Looking at the two guards approaching him, then at the people standing beside Ye Li, Han Mingyue sighed lightly and surrendered without resistance. When matters didn’t involve Su Zuidie, Han Mingyue was always a sensible person. He knew perfectly well that resistance in the current situation would be futile. Looking apologetically at Su Zuidie, Han Mingyue said softly, “Zuidie, it seems we’ll have to stay in the Governor’s mansion a while longer.”

Su Zuidie gritted her teeth, glaring hatefully at the leisurely seated Ye Li, then shot Han Mingyue a fierce look, “You’ve never succeeded at anything! No wonder the Prince said you’re better at ruining things than accomplishing them!”

Han Mingyue lowered his head bitterly. Ye Li watched the pair before her and sighed, “Is it worth it?”

“Once the choice is made, there’s no question of worth,” Han Mingyue said calmly, cupping his hands toward Ye Li before turning to let the guards take him away.

Ye Li calmly observed the stunning beauty before her. After the initial amazement and witnessing Su Zuidie’s various behaviors these past days, that extraordinarily beautiful face gradually induced a sense of indifference. Ye Li looked at her with a slight curl of her lips – the Great Chu’s number one beauty… was merely this. Though indeed blessed with exceptional looks, she seemed to lack something that would make people linger and yearn. Perhaps what’s desired is always the best – people remembered the beauty that had once captivated the capital, and Su Zuidie’s premature “death” had added a mysterious veil to this beauty. But when such a beauty appeared before one’s eyes, it somehow left a slight disappointment. The world’s number one beauty… was nothing more than this.

Su Zuidie noticed Ye Li’s appraising gaze. If she had felt some secret pride at first, gradually, when she sensed the dismissiveness in Ye Li’s examination, it made her inwardly furious. After enduring for a long while, she finally burst out angrily, “What are you looking at?!”

Ye Li casually withdrew her gaze, saying indifferently, “Does Noble Consort Bai have anything else? If not, please return to rest. This Princess will take her leave.”

Su Zuidie snorted lightly and turned back to her room.

Ye Li smiled faintly and rose to leave. Qin Feng and the others followed behind her. As she walked, Ye Li asked, “How are things outside?”

Wei Lin replied, “Princess need not worry. All of Tianyi Pavilion’s forces in the Northwest region have been caught in one sweep.”

Ye Li nodded satisfactorily, smiling, “Although the Prince had previously managed to remove many of Tianyi Pavilion’s hidden forces, there were still quite a few that slipped through. Originally it didn’t matter much, but now with the two countries at war, having such a force in the Northwest is quite troublesome. This time, we owe much to Wei Lin.”

Wei Lin lowered his head with a faint smile, “This was merely my duty.”

Zhuo Jing patted Wei Lin’s shoulder, laughing, “Little Four, no need to be modest. The Princess is right – if it weren’t for you, catching Han Mingyue would have taken considerable effort. Most importantly, you’re finally back, and we brothers can be together again. If only Big Brother were here too, it would be even better.”

Wei Lin raised his head to glance at Ye Li, who smiled and said, “Speak freely.”

Wei Lin said, “This subordinate met Big Brother once two months ago.”

Ye Li raised her eyebrows slightly, gesturing for him to continue. Wei Lin said, “This subordinate had originally planned to use Tianyi Pavilion’s forces to investigate the King of Hell’s Pavilion and the Sick Scholar. Later, after receiving some scattered information, I made an excuse to visit the border and happened to meet Big Brother. However, following the Princess’s orders, this subordinate neither revealed my identity nor spoke much with him.”

Ye Li nodded, “It seems Dark One is doing well?”

Wei Lin smiled faintly, “From what this subordinate saw, he was doing quite well. Thanks to the Princess’s guidance, this subordinate saw that Big Brother had already become a Captain.”

Zhuo Jing clicked his tongue, saying, “Though the rank of Captain isn’t high, for Big Brother to reach this position in just a few months is impressive. Maybe in another two years, Big Brother could become a General.”

Qin Feng, who came from the Black Cloud Cavalry, sneered, “Stop dreaming. While it might not be difficult to rise from a common soldier to Captain, the gap between Captain and General isn’t just one or two steps – don’t even think about it without ten or eight years. The Third Young Master Feng has been following the Prince through life and death since his teens, and he’s still only a Vice General.”

Zhuo Jing was completely unconcerned, “A Vice General is still a General. Could you rise to Captain in two or three months?”

Qin Feng fell silent – indeed, he couldn’t.

Ye Li smiled as she stopped the verbal sparring among her subordinates, saying, “Let’s not worry about Dark One for now. Are the guards for Han Mingyue arranged properly?”

Qin Feng respectfully replied, “In response to the Princess, everything has been arranged. However… this subordinate doesn’t understand why Han Mingyue and Su Zuidie aren’t being held together. Separating them wastes manpower, and we don’t have abundant forces guarding the Governor’s mansion right now.”

Ye Li’s clear eyes curved in a smile as she said, “What if they were together and someone took them both at once? Don’t worry – if I were the Garrison South Prince, I wouldn’t send anyone to rescue Su Zuidie. So… we can move some of Su Zuidie’s guards to set up secret posts around Han Mingyue.”

Seeing her subordinates’ confusion, Ye Li smiled, “If the Garrison South Prince truly cared about Noble Consort Bai, why would he let her come to Xinyang alone? Noble Consort Bai has been our prisoner for so long – have you seen any movement from the Garrison South Prince?”

Everyone suddenly understood, “Then regarding Han Mingyue…”

Ye Li’s smile grew more delighted, “Without rescuing Su Zuidie, even if this Princess released Han Mingyue now, he wouldn’t leave.”

Qin Feng finally understood, “The Princess plans to use Su Zuidie to control Han Mingyue.”

Ye Li sighed somewhat helplessly, “You could say that. Watch Su Zuidie carefully – she can’t die yet.”

“Reporting to Your Highness… we’ve lost contact with Young Master Han.” In the main tent of the Xiling camp, a subordinate respectfully reported.

The Garrison South Prince’s wolf-hair brush paused slightly, “What of Tianyi Pavilion?”

The subordinate hesitated before saying, “Tianyi Pavilion also completely lost contact last night. From what this subordinate has observed… the situation looks grim.”

The Garrison South Prince closed his eyes, seemingly suppressing his anger. His calm tone still contained threads of killing intent, “Convey this prince’s orders: except for the troops besieging Xinyang, all other forces are to attack every city in the Northwest with full force. This prince wants Xinyang to become an isolated city!”

“This subordinate obeys.” Watching the subordinate withdraw, the Garrison South Prince’s calm expression finally darkened as he gritted his teeth, “Han Mingyue, you fool!”

Compared to the furious Garrison South Prince, Han Mingyue appeared quite calm and leisurely. When Mo Xiuyao stepped into the courtyard, he saw Han Mingyue sitting relaxed by the window, entertaining himself with a board of incomplete chess. Hearing footsteps, without looking up, he smiled, “Ah Yao, come play a game?”

Mo Xiuyao walked over and sat down, picking up a black piece and placing it casually on the board. Han Mingyue raised his eyebrows with interest, playing a white piece. Mo Xiuyao’s expression remained calm as he placed another black piece, and the two began to play back and forth. In less than half an incense stick’s time, the originally deadlocked game had become completely one-sided, with white pieces suffering heavy losses across the board.

Han Mingyue sighed, “Ah Yao’s chess has killing intent.”

“You’ve only grown worse,” Mo Xiuyao said coldly.

Faced with such criticism from his old friend, Han Mingyue remained unperturbed. He smiled faintly, “I’m different from you – I wasn’t born to be someone who could cut off emotions and love.”

Cut off emotions and love? Mo Xiuyao laughed coldly, scorning his words. He never claimed to be a romantic, but neither was he truly someone without feelings or emotion, cold-blooded and heartless. It was just that the person who could make him care tenderly had appeared too late, and more importantly, he understood what it meant to know what to do and what not to do – he better understood what kind of person was worth cherishing and what kind must be abandoned. The Mo family never gave their feelings without principle, so Mo Xiuyao felt no touch of emotion at Han Mingyue’s dedication to love, only disdain.

“This prince assumes you didn’t seek me out for reminiscence?” Mo Xiuyao said flatly.

Han Mingyue nodded, “You’ve discovered the Garrison South Prince’s layout?”

Mo Xiuyao didn’t answer, only looking at him calmly. Han Mingyue smiled, “Now that I’m in your hands, you don’t need to be so guarded against me. Currently, all of Xinyang is in the Princess Consort’s hands, so naturally, you as the Prince must attend to more important matters. Thinking it over, only this matter could be more important than the current siege of Xinyang. However… I’m somewhat curious – since you already know, why are you still holding your forces back?”

Looking at the silent Mo Xiuyao playing chess, Han Mingyue pondered for a moment before suddenly understanding, “Is it because of Mo Jingqi? I originally thought the Garrison South Prince had only contacted Mo Jingli and Nanzhao – I didn’t expect Mo Jingqi would also be involved. Indeed, you should be careful in this case. Perhaps even the Northern Rong will join in the excitement. Xiuyao, I’m starting to wonder how you’ll break the Garrison South Prince’s killing move.”

Mo Xiuyao laughed coldly, saying, “Since you know so much, you should know I didn’t come to find you for chess.”

Han Mingyue smiled lazily, “Isn’t it enough that I didn’t tell the Garrison South Prince what you already know?”

Mo Xiuyao looked at him calmly. Han Mingyue shrugged helplessly, saying, “Tianyi Pavilion’s forces in Great Chu have been scattered by you – I was just planning to reorganize them. It would be useless to you now.”

Mo Xiuyao smiled coldly, “This prince doesn’t need Tianyi Pavilion.”

Han Mingyue froze, looking at Mo Xiuyao with some confusion. Mo Xiuyao said indifferently, “Things taken from the hands of a traitor – this prince dares not use them.”

Han Mingyue smiled bitterly, “Indeed, those not of the same family don’t speak the same language. Your words match the Princess Consort’s exactly. Then what do you want?”

Mo Xiuyao said, “This prince wants Tianyi Pavilion to no longer exist in this world!”

Han Mingyue shuddered, his chess piece falling with a thud onto the board, disrupting the original game. Raising his head to look at Mo Xiuyao’s cold and calm handsome features, Han Mingyue shook his head with a bitter smile, “Xiuyao, when you don’t act it’s one thing, but when you do, it shakes heaven and earth. Do you know how many complications will arise once Tianyi Pavilion disappears?”

Tianyi Pavilion wasn’t some unknown small gang or merchant association, but an intelligence organization claimed to be the world’s finest. Even though its forces in Great Chu had been severely damaged by Mo Xiuyao’s full-force attacks, it still wasn’t something ordinary organizations could compare to. Once Tianyi Pavilion was gone, it meant the underground forces of the world would need to be reshuffled.