With the fire at the Governor’s mansion not yet fully extinguished, it was temporarily uninhabitable. All the wounded were housed in the Six Departments’ offices in the eastern part of the city.
Soldiers carrying torches lit the way as Wei Shao walked. Apart from the flickering flames still visible from the direction of the Governor’s mansion behind him, the streets were pitch black from end to end. The doors and windows of the houses on both sides were tightly shut, making it seem like a ghost town. As they passed one house, the cry of a child suddenly rang out, only to be quickly silenced, presumably muffled by a terrified adult or buried under blankets. At the entrance of the government offices, dozens of Stone City officials, including the Deputy Governor, Chief Clerk, and Postmaster, were gathered in front of the guardhouse. They were faced by stern-looking armed soldiers. The officials were disheveled, their faces ashen. Some sat on the ground in a daze, while others hugged each other and wept. Suddenly, they heard a soldier shout “The Marquis arrives!” followed by a military salute. They all turned to see a man in armor, covered in blood, striding up the steps at the entrance. He was handsome and quite young, appearing to be only in his twenties. Realizing this was the renowned Wei Shao of the North, they trembled and dared not make a sound, only stealing glances at him.
Wei Shao ignored these Stone City officials. Once inside, he removed his armor, wiped the blood from his face, and went to comfort and reward the soldiers wounded in tonight’s assault on the city.
The battle for the city had been truly brutal. Although Stone City’s 20,000 defenders had been completely wiped out, Wei Shao’s forces had also suffered significant losses. Not counting the dead, this place alone was filled with wounded soldiers. Dozens of physicians moved among them, busy treating injuries, in a scene of great activity.
The soldiers were touched to see that their lord, instead of celebrating the victory, came to visit the wounded immediately after capturing the city.
After comforting the soldiers, Wei Shao went to see Wei Liang privately.
Feeling guilty, Wei Liang had fought recklessly during the assault and was hit by several fire arrows. Fortunately, none had struck vital areas. The military doctor had finished treating his wounds, and he was now lying on a bed, resting with his eyes closed. When he saw Wei Shao come to visit, he struggled to get up, but Wei Shao pressed him back down.
Although Wei Liang had been poisoned by the fire arrows and his wounds were serious, leaving his face as yellow as gold paper, he still managed to chat and joke, his spirit seemingly undiminished.
Wei Shao asked him for a detailed account of what had happened that day in Qiu Ji. Wei Liang recounted everything from beginning to end, finally gritting his teeth and saying, “That bastard Chen Rui is despicable, always resorting to underhanded schemes. He took advantage of my carelessness to abduct the young lady! He truly deserves to die! If I find him again, I’ll cut him into pieces to quell the hatred in my heart!”
Wei Shao asked, “You’re saying that the young lady was first abducted from the courier station, and then someone sent a passerby to inform you that she had fallen into Chen Rui’s hands? Do you know anything about that informant?”
Wei Liang shook his head in confusion, “I don’t know. I assume someone happened to witness it and came to report.”
As Wei Shao pondered this, the military officer from earlier hurriedly came to report that soldiers had discovered Chen Rui a few li outside the city’s west gate. He had stolen a military horse and seemed to be heading towards Leping. They were in hot pursuit.
Wei Liang was furious and tried to get out of bed, but the movement aggravated his wounds, causing him to grimace in pain.
Wei Shao’s expression remained unchanged, but a shadow passed through his eyes. He pressed down on Wei Liang’s shoulder, telling him to rest and recover. He then ordered the military doctor to treat him with the utmost care, allowing no mistakes. Only then did Wei Shao leave, mount his horse, and ride straight out of the west gate.
……
Chen Rui, having climbed over the wall of the latrine at the Governor’s mansion, took advantage of the chaos to flee out of the west gate. Seeing torches flickering behind him and the shadows of Wei Shao’s soldiers moving about, he knew they were searching for him. Like a frightened dog with its tail between its legs, he fled for a while before spotting a patch of thorny bushes in the wild. Disregarding the thorns piercing his skin, he dove into the bushes to hide, hoping to evade this round of pursuit and find a way to escape at dawn. Unfortunately, his luck had run out. He disturbed a family of wild raccoon dogs living in the thicket. The animals scattered, making noise that attracted the soldiers. They began stabbing into the bushes with their spears. Chen Rui endured at first, but then a soldier happened to stab him in the buttocks. With a yelp of pain, he burst out of the bushes, violently knocked down the soldier, stole a horse, and galloped away westward.
After a desperate sprint, he finally managed to leave the pursuing soldiers far behind and caught his breath. Noticing that his horse was panting heavily and slowing down, he feared it might die from exhaustion, leaving him without transportation. Moreover, he was exhausted himself. He dismounted to rest on the ground, but before he could catch his breath, he sensed that someone was catching up from behind.
The night was clear with few stars, and the open terrain allowed him to make out a group of at least a dozen pursuers. Chen Rui broke out in a cold sweat again, scrambled to his feet, and leaped back onto the horse, galloping away once more. In his panic, he chose his path poorly and ended up in a large graveyard. He could see his pursuers getting closer and closer, even hearing the sound of their horses’ hooves on the ground.
Chen Rui knew that Wei Shao must hate him to the bone by now, and if he were caught, a fate worse than death awaited him. Realizing that continuing to run was futile, he decided to take a gamble. He rolled off the horse’s back, gave it a hard kick to send it galloping forward, and then crawled into the graveyard. He stumbled upon a wild grave with a dark opening on its shaded side that looked large enough to hide in. Disregarding any superstitions, he dove in headfirst, curled up as tightly as he could, and then used a stone to block the entrance.
……
Wei Shao personally led the pursuit dozens of li outside the city walls, past the graveyard, and soon caught up with the riderless horse. Seeing that Chen Rui was nowhere to be found, he stopped and ordered his soldiers to search the nearby area. Finding no trace of him, Wei Shao remembered the graveyard they had passed and ordered the soldiers to search there as well.
The soldiers returned one by one, reporting that they had searched everywhere but found no sign of Chen Rui.
Wei Shao pondered for a moment, glancing back at the city walls. He considered that his soldiers had been marching rapidly for days and had just fought half the night to take the city, leaving them exhausted. Moreover, Stone City had just been captured, and there were countless matters to attend to. Although Gongsun Yang was overseeing things in his absence, it wasn’t good for him to be away for too long. After a moment of hesitation, he took one last look at the vast graveyard nearby, then ordered his troops to return to the city.
……
Chen Rui, huddled in the pitch-black grave, couldn’t see his hand in front of his face and didn’t dare move a muscle. He strained his ears to listen for any movement outside. At first, he heard footsteps nearby, but fortunately, no one noticed anything unusual about this shaded spot, and they passed by. After a long while with no other sounds, Chen Rui concluded that Wei Shao and his men must have left. He finally let out a long sigh of relief, only then noticing the stench of decay filling his nostrils, nearly making him vomit. Muttering “What rotten luck,” he pushed aside the stone to crawl out. Suddenly, he felt something firmly grab the back of his clothes, preventing him from moving.
Chen Rui’s mind immediately conjured images of vengeful ghosts. Although he usually killed without remorse and feared neither ghosts nor gods, being in a grave in the dead of night, surrounded by pitch darkness, with something firmly grasping his clothes, and a sudden chill wind blowing across the back of his neck was enough to make even his usually brave self break out in goosebumps. He lay flat on the ground, not daring to move, closing his eyes and muttering prayers non-stop. After a while, sensing no other strange occurrences behind him, he finally gathered the courage to slowly reach back and feel what was holding him. He discovered it was merely a wild thorn that had caught his clothes. With a forceful tug, he broke free and crawled out of the grave on all fours. Sitting on the ground, gasping for air, he waited for his nerves to settle. Not daring to linger, he got up, looked around the vast expanse, and finally managed to orient himself before hurriedly fleeing towards Binzhou.
……
When Wei Shao returned to the city, it was already past the fourth watch of the night.
Chen Pang had previously stockpiled over a dozen water dragons. The soldiers used these to fight the fire, which was finally extinguished. Although much of the Governor’s mansion had burned down and the granary was slightly affected, only a few hundred shi of grain were lost, with the rest unharmed. The fire hadn’t spread to nearby residential areas.
Gongsun Yang was directing the cleanup near the fire site when he suddenly saw Wei Shao approach. He hurried to meet him and give a report.
He too had been awake for a day and a night, but his spirits were still high, even excited. After giving a brief report, he smiled and said, “Congratulations, my lord. Today we successfully captured Stone City, securing a strategic position. Taking Jinyang is now within reach.”
Wei Shao smiled slightly and said, “You’ve had a busy night, Master. Dawn is approaching. You can delegate the remaining tasks and get some rest.”
Gongsun Yang agreed, then after a moment’s thought, added, “The fire at the Governor’s mansion was quite timely, aiding our assault on the city. However, its origin is somewhat suspicious. I took the liberty of visiting the young lady along with the military doctor. It turns out she started the fire to escape.”
He recounted the details, concluding with praise, “Who would have thought? The young lady appears delicate, yet she was able to inflict such harm on herself to escape, and then use the fire to her advantage. She remained calm in the face of danger and acted with purpose. I saw that her wrists were severely burned, covered in blisters of various sizes. It was a pitiful sight, enough to move even my heart. Yet when the military doctor treated her, she didn’t complain at all, instead reassuring me that she was fine. It truly impressed me.”
……
Although Chen Rui had feminine features, he possessed brute strength. He had tied Xiao Qiao’s hands behind her back as easily as catching a chicken and left her on the bed. After he left, she thought about Wei Shao’s attack on the city and the battle between the two forces. She realized that regardless of which side won the wall if she remained tied up here like a piece of meat on a chopping block, her fate would be dire. In her desperation, she suddenly noticed the two wedding candles lit in the room. She managed to get off the bed and hop to the candles. Raising her sleeves, she turned her back to the flames and, enduring excruciating pain, repeatedly burned the ropes on her wrists until they finally broke. By the time she freed herself, her once flawless white wrists were covered in blisters of various sizes. The pain was so intense that she broke out in a cold sweat and nearly fainted. After regaining her senses, she untied her feet, used the candles to set fire to the room’s curtains, and then covered her nose and mouth with a tea-soaked cloth. She hid behind the door wrapped in a cotton quilt. When the fire grew large enough to alarm the maidservant outside, who opened the door but couldn’t see clearly through the smoke, Xiao Qiao seized the opportunity to escape. Fortunately, with the battle raging on the city walls, the Governor’s mansion was deserted. Under the cover of darkness, she eventually found an empty stable upwind and hid there temporarily.
……
With much of the Governor’s mansion destroyed by fire, only a few buildings upwind remained intact. Xiao Qiao was now housed in an inner room, fully furnished and clean. Before leaving, Gongsun Yang had assigned two maidservants from the Governor’s mansion to attend to her needs and left a squad of soldiers to guard the corridors and entrances day and night.
Xiao Qiao knew she was finally safe.
For the past few days, she hadn’t closed her eyes for even a moment. After being brought here by Chen Rui, she had a hungry wolf eyeing her covetously at her side. She was constantly on edge, not daring to be too forceful for fear of angering him, yet needing to ensure he didn’t think she was easy prey. Dealing with Chen Rui and keeping him at bay had required all her wit and energy; every fiber of her being had been tense.
Now that she was safe, the persistent burning pain in her wrists tormented her, making sleep impossible. She wished she could just peel off the burned skin to find relief.
Earlier, when Gongsun Yang and the military doctor were present, she had forced herself to maintain composure, not wanting to show any weakness. Now, alone and in the quiet, she couldn’t help but let her tears fall. She cried silently for a while, and whether it was the medicine applied by the doctor taking effect or the emotional release that made her feel better, the pain in her wrists gradually seemed to lessen. With tears still on her face, she finally leaned back against the headboard and drifted off into a fitful sleep.