After their father left, Qiao Xiao and Qiao Ci waited anxiously. About half an hour later, seeing him return, Qiao Ci hurriedly went to meet him and asked, “Father, did you persuade Uncle?”
Qiao Xiao noticed her father’s slightly furrowed brow and her heart sank. As expected, Qiao Ping shook his head, “Your uncle is determined to seek peace. I’m afraid he can’t be persuaded!”
Qiao Ci started to leave, but Qiao Ping stopped him, “Stay put! This matter ends here. There’s no use in saying more!”
Qiao Ci froze, his expression gloomy.
Qiao Ping paused, his tone softening slightly, “The Wei family might not accept this marriage proposal either. Let’s wait and see. If by some fortune it doesn’t work out, I’ll propose an alliance with Chengliu again. I don’t think your uncle will object then.”
Though he said this, Qiao Xiao could hear that her father didn’t hold much hope for this outcome.
Qiao Ci believed him and looked hopeful.
Qiao Ping turned to Qiao Xiao, hesitated, then said gently, “Manman, spend more time with your sister. Comfort her. The marriage may not happen. Even if it does, Wei Shao is young and renowned as a hero, a local hegemon. I’ve heard he’s handsome too. He wouldn’t be a bad match.”
…
That night, Qiao Xiao and Qiao Da shared a bed again. Qiao Xiao could see that Qiao Da was clearly preoccupied, yet she still forced a smile in front of her and didn’t mention a word about the marriage. This made Qiao Xiao feel even worse.
Her father had asked her to comfort Qiao Da, but she felt that all words of comfort were so pale and powerless, of no help at all.
The two sisters lay face to face, and in the dim night, Qiao Xiao suddenly heard her cousin’s voice, “Manman, it’s been a while since you’ve seen Young Master Liu, hasn’t it?”
…
The “Young Master Liu” Qiao Da mentioned was Qiao Xiao’s current fiancé and husband in her previous life, the Later Emperor Liu Yan, courtesy name Maoqing. However, at present, Liu Maoqing was just an overlooked eldest son in the Langya Kingdom, a Han Dynasty fief. When he was thirteen, his stepmother, to support her own son’s claim to power, slandered him before his father, accusing him of harassing her. The King of Langya, who already favored his younger son, believed the slander, stripped Liu Maoqing of his status, and banished him from Langya. Because his maternal aunt was Qiao Xiao’s paternal aunt, he came to seek refuge in Yanzhou.
At that time, the Han Dynasty was in decline. In the capital Luoyang, the fourteen-year-old emperor, who had been placed on the throne by Chancellor Xing Xun seven years ago, was little more than a puppet, with Chancellor Xing Xun effectively controlling the court. If even the emperor was in such a state, the Liu family members in the fiefdoms had even less authority in the face of the various local warlords who commanded their troops.
So the Qiao family wasn’t afraid of offending the King of Langya and took in Liu Yan. He was exceptionally handsome and talented, winning Qiao Ping’s favor, and he cared for him in many ways. Finally, three years ago, when he was eighteen, the King of Langya, heeding the advice of his officials, realized he had wronged his eldest son and regretted his actions. He brought Liu Yan back. Shortly after, the King of Langya sent envoys to Yanzhou, intending to seek Qiao Xiao’s hand in marriage for Liu Yan.
Qiao Ping had long noticed that his daughter Qiao Xiao and Liu Yan were well-matched. When he asked Qiao Xiao’s opinion and saw her shy silence, he knew she was willing. He immediately agreed to the marriage, and the two were betrothed, with the wedding set for next year when Qiao Xiao would turn fifteen.
Half a year ago, Liu Yan had come to Dongjun once, ostensibly to congratulate Qiao Yue on his birthday. He had been longing to see Qiao Xiao and thought he could use this opportunity to meet her and express his yearning. However, for some reason, Qiao Xiao had consistently avoided seeing him, and he had to leave disappointedly in the end.
…
The nightmare of her previous life had left Qiao Xiao with a deep psychological shadow that she couldn’t shake off. Moreover, she was no longer the original Qiao Xiao who had grown up with Liu Yan, and she couldn’t say she had any feelings for this fiancé. So at that time, she had avoided meeting him. Now, hearing Qiao Da suddenly mention him, she was slightly startled.
These days, day and night, whether her eyes were open or closed, all she could think about was her cousin Qiao Da’s marriage. She had almost forgotten that she was also betrothed, and her wedding was approaching, set for next year.
“Manman, if I get married this time, the north is so far away, I’m afraid I won’t be able to return for your wedding next year. We sisters might find it hard to meet again afterward. Fortunately, you and Young Master Liu are of one heart, so I’m sure you’ll be like harmonious Phoenix mates after marriage. Your sister has nothing to worry about.”
Qiao Xiao heard her say in a gentle tone. Her heart ached, and her eyes slowly began to burn.
Qiao Da didn’t notice her unease and continued with a smile, “Your needlework has never been very good, and it seems to have gotten worse these past two years. Your sister doesn’t have much to give you, but earlier I was thinking about your marriage next year. The Liu family is of the imperial clan, so the needlework to be presented to the Liu family members must not be careless.
So at the beginning of the year, during my spare time, Spring Lady and I made some things for you, which are all kept with her. Now the preparations are almost complete, except for a pair of red slippers to be presented to your father-in-law. Because they take a lot of work, we left them for last. Your sister has already started, but I’m not sure about the color matching. Do you want to take a look and see what’s best? We can discuss it…”
Qiao Da moved, about to get out of the covers, but Qiao Xiao held her down and said in as steady a voice as she could manage, “Thank you, Sister. There’s no need to look now. Sister, you’re tired too. Let’s sleep.”
Qiao Da said, “I’m just anxious, afraid I won’t have time to finish before…” She stopped, was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, “Tomorrow is fine too. Let’s sleep now.”
…
The room fell quiet.
Qiao Da seemed to sleep very soundly, motionless, her breathing very steady.
Qiao Xiao stayed awake at first, but as the early hours of the morning approached, drowsiness finally overtook her. Just as she was about to drift off, she suddenly sensed Qiao Da, who was sleeping on her outer side, move slightly. Then, stealthily, she climbed out of bed. Without lighting a lamp, she felt her way in the moonlight filtering through the window to put on her clothes, then quietly headed out, slowly opening the door, passing by the soundly sleeping maids in the outer room, and leaving the bedchamber.
At first, Qiao Xiao thought she was just going to relieve herself, so she didn’t say anything. But then she felt something was amiss. After Qiao Da left, Qiao Xiao suddenly remembered something that had happened in her previous life. Alarmed, she quickly got out of bed, hastily put on her clothes, and holding her breath, quietly followed the same path out.
The moonlight was cold and clear tonight, illuminating the courtyard with a frosty glow. As she stepped over the threshold, she saw Qiao Da’s figure flash quickly by the flower window, seemingly heading towards the back garden.
…
In the depths of the Qiao family’s back garden, a young man was already waiting there.
His face was handsome, his body as strong and agile as a leopard, every muscle concealing tremendous power ready to explode at any moment.
The wall of the Qiao family’s back garden was as high as two men, but this posed no difficulty for him.
He stood motionless in a dark corner where the moonlight couldn’t reach, his silhouette swallowed by the night, merging into the boundless darkness.
He had been waiting here for a long time, the thin, patched coarse linen clothes he wore now permeated with the chill of the winter night.
But he didn’t feel cold at all.
He didn’t know if his love, that noble lady from the lord’s mansion, would come to meet him here. But he still came early to wait.
In his heart, a small flame was burning. Though weak and tiny, on the verge of being extinguished at any moment, it was enough to warm him in this cold night.
When he was born, one of his eyes was green, glowing in the night. His parents, terrified and thinking it ominous, abandoned him near a pigsty next to the Qiao family’s horse farm. In the freezing weather, he didn’t die of cold but was taken into the pigsty by a sow and survived on her milk. When the stable hand discovered him, thinking it extraordinary, he reported it to the master. He was kept and raised as a slave on the horse farm.
He had no surname, no given name. Because he was abandoned near a pigsty at birth, Bi Zhi (Compared to Pigs) became his name.
…
Qiao Xiao followed to the back garden and saw from a distance that her cousin was first embraced by the young man who had stepped out of the shadows. Then, she forcefully broke free, seeming to say something to him.
She immediately understood everything in her heart.
…
In her previous life, not long after Qiao Da’s marriage, a stable slave named Bi Zhi disappeared one day. The Qiao family had hundreds of servants, and the loss of one didn’t attract much attention from the master. After a fruitless search, the matter was dropped. Years later, a great drought in Jiangnan led to widespread chaos, with refugees roaming everywhere, gradually degenerating into various groups of bandits.
Among them, a green-eyed bandit chief rose to prominence, swallowing up various forces and gradually becoming a significant power, eventually occupying Huaiyin and proclaiming himself a commander. At that time, Xing Xun in Luoyang sent troops to suppress him but suffered repeated defeats. Coupled with the intense warfare with Wei Shao, the matter was left unresolved, and they could only allow him to carve out his territory.
Later, just as Wei Shao eliminated Xing Xun, seized Luoyang, and dominated the Central Plains, this usually solitary green-eyed bandit chief suddenly voluntarily pledged allegiance to Liu Yan, who had been established as the Han Emperor in Yongdu by a group of officials loyal to the Han Dynasty. Liu Yan, lacking troops and generals at the time, was overjoyed and enfeoffed him as the King of Huaiyin. He then openly became Wei Shao’s enemy.
It could be said that if it weren’t for the obstruction and counterattacks of this seemingly out-of-nowhere King of Huaiyin, Wei Shao’s timeline for seizing the world could have been advanced by at least two years.
The final fate of this King of Huaiyin was also quite legendary.
After that final decisive battle at Weinan that determined the fate of the world, the King of Huaiyin disappeared in the chaos of battle. Some said he was dead, others that he had gouged out one eye, disfigured himself and escaped. Wei Shao, who hated him to the bone, issued an order with a reward of a thousand gold and the title of Ten Thousand Household Marquis, demanding to see him alive or his corpse if dead.
But there was never any result. It wasn’t until half a year later that news reached Wei Shao that someone had seemingly seen a person resembling the King of Huaiyin appear near the ancestral tomb of the Wei family. Wei Shao immediately rushed over but didn’t notice anything unusual. It was only later discovered that the desolate grave outside the tomb had been broken open, and the yellow earth pit was empty, with the coffin nowhere to be seen.
Wei Shao had deposed Empress Qiao, and after her death, she wasn’t allowed to be buried in the Wei family tomb. Instead, she was buried in this solitary grave outside the tomb.