The Marquis Is Innocent

When it comes to the Lu Li Conference yesterday, the most famous person was Qiao Ci. Not only did he win the deer, but he also won the hearts and minds of the people. His beautiful heroic posture with double halberds and white robes in the riding and shooting arena spread overnight in Yuyang. When people heard the Lu Li Conference winner left today, countless women rushed to the street to look at Qiao Ci’s handsome style. Qiao Ci’s popularity has even overpowered that of his brother-in-law, Marquis Wei.

After leaving the city gates, Wei Shao stopped walking. After Yang Feng, the Yanzhou ambassador, finished his speech to the host for his thoughtful reception these days, Qiao Ci also expressed his gratitude to Wei Shao. He could not feel close to his brother-in-law, and Wei Shao was also indifferent to him. There was a barrier between them. His heart was a little hung up on Wei Yan. After Luli Conference, he did not see him at the feast. He looked a few times in the direction of the city gates.

Wei Shao guessed he should be looking for Wei Yan, but his face was expressionless, only to say take care on the road. Qiao Ci gets on his horse and turns around. The group left Yuyang and embarked on the road back to Yanzhou.

……

After Wei Shao left, Mrs. Xu sent someone to summon Zhu Quan to inquire about Wei Yan’s whereabouts. Mrs. Xu asked him after hearing he had not seen Wei Yan since yesterday: “You have served him closely. Do you notice he is different from the usual?”

Zhu Quan said: “Report to the old madam. I also want to come to report these days. The County Lord indeed a little different from before these days.”

“What is different? Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”

“Lord has not been close to his concubines lately, and I see he seems to have a lot on his mind. The other day, before he left for the county, he even sent away the three ladies at home. He locked his bedroom and ordered not to enter without permission.”

“Do you know why he is so abnormal?”

“I don’t know.” Zhu Quan shook his head, “Coincidentally, the house caught fire a few days later.”

Mrs. Xu pondered. “Apart from that, is there any other difference? For example, is there any unusual interaction with people?”

“My Lord has been living in seclusion lately. I have not seen anything unusual. When he returns at night, he drinks alone.”

“Where does he usually go? Have you asked if anyone ever saw him?”

Zhu Quan said: ” Report to the old madam, I think My Lord went to the Luo Zhong Fang. This morning, I looked for him. But I heard something ……”

He showed a hesitant look and stopped.

“What is it?” Mrs. Xu looked over with one eye.

“I heard from the gatekeeper. Last night Marquis Wei went there to look for Lord. According to the gatekeeper, Marquis Wei seemed drunk and barged right in. Marquis Wei kicked open the door, and it seemed he had a conflict with Lord. Then, Marquis and Lord left, and I don’t know anymore.”

Mrs. Xu’s brow knitted. Zhu Quan held his voice and collected his breath. A few moments later, Mrs. Xu said, “I know. You should go.”

After Zhu Quan retreated in response, Mrs. Xu was alone for a moment and asked someone to summon Mrs. Zhu again.

Although Mrs. Zhu was relieved to tell her son about the incident last night on impulse, after thinking about it, she still felt a bit frightened after all. She didn’t have a good sleep. She had just been summoned for questioning by Mrs. Xu in the morning and had not yet returned to sit on her buttocks when she saw another message calling her. She suspected what happened last night was already known to Mrs. Xu. She was frightened. After hesitating for a while, knowing she could not hide, she came with a stiff upper lip and bowed, “Mother-in-law has called me here. What is it about?”

Mrs. Xu said, “Last night, you went to the west house to see Shao’er. The wound on his face, how did he say to you?”

Mrs. Zhu was relieved to hear she was asking this question. She repeated Wei Shao’s words, indignantly saying, “I didn’t believe it. Look at his facial injury! Obviously, he was beaten! I asked him, but he refused to admit it, saying he was injured by riding a horse. I didn’t know who had the guts to hurt my son. If I find out, I will not forgive him!”

Mrs. Xu, as if she had not heard, only asked, “Later, when Shao’er sent you back to your room, did you say anything else?”

Mrs. Zhu’s heart jumped. When she met Mrs. Xu’s eye looking over, she said calmly, “No. After he sent me to the house, he went back.” Although the mouth said so, the eyes unconsciously reveal a trace of weakness. She did not dare to meet Mrs. Xu’s eyes and lowered her gaze after she finished.

Only two people were in the room, the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. At the moment, it was as quiet as if one could hear the sound of a pin dropping to the ground.

Mrs. Zhu knows the opposite Mrs. Xu was watching, holding her breath, not daring to breathe. A long time after, she heard Mrs. Xu’s cold voice come: “Last night, you were the last person to see Shao’er. I heard from my granddaughter-in-law he was fine before you called him out. After he sends you, why he can’t be seen all night? I’ll tell you the truth, I already know! You told him about Yanyan, right?”

Mrs. Zhu’s shoulders shook slightly, raised her eyes to see Mrs. Xu’s one-eye deadly stare at herself, her expression cold. She thought this morning her son came to the north house and had not listened to her instructions last night, told the matter to Mrs. Xu. Her mouth could not help but fluttered and panic. She opened her mouth but could not say anything for a while.

Mrs. Xu had this layer of suspicion. When she first called Mrs. Zhu in the morning, she saw her gaze was uncertain. After decades of living together, she could see at a glance that she was hiding something. Only then did she call her again. When she saw such a reaction, her suspicions were confirmed. She could not help but be furious, slammed the table, and sternly shouted: “How dare you! How dare you go behind my back and talk nonsense in front of Shao’er and divide the brothers!”

In the past few decades, although Mrs. Xu did not treat Mrs. Zhu well, she would never have been as stern and angry as she was at this moment. In front of outsiders, she gave her a proper face. Mrs. Zhu’s face yellowed with shock and almost couldn’t sit on her knees. Her eyes filled with tears and crouched down to the ground to defend herself: “Mother-in-law, please don’t be angry. It’s not I deliberately want to divide the brothers. It’s been almost thirty years. If I had been disgusted, I wouldn’t have waited until now to say so. I’m worried because Shao’er is loyal. If it was something else, it would be fine. But Wei Yan’s origins are complicated. Our Wei family raised a Xiongnu son for thirty years, and sooner or later, there will be a disaster. If Shao’er is not aware of anything, I am afraid in the future, he will have to suffer a big loss ……”

‘Krak’ sound, Mrs. Xu couldn’t hold back her anger. She knocked the heavy solid wood table in her hand to the ground. A table of things smashed down. Dishes, bottles, and jars shattered on the ground and hopped away. The sound startled the Old Zhong outside the door. She hurriedly entered and saw Mrs. Zhu lying on the ground. Mrs. Xu looked pale, pointing her finger at Mrs. Zhu on the ground as if she could not breathe through. Old Zhong was terrified, holding her and rubbing her chest half a long time. Mrs. Xu throat out a long ‘ah’, and said with a trembling voice: “Tell her to go out! ”

……

Wei Shao sent Qiao Ci out of town, returned, and went straight to Luo Zhong Fang.

During the day, Luo Zhong Fang deserted. He entered through the back door, passed through a corridor shaded by green trees, stopped at the door of a quiet room, pushed open the hidden door, and crossed in.

Wei Yan has been here since last night. The windows on the left and right of the room are open, and the wind passes through the room. He sat cross-legged on a couch in the middle, with uncombed hair, wearing only a loose white shirt and the lapels wide open. His eyes closed, cheeks grew a short layer of messy mustache without the usual chic and elegant style. When he heard the door open and Wei Shao’s footsteps, he slowly opened his eyes. He saw him in an official suit of the Marquis, standing across from him, dignified and majestic. He outlooked for a moment and suddenly said: “You know I secretly communicate with the Xiongnu people. You leave me here. Are you not afraid I will escape?”

Wei Shao came across him and sat down, said: “If you are determined to escape like that, I will consider that I have lost a brother.”

Wei Yan did not say anything.

Wei Shao said: “I only want you to say one word. From now on, cut off the relationship with the Xiongnu. Then what was in the past, and how it will be in the future.”

” What was in the past, it will be in the future ……”

Wei Yan murmured and repeated, raising his eyes, his gaze lingering on his face, out of focus, suddenly revealing a hint of an odd look.

“Even my adoration and the crime of defiling your wife behind your back, you no longer count on me?”

He gazed at Wei Shao and said slowly.

Wei Shao’s eyes surged with a dark, gloomy color, but his expression remained waveless.

“How can I kill all the people who offend me in the world?”

He said indifferently.

Wei Yan was stunned and suddenly laughed wildly, leaning forward and back: “Second brother, although I served you as a ruler and marquis, at the bottom of my heart, I have always refused to obey you. Now, I know with these words you say, the position of Wei family head is yours!”

He kept laughing with a wild gesture. He laughed so hard that tears seemed to come out.

Wei Shao kept looking at him. When he stopped, he said, “So? Have you thought about it?”

Wei Yan’s face faded, turning his head to look at the south window, lost in thought for a moment, turning back and saying: “Second brother, you can ignore my offense to your wife. You can also ignore my body was born with Hun blood. But I tell you, I can not go back to the past. I can no longer be the eldest brother who has made it his destiny to support you! Unless you kill me, I am ……”

“Otherwise, you are how?”

Suddenly an old voice sounded, and the door opened.

Wei Shao Wei Yan looks together and sees Mrs. Xu’s unexpected crutches standing outside the door. Both of them were stunned.

Wei Shao reacted and greeted her, looking slightly nervous.

“Grandmother, how did you come here ……”

Mrs. Xu, however, did not look at him. She crossed into the study, walked past Wei Shao, and looked at Wei Yan, who was still sitting on the couch with a stiff expression, with one eye, walked towards him, and stopped in front of him.

“How would you do otherwise?”

Mrs. Xu fiercely paused the cane and again forced a question. Her one eye shot a cold light, one dare not look directly.

Wei Yan got up slowly, knelt, and saluted. His forehead knocked on the ground.

“Unfilial grandson, Yan, dare to ask grandmother to fulfill me. Let me go.”

He said word by word.

Wei Shao’s face showed anger, and the blue veins in the corners of his forehead faintly burst.

Mrs. Xu stared at Wei Yan, who knelt in front of her. Her expression turned angry at first, and the hand that held the cane was trembling slightly.

After a long time, her face of anger gradually faded.

“Well said.” She said, “You ask me to fulfill you. Who will fulfill me if I fulfill you?”

Her voice was weary and revealed a hint of helpless sadness.

Wei Yan raised his head and met Mrs. Xu’s gaze.

” The biggest mistake grandmother has made in this life is you, Yan’er. My fault, not in raising you, but I mistaught you!”

Wei Yan remained silent.

Mrs. Xu seems to have fallen into the memory of past events. A few moments later, she said, “Yan’er, your mother is my only daughter. I love her like a pearl in the palm of my hand. But unfortunately, the king of the Xiongnu captured her. When she returned three years later, she conceived you and died in childbirth. I knew your father was an enemy, and your birth would become a hidden problem in the future, but I raised you. It is not a mistake. If I were to go back to the moment when your mother gave birth to you, I would have made the same decision. You are your mother’s only remaining blood in the world, and no matter who your father is, you are my grandson, and I would never abandon you. My fault is in my way of bringing you up!”

She let out a long breath.

“Han and Xiongnu have been attacking one another for a long time. Countless souls of Han people lost their lives under Xiongnu hooves, and Han people killed Xiongnu herders. I am worried if you knew your background, you would be at a loss and have doubts, so I hid this from you. I thought when you were older, I would tell you more about it. When you are older, I see you are vigorous and carefree, and I can not bear to say anything to increase your trouble. When you are 14 or 15, you follow your uncle to kill the Huns. At that time, I could not open my mouth, say you and those Xiongnu whose heads you cut were the same race! Day after day, year after year, grandmother watched with hesitation and hope, and you have grown up until today!”

“Yan’er! I should not have taught you wrongly and let you think you are Han. I should let you know early that although half of your blood comes from a different race, you are forever a member of my Wei family! Everything that happened today was my fault! Now you want to leave, is it to punish your grandmother for the mistake of raising you?”

Mrs. Xu said to the point of emotion, fell two lines of tears.

Wei Yan’s eyes also have hidden tears.

“Grandmother! You are innocent of all responsibility for my upbringing. Instead, I owe you a debt of gratitude! I know it was out of love and care that you delayed informing me of this! I am not thankful enough, so how is it possible for me to punish you? The fault of today is all my own! What does it have to do with grandmother?”

Mrs. Xu said: “If you do not blame me, why do you have to be determined?”

Wei Yan closed his eyes. He opened them and said, “The fault lies with me, the innate evil and wrong-headedness in my bloodline! Grandmother, you never know. From the time I understood, I always wondered why. My surname is Wei, I am older than my second brother, and my talent is also recognized by others, why my second brother was born to be the head of the family, while I can only be subordinate to the family? This thought has been following me like a snake for more than ten years, and I hate it, but I could not get rid of it! I was able to restrain it before. Three years ago, when I learned of my origins from the Huns who found me, this evil thought grew, and I could no longer dispose of it!”

Mrs. Xu looked shocked. Wei Shao also looked fixedly at Wei Yan, his expression slightly stiff.

“I am jealous of my second brother. I also hate the injustice of fate! The second brother was born the head of the family, outstanding talent, married to a wife, but what I have?”

Wei Yan looked strange, smiling. “Grandmother, I grew up, you hired a doctor from the Imperial Academy in Luoyang to teach me assiduously. I remembered the saying that it is better to be a chicken head than a phoenix tail. Grandmother, it is your grandson who has failed you. The wickedness of my paternal bloodline has doomed me to be unable to stay as a minister of the Wei family! I am not a gentleman! I have never been a gentleman because of my heart! Now things have come to this, even if my grandmother and my second brother don’t mind past grudges, I have no face to stay. Even if I stay, I can no longer be the same Wei Yan as before! I will suffer day and night, torture and pain. Grandmother, your grandson begs you, let me go so I can be released.”

“Elder brother!” Wei Shao shouted, “How dare you speak so boldly in front of grandmother!”

Wei Yan turned his head and looked at Wei Yan, revealing a bitter smile: “Second brother, I am different from you. You have the elegance of everyone. I was born to be a villain, so I can’t walk the gentleman-righteous path.”

He turned to Mrs. Xu and bowed heavily, “I beg Grandmother to fulfill!”

White shades and tears filled Mrs. Xu’s eyes at the moment, looking at Wei Yan, who was bowing to herself on the ground: “Do you think if you go to a foreign tribe, you will be able to do as you wish? Be the king and dominate?”

” If I succeed, I am lucky. If not, it is my fate. I die without regret.” Wei Yan said.

Wei Shao fiercely pulled out the long sword. The tip of the sword stuck to Wei Yan’s throat. His eyes bloodshot, word by word: “You think I will let you go to Xiongnu alive?”

Wei Yan closed his eyes as if begging for death.

Wei Shao breathed rapidly, the tip of the sword inch by inch to Wei Yan’s throat, slightly trembling.

Mrs. Xu looked at Wei Yan and said: “Fine, people have their own will. He is determined to go and can not be forced to stay.”

Wei Shao turned his head and looked at Mrs. Xu.

Mrs. Xu’s eyes still contain tears, but the color is condensed. She stared at Wei Yan and slowly said: “You want to go, I will not stop you. In this world, life is depressing. Indeed, life is worse than death. In the future, if you are willing to recognize me, I am still your grandmother. But there is one thing I want to say to you clearly. If one day, you reverse the war and help the Xiongnu to destroy the Han people, I will never forgive you, even if I become a ghost!”

Wei Yan placed his left-hand flat on the table, five fingers spread. His right hand pulled out a short dagger in the boot, and the cold light flashed, cutting off the little finger.

His face paled. The little finger spurted blood like a fountain, but he was motionless and said: “As this broken finger vow, as long as Grandmother lives, I will never hurt a single Han! In the future, if my grandmother is lucky enough to be successful in her 100th year if the Han people do not offend me, I will not offend first!”

Mrs. Xu stood for a moment, turned around, and walked toward the door.

Her footsteps were sluggish, and her back seemed to have hunched in this instant.

Wei Shao looked at Wei Yan and suddenly roared, swinging his sword toward Wei Yan and slashing his head down.

Wei Yan did not move.

The sword cut Wei Yan in front of the corner of the desk, and the ground slowly drifted down a lock of hair.

‘Bam!’ Wei Shao threw the sword on the ground, turned, and walked away.