Above, the two combatants moved with agile grace in an evenly matched bout. Ye Li’s three-foot sword moved like a venomous snake, constantly striking at Chen Yun’s vital points. Chen Yun refused to yield, wielding his long spear flawlessly, leading to a temporary stalemate. Ye Li observed the young officer’s solemn expression and smiled faintly, her sword transforming into a cold rainbow striking directly at Chen Yun’s face. Chen Yun hurriedly raised his spear to block, only to see the sword that had been coming straight at him suddenly change course mid-way, sliding along the spear shaft. In that moment of slight distraction, Chen Yun felt a chill at his neck – Ye Li’s sword tip was already at his throat, while her other hand firmly gripped his spear shaft.
Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Colonel Chen?”
Chen Yun lowered his spear and bowed in submission, “The Princess Consort’s swordsmanship is profound. This subordinate concedes.” Ye Li didn’t press him further, withdrawing her sword and casually tossing it to Zhuo Jing who stood at the edge. She turned to address the officers below with a smile, “Are there any other generals who remain unconvinced? Feel free to come up and try.” The officers exchanged glances before a burly middle-aged man holding twin maces leaped onto the platform and bowed, “This subordinate, Lu Feng, Brigadier General of the Mo family army’s Pool Prefecture, would like to experience the Princess Consort’s supreme skill.”
Ye Li nodded slightly, stepping back two paces. Unlike Chen Yun’s tall, agile frame, General Lu was a power-type opponent. Just looking at his pair of maces, each weighing at least several dozen jin, one knew that being struck by such weapons would be far from pleasant. Ye Li wasn’t one to show off needlessly, so she directly drew out her most comfortable weapon – her dagger. Lu Feng looked with some surprise at the cold glinting dagger in Ye Li’s hand and asked, “This is the Princess Consort’s weapon?”
Ye Li nodded, “General Lu, please.”
“Then this subordinate begs your pardon. Princess Consort, please be careful.” After speaking, Lu Feng swept one mace toward Ye Li with the force of wind and thunder. Ye Li swiftly evaded, her dagger flashing the cold light of the morning sun.
Those below clearly noticed that Ye Li appeared far more dangerous with the dagger in hand than she had with the sword. Several times her dagger passed dangerously close to Lu Feng’s vital points. If not for Lu Feng’s tremendous strength, with every move containing irresistible force that forced her to avoid confrontation, he would likely have already fallen to that small dagger. Ye Li clearly understood Lu Feng’s advantages and weaknesses, so she didn’t engage him head-on, instead using her superior agility to constantly wear down his stamina while looking for opportunities to strike. Though she hadn’t managed to wound Lu Feng, she had succeeded in giving him quite a fright. Once again Lu Feng raised both maces to strike down at Ye Li. She dodged to the side, executed a mid-air sidekick, then pressed her left hand against the ground while her right hand’s dagger struck directly at Lu Feng’s left side beneath his ribs. Seeing this, Lu Feng hurriedly raised his right mace to block, but Ye Li had already flipped behind him in an instant. “General Lu…”
Lu Feng’s body stiffened as the cold dagger pressed against his spine. Having fought for many years, Lu Feng had naturally seen all kinds of injuries and knew that if this strike landed solidly, his only fate would be permanent paralysis. Lowering his twin maces, Lu Feng turned and bowed to Ye Li, “Thank you for showing mercy, Princess Consort. This subordinate submits.” Ye Li smiled, “General Lu’s strength matches a thousand jun, and your skills are exceptional. I am also quite impressed.”
The crowd below was silent for a moment before suddenly erupting in cheers, with officers and soldiers alike calling out praise. Having won two matches, the officers were truly convinced of Ye Li’s martial prowess, and naturally, none stepped forward to challenge further. Ye Li had already fought two battles – continuing to fight would be an unfair victory and would only leave the reputation of a group of men taking turns to fight one woman.
Seeing Ye Li descend from the platform, everyone hurried forward to meet her. Lu Jin Xian bowed and smiled, “The Princess Consort’s display of skill today has truly left us in complete admiration. We rough people didn’t know proper etiquette and offended the Princess Consort – we hope you won’t hold it against us.” Ye Li smiled, “General Lu, you’re too serious. Such small matters need not be dwelt upon. I have some matters to attend to in the city – I’ll trouble General Lu to take care of things in the military camp.” Lu Jin Xian quickly responded, “Princess Consort can rest assured.” Ye Li nodded and smiled, glancing at Yun Ting, “Colonel Yun…”
Yun Ting rubbed his head and said with a bitter expression, “Princess Consort, I know my mistake.” Ye Li nodded with satisfaction and smiled, “Knowing one’s mistakes and correcting them – there is no greater good. Have you been reading lately?”
Remembering the time when he had just been sent to the Mo family army and the mountain of books in his room that stood taller than a person, Yun Ting’s expression grew even more bitter, “I have been reading, just got to ‘The Art of War.'” Ye Li’s smile grew increasingly benevolent, “That’s good progress. As it happens, I need several copies of military treatises as teaching materials for the soldiers. I’ll trouble Colonel Yun to copy ten copies for me, due in three days?”
“Yes, Princess Consort.” Yun Ting stared straight ahead, his body stiff and expression blank as he watched Ye Li turn and leave.
“Brother, what’s wrong?” Chen Yun at his side saw his devastated expression and patted his shoulder to ask.
Yun Ting silently looked at him once, then turned and left. Fighting with you again would be foolish indeed.
Chen Yun looked confusedly at his departing figure and bewilderedly examined his hand. It was just a fight, no need to be so petty, right? Feng Zhi Yao walked up and tapped his shoulder with his folded fan, smiling, “Don’t mind him, that kid is really troubled about copying those books. If Colonel Chen has free time, you could help him write a few pages – guarantee he’ll treat you like a brother for life.”
“Copying books?” Chen Yun’s expression twisted slightly as he recalled childhood memories of being chased by his father and teacher to copy books. He quickly shook his head, “Better not. I’ll go see if there’s anything to eat and bring it to Colonel Yun when he’s tired from copying.” As for copying books, better not – his handwriting was completely unfit to be seen by others.
Though they had hurried when leaving the city, there was no such rush returning. Ye Li’s group walked leisurely, taking the opportunity to observe the checkpoints and the condition of the common people. Although a great battle was imminent, the people of Jiangxia seemed still quite at ease. They went about their lives in an orderly fashion, as if nothing were different from normal times, even though they had just experienced a bloody battle yesterday and had nearly lost the city. Early in the morning, people still went out as usual, and shops opened as usual, with no sign of the fear and anxiety of war in their eyes.
Feng Zhi Yao walked beside Ye Li, fanning himself while explaining, “These common people completely trust the Mo family army from their hearts. They believe that wherever the Mo family army is present, the city will never fall, and their homes will never be occupied by enemies.”
Ye Li sighed lightly, unsure whether to praise or worry. The Mo family army could be proud that the people had such confidence in them. But… when everyone entrusted all their trust along with responsibility to the Mo family army, depending on them, what a heavy pressure this became. No wonder the successive masters of Prince Ding’s estate could never put everything down and retire after achieving success, because Prince Ding’s estate and the Mo family army had long since become Great Chu’s spiritual and practical pillars. If one day the Mo family army were no longer the Mo family army, would Great Chu still be that Great Chu?
“Reporting to the Princess Consort, an envoy from Western Ling seeks audience.” Just as they reached the manor gates, General Yuan Pei was already waiting. Seeing Ye Li’s group return, he hurried forward to report. Ye Li frowned slightly, “Western Ling envoy?”
Yuan Pei nodded solemnly, “The Western Ling envoy just requested an audience outside the city. I took the liberty of letting them in – they’re now waiting in the outer courtyard for the Princess Consort’s summons.” Ye Li nodded, “General Yuan did well. Let’s go meet this Western Ling envoy – anyone with the courage to enter Jiangxia at this time must be no ordinary person. Please show them to the study.”
“Yes.”
Ye Li changed her clothes and returned to the study. Soon after, General Yuan Pei led the Western Ling envoy. The leader was a middle-aged man with unremarkable features, followed by a military officer and three attendants. All five wore plain clothes and carried no swords, appearing completely confident and unafraid of entering this city controlled by the Mo family army.
The middle-aged man looked at Ye Li and stepped forward with a bow, “This one is Mo Fei, guest advisor to Western Ling’s Prince Zhen Nan, paying respects to Great Chu’s Princess Consort Ding.”
“Please rise, Master Mo.” Ye Li raised her hand slightly and smiled, “What brings Master Mo here?”
Mo Fei glanced at those seated in the study and smiled, “Indeed, Prince Zhen Nan has some small matters to discuss with Princess Consort. However… might we speak privately?” Ye Li smiled, “It’s not that we can’t, but there’s no need. As the temporary commander of the Mo family army, it would be inappropriate in every sense for me to speak privately with an enemy envoy. Moreover, there’s nothing that cannot be said in front of others – if Master Mo has something to say, please speak directly.”
Zhuo Jing at the side gave a cold laugh, “Speak privately? Who knows if you’re not planning to assassinate our Princess Consort?”
Feng Zhi Yao smiled lazily, “They probably can’t assassinate the Princess Consort, but one can never be too careful.”
Mo Fei’s face darkened as if he wanted to react, but he quickly suppressed it. Looking up at Ye Li, he said, “Since the Princess Consort puts it this way, I won’t insist. I presume everyone here is trusted by the Princess Consort and Prince Ding’s estate?” Ye Li nodded indifferently, and Mo Fei continued, “Our Prince has a letter for the Princess Consort, please review it.”
He took a letter from his sleeve and presented it. Zhuo Jing stepped forward to take the letter, opened and inspected it to ensure there were no problems before turning to hand it to Ye Li. Ye Li opened the letter and read for a few moments, looked up at Mo Fei who stood below with a composed demeanor, smiled faintly, then lowered her head to continue reading. After quite a while, she finally raised her head, slowly folded the letter, and sealed it in its envelope, calmly examining Mo Fei. Mo Fei smiled and said, “Princess Consort, what do you think of our Prince’s words?”
“What do I think?” Ye Li smiled and looked at him languidly, saying, “Guards, drag this person out and behead him!”