193 Imperial Envoys from the Capital

ed her hand and caught the black iron token Ling Tihan threw over, carefully putting it away. "Thank you, Lord." Ling Tihan bent down to pick up the Sick Scholar and said, “Since that is so, I take my...Messenger from the Capital City

193. Messenger from the Capital City

When Feng Zhirao was busy imagining scenarios at the door, he forgot to notice Mo Xiuyao's gloomy expression. Ye Li saw how Mo Xiuyao kept staring at Feng Zhirao with cold shivers down her spine and helplessly tugged on his sleeve to shake him out of it. Although being caught in such a compromising situation was somewhat startling, Ye Li wasn't originally from this era. In her previous life, she had seen all sorts of things; merely being caught kissing someone didn’t matter since they were still legally married. Therefore, after feeling uneasy for a moment, Ye Li quickly recovered and moved past it. Standing by the door was Feng Zhirao, whose odd expression revealed that his imagination had run wild.

Ye Li coughed lightly and reminded him gently, "Third Brother Feng, come in to talk."

Feng Zhirao snapped out of his reverie and saw Mo Xiuyao's dangerous and gloomy gaze. He immediately felt like slapping himself for not escaping as soon as he was caught witnessing the duke’s private moment. Feeling pitifully miserable, Feng Zhirao looked at Mo Xiuyao with a sad face. Mo Xiuyao harrumphed in consent, and Feng Zhirao gratefully thanked Ye Li before stepping inside. He still chose to sit near the door for an easy escape should anything go wrong.

Mo Xiuyao naturally noticed Feng Zhirao’s behavior. Ye Li covered her mouth and chuckled as Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows but ignored him, asking, "What's happening in the capital city"

When discussing important matters, Feng Zhirao quickly returned to normal and respectfully said, “A message from the capital city states that two princes and several high-ranking officials including Grand Secretary Su have been dispatched to the northwest. They will be arriving soon." Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows in response, asking, "Send high-ranking officials to the northwest What for" Feng Zhirao stroked his chin with a smile, replying, “What else could it be but to persuade Your Highness The over 200,000 troops stationed outside Feihong Pass were easily forced back inside. Back then, Emperor Mo Jingqi was furious and issued several imperial edicts blaming Your Highness. After so long, he must have calmed down.” Although not truly foolish, as long as the Prince of Ding王府冇有公開叛亂，墨景祈自然也不會在這個時候和定王府兵戎相見。西陵和北戎那邊他還冇處理好呢，如果這時候定王府再出來攪局，朝廷就會陷入危險之中。墨景祈正是看清了這點，所以纔派出了這些使者也讓天下人都看到他的寬厚之心。但他卻不知道，並不隻是他需要時間，現在西北的墨家軍也同樣需要時間。

“都有哪些人？”墨修堯問道。

鳳之遙道：“是德王墨瑕飛還有瑜王墨景瑜，還有一位蘇哲大人以及吏部侍郎莫漸。”

墨修堯點頭，說的也是。蘇哲和莫漸不說，德王墨瑕飛可是先帝的親二哥，墨景祈也要尊稱一聲皇伯父。至於瑜王墨景瑜則是他的異母兄弟，為人低調不愛管閒事，卻不知道為什麼這次也被派出來了。兩位王爺加上兩個重臣，墨景祈這一次派出的使者倒是誠意十足。可惜墨修堯可冇打算太給他麵子。“西北離京城山高路遠，墨景祈怎麼會派蘇老大人過來？”葉璃皺眉道，“蘇哲大人已經七十多歲了，這幾年身體也不好。這樣的差事不該讓老人家來纔對。萬一路上出了什麼意外反而不美。”

鳳之遙沉吟片刻：“會不會是墨景祈知道蘇醉蝶還活著所以纔派蘇老大人過來的？”

“都大半年了，墨景祈確實也應該知道了。就算之前不知道現在也該知道了……”如果蘇醉蝶竟然可以引起墨景祈的興趣，那事情可就麻煩了。想到這裡，墨修堯的臉色越發陰沉起來。

鳳之遙問道：“王爺對這些人有什麼打算？”他對於兩位王爺也冇什麼感覺，但是蘇哲和莫漸卻都是難得的正直官員，更何況蘇哲還要算是他的半個老師，一直以來他對蘇哲都頗為尊重。墨修堯揮揮手道：“不必理會，本王讓你擬的西北各處任命官員名單可擬定好了？”

鳳之遙取出一本摺子呈了上去，墨修堯隨意翻閱了幾頁遞給身邊的葉璃，“差不多就這樣吧。訊息……就等墨景祈的人來了以後再頒佈吧。之前你說城中的百姓想要舉辦燈會為王妃和世子祈福，也定在同一天好了。到時候城裡官員一起與民同樂也算是一種迎接朝中使者的儀式。另外，新的府邸建好了冇有？咱們總是占著太守的府邸也不是個事吧？等到新太守上任了總不能還讓人在民居裡辦公吧？”

Feng Zhiyao readily agreed. This was clearly Mo Xiuyao's way of provoking the envoy sent by Mo Jingqi, but he enjoyed it. He said with a smile: "The residence has already been prepared long ago. Originally, it belonged to the richest man in Ruyang City. The person fled into the inland area together with the garrison troops, and I ordered my subordinates to merge two houses on both sides of the original residence and renovate them. Although they are not as grandiose as a prince's mansion in the capital city, it is still sufficient for living. Currently, the residence is located in the southeast part of the city, but according to the new urban planning submitted by the subordinates, after renovation it will be situated right at the heart of Ruyang City."

Such trivial matters had already been handled before, but since the prince did not feel like moving and did not mention anything about it when he was in a bad mood, nobody dared to bring up the matter. This led to...

The current situation where officials temporarily managing city affairs still worked at the yamen in front of the governor's residence but had to take detours back to their temporary accommodation after work. During ordinary days it wasn't too troublesome, but during winter or rainy days, running around like this was quite inconvenient.

"Good," Mo Xiuyao nodded with satisfaction: "Tell them to hurry up and clear the place."

Feng Zhiyao smiled and said, "The residence is already prepared. The prince and the princess can move in anytime they want. However, we need your highness's calligraphy for the signboard of the mansion." This wasn't a difficult matter originally, but since Mo Xiuyao’s title had been revoked by Mo Jingqi, nobody could decide on an appropriate name for the new residence either. Therefore, it was best to let him write it himself. Mo Xiuyao didn’t care and said indifferently: "I’ll just call it ‘Ding Prince's Manor’."

Feng Zhiyao paused in surprise; not the “Imperial Edict Constructed Ding Prince's Manor” of the capital city, but simply the three characters: 'Ding Prince’s Manor'. Looking at Mo Xiuyao's unconcerned expression, it was evident that he didn’t care about losing his title. He smiled and said, "I will follow your command."

Due to Ye Li's return, although there wasn't much commotion in Ruyang City, everyone could feel a difference. The city’s residents were busy with their daily lives, while the garrison soldiers seemed to have shed their previous gloom and appeared lively and energetic, giving the whole city a bustling atmosphere. However, Ye Li's courtyard remained unusually tranquil and comfortable. Xu Qingze was assigned work by Feng Zhiyao right after returning to the city, but Xu Qingfeng and Xu Qingyan were idle most of the time; every day they would drag Xu Qingfeng to Ye Li’s yard for chatting or playing chess, living a leisurely life. Mo Xiuyao often felt like sending them out of Ruyang City. However, after hearing Ye Li's heartfelt words that day, his mood improved considerably, but he still couldn’t help frowning every time he saw Xu Qingyan.

On the chessboard, black and white pieces were fiercely battling each other; outside the courtyard, a similar fierce confrontation was taking place. Holding a chess piece, Xu Qingyan frowned and said to Ye Li, "Sister Li, is this residence really suitable for nurturing an unborn child Someone comes every few days...". Only after a few days did Xu Qingyan get accustomed to these frequent attempts at assassination inside the mansion. Anyone who saw it daily would eventually become used to it. Therefore, Xu Qingyan could only admire the patience of these assassins despite their repeated failures. However, such disruptions were quite annoying.

Ye Li leisurely accepted a silver ear soup from one of her maids and took a sip, smiling gently: "It’s fine. This place is too dull; it's good to have some excitement occasionally."

Xu Qingyan agreed with this completely. Mo Xiuyao was afraid that others would disturb Ye Li's recuperation; apart from Qin Feng and Zhuo Jing as well as Doctor Shen Yang and Doctor Lin who treated her, nobody in the residence could approach Princess’s yard. Whenever there were matters to report or handle, they directly informed Mo Xiuyao instead of troubling Ye Li with such trivialities. This was originally a good intention, but it left Ye Li somewhat bored. She sniffed disdainfully: "Ding Prince is so stingy; why can’t Sister Li go out for a walk As if everyone would stare at her. Sister Li is that outstanding and should be admired by all."

Speaking of this, Xu Qingyan felt proud again. There were many beauties and talented women in the world, but whose sister could command tens of thousands of troops to resist powerful enemies Only his own sister could do it! In the future, he would definitely marry a woman as capable as Sister Li.

Ye Li raised her hand to tap Xu Qingyan on the forehead and said with a sideways glance: "Shouldn't you call him Brother-in-law since you find Mo Xiuyao too tormenting"

Xu Qingyan became depressed immediately. His recent experiences of battling against Mo Xiuyao had taught him that he couldn’t win against this cunning man for the time being, even though Mo Xiuyao would always give in to Sister Li's demands. But behind her back, Mo Xiuyao would try his best to set traps and sabotage him. Yesterday he even told Ye Li that he liked a pretty girl from town and wanted her to write letters to their parents asking for an engagement. If this news were to reach their father, wouldn’t he be scolded severely None of his elder brothers had married yet; as the youngest one, he was already looking at other families' girls! Preferring beautiful women would become his fault!

"Sister Li knows about it," Xu Qingyan said dejectedly. Losing to Mo Xiuyao and having Sister Li know about it made him feel quite embarrassed. Standing by watching, Xu Qingfeng snorted and tapped his head with a hand, smiling: "Your elder brothers told you not to provoke the prince, but you didn’t listen."

Xu Qingyan glared at him and said: "Clearly he's targeting me!" Xu Qingfeng raised an eyebrow: "Then why doesn't the prince target your second brother and me" So it was still his own fault. Xu Qingyan sighed on the table, "Brother Third, I'm your youngest brother."

Listening to Xu Qingyan's chatter, Ye Li smiled and placed a piece on the board. She asked, "By the way, has Third Brother been bored staying at home these days" Xu Qingyan was still a child who could find fun anywhere. As an adult man, Xu Qingfeng being confined in the residence without going out would be quite difficult for him. Xu Qingfeng smiled and said, "Compared to military life, it is indeed more boring, but that's all right. After you give birth, I'll return to the capital. Both Third Brother and Second Brother are not there, so Father and Mother will worry about them." When Ye Li heard this, she frowned and said, "Speaking of which, Second Brother is now in Northwest Region. Has Emperor found any trouble with Second Uncle What about Zeng'er Her wedding date was originally set for last year, but now…" Xu Qingfeng tried to comfort her by saying, "Don't worry. The emperor can always find a reason to make life difficult for our Xu Family, but I don’t think he would do it just because of this matter. Besides, Father has said that he doesn’t hope Second Brother returns at present. We still don’t know what the situation is like in the capital. Second Brother isn't someone who can skillfully navigate political waters like Fourth Brother; getting involved might make things worse for him in the future. As for Miss Qin…" Xu Qingfeng helplessly scratched his head and said, "Thank goodness I didn’t get engaged before this happened. Otherwise, wouldn’t that have delayed the lady’s marriage If there were any accidents in the future, it would also implicate her family." At present, their Xu Family wasn't doing well either, so Miss Qin not entering the door yet could be considered a good thing. It was said that Second Brother sent his parents news and if she found a suitable match, he requested Miss Qin to marry someone else on her own. Ye Li frowned. She had a very close relationship with Qin Zeng, how could she fail to notice Qin Zeng's deep feelings for their second brother Moreover, they were betrothed since childhood; after more than ten years, Qin Zeng’s heart was only attached to Second Brother. Now asking her to marry someone else seemed rather... Although she knew that the second brother did this out of consideration for Qin Zeng, it still felt like a slap in the face. On another side, Ye Li also felt guilty towards Qin Zeng. After all, hadn't Second Brother stayed behind in Northwest Region because of her Xu Qingyan looked at Ye Li and said with a smile, "Sister Li, this isn’t your fault. Considering our family’s current situation, it's better to involve fewer people. Who knows, the imperial court might suddenly order the execution of our entire clan one day; then not only would Miss Qin be involved, but also her family." Xu Qingfeng frowned and lightly hit Xu Qingyan on his head, "You really can't keep your mouth shut!" Xu Qingyan made a face. The only advantage of being in the Northwest Region was that he could speak freely without worrying about others overhearing him. Ye Li looked down at her increasingly difficult figure and sighed, saying, "There’s no way to deal with this situation now. Let Third Brother write a letter to Auntie Xu to inquire about Miss Qin's news. If you find it boring these days, you can spend some time in the camp outside the city." Xu Qingfeng suddenly lit up; even Xu Qingyan looked excited and curious. The Black Family Army was indeed one of the best armies in Chu State, and he had long admired them. However, due to his special status, it wasn’t convenient for him to visit the military camp and avoid others talking about Ye Li's affairs. He asked hesitantly, "Is this against regulations" Ye Li smiled lightly and said, "What’s the point of being concerned with what’s appropriate or not It’s not like Third Brother is going there to lead troops into battle." Xu Qingfeng nodded and smiled, saying, “Sis Li is right. If I can join the Black Family Army, even as a lowly soldier is acceptable; they won’t know my identity.” As Qin Feng approached them, he heard this conversation and looked at Xu Qingfeng with a smile, "If Third Young Master can endure hardship, you could come to me." The base of the Black Family Army was crowded and talkative, but the Qilin Regiment was directly under the command of the Princess Consort, which would be much more convenient. Xu Qingyan blinked his eyes and asked, "Brother Qin, could I go" Qin Feng shook his head after looking at him and said, “Young Master Fifth probably won't last a day.” Xu Qingyan refused to accept this and retorted angrily, "What’s the reason for Third Brother being able to endure but not me If you think my age is an issue, watch me prove it!" Qin Feng shook his head with a smile and said, "It's not because of your young age; I have two boys younger than you. However, since Fifth Young Master has grown up in luxury without any martial arts training, that’s why I say he can’t endure." Ye Li laughed as she looked at Qin Feng and asked, “Third Brother going to your place is okay” Qin Feng replied, "It's just a matter of the Princess Consort’s order; Third Young Master can go anytime.” Ye Li waved her hand and said, "Since my husband and I entrusted the Qilin Regiment to you, it's up to you." Although Qin Feng didn’t show any reaction on his face, he was grateful for Ye Li’s trust. He then looked at Xu Qingfeng and said, “If that is so, Third Young Master should report outside the city tomorrow morning. However, I have made it clear that I won't go easy on him; if Third Young Master can’t take it, I’ll send him back.” Xu Qingfeng had heard about Qilin’s mystique and fame before. He looked eager to try and said with a loud laugh, "Since you say so, Commander Qin doesn't need to call me Third Young Master anymore; just my name is fine." After this conversation ended, Ye Li asked, “What brings you here now Is there anything” Qin Feng nodded and presented an envelope of sealed documents. He said, "Although His Royal Highness forbids disturbing the Princess Consort’s rest, I still want to ask the Princess Consort to take a look at these. These are next month's training plans, can the Princess Consort give me some advice" For the past few months, Qin Feng had been responsible for training new recruits of Qilin Regiment alone and occasionally consulted with Zhuo Jing Linhan. Since Qilin started from such a high level, there were always certain anxieties in his heart. Now that Ye Li was back, he couldn’t help but want her to see the plan; even if she didn't praise it at least let him know whether there were any problems with the training. Ye Li put aside the documents and smiled, saying, "I’ll look over them later. Do things according to your own ideas. Anything I can teach you, I've already given you. In about three months… I'll be able to move around again. Your subordinates should have been trained by then too. Then I will personally go and check on them.

Qin Feng was delighted and said with a smile, "Thank you, Princess. I understand." He decided then to ask the princess to personally design the final assessment for those youngsters. Last year, due to an unexpected event, their first batch of new members could not complete their final assessment, which Qin Feng deeply regretted. This time, he would include them as well.

"By the way, Princess, I saw that the Dark Guards caught a few more assassins when I arrived just now," Qin Feng casually mentioned what he had seen earlier.

Ye Li smiled and said, "The Dark Guard quarters must be overcrowded these days." They were catching assassins every day and keeping them alive, but she didn't know why Mo Xiuyao wanted to keep those people alive. Qin Feng chuckled and said, "Indeed, I saw Prince Mo Hua looking very unhappy this morning. He even asked us for a cell to hold the captives."

Ye Li thought for a moment before saying, "No matter what happens, don't put those assassins in the same place as Su Zuodie. Tell Mo Hua not to keep unimportant people there."

Qin Feng nodded and said, "I also told him that. However, His Highness says they are useful if he doesn’t kill them." Ye Li nodded and said, "Then we will follow his instructions."

"What's the matter" Mo Xiuyao asked standing under a moon gate with snowy white hair, smiling at everyone.

Ye Li was uncomfortable sitting but smiled anyway as she asked, "Why are you back Otherwise Feng San would come and complain in a while." Everyone stood up to greet him. Mo Xiuyao waved his hand casually before sitting beside Ye Li and said somewhat displeased, “Prince Jingqi’s group arrived. They were preparing to welcome them. Where else could I be" Ye Li sat properly and asked, "Has Prince De arrived Why don’t you go out to meet them" Mo Xiuyao curled his lip and said, "I don't have time for that. Feng San went." Ye Li couldn't help but twitch her lips. It would’ve been better if he had just picked any general instead of sending Feng Zhirao. Although Feng Zhirao was one of the most trusted people by Mo Xiuyao, he refused to accept a government post because of his strange personality or some other reason. So in fact, he still didn’t have a title at all. Moreover, he managed many things and everyone called him casually. On the battlefield, he was known as Feng General; in Ruyang city, officials addressed him as "Lord Feng." Mo Xiuyao’s subordinates around him called him "Third Young Master Feng," while Feng Zhirao himself didn't even have a low-ranking official title. It was said that Prince De was very particular about appearances and face, so sending Feng Zhirao might upset him.

"Feng San went on his own accord." Mo Xiuyao explained; he hadn’t planned to send anyone to welcome them at the city gate in the first place.

Ye Li was speechless. So Feng Zhirao feared that Mo Xiuyao would directly kill someone and decided to go himself to anger Prince De

Mo Xiuyao leaned against Ye Li lazily, saying with a smile, "Liyi doesn’t need to worry about such trivial matters. I already know what Prince De will say; there’s no point in bothering them."

Ye Li pushed him to sit properly and said helplessly, "We still have to hold the welcoming banquet tonight, right Don't tell me you're going to skip it because people might think we don’t know how to entertain guests." Mo Xiuyao frowned and sighed. "It’s troublesome when Uncle Mo isn’t here." Normally, for such trivial matters, Uncle Mo would handle them on his own and only report back to him and Ye Li. Now that most of the power in the Ding王府had been transferred to the northwest, Uncle Mo couldn't come over immediately, otherwise there would be no one to manage affairs within the borders. "It’s a pity Feng San won’t take up the position as head steward."

Ye Li glanced at him sideways; asking Feng Zhirao to become the head steward was indeed an idea thought of by Prince Ding.

Shaking her head, Ye Li said, "Forget it. I’ll ask Wei Linhan to handle it later." It would be a joke for the Ding王府to not find someone capable enough to manage as a head steward and announcing that out loud too. Mo Xiuyao nodded with satisfaction and smiled, saying, “Liyi’s people like Zuo Jing are all competent. They could take over Uncle Mo's position temporarily.”

Ye Li thought about how serious and mature Zuo Jing and the others were like Uncle Mo in managing the various affairs of the王府and shivered involuntarily. At least they had followed her for a while; she couldn’t be too unkind to them as their master, "They are still young. We should raise someone reliable from below as head steward."

Mo Xiuyao nodded in agreement with some regret.nd said, “Once you’re in Beirong, you’ll become its Crown Prince's consort. As long as Beirong hasn’t officially severed ties with Great Chu, nobody will harm you on the surface. If you're shrewd enou...