“Greetings, Your Highness.”

In the flower hall, Qing Shuang and the others hurriedly bowed in unison upon seeing the white-robed man emerge from within. Mo Xiu Yao’s gaze swept calmly over the four people as he asked indifferently, “What is it?” After glancing at the other three, Qing Yu had no choice but to step forward and report, “Your Highness, the new head of the Han family, Young Master Han Mingxi, requests an audience with the Princess Consort.” None of them had accompanied the Princess Consort outside before, so they didn’t know how she knew Young Master Han. They only knew from Dark Two and Dark Three that Young Master Han was a friend of the Princess Consort. So even though they knew His Highness wouldn’t be pleased with the interruption, the four still gathered their courage to report it.

“Han Mingxi?” Mo Xiu Yao raised an eyebrow and let out a light snort, “He came quickly indeed. Take him to the study, I’ll meet with him. A’Li is resting, don’t disturb her. Have extra food prepared and ready. Qing Yu, come with me.”

The four exchanged glances – it seemed His Highness was indeed in quite a good mood.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

In the study, Han Mingxi stood with his hands behind his back, lost in thought as he gazed at a calligraphy piece on the wall. A single character for “endurance” – seemingly gentle and refined at first glance, but upon careful consideration, one could sense the cold killing intent and sharp edge within. Having lived half his life under the protection of his parents and elder brother, he couldn’t imagine what kind of person could write a character that appeared so gentle yet concealed such murderous intent. It was as dangerous and painful as wrapping a poisoned blade within one’s softest heart. His gaze slowly moved away from the character as he turned toward the door. Mo Xiu Yao had already appeared there without him noticing. Compared to their last meeting in Guangling City, Mo Xiu Yao now seemed more relaxed. Though Han Mingxi didn’t know Mo Xiu Yao well, he could tell the man was in a good mood.

Han Mingxi studied the man before him – plain white robes, a lock of jet-black hair casually falling over his shoulder, his whole demeanor appearing lazy and harmless. When Han Mingxi’s gaze fell on a faint red mark on his neck, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and his hands clasped behind his back unconsciously tightened. “Your Highness.” He was a man of the world, having had his share of romantic encounters. So even though Mo Xiu Yao’s appearance wasn’t improper, he could still tell what the man had been doing before appearing in the study.

“Young Master Han, please sit.” Mo Xiu Yao entered the study with a slight nod. “A’Li is feeling unwell, I’m afraid she won’t be able to receive Young Master Han today. Please understand.”

Han Mingxi sat down silently and said in a deep voice, “Your Highness is too kind. Since the Han family has chosen to pledge loyalty to Your Highness and the Princess Consort, naturally we can wait until the Princess Consort is at leisure.”

Mo Xiu Yao gave Han Mingxi a somewhat surprised look. He knew exactly what kind of person Han Mingxi was – spoiled since childhood by Han Mingyue, which had cultivated his flamboyant personality. But the Han Mingxi sitting across from him now showed rare composure and restraint. It seemed Han Mingyue’s departure had been a tremendous blow to both the Han family and Han Mingxi. After contemplating for a moment, Mo Xiu Yao said, “Since I’ve already said the Han family will be under A’Li’s command, I won’t say much more to Young Master Han. Perhaps you’d like to rest in the guest quarters first. If you need anything, you can ask Manager Mo or Dark Two and Dark Three – they should be quite familiar with Young Master Han?”

Han Mingxi nodded slightly, “Thank you, Your Highness. Han takes his leave.”

After watching Han Mingxi leave, Qing Yu, who had been waiting outside, carefully entered. “Your Highness.”

Mo Xiu Yao nodded, “Has that cup of tea been investigated?” Qing Yu nodded and said, “This servant has examined it. The tea contained musk, safflower, and some cold-natured medicines. After returning, I consulted Doctor Shen. He said the tea indeed has… sterilizing effects, but that’s mainly for palace concubines. Many palace ladies regularly use musk, borneol, and other fragrances which already affect their constitution. If they also consume large amounts of cold-natured substances, they could indeed become infertile. However, the Princess Consort never uses such fragrances, and her health is very good. So Doctor Shen said unless taken long-term, even if the Princess Consort had drunk that cup of tea, it wouldn’t have much effect. Additionally, musk has a very strong scent that tea leaves couldn’t possibly mask. It would be very easily discovered, so Doctor Shen believes the person who added the medicine perhaps didn’t intend for the Princess Consort to drink it… it was likely just a test.”

“A test?” Mo Xiu Yao raised an eyebrow indifferently.

Qing Yu quickly nodded and said, “Medicines like musk aren’t very harmful to normal people, and taking it once or twice definitely wouldn’t cause infertility. But it’s very dangerous for pregnant women. After Doctor Shen examined the tea I brought back, he also said that if the Princess Consort were with child, just one sip of such tea would be enough to… cause a miscarriage.”

The study was silent for a while before Mo Xiu Yao waved his hand and said, “You may go. You’re the only one around A’Li who understands medicine, be more careful in the future.”

“This servant takes her leave.” Qing Yu quietly let out a sigh of relief, curtsied, and hurriedly withdrew. Even when His Highness showed no outward sign of anger, the mere pressure of his dark mood was more than servant girls like them could bear.

After Qing Yu left, the study fell silent again. Mo Xiu Yao’s usually gentle and profound eyes were filled with dark clouds. Mo Jingqi was truly good at planning – his body had barely recovered, yet he couldn’t wait to test A’Li. Perhaps he also wanted to test if he had truly recovered. Or was he so confident that he thought Mo Xiu Yao wouldn’t dare move against him?

“Come.”

“Your Highness.” A figure in gray appeared in the study. “Your Highness, we’ve investigated clearly. Noble Lady Wang had someone put the medicine in the tea. It’s said that when His Majesty was favoring Noble Lady Wang, he mentioned the Princess Consort’s heir issue in passing. Noble Lady Wang wanted to use this to curry favor, so she had the medicine put in the tea.” Mo Xiu Yao gave a cold laugh, “A mere Noble Lady – her people could put medicine in the Empress’s palace tea?” The gray-clothed man naturally dared not answer, understanding that His Highness wasn’t seeking his response. He only asked, “Noble Lady Wang intended to harm the Prince’s estate’s succession. Your Highness, should we…?” Mo Xiu Yao shook his head, his smile ice-cold and bone-chilling, “No. Since she’s so fond of adding things to tea, have Qing Yu prepare medicine according to that cup of tea, and make sure I see her drink it for three months!”

“Your Highness… Noble Lady Wang may already be with child.”

“Did you not understand my words?”

The gray-clothed man felt a chill in his heart and hurriedly bowed his head, “This servant obeys!”

In the bedroom, Ye Li slowly opened her eyes, frowning slightly at the mild discomfort in her body. Recalling what had happened earlier, scenes of passionate and intense intimacy flashed through her mind, causing her freshly ravished face to flush crimson. Helplessly patting her cheeks that felt hot enough to fry an egg, Ye Li wrapped herself in the blanket and shook her head vigorously, trying to dispel those embarrassing images from her mind. The discomfort in her body made her let out a soft moan – Ye Li, you’re too useless and embarrassing…

Rolling around in the blankets, thinking of that scoundrel who had disappeared to who knows where Ye Li couldn’t help but grind her teeth. If she couldn’t figure out by now that he had done it on purpose, she would be an idiot. Yet she, this idiot, had fallen for it at the time – seeing his dejected expression, she had panicked. After apologizing and consoling him unsuccessfully, she had even offered herself up. Though later she didn’t know where the impulse came from and hadn’t objected herself…

“A’Li, are you awake?”

Steady footsteps came from beyond the screen, and Ye Li looked up to see Mo Xiu Yao standing at the bedside, smiling down at her. Seeing Mo Xiu Yao standing before her properly dressed, Ye Li glared at him resentfully and asked, “Where did you go?” Mo Xiu Yao raised an eyebrow, walked to the table to pour a cup of warm water, and brought it over to feed her. Ye Li quickly reached out to take it herself and drink it. Mo Xiu Yao didn’t mind, giving a faint smile as he sat on the edge of the bed and said, “I was afraid sitting inside would wake you, so I was looking at some things outside. By the way… Han Mingxi came this afternoon. I had him stay in the guest quarters first.”

Ye Li choked, and only after swallowing the water in her mouth did she say, “Han Mingxi came, why so quickly? I should go see…”

Warm lips pressed against hers, cutting off her words. After their lips caressed gently for a moment, Mo Xiu Yao took the teacup from her hand and set it aside, laughing softly, “A’Li, seeing him tomorrow won’t be too late.”

“But…” Ye Li frowned slightly. Mo Xiu Yao wouldn’t let her refuse, gently pressing his finger to her delicate lips, “A’Li, if you care too much about other men, I’ll get jealous.”

Ye Li’s clear eyes flickered as she looked at him and said, “So what if you get jealous?”

“If this Prince gets jealous… I might want to silence him.” Mo Xiu Yao said with a faint smile. Ye Li raised an eyebrow, “So you did it on purpose today? Hmm?” Mo Xiu Yao didn’t deny it – his A’Li was too clever for denial to work anyway. “I just thought today was a good day.”

Leaning gently against his chest, Ye Li sighed softly and said, “As long as you don’t betray me, I will never betray you.”

“Even if Mo Xiu Yao betrays all under heaven, he will never betray A’Li.”

In the end, Ye Li couldn’t resist Mo Xiu Yao. Someone once said that when you start getting used to yielding to someone, you’ve probably fallen in love with them. Ye Li wasn’t one to bury her head in the sand – Mo Xiu Yao was her husband, the closest person to her in this world besides her blood relatives. She didn’t want to deny the fact that she might have fallen in love with Mo Xiu Yao. Because even when she heard Mo Xiu Yao’s deep words of love during their intimate moments, her heartfelt genuine joy and pleasure. In this era, what could make a woman happier than marrying someone who loves her and whom she loves in return?

“Young Master Han.” When Ye Li entered the guest quarters, Han Mingxi was sitting under a magnolia tree lost in thought. In the gentle breeze, purple-red petals fell lightly onto his moon-white clothes, weaving together in a strange luxury. Used to seeing Han Mingxi always wearing flamboyant red silk robes wherever he went, seeing him now gave her a somewhat unfamiliar sense of distance. Han Mingxi came back to his senses and looked at the graceful woman walking slowly toward him, momentarily lost in thought, but quickly recovered, “Jun Wei… Princess Consort.”

Ye Li smiled helplessly and said, “Hearing you address me like this makes me feel uncomfortable.”

Han Mingxi raised his eyebrows and smiled, “Although the Princess Consort has always called me Young Master Han, I’m not very used to it either. Besides, from now on Han Mingxi will be the Princess Consort’s subordinate. If the Princess Consort keeps addressing me this way, wouldn’t people find it strange?” Ye Li tilted her head and smiled, “In that case, I’ll call you Mingxi, and you… do as you please. Is the Han family well?” Han Mingxi nodded, “Han Mingyue now has no connection to the Han family. In the future, even if anything happens, it won’t affect the Han family. Oh yes, I’ve organized the Han family’s account books – would you… like to take a look?” In the end, he still couldn’t bring himself to use the formal and distant title of Princess Consort to address her.

Ye Li looked at him with some surprise and shook her head, “Neither the Prince nor I have any intention of taking over the Han family.”

Han Mingxi raised an eyebrow and smiled, “I understand that the Prince’s estate is wealthy enough to rival a nation and naturally wouldn’t care about the small Han family. However, since we’ve sworn loyalty, we should show some sincerity.” Ye Li smiled, “Even if the Han family pledges loyalty to the Prince’s estate, there’s no reason to empty the Han family. The Han family is still the Han family, and the Han family’s properties naturally still belong to the Hans. Those account books give me a headache, so Mingxi should take them back and look through them slowly. Um… perhaps you could exchange insights with Dark Two and Dark Three – that is, Lin Han and Zhuo Jing – they’ve been looking at account books recently too.” Han Mingxi thought for a moment, then nodded and smiled, “I understand. In the future, if you need anything from me or the Han family, just give the order.” Ye Li nodded, “Very good. I have some new collaborations in mind. If you’ve had breakfast, we can discuss them in the study, and if not, we might as well have breakfast together.”

“I thought you would have had breakfast with the Prince?”

Ye Li said indifferently, “His Highness has deep inner strength; missing one meal won’t make him hungry.” Thinking of a certain man who always pushed his luck, Ye Li snorted softly in her heart – not being angry didn’t mean she wouldn’t hold a grudge. Han Mingxi looked back, seeing an unconscious charm in her brow that hadn’t been there before. His heart darkened as he turned to walk inside, “Then this one has the honor of sharing breakfast with the Princess Consort.”

The matter of choosing relatives and marriages had been pushed back by Ye Li, and the Prince’s estate remained closed to visitors, avoiding the expected hustle and bustle. However, the stream of calling cards and invitations sent to the estate remained endless. Ye Li only glanced at them briefly before setting them aside for Manager Mo and Matron Sun to handle. Under the joint tutoring of Manager Mo and Han Mingxi, Dark Two and Dark Three made rapid progress. Although Han Mingxi had never managed affairs before, he came from a merchant family and was naturally clever. Even what he had seen and heard since childhood was far better than ordinary people – otherwise, Han Mingyue might not have dared to entrust the Han family to him so confidently. Ye Li’s so-called cooperation with the Han family was mostly her providing ideas and some capital, while Han Mingxi would handle all the specific operations. By the time she finished discussing with Han Mingxi, several days had passed. Ye Li thought about the elite forces of the Prince’s estate she had left in the valley, wondering what state they were in now, and decided it was time to check on them.

Although Qin Feng hadn’t stayed in the valley with his comrades these past few days, his days weren’t any easier. After all, the Princess Consort had said that he would lead the final team after their training. As their commander, he naturally couldn’t be inferior to his subordinates. So upon returning to the estate that day, he went to seek guidance from Dark Two and Dark Three. As it happened, Dark Three was dizzy from all the account books, and with Qin Feng delivering himself as a punching bag, Dark Three didn’t show any mercy. The daily intense and varied training thoroughly humbled the Black Cloud Cavalry commander, who had previously been full of pride and somewhat looked down on the imperial guards.

Coming again with Ye Li to the valley below Black Cloud Peak, Qin Feng had to admit he was curious about what state the elite forces had been reduced to. When they reached the bottom of the cliff and saw his comrades and fellow warriors crawling and rolling in the dust in the wide courtyard, Qin Feng couldn’t help but cringe. This appearance… brought shame to both the Black Cloud Cavalry and the Mo family army.

Ye Li still sat on the rooftop, patiently waiting for those running laps to finish. Only when everyone had returned to the courtyard, covered in dust and dirt, did she jump down from the roof with a beaming smile and ask, “Elite warriors, how are you feeling these past few days?”

The elite warriors, faces covered in dirt, were all expressionless. Could they say they were tired enough to die? If someone had told them before that just running and doing some strange exercises could exhaust them this much, they probably wouldn’t have believed it even if you killed them. Who were they? The most excellent imperial guards and soldiers in all of Da Chu. How could they be defeated by such small matters? Now they understood – the reason they thought running wasn’t difficult was that they had never truly run properly before. The most unfortunate imperial guards on the first day were so exhausted from just running that they couldn’t even crawl.

Looking at the expressions of the elite warriors, Ye Li nodded with satisfaction and smiled, “I told you before, being good at martial arts doesn’t mean you’re physically fit, being physically fit doesn’t mean you have good stamina, and even having good stamina doesn’t mean you have good endurance. After these days of training, I believe you’ve all made great progress in both stamina and endurance. I hope you continue to maintain it. Additionally, add five more li to your daily running, and add one hundred repetitions to each of the other exercises.” At these words, a wave of groans finally erupted from the formation below. Ye Li paid no mind and continued, “I don’t need many of you to become peerless masters. I only need you to become the strongest soldiers. You will be the elite of the elite among Mo family’s army and even all of Da Chu.”

“Master, do you mean we’ll return to the army and still be members of the Mo family army?” someone couldn’t help but ask from below. This was also the confusion of everyone present – most people had assumed His Highness was preparing to train them into another force more secretive and powerful than the imperial guards. They hadn’t expected they would still be soldiers, and from Master Chu’s words, they would return to the Mo family army in the future.

Ye Li smiled faintly, “I can’t tell you everything now, but I can promise that in the end, you’ll have an honorable and righteous title. All positions and promotions will be the same as or better than the Black Cloud Cavalry and Mo family army. When you reach an age where you can no longer serve or are injured in accidents, you’ll be transferred to suitable positions within the Mo family army or the Prince’s estate.”

Everyone couldn’t help but burst into discussion – even the Black Cloud Cavalry didn’t have such treatment. This made everyone more curious about what kind of army they would become.

“However, all of this is premised on you successfully remaining here. Although I’m a bit surprised that none of you dropped out in these seven days, this is just the beginning. Qin Feng, here is the training plan for the next half month.”

Qin Feng looked at the scroll of black characters on white paper as if he were looking at a death warrant. Slowly opening it to look, Qin Feng’s brows knotted together, “Master, these… this subordinate doesn’t quite understand.” Ye Li smiled, “It’s alright if you don’t understand. Starting tomorrow, Zhuo Jing and Lin Han will take turns coming to watch them. Before they arrive, you can try to figure out those things in the training ground yourselves. The first month is completely physical training, so I won’t supervise you too much. Tomorrow those eight masters watching you will also leave, so everyone will have to rely on their initiative. Also, in your spare time, look at the books I brought – read as much as you can. These will make your next two months a little easier.”

Qin Feng passed the scroll down, letting everyone appreciate it and get an idea in their hearts. The soldiers who had been tortured these days silently bled in their hearts – including the newly added content, the training volume was at least fifty percent more than before. Was this Master Chu trying to kill them? What was even more deadly was that before they only had to complete the tasks, but now this paper even specified how much time they had to complete the running. After these days of tempering, everyone had somewhat gotten a grip on things, and the requirements on this paper were too harsh even for elite soldiers like them.

“Master Chu, this is simply impossible to complete!” a soldier in the front row said defiantly.

Ye Li glanced at him, raising an eyebrow and smiling, “Impossible?”

“That’s right, without using qinggong it’s impossible to complete so many tasks in such a short time!”

Ye Li’s smile deepened, “From the Black Cloud Cavalry? Ever heard you relied so much on martial arts? Shouldn’t it be the imperial guards who like to study martial arts? If someone can do it, what will you do?” The soldier said proudly, “If someone can do it, naturally we can do it too.” Ye Li nodded with satisfaction, “Very good, assemble at the training ground.” Watching the soldiers line up and leave, Qin Feng looked at Ye Li with some worry and said softly, “Princess Consort… you don’t mean yourself, do you?” He believed someone could do it – the Princess Consort wouldn’t deliberately give them impossible tasks to mock them. But how could it be the delicate-looking Princess Consort herself? Although he knew Princess Consort was very capable, as she said herself, being good at martial arts and having good stamina were completely different things, and what was written on this paper required more stamina than martial arts. If anything happened to the Princess Consort, His Highness would surely have his head!

Ye Li looked down at her clothes – in anticipation of such unexpected situations, she had deliberately worn suitable attire. Having experienced training others and being trained herself many times before, she could guess what kind of reactions these elite warriors would have. Even if she had to guess, she could figure out quite a bit.

The craftsmen responsible for building this valley were very professional, and the training ground outside the courtyard completely met Ye Li’s requirements. A group of defiant soldiers stood dumbfounded on the training ground, watching the much shorter and seemingly frail Master Chu running calmly while carrying several dozen jin of weights. At first, no one paid much attention, but when she had run five or six laps around the training ground and still hadn’t even shown irregular breathing, everyone finally realized this Master Chu was indeed extraordinary. After ten laps, Master Chu didn’t stop to rest but went straight to the strange equipment in the middle of the training ground, crawling under a low-hanging net covered in iron caltrops and various sharp objects, climbing over a more than two-zhang high rope net, scaling a zhang-high earthen wall, grabbing ropes to swing across a two-zhang distance to land precisely on a wooden pole less than half a chi wide but five chi high. Under everyone’s shocked gazes, she ran across as if walking on flat ground. Finally reaching the endpoint where a bow and arrows were set up, Ye Li picked up the longbow, drew an arrow, and casually shot – bull’s eye. And in the hourglass placed aside, there was still some fine sand slowly trickling out.

Ye Li turned back, raising an eyebrow at the group of dumbfounded people before her. In her heart, she let out a long sigh of relief this series of movements was still a bit strenuous for her current condition. Although she had never stopped training herself over these years, and after marrying into the Prince’s estate this past year she could exercise without hindrance, and had even made considerable progress in ancient martial arts due to Mo Xiu Yao’s occasional guidance, she hadn’t done such a complete series of movements for many years. Fortunately, she completed it successfully – if she had made a mistake in front of these fellows, it would have been difficult to discipline them in the future. Secretly moving her somewhat stiff body, Ye Li’s face maintained a composed smile as she asked, “How was that?”

“Excellent!” After a moment of silence, the crowd burst into cheers. Regardless of what they thought before, this Master Chu had easily accomplished what they couldn’t do – that meant she was stronger than them. And they undoubtedly respected the strong.

“Then… will you all listen well to the instructors’ guidance in the future and let me see your progress in half a month?”

“Yes! Master!” everyone answered in unison.

After dismissing everyone, Ye Li’s previously composed expression immediately crumpled. Leaning against a balance beam, she grimaced and sighed continuously. Qin Feng saw this and raised an eyebrow, “This subordinate thought the Princess Consort did it very easily?”

Ye Li helplessly waved her hand, “No matter how easy it is, you can’t overcome being out of practice… I almost fell off just now. I was indeed too presumptuous – after coming back I’ve been too busy, didn’t even have a chance to familiarize myself with the grounds. But it doesn’t matter… who gives you time to familiarize yourself with the terrain on a real battlefield?”

Qin Feng frowned, saying puzzledly, “The Princess Consort doesn’t need to push herself so hard.”

Ye Li smiled, “It’s not that bad. Compared to probing and second-guessing everyone in the capital, I’d rather stay here. If I didn’t push myself, how would those proud fellows be convinced? This is just the beginning – we’ll need to frighten them occasionally in the future to prevent them from becoming too arrogant.”

Qin Feng couldn’t help but hold his head – you’ve already dealt them enough blows today, and you still want to frighten them?

“That’s right. I’m about to die of exhaustion, let me rest a bit before heading back to the estate.” Ye Li rubbed her arms and turned to walk back to the small courtyard, “By the way, I don’t need to remind you what confidentiality means, right? If His Highness learns about today’s events, all your tasks will double.”

“Yes, Princess Consort.”