After dismissing everyone, only Feng Zhiyao and Zhuo Jing remained in the study. Mo Xiuyao leaned against the couch, silently watching the two while casually tapping the armrest with one hand. The study was completely quiet until his voice finally broke the silence, “Feng San, what happened in the capital after I left?”
Feng Zhiyao naturally wouldn’t conceal anything from Mo Xiuyao about Mo Jingqi, eagerly recounting everything that had happened after Mo Xiuyao’s departure, adding his embellishments. Though Zhuo Jing typically maintained a cold expression in public, he was equally enthusiastic in speaking ill of those who meant harm to his master. As they spoke, Mo Xiuyao’s already displeased expression grew increasingly dark.
Mo Xiuyao was truly angered. Not just because Mo Jingqi had set his sights on A’Li, but more so because as an emperor, he showed such poor judgment. In Mo Xiuyao’s view, tens of thousands of troops and the lives of all Xinyang’s citizens were lost due to Mo Jingqi’s suspicions and narrow-mindedness. Once, Mo Xiuyao had wondered if the ancestors of the Dingguo Prince’s Manor had overstepped their bounds, causing emperors to be so wary of them. Now he truly understood – it wasn’t that the ancestors didn’t know about the dangers of having merit surpassing the ruler’s, nor that they didn’t understand how to avoid the emperor’s suspicion. Rather, some things… though known to be impossible, must still be done!
“Very… very good!” Mo Xiuyao laughed softly, his low laughter causing Feng Zhiyao to inexplicably shudder. Mo Xiuyao raised his head and said to the two, “You may go now.”
“We take our leave.”
It was already midnight when Ye Li entered the study. Though she had just woken up and was quite annoyed at Mo Xiuyao’s arbitrary actions, when she found him absent from their room, she still couldn’t help but leave to look for him. Seeing the light still on in the study, Ye Li knew he must still be working there. After some thought, she ultimately couldn’t bear to leave, so she went to the kitchen to prepare some late-night snacks and brought them to the study. Inside, Mo Xiuyao was bent over his desk writing rapidly. Hearing movement at the door, he finally looked up to see the woman at the doorway wearing a plain cloak, her beautiful hair casually pinned up, holding a tray full of food as she quietly watched him. The lamplight cast her beautiful features in an incredibly graceful and gentle light. Mo Xiuyao’s heart warmed – this was his wife… “A’Li, come…” Mo Xiuyao put down his brush and stood up, reaching out to her.
Ye Li walked forward and set down the tray, gathering up the various scrolls and documents spread across the table while laying out the food, “Can’t whatever it is wait until tomorrow?”
Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly, pulling Ye Li to sit on his lap, “Join me, A’Li.” Because he hadn’t wanted to disturb A’Li’s rest, he had only eaten a few bites at dinner, and now he was truly quite hungry. Ye Li looked at him somewhat helplessly – how was she supposed to eat while sitting in his embrace like this? Mo Xiuyao pretended not to notice her conflicted expression, scooping up a spoonful of clear congee with some appetizing side dishes and bringing it to Ye Li’s lips. After hesitating for a moment, seeing that he stubbornly refused to withdraw his hand, she could only lower her head and eat it. Mo Xiuyao smiled with satisfaction before taking a few bites himself. They continued like this, taking turns feeding each other until all the food was gone. Looking at the empty dishes on the table, Ye Li could only twitch her lips, speechless.
After the late meal, Mo Xiuyao called for servants to clear away the dishes. Still not releasing Ye Li, he kept her confined in his embrace as they looked over the documents on the table together, occasionally exchanging opinions. When Ye Li saw the report detailing the number of civilians massacred in Xinyang this time, she lowered her head somewhat dejectedly, “I’m very sorry, this was all because I didn’t do well enough.”
Mo Xiuyao sighed softly, lifting her small face to place a gentle kiss there, “A’Li, you’ve already done very well. Better than I imagined.” Mo Xiuyao spoke true words. Although he had handed control of the Mo family army to Ye Li, to be honest, Mo Xiuyao hadn’t been very confident in how much she could manage. After all, commanding several hundred thousand troops was such a heavy responsibility that even among men, few could accomplish it. But his A’Li had truly done her very best.
“But if I hadn’t ordered the diversion of Xinyang’s grain and money, perhaps the city wouldn’t have been massacred,” Ye Li said softly.
Mo Xiuyao shook his head, saying calmly, “A’Li, don’t take everything upon yourself. You and I both know you did nothing wrong. Though Xiling is as vast as Da Chu, unlike Da Chu’s fertile lands, Xiling has large desert areas, with arable land less than one-fifth of Da Chu’s. And in Xinyang City, there were supplies and military provisions enough to support five hundred thousand troops for half a year. Once they obtained these supplies and silver, this war would have become much more difficult. Moreover, the reason Xiling soldiers didn’t massacre civilians when they first invaded Da Chu wasn’t because they didn’t want to, but because they feared provoking civilian resistance. Once this war continues into winter… has A’Li read Xiling’s war history?”
Ye Li shook her head. She hadn’t paid attention to such things before, and after marrying Mo Xiuyao there had been too many matters to attend to, so she hadn’t had much time for reading.
Mo Xiuyao explained, “If A’Li had read it, she would know that once Xiling troops run out of supplies, they quickly turn on civilians. Xiling troops have always considered themselves superior, and since Xiling doesn’t produce grain, their supply preparations have never been adequate. To them, enemy civilians are nothing more than backup food sources. Although Da Chu hasn’t suffered from this before, the Western nations and even the Southern Frontier have experienced cities being massacred by Xiling. If we had let them get Xinyang’s supplies, this war would have dragged on longer, and once winter came and supplies ran low, even more civilians would have suffered. Moreover, if blame must be assigned, it should first fall on those who failed to defend the city!”
Ye Li leaned against his solid embrace, and though she understood Mo Xiuyao was trying to comfort her, her heart felt much lighter. Ye Li wasn’t one to dwell on things, so she quickly put this matter aside, though she still sighed looking at the shocking numbers on the document. War always came with countless innocent civilian lives lost – it was both heartbreaking and helpless to contemplate.
The couple huddled together under the lamplight, each telling of various things that had happened during their separation. When Mo Xiuyao heard about the Zhennan Prince’s various actions, his face immediately darkened. He held Ye Li close and said softly, “A’Li is just too soft-hearted. Demanding tens of thousands of grain and hundreds of thousands of silver from him was letting him off too easily. If it were me, I would have broken his other hand and been done with it.”
Ye Li looked up, somewhat amused at the man before her who was showing an unexpectedly childish side, and said, “If we did that, we’d truly be in a fight to the death with Xiling. Haven’t things not been settled with the Xiling Emperor yet?”
Mo Xiuyao shook his head, saying somewhat helplessly, “The Xiling Emperor likely won’t be of use anymore – whether he can survive this year is still uncertain. Once the Xiling Emperor dies, there will likely be another child emperor and Xiling’s military and political power will fall completely into the Zhennan Prince’s hands.”
Ye Li sighed somewhat dejectedly, “If that’s the case… perhaps we should have broken his other hand after all.”
They looked at each other and smiled. Jokes aside, in the current situation, fighting Xiling to mutual destruction would do no good for either them or Da Chu. Mo Xiuyao held the beautiful woman in his arms, his gentle gaze falling on the documents on the table as a flash of frightening cold light appeared in his eyes. The Zhennan Prince… daring to covet the Dingguo Prince Manor’s Princess Consort – Father was too merciful only cutting off one of his hands back then!
Mo Xiuyao’s sudden return had halted the previously unstoppable advance of the Xiling army. But such peace obviously couldn’t last long – after just a few days, war broke out again. Although Xinyang had been recaptured, counting both Xiling’s northern and southern forces, nearly a third of Da Chu’s northwest territory, including five cities, remained in Xiling’s hands. And because Mo Xiuyao had led troops to break through the northern army’s blockade to charge straight to Xinyang, although Xinyang was recaptured, the surrounding areas were still occupied by Xiling, leaving the entire city in a situation of being surrounded on three sides. Though the city didn’t lack grain or military supplies, water remained a major problem. Even with very few civilians remaining in the city, providing drinking water for over a hundred thousand troops was still somewhat tight. Mo Xiuyao wasn’t unaware of this problem, but Da Chu desperately needed some encouraging news to boost morale and stabilize the people’s hearts, and recapturing Xinyang was the best choice.
After Mo Xiuyao’s return, Ye Li naturally handed military affairs back to him, only helping with some minor matters, suddenly finding herself much more free. Taking advantage of Lin Han’s team returning from following Mo Xiuyao to the Northern Rong and Qin Feng’s team returning from gathering intelligence, Ye Li remembered something that had been delayed for quite some time and seized the opportunity when Mo Xiuyao also happened to be free to gather everyone before them. Of the original sixty-three people who had trained at Black Cloud Peak, only fifty-one were present here now. The sacrifice of twelve people might seem negligible in other armies, but here it represented the loss of nearly one-sixth of their fighting force.
“Your subordinates pay respects to the Prince and Princess Consort.”
Mo Xiuyao nodded, “Rise.” During the Northern Rong expedition, Mo Xiuyao had truly witnessed the fighting capability of these troops Ye Li had trained, and at the same time became quite curious about such a force.
“Thank you, Prince and Princess Consort.”
Mo Xiuyao smiled and nodded at Ye Li, who stood and went forward, saying, “Thank you all for your hard work this time. Lin Han, Qin Feng, report on the mission execution status of each group.”
Lin Han stepped forward, “Reporting to Princess Consort, of the eight who went to Northern Rong, one died in battle, one was severely injured, and the remaining six all passed.”
Qin Feng likewise stepped forward, “Reporting to Princess Consort, of fifty-five people divided into eleven groups, one group failed with seven dead in battle and three injured.”
Ye Li nodded slightly, “The affairs of the fallen soldiers and arrangements for the wounded will be handled by Zhuo Jing later. Those present here now are the final qualified candidates for this special training. Thank you all for your hard work these past few days. I have already discussed this with the Prince, and from today forward you will be officially incorporated into the Mo family army, under the direct command of the Prince and myself. Your codename will be ‘Qilin’!” Ye Li displayed a jade pendant in her hand, very similar to the Yazie jade pendant that could command the entire Mo family army, but the carving on it was of a vivid qilin. From today forward, this would also become their name. From today forward, they will be the Qilin!
Ye Li smiled as she looked at the soldiers before her who, though trying their best to appear composed, still revealed excitement in their eyes, and asked solemnly, “Do you all know what it means to be Qilin?”
The crowd hesitated for a moment before someone answered, “Reporting to Princess Consort, the qilin is an auspicious beast.”
Ye Li nodded, “Correct, the qilin is an auspicious beast. The qilin is not only auspicious but also benevolent. The qilin has a horn on its head with flesh on the horn – it possesses martial power but does not harm, and this is why it represents benevolence. I similarly hope you will become benevolent beasts who protect the common people, and when necessary, also be sharp swords striking at our enemies.”
Everyone responded in unison, “We respectfully follow the Princess Consort’s teachings!”