The Marquis Is Innocent

The three of them went out of the north house. Xiao Qiao lagged a little behind, and Wei Shao walked side by side with his mother, Mrs. Zhu. When they reached the three-way intersection, Wei Shao stopped, and Xiao Qiao walked up.

“You go back to your room. I’ll walk my mother back to her house.”

He didn’t even look at Xiao Qiao with his eyes and headed for the path to the east house.

Xiao Qiao stood at the fork in the road, watched his back as he accompanied his mother, turned silently, and returned to the west house.

“That house of his, how could it burn down for no reason?”

On the way, Mrs. Zhu began to complain, “This cousin of yours, when I see him, I am not feeling well! I don’t know how long he’s going to stay here!”

Wei Shao’s eyes looked straight ahead, his expression indifferent, and does not have any response.

Mrs. Zhu saw her son seem distracted. She looked back. The servants accompanying her were away, and she said with a grit of her teeth: “It’s not that I don’t allow him. It’s just that ever since he was a child when I saw his eyes, I felt afraid in my heart. He is competing with you for this Wei family! I see your relationship is good. I only worried in my heart and could not say anything. But this time I’ll remind you. You should be careful. If something happens one day, it will be too late to regret it!”

Wei Shao looked at Mrs. Zhu but still did not say a word. He sent Mrs. Zhu to the door of the east house, stopped, and said, ” I have sent Mother here. I have work to do outside, so I’ll leave now.”

“Wait!” Mrs. Zhu saw her son didn’t seem to be listening, and her heart was anxious.

Her heart harbored a secret from thirty years ago. At that time, she had just married into the Wei family. This secret, perhaps only she and Mrs. Xu know it. This secret she hid for decades.

With her character, it was hard to hide. Whenever she wanted to say it to her son, as long as she thought of Mrs. Xu’s one eye looking at her coldly, she would unconsciously chill from the bottom of her heart and swallow back the words that reached her mouth.

Wei Shao stopped and looked back at Mrs. Zhu.

Mrs. Zhu opened her mouth but finally swallowed it and forced a smile: “Nevermind. You can go. Do not be too tired and come back early. If you want to eat my cooking, it’s okay if you don’t want to come to my place. Just send someone to tell me, and I’ll have someone bring you to the west house when it’s ready.”

Wei Shao paused and nodded, ” Thank you, mother, for your trouble. Mother, go in.”

Mrs. Zhu replied, and her servant came up behind her and went inside.

……

Wei Shao left the Wei Manor and went straight to the government office. Gongsun Yang, Li Dian and Wei Liang were already waiting for him.

A few days ago, they received news that Yuanzhe of Qingzhou had sent an envoy, and the person arrived today. Although they have not yet met, it should be related to the battle with Xing Xun in Bingshui. Wei Liang went to the city outskirt to meet him. Yuanzhe’s brother, Yuan Dai, and his party entered the city at noon.

Wei Shao hosted a banquet at the government office to receive them.

If the world’s lords are divided by region, the only three strong and famous are Northern Wei Shao, Hanzhong Le Zheng Gong, and in the central, there is Shandong Yuan Zhe.

To put it bluntly, if there is no accident in today’s big game of competing for the throne, those who have the strength to kill the princes and seize the Jade Seal of the Kingdom are among these few people.

The rest of the people are just singing along.

Yuan Zhe has been in business for several generations and has long been looking down on the world. He felt the time had come, so he couldn’t hold back and gathered Liu Kai and others from Guangping to send troops to Luoyang, wanting to take down Luoyang and kill Xing Xun to take his place.

But since Xing Xun was able to become the ‘father of the nation’ today, he was not a simple man. They fought in Bingshui, each winning and losing. Now, they were facing each other across the water, temporarily holding their troops and fighting a war of words instead.

In the name of the Han emperor, Xing Xun scolded Yuan Zhe for openly raising an army and called on the world to attack him. Yuan Zhen scolded Xiong Xun for holding the emperor’s son hostage and calling on the lords to join him in his quest for the throne. The two cursed at each other with great pleasure. While scolding, Yuan Zhe thought of Wei Shao, so he sent his younger brother, Yuan Dai, to Yuyang. He said in the tone of an elder, ‘This Uncle had given favors to your father, Wei Jing, and now that he is gone, I request this favor from you, his son. You must come and fight with me.’

When Yuan Zhe and Wei Jing were working together in Luoyang as General, Wei Jing took several people out of the capital. When they passed through Zhongmou, a group of bandits attacked them. Yuan Zhe passed by and helped them kill the bandits.

It was true, but Yuan Zhe relied on his seniority, and Yuan Dai acted condescendingly, seemingly trying to establish his authority in front of Wei Shao, the new overlord of the north. Wei Liang rose in anger, raised his foot, and kicked over the wine case in front of him with a clatter, sending the meat and wine tumbling to the ground. Wei Liang walked up to Yuan Dai, pointed his sword at his nose, and sternly reprimanded: ” My lord has already doubled the favor he received in Zhongmou! My lord saw you had come here and did not forget the old friendship between the two families, so he hosted a banquet for you today. Where did you get the face to speak out in front of my lord?”

Behind Yuan Dai stood Ding Qu, the adopted son of Yuan Zhe, who was known for his fierceness. He saw this, drew his sword, and shouted, “Ding Qu is here. Who dares to be rude?”

Wei Liang sneered, and with a whistle, dozens of warriors poured into the doorway and surrounded Yuan Dai and Ding Qu in a flash, with their swords shining brightly and their murderous aura.

After the Wei family’s change ten years ago, Yuan Zhe thought the Wei family had fallen into ruin and did not take it into account. A few years later, when Wei Shao took charge of the army, Yuan Zhe heard he was only seventeen years old and laughed at that time. Unexpectedly only a few years of work, Wei Shao’s power rose. He first swallowed Jizhou, and not long ago destroyed Chen Xiang and got Bingzhou, not only the unification of the north, but his reputation also catching up with their momentum. Yuan Zhe was panicked and hated he had not cut him off when he was not yet rich in wings. It was one of the reasons why he was anxious and wanted to destroy Xing Xun and replace him. When it was hindered, he came up with a plan to threaten Wei Shao with the favor of his elders.

If Wei Shao complied and came to help the war, the rest of the lords naturally followed suit, and his name was rightly said to be the ally. If Wei Shao does not comply, the Wei family will be Xing Xun’s associates and ungrateful. It was why Yuan Dai was assigned to come over.

Yuan Dai only wanted to sell his seniority and make a first impression in front of this young talent, but even before the banquet started, Wei Liang turned his face away.

This was Wei Shao’s territory. If he wanted to kill, ten Ding Qu could not protect themselves. He could not help but be scared and regretful. He looked at Wei Shao. He was sitting in the south, seemed out of his mind, and said: ” Marquis, please understand! My brother ordered me to come in friendship, and what I conveyed were my brother’s words. If you have any disagreement, I can pass it back on your behalf. The two countries are at war and do not hurt the envoy. Why is General so angry with his sword?”

Wei Shao looked gloomy and did not move.

There were at least twenty to thirty people in the hall, but it was dead silence. Yuan Dai’s cold sweat slowly rolled down from his forehead, but he did not dare to raise his sleeve to wipe, lest a single action would incur the disaster of death.

After a moment, Wei Shao brushed his hand. Only then did Wei Liang put away his sword. With the sound of armor clashing, the soldiers retreated. Someone else bent in and quickly replaced the wrecked case Wei Liang just kicked over, the rest of the people talking and laughing as if nothing had happened.

Yuan Dai’s heart was still pounding, and he glanced secretly at Wei Shao, whose expression was still as calm as water, and slowly let out a breath, not daring to show the slightest arrogance.

Gongsun Yang said slowly, ” Lord Yuan is unaware, my lord now seems to have many soldiers and generals, but in fact, there are empty barracks all over Jizhou and Bingzhou. He wanted to borrow troops from Yuan but couldn’t open his mouth. Now that you have come all the way here and opened your mouth first, and the two families are old friends, my lord will not resign from the responsibility of assisting, and when we have gathered our troops, we will send them as soon as possible.”

Yuan Dai no longer dared to show any hesitation and nodded his head repeatedly to thank him.

Gongsun Yang laughed and said, “It’s a coincidence that you are here. In two days, we will hold a Lu Li Conference in Youzhou. If you have time, you can go to see it.”

……

Yuan Dai and his group settle down in the posthouse. In the evening, Wei Shao returned to the Wei Manor. He learned that Wei Yan returned from the county in the afternoon, and Mrs. Xu asked him to stay.

Wei Shao did not say a word and went straight into the west house. The only people in the courtyard were three or two maids, and when they saw him return, they bowed. Wei Shao went to the main room, stepped up the steps to the door with hesitation, and pushed the door into the house, but there was no Xiao Qiao. He turned around and asked a question. One of the maids said, “The cat ran away and disappeared. The lady was afraid the cat would be lost, so she went to look for it herself. Chun Niang and the maids also went, leaving us to watch the house.”

Wei Shao’s brow frowned. He stood at the bottom of the steps, hesitating for a moment, lifting his feet and striding out. He walked along the corridor. When reaching a corner leading to the door of the north house, he saw a slender back in light scarlet next to the begonia branches along the courtyard wall in front of him. It was Xiao Qiao.

The cat was crouching high on the wall, not knowing how it got up there as if it couldn’t get off the ground.

The maids chattered. Some take a bamboo pole to catch, and some take a ladder to climb up.

Wei Shao was about to go over but suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He saw Wei Yan coming out of the north house and walking towards the wall.

One of the servants saw him first and ran up, pointing to the cat squatting on the wall and saying a few words. Wei Yan looked at Xiao Qiao and immediately walked to the wall. He took a few steps back first and then two steps forward, and with the impulse, he climbed up to the top of the ten-meter-high with a single movement, reached out to catch the cat, and then jumped off the top of the wall, landing firmly and vigorously. The maidservant cheered.

Wei Yan smiled slightly, looked at Xiao Qiao, paused, and came towards her with the cat in his arms.

Xiao Qiao hurriedly greeted her. When Wei Yan reached out to hand her the cat, the cat scratched out its claw. Wei Yan was caught off guard. On the back of his hand immediately appeared a few long bloodstains. The cat leaped from Wei Yan’s hand and jumped off the ground. Nearby servants hurriedly swarmed after it.

Although the cat was not yet an adult, the hooked claws were sharp. Xiao Qiao also did not think to cut it off. Unexpectedly, it hurt Wei Yan. She saw a few drops of blood seeping out of the wound on the back of his hand, somewhat regretful, busy thanking him and apologizing.

” How is it? Shall I call someone to wrap it up?”

Wei Yan smiled and said, “It’s okay, only a small wound, no need to make a big effort.” He said and shook off his hand.

Xiao Qiao apologized to him again.

At this time, Wei Shao suddenly appeared and walked with big strides.

Xiao Qiao saw Wei Shao stop beside her, and his eyes fell on Wei Yan’s hand. She hurriedly recounted the process of Wei Yan climbing up to catch the cat for her and said apologetically: “It’s all my fault. I didn’t take good care of the cat, and my uncle hurt his hand.”

Wei Shao smiled faintly, looked at Wei Yan for a moment, then said warmly: “Thank you, elder brother. I caught a cat for Man Man to be raised by her and accompany her to play. But you got your hand scratched. On behalf of Man Man, I would like to apologize to my elder brother.”

Wei Yan’s mind suddenly became restless.

Just a few moments ago, his heart was still vaguely happy for the precious opportunity to speak with Qiao girl and even received her gratitude. But at this moment, with the appearance of his brother and his gaze looking at him, listening to him use an affectionate name to apologize for his wife, the previously happy feelings faded from his heart. It twisted into a tangled mess with some astringency and melancholy.

His mind became unsettled.

It was a sharp intuition. Undescribed in words. But at this moment, he felt it.

His brother, Wei Shao, was different from the usual.

Wei Yan’s mind, at this moment, suddenly swept back to the day when he knew his house was on fire.

When he saw the scorched black wall that hid the most hidden secret in his heart falls to the ground with the fire, he felt relieved.

It was like a deadly ulcer on his body. He was unable to cut it out himself. But now, this ulcer was cut off.

He even thanked the fire that came suddenly.

But at this moment, he felt something fishy about the fire.

Wei Yan’s heartbeat accelerated. The palms of his hands seeped a layer of cold sweat.

He looked at Wei Shao, smiled, and said: “A small thing. Second brother, no need to be polite.”

Wei Shao smiled and gave him a slight nod, then turned his face to Xiao Qiao and said softly, “Let’s go. We should go back to our room.”

Xiao Qiao was stunned.

Wei Shao would call her by her nickname in her room, for example, in bed, when she was making love to her.

But when she got out of bed, she never heard him call her by her nickname.

However, he suddenly and inexplicably said to Wei Yan at this moment.

It was not important. His changed attitude made her caught off guard.

What exactly makes him suddenly turn into a gentle lover again?

This kind of Wei Shao not only did not make her touched but made her feel unusually strange.

Even a little creepy.

Wei Shao should not be like this, even when they were at their most intimate moments.

Xiao Qiao suppressed the discomfort that welled up in her heart, met his gentle gaze on herself, smiled faintly at him, and followed him.

……

Wei Yan stood in the same place, watching Wei Shao and her backs disappear.

The only thing left in front of him was begonia leaves swaying gently in the wind, emitting a slight rustling sound.

Wei Yan slowly squeezed his fist.

The wounds on the back of his hand, which were scratched by the cat suddenly become painful.