The Marquis Is Innocent - 154.1
Chapter 154.1
Xiao Qiao seemed to have taken a long nap.
In the dream, she felt relaxed beyond words. It was as if she had gone back to her previous life. She was not a Qiao daughter but a spoilt child beside her parents, without burdens and responsibilities. She did as she pleased, and she was herself.
It had been a long, long time since she had felt like this. She was even reluctant to wake up and wanted to stay in this dream. But deep inside her heart, a thousand threads vaguely tied her up, and in the end, she could not fully unleash them.
She kept telling herself that she had to wake up. Struggling, she finally awoke to the sound of anxious voices speaking in her ears. Gradually, the muffled sound became clear.
It was her brother’s voice.
“How is my sister?”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Qiao. Lady was overly tired. She should be able to heal after a few days of good rest ……”
Xiao Qiao’s eyelids moved a little. It was only a few moments, but it felt so long—-
“She just fainted! Can’t you see?” Concerned, Qiao Ci raised her voice.
Xiao Qiao slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying on the bed with Qiao Ci shouting at the helpless army doctor.
“Look, Mr. Qiao, the lady is awake!” The military doctor wiped his sweat and said in surprise.
Qiao Ci turned her head and saw that Xiao Qiao had indeed awakened. He fluttered over to hold her hand tightly: “Sister, you’re awake! How are you? You suddenly fainted! You scared me so much ……”
Xiao Qiao felt weak and calmed down, “I’m fine. As the doctor said, I was just a bit tired. I will rest for a few more moments, don’t worry ……”
Qiao Ci was slightly relieved, “Sister, you should rest well. My brother-in-law is personally pursuing the Xiongnu and should be back soon.”
When the siege was over, Wei Shao led his army to pursue the Xiongnu while the Qiangs and Lei Yan’s soldiers stayed where they were.
Xiao Qiao smiled faintly and nodded.
Suddenly a rush of footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by a soldier’s voice: “Lady, an urgent report has come from Yuyang. There is an incident at home!”
……
In the middle of the night, the family temple caught fire. Mrs. Zhu was trapped and badly burned inside, clutching the memorials of her husband and eldest son in her arms. As her servants risked their lives to rescue her from the flames, her mouth continued to chant: “The Xiongnu are coming! I’ll protect the family temple! The Xiongnu are coming! I’ll protect the family temple!”
Mrs. Xu had fallen ill earlier and recuperated at the nearby Wuzhong City, where she was used to living.
……
The time went back seven or eight days ago. Mrs. Zhu finally couldn’t bear the ordeal and returned from Fanyang to the Wei family in Yuyang.
The way Qiao’s daughter looked and the tone of her voice when she left Fanyang that day caused Mrs. Zhu to feel overwhelming pressure.
A thought arose within her mind: what Qiao girl could do, she could do even more. She was the head mother of the Wei family, and she must not let Qiao’s daughter outshine her, let alone let Mrs Xu and her son despise her.
That thought pushed down the fear in her heart and, on impulse, set her on her return journey as a guardian of the Wei family who would live and die with them.
By the time she returned to the Wei family, the news of the siege of Shanggu in Yuyang was getting worse by the day.
She hated the Xiongnu and hoped the Wei soldiers in Shanggu would hold out until her son returned with his troops.
But soon, when word spread through the ears of the people of Yuyang that it was Qiao’s daughter who had taken Mrs. Xu’s place and stayed in Shanggu to inspire the soldiers to defend the city and that it was Qiao’s daughter’s brother who had brought in the Qiang reinforcements, Mrs. Zhu was stunned and devastated once again.
She understood that her son had always regarded Qiao girl as a precious jewel and that if she could hold Shanggu after this battle, she might not be able to take up even half an inch of her son’s heart.
She felt desperate, angry, and bitter. She had trouble sleeping through the night, and in the depths of her heart crept out a terrifying dark thought.
She wished that Shanggu and Yuyang would ruin so that all of Qiao’s girl’s efforts would be in vain and that she would be able to exist forever in her son’s heart as the guardian of the Wei family, even if she died, in her son’s eyes, her position as a mother would remain still.
Mrs. Zhu was seized by such a thought as if she had been possessed and could not extricate herself. She imagined over and over again that when the city of Yuyang broke down, when the beastly Xiongnu burst through the gates, at that moment she would guard the door of the Wei family temple with her own body so that her son, Mrs. Xu, and all the soldiers of the Wei family would see that she, Mrs. Zhu, was the mother who could truly live and die with the Wei family. That moment would be the most glorious moment of her life.
She no longer felt fear but instead looked forward to that moment with increasing fervor. She was all ready for it.
Just the day before, the news of the difficulties in defending Shanggu reached Yuyang again. The atmosphere that had prevailed in Yuyang since the Xiongnu’s southern invasion had reached an unprecedented level of tension, and late at night, Mrs. Zhu suddenly had a dreamy fit.
She ran out of the house in disarray and headed for the family temple while shouting, ‘The Xiongnu are attacking.’ When she reached the family temple, she shooed everyone out and bolted the door, and soon afterward, fire came up from the temple.
……