyang.”

His tone was very ordinary. Su E Huang was slightly taken aback.

She had imagined many scenarios of meeting and being alone with Wei Shao.

But none of them were like this.

In between was inserted the “wife” he mentioned.

The news of her arrival had reached Wei Shao through the mouth of his “wife”.

In her heart, a feeling of discomfort, almost like humiliation, slowly welled up.

She stared at Wei Shao for a moment, then slowly said, “My headache has been tormenting me for many years since I married. It flares up whenever I’m emotionally distressed, and when it does, life feels worse than death. I’ve sought many remedies, all to no avail. Later, I met a miraculous doctor who gave me a prescription. He told me to make pills according to the prescription and take them when the illness strikes, which can alleviate the pain. When I asked the doctor about the cause, he said it was a heart ailment. Medicine can stop the pain but cannot cure the root cause. Only when the heart ailment is removed can I truly recover.”

Wei Shao looked at her intently: “In that case, Madam should pay more attention to nurturing your spirit in daily life and not let things weigh heavily on your mind. I came here also to ask how Madam’s recovery is progressing?”

Su E Huang was unsure of his intention in asking this question. After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “After resting for so many days, it’s more or less better…”

Wei Shao nodded: “That’s good to hear. Didn’t Madam say you wanted to go to Luoyang? How about tomorrow? Early tomorrow, I’ll send someone here to escort Madam on your journey to Luoyang.”

Su E Huang was stunned and said, “Just now when the station manager came to relay the message, I was lying down and feeling quite weak. I didn’t want to leave the room, but hearing that you had come, I struggled to get up. I’m afraid I still won’t be able to travel tomorrow…”

Wei Shao nodded again: “Very well. Then Madam should rest and recover. When you’re feeling better, send word to my wife, and I’ll arrange for someone to escort you on your journey. Since Madam is unwell, you should return to your room now.”

With that, Wei Shao turned to leave.

Su E Huang stared at his back, and as he was about to step out of the room, she took a few steps forward and said in a hoarse voice, “Er Lang, don’t you want to ask at all why I abandoned you and married another back then? Why did I develop this headache and even my voice ruined?”