Taking in the scene before me, I felt the blood rush to my head and my heart give a hard thump.
Several servants held Xiao Hezhong down with clubs and were stripping off his clothes.
There was neither sorrow nor anger in Xiao Hezhong’s eyes. He lay on the ground without resisting, his fair face smeared with dirt, utterly lifeless as he let them strip off his outer robe.
That pale moon-white robe was one I’d deliberately chosen for him that morning—not overly ornate, yet perfect for bringing out Xiao Hezhong’s cool, otherworldly air.
Since Xiao Hezhong had entered my household, he had never once disobeyed me. He came to pay his respects every morning and evening without fail, and I had never seen the slightest reluctance on his face.
But I could tell that he did everything with the utmost care. He was like a taut bowstring, ready to snap at the slightest misstep.
So I never dared force him to do anything.
Xiao Rulin wasn’t wrong. Though Xiao Hezhong was a man, he was breathtakingly beautiful. He seemed as delicate as a piece of jade, and I couldn’t bear to lay a finger on him.
And yet they dared humiliate him like this.
I kicked away the servants pinning Xiao Hezhong to the ground.
When Xiao Hezhong saw me, a ripple stirred in his desolate eyes.
“My Lord…”
I helped Xiao Hezhong up and helped him get dressed.
“Are you all right?”
Xiao Hezhong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His breathing was ragged, but he shook his head. “I’m fine.”
I straightened his collar. “Stay here and watch closely. I’ll make sure you get back every bit of what you’ve suffered.”
I turned toward the young lady surrounded by servants, picked up a club from the ground, and approached her one step at a time. “Didn’t you just call him a lowborn concubine?”
The first blow broke a servant’s leg.
“He was born a man. You forced him to dress in women’s clothes just so he could appear before people.”
The second blow broke another servant’s arm.
“Even as a male spouse, he wears the hat of a general’s wife. I married him properly and brought him to my residence in a sedan chair carried by eight bearers. Since when did that make him a lowborn concubine?”
No one dared step forward now. Everyone stood in absolute silence; the courtyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Xiao Hezhong had always been indifferent. Whether lying on my bed or pinned to the ground and humiliated, he had always accepted it calmly.
But now, just a few words from me brought tears to his eyes.
The club in my hand broke, so I pressed the young lady’s face straight down onto the stone table.
A servant beside her screamed and rushed over. “Eldest Miss!”
I hurled the other half of the club at her, striking her so hard her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
I looked at Xiao Yun-dao, her face ashen.
“Do you think my marquis’s residence has no one to defend it? How dare you insult the mistress of my household!”
“Do you enjoy stripping people?” I tightened my grip and shouted, “Do you think I won’t strip you bare and parade you through the streets?”
Xiao Yun-dao cried out in pain and stammered in alarm, “He’s nothing but a lowly son born of a concubine. Would the general really turn against the Xiao family for his sake?”
I gave a scornful snort. “I’m a First-Rank General Who Guards the State, and the emperor himself bestowed on me the title of Marquis of the Black Robe. Your father is merely a Third-Rank minister. I don’t even consider him worth my notice!”
I sneered. “You treated him this way because you thought his status was low.”
“Today I’ll go pay my respects to His Majesty and use my military merits to secure him an imperial title.”
After so many years of campaigning, the two things I’d earned most of were military merits and official posts.
“From now on, not only you, but even your father, will have to bow properly when you see him and respectfully address him as the Marquis’s wife!”
Xiao Yun-dao’s eyes widened. She stammered, “Are you insane? He’s a man!”
A bloodthirsty smile curled my lips. I patted her cheek and spoke in the tone I used to interrogate enemy soldiers. “If you’re not afraid to die, go ahead and tell people about this. I guarantee you’ll be ruined and die in the street before Xiao Hezhong does.”
Just then, Xiao Rulin came rushing over with a group of servants.
Seeing me pressing his beloved daughter against the table, he pointed at me with a trembling finger. “You… let my daughter go!”
The servants behind him saw the terrible scene in the courtyard and hesitated, afraid to approach.
I grabbed Xiao Yun-dao by the collar and hauled her upright.
“I should thank you, Lord Xiao. If something like this had entered my household, there wouldn’t have been a peaceful day under my roof.”
I threw her to the ground.
The servants nearby hurried to help her up, then retreated to one side to examine the wounds on her face.
I clapped my hands, curled my lip, and said coldly, “Xiao Rulin, from today on, Xiao Hezhong has nothing more to do with your family. The next time you see him, you will address him properly as the Marquis’s wife. Otherwise, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”
Without another word, I pulled the stunned Xiao Hezhong beside me away from this loathsome place.
3
Once we were in the carriage, I looked at the silent person beside me and couldn’t hold back my anger.
“You were quick enough to hit me that day. Why are you acting like a cat with its claws pulled today, letting people bully you?”
Xiao Hezhong pressed his lips together and lowered his long lashes, hiding his thoughts.
“I didn’t want to cause you trouble, My Lord.”
I folded my arms and clicked my tongue, feeling a sharp ache in my back teeth.
“Listen carefully. If anyone else dares insult you, fight back with the same spirit you used when you hit me. If you hurt me, I’ll pay for it; if you kill me, I’ll bury you.”
Xiao Hezhong clenched his sleeves, placed his hands on his knees, and sat up straight. A sliver of daylight slipped through the curtain and fell across his face, softening its usual chill.
“His Majesty is old now, and the court is rife with fierce power struggles. One wrong step, and there’s no coming back.”
His voice was gentle and soothing. It made me reluctant to say another harsh word to him.
“My Lord, Xiao Yun-dao was right about one thing. You shouldn’t fall out with the Xiao family on my account.”
I wagged a finger, firmly disagreeing. “That’s not true. There’s nothing left between me and the Xiao family to fall out over.”
“That old bastard Xiao Rulin has petitioned His Majesty about me plenty of times.”
I leaned back, propped my feet on the low couch across from me, and said lazily, “Besides, the more of a scene the Xiao family and I make, the more reassured that person in the palace will be.”
Xiao Hezhong took the opportunity to rest my head on his lap.
I settled into a comfortable position, toyed with the jade pendant on his belt, and went on, “If a civil official and a military commander joined forces, even the old emperor would have to wake up in the middle of the night to make a little effigy and curse me to choke to death on a drink.”
I took his hand again. His palm had a thin layer of calluses and small abrasions from the sand. Frowning, I said, “Even without all those reasons, I still wouldn’t let anyone bully you.”
Xiao Hezhong let his sleeve fall to cover his palm. The fingers he left exposed hooked lightly around mine, as if soothing a child.
He quietly straightened my rumpled robe.
“But Lord Marquis, now that you’ve struck someone in public, I’m afraid the whole capital will know. To avoid being criticized, you’ll surely be punished when you return to the residence.”
I poked at my ear and said carelessly, “They’ll just make me kneel in the ancestral hall for a few hours.”
I gave him a reassuring look. “I know that place well. I’m not afraid.”
The corners of Xiao Hezhong’s mouth lifted in a faint smile, like moonlight settling in my heart.
“I always thought you had a pure and simple heart, Lord Marquis. Only now do I realize you’re a truly wise person who hides his brilliance.”
I couldn’t help wrinkling my nose. So he’d thought I was an idiot all along?
My vision blurred, and I couldn’t help yawning. I’d spent half a month curled up on a low bed without getting a proper rest. Now that I’d finally lain down, the carriage’s gentle rocking soon brought on a wave of sleepiness.
I murmured, “Sometimes, being a little muddleheaded in this life isn’t such a bad thing...” My head soon grew foggy, and I was off playing chess with the Duke of Zhou.
On the frontier, I’d spent every day on guard against the enemy, my nerves taut. Even after returning to the capital, I hadn’t dared let my guard down. So the moment the carriage stopped, I opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw was Xiao Hezhong’s peerlessly handsome face. At some point, he’d leaned against the carriage and fallen asleep. His arm was protecting my waist, keeping me from rolling onto the floor.
I was momentarily stunned. I even wanted to reach out and touch the spot between his brows, where a misty rain seemed to linger.
Just as I touched his chin, it suddenly occurred to me: in his eyes, I was a man now. He certainly wouldn’t like me touching him.