In the span of one year, he had faced over ten thousand impeachment documents from the Council of Elders, with proposals to depose the Crown Prince raised more than twenty times and three actual depositions carried out. It was only through the strong opposition of Lady Zhu Lan from Liyuan’s Nanfu and the Saintess Wusi Mei’er from Nanjiang, along with the former Empress Zhou from Chu Palace, that order was restored and chaos corrected. During that year, he had no residence of his own in the imperial capital, could not enter Chu Palace of his own accord, could not enjoy the stipend of an imperial prince, and could not even use the ceremonial four-carriage procession befitting a prince. All of this continued until he married Zhu Danchen, daughter of the powerful Zhu clan from Lingnan, after which the situation slightly improved.
Closing the thick dossier, Qing Xia let out a long breath. Only now did she truly understand the incredibly difficult circumstances under which Chu Li had secured his throne. Recalling his previously suspicious nature that was almost impossible to comprehend, she couldn’t help but shake her head silently. Environment shapes a person, and Chu Li was a clear example of this.
“Miss!” Xu Quan called from outside the tent. After receiving Qing Xia’s permission, he entered respectfully, set down the materials Qing Xia had requested to examine, and stood aside with hands lowered.
Qing Xia knew these were military secrets, and she hadn’t expected that just mentioning them once to Chu Li would result in him so generously allowing her to review them. It seemed he truly no longer suspected her of being a spy for Qi’an.
“Is everything here?”
“Yes, everything is here.”
After beating up Nanfu’s deputy general yesterday, she woke up this morning to find that all the Black Guards’ attitudes toward her had completely changed – respectful yet tinged with warmth and gratitude. Qing Xia naturally understood the reason behind this and nodded with a smile, saying, “Thank you for your trouble.”
Xu Quan withdrew. Qing Xia frowned slightly and first pulled out Wusi Mei’er’s file from the thick stack of dossiers.
Chu Li had truly put considerable effort into intelligence gathering. To achieve this level of detail with their current capabilities was no easy feat. Qing Xia raised an eyebrow slightly, seeing neat, densely written small script recording Wusi Mei’er’s biographical history in great detail. Even her ambiguous relationship with the ruler of Bifang Kingdom and their secret meeting times were clearly documented.
This was nothing more than a naturally lustful woman who seemed to have had affairs with every major elder in Nanjiang. Qing Xia frowned as she read carefully, finally finding what she was looking for. Seventeen days ago, Wusi Mei’er had corresponded with Zhu Danchen, after which she dispatched large numbers of Nanjiang’s Feathered Army northward in pursuit – clearly targeting herself. Regarding the outcome, there was a small horizontal line drawn, though whether this indicated the investigation was incomplete or the pursuit had yielded no results was unclear. Thinking of Yang Feng, who still hadn’t made contact, Qing Xia felt a wave of irritation.
In the lower left corner of the dossier was an analysis by Chu Li’s spy network regarding Wusi Mei’er’s recent movements, which largely aligned with current developments. Strangely, if Chu Li had already sensed Nanjiang’s unusual activities, why hadn’t he prepared defenses in advance instead of being thrown into such chaos as he was now?
Qing Xia frowned slightly, her thoughts racing. Just then, she suddenly noticed a line of vermillion annotation in the corner, written in bold, spirited calligraphy that seemed ready to leap off the page, possessing a masculine, sharp beauty. She could tell at a glance it was Chu Li’s handwriting, written in flowing small script: “A dissolute woman – satisfy her carnal desires and she can be easily broken.”
Seeing this, Qing Xia couldn’t help but smile. So Chu Li also knew Wusi Mei’er’s true nature. If not for her own forceful intervention, perhaps Chu Li really would have satisfied her carnal desires as he had written.
The next file concerned Liyuan’s Nanfu – a thick volume that appeared heavy with ancient solemnity just from looking at it.
Liyuan originated during the Warring States period and gradually settled in Nanjiang after the first Qin Emperor, with territory roughly corresponding to present-day Guizhou, very close to Nanjiang. Legend held it was a branch of the Mohist school. Nanfu was the surviving lineage of Liyuan. After the first Qin Emperor’s book burning and scholar persecution, they hid in deep mountains with vast collections of texts, only reemerging when Emperor Huhai promoted the hundred schools of thought and honored Mohist craftsmanship. Over a thousand years of cultural accumulation had given Liyuan’s Nanfu an incomparable transcendent status. Their family head held equal standing with the rulers of Great Qin, Xichuan, Southern Chu, and Eastern Qi, maintaining the right to remain standing before emperors – truly among the highest nobility on the continent.
As the legitimate eldest daughter of Liyuan Nanfu’s main branch, Lady Zhu Lan’s status and position were naturally not to be underestimated.
Lady Zhu Lan’s birth name was Li Zhu Lan, eldest daughter of the previous family head Li Song. From childhood she possessed exceptional intelligence but was ruthlessly cruel by nature. Chu Li’s dossier recorded several instances of her secretly murdering her own younger brothers, clearly showing this woman’s extraordinary nature. After Li Song’s death, since all males of the main branch had died under mysterious circumstances, the family headship passed to Li Zihou, son of Zhu Lan’s younger brother. However, Li Zihou was naturally timid and had always been sickly, leaving most family affairs to his aunt, Lady Zhu Lan. Gradually, Lady Zhu Lan became the true head of Liyuan’s Nanfu.
Liyuan controlled all commerce in the Nanjiang region and monopolized northern military supplies and warhorses. Their merchant houses, shops, banks, and taverns were spread throughout the entire country. Even the Eastern Qi royal family, who always emphasized commerce, could not match Liyuan in business. Liyuan’s wealth was simply incalculable – calling them wealthy enough to rival a nation was truly underestimating them. With Liyuan’s power, they could absolutely be described as wealthy enough to rival the entire world.
Those who had experienced financial crises would understand what consequences arose when wealth was monopolized by a single family. If anything happened to Liyuan, it would absolutely spell disaster for the entire realm. Therefore, even without vast territories, as the most powerful among Southern Chu’s eight great houses, Liyuan’s Nanfu undisputedly held first place.
This made it easy to understand what kind of status and position Lady Zhu Lan held in Southern Chu.
Lady Zhu Lan was now fifty-six years old, her beauty long faded. By all logic, she should have passed her prime years of desire, yet she was exceptionally gifted in that regard, requiring male company every night. She kept over three hundred male consorts in her residence, making it livelier than the imperial palace’s inner quarters. Within Liyuan’s jurisdiction, Lady Zhu Lan’s forcible abduction of men occurred frequently. The most famous case involved a woman named Wan Ying who kowtowed her way a thousand li, traveling all the way to the imperial capital to tearfully petition the throne, demanding the previous Southern Chu emperor force Lady Zhu Lan to return her husband.
Unfortunately, the previous emperor was himself one of Lady Zhu Lan’s intimate companions. Wan Ying was bound and sent back to Liyuan province, where she was torn apart and devoured by white vultures in the public square. Afterward, snow fell in Nanjiang’s June weather, creating one of Southern Chu’s eternal injustices, while Lady Zhu Lan’s lustful reputation spread throughout the realm.
Chu Li’s first meeting with Lady Zhu Lan occurred when he fled back to the imperial city from Pengli Kingdom. Chu Li’s mother, Noble Consort Xiao, actively petitioned the Chu Emperor for punishment on the grounds that Chu Li had failed to complete his mission, requesting that he be exiled to Nanjiang’s Stone Quarry Valley. As Chu Li knelt before the palace gates with his remaining fewer than one hundred Black Guards to plead for forgiveness, he first encountered Lady Zhu Lan, who had come to the imperial capital to attend the assembly for deposing Chu Li’s crown prince position.
The day after, Lady Zhu Lan became the greatest support for Chu Li’s crown prince position.
Following that, Chu Li was dispatched to Liyuan as an imperial special envoy for two full months. Two months later, he finally secured the position commanding the Grand Military Camp.
Qing Xia slowly closed the dossier and took a deep breath. The answer was crystal clear. Chu Li had spent two months accompanying Lady Zhu Lan, that sex-crazed old woman, finally winning Southern Chu’s military authority, laying a solid foundation for his path to power and taking that difficult first step. At the same time, she could completely imagine how Chu Li, a man of such pride and arrogance, had struggled to survive those two months among the male concubines in Liyuan’s rear palace.
No wonder he carried such psychological scars.
Some things were destined to become lifelong nightmares for a person.
Lady Zhu Lan? Qing Xia snorted coldly, a flash of cold light immediately passing through her eyes as the corner of her mouth lifted in a slanted smile.
“Then let’s start with you!”
“Miss!” A personal guard entered and respectfully said to Qing Xia, “His Majesty has returned and is currently holding council in the main command tent.”
“I understand.” Qing Xia nodded. “Go find information on Liyuan family head Li Zihou. I need it right away.”
“That sickly fellow from Nanfu?” The Black Guard had become quite familiar with Qing Xia and asked with confusion after hearing her words.
“Yes, exactly that sickly fellow.” Qing Xia smiled faintly and said in a low voice.
By the time she finished reading Li Zihou’s materials, it was already very late.
Qing Xia lifted the tent flap and looked at the vast night scene outside, suddenly feeling as if a boulder was pressing heavily on her heart.
Agreeing to stay in Southern Chu with Chu Li was neither an impulsive decision nor born of so-called sympathy and pity. As Southern Chu’s emperor, Chu Li necessarily had to have his own history written in blood and tears before ascending the throne – this was the common price all who reached high positions had to pay. Being moved was only temporary; for a qualified agent, reason must always supersede emotion. The reason she chose to remain here rather than leave was that there were more important matters to handle.
Chu Li’s war with Nanjiang had sealed Southern Chu’s entire border with battle lines. Even with supernatural abilities, it would be impossible to escape safely under the defense of millions of troops maintaining scorched earth tactics. When she had easily walked out of Huan Chao Yi’s gates with Qin Zhiyan’s help, the war had not yet erupted. Then Yang Feng, who had fled from Southern Chu’s remote eastern front while being pursued by three different forces, must certainly still be within Southern Chu’s borders.
Regarding Chu Li, she wasn’t naive enough to think he would abandon capturing Yang Feng for her sake. Having worked as an agent for many years, Qing Xia had witnessed the unscrupulous behavior of rulers from various nations in achieving their goals. At any time, she would never believe in illusory emotions and human nature. For someone who walked the edge between life and death, strength and capability were the key factors that determined everything.
Therefore, the only thing Qing Xia could do now was clear the path for Yang Feng by removing all obstacles standing in their way.