Xiao Qiao slowly opened her eyes, meeting Wei Shao’s worried gaze fixed upon her.
He had returned at some point, and the room was now lit with lamps.
Tears clung to her lashes, and her cheeks were crisscrossed with wet tracks. Her chest and back were covered in cold sweat, her clothes clinging to her skin.
Even though he held her tightly in his arms, her shoulders still trembled uncontrollably.
“What’s wrong?” Wei Shao asked anxiously, embracing her even tighter. He raised his other hand, using his calloused palm to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead and the tears from her face.
Xiao Qiao leaned against his chest, exhausted. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
Wei Shao studied her carefully. “A nightmare?”
Xiao Qiao remained silent.
“What did you dream about?” he pressed. “What exactly did you see?”
Xiao Qiao shook her head again.
She didn’t want to cry anymore.
It was just a dream, after all. Now that she was awake, there was no need to be afraid.
Yet tears continued to flow from her closed eyes.
The more he questioned her, the more violently her tears surged.
Eventually, she lost all control. Despite her efforts to suppress it, her body shook like a leaf in the autumn wind, and her tears quickly soaked the front of his clothes.
Wei Shao’s heart felt as if it had been saturated by her tears, twisting tightly into a knot.
…
He had found his mother in the ancestral hall and escorted her back to her room.
When he once again heard from his own mother’s lips the deep-rooted hatred for Xiao Qiao that had long been absent, he instinctively felt repulsion and disgust.
But when he saw the anxious look on the face of the woman who had given birth to him and raised him, fearing his reproach, a twinge of guilt welled up in his heart.
He stayed with his long-neglected mother until she fell asleep before returning.
By then, it was already the fifth watch of the night.
Xiao Qiao was sleeping deeply.
Not wanting to disturb her, he planned to catch a brief rest before dawn, intending to leave as scheduled the next day.
The upcoming battle at Langya was one he was determined to win.
Liu Yan had orchestrated the affairs in Yanzhou, but Wei Shao’s decision to attack Langya at this time was, as he had told his grandmother earlier, not merely for revenge.
It was a move to claim the world.
Such a large-scale battle, involving hundreds of thousands of troops, required meticulous preparation beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Although Gongsun Yang, Wei Quan, and others would handle everything, he still wanted to go early to personally oversee the troops.
It had to be a decisive strike.
Then, he was awakened by her sleep-talking.
He had never seen her so distressed in her sleep before.
At first, he couldn’t even wake her.
…
“Manman, don’t be afraid! I’m here!” Wei Shao once again held her trembling body tightly, lowering his head to repeatedly kiss her sweat-drenched forehead, constantly murmuring words of comfort.
Xiao Qiao curled up in his embrace, burying her face in his chest, her whole body shuddering as she tried to suppress her sobs, her shoulders heaving.
A faint tinkling sound came from nearby.
Little Fei Fei had been awakened by Xiao Qiao’s crying. She kicked her legs a few times, trying hard to roll over, but only managed to roll halfway before rolling back. She whimpered twice, and not seeing her mother nearby, began to cry in distress.
Xiao Qiao opened her eyes, wiped them with her sleeve, and still hiccuping, tried to break free from his embrace to get out of bed.
Wei Shao wouldn’t let her go. He held her, gently laying her back on the pillow, his hand once again wiping the tear stains from her face. “You lie down,” he said.
After tucking her in, he got out of bed and picked up Fei Fei, soothing her for a moment.
Fei Fei kicked her little feet, crying with closed eyes for her mother.
“Give her to me—” Xiao Qiao sat up.
Wei Shao gestured for her to stay put, went to open the door, and called out.
Spring Lady and the wet nurse quickly came over.
“Take Fei Fei out and put her to sleep,” he instructed.
Spring Lady glanced at Xiao Qiao on the bed but didn’t ask any questions. She hurriedly picked up the still-crying Fei Fei.
The wet nurse wrapped a small cape around her, and the two women backed out of the room.
The sound of their daughter’s cries seemed to linger in their ears.
Xiao Qiao sat up again, hastily pushing back the covers.
“I should go, Fei Fei knows me…” Her voice was still hoarse, thick with tears.
Wei Shao closed the door, turned, and strode quickly towards her. He pressed her back down, saying, “Fei Fei has Spring Lady and the wet nurse to look after her, it’s fine.”
His tone brooked no argument. After speaking, he took a soft cloth prepared for wiping Fei Fei’s sweat and milk, sat on the edge of the bed, and wiped the sweat from her neck, chest, and back. When he finished, he leaned over and took her into his arms again.
“What did you dream about just now? What frightened you so badly?”
His fingertips, seemingly full of tenderness, gently caressed her still-swollen eyelids as he asked softly.
Xiao Qiao shook her head. “It’s nothing… I’m fine now…”
Yet a thin film of tears gradually appeared in her beautiful eyes once more.
“Tell me. Once you say it, you won’t be afraid any more—”
Xiao Qiao kept shaking her head.
Wei Shao gazed at her intently. “Did you dream about the nightmare you told me about before?”
Xiao Qiao looked up, staring blankly at his face. Her emotions seemed to suddenly collapse at that moment, and she could no longer hold back.
Her small hands tightly gripped his clothes as she sobbed, her voice broken: “There was a man wearing dragon robes, holding a bloody sword, wanting to kill me… I was so scared, I was afraid he would thrust the sword into my heart, but he kept coming towards me step by step…”
In the dream, the man’s face was no longer Liu Yan’s but had become blurry and blank.
She couldn’t see clearly, but she could distinctly feel the murderous intent on that distorted face.
Such a dream, clearly familiar yet somehow different, was even more terrifying.
She shuddered.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here. It was just a nightmare. I will never let anyone harm you in the slightest—”
Wei Shao stroked her, comforting her.
“…I also dreamed about Zhang Pu… The blood gushing from his neck drowned me, I couldn’t breathe…”
Xiao Qiao closed her eyes, tears rolling down once more.
Wei Shao froze for a moment, his eyes immediately showing a hint of deep remorse.
Holding her tightly, he repeated in her ear: “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have done such a thing in anger that day… I scared you… I promise I will never be so fierce with you again… Manman, don’t be afraid…”
Wei Shao kept comforting her.
The more he comforted her, the harder she cried.
Wei Shao gradually stopped speaking, just holding her without loosening his grip for a moment, patting her back gently as if soothing Fei Fei.
Xiao Qiao eventually cried herself to exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.
This sleep was very deep, and when she woke up, she felt momentarily confused.
Then, the events of the previous night flooded back into her mind.
Someone from the east room had called Wei Shao away… He had found Madam Zhu in the ancestral hall, stayed with her, and was gone for a long time… She had fallen asleep and had that nightmare that hadn’t appeared for so long…
Her eyelashes trembled slightly.
She suddenly opened her still-puffy eyelids to find that it was already broad daylight.
Wei Shao hadn’t left either; he was still lying on the bed, holding her as he slept.
She had barely moved when he opened his eyes.
His gaze was clear, but the blue stubble on his cheeks was evidence that he hadn’t slept well the night before.
Their eyes met.
“Weren’t you supposed to leave today? Why didn’t you wake me?”
Xiao Qiao’s voice still carried a thick nasal tone.
Remembering how she had broken down crying uncontrollably in his arms the night before, she felt a twinge of shame.
She could barely meet his gaze. Lowering her eyelids, she murmured the question.
“I was worried about you,” Wei Shao said, gazing at her intently.
…
Wei Shao canceled his original plan to leave that day.
For the entire day, he didn’t go anywhere, staying in the room to accompany Xiao Qiao and Fei Fei.
Another night fell with its unhurried pace.
Bright lamps were lit in the room.
Wei Shao lay on his side facing inward, on the outer edge of the bed.
Xiao Qiao was on the inner side of the bed.
Between them lay Fei Fei, freshly bathed.
Fei Fei had already forgotten the distress of being sent away by her heartless father the night before.
At that time, no matter how much she cried, her mother wouldn’t come to comfort her.
Now it was better. She lay between her parents, happily shaking the little silver bell on her wrist, kicking her legs contentedly. When she got hungry, she would nuzzle towards her fragrant, soft mother, seeking to nurse.
Wei Shao silently watched the scene before him.
The swelling of her eyelids from this morning had subsided, and her black hair was spread like clouds on the pillow.
Although she was now a mother, her beautiful face, which could make any man in the world stop and stare, still retained the fresh charm of a young girl.
What Wei Shao loved most, in fact, were her eyes.
He still remembered the night of their wedding, when he first saw her face to face in the bridal chamber, how deeply those beautiful and lively eyes had impressed him.
This was probably why he later became fond of touching and kissing her eyelids.
Fei Fei, having eaten her fill, closed her eyes and gradually fell asleep.
Because she had nursed so vigorously, another layer of sweat had accumulated on her neck.
Xiao Qiao looked up. “Husband, please pass me a handkerchief…”
She parted her red lips, her eyes widening as she watched Wei Shao suddenly lean towards her, slowly drawing closer.
Reaching across Fei Fei beneath them, their lips met.
Xiao Qiao’s eyelashes fluttered lightly, and she slowly closed her eyes, accepting this sudden yet gentle kiss from him.
“Manman, don’t blame me…” Wei Shao whispered, their faces close together, his breath low and heavy. “I know I’m not the good husband you deserve… Give me some more time, will you?”