In the main hall of the Ye mansion, Mo Jingli sat drinking tea with a gloomy expression. Only his tightly clenched hands revealed his inner anxiety and anger. After considering it all night, he still couldn’t set his mind at ease. He had originally planned to come to the Ye mansion to see if he could first obtain the most important item from Ye Yue’s hands, and then find a way to help her escape the city. However, he hadn’t expected to arrive a step too late, allowing Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li to get ahead of him. Despite Mo Jingli’s overwhelming influence in Jiangnan, here in Li City, he could only yield to Mo Xiuyao’s family. It was just as the saying went: even a strong dragon cannot overcome a local snake. In this Northwestern territory, no matter how powerful one was, tigers must lay low and dragons must coil up.

Glancing at the black-clad guards standing respectfully by the door with their hands clasped, Mo Jingli’s expression darkened further, but he finally suppressed the anxiety in his heart.

“What brings Prince Li to the Ye mansion so early in the morning?” Mo Xiuyao’s voice, carrying a lazy smile, came from the doorway. Mo Jingli’s eye twitched as he looked up to see a pair of shadows entering hand in hand. His gaze fell on their joined hands, and his expression grew even more unsightly. Looking at Mo Xiuyao’s insincere smile, he said, “Weren’t Prince Ding and Princess Ding here even earlier?”

Mo Xiuyao led Ye Li to the main seat and sat down, smiling as he said, “About that… yesterday someone reported that a fugitive long pursued by Prince Ding’s mansion was discovered in the Ye residence. The Princess and I were concerned about the safety of the Ye family members, so we came early to check. Could it be that Prince Li also received this news?” Mo Jingli responded coldly, “Prince Ding jest. I hadn’t heard anything about this.” Mo Jingli laughed inwardly – how could he not understand Mo Xiuyao? Even if all the Ye family members died before him, he probably wouldn’t bat an eye. Making up such lies was just to brush him off.

“Prince Li still hasn’t told me why he’s here so early?” Mo Xiuyao asked in good spirits.

Mo Jingli replied coldly, “Is there some reason I cannot come to the Ye mansion?”

Mo Xiuyao shrugged, “Prince Li is also a son-in-law of the Ye family, of course, you can come. Very well, Prince Li is a guest, and if I were to press the matter further, others might think our Prince Ding mansion lacks hospitality. So Prince Li, please make yourself comfortable. I just obtained something interesting at the mansion and was planning to go back to study it.” A strange light flashed in Mo Jingli’s eyes. He hadn’t held much hope that Ye Yue could withstand Mo Xiuyao’s questioning without confessing. But hearing Mo Xiuyao speak this way, he still couldn’t help but feel bitter regret. Had he known it would come to this, even at the risk of being discovered by Mo Xiuyao, he should have captured that woman Ye Yue and taken her back to the courier station yesterday. Among the Ye family women, except for Ye Li, they were all indeed more trouble than they were worth!

Having said this, Mo Xiuyao was in no hurry. He leaned back in his chair playing with Ye Li’s hair while leisurely waiting for Mo Jingli’s reaction. After all, the bargaining chips were in his hands, so he could set whatever price he wanted. Looking at it this way, Ye Yue had truly sent him a great gift.

After a long while, Mo Jingli finally stared at Mo Xiuyao and said in a deep voice, “What do you want?”

Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow in confusion, as if not understanding Mo Jingli’s meaning, “What does Prince Li mean? Pardon me, but I don’t understand.” Anger became evident in Mo Jingli’s eyes as he glared fiercely at Mo Xiuyao and said, “What will it take for you to give me what you got from Ye Yue!” Yesterday he had only obtained an extremely small portion from Ye Yue. After the physician’s examination, it was confirmed to be the true and only antidote that Mo Jingqi had used on him originally. But that amount was so small it could almost be ignored.

“About that…” Mo Xiuyao watched with interest as Mo Jingli’s anger burned like a cat on hot coals, putting him in an excellent mood. Happily nuzzling Ye Li’s hair, he asked softly, “A-Li, is there anything you’d like to ask Prince Li for? Prince Li dominates Jiangnan, unlike our impoverished Northwest, and he’s being so generous.”

Ye Li looked amusedly at how Mo Xiuyao was provoking Mo Jingli to fury. She couldn’t blame Mo Jingli for his rage – any man would be furious at having such leverage held over him. Of course, Ye Li didn’t know that part of the reason for Mo Jingli’s anger was that she was sitting right there listening to their conversation. Although he had been drugged by Mo Jingqi, having this kind of problem was always embarrassing and shameful for a man, especially in front of a woman he had always wanted to possess.

Mo Jingli sat in his chair, breathing heavily through clenched teeth, his eyes red as he stared at Mo Xiuyao. If the difference in martial power hadn’t been so great, Ye Li believed Mo Jingli would have unhesitatingly pounced on Mo Xiuyao and torn him apart.

After thinking seriously for a moment, Ye Li shook her head slightly and said, “I can’t think of anything I want.” For the moment, Ye Li truly couldn’t think of anything valuable that she needed and that Mo Jingli would be willing to give. Mo Xiuyao smiled gently and said, “Since A-Li can’t think of anything, let me make the requests.” Ye Li gave him a noncommittal look – wasn’t he planning to extort Mo Jingli from the start?

Mo Xiuyao stroked his chin and thought seriously for a moment before saying, “Since Prince Li is being so generous, I won’t be polite. The Thousand-Thread Snow Weave Robe, the White Jade Phoenix Zither, the Nine Dragons Imperial Seal, and the Great Emperor’s Annihilation Sword. Also, your two nieces and nephew just had their full-month celebration recently, and Prince Li hasn’t had the chance to send gifts. I remember there’s a small shop called Chenxiang House that deals in excellent items for children, that should work. And…”

“Mo! Xu! Yao!” Mo Jingli’s eyes were almost bleeding as he glared at Mo Xiuyao with an expression that couldn’t be described merely as hatred. It wasn’t that Mo Jingli was too miserly to part with these items, but rather that Mo Xiuyao’s demands were truly outrageous. Not to mention that the so-called “small” Chenxiang House was the most profitable business among Mo Jingli’s private properties. Just those four items he demanded, though only four in number, were worth more than the entire imperial treasury of the Great Chu Palace even if it were sold off completely.

The Thousand-Thread Snow Weave Robe was woven from the silk of snow silkworms from the peak of the Snow Realm. It was said that not only were snow silkworms extremely rare, but they produced only a tiny amount of silk even over an entire year before dying. It took over a hundred years just to collect enough silk to weave a single garment. The Snow Weave Robe was warm in winter and cool in summer, impervious to water and fire, and immune to blades and spears – truly a supreme treasure for protection. Most importantly, the craft of weaving snow silk had long been lost to the world, making this single robe in the Great Chu imperial collection the only one of its kind. If it hadn’t been kept in the Great Chu Palace, it would surely have caused bloody storms across the world. The value of the other three items was no less than the Snow Weave Robe, with the Annihilation Sword said to be the personal weapon of the Great Emperor, the first recorded ruler in ancient times. Not to mention how the sword had remained sharp through thousands of years – the sword itself represented the symbol of imperial legitimacy.

Mo Xiuyao’s opening with these four items essentially meant taking half the Great Chu imperial treasury in one go. This didn’t just pain Mo Jingli – it was nearly breaking his heart. What’s more, he dared to say there was more!

Seeing Mo Jingli’s furious expression, Mo Xiuyao seemed even more delighted and calmly continued, “Also, those things Prince Li left in the North, especially in the Chu capital, that he doesn’t dare keep around. Would Prince Li prefer to take them back or give them to me?” Mo Jingli’s pupils contracted – he naturally understood what Mo Xiuyao meant. Although the Great Chu court had moved south, Mo Jingli still had many spies planted in both the capital and the Northwest. Mo Xiuyao wanted him to withdraw all these people?!

“You wish!” Mo Jingli said through gritted teeth.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, “Prince Li need not be so angry. Gift-giving should be done willingly. If Prince Li is unwilling to part with them, I naturally won’t force the issue. Although it’s somewhat regrettable, as long as the items still exist, we’ll see them sooner or later, won’t we?” Even if you Mo Jingli won’t give them up, do you think I can’t get them? Mo Xiuyao expressed his meaning to Mo Jingli without any restraint. Mo Jingli was angered until his face turned pale, but helplessly, this confrontation was destined to put him at a disadvantage from the very beginning.

Mo Xiuyao was in no hurry, saying with a smile, “Prince Li can go back and consider before giving me an answer. Ah, right, if Prince Li is interested in that Second Miss Ye, you can take her back too – consider it my return gift?” Mo Jingli’s face was dark as he shot Mo Xiuyao a fierce glare before turning to leave. Compared to what he had lost, even a hundred Ye Yues couldn’t make up for it. What use did he have for Ye Yue now? If he saw Ye Yue now, he would only want to strangle that woman.

Watching Mo Jingli leave, Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li also didn’t linger and left the Ye mansion right after. Seeing Mo Xiuyao’s rare continuous smile along the way scared Qin Feng and the others following behind into unconsciously maintaining a large distance. Ye Li asked somewhat helplessly, “Are you so happy about outmaneuvering Mo Jingli?” Mo Xiuyao dismissively curled his lip and said, “Who would be happy about that? With Mo Jingli’s brain, outmaneuvering him is child’s play for me.”

“Then is it for the treasures?” Seeing Mo Jingli’s expression, Ye Li also understood that the items Mo Xiuyao had demanded must be extraordinary. Mo Xiuyao nodded pleasantly, “Several years ago I was already searching for the whereabouts of the Snow Weave Robe. But Mo Jingqi hid it too well. Even Prince Ding’s mansion’s secret guards couldn’t find the door to the imperial treasury. And the Phoenix Zither, hehe… with that we can at least make Master Qingchen serve us for another twenty years?” Mo Xiuyao held Ye Li’s hand as they walked while happily discussing with her the uses of the treasures once obtained – the blade-proof Snow Weave Robe would naturally be for Ye Li, the Phoenix Zither would be used to manipulate Master Qingchen into continuing to serve Prince Ding’s mansion, the Imperial Seal didn’t have much practical use but was said to contain a legendary book inside which could be given to Master Qingyun to research. As for the Annihilation Sword… although Prince Ding’s mansion had collected many precious swords, including the Lanyun Sword personally forged by the founding Prince Ding Mo Lanyun which, though not considered a legendary weapon due to its relatively recent age, was still a rare divine blade in the world. But all of these paled in comparison to what was said to be the world’s greatest sword.

Qin Feng and the others following behind them had dark expressions. “Your Highness, Prince Li hasn’t agreed to give you those items yet.”

Mo Xiuyao, in his excellent mood, didn’t care whether these things were his or not – what he set his eyes on, even if it wasn’t his, would become his sooner or later. Looking down at the elegant and refined woman beside him, Mo Xiuyao’s lips curved into a satisfied smile. Once he had the Snow Weave Robe, he could be even more at ease about A-Li’s safety. “A-Li, let’s go shopping.”

“Shopping?” Ye Li looked up, somewhat puzzled. Other things aside, they had rarely gone shopping in these years. Even when they had free time, they would usually go outside the city for walks, primarily because Mo Xiuyao’s white hair was too eye-catching. Even those who had never seen them before would naturally think of their identities upon seeing a young man with white hair in Li City. Being the center of attention wherever they went, it was more relaxing to go to less crowded places outside the city.

Mo Xiuyao smiled, “Li City is more lively than usual these days. A-Li and I have worked hard to govern Li City, shouldn’t we go enjoy the festivities with our citizens? Let’s go.” Without waiting for Ye Li’s agreement, he took her hand and headed toward the most crowded street. The guards following behind watched as their lord and lady merged into the crowd like the wind, looking at each other in confusion, “Commander Qin, what should we do?”

Qin Feng stroked his chin and said, “A few people follow from a distance, the rest disperse and return to the mansion. Don’t follow too closely or the lord and lady will notice.” Their lord wanted to spend some private time with his lady – if they disturbed his mood, they would be the ones to suffer. The guards behind wore bitter smiles – trying to follow the lord and lady without being discovered was such a formidable task.

The couple walking hand in hand through the crowd indeed attracted countless turning heads. Not just because of Mo Xiuyao’s white hair that proclaimed his identity, but also because both their appearances and bearing stood above the crowd and were enough to draw most people’s gazes. Although they were being watched, the citizens of Li City were very well-mannered and didn’t approach to bother them. But while Li City’s citizens understood, and Great Chu’s citizens understood, and perhaps even the guests from Xiling and Nanzhao understood, there were inevitably a few who neither understood nor knew their identities. So, when the couple stood in a newly opened shop selling Western Region goods, listening to the Western Region shopkeeper – who was much taller than people from the Central Plains and spoke strange Chinese – enthusiastically attending to Ye Li, Mo Xiuyao’s face immediately turned green.

This was a shop specializing in various exquisite ornaments from the Western Regions. Although the Central Plains’ porcelain and precious metal craftsmanship could be considered to have reached the pinnacle, the Western Regions’ countries had their unique artistry in metalwork especially gemstones, with a distinctive charm. This young Western merchant who had traveled thousands of miles to open a shop in Li City possessed certain romantic cultural genes – upon seeing Ye Li enter, he immediately ignored the equally commanding presence of Mo Xiuyao beside her, bringing out his shop’s finest ornaments to court her favor. He indicated that if Ye Li liked anything, he could give it to her for free, and of course, if the beautiful Eastern lady would honor him by joining him for afternoon tea, that would be even more perfect.

In this life, this was the first time she had been approached in such a way. Of course, this was also because such passionate and uninhibited people were rare in this world, and the few who existed were usually classified as libertines. Somewhat bemused at the tall and handsome but extremely tactless Western man before her, Ye Li shook her head and quickly pulled the about-to-explode Mo Xiuyao out of the shop.

Behind them, the Western merchant held his most exquisite ornaments, dejected, wondering why the beautiful Eastern lady had left without looking back, pulling along that white-haired man. Could white hair be more attractive than his golden hair?

The local Li City shop assistant, hiding to the side, silently watched his boss’s suicidal behavior and after careful consideration, decided to tell him something. After all, though this Western boss who had just arrived was somewhat eccentric, he was quite nice to people. It would be too tragic if he died in a foreign land for offending someone he shouldn’t have. He went forward to explain Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li’s identities to him, particularly emphasizing that the lord and lady were deeply in love and had an excellent relationship.

The golden-haired young man, having just heard this, immediately cried out, “You’re saying… that beautiful lady is a princess consort?”

The assistant nodded, and the golden-haired young man instantly became frantic, “But that lady looked only fifteen or sixteen. I heard that the formidable princess consort is already a mother of three children.”

The assistant silently rolled his eyes – you don’t look just twenty yourself. Western people just age faster… “In any case, boss, the princess consort is older than you. There are many other beautiful ladies in our Li City, you should…” Don’t go provoking the princess consort anymore, it’ll get you killed! If the lord doesn’t finish you off, the citizens of Li City will beat you to death.

The budding romantic love was cruelly nipped in the bud by the nameless assistant. True to his naturally passionate and uninhibited culture, the golden-haired young man, after being dejected for a moment, became energetic again, “Dear Li, I just met the highest ruler here. Oh my, I didn’t even greet him properly, how rude of me. Quickly prepare gifts, I want to personally pay a visit… I heard your lord is a very wise person, though I didn’t notice him earlier. But someone worthy of such a beautiful princess consort must be a good ruler. He surely won’t mind doing business with me.”

He was the second son of a wealthy merchant family from a Western Region country. According to family tradition, the eldest son could inherit almost all the property, while other sons only received a sum that wasn’t particularly large but enough to live comfortably for life or start a business. The young second son of the family took this money and traveled thousands of miles to the East, which was said to be paved with gold. Though it wasn’t paved with gold, he felt he could earn a lot of money here and even establish his own business separate from his family. Thinking of this, the golden-haired young man began dancing with excitement. “This is wonderful. Although the beautiful princess consort is married, perhaps she has unmarried sisters. Li, you’re right, this city has many beauties. Yesterday I saw a beautiful lady, maybe she’s not married and willing to accept my love?”

Assistant Li silently rolled his eyes and turned to prepare the gifts. However, he could foresee his employer being mercilessly driven out by Prince Ding’s mansion, and possibly even being beaten to death by Li City’s citizens for harassing respectable women.

After leaving that shop, Mo Xiuyao’s expression was still very unpleasant. Ye Li amusedly took his arm and looked up with a smile, saying, “That person clearly just arrived in the Central Plains and doesn’t understand our customs, why are you angry with him?” Mo Xiuyao gritted his teeth, “I will shut down his shop and drive him out of Li City.” Daring to have designs on his A-Li, he wouldn’t let him live!

Ye Li shook her head and said, “He didn’t mean it that way, perhaps it’s just the nature of their country.” Ye Li could see that the young man had no ill intentions. Like some romantic Western cultures, he simply expressed his admiration upon seeing a beautiful lady. If there was an opportunity for further development, it might just be having tea together.

Mo Xiuyao snorted lightly – he had certainly seen the frankness and pure appreciation in that person’s eyes. But even so, he was still unhappy.

“Come on, forget about him. Didn’t you say you’d take me shopping? How can we shop with you frowning like this?” Ye Li said with a smile. Having rarely accompanied A-Li out, Mo Xiuyao naturally didn’t want to spoil the mood. Only then did he put aside the earlier incident and accompany Ye Li, walking hand in hand through the crowd.

On a teahouse overlooking Li City’s busiest street, the fully open windows provided a clear view of most of the street. Inside the windows, several distinguished-looking men and women sat facing each other. Naturally sitting beside Ren Qining was the Queen of Helan and Cloud Consort, while opposite them, beside Yelü Ye, sat the still-veiled Qing Yina.

Northern women were known for being straightforward and decisive, and the Queen of Helan looked down upon Liu Guifei’s concealment and cold eyes that seemed to look down on everyone. Curling her crimson lips, she smiled and said, “Seventh Prince, since when did Northern Rong women start imitating the affectation of Central Plains people?” As she spoke, she casually glanced at Cloud Consort sitting on Ren Qining’s other side. That comment about affectation was directed at her. But even though Cloud Consort was affected, at least she wasn’t wearing a veil.

Being mocked by the Queen of Helan, Cloud Consort was naturally furious. But she equally looked down upon the white-clad woman opposite her. This woman was clearly from the Central Plains, yet while following the Northern Rong Seventh Prince, she took a Northern Rong name and kept herself hidden as if she couldn’t face people. She even dared to look at her with that disdainful gaze – who did she think she was?

“Sister Queen, you’re mistaken. Although we Central Plains women may not be as forthright as Northern women, we are all open and upright. Except for unmarried ladies, no one hides their face.” If she were an unmarried lady, she shouldn’t be running around with a man. Since she was running around with a man, what was the point of covering her face?

Liu Guifei, being mercilessly ridiculed by these two women, had eyes as cold as ice, “King of the North, are all the women in your palace such gossip? Or did Mo Xiuyao kill all your presentable Northern women, leaving you to bring these two embarrassments out?”

At these words, not just the Queen of Helan and Cloud Consort, but even Ren Qining’s expression changed. He stared at Liu Guifei with somewhat gloomy eyes for a while before saying coldly to Yelü Ye, “Brother Yelü, your fiancée is quite interesting…”

This time it was Liu Guifei’s turn to look uncomfortable. Just as she had disdained to argue with the Queen of Helan and Cloud Consort and directly confronted Ren Qining, Ren Qining’s ignoring her and speaking directly to Yelü Ye also showed his attitude of disdaining to bother with a woman.

Yelü Ye shot Liu Guifei a subtle warning glance, and although Liu Guifei was angry, she could only secretly suppress her rage.

The Queen of Helan looked at Yelü Ye, then at Liu Guifei, and smiled, “I indeed can’t compare to a cousin, but at least I’m presentable enough to show my face. Seventh Prince, we still have many women in our Northern Border suitable to be wives, your woman isn’t good.”

Cloud Consort, now no longer concerned with her feud with the Queen of Helan, asked gleefully, “What’s not good about her? I think this lady is quite beautiful.”

“She’s too old. Northern women her age are already grandmothers,” the Queen of Helan said bluntly. Northern Rong women married earlier than Central Plains women, and there were indeed quite a few grandmothers and maternal grandmothers of Liu Guifei’s age. Even though Liu Guifei was still beautiful and charming, certain traces of age couldn’t be concealed.