Chapter 100 Hostage Hostage

At this moment, a cold and damp laugh suddenly came from outside the door. Awa, a Miao woman in her prime, walked in, followed by the elderly clan leader leaning on a cane.

Awa had a pair of viper-like eyes, fixated on Qiu Shuzhi: “Not content with staying in a corner, seeking survival in the cracks, do you want to side with the imperial court against the King of Dian? Or side with the King of Dian against the imperial court? The Miao region is wrong either way, it’s already not easy to survive in these chaotic times. You, little person, outwardly worry about our clan’s safety, but in reality, your belly is full of schemes.”

“Awa!” Jiang Si immediately stood in front of Qiu Shuzhi to defend her: “My wife-master doesn’t mean that.”

Awa’s eyes were cold and frosty as she laughed coldly: “Jiang Si, as a man, how dare you call a woman who hasn’t even performed the marriage rites with you ‘wife-master’? Where is your sense of propriety and shame?”

The elderly clan leader behind her coughed twice: “Awa, stop talking.”

Awa shouted angrily, “Clan Leader! Have you also been deceived by this woman? Have you forgotten how Jiang Sui harmed our Miao region in the past? She will push our Miao region into an irredeemable state, just like Jiang Sui did back then!”

The clan leader heavily struck her cane on the floor, reprimanding in a low voice: “Shut up!”

Her turbid, aged gaze turned to Qiu Shuzhi, her eyes, witnesses to the vicissitudes of life, sharp and penetrating: “Qiu Shuzhi, since you say our Miao region can’t stay in a corner, what good strategy do you have?”

Qiu Shuzhi folded her hands, bowing respectfully and humbly, slowly saying: “I remember during the reign of Emperor [], there were no vassal king territories established, but instead Yunnan Tusi were set up, allowing the ethnic groups living in the southern frontier to self-govern. At that time, Yunnan and even small countries that submitted to Da Qi could govern internally. The imperial court didn’t need to send many troops to achieve long-term stability in the southern frontier. But since the reign of Emperor Ai, such good policies were replaced by vassal kings. In the hundred years since, the power of vassal kings has become overwhelming, becoming a major concern for the imperial court, leading to the current rebellion of the King of Dian.”

The clan leader was shocked: “You want to restore the Yunnan Prefecture?”

“Exactly.”

This was also the reason why Qiu Shuzhi was willing to come to the Miao region with Jiang Si. Apart from solving the poison, persuading the Miao region to unite against the King of Dian was her true purpose.

She and Yue Shen had discussed in the imperial study all night, finally deciding on the strategy most likely to win over the Miao region.

Restoring the Tusi system was definitely what the Miao people wanted most. It wouldn’t change the existing social structure of the Miao region, keeping them from leaving their ancestral lands and forcibly integrating with Central Plains customs, while also allowing them to use their own power to consolidate their rule. What was there not to like?

Just convincing the Miao region to turn against the King of Dian would be a heavy blow.

Although the clan leader’s face showed a hint of surprise, she quickly calmed down: “Restoring the Yunnan Prefecture is just your idea. The imperial court’s power is as solid as a rock, how could it be decided by a son-in-law like you?”

Qiu Shuzhi lowered her eyes and smiled: “You’re right. Although I can’t make the decision, this is exactly what the Empress Dowager and Her Majesty intend. I’m sure you’ve heard about Consort Rong being favored again and being conferred as Imperial Noble Consort.”

The clan leader’s eyes moved, looking at Jiang Si beside her: “Is what she says true?”

Jiang Si nodded: “My wife-master is correct.”

Seeing the hesitation and wavering in the clan leader’s eyes, Awa immediately rushed forward to interrupt everyone, shouting angrily: “Don’t be fooled by her words! Have you all forgotten how Jiang Sui tricked us out of our trust back then? You believe everything she says?”

As she spoke, Awa’s eyes grew fiercer, and taking advantage of everyone’s inattention, she flicked her narrow sleeve, sending a silver light flashing by at extreme speed.

“Watch out!” Jiang Si rushed forward selflessly, but his martial arts had been completely disabled by Yue Guanyi, making him no different from an ordinary man.

In a flash, Qiu Shuzhi pulled him behind her, drawing the short knife from his waist and slashing sideways. The silver light instantly shattered, and a silver-backed snake lay powerlessly curled up on the ground in a circle.

“Awa! You dare harm my wife-master, you’re seeking death!” Jiang Si shouted sternly.

Seeing Jiang Si so infatuated with Qiu Shuzhi, Awa fearlessly retorted: “Your wife-master? Without a wedding ceremony, you’re not husband and wife. She’s just a wild woman. Why should our Miao region listen to a wild woman?”

“You—” Jiang Si was left speechless by her questioning, only the slightly shaking hairpin on his head spoke of his helplessness.

Jiang Si knew the awkward status of himself and Qiu Shuzhi, not properly established. It was he who had been shamelessly telling everyone in the Miao village that Qiu Shuzhi was his wife-master, but in fact, Qiu Shuzhi only had one properly married husband, and that was Yue Guanyi.

This was also the reason why Jiang Si was jealous and resentful of Yue Guanyi, who had effortlessly obtained the status he had always longed for.

While he himself remained an illegitimate lover who couldn’t be acknowledged publicly.

Even though he desperately wanted to marry Qiu Shuzhi, he didn’t dare bring it up now. He had just angered Qiu Shuzhi, and it was all he could do to wait for her to calm down. How could he dare to ask Qiu Shuzhi for anything?

“What? You’re speechless yourself? She doesn’t care for you at all, she’s just playing you for a fool. And you, like an idiot, not only believed it but want to drag the whole clan along to fawn on her.” Awa sneered disdainfully.

Jiang Si clenched his fists tightly.

Qiu Shuzhi’s cold, lowered eyes slightly raised: “As long as I marry Lan’er, you’ll be willing to believe what I say is true?”

Awa laughed arrogantly: “Of course.”

Jiang Si was the son of a criminal who had concealed his identity. She seemed to be certain that Qiu Shuzhi wouldn’t risk betraying the imperial court by marrying him.

This Awa, though seeming to be a tough character, was actually quite simple-minded, just made paranoid by the King of Dian’s previous tactics.

She hadn’t anticipated that Jiang Si would send people to ambush outside the gorge in advance, completely disrupting her previous plans, resulting in her entering the Miao village alone.

Now she was in a dilemma, with poison in her body that needed to be resolved quickly.

Awa thought she was creating obstacles for her, not knowing she was providing the perfect opportunity to both gain the trust of the Miao people and deepen her relationship with Jiang Si, allowing her to drink Jiang Si’s blood sooner to neutralize the poison.

At that time, she would be able to turn the tables, working in concert with the young emperor to completely eliminate the King of Dian’s forces. Compared to pacifying the kingdom, what did personal feelings between men and women matter?

With this in mind, Qiu Shuzhi slowly took Jiang Si’s hand, their slender fingers intertwining tightly.

Under Jiang Si’s shocked and excited gaze, Qiu Shuzhi knelt before the clan leader and solemnly said: “I, Qiu, am willing to marry Jiang Si as my husband.”

“Wife-master-” Jiang Si knelt down with her, gripping her hand in return, his bewitching eyes glistening with tears like bursting fireworks.

Qiu Shuzhi bent down to place a light kiss on the back of his hand, her eyes full of deep affection: “Lan’er, are you willing to be my husband?”

Jiang Si nodded hurriedly, the silver hairpin on his head shaking like silver flowers on a snowy night.

“Qiu Shuzhi, you—” Awa was furious.

“Enough!” The clan leader’s angry shout rang out, her bamboo cane striking heavily on the ground.

She looked at Qiu Shuzhi and Jiang Si for a long time, finally fixing her gaze on Qiu Shuzhi alone, slowly saying: “All of you, withdraw.”

Welcome to support the free

Awa and Jiang Si exchanged a glance, hatred in both their eyes, but out of respect for the clan leader, they had to leave.

Only the clan leader and Qiu Shuzhi remained in the bamboo house.

Qiu Shuzhi had come with sincerity this time, kneeling respectfully before the clan leader. Though her posture was humble, her bearing was neither servile nor overbearing, with the spirit of defying snow and frost.

The clan leader sat opposite her, her aged and declining physique forming a stark contrast with Qiu Shuzhi’s upright posture. She looked increasingly like an old tree about to wither and die.

The clan leader had led the Miao village for over fifty years. Due to her misjudgment in trusting the King of Dian, the Miao region had declined from prosperity. This was a hidden ailment in her heart.

Now the Miao village had reached a critical point of survival, and she could see no way out in the intricate web of power. She was also worried about the future of the Miao people, until Qiu Shuzhi’s appearance.

If they could re-establish the Yunnan Prefecture and appoint the Miao village chief as the local Tusi official, the Miao people would no longer have to live in hiding as they do today.

“Lady Qiu, what you just said is all talk. Do you have any proof?” Even though this old tree was dying, she still wanted its withering body to shelter the clan members a while longer.

Qiu Shuzhi was silent for a moment.

There was supposed to be proof – the young emperor’s sword and an imperial edict. But she didn’t dare carry such valuable items with her and had entrusted them to Yue Guanyi for safekeeping. Who knew Jiang Si would suddenly pull such a stunt, leaving her washed clean by the river water with only a jade pendant remaining.

“You don’t?” The clan leader laughed self-mockingly, laughing at her own aged incompetence, taking a faint hope as the only way out for the clan.

“I do—” Qiu Shuzhi’s fingers tightened slightly under her narrow sleeve, her body bowing slightly towards the clan leader: “I am the proof.”

The clan leader’s deeply furrowed eyes flashed with surprise: “You?”

“To be frank, I came this time as Her Majesty’s mouthpiece, hoping to cooperate with the Miao region to eliminate the King of Dian’s forces in one stroke. After the matter is settled, Her Majesty will establish the Yunnan Prefecture as agreed… Before that, I am willing to be a hostage.”

“You……” The clan leader was silent for a long time, looking at Qiu Shuzhi’s upright and unyielding spirit, a hint of admiration rising in her eyes.

But relying on just one hostage to make the Miao region pay such a high price – if the King of Dian won, the Miao region would truly be finished.

She had already made one mistake, she couldn’t make a second.

“You may leave now,” the clan leader said tiredly.

“Clan Leader.” Qiu Shuzhi saw her wavering at a glance. This was the only opportunity to persuade her, a fleeting chance she couldn’t let slip.

“Clan Leader, I come with the sincerity of the royal family and the Qin family. I can bring a turning point to the precarious Miao village. You can choose to join, or you can choose to stand by. But how has the King of Dian treated the King’s Consort these years, and how has he treated the Miao village? You know better than anyone. Once the King of Dian wins, the Miao village will truly be beyond redemption!”

The phrase “beyond redemption” thoroughly touched the clan leader’s sensitive nerves.

Things had truly reached the point of no return, and she had to make a choice.