The Marquis Is Innocent

Wei Shao did not go back to his room that night but went out with Wei Liang to the government office and called Li Chong, Li Dian, Zhang Jian, and other generals, as well as Wei Quan, the chief secretary, for a discussion overnight.

Li Chong and Li Dian all suggested abandoning Yanzhou and defending Shiyi.

Li Chong said: “Except for the 50,000 soldiers and horses stationed in the Xiong Nu, my lord can mobilize a total of 150,000 troops, which is comparable to Chen Xiang’s strength. If we divide our troops in two, we can not take care of both sides.”

Li Deng said: “Yanzhou is not my territory, and it is not in the same spirit as me. It is like a chicken rib. Since it is difficult to obtain both ends, abandon it.”

Wei Quan said: “In my humble opinion, my lord should send all the troops to Shiyi and ensure Shiyi is not lost. Then fight against Chen Xiang. With the remaining power from last year’s battles in Boling and Shiyi, invades Jingyang and eradicates Chen Xiang’s base. Then, northern unification will be achieved. After the unification of the north, it is not too late for my lord to regain Yanzhou and then go south. Although my lord had married Qiao’s daughter, it was Yanzhou that you wanted, not Qiao’s family. Qiao Yue is known for his cowardice. Qiao Ping has no power and cannot make decisions. No matter which side wins in the end, each will certainly lose its strength. If Qiao’s family is lucky enough to hold on to Yanzhou, there will be no problem. If Qiao’s family can not hold on to Yanzhou, even if it falls into Xue Tai’s hands, he won’t be able to take hold of it for a long time because he is so despotic and unpopular. When my lord unifies the north, at that time, if there were still people in the Qiao family, my lord will send troops to support the Qiao family. If there is no one in the Qiao family, my lord will send troops in the name of revenge. There is no worry the people of Yanzhou will not be grateful. Then my lord could accomplish great things.”

Wei Liang, Zhang Jian, and others nodded their heads.

Wei Shao sits with his sword. His silhouette is intense. The candle flame on the side reflects his face, making his eyes half-dark. One can not see what he is thinking at the moment.

Wei Liang and the others finished their discussion and waited for a moment. Wei Shao finally said slowly: “What you all say, I have already aware. All of you should go and listen to my orders tomorrow.”

After Wei Liang, Li Chong, Li Dian, and others dispersed, Wei Shao remained alone in the government office, and the candle flame was lit until dawn.

The sun is rising in the east. Wei Shao came out of the government office and riding back to the Wei Manor. He did not go back to the west house but straight to the north house.

Mrs. Xu woke up early, as usual. After she had finished freshening up, Old Zhong came in and said the master was waiting outside.

It is still early. Mrs. Xu is surprised and calls him in. Wei Shao entered, kneeled to Mrs. Xu, and sat down. Mrs. Xu saw that his eyes were slightly bloodshot as if he had not slept well last night, so she asked him about it.

Wei Shao said, “ I had trouble making a decision last night, so I waited until morning and came to Grandmother to hear some advice.” He presented a letter from Gongsun Yang, repeating last night’s discussion.

After reading the letter, Mrs. Xu looked up at Wei Shao: “What do you think, are you going to save Yanzhou?”

Wei Shao said, “Yanzhou’s emergency is not my Wei family emergency. I think the north should be the priority.”

Mrs. Xu said, “If that’s the case, why did you come looking for me?”

Wei Shao hesitated for a moment. He raised his eyes and met Mrs. Xu’s solitary gaze: “I don’t dare to hide it from you. It is not that there is nothing we can do to save Yanzhou. But I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble to save the Qiao family.”

When he said this, his gaze showed a hint of hidden hatred.

Mrs. Xu’s one-eyed gaze flickered slightly: “The two families were related by marriage. It is considered an alliance. You are strong, and they are weak. Now, they are in danger and ask for your help. If you don’t save them, you are abandoning your relatives, just like abandoning your faith and righteousness. What is the difference between your actions and the Qiao family’s back then?”

Wei Shao did not say anything.

“Faith and righteousness can be large or small, real or false, and successful or unsuccessful. The Duke of Xiangyi’s act of faith and righteousness caused his hegemony to falter. Gaozu accomplished great things because of his faith and righteousness.”

Mrs. Xu looked at Wei Shao Xu and said: “It is clear that faith and righteousness is just dead thing, it is all between people’s choices. To save or not to save, it is also all in your heart. I believe you can make your own decision.”

Wei Shao was silent for a moment, changed from sitting to kneeling, and bowed to Mrs. Xu, “ Grandmother’s words, I have remembered it. I have something to do. I will leave.”

Mrs. Xu smiled at him and nodded her head.

When Wei Shao came out of the north house, it was almost daylight in the east. The cool morning breeze of the northern April blew towards him, slightly ruffling the corners of his clothes. He slowly walked to the west house and reached the courtyard. Some servants who had risen early and were sweeping the courtyard saw him return and hurriedly greeted him with a salute, saying, “The lady has risen and is freshening up in her room.”

Wei Shao stops at the bottom of the porch steps. With hands behind his back, he looks at the window where the glow of candlelight is still in view. He was lost in thought for a while and did not enter. He turns around and walks away under the puzzled gaze of the servants.

……

Wei Shao was suddenly called away last night and did not return. Left Xiao Qiao alone. Her sleep is not stable, and she got up early this morning. She saw that Wei Shao had not returned yet. When the morning came, she goes the north house to visit Mrs. Xu first.

Mrs. Xu, in front of Xiao Qiao, did not mention that Wei Shao had come here this morning. She spoke to her as usual about family matters.

Xiao Qiao left the north house and went to the east house.

Mrs. Zhu had been punished a while ago and claimed to be sick. Now she has returned, she is ashamed and does not show her face much anymore.

Xiao Qiao waited under the porch for a while, and then a servant came out with a message saying the madam instructed the lady not to come to visit her.

Xiao Qiao knew she did not want to see her. She came here only out of courtesy. When Xiao Qiao heard, she went back to the west room. After she went in, Chun Niang said the servant had seen the master in the courtyard early in the morning and seemed to have come back from the north house, but for some reason, he only stood at the bottom of the steps for a moment and did not go in, and then left.

When Chun Niang said this, her expression was a bit confused.

Xiao Qiao is also confused.

Do not know why, Wei Shao’s abnormality made her feel a little worried. Thinking about the sudden arrival of Wei Liang and Wei Shao was called away. Her heart is even more restless.

She feels as if something has happened. And it was something terrible that was related to her.

Soon, she knew what had happened.

The Yanzhou express messenger flew to Yuyang in the early hours. Apart from presenting a letter to Wei Shao, he also brought a family letter to Xiao Qiao.

The letter was written by Uncle Qiao Yue. In the letter, Qiao Yue explained the difficulties Yanzhou was experiencing and asked Xiao Qiao to intervene in front of Wei Shao and ask him for help. Otherwise, Yanzhou would be in trouble.

Qiao Yue repeatedly advised. The words are solemn, anxious, and jumped between the lines.

Xiao Qiao was shocked, and her heart pounded.

Yanzhou is her maternal home. Besides her aunt and uncle, Qiao’s family has her father and brother. Xue Tai has always had a reputation for being a tyrant, and 100,000 troops are pressing down on Yanzhou. With Yanzhou’s current situation, even if the people and the army are united in fighting, it will be a bad fortune in the end.

Xiao Qiao’s heart was in turmoil, and she walked back and forth in the room, pinching the letter.

She finally knew why Wei Shao did not enter the door this morning. It was because of what happened in Yanzhou.

He must have received the news earlier than she did.

But what happened in Yanzhou should not be the only situation either. Otherwise, Wei Liang would not have rushed back from Shiyi in the middle of the night to call him away.

Xiao Qiao stopped, pondered for a moment, and finally changed her clothes again and went to the north room.

Mrs. Xu was planting her beloved flower garden in the courtyard, accompanied by Old Zhong. When Xiao Qiao went there, she was dilling the flowers, her hands were covered with soil, and she looked very focused. When she saw Xiao Qiao coming, she washed her hands and gestured for her to follow her inside.

Xiao Qiao went in, knelt, and said, “I just received a letter from Yanzhou and learned that Yanzhou is in a state of emergency, and my uncle asked my husband for help. I know I am now a member of the Wei family, so I should not have asked questions about Yanzhou. But I was born and raised in my hometown, and there are relatives at home that I can’t leave behind. I didn’t see my husband this morning, so I dared to come to Grandmother and ask her for the sake of the two families’ affinity. ……”

In the previous life, there was no such thing as Xue Tai’s attack on Yanzhou.

Xiao Qiao also knows the old hatred between Qiao and Wei. Although the Qiao family wants to resolve it by marriage, this is a common means of resolving grievances or entering into a covenant between big families nowadays. The Wei family’s hatred towards the Qiao family, how can it be eliminated by sending a woman over?

Now Yanzhou is in danger. If Wei Shao helps, he is giving the Qiao family charity. And if he does not, it is only human nature. She came in front of Mrs. Xu and opened her mouth like this, it was not a proper thing to do.

But she has no choice at this moment.

She is deeply attached to her father and brother in Yanzhou. Her father was unable to take charge of things, and her brother was not yet an adult. The fact that Wei Shao passed by this morning and did not enter the door shows that he was reluctant to help his heart. She was anxious. Although she knows this is not appropriate, she has to try. The words were not enough, so she stopped and bowed deeply to Mrs. Xu, touching her forehead to the ground.

Mrs. Xu sat on the couch, looking at Xiao Qiao, who was bowing to the ground, and said, “This morning Zhong Lin came to me and said a few words about Yanzhou. You probably don’t know that it is not that Zhong Lin is unwilling to save, but there is another reason.”

Mrs. Xu briefly told the story of Chen Xiang and Xue Tai’s agreement to send troops to attack Shiyi and Yanzhou at the same time.

Xiao Qiao was stunned. Her heart is sinking.

Wei Shao hated the Qiao family, and even without Shiyi’s matters, she was afraid he would not be willing to save them.

Moreover, there is such a situation.

It was only natural for him not to save.

“ Grandmother, I would like to ask Grandmother to tell me, when my husband came to see Grandmother this morning and mentioned the Yanzhou military matter, what exactly did he say?”

She settled down, finally raised her head, and asked the question.

Mrs. Xu looked at Xiao Qiao with one eye and said, “Zhong Lin has not yet decided. Grandmother doesn’t know either.”

Xiao Qiao bowed once more to Mrs. Xu and thanked her, got up, and retreated.

Old Zhong sent Xiao Qiao and came back to see Mrs. Xu sitting there, seeming to be thinking about something. She can not help but ask: “Old Madam, do you think Marquis will help?”

Mrs. Xu said, “To help or not to help, it is in his heart. He should know. The only thing is the barrier is a little difficult.”

……

Xiao Qiao came back from the north room and asked the servants.

Wei Shao did not return, and no word was spoken.

She sat alone in the room for a moment, suddenly got up, and ordered Chun Niang to come in. She changed her clothes and combed her hair. She opened a box of new rouge. After finishing the makeup, her face was like a peach blossom, bright and feminine.

She put on her cloak, ordered the carriage to be prepared, boarded it, and headed for the Wei Shao Government Office.

The government office is not far from Wei Manor, just across the street.

It was still early in the morning, not yet the sixth hour. There were not many pedestrians on the street. The carriage carried Xiao Qiao, walking unhurriedly on the flat stone streets, the wheels pressing over the road, emitting a constant hollow-sounding clattering sound.

……

Never before Xiao Qiao realized that in this chaotic world, no one can be relied on, and the only way to be secure is to be strong.

It is the same for a person, a city, a household, and so on.

If the Qiao family continues like this, placing their hopes on the generosity of others, charity, and living on the noses of others, even if they are lucky to survive this crisis, there will be another same situation next time.

In the previous life, the Qiao family’s success ended up like that, both because of the hard lesson and their fault, and they could not blame others.

She was a bit careless and naive. But at this moment, she deeply felt that she must do something for the Qiao family in the future so they could rely on themselves, regain their backbone, and gain a foothold in the surrounding calculations and tiger eyes. Even if the process is hard and the result is small, it is better than doing nothing, just sitting and waiting for others, begging for mercy, and getting grace.

She does not want the Qiao family to repeat the mistakes of her previous life. Fortunately, there was still some time left before those final things, and she could take her time and make a plan.

But now, Yanzhou is in danger, and all she can do is help Yanzhou get through this difficult time.

This time her “husband”, Wei Shao, must help. Otherwise, Yanzhou will lose its nest.

……

When the carriage stopped at the gate of the government office, Xiao Qiao got off the carriage. She asked the guard at the entrance, and they told her Wei Shao was inside, so she went straight in.

The guards recognized the lady and did not dare to stop her. They watched her back and entered.

Although the hour was still early, Wei Liang and others had already gathered outside in the hall, waiting for Wei Shao to execute the order.

Wei Shao still has not come out and remains alone in a study in the back hall.

The study was confidential. He had a strict order that no one was allowed to enter without permission.

The guards outside remembered the wife of the Marquis had suddenly arrived, and although they recognized her, they did not dare to disobey Wei Shao’s order. They respectfully asked her to wait for a while.

Xiao Qiao stopped.

The guards soon came out and bowed to ask Xiao Qiao to enter.

Xiao Qiao walked up to the door. She paused for a moment, breathed out, fixed her mind, and then pushed the door.