The room was quiet, with only the sound of Mo Xiuyao leisurely placing the scattered chess pieces back on the board. Just when Han Mingyue thought Mo Xiuyao wouldn’t answer, he heard him say indifferently, “So what?”

Han Mingyue smiled helplessly – indeed, so what? Even if both the jianghu and the court fell into chaos, what did it matter to the Prince Consort’s mansion? Moreover, since Tianyi Pavilion’s forces in Great Chu were now scattered, Great Chu would be least affected. The Prince Consort’s mansion could even take advantage to insert their people. Supporting his head with his hand, Han Mingyue pondered for a while before looking up at his former friend, “What benefit can I get?”

Mo Xiuyao smiled coldly, “This prince sparing your life – isn’t that benefit enough?”

Han Mingyue was speechless. He had habitually assumed Mo Xiuyao wouldn’t kill him, always forgetting that their former friendship had ended the moment he chose to betray him. Looking at the calm and indifferent Mo Xiuyao before him, Han Mingyue suddenly understood… if he didn’t agree, Mo Xiuyao truly wouldn’t show him mercy. Shrugging helplessly, Han Mingyue said, “It seems I have no choice.”

Mo Xiuyao calmly looked at the chessboard before him. Han Mingyue frowned and asked, “How do you plan to deal with Zuidie?”

Mo Xiuyao’s previously calm expression finally showed a slight change. He frowned slightly, his handsome features visible outside the mask clearly showing disgust, “That’s Ah Li’s matter. This prince has no interest in knowing.” His words completely handed Su Zuidie’s fate over to Ye Li.

“Do you truly not care about Zuidie at all?” Han Mingyue stared at him and asked gravely.

Mo Xiuyao raised his head to look at him, a faint mockery flashing in his eyes, “If this prince truly cared about her, do you think you both would still be alive?” It was precisely because he didn’t love Su Zuidie that when she and Han Mingyue left him, he let them go and even helped cover their tracks. Yet he hadn’t expected that Su Zuidie leaving with Han Mingyue was merely an excuse to prevent his anger. After leaving the capital, Su Zuidie unhesitatingly abandoned Han Mingyue and went straight to Xiling, becoming the daughter of the Xiling Bai family and Xiling’s Noble Consort. From beginning to end, Han Mingyue was merely the one being used.

Han Mingyue looked at Mo Xiuyao enviously, smiling faintly, “Sometimes I truly envy you. We’ve known each other since childhood. I fell for Zuidie almost at first sight, but her gaze always followed you. And you… honestly, I had never noticed you truly caring about anyone or anything before. Except for the Prince Consort’s mansion and your father and elder brother.”

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows, “Are you complaining that this prince didn’t treat you well enough back then, leading to your betrayal?”

The casually mentioned word ‘betrayal’ still made Han Mingyue’s color change slightly. Betraying the friend and brother he had once considered his best in life was a guilt and sin in his heart that could never be expressed. He shook his head slightly, “No, the Second Young Master of the Prince Consort’s mansion… romantic, elegant, free-spirited, and especially loyal and righteous to friends. But… Xiuyao, do you know? From the beginning, I knew you didn’t love Zuidie.”

At this point, Han Mingyue suddenly smiled, remembering something. Seeing Mo Xiuyao’s glance, Han Mingyue smiled more pleasantly, “You treated Zuidie well, would send her any good things, and would fulfill any reasonable request she made. Unlike other noble sons, you never dallied in flower gardens and never looked at other women, such as that famous Noble Consort Liu. But… you also never truly looked at Zuidie. Such an extraordinary beauty, in your eyes, seemed no different from any ordinary woman in the world. When I, when Feng San, when we were all struggling with love at that age, you were completely detached, as if you weren’t of this world at all. At that time I thought… perhaps I wasn’t without hope.”

Mo Xiuyao recalled those reckless years at fifteen or sixteen, also showing a trace of nostalgia, “Perhaps it was because I hadn’t met that one person… If you had told me directly then, and Su Zuidie had agreed, I would have blessed you both.” Thinking back, Mo Xiuyao had to admit Han Mingyue was right – he didn’t even feel angry at Han Mingyue’s open admission of having desired his fiancée. As long as it wasn’t his Ah Li, and both parties agreed, he didn’t feel that blessing a loving couple would make him lose face. Of course, Han Mingyue and Su Zuidie were impossible, because what Su Zuidie wanted from start to finish was never Han Mingyue. He might truly have been unfeeling, but that was because he hadn’t yet met the one he wanted.

“But… I forgot… even if it wasn’t you, it didn’t necessarily mean it would be me.” Han Mingyue’s words revealed pain and struggle. When he left the capital with the woman he had admired for years, feeling both guilty and joyful, he discovered that betraying his friend wasn’t the most painful moment in his life. Rather, it was when he discovered that the woman he admired wasn’t as he had imagined, yet he could only remain deeply entangled, unable to extricate himself, “I envy you… Xiuyao, spare Zuidie’s life. I beg you…”

“What does Young Master Han plan to exchange for Su Zuidie’s life?” Ye Li’s clear, pleasant voice drifted in from outside.

Mo Xiuyao put down his chess piece and rose to walk to the door, taking Ye Li’s hand as she entered. He lowered his head and asked, “Why did you come?”

Ye Li smiled faintly, glancing at Han Mingyue and saying, “It seems in the Garrison South Prince’s eyes, Young Master Han is worth much more than the world’s number one beauty.”

Han Mingyue smiled bitterly, “The Princess jests. Doesn’t the Princess understand? I won’t escape.”

Ye Li turned to look at Han Mingyue and sighed, “What thing in the world is love… If not for the current special circumstances, this Princess truly wouldn’t want to trouble Young Master Han.”

Han Mingyue lowered his eyes in silence – had he fallen to the point of needing others’ pity?

“What does the Princess want this one to exchange? I just made a deal with the Prince, and now I have nothing left,” Han Mingyue spread his hands, looking at Ye Li with a smile.

Ye Li smiled, “Saying this… does Young Master Han believe it himself? Even a cunning hare has three burrows – how could a clever person like Young Master Han invest everything in Tianyi Pavilion?”

Han Mingyue’s smile dimmed slightly. He looked deeply at the gracefully smiling Ye Li before him and sighed, “Xiuyao is truly blessed to have married the Princess.”

Ye Li smiled lightly, “I accept your kind words.”

Han Mingyue fell silent, taking out a jade pendant from his robes and tossing it over, “Since the Princess is so confident, then this… I suppose you know how to use it?”

Ye Li was very satisfied with the jade pendant in her hand. She smiled, “Young Master Han is indeed generous. Since Young Master Han is so forthcoming, this Princess isn’t a petty person either. Once the siege of Xinyang is lifted, the Young Master may leave with Miss Su.”

Having received the payment she wanted, Ye Li also stopped repeatedly calling Su Zuidie “Noble Consort Bai” to irritate Han Mingyue.

Han Mingyue raised his eyebrows, “Why not now?”

Ye Li’s smile was kind and innocent, “I’m also thinking of Young Master Han’s interests. Of course, if Young Master Han is eager to leave, this Princess won’t stop you.”

Han Mingyue was silent for a long while before finally cupping his hands, “Then I’ll trouble the Princess.”

After leaving Han Mingyue’s courtyard, the couple walked hand in hand. Mo Xiuyao looked down at Ye Li, who was playing with the jade pendant in one hand, and asked softly, “Why does Ah Li want to release Han Mingyue and Su Zuidie?”

Ye Li started, raising her eyebrows, “Didn’t the Prince not plan to take their lives?”

Mo Xiuyao snorted lightly, “What are their lives worth? Whether to take them or not is just a matter of one word.”

Ye Li sighed inwardly – right, she had misunderstood, thinking Mo Xiuyao couldn’t bear to take Han Mingyue and Su Zuidie’s lives but couldn’t bring himself to say it. After being together for so long, how could she think Mo Xiuyao was such an indecisive person? Indeed… she must have been influenced by Su Zuidie.

“For Mingxi’s sake, it’s better to keep Han Mingyue alive. And if we keep Han Mingyue, we can’t keep Su Zuidie. Otherwise, Han Mingyue might truly become an enemy, and Su Zuidie is the best tool to control Han Mingyue.” After thinking, Ye Li smiled softly, “Moreover, we’ve received sufficient payment – these things are completely worth buying Han Mingyue and Su Zuidie’s two lives, aren’t they?”

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows, looking curiously at the jade pendant in her hand, “What good thing has made Ah Li so happy?”

Ye Li smiled, “Don’t you want to know where all of Tianyi Pavilion’s money has gone these many years? Han Mingyue is said to love money like life itself – how could he have little money? But whether it’s the current Han family or the various Tianyi Pavilion locations in Great Chu that we’ve seized, we haven’t found much money, have we?”

Mo Xiuyao looked at the jade pendant with some surprise, “Han Mingyue’s assets?”

Ye Li smiled, “Not just money, but grain, cloth, weapons, medicines… Han Mingyue truly lives up to his name – when it comes to making money, he’s much more capable than Mingxi. It’s just a pity… his mind occasionally has these lapses.” Speaking of this, Ye Li couldn’t help but feel regret. In this world, among all the people she had met, including Cold Haoyu and the Feng family, no one had Han Mingyue’s money-making abilities. When she saw Wei Lin’s investigation results, she couldn’t help but feel it was a shame – if Han Mingyue hadn’t been burdened by Su Zuidie, she wouldn’t have minded cooperating with him. Now that cooperation was impossible, she would just reap the benefits.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows, “Han Mingyue wanted to profit from the chaos of war?” Given that it could move Ah Li’s heart, one could imagine just how vast a store of resources Han Mingyue had accumulated.

“In times of chaos, those with vision need not worry about making a fortune,” Ye Li smiled.

Mo Xiuyao nodded, “Since Ah Li says so, keeping them alive doesn’t matter. However, you’d better have someone watch Su Zuidie carefully.”

Ye Li looked at Mo Xiuyao in surprise. Mo Xiuyao lowered his head and smiled, “I know Ah Li thinks Su Zuidie has no ability, right? Actually… if not for Su Zuidie, Han Mingyue wouldn’t be any threat at all. Does Ah Li understand my meaning?”

Ye Li nodded, “I understand, I’ll have someone watch Su Zuidie.” She had indeed consciously or unconsciously looked down on Su Zuidie, but Mo Xiuyao wasn’t wrong – if Su Zuidie had no ability at all, how could she have manipulated Han Mingyue for so many years?