Chapter 26

Shao Qing let out a brief, startled cry—but the man had already left the west study. He gripped her hand so forcefully that his wrist ached, and as he shifted away, she caught a glimpse of the blue veins bulging on the back of his hand.

“Husband! You…” Listen to me first!

A loud “bang” from the door interrupted her words. Wei Jing had already carried her into the main room, and the door slammed shut with a resounding crash.

“You first…”

“Ah Qing?”

Her words were cut off once more as Wei Jing suddenly turned and demanded, “Why are you considering setting up a female household?”

He was normally very perceptive. Regarding the matter of Shao Qing’s household registration being merged with the Kou family’s, Kou Xuan did not dare to make decisions on his own without consulting him. Although he hadn’t witnessed every detail firsthand, he understood the situation completely.

In that instant, an unbelievable thought flashed through his mind.

“Tell me—do you want to leave me?” Wei Jing’s breaths quickened as he suddenly seized Shao Qing’s shoulder, leaned in, and stared straight into her eyes, demanding, “So, is it yes or no?!”

Only then did Shao Qing meet his gaze. Seeing the shock—and more so, the disbelief—in his expression, and feeling his large palm clamped onto her shoulder like an iron vise that threatened to shatter her bones, she cried, “It hurts! Let go!”

She struggled in vain, stumbling back with a series of forceful steps.

In the past, even the slightest frown from her had drawn his heartfelt concern, but now, as her face showed unmistakable pain, Wei Jing refused to loosen his grip even an iota.

“Ah Qing, you cannot leave me!” he declared as he advanced swiftly with her until she was forcefully pinned against a pillar, with nowhere left to retreat.

Wei Jing was remarkably astute—in fact, he had already sensed hints of Shao Qing’s thoughts a moment ago. Yet he refused to believe it and pressed her urgently. Instead of denying it outright, her reaction only confirmed his suspicions.

“I have only you! Will you even abandon me?!”

At the very moment when he was riding high on ambition, he was struck by the most crushing, bloodstained betrayal. He plummeted into an abyss, his body bound in shackles. In a time when even struggling to survive was a luxury, fate had at least granted him a steadfast companion—someone who would never forsake him, with whom he could lean on and support one another. She was like a beam of light—fragile but brilliantly radiant, illuminating the dark and lonely road that lay ahead for him.

Heaven had not completely forsaken him; in the end, he still had her.

Perhaps it was precisely her presence that fueled his stubborn struggle. The two of them, stumbling and colliding along the way, eventually managed to traverse a narrow pass strewn with thorns, finally finding a semblance of stability. Yet, just as the first light of dawn appeared, this very companion—the only person he had—seemed about to leave him.

Even she would abandon him?!

No—no, that cannot be!

Wei Jing’s expression changed dramatically; his dark eyes began to redden as he gripped her with a force akin to a drowning man clutching his last piece of driftwood.

He couldn’t let go—for if he did, he would lose everything and be swept away, drowning in the overwhelming, monstrous tide.

“Unless I die, I will never let you leave me!”

“No, no!”

“Even if I die, I will never let you leave! I promised to protect you in this lifetime—how could I dare break my word!!”

By the time his questioning reached its climax, it had turned into a shrill cry. Tiny beads of sweat glistened on Wei Jing’s forehead. Though he was clearly in pain and stubborn in his resolve, his expression had become wildly frantic. His knuckles creaked with each tense movement as he struggled to contain the erupting tide of emotion, and his tall frame trembled ever so slightly. He leaned forward, closing in on Shao Qing.

“I didn’t!” Her shoulder stung unbearably as if her bones were about to be crushed under the pressure. Before her, the tall man’s eyes glowed a deep red—as though flecks of blood were visible—and his entire being exuded a palpable aura of menace.

Shao Qing could almost detect a metallic, bloody-sweet scent hovering around him. It was the first time she had been forced to confront an outburst from Wei Jing aimed directly at her. The chilling aura—reminiscent of a sea of corpses and blood—descended upon her like the crushing weight of Mount Tai, leaving her nearly breathless.

Her heart pounded wildly and her mind buzzed. Overwhelmed and feeling utterly inadequate, Shao Qing finally caved in, struggling as she cried out, “I never thought of leaving you! I didn’t!!”

“I didn’t! I truly didn’t!!” Her resounding plea, like the bitter, frosty gusts of winter mountains, momentarily cooled Wei Jing’s boiling blood. He stared at her wide-eyed and asked, “Really, Ah Qing?”

At that moment, he felt like a desperate traveler in a barren desert who had suddenly discovered an oasis—his disbelief intermingled with ecstatic joy. His face still bore the remnants of the frenzy that had not yet subsided. Surviving the ordeal had left him profoundly shaken, as a torrent of vivid emotions intertwined to form the most peculiar expression.

He was excited and eager for a response, and he quickly asked again, “Ah Qing? Is it true?”

Just moments earlier, Shao Qing had felt apprehensive, but now—seeing his expression, as if he were standing in the abyss while gazing at the bright moon—a tinge of sorrow welled in her heart. Her feelings were complex, yet she no longer dared to deny them. She drew a breath, nodded, and in a hoarse voice said, “I never meant to leave you.”

“Then why did you set up a female household?” Wei Jing was not one to be easily fooled. Fortunately, an inspired thought struck Shao Qing, and she replied, “Didn’t we never perform the ritual of paying homage to Heaven and Earth? That isn’t considered a real marriage—how could we possibly merge our households so directly?”

Indeed, originally, she had been personally selected by Empress Fu, and her marriage was decreed by imperial edict, with an auspicious date chosen by the Department of Celestial Observations. Officials—including the Minister of Rites—conducted the wedding ceremony; she was escorted into Prince Qi’s mansion, had her marriage registered on the jade ledger, and after performing the homage to the emperor, she became the unquestioned Prince Qi’s consort.

Yet one step was missing—the ceremony of paying homage to Heaven and Earth. The reason was that a month before the grand wedding, unrest broke out on the northern frontier as the fiercest battle against the Tartars commenced. Without hesitation, Wei Jing rushed off to the northern border.

Although the groom was absent, the wedding was not postponed at all. This was because, as a child, a sage had predicted that he must be married before reaching twenty—otherwise, his life would be in danger.

In royal marriages, customary rituals such as the wedding ceremony and ancestral worship are not the most important. In fact, escorting the bride doesn’t require the prince’s personal presence. So, all the procedures that were carried out did not affect her entry into the royal family.

At that time, Empress Fu, fearing that her younger daughter-in-law would feel aggrieved, repeatedly emphasized that once Wei Jing returned, he would make up for the missing rituals and gifts. She even personally wrote a letter and ordered someone to deliver it to the northern frontier with instructions about the matter.

Thus, Wei Jing was fully aware of the entire sequence of events. Upon hearing this, he was momentarily stunned and then urgently exclaimed, “Ah Qing, I’m so sorry for putting you through all this!”

He had completely forgotten about it!

For a moment, it was as if the dark clouds had cleared to reveal a bright moon. All his wild, sinister impulses receded like a tide, leaving his face a mixture of joy and remorse. When he saw Shao Qing’s pained look, he suddenly realized what he had done in his loss of control—and, as if scalded, he abruptly released his grip.

“Does Ah Qing hurt?”

It turned out that his partner had never intended to abandon him; rather, he was the one who had repeatedly wronged her. Wei Jing, both anxious and ashamed, tightly wrapped his arms around her and began massaging her shoulders. “It’s my fault—I can’t believe I pinched you so hard it hurt!”

“If you’re angry, then hit me! I promise I won’t ever do it again, believe me!”

He quickly apologized, but Shao Qing found it hard to speak. She tried to force a smile by tugging at the corner of her mouth, yet the pain in her shoulder made her wince even more as she recoiled from his touch.

“Let me see.”

In his frantic haste, Wei Jing yanked at her collar, and Shao Qing could not stop him. Her shoulders were suddenly exposed to the air—not cold, but carrying a slight chill. When she instinctively tried to pull away his hand, he tightened his grip and frowned as he watched.

Exhausted in body and spirit, Shao Qing closed her eyes in despair, resigned to let him look. Her fair, luminous, and delicate skin bore several faint finger impressions and bruises on each shoulder. Even in that brief instant—despite his efforts to control his force—it was much more than her tender flesh could bear.

The freshly formed bruise wasn’t very conspicuous yet, but beneath her skin a few small clusters of bluish-black marks were beginning to emerge—dark and rather pronounced.

Wei Jing, overcome with guilt, hurriedly pulled Shao Qing to the edge of the bed and sat down. He rummaged through a wooden drawer and brought out a small porcelain bottle of medicinal wine.

This bottle of herbal medicinal wine was the very one Shao Qing had used before to soothe the bruise on her forehead. There was still half a bottle left, and ever since she had once suffered a major loss from lacking the proper remedy, she had been very careful to carry it along wherever she went. Now, it was being used once again.

The icy medicinal wine made contact with her skin. With his broad, even-handed grip, he massaged it in, and she let out a sharp hiss.

“Does it hurt?” Wei Jing quickly asked, easing his pressure a bit.

Shao Qing shook her head. In truth, her shoulders didn’t hurt much at all—instead, her head pounded with a pulsating ache.

This was a lingering effect of the injuries she sustained during that river-jumping accident. Yan Ming had once explained that although the outward symptoms might fade, the recovery had to be gradual. No medication was necessary as long as her head was never subjected to another impact.

Whenever her emotions surged dramatically, this symptom would flare up, but with her usually even temperament, she rarely experienced extreme highs or lows—if it weren’t for today, she might have almost forgotten it altogether. Weary to the bone, she closed her eyes and waited silently for the throbbing pain to subside.

Only then did Shao Qing feel as if she were being dropped from a great height back down to earth.

Wei Jing spoke to her in a low tone, filled with guilt and apology. To be honest, although Shao Qing still felt a lingering shock from what had just occurred, she couldn’t really blame him. She knew him well—his body and soul had suffered severe blows, leaving him paranoid and overly sensitive, easily hurt. That was why she had never clearly brought up the issue. She had mentally prepared herself for his reaction, yet she hadn’t expected his response to be far more intense than she had anticipated.

Sigh, she thought, wondering what they should do next.

Lost in these thoughts, Shao Qing suddenly heard Wei Jing say, “Ah Qing, tomorrow I’ll give the orders. I’ll arrange everything as quickly as possible and make up for the ritual of paying homage to Heaven and Earth.”

She opened her eyes abruptly and saw Wei Jing frowning slightly. In a low voice, he added, “I’m just afraid it will put you at a disadvantage.”

He was deeply remorseful—after all, in a border county with limited resources, even with all his efforts, he feared that things might not come out as desired.

Shao Qing paused for a moment before quickly replying, “But we’re still in our mourning period now. It might be difficult to manage, don’t you think?”

The late Empress Fu had passed away less than half a year ago, so arranging a joyous event might not be appropriate. With her mind still in a tangle of unresolved matters, Wei Jing’s bringing this up at such a moment was unexpected.

“It doesn’t matter—we are already husband and wife now; it’s just a matter of supplementing the ceremony. The Empress specifically wrote a letter instructing me on this, and I’m sure her spirit in heaven would be pleased to see it,” Wei Jing insisted firmly, leaving no room for negotiation. After all, though the departed cannot be recovered, the person before him was the only one he could hold onto.

Shao Qing’s mind was in chaos. Her head felt as heavy as a huge bowl, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to react. Just as her headache began to ease, it started pulsing again. She let out two feeble hums as a response.

“Is your head hurting again?” A pair of large, knuckled hands pressed against the acupoints on both sides of her head, massaging evenly. The warm, heated sensation seeped in gradually with each rhythmic press.

“Take a nap.”

……

Exhausted in body and spirit, Shao Qing lay down with her eyes closed and drifted into a deep, drowsy sleep. She had no idea that Wei Jing had been sitting by the edge of the bed all night.

Early the next morning, Wei Jing ordered Zhuang Yan and Kou Xuan to start preparing for the wedding ceremony, saying that the sooner the date, the better.

There was an unmistakable hint of urgency—and perhaps even a trace of unease—as he was desperate to confirm that his words were genuine.

They had chosen an auspicious day, fixed up the small garden, repainted the walls, and arranged for new clothes and jewelry. Wei Jing personally oversaw every detail. He put all his heart into it, striving with all his might not to let her down, yet the tightly scheduled plans carried a persistent, pressing sense of inevitability.

Shao Qing was deeply troubled. Continuing down this path meant that she would very soon really become his wife—quite literally.

The question was: did she want that?