As the noble ladies left Zhangde Palace, they cast strange looks at Ye Li. Their expressions were a mix of envy, jealousy, fear, and schadenfreude. Not just in the hundred years since Great Chu’s founding, but even going back a thousand years, no woman had ever dared to draw a blade in the palace before the Empress Dowager and Empress, declaring she would kill anyone who tried to become her husband’s concubine. Such courage and determination naturally aroused envy and jealousy among these noble ladies who endured multiple wives and concubines in their own homes. Everyone knew the Defender Prince’s wife would inevitably bear the label of a jealous woman.
“Li’er.” Madam Xu was already waiting outside the hall when Ye Li stepped out.
Ye Li approached with a gentle smile, softly calling out “Aunt.” Madam Xu looked at her and sighed, shaking her head: “You, child…” Ye Li lowered her head with a smile: “I’ve brought shame to Aunt.”
Madam Xu held her hand as they walked, laughing softly: “When has our Xu family ever truly cared about such empty reputations? I’m a woman too, how could I not understand a woman’s heart? It’s just that with the Defender Prince…” Though Li’er’s actions in the hall today were extremely bold, her status as the Defender Prince’s wife meant she wouldn’t face serious consequences. Taking wives and concubines was ultimately a family matter – as long as the Defender Prince protected her, nothing would come of it. But if the Defender Prince was displeased with her behavior today, Li’er’s days ahead would likely be difficult.
Ye Li blinked, seeing the worry in Madam Xu’s eyes. She snuggled against Madam Xu’s arm affectionately and smiled: “Don’t worry, Aunt. I’ll be fine. Please put in some good words for me with Second Uncle when you return, so he won’t scold me.” Madam Xu patted her hand, smiling gently: “You’re too bold, child. No wonder your uncle wants to lecture you. You gave me quite a fright in the hall just now.” Coming from a scholarly family, Madam Xu had never seen anyone brandish weapons before her. When she saw He Lian Hui Min swing that blade at Ye Li in the hall, if not for her cultivation and extreme self-control, she likely would have cried out.
“Li’er knows she was wrong. It won’t happen again.” Ye Li clung to Madam Xu’s arm, acting coquettish.
Just as they reached the palace gates, the curtain of the Defender Prince’s carriage was lifted from inside. A handsome man in moon-white robes stepped down, smiling as he looked at Ye Li at the palace entrance. “A’Li.”
Though the passing noble ladies couldn’t stop to watch openly, they saw how the Defender Prince extended his hand to his wife with a smile. They couldn’t believe the Prince wouldn’t know what had happened in the palace by now. It seemed the Defender Prince truly only had eyes for his wife. Even though the Princess Consort had made such a domineering and willful declaration in the palace, almost causing the Prince to lose face, he still doted on her as before.
Madam Xu led Ye Li forward to bow, but Mo Xiu Yao stepped aside slightly, smiling: “Madam is A’Li’s aunt – we’re family, there’s no need for such formality.” Madam Xu smiled: “Propriety must be maintained. Li’er is young and doesn’t know better. I hope Your Highness will be understanding.” Mo Xiu Yao looked at Ye Li with a smile: “Madam worries too much. A’Li is perfect as she is.”
“Why did you come?” Ye Li asked, puzzled.
Mo Xiu Yao laughed softly: “I heard my wife draw her blade in Zhangde Palace and strike fear into all directions. How could I not worry for my wife’s safety?”
Ye Li couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him. If he was worried about her safety, why didn’t he enter the palace to find her instead of waiting at the gates to put on a show?
Watching their interaction, relief showed in Madam Xu’s eyes. One look was enough to see that the Defender Prince truly didn’t mind his wife’s actions in the palace he seemed quite pleased about it. After bidding farewell to the couple, Madam Xu walked contentedly toward her own family’s carriage.
As the Defender Prince’s carriage departed and peace returned to the palace gates, He Lian Hui Min stood with Ye Lu Ye beneath the distant city wall, silently watching the carriage disappear. After a long while, He Lian Hui Min said resentfully: “Cousin, are we letting this go?”
Ye Lu Ye gave her a meaningful look: “What else can you do? You can’t seduce the Defender Prince, and you can’t deal with his household. Or do you want to be a cleaning maid in the Defender Prince’s mansion? Don’t forget what happened to the Eleventh Prince. Do you think Mo Xiu Yao is someone merciful?” Remembering the now foolish and idiotic Eleventh Prince Ye Lu Ping, He Lian Hui Min couldn’t help but shudder. She dared not imagine what kind of torture could turn a normal person into a mindless waste without injury or poison – and all because Ye Lu Ping had spoken out of turn at Mo Xiu Yao’s wedding.
“Then… what should we do now?” He Lian Hui Min asked worriedly.
Ye Lu Ye replied indifferently: “Of course, we wait to escort the Princess back to Northern Rong.”
“But I…” He Lian Hui Min frowned. Ye Lu Ye said flatly: “The plan to marry you into the Defender Prince’s household was just a whim with less than a thirty percent chance of success, and that thirty percent depended on the Princess Consort. Now it seems there’s not even a five percent chance. You’d better return to Northern Rong and be an obedient consort to the Crown Prince.”
He Lian Hui Min’s face changed dramatically. She exclaimed in panic: “No… Cousin, the Crown Prince will kill me! And… what happened in Great Chu will surely reach Northern Rong. The Crown Prince won’t accept me…” Crown Prince’s consort… The customs and etiquette of Northern Rong were completely different from Great Chu. All concubines below the Crown Princess became Crown Prince’s consorts, but they were all slaves to the Crown Princess. Those of noble birth and high status fared somewhat better, but for someone of slave origin like her, even as a Crown Prince’s consort she would not be allowed to bear children or own property and would have no freedom. Except for when the Crown Prince favored her, she would be no different from ordinary slave girls. Even if she were beaten to death, He Lian Zhen, as her adoptive father, could say nothing. Moreover, the Crown Prince harbored deep grudges against Ye Lu Ye’s faction – women sent to the Crown Prince’s household by Ye Lu Ye usually lasted less than half a month before being sent out in such a terrible state that He Lian Hui Min trembled at the mere thought of it in her midnight dreams. That’s why she had desperately found ways to come along when Ye Lu Ye came to Great Chu for the wedding, and why she had agreed without hesitation when Ye Lu Ye mentioned sending her into the Defender Prince’s household. Sometimes she thought that as long as she didn’t return to Northern Rong, even becoming a maid in Great Chu wouldn’t be so bad – with her abilities, she wouldn’t fear having no future. But returning to Northern Rong… only death awaited her there.
“Don’t get any bad ideas. The He Lian family didn’t raise you all these years for nothing.” Glancing at the silent He Lian Hui Min, Ye Lu Ye said coldly, “Don’t worry, few people have seen you. Princess Rong Hua hasn’t met you either. As for your name, just change it – Uncle has more than one goddaughter anyway. Since you couldn’t deal with the Defender Prince, accept your fate and go to the Crown Prince’s palace. This prince gave you a chance.” He Lian Hui Min trembled, knowing Ye Lu Ye’s methods well. She quickly responded in a shaking voice: “I understand.”
Ye Lu Ye looked her over before nodding in satisfaction and turning to leave. If He Lian Hui Min hadn’t been the most talented among the women in his uncle’s household, she would have no reason to return alive after this failed plan. However, though He Lian Hui Min was clever, she fell far short compared to the Defender Princess Consort. Thinking of the intelligence gathered in the Chu capital these days, this Princess Consort not only came from a noble background and excelled in both civil and martial arts, but reportedly had even led the Black Cloud Cavalry in defending Yongzhou until the Defender Prince’s reinforcements arrived – quite a meritorious achievement. A woman who could command the Black Cloud Cavalry…
Though the marriage arrangements between Northern Rong and the Defender Prince’s household came to nothing, the Princess Consort’s reputation as a fierce wife spread throughout the capital overnight. The noble ladies and young misses of the capital declared that no one dared provoke a woman who would draw a dagger before the Empress Dowager and threaten to kill any woman who tried to enter the Defender Prince’s household – one would die alone, two would die as a pair. More terrifying still, not only did the Defender Prince show no anger at his wife’s declaration, but he often accompanied his beloved wife around the capital in his spare time from official duties. Their devoted affection told everyone that if any woman insisted on entering the household as a concubine and was truly killed by the Princess Consort, His Highness the Defender Prince would not intercede for them. For a time, some said the Defender Prince loved his wife dearly, others said he was henpecked, but no matter how the rumors flew outside, they didn’t affect the two people involved in the slightest. At this moment, Ye Li had no time to care about such gossip – as the full moon rose into the night sky, her constantly suspended heart grew even tighter.
Not long after the evening meal, Mo Xiu Yao’s expression gradually turned unwell. Ye Li hurriedly summoned Shen Yang, who remained silent for a long time before giving just one word: Endure! The aftermath of using the Phoenix Tail Grass was acting up – there was no medicine to cure it, and he could only rely on himself to tough it out.
“A’Li, go rest in the side hall,” Mo Xiu Yao said softly, looking at Ye Li’s stiff, delicate face. The episodes were not pleasant to witness – he didn’t want to appear too wretched before her, nor did he want to frighten her. Ye Li sat calmly beside him and said firmly: “I’ll stay with you. Don’t be afraid.”
Don’t be afraid… Mo Xiu Yao wanted to laugh, though his heart felt more like crying. For eight or nine years, he had lingered countless times at death’s door, countless times being in such pain he could barely find a reason to live. No one had ever asked if he was afraid. Though the Defender Prince was formidable, he was still human – and when he was first injured, he was just an eighteen-year-old youth. Of course, he had been afraid. Every time the cold poison acted up, he feared he would never wake again, feared the Defender Prince’s household would fade into obscurity, feared his brother’s vengeance, his vengeance, and the vengeance of tens of thousands of Mo family soldiers would go unavenged. But he could never show his fear before anyone – he could only endure. But now, his A’Li, his wife, sat beside him telling him not to be afraid…
“Alright, I won’t be afraid,” Mo Xiu Yao said with a faint smile, holding Ye Li’s hand.
Ye Li could hardly bear to recall how that day and night passed. At first, the pain in Mo Xiu Yao’s body was still bearable, and she sat beside him talking to distract him. But after midnight, the pain suddenly intensified. Even someone as resilient as Mo Xiu Yao trembled all over with pain, unable to speak a complete sentence. Any pain-relieving medicines or acupuncture points were completely ineffective. Ye Li could only watch as he tore apart the brocade quilt and pulled down the bed curtains in his extreme agony.
Seeing this proud and elegant man so vulnerable and in such pain finally brought tears to Ye Li’s eyes. She had never hated her helplessness so much. She had sworn to accompany him through this suffering, but in reality, beyond watching to ensure he didn’t seriously injure himself, there was nothing she could do.
In just one night, Ye Li truly understood what it meant for time to crawl like years. When Mo Xiu Yao passed out from the prolonged pain, she could only carefully let him rest against her, not daring to touch him at all. She could only hope he would have a brief respite before the next wave of pain struck.
Sure enough, less than half an hour later, Mo Xiu Yao woke again, followed by even more intense suffering than before. This cycle of fainting, waking to pain, and fainting again continued until nearly noon the next day before gradually subsiding.
When Butler Mo and Shen Yang pushed open the door at noon, they found the room in disarray. The Princess Consort sat on the floor by the bed, leaning against it and sleeping exhaustedly. Before her, the Prince lay with his head on her lap – though his sleep was somewhat restless, he was asleep. The wounds on his body and hands had been treated. Seeing this scene, even these two men whose ages combined approached a hundred years couldn’t help but sigh in melancholy. Shen Yang waved his hand and withdrew from the room with Butler Mo.
Having just endured a full moon night, Mo Xiu Yao was once again bedridden. This made Ye Li, already worried about Mo Xiu Yao’s health, feel even more heavy-hearted.
“A’Li, what are you thinking about?” Mo Xiu Yao smiled from his bed, watching Ye Li sit beside him holding a book, lost in thought.
Ye Li looked up at him, frowning: “Will your body be able to handle the long journey to Northern Rong?”
Mo Xiu Yao smiled: “It’s only one night each month – much better than before. If it were like last year, it truly wouldn’t be possible. But now my body is no different from others – why not?”
Ye Li shook her head. Having stayed by Mo Xiu Yao’s side throughout this episode, she found the process truly heart-wrenching. Such excruciating pain would be unbearable even for someone like her who had undergone professional torture resistance training, let alone Mo Xiu Yao with his poor health. More terrifying was that he had to endure such agony every month – just the psychological shadow of this would be enough to drive someone mad.
Seeing Ye Li’s worried and pained expression, Mo Xiu Yao smiled faintly and pulled her to his side, laughing softly: “Once I thought I would never rise again in this life. But look now, aren’t I fine? Even if it hurts once every month, so what? I think it’s worth it. A’Li, I want your husband to be perfect – only then would I be worthy of my A’Li…” His long fingers gently touched Ye Li’s beautiful lips as he murmured.
Ye Li turned her head away, not wanting to see the unhealed marks on his hands, holding back tears as she said: “Even if your legs could never heal, I wouldn’t reject you.” Compared to those so-called talented young men and world-changing heroes with healthy limbs, Ye Li could confidently say Mo Xiu Yao far surpassed any of them. She had never thought Mo Xiu Yao needed to be any particular way to be worthy of her.
“I know, but I want A’Li to have the very best,” Mo Xiu Yao said with a gentle smile.
Ye Li paused, still unable to keep her eyes from welling up. “What if you spoil me too much?”
Mo Xiu Yao trapped her in his embrace. “As long as A’Li wants it, anything Xiu Yao has is yours. Even if I don’t have it, I’ll seize it for you.”