In just a few days, the supposed treasure map of the founding emperor from the previous dynasty had spread throughout the entire Northwest. Nearly everyone with any capability or influence had a copy in their possession. Naturally, such a map also found its way into Prince Ding’s study.
Mo Xiuyao merely glanced at the treasure map before tossing it to Feng Zhiyao beside him. From Mo Xiuyao’s attitude alone, Feng Zhiyao could tell this so-called treasure map likely had no substance to it. However, Han Mingxi showed great interest in it. He snatched it from Feng Zhiyao’s hands to study it carefully. Having just been swindled out of several hundred thousand taels of silver by Mo Xiuyao, his heart was still hurting and in need of substantial income to make up for the loss. After pondering with furrowed brows for a moment, Han Mingxi frowned and said, “Isn’t this the place where the Princess Consort fell off the cliff?” Though the map was somewhat abstract, Han Mingxi, who often traveled for business, recognized the marked location after careful examination.
Neither Ye Li nor Mo Xiuyao had expected Tan Jizhi would hand over a genuine treasure map, with the location being exactly the imperial tomb where Doctor Lin had taken Ye Li. Although it didn’t contain the Imperial Seal or the Founding Emperor’s treasure, it was without doubt genuinely an imperial tomb of the Founding Emperor. If this was merely to deceive those who were watching him, the price seemed far too high.
Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly and said, “Why bother about what he wants to do? Could he possibly turn the Northwest upside down? Han Mingxi, if you’re interested, you might as well join in the excitement.” Hearing this, Han Mingxi’s eyes immediately lit up. He knew Ye Li had been inside that imperial tomb before, and quickly turned to her. Ye Li smiled and said, “There are indeed quite a few valuable items inside. It’s certainly a respectable imperial tomb, but as for treasure… it falls somewhat short.” Han Mingxi understood – this was just an emperor’s tomb, not the legendary treasure trove. But that didn’t matter; imperial tombs contained plenty of valuable items too.
While Han Mingxi was busy scheming with various factions over the tomb’s treasures, Tan Jizhi, who had been pursued openly and secretly everywhere for the past few days, arrived at their doorstep of his own accord.
Meeting Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao again, the arrogance on Tan Jizhi’s face had diminished considerably. He respectfully greeted them both, and Ye Li asked with a smile, “It’s been a while, Young Master Tan. Have you been well?” Tan Jizhi gave a bitter smile and looked at Ye Li, saying, “Why does the Princess Consort ask what she already knows?” Ye Li felt no sympathy for Tan Jizhi’s gaunt and exhausted appearance, maintaining her smile, “This Princess has heard about everything that’s happened lately. You must have had quite a difficult time, Young Master Tan.” Tan Jizhi felt a surge of anger stuck in his chest, unable to swallow or spit it out, his face alternating between pale and flushed. After a while, he finally recovered and bowed to them both, saying, “I’ve come today as agreed to take Ling’er away from the Northwest. When do the Prince and Princess Consort plan to release her?”
Ye Li smiled and said, “Any time. Young Master Tan looks as though we’ve gone back on our word. This Princess has already said that Princess An Xi is still in the Northwest, and it wouldn’t be safe for the Sacred Maiden of the Southern Border to leave the prince’s mansion rashly. Since Young Master Tan insists, this Princess won’t try to persuade you further. However, after the Sacred Maiden leaves the prince’s mansion, her safety and anything that happens will have nothing to do with Prince Ding’s household.” Tan Jizhi said solemnly, “That’s understood, naturally.”
Hearing him say this, Ye Li was straightforward, waving her hand for Qin Feng to bring Shu Manlin over. Shortly after, Shu Manlin was brought into the study. Upon seeing Tan Jizhi, she immediately threw herself into his arms, sobbing. Tan Jizhi looked her over and could see that although she had lost some weight, she hadn’t suffered much hardship. Seeing that Prince Ding’s household hadn’t mistreated Shu Manlin, he finally relaxed. Taking Shu Manlin’s hand, he prepared to bid farewell, “Thank you, Prince and Princess Consort. We’ll take our leave now.” Ye Li smiled faintly, merely saying they needn’t see them out, and had someone escort the pair away.
Because many people had rushed to the vicinity of the imperial tomb, Li City had become unusually quiet. Ye Li finally found time to inspect the Qilin’s station outside the city, her first time leaving the city since returning to Li City. The Qilin’s station was in a hidden valley thirty li outside Li City, built similarly to the one she had previously constructed near the capital, though it was considerably larger with many more training facilities. These were all developed by Qin Feng along with Zhuo Jing, Lin Han, and others. As Qin Feng, Zhuo Jing, and the others accompanied Ye Li into the valley, they saw hundreds of spirited young men arranged in neat formations on a wide open ground, raising their right hands to their chests in salute, “Greetings, Princess Consort!”
Ye Li looked out across them, immediately noticing Xu Qingfeng standing in the front row. Wearing the same gray clothing as the other Qilin members, his expression was solemn, and she couldn’t help but smile slightly.
“At ease.” Ye Li walked to the center of the field and stood firmly, looking at the hundreds of vigorous Qilin team members before her with satisfaction in her eyes. “Today, your training over these past few months will come to an end. Similarly, the final round of assessment will begin now. Are you confident?”
“Yes!” everyone shouted in unison. Ye Li nodded with satisfaction and said, “Very good. Now I command, the contents of this assessment are… First, march west for one hundred and twenty li. You must all arrive at the designated location before the fifth watch tomorrow morning. Second, within a ten-li radius of the destination, capture all armed individuals who are not civilians of the Northwest. If you encounter resistance, you may kill on the spot. Third, the following individuals must be captured alive without any harm – the list will be distributed to you shortly. Everyone will operate in groups, and if one person in the group fails, the entire group is eliminated. Understood?”
“We obey!” the Qilin team members responded in unison, their eyes gleaming with excitement and enthusiasm. After undergoing various types of training they had never even heard of before in this valley for more than half a year, they were now even more eager to go out and see what they could do, to know just how strong they had become. Ye Li nodded with satisfaction and smiled, “I wish you all success.” Qingfeng stepped forward and had people deliver the equipment and weapons needed by the Qilin team members. Looking at his subordinates with a stern expression, he said, “You have all heard the Princess Consort’s orders. Additionally, this Commander will add some rules. Wrongful arrest or injury of civilians – elimination! Harming mission targets – elimination! Letting mission targets escape – elimination! Dismissed!”
“Understood!” the Qilin members responded loudly, then quickly divided into more than ten small teams and headed toward their respective destinations.
Ye Li and the others stood in place watching their figures disappear into the valley. Zhuo Jing frowned and said, “Princess Consort, according to the secret guards’ reports, there are at least a thousand people from various factions gathered near the imperial tomb now. Is it alright to only send these people?” Ye Li turned back, smiling as she looked at Zhuo Jing and said, “Although they haven’t finished their training, compared to your training back then, they’ve had more, not less. Zhuo Jing, don’t you trust them? Qin Feng, what do you think?” Qin Feng said seriously, “If they can’t even handle this much, then I would rather send them all back and select new people to train from scratch. Princess Consort, please rest assured, I guarantee these youngsters won’t disappoint you.”
Ye Li nodded and said, “Very good, then let’s go over there too. Let’s see how their training results are.”
In the mountains near Hong Prefecture, these past few days had been much more lively than in Li City. Although so many forces had suddenly gathered here, many people knew something was wrong and that they had probably been played by Tan Jizhi. However, the allure of the Imperial Seal was something most people couldn’t resist. Originally, everyone was just searching secretly on their own, not interfering with each other. But when one group finally found the entrance to the imperial tomb one afternoon, things became lively. Perhaps because they had known about the imperial tomb beforehand, all the various forces had brought many tomb-raiding experts with them this time. So it wasn’t surprising that the entrance near Hong Prefecture could be found. However, the entrance near Hong Prefecture was originally designed for exit only, not entry. Trying to force their way in would not only require considerable manpower, but one wrong move could collapse the entire tomb passage or even the underground palace, which would be a worse loss. So none of the forces were in a hurry, and eventually, there seemed to be an implicit agreement to work together to solve the entrance problem.
Han Mingxi didn’t go forward to join the crowd. Everyone knew he was from Prince Ding’s household, and even if he wanted to join in, they probably wouldn’t welcome him. So he just followed from a distance with a few of his capable subordinates, waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. After all, such a large imperial tomb – these people couldn’t possibly take everything. However, there was one thing Han Mingxi secretly wondered about. Even though this place was some distance from Li City, the Prince and Princess Consort couldn’t possibly be completely unaware of the situation here, yet they completely ignored both this mountain of gold and these people. It didn’t seem at all like the Prince’s style and temperament.
“Brother, what do you think about this?” Coming back to his senses, Han Mingxi asked Han Mingyue sitting beside him.
Since Su Zuidie’s death, Han Mingyue had been in low spirits. Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li, considering Han Mingxi’s relationship with him, naturally couldn’t be bothered to deal with him and just left him in Han Mingxi’s care. Whether it was Han Mingxi’s concern for brotherly affection and Han Mingyue’s life, or for the safety of the Han clan, he would take good care of Han Mingyue and not let him cause trouble. These days, Han Mingyue had been staying in Han Mingxi’s mansion, not going out at all. Now looking at him, the whole person was pale and lifeless, like an animated corpse, where was the grace and charm of the former Young Master Mingyue? Han Mingxi couldn’t stand it anymore, and since this imperial tomb matter was his private business anyway, he dragged Han Mingyue out with him.
Whether he hadn’t heard Han Mingxi’s question or not, Han Mingyue’s eyes moved slightly but he didn’t answer. Han Mingxi wasn’t expecting this brother to give him any pointers or reminders now. He just hoped he would stay out of trouble and live well – that would be enough to fulfill his debt of gratitude for his brother’s upbringing and the Han family’s ancestors. So Han Mingyue’s silence didn’t make Han Mingxi angry. He just leaned casually against the tree, pensively saying, “I just feel that Prince Ding won’t let me earn private money so easily.”
Han Mingyue lowered his head in silence. Han Mingxi waved his hand and sighed, “Forget it, we’ll know what’s going on when the time comes.” He just didn’t believe Prince Ding would let so many people run wild in the Northwest.