The Marquis Is Innocent

After sleeping all afternoon during the day, Xiao Qiao felt refreshed in the evening, so she got up and wrote back to her father.

Because of the winter, the day was getting shorter. It was only the middle of the day, but the sky was already dark. Chun Niang entered the room to turn on the light.

Old Zhong led two servants to carry the food case inside and set it on the table, smiling and asking Xiao Qiao to have dinner.

Xiao Qiao asks about Wei Shao. Although he had become busy recently, he was usually back by this hour. Since she got pregnant, she has been eating six or seven meals a day. She could not eat dinner too early, so these days, she waited for him to come back and eat together. But today, she has not seen him yet.

Old Zhong said, “Just now, Master sent a message saying he would be late and asked the Lady to eat without waiting for him.”

Since Wei Shao had sent someone back to send a message, something must have happened. Xiao Qiao didn’t wait any longer and had her meal. She was afraid of vomiting again, so she stood in the room for a while before being urged by Chun Niang to lie down.

Wei Shao didn’t return until late. After Xiao Qiao got pregnant, besides vomiting, she was also very sleepy and spent her days muddled. She fell asleep in bed while lying and waiting for Wei Shao.

When Xiao Qiao woke up, her ears were quiet, and she didn’t know what time it was. Without opening her eyes, she felt a hot body beside her and knew Wei Shao was in bed.

She touched his cheek, drowsy and softly whimpered, stretched like a cat, raised her hand to grab his shoulder, sprawled bonelessly on his chest while still closing her eyes, and vaguely asked: “When did husband return?”

“Some time ago.” She heard him say.

Xiao Qiao opened her eyes, looked at the clock in the room, and realized it was already the middle of the night.

Then she turned to Wei Shao: “So late, Husband is still not sleeping?” Wei Shao did not answer and gazed at her face.

After a sleep, her cheeks burned up. She was unaware that she looked gentle and beautiful, attractive.

While trying to resist the desire, he held her flat on the bed, his palm gently pressed on her still flat belly, smiled, and asked: “Is the little thing tormenting you today?”

Xiao Qiao leaned back on the bed and shook her head, “I’m sleeping today. Much better.”

They looked at each other, “But what happened? Why is husband back so late?” Moreover, she felt that the way he looked at her was a little different than usual.

“Man Man, for the next few days, I won’t be able to accompany you and our little thing.” Wei Shao gazed at her and said.

Xiao Qiao was stunned. Subconsciously, she was about to ask what was wrong, but the words changed at the end of her mouth.

“Is there going to be another war?” She said softly.

“Xing Xun usurped the throne and became the emperor. He has gathered half a million troops and is preparing to cross the Yellow River to attack me.”

Wei Shao said these words in a calm tone. But Xiao Qiao perceived a glimmer of excitement in the deep gaze of his dark eyes.

Xiao Qiao froze. She knew there would be a duel between Wei Shao and Xing Xun. It would be a battle that would change the tide and determine the direction of the world. The side that wins, undoubtedly, is unstoppable in its march to the top of the world, just like she had dreamed of in her previous life. She knew the results of the battle. But unlike in her previous life, this battle came so early. It came unexpectedly, several years in advance of her expectation.

……

Xindu became the temporary pre-war military headquarters for Wei Shao.

The atmosphere in this city became tense all of a sudden. A few days later, the people finally noticed the endless stream of armor-clad and solemn-looking generals who had arrived from all directions.

People began to talk apprehensively about whether a new war was about to start again. They were not wrong in their guesses.

Li Dian, Li Chong, Zhang Jian, and Wei Liang. The Generals under Wei Shao’s command, who had been through many battles, were informed within a few days. After making preparations, they were summoned from Youzhou and Bingzhou and ran to Xindu one after another in fast order.

The army started to move south one after another and set up on the north bank of the Yellow River. From morning to night, even in the middle of the night, fast horses were galloping in and out like lightning, delivering all kinds of news and information to the four gates of Xindu.

In the front hall of Xin Palace, the lights often stayed on late and even through the night. Wei Shao and his strategists, Generals, and provisions officers were there to discuss countermeasures and strategies. They had already prepared for the battle. Although the atmosphere was tense, they carried everything in an orderly manner.

It was just that Wei Shao became unusually busy all of a sudden. Xiao Qiao couldn’t see him during the day. He always came back late at night.

Sometimes in the early hours of the morning, not having slept for a moment, he would be called away by a new message coming from the Yellow River frontier.

Half a month later, on this day at the end of November, Wei Shao finally settled on a strategy for the war. With Liyang Ferry in the north of the Yellow River as the base camp for the war, he built a fortress at Gaotang and Fanjin as a warehouse. Then, he formed a defensive line to stand by against Xing Xun’s army two hundred miles along the bank of the Yellow River.

Three days later, he would be leaving Xindu and led his army to Liyang. On the same day, Xiao Qiao received a letter from Mrs. Xu. Her letter was simple and consisted of only one sentence. She said: Send Shao’er to war on behalf of Grandmother.