The Marquis Is Innocent

Wei Yan rushed to Dai county. He left the city in the third period of that night, waiting alone in the deserted suburbs, looking at the moon rising in the night sky above the distant mountains. His figure did not move.

In a few moments, two fast horses came riding behind him. When they came close, one of them dismounted and dashed towards Wei Yan, and when he reached him, he bowed to him. He was Huyan Lie, the Xiongnu Thousands Cavalry leader, who was previously released by Wei Yan.

Wei Yan said angrily: “How dare you, how dare you bring your men and horses to roam the border! When it is time to fight, do you think I will be merciful to you?”

Huyan Lie bowed: “Young Master, don’t be angry. I don’t want to cause any trouble. I have sent letters to Young Master several times but have not heard back from you. I have no choice, so I thought of this to meet with Young Master. Young Master, the King was assassinated at the Tuhe Festival last month. An arrow hit his chest, but fortunately, he wore armor and escaped a calamity. But the injury was not light and has not yet healed. The Left King Xian was advancing step by step, wanting to kill the King. The four major clans of Xiongnu, except the Huyan family, the Lan’s are wavering, the Su Bu’s, and the He’s followed the orders of the Left King Xian. The King urgently needs Young Master’s help!” After saying that, he kowtowed.

Wei Yan was silent for a moment and said coldly, “It’s not like he doesn’t have an heir to help him. Why must he force me to go over there?”

Huyan Lie turned around and looked behind him. Wei Yan turned his face with his line of sight and saw the man on the other horse come closer to him and saw his black suede boots and slightly thin body. Although he was middle-aged, his facial profile was still handsome. When he was young, he should be very handsome.

This person was naturally Xiongnu, but he was wearing Chinese robes.

Huyan Lie got up, took a step back, bowed towards the middle-aged man, and called “my king.”

Wei Yan was stunned. He did not expect this middle-aged man who traveled with Huyan Lie was the Rizhu King, Wu Zhu Qu. When he came in front of him, his expression gradually became stiff.

Under the moonlight, Wu Zhu Qu’s face was slightly pale. He stared at Wei Yan, his eyes unblinking, looking excited, and suddenly leaned towards him a step forward, called Wei Yan “my son,” reached out towards him, seems to want to hold his hand.

Wei Yan took a step back and said lightly: “I don’t have a Xiongnu father. My father died before I was born twenty-eight years ago.”

Wu Zhu Qu’s hand stopped in the air and slowly put it back. After a moment of silence, he said, “I know you have difficulty accepting me. I risked crossing the border this time not to force you back. Your mother was indeed forcibly taken by me to Xiongnu back then. I lived with her for three years, and in the third year, she finally conceived you. She was five months pregnant when the Great Moon Clan rebelled, and I went to quell the rebellion and had to leave her in the Eastern King’s Court. When I returned four months later, I learned that Wei Jing had attacked the Eastern King’s Court and taken her back. I had planned twice to take her back, but Wei Jing obstructed me, and when I wrote to him in peace, he ignored me and killed my messenger. I considered that she was about to give birth, and I had no choice but to hold off for a while, thinking when she had given birth, I would find the time to bring her back with the baby later. I didn’t expect to get the news that she died in childbirth afterward……”

Wu Zhu Qu paused, and there were faint tears in his eyes.

“When I met her, she was only eighteen years old. Your mother was beautiful, and I was impressed by her at first sight. She was my first wife. Only five years after her death did I follow my father’s order to marry another woman from the Huyan family and have two other sons. You can hate me, but your mother, I know she must have had feelings for me. Otherwise, she would not give birth to you after she was taken back by Wei Jing. Instead, she gave birth to you and lost her own life!”

“These twenty-eight years, I haven’t forgotten you for a moment! Long ago, I wanted to bring you back. Due to the rivalry between Han and Xiongnu, I was limited by restrictions, and my heart was not strong enough. The older I get, the more I want you to come back, not only to help me, but I hope the son I had with the woman I love can return to me. My son, when your mother first conceived you, I gave you a name. Your name was Hutu Kun! It means the eagle flying in the sky. You are not Han! Your father is me, so you are the eagle flying in the sky of our Xiongnu……”

Wu Zhu Qu looks excited. Suddenly, he felt pain and raised his hand to cover one side of his chest, coughing violently, in the corners of his mouth slowly hanging out a trace of blood.

Huyan Lie hurriedly helped him, turned his face to Wei Yan, and said: “Young Master! The King is not yet healed and risked crossing the border to come here. He wants to see you. How can Young Master be so stone-hearted?”

Wei Yan’s expression was tight. The whole person was like a stiff stone. He stared at Wu Zhu Qu and suddenly turned around on the horse, galloping away. Under the moonlight, his figure soon shrunk into a black dot and disappeared.

The coughing Wu Zhu Qu stopped and took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

“King! Young Master is so tough. Why doesn’t the King spread the news about Young Master’s true identity in Yuyang? Instead, you went to such great lengths, even risking crossing the border yourself? As long as everyone knows Young Master is not Han, he can no longer stay in the Wei family. There is no other way for Young Master but to join the King!”

Huyan Lie looks anxious and helpless.

Wu Zhu Qu looked toward where Wei Yan had left and slowly shook his head: “I want a son. Not an enemy who hates me.”

Huyan Lie was silent.

Wu Zhu Qu was lost in thought for a moment and asked, “What is the news about the daughter of the Lan family who was sent to serve my son three years ago?”

……

Every year at this time, as long as there is no war, the Luli Conference will be held at the Luli Terrace outside Yuyang City.

It’s not just for becoming famous in a battle and leveling up. After all, there are only a few people who dare to stand up to the stage. For the majority of the lower and middle-ranking officers and non-commissioned officers, the Luli Conference was more like a grand army-wide entertainment event that everyone looked forward to. Coincidentally, two years ago, Wei Shao’s army was fighting in Jizhou, and last year, he and Chen Xiang were fighting. After missing two years in a row, this year finally had a good time. Last month, Xing Xun of Luoyang and Yuan Zhe of Qingzhou fought. Wei Shao recuperates and naturally puts energy into the Lu Li Conference, an important event for the entertainment of the whole army.

There are still three days to go before the conference. Today, not only from Yuyang, but the selected athletes from military camps in Fangyang, Zhuo County, Gao Yang, Xindu, and other places arrived one after another. The streets became lively, and the most talked about by the people in the city was the conference in a few days.

What they are interested in is not only seeing the military competitions but also the lady in the family of the ruler.

At every conference, Mrs. Xu personally attends and cheers for the athletes in the competition.

This year, the Marquis had married a new wife. Everyone in the city knew the lady was as beautiful as a fairy. It was hard to have a chance to meet her on a regular day, but she will certainly show up that day.

It is a rare opportunity to meet her up close. How can they miss it?

……

Wei Shao had been very busy lately.

Ever since he learned what it feels to sleep with her, his mind had filled with this matter.

The feelings of satisfaction sleeping with her gradually caught up with the feelings of accomplishment after taking over a city.

Honestly, recently he had no time to think about how he used to hate her and how he hated the Qiao family.

And even if he thought about it, he shoved that thought out of his head quickly.

Recently, he was busy thinking about how to get more time to lie in bed and make out with her in various positions.

But the Youzhou was very big, combined with Jizhou and the newly acquired Bingzhou a few months ago. In so many cities, even if there are no major events in various places, he needs to decide one or two things every day. There are always a lot of things in his hand if they were sent together to Yunyang.

It turns out that when he was away at war, the official documents in the Youzhou government office were handled by Wei Yan.

There were Gongsun Yang and Wei Quan if Wei Yan was not available.

Unfortunately, Wei Quan went to Jin Yang. Gongsun Yang recently had the same old coughing problem. Listen to him sitting there, coughing as if he was about to vomit out his lungs, even if Wei Shao is thick-skinned, it is embarrassing to force him to report to the government office in the morning and evening. It is not appropriate to leave it to others. He can only handle it himself.

The day was long and the night was short. Wei Shao recently learned the hard way.

This evening, when he was finally relieved from the paperwork and walked out the government office’s door, he walked as fast as he could.

Before leaving the house in the morning, he and Xiao Qiao agreed he would return early in the evening to have dinner with her. He was delayed by a matter and got up later than expected.

Wei Shao walked a few steps down at the entrance of the government office and took the reins of the horse when he saw a young woman with a beautiful appearance coming from the opposite side.

He had seen this woman. She was Wei Yan’s favorite girl, following him for three or two years. He did not know what her name was. She stopped in front of him. He guessed she wanted to ask about Wei Yan and said straight: “My brother should return in the next two days.”

After saying that, he gets on the horse.

Lan Yun bowed toward Wei Shao and said, “Thank you for telling me, Marquis. My name is Lan Yun. I’m not here to ask you about Lord Wei’s return date. I have nothing to do with the date of his return. Before he went to Dai County, he had already sent me away and did not want me anymore.”

Wei Shao glanced at her.

Wei Shao knew the women around Wei Yan changed from time to time. Lan Yun had stayed the longest, so he had an impression.

Hearing her say so, Wei Shao nodded slightly and said, “If you need something, wait for him to come back and talk to him.”

After saying that, he hit his horse to leave.

Lan Yun said: ” There’s something you don’t know, Marquis. I’m here to tell you something. Your eldest brother, Lord Wei, has been disrespectful to your wife.”

Wei Shao was slightly stunned, sitting on his horse and staring down at her. His brow furrowed, and his voice turned cold.

“Do you know what you are guilty of if you speak nonsense?”

Lan Yun said, “What I said is true. Lord Wei has disregarded human decency. He wants a woman he should have called ‘sister-in-law’!”

Wei Shao’s eyes glowed with a strange cold color, and after staring at Lan Yun for a moment, he said word by word: “I think you are looking for death. How dare you make such a provocation!”

Lan Yun knelt: “If you don’t believe me, go with me. Once you see this, you will know whether or not I am telling the truth!”

Wei Shao looked gloomy, ignored Lan Yun, passed by her, and went away on horseback.

He had already galloped out a few feet away, suddenly stopped his horse again, and slowly turned back.

Lan Yun hurriedly climbed up from the ground and chased after him.

“If there is any half-truth, I will make you beg for death!”

Wei Shao’s cold voice sounded in Lan Yun’s ears.

……

After Wei Yan went to Dai County, he dismissed his concubines. Only Zhu Quan and a few subordinates remain.

A home without a master. The underlings will go out one after another for their private matters, and only Zhu Quan is left. Just now, someone came to ask Zhu Quan to have a drink. Zhu Quan could not resist, so he locked the door and left.

The sky was slightly dark. Lan Yun unlocked the door with a key. Wei Shao did not say a word, striding towards the inside. He went straight to Wei Yan’s bedroom door.

Before Wei Yan went out, he locked the bedroom door. The door was locked by an iron lock.

He watched coldly as Lan Yun fished out another key, smoothly unlocked the lock, and gently pushed open the door.

Wei Shao walked inside and finally stopped in front of a wall.

On the wall, a long painting of a landscape was hanging. The brushwork was spontaneous and the mood was ethereal.

Lan Yun lit a candle flame, put it in her hand, and walked over to the side to shine.

Wei Shao stared at the painting for a moment, slowly lifted his hand, and reached toward the painting.

His expression was abnormally grave as if his hand was heavier than a thousand pounds. He stopped in the air for a while and suddenly lifted the landscape painting.

The muscles on his face immediately stiffened. His eyes fixed on the wall, and his figure frozen.

Lan Yun’s voice beside him sounded soft: ” Lord Wei is very different from the usual lately. He called me less to accompany him to bed and often comes back into the room by himself, sometimes drinking alone. In the past, he was not like this. I suspected he had fallen in love with another woman, so I paid more attention to his actions ……”

She said, her expression showing a hint of resentment.

“That night, Lord Wei returned home. He drank alone in the courtyard without asking us to accompany him and then suddenly went back to his room and closed the door. But he forgot to close the window tightly. I was suspicious, quietly sneaked under the window, and spied him on the wall painted this picture of beauty ……”

” I happened to see the lady from afar on the street once in the past. I could not forget the sight of her. Lord Wei’s brushwork is exquisite, and I recognized it at first sight. I was afraid of being noticed by him and was about to leave when I saw Lord Wei ……”

Lan Yun paused, “I saw Lord Wei lift the hem of his clothes, facing the wall, and relieved himself …… at that time, he looked intoxicated ……”

Wei Shao turned around violently and raised his hand to sweep away the candlestick in Lan Yun’s hand.

The candlestick fell to the ground with a slightly strange sound and rolled to the corner.

The outside of the window was dark and heavy, but still able to read faces.

Lan Yun saw Wei Shao’s eyes were cold as if there was a flash of anger. His face was fierce, and he looked terrifying.

This was what she hoped for, though. But when faced with this scene, Lan Yun still felt frightened, her legs went limp, and she couldn’t help but kneel, not daring to look at him.

Wei Shao froze in place. The dead silence of the room, only to hear the sound of his heavy breathing.