Dandere General and his Lord

Chapter 19

19. Belief

“This official…” Xiao Jin’s face was flushed as he knelt down, admitting his mistake, “This official did sense that there was something suspicious about this matter. However, first of all, the evidence was conclusive and couldn’t be disputed. Secondly, this official wished to stabilize the situation before investigating and finding out who the mastermind is.”

Cheng Qianye interrupted him, “Additionally, you were afraid that Mo Qiao Sheng was getting too close to me and felt worried that my secret might be discovered. So, you secretly thought to make the best of a mistake and figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to seize this opportunity to get rid of him. Am I wrong?”

Xiao Jin’s heart was filled with alarm. These were just some hazy thoughts in my heart that weren’t that clear even to myself. How was My Lord able to hit the nail on the head so accurately? 1

Cheng Qianye sat up high as she coldly looked down at him.

It was the first time that Xiao Jin felt the dignity of a superior from this Lord. He kowtowed as he sincerely expressed his humble apology. “This official admits his wrongs. My Lord, please pardon my offence.”

“Although this official truly did have such an idea, this official would not have treated human life with disregard if he was found to be innocent after we conducted our investigation, letting him die as a victim of injustice. My Lord, please believe this humble servant.”

A long time passed and Xiao Jin even felt a layer of cold sweat covering his back. He heard Cheng Qianye’s voice coming from above him.

“Get up. I’ll let this incident go. I hope you won’t do this kind of thing and disappoint me again. You’re pardoned. Zhang Fu, that bastard. I won’t let him go easily this time.”

“Come on, you follow me to take a look at Qiao Sheng first.”

~

Mo Qiao Sheng was chained up in a cold and dreary cell. Moonlight penetrated through barred windows, casting mottled lights and shadows onto his body.

General Yu Dunsu, who was guarding him, had a gentle manner and didn’t use violence against him, merely holding a blade in silence as he stood guard at the door of the cell.

Excluding those blows He Lanzhen had given him in the beginning, no one else had hit him, without inflicting any punishment on him.

Yet Mo Qiao Sheng felt much more pain than from any punishment he had suffered before.

He felt agony from deep within his heart.

A’Feng’s words kept ringing in his ears.

“Don’t easily give your heart away to your master. Otherwise, the pain you face later on will be much more intolerable.”

Mo Qiao Sheng closed his eyes.

Maybe I should stop vainly hoping for such happiness.

The image of Cheng Qianye’s gentle face kept appearing in front of him.

When he had been stationed outside the city walls, he had glimpsed that figure sitting high above in his sedan chair, almost sparkling beneath the sunshine. He had glanced over languidly, smiling at him.

~

“Qiao Sheng?”

Mo Qiao Sheng dimly heard someone calling out to him and raised his head sluggishly.

The authentic smiling face emerged before him, gradually overlapping with the fantasy figure in his mind until the image became clear.

My Lord.

My Lord, he actually came to see me.

Cheng Qianye looked at Mo Qiao Sheng who was imprisoned by iron shackles right before her eyes.

It had only been a couple of hours and that sapphire was in the slough of despond, 2 losing all vitality.

When he heard her voice, he had been filled with disbelief as he looked up to see her. Those eyes had turned red in an instant as he gazed at her with grief and despair.

Cheng Qianye reached out and stroked his messy hair, bending down closer to his face as she gently asked him, “Qiao Sheng, you tell me, did you do it?”

Mo Qiao Sheng’s defeated eyes lit up with a spark and he opened his mouth slightly, lowering his head.

It took him a moment to speak out.

It was a sentence he had said innumerable times in his nightmares since childhood. A sentence that no one would believe.

“It wasn’t me. Master, please believe me. Believe me this once.”

This time, he was able to hear the response he had yearned to hear even in his dreams.

“Since Xiao Mo says it wasn’t, then it wasn’t so.”

That person stroked his hair as he said this sentence gently, carving each word into his chest and filling his bruised and defeated heart.

“My Lord, the evidence is conclusive. How can you trust him so easily?” Yu Dunsu cupped his fists as he advised.

Cheng Qianye straightened up and looked back at Yu Dunsu and waved Xiao Jin over.

“General Yu.” She looked at Yu Dunsu. “To be honest, within our forces today, the only people I have complete confidence in are only the three of you who are present here.”

“Today, I believed in Qiao Sheng. If you are framed in front of me some other day, I will also believe in you that day.”

Yu Dunsu knelt down on one knee and cupped his hands respectfully. “Thank you My Lord for your favour and confidence.”

Cheng Qianye continued, “I have told Minister Xiao to investigate this matter. It’s impossible for Qiao Sheng to have done it. As for the one orchestrating the incident from behind, who shifted the blame and how many people are involved, I still don’t know yet.”

“But since they did it, they must have had an aim. Therefore, I can only rely on you to help me find the actual culprit. It’s just that we might have to wrong Qiao Sheng and keep him here for a period of time.”

She turned back around and caught sight of Mo Qiao Sheng who was motionless with his head hanging down.

“Qiao Sheng? What’s wrong?”

Cheng Qianye bent down and saw his face illuminated by the moonlight, with clear tear stains reflected by the light.

Oh my. Cheng Qianye exclaimed inwardly.

She waved Yu Dunsu and Xiao Jin away.

Both of her hands softly clasped Mo Qiao Sheng’s face.

“Why are you crying?”

That face with his reddened nose lightly quivered in her hands.

Bright teardrops squeezed out of the corner of his tightly closed eyes, tumbling down one after another.

His thin lips were pursed together tightly, not allowing a single sound to leak past.

So silent as he wept bitterly into Cheng Qianye’s hands.

Cheng Qianye had never realized that a man could cry so beautifully, causing her heart to pound faster.

She patiently wiped his tears away.

“Don’t cry, Qiao Sheng, don’t cry.”

~

At the first glimmer of dawn, the prison cell door was opened and Xiao Xiu came down the steps, carrying a basket of food with him.

He said to Yu Dunsu who was yawning, “General Yu has worked hard. My Lord ordered me to bring some food for the criminal. General has not slept throughout the night, would you also like some light refreshments to pad your belly?”

Yu Dunsu yawned and said, “There’s no need. Since that’s the case, you can go watch him as he eats and let me take a nap.”

Xiao Xiu responded smilingly, “General has no need to worry and can go take a rest. It’s not a problem for me to stay here for some time on the General’s behalf.”

Yu Dunsu did not act polite and cupped his hands in salute. He found two benches and placed them together. Soon, the sounds of snoring could be heard outside the cell.

Xiao Xiu entered the cell and took out some food from the basket before Mo Qiao Sheng’s eyes.

“Eat?”

Mo Qiao Sheng stared fixedly at him for a moment. “It turned out to be you. Why did you do it? You…. Do you hate me that much?

Xiao Xiu lowered his eyelashes. “No, I don’t hate you.”

Mo Qiao Sheng looked at him in puzzlement.

“I have a question. You must know the answer to it, and for this, I am ready to pay any price.”

“Question?”

“You tell me. You definitely know it, right?” Xiao Xiu raised his gaze as he looked directly at Mo Qiao Sheng. “As long as you tell me the truth, I will go to My Lord at once and tell him you have been wronged. I can prove that the bottle of poison isn’t yours so that you can return to My Lord’s side at once.”

“Know what?” Mo Qiao Sheng felt very confused.

“You know, you definitely know! If you don’t want to die, then tell me!” Xiao Xiu rose to his feet agitatedly and grabbed Mo Qiao Sheng’s collar. “You’re so close to My Lord, you tell me, My Lord, he, is he….”

Xiao Jin appeared from his hiding spot and interrupted him.

“Capture him!”

Several soldiers rushed in and pressed Xiao Xiu, who was seized with panic, onto the ground before trussing him up.