The Marquis Is Innocent

Wei Shao’s desire came fast and in haste. Xiao Qiao felt he seemed unprepared. Before she turned around, he looked restrained.

But he suddenly took her here on the couch in his study in the back room of the government office.

It was not the purpose of Xiao Qiao’s nightly visit to the government office to bring him food.

After knowing what happened in the past few days and seeing Wei Shao’s tired appearance when he returned in the evening, even without his grandmother’s words, she felt empathy and pity in her heart.

Moreover, his grandmother was very nice. After knowing that incident, in her position, she had good reason to dislike her. But, no matter how she thinks about her in her heart, she treats herself the same as before.

When she encountered such a grandmother, she should do something, even if it was just out of tolerance in return.

Thus she thoughtfully served her grandson bathing and dressing, and when he had not returned yet at such a late hour, she was a little concerned and could not resist coming to bring him supper.

That’s all.

Xiao Qiao refused at first. After all, this was not a good place to do this thing. But he was like a suppressed volcano that suddenly erupted out of nowhere, so she could not refuse.

As soon as he reached her tight, soft, warm, and tender place, he closed his eyes and released a long breath.

The couch was a foot above the floor, just high enough for him to get down on one knee in front of her, holding her tender legs high above his shoulders. Each impact from him sent her to forward a few inches, and she fell apart like a frame. She gritted her teeth to endure. Her nails scratched his arms, leaving a trace of scratches, and later her two arms had no strength to grab him. Her consciousness drifted, her body trembled, and her throat involuntarily let out a low sob.

She remembered she was on the couch at first, then her consciousness was confused, and she felt as if he raised his hand to sweep down the silk scrolls and documents on the big desk and placed her on it. Later, she was carried by him back to the couch and pressed against her tirelessly.

When they did this before, he got excited and said something personal from time to time that made her blush.

But tonight, he did not say a word. He just smothered her and kept going.

In the back room of the courtyard on an autumn night, the closed doors and windows faintly drifted out of the intermittent coarse moans of the master and his woman’s whimpers.

After a fierce snapping sound, Wei Shao gasped like a bull, then rolled off her body and did not move.

The two lay head to head across the middle of the wide couch.

Xiao Qiao curled and leaned against him. Her heart was beating like a drum. Her chest and back were damp. Not sure if it was her sweat or his.

She closed her eyes for a moment. She waited for her heartbeat to calm down, gently lifted her arm, put it on his arms, and said in a low voice: “I know all about your cousin’s matters in the past few days. Grandmother told me. She is worried about you ……”

Wei Shao did not respond, and snoring came to her ears.

Xiao Qiao opened her eyes and saw he had closed his eyes and fallen into a deep sleep.

A crystal sweat carried his body heat rolled from his forehead to the bridge of his nose.

The look on his face in his sleep seemed to relax and calm.

Xiao Qiao looked at him, then slowly stretched out her curled-up body and sat up with a little effort. After a moment of daze, she retrieved her clothes from the messy pile and put them back on one by one. When getting off the couch, her legs were weak. She could barely stand, so she paused to stabilize her feet.

Xiao Qiao took a piece of his clothes and covered his body. After blowing out the light, she opened the door with the food box, fixed her mind, dragged her sore legs, and slowly walked out.

Chun Niang and Old Lin waited for her outside the courthouse door. After waiting for a long time, when she came out, Chun Niang welcomed her. However, when she looked at her back, she didn’t see Wei Shao, so she asked about the master.

Xiao Qiao smiled and said: “He is still busy with his business. After eating and talking a few words, he said he would stay a little longer to finish his business. He told me to go back first.”

Chun Niang did not have any doubts and took the food box from Xiao Qiao and helped her get into the carriage with Old Lin. Old Lin laughed and said, “Master has always been like this. He is very dedicated to his work.”

Xiao Qiao only smiled but did not say anything. She didn’t say anything on the way back to the house. After entering the west house, she told Chun Niang and others to rest and no need to serve her anymore. She went into the room by herself. As soon as the door closed, the smile on her face disappeared. Her face was dull, and she dragged her legs and sat on the edge of the bed. She felt uncomfortable and went to the bathroom and cleaned herself haphazardly. She climbed onto the bed exhausted and closed her eyes as she lay on the pillow.

She wanted to get to sleep quickly. When she gets up tomorrow, she may forget what happened in the study room of the government office.

This feeling was terrible.

She understood his emotions.

Twenty years of brotherhood suddenly broke up like this and turned into enemies. What’s even more embarrassing, it was interspersed with private matters related to his wife.

No one can accept it without difficulty.

Xiao Qiao was willing to understand the thing he did to her just now.

But at this moment, she really can’t control her bad mood.

She closed her eyes and tried to think of Da Qiao and Bi Zhi in her mind. She thought about how her father would react when he read the letter her brother had brought back with him. She wanted to find a chance to go back to East County herself.

She suddenly thought of Mrs. Xu, who had been lying ill for the past two days.

……

She married the Wei family last winter, and now it was the autumn of the second year.

Xiao Qiao recalled the meeting between her and Da Qiao in her previous life.

It was the only time the two sisters had met since each had married. At that time, Wei Shao had not yet become emperor, but his power was already unstoppable. Xiao Qiao’s husband, Liu Yan, had not yet been crowned emperor and was not considered hostile to Wei Shao. Wei Shao was elsewhere at the time. Da Qiao was left alone in Yuyang. Xiao Qiao made it to Yuyang and met with Da Qiao for the last time.

The conversation between the two sisters at that time, Xiao Qiao couldn’t remember the content now. She only remembered Da Qiao mentioning Su girl, saying Su girl was in another city with Wei Shao, so she was not in Yuyang.

When she said this, Da Qiao’s expression was calm and unruffled.

She then mentioned the following day would be the anniversary of Mrs. Xu, who died many years ago. In previous years, if Wei Shao were in Yuyang, he would always go to the tomb to pay his respects in person.

Mrs. Xu treated her well. Unfortunately, she died in the winter of the first year she married into the Wei family.

Speaking of this, Da Qiao looked nostalgic at the time.

Xiao Qiao closed her eyes and tried hard to remember, finally remembering a little.

She remembered Da Qiao seemed to say Mrs. Xu had caught a chill in the autumn of that year. She thought she was fine and took medicine in time. Her condition improved but worsened, and then died.

At that time, Wei Shao was away on a battlefield and learned of the bad news. He rushed back. Because of the long distance and delay in sending letters, he arrived at Yuyang two months later and issued a funeral.

After that incident, Wei Shao became more disgusted with Da Qiao, blaming her for not doing her duty as an underling to take care of her elders.

After that, the Su girl came into his eyes. Then in the third year of Mrs. Xu’s death, he took her as his concubine. She served him and followed him. She gained a lot of favor.

……

In the darkness, Xiao Qiao could no longer sleep.

The trajectory of their life was different since the day of her marriage because of the marriage changes between her and Da Qiao in this life.

But Xiao Qiao always felt there always things, how they were in the previous life might still be how they were in this life.

For example, Wei Shao’s hatred toward the Qiao family and his relationship with the Su girl.

Another example was Mrs. Xu’s fate.

Counting the days, it seems to be about the time Mrs. Xu had an accident, as Da Qiao said.

And coincidentally, Mrs. Xu now happens to be ill.

Although in her previous life, Da Qiao said Mrs. Xu was bedridden because she caught a chill, the cause of her illness was different now.

But being sick was the same thing.

Could it be that in this life, Mrs. Xu would not be able to escape her destined fate and die like this?

Xiao Qiao’s heart was pounding. She couldn’t sleep anymore.

She thought deeply and forgot about Wei Shao in the courthouse. She tossed and turned until the fourth period when she fell asleep in a daze.

……

After the unusually intense pleasure, Wei Shao slept heavily.

He was too tired. In the previous three days, he barely closed his eyes.

Not only his body but the agitation and pain he felt were similar to ten years ago when his father and brother had bad news.

Wei Yan’s final decision made him incredibly disappointed and bitter. At one point, he even had the idea he would rather kill him than let him go back to Xiongnu.

He was not afraid of having an additional enemy familiar with Wei’s military and border preparations. He could overcome all of this, only pay more price. He could afford it…

He couldn’t accept from the bottom of his heart that his relatives had gone to the enemy’s side.

But in the end, Wei Shao agreed to let him go.

What convinced him, perhaps Wei Yan’s words ‘the injustice of fate.’

It was true. His brother, no less talented than himself, had the same ambition.

Since he could not offer up everything here, what right did he have to stop him from embarking on the other path he aspired to?

What happens in the future belongs to God. As he said in his last words when he saw him off, this was the final destiny of their brotherhood.

He woke up during the fourth period in the morning.

It was dark outside the window. The new candles burning in the study the night before were about to burn out, and the fire was fading.

He sat up from the couch. He looked down, and clothes covering his naked body slipped down his shoulders.

Wei Shao raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, glancing around. Finally, he fixed his eyes on those messy silk scrolls and documents containing military and public affairs on the ground. His expression slowly reveals a trace of an incredibly odd color.

In his mind, everything that happened in the first half of the night jumped out.