Wei Shao suddenly leaped up from his couch, only to realize he was completely naked. Glancing around, he saw that she had neatly folded and placed his discarded clothes aside. He hastily dressed himself and strode out, leaving the magistrate’s office without even mounting his horse, rushing homeward.

It was not yet the fifth watch. A half-moon hung askew in the deep blue eastern sky, with sparse stars and only the brilliant Venus shining brightly. The streets were empty, houses on both sides pitch black, with only distant, occasional dog barks breaking the silence.

Wei Shao walked briskly along the predawn streets of Yuyang. As he neared the Wei residence, his pace slowed until he finally stopped, gazing at the two illuminating lanterns hanging high at the entrance.

In these past few days, for the first time, he had profoundly experienced Qiao’s influence on his psyche. Her joys and sorrows seemed to affect his own emotions, to the extent that he impulsively blurted out nonsense about letting her hit him just to please her. This was utterly inconceivable before.

As for Wei Yan’s incident and subsequent resignation, it left Wei Shao deeply depressed. These past few days, Wei Shao had asked himself: if he hadn’t confronted Wei Yan in his rage, exposing that private shame and even getting into a fight with him, would those undesirable events have occurred?

Wei Shao knew such thoughts were extremely unfair to her.

Given Wei Yan’s unusual background and his desire to leave, even without her as a catalyst, something else would have eventually caused the brothers to fall out.

But for a woman – and one from the enemy family he had sworn in his youth to exterminate – to have such a profound impact on his emotions and actions, left him feeling perplexed and uneasy. He even felt a sense of self-contempt and guilt for his behavior.

This was why, upon returning home today, though extremely fatigued with his nerves stretched to the limit, he still restrained himself from displaying too much emotion in front of her.

Just like now, Wei Shao suddenly realized that in rushing home, his thoughts were of soothing her potential distress over last night’s events. As if tripped by an invisible rope, he slowly came to a halt.

He stood there outside the main gate, hesitating for a long while. Suddenly, he saw the gate open and half of the gatekeeper’s figure emerged. As if caught red-handed, he immediately turned and left.

The day was breaking. The gatekeeper, as usual, came out slowly from behind the gate with a long hook, preparing to lower and extinguish the lanterns. Raising his eyes, he saw a figure standing not far from the main gate, who walked away upon seeing him emerge. Squinting, he thought the silhouette looked somewhat familiar, but before he could make it out clearly in the dim surroundings, the figure had vanished.

The gatekeeper yawned and turned his gaze away.

…

Xiao Qiao, her mind preoccupied, woke up early as dawn broke. Feeling a slight headache and her body not fully recovered from the soreness of last night’s intimacy, she sat up in bed for a while before getting up to prepare for the day.

After washing up, Chun Niang said breakfast was ready in the small kitchen. However, she had no appetite and only drank a bowl of warm, slowly simmered fine rice porridge. As she was about to go to the north room, a maidservant entered, saying someone had come to the main gate early in the morning to deliver a letter for the lady. She handed over a sealed bamboo tube.

Xiao Qiao was momentarily bewildered, unable to think of who would send her a letter at this time. Taking the bamboo tube, she slowly pried open the seal with a knife and extracted a rolled-up piece of parchment. As soon as she saw the familiar elegant handwriting on the parchment, her eyes widened, radiating joy.

The letter was from Da Qiao!

Da Qiao wrote that she and Bi Zhi had become husband and wife, and they were now in Lingbi.

Months ago, Xuzhou Prefect Xue Tai invaded Yanzhou but was attacked from behind by Yang Xin, forcing him to hastily turn back to fight. Now the two sides were in complete conflict, still attacking each other. The Huainan area was in great turmoil, and even the remote mountain village where she and Bi Zhi lived was not at peace. Recently, a small detachment of Xue Tai’s official troops entered the mountains to conscript men and plunder food.

The villagers begged to be spared, but the troops were like wolves and tigers, even injuring the elderly man who had initially led her and Bi Zhi into the village. Enraged, Bi Zhi killed all the troops, collected their weapons, and organized the villagers to set up checkpoints at the mountain entrances to block outsiders.

The villagers greatly respected him and followed his every word. Many nearby villagers, also driven to desperation by the official troops, heard the news and came with their families to seek refuge. Bi Zhi took them in. To guard against future attacks by troops or bandits, he selected strong men to train as soldiers. Last month, Bi Zhi personally led a force to wipe out a nearby bandit lair that had long been a menace. His reputation spread even further. Now the village had gathered a thousand people, all following Bi Zhi’s orders, maintaining good order.

Da Qiao said she was initially frightened and didn’t want Bi Zhi to gather people against the officials. But they couldn’t return to Dongjun, and if they fled elsewhere, with Bi Zhi now a wanted criminal with his portrait posted on city walls by Xue Tai offering a reward, it would be hard to find a place in the world where they could settle down safely for long. Moreover, those displaced people were begging so pitifully that she couldn’t bear to abandon them, so for now they could only protect themselves in this enclosed area. She knew Xiao Qiao was in Yuyang and missed her very much, wanting to know how she was doing.

She said she had understood long ago that given Xiao Qiao’s usual temperament, her earlier talk of wanting to choose another marriage was just an excuse to persuade herself. She felt both grateful and ashamed. Bi Zhi was also deeply grateful for Xiao Qiao’s previous act of marrying Wei Shao in her place. She had sent someone north to deliver this letter, not only to report that they were safe, but also to ask Xiao Qiao to pass on a verbal message: if there was anything they needed in the future, please feel free to ask, and Bi Zhi would certainly do his utmost to help.

Da Qiao’s letter was very long, filling an entire side of the parchment. Although there was a hint of worry, Xiao Qiao seemed to read expressions of Da Qiao’s love for her husband Bi Zhi between every line.

In the end, she told Xiao Qiao that she had become pregnant last month, and everything was fine now, and asked Xiao Qiao not to worry, to take good care of herself, and hoped the sisters would have a chance to reunite soon talk more about their feelings of separation.

…

Xiao Qiao shut herself in her room and read Da Qiao’s letter several times from beginning to end, her eyes shining, her emotions almost describable as surging.

The sisters had been apart for so long, and today she finally had news of her!

Not only were she and Bi Zhi doing well, but in these chaotic times, Bi Zhi, as she knew, ultimately could not fade into obscurity among the masses. Although in the eyes of the officials, he was now just a bandit leader, and far from reaching a significant scale. But Xiao Qiao knew that given Bi Zhi’s achievements in his previous life, now that he had taken the first step in this life of warlords vying for power, his future would certainly be extraordinary.

All this was fine, but what excited her most was the news of Da Qiao’s pregnancy.

Although her words were brief and she didn’t describe her feelings at length in writing, Xiao Qiao seemed to sense from her narration the shy and joyful happiness she must have felt while writing these words. Consequently, her mood improved as well.

The various dark clouds that had been weighing on her heart these past days suddenly seemed to clear away, revealing the sun.

Since marrying into the Wei family, although she had Wei Shao’s grandmother’s protection, Xiao Qiao had been treading on thin ice in her daily life, observing words and expressions, and responding carefully. The inherent status disparity between the Qiao and Wei families and the manner of her marriage to the Wei family determined that for a long time to come, she lacked the confidence to place herself on an equal footing with Wei Shao as husband and wife.

Rather than being Wei Shao’s wife, it was more like being a superior she needed to completely suppress her nature to deal with. Even when her husband occasionally showed pleasure towards her, or even during intimate moments in the bedroom, somewhere deep in her heart, there was always a voice reminding her not to get carried away.

However, she was ultimately flesh and blood, unable to be completely detached and transcend everything. The grandmother’s virtue was like a high mountain, inspiring her heartfelt admiration, and although her husband Wei Shao was often incomprehensible, his treatment of her was ultimately not completely heartless. After spending time together, it was impossible not to develop some feelings. This is why she inevitably felt disappointed and even self-doubting after failing to emotionally connect with him.

Just like last night, she knew Wei Shao had consecutively faced his wife being coveted by his elder brother, and before that wave had settled, he had to face the dilemma of falling out with his brother. It was inevitable that his emotions would be unusual. Given her current level of interaction with him, he couldn’t possibly confide everything in her. And it just so happened that she went over, and by coincidence, this led to him treating her that way. So although she was unwilling at the time, she still tried her best to cooperate with him.

It was just that his reaction afterward was not what she had expected, so that feeling of disappointment came over her again, causing her mood to worsen to the point where she didn’t want to face it directly.

But now, Da Qiao’s letter, as if descending from the heavens, suddenly invigorated Xiao Qiao’s spirit. The self-doubt of many days, and even ridiculous self-pity, all retreated.

The feud between the Wei and Qiao families was there for all to see. She had entered the Wei family less than a year ago. Her current situation, compared to Da Qiao’s previous life, was already incomparably better.

She remembered telling herself when she first got married that the road ahead would certainly be difficult.

Having had this awareness early on, to now feel self-pity and self-loathing at the slightest adversity, wasn’t this just spinning a cocoon around herself, extremely foolish?

Wei Shao’s detestability was not something she had just learned about. She was not a great furnace that could instantly melt an iceberg. How could she expect to turn it to water in an instant? Why should she be at odds with herself over this?

The most urgent matter at hand was to take good care of the ill grandmother, absolutely not allowing her to pass away as she did in her previous life. After the grandmother recovered, she would find an excuse to return to Dongjun for a while. If she could meet with Bi Zhi and Da Qiao’s couple again, it would be even more perfect.

As for Wei Shao, he was too detestable. If he wanted to act up, let him do so. She couldn’t be bothered to carefully pander to him anymore.

Having thought it through, Xiao Qiao felt her chest open up, all her depression dissipating. She carefully hid the letter, looked at herself in the mirror, and then went out towards the north room.

Last night, the male lord did not return home. Early in the morning when she got up, Chun Niang saw Xiao Qiao’s haggard face and distracted demeanor and was also worried. Suddenly a letter came, and she shut herself in the room. When she came out, she was radiant, as if she had become a different person. Chun Niang also breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t help but ask about the origin of the letter.

In front of Chun Niang, Xiao Qiao had nothing to hide. After pondering for a moment, she told her about the news of Da Qiao and Bi Zhi. But she only said that the two of them were well and that Da Qiao was pregnant. She didn’t mention anything else.

Xiao Qiao had previously told Chun Niang about Da Qiao leaving with Bi Zhi. Hearing this news, she was extremely happy. Accompanying Xiao Qiao all the way, as they were about to reach the north room and seeing no one around, she lowered her voice and said, “This servant got some news from the east room yesterday. It’s said that Madam greatly offended Old Madam in front of her a few days ago. At the time, Old Madam was so angry that she even overturned the table and drove Madam away. Madam has been frightened these past few days, which is why she hasn’t taken a single step out. As for what exactly angered Old Madam, I couldn’t find out for the moment.”

Among the close servants of Madam Zhu in the east room, there was a respectable old woman named Huang. Because she didn’t get along with Jiang, Jiang often spoke ill of her in front of Madam Zhu, gradually causing Madam Zhu to dislike her. Huang was resentful, which Chun Niang noticed and gradually enticed her with favors. Now she seemed to be Chun Niang’s informant in the east room, often providing some news.

Hearing Chun Niang say this, and combining it with the events of the past few days, Xiao Qiao guessed it must be related to Wei Yan’s background. However, this matter was too secretive. Although Wei Yan had already left, the servants in the Wei residence still knew nothing about it. Madam Zhu only dared to speak about it in front of her son, not even daring to mention half a word to Jiang by her side. It was normal that the inside story couldn’t spread out.

Xiao Qiao remained silent. They had arrived at the north room, and she quickened her pace to enter.

Madam Xu had not yet gotten out of bed in the morning, but she was awake. Xiao Qiao saw that although her complexion was still not very good, her spirit seemed better than the past two days. Zhong was serving medicine by her side. The cat was dozing in the corner of the windowsill. Hearing Xiao Qiao’s footsteps as she entered, it opened its eyes to look, stretched lazily, leaped down from the windowsill, and ran to rub against Xiao Qiao’s feet a few times.

Madam Xu finished taking her medicine. Xiao Qiao took the empty bowl from Zhong’s hand and was about to pass it down when Madam Xu seemed to remember something and asked, “Shao came home yesterday evening, saw me, and then said he had business at the magistrate’s office. Did he come back late? How come I don’t see him this morning?”

Xiao Qiao was about to respond when footsteps were heard from outside, and a servant at the door announced, “The male lord has arrived.”

Xiao Qiao turned her head slightly, glancing to see a figure flashing at the door. It was indeed Wei Shao who had come.