Mo Xiuyao ultimately convinced Xu Qingchen to stay in Nanzhao to handle the aftermath, and contentedly took Ye Li away from Nanzhao to begin their unrestrained journey.
Unlike Ye Li, Mo Xiuyao felt not the slightest guilt or concern about leaving Xu Qingchen in Nanzhao. Mo Xiuyao consistently believed that Young Master Qingchen was too modest and retiring – in other words, not working to his full potential.
Young Master Qingchen had become famous in his youth, once considered a promising talent for governance by many great scholars. Unfortunately, since he resigned from his official position to travel the realm, the name of Young Master Qingchen appeared more often in countryside tales and jianghu rumors. In the eyes of the world, Young Master Qingchen’s ethereal bearing probably overshadowed his strategic abilities. But Mo Xiuyao knew that Xu Qingchen’s capabilities far exceeded this. Princess Anxi’s current achievements could be attributed at least half to Xu Qingchen. In recent years, though Da Chu’s southwest region was caught between Xiling and Nanzhao, facing enemies on both sides, its current favorable situation couldn’t have been achieved without Xu Qingchen’s mediation.
Perhaps learning from the lessons of their predecessors who had been too prominent, the Xu family’s recent generations preferred to keep a low profile. Though the Xu family members deserved primary credit for the Northwest’s development in recent years, when people spoke of it, they would only praise King Ding and his Princess Consort’s wisdom, rarely mentioning the Xu family’s contributions – showing how successful the family had been in maintaining their low profile. This left Mo Xiuyao quite helpless; keeping a low profile necessarily meant limiting the expression of one’s abilities. If these people would just work at their full capacity, how much more time would he have to spend with A’Li?
In the guest house, Xu Qingchen sat alone behind his desk, resting with his eyes closed. Mo Xiuyao’s parting words still echoed in his ears: “Brother Qingchen, this king cannot guarantee the Xu family eternal wealth and prosperity, but as long as this king and Mo Yuzhen live, we will ensure the Xu family’s peace.”
Mo Xiuyao rarely called Mo Xiaobao by his formal name, usually just calling him Mo Xiaobao or Little Bao. This led some uninformed people to think the young heir of King Ding’s mansion was named Mo Xiaobao. Thus, one could see the sincerity and determination in Mo Xiuyao’s words. The Xu family’s distrust wasn’t of Mo Xiuyao, but of royal power itself. The Xu family had paid too great a price for this. Though they hadn’t faced complete execution or bloodshed, generations of the Xu family had been suppressed, with many family members dying in frustration without achieving their ambitions. Even when his grandfather was a world-renowned scholar of the age, had he ever truly had a day of freedom? Such a dull knife sometimes cuts deeper than a sharp one.
“Young Master Qingchen,” Qin Feng said solemnly from outside the door.
“What is it?” Xu Qingchen opened his eyes, his gaze calm and without any trace of sleepiness. Qin Feng said, “Da Chu’s Prime Minister Liu and Noble Consort Liu request an audience.”
Xu Qingchen pondered for a moment before saying calmly, “Show them in.”
Soon after, Prime Minister Liu led the white-clad Noble Consort Liu inside. Seeing the white-robed man sitting behind the desk without any intention of moving, Prime Minister Liu’s clouded old eyes flashed with jealousy and anger. He couldn’t help but envy Xu Qingchen, who had become famous in his youth and wielded significant power before thirty. Though Young Master Qingchen held no specific official position in the Northwest, those who paid attention knew that Young Master Qingchen’s status among civil officials in the Northwest was second only to his father, Xu Hongyu. Thinking of his struggles in court at that age, using all sorts of dark methods to climb up, how could Prime Minister Liu not be jealous and resentful of this elegantly refined man before him?
Like her father, Noble Consort Liu also disliked Xu Qingchen. Not just because he was Ye Li’s cousin, but because this man always made her feel inadequate. It wasn’t that Xu Qingchen was more attractive – no matter how handsome and dashing he was, as a man he could never be more exquisitely beautiful than Noble Consort Liu, known as the great beauty of the Chu capital. Rather, it was Xu Qingchen’s natural bearing that made one feel as though all inner darkness and filth were exposed before him.
“What brings Prime Minister Liu here?” Xu Qingchen frowned at the two people staring at him silently and asked.
Prime Minister Liu finally came to his senses and said, “I heard King Ding and his Princess Consort left Nanzhao’s royal city this morning?” Xu Qingchen nodded without speaking. Prime Minister Liu’s graying eyebrows furrowed into several creases, “Then what are their views on Princess Anxi’s succession?”
News had spread from the palace this morning that the Nanzhao King had been found, but he had been injured by the chaos and was too shocked to handle state affairs. Soon, Princess Anxi would ascend to the throne as Crown Princess, becoming the new Queen of Nanzhao. Such news wasn’t good for Da Chu – Princess Anxi had always been close friends with Xu Qingchen and had good relations with King Ding’s Princess Consort. If she ascended the throne, it would only disadvantage Da Chu.
Xu Qingchen smiled faintly and said, “His Lordship has entrusted me with full authority in this matter.”
Prime Minister Liu’s expression changed slightly, “Does Young Master Qingchen’s word represent King Ding?” Hearing this, Prime Minister Liu secretly despaired. When the Emperor had acted against the Xu family, he had thoroughly offended them. Now that King Ding had given this matter to Xu Qingchen to handle, even if Xu Qingchen weren’t Princess Anxi’s friend, he wouldn’t possibly side with them. Xu Qingchen smiled faintly and said, “Since the Nanzhao King can no longer govern, it’s natural and proper for Princess Anxi, as Crown Princess, to ascend the throne. Even if His Lordship were here, what objection could he have? Prime Minister Liu, we need only wait for Princess Anxi to ascend the throne on an auspicious day.” Prime Minister Liu’s face alternated between green and white – he simply didn’t want Princess Anxi to ascend the throne! Xu Qingchen ignored Prime Minister Liu’s expression, lowering his eyes to sip his clear tea, concealing the flash of disdain in his eyes. For a mere Prime Minister to think he could influence Nanzhao’s royal succession, he thought too highly of himself. “I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t keep Prime Minister Liu any longer.” This was a polite dismissal. Prime Minister Liu’s expression changed several times before he finally snorted and stormed out.
Just after seeing off Prime Minister Liu, someone outside announced that the Crown Prince of Pacifying the South sought an audience. Xu Qingchen frowned and said, “Close the doors and decline visitors. I’m not receiving any guests today.”
As the guard withdrew to deliver the message, Qin Feng, sitting to the side, asked curiously, “Young Master, is it alright to refuse visitors?”
Xu Qingchen smiled and said, “What’s the problem? They’ll only talk about the same things anyway. Once Princess Anxi ascends the throne, they’ll naturally have nothing to say.” Even if various factions were unwilling to see Princess Anxi, who had good relations with the Northwest, ascend the throne, these envoys had brought at most a hundred men each. How could they possibly forcefully prevent it? Picking up his brush to write a few lines, Xu Qingchen calmly folded the note and placed it in an envelope, handing it to Qin Feng, saying, “Please have someone deliver this to Princess Anxi.” Qin Feng didn’t ask any questions, taking the letter and immediately leaving.
Half an hour later, Xu Qingchen’s note lay open on Princess Anxi’s table. The elegant, refined characters carried hidden sharp edges and killing intent: “Hesitation in decisive moments leads to chaos. The way of rulership: those who submit will prosper, those who resist will perish!”
After staring at the note for a long while, Princess Anxi finally asked, “Where is Shu Manlin?” A guard beside her responded, “Your Highness, she’s in the dungeon.”
Princess Anxi was silent for a moment before saying, “Send her on her way, along with those tribal chiefs who helped her – send them all on their way.”
“Yes, Princess.”
While bloody struggles and hidden battles continued in Nanzhao’s royal city, Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao were experiencing a rare moment of freedom and ease in these years. They brought no guards, leaving Qin Feng, Zhuo Jingfeng, and others in Nanzhao to assist Xu Qingchen. They rode only a wild horse that Mo Xiuyao had just tamed, carrying some luggage as they left Nanzhao’s royal city heading northwest. To avoid disturbance along the way, Mo Xiuyao had specially dyed his characteristic white hair black, and wearing ordinary jianghu clothing, the two truly looked like a pair of immortal lovers walking the martial world.
While everyone assumed King Ding and his Princess Consort had hurried back to the Northwest, Mo Xiuyao was leisurely leading Ye Li through Nanzhao’s northwestern border into Xiling territory.
Originally, several hundred years ago, Xiling and Da Chu had been one entity, so even after centuries, the language, customs, and folk traditions of the two countries hadn’t changed much. Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li needed only slight disguises to blend into Xiling’s border region, arousing no suspicion along the way.
Both were important figures whose actions typically affected the entire Northwest and normally wherever they went, they were surrounded by escorts, never having a moment’s peace. This time, they brought not a single guard, traveling light and enjoying the scenery. Even without deliberately seeking out famous mountains and rivers or sacred places, they felt incomparably relaxed and joyful. Seeing Ye Li’s relaxed brow and light but easy smile each day, Mo Xiuyao felt even more guilty in his heart. In these years, A’Li’s pressure had been no less than anyone else’s in the Northwest, perhaps even more. All of this was because of him – if she hadn’t married him, with A’Li’s abilities, she could have easily lived whatever life she wanted. But because of him, she was trapped in the Northwest dealing with endless political affairs and facing what seemed like enemies from the entire world. This wasn’t the life he had wanted to give A’Li. He wanted her to be the most noble and happiest woman in the world, able to do what she wanted and go where she pleased at any time.
“What are you thinking about?” Sitting in a corner of the inn, Ye Li looked up at Mo Xiuyao, who was staring at her lost in thought, and asked softly.
Mo Xiuyao blinked and looked at Ye Li, asking gently, “A’Li, do you like your current life?”
Ye Li raised an eyebrow and nodded, “It’s not bad.” Seeing Mo Xiuyao’s apologetic expression, she smiled faintly and said, “Having time to travel and enjoy the scenery is naturally nice, but if you want me to be like Big Brother, traveling through countries and viewing landscapes all day, I couldn’t handle that.”
Ye Li wasn’t lying. She wasn’t like Xu Qingchen, a romantic scholar who found solace in nature. For her, traveling and sightseeing were ways to relax, not a way of life. She preferred a life closer to ordinary people’s – essentially, Ye Li considered herself quite a mundane person.
Even if she were to wander the four seas, Ye Li felt that was something to do in one’s forties or fifties. Being a special forces soldier was still an upward-moving career, so young people should do what young people should do. Otherwise, what would they do when they got old? Just sit and stare at each other with nothing to do?
“I thought A’Li preferred a leisurely life. These busy years surely weren’t what A’Li wanted?” Mo Xiuyao asked.
Ye Li pondered for a moment before saying, “We’ve discussed this before, and I thought you understood my meaning. I indeed don’t like power struggles, and living peacefully would naturally be best. But in this world… unless I become a hermit in the mountains, it’s not so easy to have everything as one wishes, right? Moreover, I’m not alone – even if it weren’t you, I would still have a husband and children. If my husband weren’t King Ding and my son weren’t the Crown Prince, would they have their current safety and peace? They might have to bow to others due to their lower status and might be bullied while I couldn’t always protect them. Also, compared to retiring to the inner chambers in silk and jade but without freedom, I prefer walking outside openly and freely. If you want something, naturally you must pay a price. Compared to current freedom and spontaneity, being a bit busier isn’t unacceptable, right?”
Mo Xiuyao looked at Ye Li seriously and said, “No matter what A’Li thinks, I hope A’Li doesn’t have to worry about anything. Whatever A’Li wants, the best in the world should be immediately presented before her. But… I can’t do it.”
Ye Li helplessly cupped Mo Xiuyao’s face, seeing the seriousness, apology, helplessness, and grievance in those handsome eyes. She couldn’t help but smile and say, “Are you saying you want to build a cage of gold and jewels to lock me in? Then feed me dragon liver and phoenix marrow, dress me in gold and silver threads, and even have me rinse my mouth with immortal nectar? Xiuyao, this isn’t what I want. What I want is to walk hand in hand with you wherever you want to go, however high you want to climb. Do you understand?”
“Anything else?” Mo Xiuyao looked at her eagerly, as if hoping she would make more demands. A’Li’s requirements might be too difficult for many people, but for Mo Xiuyao, they were too simple. He wanted to give A’Li the best, everything she wanted. Even if he didn’t have it now, he would obtain it or seize it for her in the future.
Ye Li tilted her head to look at him, and after a while, smiled gently and said, “Also… if there’s a second woman on this journey, don’t blame me for kicking you off.”
“There will never be a second A’Li in this world,” Mo Xiuyao sighed softly. There was only one A’Li, so there could never be a second woman in their life’s journey.
After pacifying the sulking person, Ye Li added some vegetables that Mo Xiuyao liked to his bowl, gesturing for him to eat. The inn’s main hall wasn’t a good place for expressing deep feelings, but fortunately, business was slow and there were few people there, so no one noticed their interaction in the corner. As they ate, they discussed their upcoming journey. A large group of people entered the inn, each carrying weapons – their attire alone showed they weren’t ordinary citizens. The innkeeper hurriedly went forward to receive them warmly, and the hall suddenly became lively.
Ye Li frowned and said quietly, “Why are there so many jianghu people in this place?” This was just an obscure small city in Xiling, normally rarely seeing any jianghu people, let alone groups arriving together like this.
Mo Xiuyao pondered, observing those people for a while before saying, “Come to think of it… this year should be the Martial Arts Assembly that happens every nine years.”
“Martial Arts Assembly? To select the Alliance Leader?” At the mention of the Martial Arts Assembly, Ye Li’s first thought was of competing for the position of Martial Arts Alliance Leader.
Mo Xiuyao chuckled softly and said, “A’Li usually doesn’t pay attention to jianghu matters, where did you hear that? What Alliance Leader… in the jianghu, each school and sect governs itself, who would listen to whom?” Even the world’s best fighter wouldn’t necessarily be respected by all – if that number one was a lone wanderer, forget about leading the masses, they might not even be able to command small sects. The Alliance Leader was just something imagined in storybooks.
“I remember now, my lord participated in the Martial Arts Assembly eighteen years ago. So, this so-called Assembly is just a gathering for jianghu people to compete for rankings?” Ye Li quickly recalled that Mo Xiuyao had earned his title as one of the world’s four great masters at the Martial Arts Assembly eighteen years ago when he was only fourteen. Looking at Mo Xiuyao now, barely past thirty, he had already experienced three Martial Arts Assemblies. Of course, he hadn’t participated in the second one.
“Is this session being held in Xiling? Will you go?” Ye Li asked with a smile. “You missed the last one, maybe this time you could come back with the title of world’s greatest master.”
Mo Xiuyao shook his head and smiled, “If A’Li is interested, we can go watch. But forget about being the greatest master.” Being the greatest master meant countless people would come to challenge and try to defeat you. Mo Xiuyao didn’t think he had time to deal with endless streams of martial arts masters – he’d rather spend that time teasing Mo Xiaobao with A’Li.
Ye Li smiled and said, “Speaking of which, my lord and Master Ling still have an unfulfilled duel, don’t you? Do you think we might run into Master Ling this time?”
Mo Xiuyao frowned – what A’Li said could happen. Now that he was healthy and had free time if they ran into Ling Tiehan, he wouldn’t be able to escape. Though he also wanted to cross hands with a master like Ling Tiehan, however…
“Ling Tiehan might not have time for me,” Mo Xiuyao smiled.
Ye Li didn’t understand – could there be a better opponent than Mo Xiuyao in this world? Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, “There might not be a better opponent, but… between an opponent and an enemy, which do you think Ling Tiehan would choose first?”
“Enemy?” Ye Li frowned, mentally calculating the notable masters she knew in the jianghu, and asked puzzledly, “Ling Tiehan and Lei Zhenting are enemies?”
Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly and said, “Hasn’t A’Li noticed that although Ling Tiehan and Lei Zhenting are both Xiling masters and should theoretically have a better relationship, all these years Ling Tiehan would rather go to Da Chu to spar with masters, but has never sparred with Lei Zhenting?”
Ye Li raised an eyebrow, “Isn’t it because of Lei Zhenting’s special status?”
“No, it’s because once they fight, it will be to the death. Before having confidence in killing Lei Zhenting, Ling Tiehan won’t make a move,” Mo Xiuyao said calmly.