The Marquis Is Innocent

Wei Shao made up his mind and no longer hesitated. He immediately turned around and continued southward. Taking a shortcut through the wilderness with a short pause in between, and at noon the next day, he turned back to the highway.

It was only half a day horse ride from Jiu Li Pass. Soon he should be able to intercept her at the front.

Wei Shao didn’t feel tired but energized. Imagined her surprised look when she saw him in front of her. His subordinates, who had refined by a hundred battles, were forced to follow him. Their lord was like this, and naturally, they sacrificed their life to follow closely, do not dare to slacken.

They pass through the villages along the way and constantly see villagers pulling their families to walk on the road. The villagers were walking or pushing wheelbarrows, and they all seemed to be heading towards Jiu Li Pass, with strange colors on their faces.

Wei Shao didn’t notice at first. However, it was still the same after passing a few villages along the way. His heart became suspicious. The horses were tired of running, so they stopped at the side of the road and were fed bean cakes for a rest. He asked Lei Yan to inquire.

Lei Yan stopped the villagers to ask a few questions and soon returned. He said, “The villagers heard Xue Tai wanted to break the Huai River upstream dam and flood Xiaodi. Because of the low-lying terrain in this area, they fled for their lives lest it turns into a swamp.”

Wei Shao pondered and saw a group of villagers walking across the street who was having trouble escaping and went over.

The villagers saw although they were in ordinary clothes, the horse was fat, and the people were strong and carrying swords. Their aura was majestic, unlike local people.

In this world, it was not easy to find a home and livelihood for ordinary people, not to mention to provoke. They wanted to move to the other side, but the young man in the middle came. They stopped and looked with a slight fear of wariness.

Wei Shao walked up to the villagers and asked for more details. When the villagers saw he was unexpectedly kind, their fear was dispelled, and starting to complain.

Last month, Xue Tai attacked Xiaodi, a place not far from here that belonged to Yang Xin.

Xiaodi holds the channel of the Huai River waterway. It was geographically crucial and could not be lost. Yang Xin sent his men to defend the city to death. Xue Tai could not win for a long time, so he planned to divide his troops into two ways, one to continue the siege and the other to go upstream behind Xiaodi, break the dam, and flood the city.

This area was near Xiaodi and situated on a slope, so the people of the nearby counties fled to avoid the disaster.

“Last year’s flood and the harvest were disastrous. This fall, we easily collected the grain, and then it was flooded. How could people live in such a world?”

Speaking of misery, the villagers wiped their tears.

Wei Shao watched the villagers’ backs as they left with their families and stood silently for a moment.

“Lord, the horses are ready for the road.”

Lei Yan came forward and said.

Wei Shao glanced in the direction of Jiu Li Pass, lost in thought for a moment, slowly said: “Change the path. Follow me to meet Xue Tai.”

……

Xiao Qiao and her group crossed the Jiu Li Pass and entered Ling Bi. She arrived at the destination and saw Da Qiao, who had been missing for a long time.

When the sisters met, they looked at each other as if they were in a different world.

“Sister!”

Xiao Qiao called out and ran over to her, and they clasped their four hands together. They were so excited.

Da Qiao’s eyes were red. She called her ‘younger sister.’ Tears fell down her face.

Xiao Qiao helped her sit down and wiped away her tears. After they talked about their feelings of separation, their emotions settled down.

Xiao Qiao looked at Da Qiao. She had a big belly, fatter, and swollen legs and arms, but Da Qiao still looked pretty. Xiao Qiao stared at her round belly for a while and couldn’t help but rub her face against it and touch her belly, saying, “Auntie is here to see my dear baby. Be good, don’t make my sister suffer!”

Da Qiao smiled, hugged Xiao Qiao, then raised her hand, tenderly helped her brush a lock of hair behind her ear, and said: “Younger sister, after we left, I figured it out. That day you said you wanted to marry Marquis Yan on my behalf, but it was just an excuse for you to let me leave at ease. I’ve had a good life, but you joined the Wei family on my behalf. In the past year, I felt uneasy. I learned about your situation from Mr. Zong, so we were relieved. This year must have been difficult for you, right?”

Xiao Qiao smiled brightly, “Sister, the Wei family’s Grandmother is very nice and treats me well. I can go to the south and return home because of her.”

“How is your husband treating you?”

Xiao Qiao saw her beautiful eyes looking at her with concern and guilt. After a pause, her lips came up to Da Qiao’s ear, whispering. “He treats me well. I beat him, but he is not angry with me.”

Da Qiao was stunned to see Xiao Qiao smiling and looking at herself with a playful face. She looked back and couldn’t help but lose her smile: “Why did you beat him if he treats you well?”

Xiao Qiao said, “He annoyed me first.”

Da Qiao shook her head, “Then you can’t hit your husband! I was worried about ……”

Xiao Qiao smiled cheekily and interrupted her, “Sister, don’t worry about it! I will live a good life by myself!”

Da Qiao knew the unresolved enmity between the two families.

She heard about the Marquis of Yan, Wei Shao, and shuddered when she knew how he disposed of Li Su. Although she hadn’t seen him, she imagined he would be a powerful and invincible man, but she didn’t expect he would behave like this with her sister in private.

She has been married to Bi Zhi, and Bi Zhi treated her with consideration in every way. She has a gentle nature. It was difficult to imagine how her sister beat Marquis Yan, but he did not get angry.

If his wife beat him and was not angry, it could assume he was very fond of her.

She had been guilty of getting a husband of her choice but leaving her sister in deep trouble. Now, it seemed it was false. Xiao Qiao and Marquis Yan are in harmony and love.

Da Qiao put her heart down completely and held Xiao Qiao’s hand, saying, “This time, stay for a few more days. When it’s time to leave, I’ll have your brother-in-law send you back to Yuyang.”