Wei Shao initially walked side by side with Xiao Qiao, but gradually his pace quickened, leaving her behind. By the time they returned to the inner courtyard of the west wing, although Xiao Qiao was deliberately trying to catch up with him, she still lagged several meters behind.
Xiao Qiao finally slowed her pace, watching as he took a few steps up the stairs and disappeared through the doorway.
Chun Niang and the maids in the corridor came to greet them upon their return. Xiao Qiao inquired about the kitten and, learning that it had been brought back, nodded and instructed them to keep a closer eye on it to prevent it from running off alone again. Otherwise, it would be troublesome to search for it in the vast Wei mansion.
The maid acknowledged her instructions. Chun Niang asked if they were ready for dinner.
As dusk deepened, Xiao Qiao hadn’t eaten her evening meal yet. She guessed Wei Shao probably hadn’t eaten either. She told them to prepare the meal and headed towards the door of the room. She pushed open the slightly ajar door and stepped inside.
The room was still unlit at this moment, and the light was somewhat dim. Only a sliver of smoky blue twilight filtered through the closed western window, casting a faint, hazy glow over the furnishings in the room.
At first glance, she didn’t see Wei Shao. She took a few steps inside, stopping at the side of the folding screen, and tentatively called out, “Husband, dinner is ready.” Suddenly, without warning, an arm reached out from behind her and gripped her waist. Before she could react, she was lifted off the ground and slung over Wei Shao’s shoulder, who then carried her to the bed.
Xiao Qiao was tossed onto the bed by him as if she were a sack of flour.
Although the soft quilt on the bed cushioned her fall and she wasn’t hurt, her position was somewhat undignified, and she was a bit startled. As she crawled up and turned her head, she saw Wei Shao standing with his legs apart in front of the bed, suddenly raising one hand to begin undoing his belt.
As he unfastened his belt, his eyes fixed on her on the bed. At first, his movements were slow, but suddenly they seemed to become frenzied. He yanked off the belt and then tore open his collar.
This was all too sudden and inexplicable. Moreover, Xiao Qiao sensed that his demeanor was off.
She immediately tried to get off the bed. But Wei Shao had already thrown off the clothes he had just removed and pushed her back down. Then he knelt on the bed with one knee, pressing his other leg against her lower abdomen, immobilizing her.
Xiao Qiao immediately shook her head, “Dinner is prepared—”
Wei Shao reached out with one hand, his fingers spread to grip her cheeks, stopping her from shaking her head.
With her cheeks in his grip, Xiao Qiao ceased speaking.
She opened her eyes wide, looking at Wei Shao sitting on her lower abdomen with a hint of fear, as he stared at her motionlessly.
He seemed to be examining her. As if he didn’t recognize her before.
“Husband—”
Xiao Qiao gazed at him with both eyes, mumbling his title with difficulty.
Xiao Qiao truly felt afraid. The bone-chilling fear that had swept over her on their wedding night when she had accidentally woken him, and he had drawn a long sword from under his pillow and pointed it at her face, once again engulfed her.
Wei Shao’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he released her cheeks. Then, his heavy body pressed down, pinning her beneath him.
In the past, there had been times when he had been urgent in his desire for her, even hurting her with his rough movements. But never like this. He showed no trace of tenderness towards her. Xiao Qiao saw his face contort to the point of distortion, his expression changing to reveal a hint of ferocity.
The room was dim in the twilight, and the light was even more subdued within the half-concealed bed curtains. But in his eyes, as he looked down at her, there was a blazing light, a mix of excitement, desire, and other dark gleams that Xiao Qiao couldn’t understand.
Xiao Qiao instinctively began to struggle, her hands pushing and pounding against his shoulders. He responded by biting her lip. Biting so hard it caused her immense pain.
Xiao Qiao clenched her teeth tightly. Wei Shao then left her lips, his hand following to tear open her collar, lowering his head to assault her warm, jade-like bosom with both mouth and hands. The snow-white skin of her chest quickly bore striking red marks, and Xiao Qiao whimpered in pain, “What have I done wrong…”
Wei Shao’s eyes flared with even more desire, and without a word, his large hand gripped one of her thighs, bending it upwards.
Subjected to such brutal treatment, thinking of his erratic behavior over the past two days, the tenderness of their past intimate moments now seemed like a cruel irony.
The room held the stifling heat of Indian summer, and after such an ordeal, her body was covered in sweat. Yet the chill in Xiao Qiao’s heart was spreading, and a vague anger was slowly rising.
As he panted with hot, turbid breath, about to forcefully enter her, she raised her hand and turned his face towards her own, forcing him to look into her eyes.
“I want you to explain clearly, why are you treating me like this?” she stared into his eyes, enunciating each word.
Wei Shao was already drenched in sweat, his face flushed as if drunk, with a hint of blood seeming to surge in his eyes.
“All men in the world wish to possess you as I do, are you satisfied now? Never mind others, even the men of my Wei family, must they all become slaves to your charms?”
He paused for a moment, then said through gritted teeth.
In that split second, Xiao Qiao suddenly understood and was shocked to the core.
“You suspect me of having an affair with your cousin?”
Wei Shao’s eyelids twitched, but he remained silent as if he no longer wanted to speak with her. His bloodshot eyes once again fell on her lips, and he lowered his head, pressing down to suck and bite forcefully.
“Let go!”
Xiao Qiao pushed his face away with all her might.
He said nothing, his expression growing even more gloomy, and turned back to bite her viciously again.
Her lips were already swollen from his actions.
Xiao Qiao pushed him away forcefully once more.
As he was about to bite down for the third time, Xiao Qiao raised her hand and grabbed his hair fiercely. Wei Shao let out a low hiss, but disregarding the pain of his hair being pulled, he turned his face back to suck and bite at her mouth again.
The pain and anger from the depths of her heart made Xiao Qiao unable to endure any longer. She released his hair and slapped him hard across the face.
A loud “smack” resounded.
As if struck by a freezing spell, Wei Shao suddenly stopped, his entire body becoming rigid.
Slowly, he turned his face back, touching his left cheek, then stared at her with a hint of disbelief and exasperation in his eyes.
During their earlier struggle, Xiao Qiao had already become exhausted and out of breath, her hair in complete disarray. Seeing him staring at her like this, she took a breath and said angrily, “Anything else, I can tolerate. But this one thing, I absolutely cannot allow you to be so narrow-minded as to force such accusations upon me!”
She paused, then said mockingly, “Even if I were so fickle, the men of your Wei family wouldn’t necessarily catch my eye!”
Wei Shao’s expression froze.
Xiao Qiao said no more and completely stopped struggling. She closed her eyes, her expression becoming utterly calm.
Wei Shao stared intently at her calm, closed-eyed face, his breathing even heavier.
A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead, splattering onto the center of her brow, and spreading out. After a moment, it gradually merged with the moisture that had seeped from her forehead.
Xiao Qiao suddenly felt the weight on her body lighten. Opening her eyes, she saw Wei Shao rising from her body, pulling up the bed curtain and stepping onto the floor.
The curtain, caught by the force of his arm, made a crisp tearing sound.
Wei Shao, with his back to her, quickly put on the clothes he had thrown on the ground earlier and strode away.
Xiao Qiao’s heart was pounding like a small drum, listening to the footsteps in the corridor outside, Spring Lady asking him if he would have dinner, and then the voices faded, falling silent.
Xiao Qiao slowly sat up from the pillow, her hands still trembling slightly. She composed herself, then looked down to adjust her clothes that had been torn askew by him.
Chun Niang came in. Her steps were hesitant at first. Seeing Xiao Qiao sitting on the bed, she was startled and quickly ran over.
“We just had a small disagreement. The Marquis is upset and went out for a walk, that’s all.”
Xiao Qiao stopped Chun Niang, whose mouth was already open, and got off the bed herself, walking to the mirror to fix her disheveled hair.
Chun Niang followed behind her, looking at her back with concern.
“Chun Niang, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”
A moment later, Xiao Qiao, having fixed her hair, turned to her and said.
…
Wei Shao didn’t return to the room that night. He came back the next morning.
When he returned to the room, Xiao Qiao was already up and had just finished her makeup.
Wei Shao’s face was expressionless as if he hadn’t seen her. After washing up and changing his clothes, he headed to the north room. Xiao Qiao silently followed him. The two arrived before Madam Xu. Madam Xu said that Wei Yan had just left, they had just missed each other. Tomorrow was the Deer Hunt Assembly, which he had always managed single-handedly in the past. This time he had gone to Dai Prefecture and had just returned yesterday. Today he had matters to attend to, so he would likely be very busy all day.
As Madam Xu spoke, Wei Shao’s expression remained unchanged, while Xiao Qiao maintained a smile throughout. The two left together, and when they reached the fork in the path, Wei Shao didn’t pause, leaving her behind as he walked straight toward the main gate. Xiao Qiao called out to stop him.
He seemed to stop very reluctantly, turning half his face to glance at her.
Xiao Qiao walked up to him and said, “It’s nothing much. Just about that Western Region cat. It was originally a gift from you to me. Since you can’t touch it, and you seem to dislike it, it’s not convenient for me to keep it anymore. You’d better take it back. Or if you find it troublesome, I can find someone else willing to adopt it. Since it’s your property, I wanted to inform you before making any arrangements.”
She quite liked it and wanted to keep it. But she truly felt that this cat seemed to clash with both members of the Wei family, and it didn’t seem appropriate for her to continue keeping it.
“It’s just an animal! If I’ve given it to you, keep it if you want. Though I may be narrow-minded, I won’t hold a grudge against a mere animal!”
Wei Shao said coldly, then turned and left.
Xiao Qiao paused, watching his figure disappear, then turned back to her room. After returning to her room and thinking it over, she still felt she couldn’t keep it.
This cat was precious, and its main diet was naturally meat. Ordinary families certainly couldn’t afford to keep it, and Xiao Qiao couldn’t bear to let it become a stray. So she instructed her servants to find a suitable family to give it to. Lin Ao and the others were all very surprised. They thought it was a pet that the Marquis had given to the Lady to please her, why would she want to give it away after just a few days? Although they all liked its fluffy appearance, they knew they couldn’t afford to keep it themselves, and were afraid of being held responsible if it died in their care. Unexpectedly, by evening, a servant came from the north room, saying that Madam Xu had heard about it and wanted the cat brought over for her to keep.
Xiao Qiao hurriedly carried the cat over herself. When Madam Xu saw the cat, she was very fond of it. The cat also seemed to get along well with her. After being held and petted on the head a few times by Madam Xu, it made a few purring sounds in its throat and curled up motionlessly on her lap.
“I heard it was specially given to you by Er Lang to keep, but after just a few days, you want to give it away?” Madam Xu asked after holding the cat for a while.
Xiao Qiao said, “I was originally reluctant to part with it. When my husband brought it, I only then realized it caused him discomfort.” She then briefly mentioned how he had sneezed when entering the cat house and later developed itchy red spots on his body.
Madam Xu nodded in understanding, “I see. No wonder! You indeed can’t keep it there. From now on, let it stay here with me. It seems to get along well with me. It can also keep me company.”
Xiao Qiao smiled and said, “Originally, I was worried about finding a good place for it. Now that Grandmother has taken it in, it’s truly fortunate, much better than if I were to keep it. I’m relieved now.”
Madam Xu smiled, lowered her head to stroke the cat, and asked as if casually, “Has Zhonglin upset you?”
Xiao Qiao was slightly startled. Looking up, she saw Madam Xu’s single eye gazing at her, though filled with a gentle smile, it was very bright. She guessed that Madam Xu must have noticed something.
Indeed, Madam Xu smiled again and said, “When you two came to see me this morning, I felt something was off right away. Usually, when you come to see me, we barely exchange a few words before I see you two glancing at each other. But this morning, only my grandson was looking at you, and I noticed you didn’t even cast a sidelong glance at him. I thought, if it’s not him offending you, what else could it be?”