In the early morning, Ye Li opened her eyes at the sound of light footsteps outside. Turning her head to look at the space beside her, she noted that Mo Xiuyao hadn’t returned last night.
Qing Shuang entered carrying water, and seeing Ye Li awake, quickly set down the water basin and carefully helped Ye Li sit up, saying with a soft smile, “Has the Princess awakened?” Ye Li nodded and asked, “Did His Highness not return last night?” Qing Shuang nodded and replied, “According to Sisters Qing Yu and Qing Luan, His Highness spent the night in the study. Would you like this servant to invite His Highness over? The matron instructed that the Princess must remain in bed for the month of confinement.” Ye Li shook her head, looking at herself somewhat helplessly – the postpartum confinement customs of this era were truly hard to bear, but she had no intention of going against what her body needed. Turning to look at the still deeply sleeping little bundle in the cradle, she couldn’t help but smile, “Why is the baby still sleeping?” Matron Wei entered carrying a bowl of porridge, and hearing this, smiled and said, “The Princess is young and hasn’t raised children before, so naturally wouldn’t know. Newborns only eat and sleep. The young master will grow faster the more he sleeps.”
Ye Li smiled as she accepted the hot towel from Qing Shuang to wipe her face and hands, then rinsed her mouth with warm water before taking the porridge from Wei Wei and tasting it. The light, pleasant flavor made Ye Li sigh slightly in relief. “Have the wet nurses been arranged for the young master?”
Matron Wei smiled and said, “We’ve already prepared four wet nurses, all from known backgrounds. The Princess can rest assured.” Hearing this, Ye Li frowned slightly and said, “Four is too many. Keep just one or two for now. Except for feeding times, bring the young master to me.” Matron Wei looked at Ye Li with some difficulty – although she was also the Princess’s wet nurse, she agreed with not letting wet nurses get too close to the young master, lest he grow up closer to them than to the Princess. But having the Princess care for him personally might displease His Highness.
Ye Li smiled gently and said, “Let’s do it this way. When the child is about a year old, he should be weaned. Then we can reassign the wet nurses elsewhere.” She had no intention of letting wet nurses raise the child, nor of having a group of nurses and maids surrounding him. She didn’t want to end up raising a pampered noble like Jia Baoyu. Matron Wei quietly reminded her, “His Highness might be displeased if the Princess personally cared for the young master.” Ye Li smiled and said, “It’s fine. The wet nurse and Matron Lin can help me. When he’s older, he won’t need looking after.” Only then did Matron Wei agree, bending down to pick up the almost-awake baby to take him to the wet nurse for feeding.
After finishing her bowl of porridge, Ye Li handed the bowl to Qing Xia who was attending her, and asked, “Did anything happen last night?”
Qing Shuang replied, “Elder Su staying in the South Court seemed to fall ill last night. His Highness invited Physician Shen and Doctor Lin to examine him. They say his condition is very serious.” Qing Xia also nodded and said, “After His Highness returned to his study last night, he didn’t come out at all. I heard even the morning meal was turned away at the door.” Ye Li frowned, thinking for a moment before saying, “Qing Shuang, go to the kitchen again and take His Highness some breakfast, say it’s by my order. Also, please invite Commander Qin over – tell him I have something to ask.”
“Commander Qin Feng requests an audience with the Princess,” came the voice shortly after. Ye Li said softly, “Come in.” Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao had never been ones for empty formalities. Since Ye Li couldn’t leave her room, Qin Feng stood by the “Mountains and Rivers in Mist” screen in the room to report. Qin Feng understood what Ye Li wanted to know, and without waiting for her detailed questions, carefully related everything that had happened the night before. This naturally included how Su Zuidie had been dealt with – after holding out for half a year, she had finally reached her end. Before dying, she had revealed the whereabouts of the Founding Emperor’s decree. If Mo Xiuyao didn’t want that item, then to Su Zuidie it wasn’t a lifeline but merely a worthless piece of paper. The item was still in the capital of Chu. When Su Zuidie had hurriedly left the capital with Han Mingyue’s help back then, she hadn’t had time to retrieve what she had hidden. Moreover, carrying such an item might have hastened her death.
Hearing Qin Feng’s words, Ye Li was stunned. Although after Tan Jizhi’s matter, she had had some guesses about these things, the reality was far more shocking than her imagination. Moreover, it involved the life and death of the Late Emperor and Regent Prince Mo Liufang – it seemed the imperial family’s desire to dispose of Prince Ding’s mansion had existed for quite some time.
“Does His Highness have any plans for handling this matter?” Ye Li asked.
Qin Feng shook his head and said, “His Highness has been confined in his study since last night and hasn’t issued any orders.” Ye Li nodded – this undoubtedly had the greatest impact on Mo Xiuyao, and he indeed needed time to think.
It wasn’t until noon that Mo Xiuyao returned, bearing visible exhaustion. Seeing his bloodshot eyes, Ye Li knew he must not have slept all night. Sighing softly and not letting him say anything, she said quietly, “Sleep for a while first, we can talk about everything after you wake up.” Mo Xiuyao was indeed extremely tired – earlier he had been angered by Xue Chengliang’s confession, then his nerves had been taut during Ye Li’s delivery, and last night he had been shocked by Su Zuidie’s revelations. If Mo Xiuyao hadn’t truly improved his temperament significantly over these years, he might not have waited for Su Zuidie to finish speaking before cutting her down with his sword and leading troops straight to the capital. From yesterday morning until now, Mo Xiuyao hadn’t closed his eyes once, and too much had happened in this one day for him not to be exhausted.
Lying on his side in bed, glancing at Ye Li as she tucked the blanket around him, Mo Xiuyao’s eyes opened and closed several times before he finally fell into a deep sleep.
Looking down at the man who remained unsettled even in sleep, Ye Li could only sigh softly, leaning against the headboard and closing her eyes to think about the matters in the Northwest. Now that the truth of those years had come to light, by the time Mo Xiuyao woke up, the situation between the Northwest and Great Chu would likely be entirely different. Yet Ye Li had no intention of stopping Mo Xiuyao from doing anything – like the Mo family army, he had been suppressed for too long, and the actions of the one in the Chu Palace made it impossible to believe he was a good ruler who loved his people like children.
“Brother… Father… Brother! Brother…” Mo Xiuyao muttered in his sleep, seeming caught in some terrible dream. Ye Li recalled what Qin Feng had said about Su Zuidie’s confession, her heart tightening as she gently patted the blanket covering him, whispering, “This isn’t your fault, Xiuyao… don’t be afraid… it’s not your fault…”
“Father… Brother…”
When Mo Xiuyao woke, he heard Ye Li’s soft laughter beside his ear. Opening his eyes, he saw Ye Li sitting beside him, leaning against the bed holding their baby wrapped in new light purple swaddling clothes, playing with him. Her beautiful face wore a gentle, soft smile. Ye Li turned her head to see Mo Xiuyao’s open eyes and couldn’t help but smile, “Ready now? Want to look at the baby?” Mo Xiuyao sat up and looked at the child in the swaddling clothes, who was gazing at them with bright eyes. His little face, red and wrinkled yesterday, looked much better now. Though not yet completely fair and tender, he was vastly different from yesterday’s little red monkey.
Ye Li lovingly held the baby, gently rocking him. This child really could sleep – apart from feeding, this was the first time they’d seen him awake since his birth. “Hehe, the baby can’t see yet, but he’ll get cuter with each passing day.” Mo Xiuyao silently watched Ye Li playing with the child. Although he found the little one particularly irritating, he didn’t say anything, just quietly watching Ye Li, whose charming smile now held additional maternal warmth, his originally cold expression softening involuntarily.
Once the baby fell asleep again, Ye Li called Matron Wei to take him away. Turning back to sit beside Mo Xiuyao, she looked at his still gloomy face and said softly, “None of those things were your fault. Elder Brother wouldn’t blame you.”
Mo Xiuyao started, then realized what Ye Li was talking about. Raising his hand to stroke the hair at the back of her head, he said in a somewhat hoarse voice, “Mother passed away shortly after giving birth to me, and Father was busy with state affairs. It could be said that Brother raised me from childhood. Originally, I thought that when Brother inherited the title, I would wholeheartedly assist him. Prince Ding’s mansion had been a single-line inheritance for several generations; our generation was the first to have both me and Brother. We brothers naturally had to work together, and with my abilities, even if I couldn’t earn any titles, I at least wouldn’t rely on Prince Ding’s mansion to be an idle noble all my life.” Ye Li naturally knew all this – Mo Xiwen and Mo Xiuyao were only seven or eight years apart. She could almost imagine what it was like when seven or eight-year-old Mo Xiwen held his newborn brother, watching over the lonely Prince Ding’s mansion. No wonder the brothers were so close – in Mo Xiuyao’s heart, his elder brother’s position was probably no less important than that of his father, Regent Prince Mo Liufang. It was precisely for this reason that Mo Xiuyao, barely in his teens, had already gone to the battlefield – to show his father and brother that even if he couldn’t inherit the title, he could still achieve his ambitions and live freely.
“I just underestimated that worthless Su Zuidie too much! If it weren’t because of me…” Back then, Su Zuidie had indeed mentioned the matter of Prince Ding’s title to him. At the time, he had severely reprimanded her and ordered her never to mention it again, then put it out of his mind. He had thought that with the relationship between him and his brother, how could a woman drive them apart, and never imagined Su Zuidie would have any schemes. He didn’t expect this would plant the seeds of disaster for Prince Ding’s mansion and his brother, with even himself paying a terrible price.
Ye Li sighed softly, comforting him gently, “Brother wouldn’t blame you, Xiuyao… this isn’t your fault. Since Mo Jingqi already had designs against Prince Ding’s mansion and Brother, even if Su Zuidie hadn’t harbored such thoughts, they might have found other opportunities.” Pulling Ye Li into his embrace, Mo Xiuyao said hatefully, “Mo Jingqi! This prince will make him wish he were dead!” Ye Li smiled, patting his shoulder and saying softly, “Whatever you do, I and all of the Mo family army will support you.”
After resting a while and seeing Mo Xiuyao had calmed considerably, Ye Li asked, “Does Xiuyao have any plans in mind? There are quite a few matters in the Northwest now. The various forces entering the Northwest recently are several times more than usual. I’m afraid they’ve turned the area around Hong Province upside down.” Unfortunately, these people didn’t know that trying to enter the Imperial Ancestral Tomb from the Northwest was futile. Unless they forcibly excavated the tomb, even if Tan Jizhi came, he could only enter through other routes. In the Northwest now, who besides the Mo family army would dare to openly excavate imperial tombs? And the Mo family army certainly wouldn’t excavate the previous dynasty’s Imperial Ancestor’s tomb. Although the previous dynasty had fallen, its Imperial Ancestor was a great hero remembered through the ages. Moreover, grave robbing, no matter whose grave it was, would never have a good reputation. The Imperial Tomb was within the Northwest’s borders, not too far from Ruyang City. Besides Tan Jizhi and Doctor Lin, no one knew better than Ye Li what was inside. Since the items weren’t going anywhere, she naturally wasn’t in a hurry.
Mo Xiuyao gave a cold laugh and said, “Since Mo Jingqi is in such a hurry, this prince naturally should send him a grand gift. And those anxious for the Imperial Jade Seal… they can receive this prince’s grand gift as well.”
Looking at Mo Xiuyao’s cold smile, Ye Li asked curiously, “What grand gift?” Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, “A-Li will know when the time comes. By the way, for that little one’s full-month celebration, should we invite Master Qingyun and Master Hongyu to the Northwest?” Ye Li hesitated and said, “Grandfather and Elder Uncle might find it quite inconvenient.” It would be hard even for the newly born Mo Xiaobao to believe that Mo Jingqi hadn’t sent people to monitor her grandfather and elder uncle. Although they had arranged for people to protect Lishan Academy’s safety, whether leaving openly or secretly, the absence of two such prominent figures from Lishan Academy would attract attention. If possible, Ye Li would certainly prefer to bring her grandfather and elder uncle’s family to the Northwest, but with her grandfather’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t agree. Therefore, rashly inviting them would only draw them into these struggles.
Mo Xiuyao laughed softly and said, “Some days ago, I looked at your previous ideas about governing the Northwest, and education is indeed extremely important. But the Northwest is remote, not unlike Yun Province with its abundance of scholars. Throughout history, it hasn’t produced many famous intellectuals. Even if we want to establish academies in the future, we might not find good teachers, so we need to seek Master Qingyun and Master Hongyu’s help.” Ye Li’s face reddened slightly as she said, “I just wrote down some random thoughts. If there’s anything inappropriate…” Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, “How could it be inappropriate? My A-Li is truly a unique extraordinary woman in this world. Not only can you ride into battle, but you can also govern and pacify the realm. Compared to A-Li, those prime ministers and ministers at court are nothing but rice bags.”
Being praised so unreservedly by Mo Xiuyao made Ye Li increasingly embarrassed. When she wrote those things, she truly hadn’t thought too much about it, only feeling that the Northwest would inevitably be in ruins after the war. Neither she nor Mo Xiuyao had experience in governing territories, and rather than face chaos when the time came, it was better to consider things in advance to avoid being caught unprepared. However, subsequent events were beyond Ye Li’s prediction. Fortunately, the damage to the Northwest wasn’t as severe as imagined, and Mo Xiuyao had seized all areas outside Flying Hong Pass with lightning speed, greatly alleviating the post-war situation across the Northwest.
Holding Ye Li while leaning against the headboard, Mo Xiuyao frowned in thought while saying, “Actually, I still hope Master Qingyun and Master Hongyu can come to the Northwest, along with Minister Xu and Young Master Qingchen. The Northwest’s affairs will increase in the future. While Prince Ding’s household has no shortage of military commanders, when it comes to those who can truly govern with a talent for managing the world, we don’t have even half a person.” Prince Ding’s household had risen through military merit, and although each generation’s Prince Ding was accomplished in both civil and military affairs, their subordinates were still primarily military commanders. After all, Prince Ding’s household wasn’t the imperial court – they didn’t need so many civil officials to govern territories or participate in court politics. Ye Li thought for a moment and said, “Brother is in the Northwest now. If we send someone with a message, he’ll surely come to see the child once he receives it. But Grandfather and Elder Uncle won’t be able to leave Yun Province so easily. What if… I go personally?”
“No!” The grip on her waist tightened as Ye Li was pulled back into his embrace. Mo Xiuyao rested his chin on her shoulder and said in a deep voice, “I will personally write to Master Qingyun about this matter. You’re not allowed to go anywhere!” Ye Li raised an eyebrow – this was rather tyrannical. Before she could speak, Mo Xiuyao nuzzled his chin against her, his voice immediately changing from absolutely domineering to extremely pitiful and careful, “A-Li, don’t go. Don’t leave me…”
Whoosh – a small arrow shot into her heart. Ye Li’s face darkened. When had this person become so shameless?
“A-Li… you’re going to leave me again… how about I go wherever you go? I’m afraid… if anything happens to you, I’ll abandon Mo Xiaobao and let him become an orphan without parents, wandering everywhere with no guaranteed meals…” Ye Li couldn’t help but pinch his waist, “That’s your son, what deep grudge do you have against him?” Mo Xiuyao didn’t care about this at all – even grimacing in pain, he didn’t take back his words until he noticed a dangerous glint in Ye Li’s slightly narrowed eyes. Only then did he reluctantly stop and ask, “So A-Li won’t abandon me?” Ye Li sighed and said, “I won’t. I was just saying it casually. With you and the baby here, where else would I go?”
Only then was Mo Xiuyao satisfied, holding Ye Li contentedly. If Master Qingyun wouldn’t come, in a couple of years he’d secretly send Mo Xiaobao to him. A-Li was his alone.
Looking at Mo Xiuyao lazily holding her, Ye Li helplessly sighed in her heart, then picked up their previous topic, “You mentioned earlier that you want to hold a grand celebration for the baby’s full month?”
Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, “Of course, this prince’s heir’s birth should be grandly celebrated. Aren’t those people trying every way to come explore the Northwest? Rather than letting them sneak around in secret, we might as well openly invite them. This prince wants to see what kind of Imperial Jade Seal they can find.” Even if there was an Imperial Jade Seal, without his permission, he’d like to see who could take anything out of the Northwest.
Ye Li’s mind stirred, and she said, “You mean…”
Mo Xiuyao smiled sinisterly, “Isn’t it said that whoever obtains the Imperial Jade Seal gains the world? Let’s see who can seize the seal, and who can seize the world.” Ye Li lowered her eyes and thought for a moment before saying, “It wouldn’t be good if the seal leaked out from Prince Ding’s household. I have an idea…” Remembering the imperial yellow silk she had brought out from the Imperial Tomb, Ye Li suddenly smiled brightly. Looking at Mo Xiuyao, she said, “I almost forgot I brought out a treasure map from the Imperial Tomb.”