Jia Si escorted the Lady northward from Xindu during the day, remaining vigilant throughout the journey.

Although the entire route was within the Lord’s territory and major issues were unlikely, the lesson from Chen Rui’s incident in Bingzhou was still fresh in his mind. Even though it was an accident, he still felt uneasy thinking about it.

Moreover, on the day after the Lord’s wedding, when escorting the Lady back to Yuyang, there had been an incident on this very road. The Lady had been taken away, which ultimately led to the Lord attacking Shiyi.

Especially since he knew that the Lady’s departure today was not by the Lord’s wishes. If anything were to happen, he would be prepared to face severe consequences.

So even though they were at a relay station, that night he not only arranged guards to take shifts near the Lady’s quarters, but he also personally kept watch in the latter half of the night.

During the day’s journey, he had secretly wondered if the Lord would send someone to catch up after receiving the message he had sent.

The answer came quickly.

Not only did the Lord personally catch up, but he had done so on such a stormy night, traveling over a hundred li from Yuyang to arrive here at the deepest hour of the night.

Wearing a rain hat and straw cape, his feet splashing through puddles, he strode directly into the main hall from outside the relay station.

Leaving a trail of wet footprints behind him.

Jia Si was stunned. He knelt on one knee before the Lord, lowering his head in preparation for a reprimand.

But the Lord only asked him one thing: “Where is the Lady?”

His voice revealed neither joy nor anger.

As Jia Si answered, he felt a gust of wind from clothes passing by his face. When he looked up, the Lord had already walked past him…

…

Xiao Qiao slowly sat up from her pillow.

Spring Maiden draped an outer garment over Xiao Qiao’s shoulders, glanced anxiously towards the door, and whispered, “The Lord is soaked through, and he doesn’t look well.”

She then turned and went out, approaching Wei Shao, who was still standing outside the door.

His expression showed no anger, but neither did it show any other emotion.

His entire being exuded an oppressive aura.

Spring Maiden suppressed the unease welling up in her heart.

She truly wanted to explain the Lady’s unannounced departure today that might appease the Lord.

But she couldn’t think of anything.

“The Lady is awake…”

Wei Shao’s figure blurred as he stepped over the threshold.

The door closed with a creak in front of Spring Maiden.

…

The candlelight was dim.

Wei Shao was soaked from head to toe.

He had been under the roof for some time now, but water still dripped steadily from his saturated hair, running down his forehead onto his handsome face.

His clothes were thoroughly wet, clinging tightly to his chest, water dripping constantly. In just a moment, the dry floor where he stood by the door had accumulated a puddle of water.

Xiao Qiao’s gaze slowly moved from his face to the puddle at his feet.

“Take off your clothes, you’re soaked through!” she said.

Wei Shao didn’t speak.

He stood motionless.

Xiao Qiao waited for a moment.

She coldly snorted, “Don’t blame others if you catch a chill tomorrow!”

With that, she turned away and lay back down, her back to him.

She closed her eyes but still heard no sound from behind her.

Finally unable to bear it, she opened her eyes and glanced back slightly.

She saw Wei Shao still standing there as before, his arms hanging stiffly at his sides.

His shadow, cast by the candlelight on the wall behind him, was motionless, like a hanging shadow puppet.

It seemed he was feeling hurt.

She suddenly became irritated, sat up abruptly, threw off the covers, and walked straight up to him. Frowning, she said, “Since we can’t agree, I’m returning to my Yuyang, and you can stay and continue your grand affairs as Lord. Isn’t that convenient for both of us? You chase after me in the middle of the night, disturbing my peaceful sleep – haven’t we argued enough yesterday?”

Wei Shao still stood stubbornly. Only a glistening drop of water rolled down from the widow’s peak at the center of his forehead, landing on the bridge of his straight nose.

Perhaps due to enduring the wind and rain for half the night, his handsome face looked somewhat pale, his eyes red from the rain’s irritation, a trace of fatigue between his brows.

Xiao Qiao raised her hand, beginning to help remove his wet outer garments: “I don’t want you to fall ill here. Lest Grandmother finds out later and blames me!”

He quietly allowed her to help him with his outer clothes.

Xiao Qiao then took out a large bath towel from the clothes chest and handed it to him.

Wei Shao took it and finally began to dry his head, face, and upper body.

Xiao Qiao gathered his wet outer garments, which were wet enough to wring out water, and handed them to Spring Maiden at the door.

Spring Maiden, being thoughtful, had already obtained a set of clean clothes from Jia Si and was waiting outside with them.

Xiao Qiao took the clothes, returned to him, and handed them over, saying, “Put these on.”

Wei Shao took them and silently changed into dry clothes.

“Why did you come here like this?” Xiao Qiao’s tone finally softened slightly.

Wei Shao said, “I’ve sent a message to Yang Xin to withdraw his troops.”

His first words since entering.

Xiao Qiao was taken aback.

“Are you satisfied now?”

His second sentence was tinged with hurt feelings.

Xiao Qiao remained silent.

The room fell into silence.

The sound of rain beating on the roof suddenly intensified, its pattern audible.

“I did this for you,” Wei Shao suddenly said, enunciating each word.

“The refugee leader is not an easy target. If he becomes my enemy in the future, he will surely be in trouble. My advisor urged me to recruit him. However, since he’s half-affiliated with your Qiao family, even if he had heaven-defying abilities, I would never use him!”

“Manman, since things have come to this point, I might as well be frank with you. I know you’ve always wanted me to let go of the hatred in my heart. I want to as well! But it’s too difficult for me. Whenever I think of how my father and brothers died, I can’t suppress my hatred. I can’t do it!”

Xiao Qiao’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly raised her eyes.

“Earlier today, I thought you had returned to Yanzhou! I chased you to the South City Gate! Manman, do you know what thoughts crossed my mind then?”

He paused.

“At that time, I was shocked and extremely angry. I thought, if you had really left me and were never coming back, so be it. Then I would have no more reasons to hold back. Whenever I wanted to attack Yanzhou, I would attack! If I wanted to destroy the Qiao family, I would destroy them!”

Xiao Qiao’s eyes widened.

The paleness brought on by the rain still lingered on Wei Shao’s face.

Because of his pale complexion, his sword-like eyebrows and dark pupils appeared especially stark.

In his eyes, red veins spread like a spider’s web.

The sight made her shudder.

“Then… why did you come? What do you want?”

Her voice trembled slightly despite her efforts to control it.

Wei Shao closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them.

“Let’s make a promise, shall we? I care deeply for you, and I want you to care for me too. Listen to me, stay by my side, and never leave me. If you do this, from now on, as long as your Qiao family doesn’t harbor ill intentions, I promise you, I won’t harm them.”

Xiao Qiao’s heart pounded, almost leaping out of her chest.

The deep autumn night was cool, and she felt cold, her skin breaking out in goosebumps. Yet a hint of warmth welled up in her eyes.

“Alright,” she said, gazing into his reddened eyes.

A flash of lightning illuminated the window.

In the distance, a muffled thunder seemed to roll over the mountaintop. The thunder gradually approached, suddenly seeming to explode overhead.

Xiao Qiao’s shoulders trembled.

Wei Shao reached out and pulled her into a comforting embrace.

“I was so afraid you would never come back,” he whispered.

Xiao Qiao rested her head against his shoulder. “I just needed time to think.”

They sat together on the edge of the bed, listening to the storm outside.

…

Early in the morning, just as the sky began to brighten, Xiao Qiao awoke.

The thunderstorm that had raged all night had dissipated without a trace.

A few clear, chirping bird calls came from outside the small window.

It made the room seem especially quiet by contrast.

Xiao Qiao slowly opened her eyes.

She was still lying on the bed in the relay station. She felt tired but peaceful after their long, emotional conversation last night.

Wei Shao was sleeping soundly beside her.

Perhaps he had truly been too exhausted last night.

Usually alert, he didn’t wake even when she gently removed the arm he had draped around her shoulder.

Only his eyelashes fluttered slightly, his brows furrowing a bit.

The early autumn morning in Xindu already carried a chill.

Xiao Qiao put on a robe, gently pulled up the blanket that had slipped down, got out of bed, slipped on her shoes, and went to the window. She pushed open a small pane.

On the locust tree branch outside, which had been battered by the wind and rain last night, making sounds like a monster’s whimper, perched two magpies with white heads.

They were affectionately preening each other’s rain-dampened feathers, necks intertwined as they hopped about, chirping merrily.

It was these two little creatures that had woken her up.

Xiao Qiao smiled, watching the birds. Perhaps they were a sign that despite their difficulties, she and Wei Shao could find their way forward together.