Chapter Text
She didn’t know what she’d been expecting. Some pity after the death of her grandfather? But no, she should have known better. Of course Wei Shao would only revel in the death of someone he hated so fully. Perhaps then some gratitude for helping to save the lives of the people in Panyi and, in extension, the lives of many of his soldiers?
“Do you truly think endangering your life would have endeared me to you?”
She had miscalculated gravely. It seemed the marriage alliance was purely his grandmother’s choice and filled him with nothing but aversion.
“You Qiao! Even willing to gamble with your lives to manipulate others. How disgusting!”
She knew a lost cause when she saw one, yet she was willing to endure. If they got married, she would have time. And, to be like water, she needed time to carve through the rock that hindered her.
“If you think I will marry you after this, you are sorely mistaken! I will write to my grandmother at once.”
Wei Shao turned on his heal and stalked off, leaving her standing there. Spurned. For having saved half a city. A wry smile curled her lips as she flexed her injured hand.
Chun Niang came up to her. “That man,” she said with emotion.
“He’s unable to look past his prejudices,” Qiao Man said, turning to walk back to the rooms she had been offered. “And he’s only confirming mine,” she added in a murmur.
The days went by slowly. Qiao Man continued to do what she could to help the people of Panyi. The sudden takeover was partially her fault, after all. Not how it had happened, but that it had happened. If she’d hoped it would mellow Wei Shao, if only a little, all was in vain. He seemed entirely determined to loathe her.
Zhang Pu had been dispatched with a letter to her father, stating her grief about her grandfathers’ death, asking about the family’s next steps, and warning him about Wei Shao’s continued hostile stance. She was eager to see him return. Not for the presence of the man himself — she never quite liked him, thinking him without much of a spine — but for the news he would bring.
When word of his return to the city reached her, it still took Qiao Man a few days to get a hold of him. He was avoiding her and she dreaded what it meant. Eventually, Zhang Pu could no longer avoid the inevitable and found himself sitting in front of her, nervously sipping tea.
“The funeral?” Qiao Man ventured, hoping that a safer topic would mellow the man.
“Was properly arranged, of course,” Zhang Pu quickly said. “With all due reverence. He was a well-respected man.”
“I am glad to hear,” Qiao Man said. “And Uncle will lead the family from now on?”
“Indeed. Indeed.”
She looked up at him. “And has he any advice for me?” she ventured.
“Ah.” Zhang Pu wrung his hands. “Well, the matter is…”
He nervously looked up at her, then away again. Qiao Man merely waited him out, sipping her tea more calmly than she felt.
“It seems Wei Shao truly refuses to marry you,” Zhang Pu blurted out. “But Lord Yue thought the alliance too important so he wrote the venerable Lady Xu. You are to marry Wei Yan.”
Qiao Man frowned. “Who?”
“Wei Yan,” Zhang Pu repeated. “He’s apparently Wei Shao’s cousin, raised by Lady Xu herself after his mother died during childbirth.” There was another shift in his seat. “He, uhm, travels a lot.”
Qiao Man busied her hands, trying hard not to let her shock show. “I see,” she managed to say. “What else is known about this Wei Yan?” she asked.
The way the question only served to make Zhang Pu more nervous didn’t help her own rising unease. In the end, he managed so weasel himself out of her presence without answering her questions. By the time he was gone, she was none the wiser about the man she was now supposed to marry.
Xiao Tao came bustling in. “They’ve got nerve!” she exclaimed while she gathered the remnants of tea on the table. “First they throw you to the wolves and now they pawn you off to some unknown cousin. That your father-”
“It is my duty,” Qiao Man said, interrupting Xiao Tao.
“Xiaojie,” she exclaimed. “You can’t actually believe that. It’s not fair!”
“It has nothing to do with fairness,” Qiao Man answered. “As a daughter of the Qiao family, my marriage holds great political value.” She allowed herself a sigh. “Although I would rather know what I’m up against instead of walk into the dark.” She looked up. “Xiao Tao, you and Xiao Zao go and try to find out whatever you can about this Wei Yan. No detail is too small or unimportant.”
“Yes, Xiaojie,” Xiao Tao agreed before walking off.
Once she was gone, Qiao Man allowed herself to slump and bow her head. All her plans lay in ashes. So she was to marry some forgotten cousin, close enough to the bloodline to be relevant but not close enough to actually mean anything. What good could she do standing next to him, other than be a pretty Wei trophy?
She shook her head to dispel her despair. Her grandfather’s voice rung clear in her head, talking about finding new ways in difficult times. She simply had too little knowledge to forge a plan forward. She would wait for Xiao Tao and Xiao Zao’s return in the evening.
But her two maids took their time before returning and when they did, they huddled with Chun Niang instead of coming to her. Qiao Man allowed it for a while, then called Xiao Tao over. Chun Niang came instead. Qiao Man raised an eyebrow at her.
“Xiaojie,” Chun Niang started. “Forgive them. They…”
“It can’t be that bad,” Qiao Man said. “He’s part of the main family.”
“And he has been indulged,” Chun Niang said, sitting down when Qiao Man motioned her to.
“So, he’s a spoiled brat?”
“Not exactly.”
Qiao Man threw Chun Niang a look. “Out with it,” she demanded.
“He’s got a reputation,” Chun Niang started. “For drinking, visiting brothels, and fooling around. It is said that he has about a dozen concubines in his palace in Yujun. He travels around the country as a philandering rich young man, then occasionally returns when the dust wearies him.”
Qiao Man stared at her in horror. Chun Niang quickly continued. “There are a few redeeming qualities though,” she added. “Apparently his calligraphy and paintings are good. It’s just that he…”
“Paints beauties?” Qiao Man guessed.
“Ah, yes.”
“How can they do this to you?” Xiao Tao exclaimed from the edge of the room.
“Leave me,” Qiao Man quietly requested.
“Xiaojie-” Chun Niang started.
“Leave me,” Qiao Man repeated somewhat more firm.
Chun Niang let out a sad little sigh before rising and, with a final greeting, ushering the other two from the room as well.
Qiao Man pushed back the tears that were threatening to fall. She had been strong when Da Qiao left. She had been strong through the entire ordeal with Wei Shao. She would be strong now too.
The fabric of her skirt pulled at her knee as she twisted and balled her fists into the fabric. Had her uncle known whom he was giving her to? Did her father know? Was the alliance really that important?
She silently berated herself. If this could mend the rift between the Qiao’s and the Wei, then yes, it was worth it. She would only have to find a way to turn this situation to her benefit. To the Qiao’s benefit.
A thought popped into her head and she let out a short, disbelieving laugh. If this Wei Yan was always on the road, did he know he was engaged to her? Or did he find himself in a similar position than hers? Maybe worse even, to be blind sided by a political marriage.
She held fast to that notion, thinking she could use it later. When things went bad and this Wei Yan inevitably treated her poorly, she could remember that he, too, found himself in an unwanted position.
She allowed herself a moment to grieve for what could have been. A few moments in the past weeks, she had seen things about Wei Shao that made her believe he was more than the monster he showed the world. Small things, but enough to make her think that, with time, he may have mellowed and they may have found common ground.
Then, she thought, planned, and ended up with a ton of questions. She would have to grill Zhang Pu again the next day. First, she needed a proper night’s sleep.
The next day, Zhang Pu was easier to track down and drag to her chambers, but he wasn’t any less nervous for it. Qiao Man poured him tea.
“This was uncle’s decision, I assume?” she asked without preamble. They both knew what he was there to talk about.
“Yes,” Zhang Pu answered. “With your grandfather gone, Lord Yue thought it wise to keep the Wei as friends.” Then, as if he thought it would get him in her good graces, “Your father initially protested, of course. He didn’t want you to be treated like a pawn. But in the end… he couldn’t deny the benefits of an alliance.”
“When will the wedding take place?”
“Ah,” Zhang Pu wiped his forehead. “Negotiations are still taking place. Lady Xu has contacted her grandson. He is currently… travelling.”
Qiao Man had her own thoughts about the ‘travelling’ the man was doing. But it did confirm her slightly hysteric thoughts of the night before. The man had not agreed to this either and was being pushed in a corner.
When Qiao Man stayed quiet, Zhang Pu continued talking. “The general consensus is that the wedding should take place rather soon though. Your uncle has pressed this matter as well. We do not want the Wei to change their mind.”
“I want a year-long mourning period for my grandfather,” Qiao Man said, looking Zhang Pu straight in the eye. “Tell uncle I won’t agree unless that’s part of the negotiations.”
“Ah,” Zhang Pu tried to deflect. “I’m not certain-”
“A small kindness,” Qiao Man cut in. “For being married off to a philandering lord instead of a mighty warlord.”
Zhang Pu paled in front of her. “Ah, yes, yes. Of course I will convey your request.”
“And in the meantime?” Qiao Man asked.
“You are to stay here,” Zhang Pu answered.
Qiao Man hummed. She doubted her staying in Panyi had anything to do with her safety and more to do with her being offered up to the Wei as a sort of guarantee. They finished their tea in an uncomfortable silence before Zhang Pu all but fled the room.
The following two-and-a-half weeks were slow to pass as Qiao Man waited for more information. She was almost happy for the distraction when she saw Wei Shao stride across the lawn towards where she had been pondering a weiqi puzzle. She stood and bowed to greet him, but barely got the chance.
“You,” Wei Shao snapped.
Qiao Man looked up and had to fight the urge to step back. Wei Shao looked livid. She was quite certain that, had she been a man, he would have punched her in the face.
“You scheming bitch!” he raged. “Couldn’t take no for an answer so you set your sights on my cousin? How convenient he isn’t here to defend himself!”
“Lord Shao,” she said. “I can assure you that this was not my idea.”
He sneered at her. “Then whose was it?” he challenged, face uncomfortably close to hers. “You say my grandmother would have married him off? Knowing well how he thinks about marriage?”
“I cannot speak on that which I don’t know,” Qiao Man said, trying to keep calm in the face of so much anger aimed towards her. His insinuation that Wei Yan was against marriage on principle hadn’t gone past her, but she decided to ponder that at a more opportune moment.
Wei Shao narrowed his eyes at her, as if trying to figure out how to call her bluff. But it wasn’t a bluff at all. So Qiao Man decided to take another gamble.
“If anything, I should be the one seething,” she said. “It is me who is being traded like cattle.” She went to sit back behind her weiqi board, a bold and dangerous move in the face of Wei Shao’s anger. “All I know is that I now have to marry Wei Yan, your cousin. I haven’t even seen a painting of him.” She looked back at him. “So tell me, do you honestly think I’m bartering with my own happiness?”
Wei Shao seemed slightly taken aback by her words. It lasted only a second, but it was there.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know the wedding is to be the day after tomorrow.”
“What?” she exclaimed, momentarily losing composure.
“You didn’t know,” he said with some confusion.
“No, I did not,” Qiao Man answered, collecting herself again. “Thank you for informing me. I assume I am to meet Wei Yan at the wedding?”
Wei Shao sneered at her. “No,” he said. “Cousin isn’t here.”
Qiao Man frowned at him.
“You’re to be married by proxy.”
Qiao Man took a breath, releasing it through her nose, before asking, “And who will the proxy be?”
That elicited a cruel and slightly disturbed laugh from Wei Shao. “Me.”
She stared at him, incredulous. “You?”
His anger flared again. “Am I not good enough for you?” he barked. “Do you think all Wei beneath you? Is that your Qiao pride?”
Qiao Man answered with her own, disbelieving and slightly disturbed laugh. “It merely seems,” she chortled, “that you can’t escape marrying me after all.” She shook her head, forcing herself to become collected once more. “Can you inform me whether or not my requested one year of mourning has been approved?” She hated having to ask this information from Wei Shao, of all people, but it seemed her own family was too cowardly to inform her themselves.
“Yes,” Wei Shao snapped. To her surprise, he didn’t sneer about the topic any further.
“Then I will prepare myself for a wedding,” Qiao Man said, rising to her feet. She bowed to Wei Shao, needing to leave, needing to process. “I have a lot to do between now and the day-after-tomorrow. If you would please excuse me?” And, with Xiao Zao in tow, she returned to her rooms.