Hearing her master’s words, Dongfang You was stunned. Indeed, throughout history, Cangmang Mountain’s successors had never had any involvement with the Definitive Prince’s mansion. But at the time, she hadn’t given it much thought, assuming it was just fate. After all, Cangmang Mountain was meant to assist emperors, and originally, the Definitive Prince’s mansion had no possibility of producing an emperor. This was precisely why she had become more interested in the Definitive Prince’s mansion. If she could accomplish what generations of predecessors hadn’t, her master would surely be delighted, and she would become Cangmang Mountain’s most formidable successor in history.

But she hadn’t expected her master’s first action upon seeing her would be to deliver such a harsh slap.

“Master…” Covering her reddened cheek, Dongfang You looked at the middle-aged woman with a grievance.

This middle-aged woman was the current Master of Cangmang Mountain and Dongfang You’s master. Looking at the teary-eyed child she had raised, the Mountain Master felt equally troubled. Dongfang You was the most gifted disciple she had ever seen, with secret techniques, martial arts, and talents even surpassing her own younger self. She had always been proud of her disciple. But she didn’t know where things had gone wrong – despite thoroughly teaching her the strategies and methods she should learn, this disciple seemed naturally obtuse when it came to dealing with people, social interactions, and understanding human nature. In these aspects, she might be worse than even a sweeping child on Cangmang Mountain.

By the time she discovered these deficiencies, it was too late – Dongfang You’s personality had already formed. A clever and beautiful young woman, pampered and praised since childhood without experiencing any setbacks or trials. This left Dongfang You completely ignorant of worldly affairs. In the end, this world is made up of people. If one doesn’t understand human nature, what use is all the knowledge in the world?

Just like this time, Dongfang You had only overheard fragments of conversation between her and the elders and naively believed Mo Xiuyao was the most suitable candidate for Cangmang Mountain’s successor to assist. She hadn’t considered what kind of person Mo Xiuyao was, or whether she could control him. By the time she received news and hurried to Li City, Dongfang You had already caused quite a stir, and almost everyone in the world knew that Cangmang Mountain had chosen the Definitive Prince as their supporting target. Now, Cangmang Mountain was caught in a difficult position.

Looking at her beloved disciple’s confused and wronged expression, the middle-aged woman sighed helplessly and bent down to help her up. Dongfang You also knew that her master was truly angry this time, and stood up nervously, calling out “Master.”

The middle-aged woman led her to sit down nearby and asked softly, looking at her reddened eyes, “Being alone down the mountain for so long, have you suffered any grievances?”

Dongfang You bit her lip lightly, tears welling up in her eyes. These days, she had suffered more grievances at the Definitive Prince’s mansion than in her entire life of over ten years combined. Previously, she could still encourage herself by saying everything was for Cangmang Mountain, but her master’s slap had somewhat made her realize her previous actions might have been wrong.

The middle-aged woman said helplessly, “It’s my fault for not teaching you properly.”

“No…” Dongfang You shook her head repeatedly, “It’s my fault, I acted impulsively and caused Master to worry.” Regardless, Dongfang You still deeply respected the master who had raised her since childhood. Seeing her master blame herself, she quickly shook her head.

The middle-aged woman patted her hand gently and said, “Alright, tell Master about what’s happened these days. The master will figure something out.” After discovering she couldn’t change Dongfang You’s personality, Cangmang Mountain had already thought of remedial measures. They had never intended to let Dongfang You come down the mountain alone for experience, but hadn’t expected her to act first and report later. Though the situation was somewhat tricky now, it wasn’t unsolvable.

Dongfang You then slowly and carefully recounted everything that had happened since coming down the mountain. Although she didn’t understand worldly affairs, her martial arts skills and the careful teaching from Cangmang Mountain’s people over more than ten years weren’t fake. So after coming down the mountain, Dongfang You hadn’t suffered hardships – she had directly sought out the Southern Pacification King, Lei Zhenting. After Lei Zhenting confirmed her intentions and identity, he handled everything else, and she only needed to appear before the Definitive Prince at an appropriate opportunity. Instead, it was after meeting the Definitive Prince that she had suffered many grievances and hardships.

People are inherently selfish, and although it was her own child’s fault, hearing about the Definitive Prince’s mansion’s merciless rejection and mockery of Dongfang You still inevitably angered the middle-aged woman. Her still-charming beautiful face seemed to instantly freeze over with coldness. “Well! Well indeed, Definitive Prince’s mansion… so they look down on our Cangmang Mountain this much?”

Cangmang Mountain’s people had never considered their power inferior to the Definitive Prince’s mansion. The reason they never provoked the Definitive Prince’s people was because the personalities and abilities of successive Definitive Princes were very difficult to gauge. But this didn’t mean they would feel inferior to the Definitive Prince’s mansion because of this. And then there was the Xu family – not only did their ancestors’ manuscripts contain records about Cangmang Mountain, but Cangmang Mountain’s ancestors’ records also unsurprisingly had harsh words about the Definitive Prince’s mansion. This was the second time the Xu family had rejected Cangmang Mountain.

“Master, what should I do now?” Dongfang You asked nervously. She was also a person with dignity, and if possible, she still wasn’t willing to give up on Xu Qingchen. After being so mercilessly ridiculed by the Xu brothers, imperceptibly, Dongfang You’s obsession with the Definitive Prince’s mansion gradually shifted to Xu Qingchen. Originally, she wanted to marry Xu Qingchen indeed to get close to the Definitive Prince’s mansion. Mo Xiuyao was the one she would assist in the future, and since he was unwilling to marry her, she naturally wouldn’t force herself on her future ruler and make him unhappy. But Xu Qingchen’s unhesitating rejection and Xu Qingyan’s mockery were not something Dongfang You could accept.

The middle-aged woman lowered her eyes in thought, sighing slightly, “Since you’ve already done this if we change our minds now, how could Cangmang Mountain still hold its head up in the world?” If it was truly Dongfang You herself changing her mind and looking down on the Definitive Prince’s mansion, that would be fine, but now almost everyone in the world knew that it was the Definitive Prince’s mansion that looked down on Dongfang You. If Cangmang Mountain were to change its stance and support someone else at this time, it would just confirm these rumors. Even if they truly chose someone else in the future, their position and prestige in that person’s eyes would be greatly diminished. Hearing her master speak thus, Dongfang You’s eyes brightened slightly, “Master… what should we do now?”

The middle-aged woman snorted lightly and said, “Tomorrow I will personally visit the Definitive Prince’s mansion to meet with the Prince and the Xu family’s eldest young master. Don’t worry, Master won’t let anyone bully you.”

A pure, joyful smile bloomed on Dongfang You’s beautiful face, “Yu’er knows Master is the best.”

While Dongfang You and the middle-aged woman were discussing how to handle the Definitive Prince’s mansion, on the other side, the Definitive Prince’s mansion had also received news of Cangmang Mountain’s master entering the city. No matter how deeply rooted and powerful Cangmang Mountain was elsewhere, Li City was under the Definitive Prince’s mansion’s absolute control. It was already quite remarkable that Cangmang Mountain could plant a few secret agents in Li City; Cangmang Mountain’s master couldn’t enter Li City without anyone knowing. So, while the Cangmang Mountain master was planning to negotiate with the Definitive Prince’s mansion for her disciple’s sake, the Definitive Prince’s mansion simultaneously cast a huge net for Cangmang Mountain.

In the Definitive Prince’s mansion, Mo Xiuyao casually handed the just-received news to Xu Qingchen. Smiling, he said, “Brother Qingchen, Cangmang Mountain’s master has arrived. Wouldn’t this count as…” Before he could finish speaking, Ye Li, sitting beside him, gave him a hard pinch on the waist. This pinch was not gentle at all, though the action was so discreet that Xu Qingchen and Xu Qingyan sitting opposite couldn’t notice. So they only found it strange that Mo Xiuyao stopped mid-sentence, his expression twisting slightly before giving Ye Li an ingratiating smile.

Having known Mo Xiuyao for so many years, Xu Qingchen knew nothing good would come from his mouth. He didn’t pursue the matter and asked him to finish his sentence, avoiding unnecessary aggravation.

Silently reading through the secret letter Mo Xiuyao had passed him, Xu Qingchen frowned slightly and said, “This Cangmang Mountain master won’t be as easy to deal with as Dongfang You. Is there any news from the Southern Pacification King’s side?” Ye Li said, “The Southern Pacification King’s side doesn’t know much either. They only know that this generation’s Cangmang Mountain master is called Dongfang Hui, and is the great-niece of Lei Zhenting’s grandmother. Since Lei Zhenting’s father ascended to the throne, the Western Ling royal family’s interactions with Cangmang Mountain gradually decreased, so they don’t understand much about this either.”

Mo Xiuyao said, “It should be that the Western Ling royal family’s understanding of Cangmang Mountain has decreased, but Cangmang Mountain’s control over the Western Ling royal family probably hasn’t lessened. Otherwise, Lei Zhenting wouldn’t be so wary of Cangmang Mountain.”

Xu Qingchen nodded and said, “Your Highness speaks truly. With Dongfang You’s intelligence, being able to accurately find Lei Zhenting as soon as she came down the mountain shows that Cangmang Mountain’s control and understanding of the outside world has never weakened. I estimate… Lei Zhenting’s inability to replace the Western Ling Emperor all these years is also related to Cangmang Mountain.” Compared to the weak and incompetent Western Ling Emperor, Lei Zhenting was someone very difficult to control. Letting him take the throne didn’t align with Cangmang Mountain’s interests. Mo Xiuyao nodded with satisfaction, “If that’s the case, I believe Lei Zhenting is sincere about cooperating with us.” True strong individuals would never be willing to submit to others’ control. And Lei Zhenting, whatever else might be said about him, was undoubtedly one of the world’s counted strong individuals.

“What are Your Highness’s plans?” Xu Qingchen asked.

Mo Xiuyao smiled coldly, “Pull the ground from under their feet.” Only by eliminating Cangmang Mountain could they forever remove future troubles. Even if Cangmang Mountain hadn’t actively sought out the Definitive Prince’s mansion this time, or even if they hadn’t participated in this chaotic struggle for supremacy at all, once Mo Xiuyao had free time, he would still have gone looking for trouble with them. Just because they weren’t provoking the Definitive Prince’s mansion now didn’t mean they wouldn’t in the future. Having such an organization that seemed to stand aloof from the world yet was deeply rooted in every corner of the land, secretly operating – anyone in power would dislike it. Previously it wasn’t the Definitive Prince mansion’s business, but that might not be the case in the future.

Xu Qingchen also thought Mo Xiuyao’s idea was good. After pondering for a moment, he frowned slightly and said, “For so many years, no one has been able to find Cangmang Mountain’s true location. I suspect there’s a huge natural formation array near Cangmang Mountain. The Western Ling Emperor’s people probably can’t find the place.” Currently, Cangmang Mountain was within Lei Zhenting’s jurisdiction, and Mo’s army couldn’t easily enter and exit.

“Formation array?” As someone who commanded armies and fought battles, Mo Xiuyao had some knowledge of formation arrays, but Xu Qingchen saying this meant this array was definitely beyond ordinary people’s capabilities. Otherwise, Lei Zhenting, being a famous military strategist himself, could have solved it already.

Xu Qingchen thought for a moment and said, “When the time comes, I’d like to go see it myself.”

Mo Xiuyao didn’t object. Although Young Master Qingchen was always modest about his knowledge of military strategy, what they called formation arrays and military tactics were two completely different fields at their highest levels. Since Young Master Qingchen expressed such confidence, Mo Xiuyao naturally trusted his abilities in the field of formation arrays. Mo Xiuyao himself was more skilled in battlefield strategy and adaptability and rarely used formation arrays in combat. As for Ye Li, things like the Single-File Serpent Formation, Three Flower Formation, and Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation were about as comprehensible to her as celestial texts.

Xu Qingyan, listening in with them, said with a grin, “Brother-in-law Prince, Big Brother, you should first think about how to deal with that Cangmang Mountain master. I feel that any woman who could raise a disciple like Dongfang You must have quite a temperament herself. And that Dongfang You, I’m certain she’s taken a fancy to Big Brother!” The Fifth Young Master Xu had made considerable progress in the years following Xu Qingbai, especially after Qingbai went to Western Ling – one could say he single-handedly managed the northern agricultural affairs and the settlement of hundreds of thousands of disaster victims. He was becoming someone who could handle matters independently. This greatly satisfied Mo Xiuyao – the Xu family’s young masters were all the type who performed better under pressure, so he didn’t hesitate to keep pressing them harder.

Xu Qingchen gave his brother a cool glance, and Xu Qingyan immediately felt a chill over his head, pitifully lowering his head. What he said was true! Big Brother had been living like an otherworldly immortal for too long, usually only dealing with either deeply calculating people or close ones who revered him like a deity. How could he understand a young lady’s thoughts? Xu Qingyan, who had long mingled among ordinary people in the lower classes, clearly understood common women’s thoughts much better than an immortal-like figure such as Xu Qingchen.

Big Brother, if you don’t listen to your brother’s words and end up entangled in a troublesome romance, don’t blame your brother for not warning you… Xu Qingyan thought gleefully to himself.

As the four were discussing Cangmang Mountain matters, a guard outside announced Prince Li’s request for an audience. Xu Qingyan couldn’t help but laugh, saying, “Wasn’t Mo Jingli trying to please Dongfang You? I bet that arrogant beauty is hard to please, Mo Jingli must have been thoroughly rebuffed.” With women like Dongfang You, if she likes you, you can’t reject her, but if she doesn’t like you, you can’t pursue her either. If Mo Jingli wanted to please her, he would only be asking for trouble. Earlier, when Dongfang You had just left the Definitive Prince’s mansion, she had a “chance” encounter with Mo Jingli – naturally, everyone in the Definitive Prince’s mansion knew about this but simply didn’t care. At this time, there wasn’t just one person in Li City harboring the same intentions as Mo Jingli.

“Guess what he’s here for?” Xu Qingyan asked curiously. Mo Jingli’s hatred for Mo Xiuyao was known throughout the world – he would never set foot in the Definitive Prince’s mansion without an extremely important reason.

Mo Xiuyao leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin and smiling lazily, “I think he’s here to deliver gifts.”

“Gifts?” Xu Qingyan’s eyes widened. Mo Jingli giving gifts to the Definitive Prince? Stuffing a few bottles of poison down his throat seemed more likely. At Mo Xiuyao’s words, even Young Master Qingchen’s expression showed emotion, his handsome eyes flickering, “Are you sure he’ll give you such important items?”

Mo Xiuyao smiled triumphantly and said, “I’ve said before, in this world, no treasure can compare to having no heir. From the beginning, Mo Jingli had no choice but to agree with me, he just couldn’t swallow his pride. Look, it’s only been a few days and the items are here? He must have sent someone galloping back to fetch them as soon as I mentioned it.”

Ye Li raised an eyebrow and said, “Giving away Great Chu’s national treasures, how will Mo Jingli explain this to the court?”

“What does that have to do with me?” Mo Xiuyao blinked and asked with a smile.

The other three fell silent – indeed, it had nothing to do with him.

When Mo Jingli entered, he emanated a chilling aura, though unfortunately none of the four present were easily intimidated. However, it thoroughly frightened the few attendants following behind him carrying boxes – their hands were shaking as they placed the items on the table. After dismissing the attendants, Mo Jingli stared at Mo Xiuyao and said, “I’ve brought what you wanted, where’s what I want?”

Mo Xiuyao smiled calmly and said, “Since Prince Li is so forthright, I’ll naturally keep my word. Brother Qingchen, please take a look.” Though genuine treasures and counterfeits might look similar, their actual value was worlds apart.

Xu Qingchen nodded and stood up, walking to a long brocade box and gently lifting its lid. Inside lay a snow-white jade zither. The instrument’s body was as white as snow, with a lustrous, jade-like sheen, and at its head was carved a blood-red phoenix. Since ancient times, paulownia wood had been considered the best material for seven-stringed zithers – a zither made of jade was unheard of. Setting aside everything else, finding such a huge piece of premium white jade alone was extremely difficult, not to mention that jade, unlike paulownia wood, was far more challenging to carve into a zither. This jade zither was not only exquisitely beautiful but its tone quality was also considered peerless. Throughout thousands of years, there had only been this one white jade zither, revered as a divine instrument among zithers.

A faint trace of joy passed through Xu Qingchen’s elegant, serene eyes. His fingertip lightly plucked a string, and ethereal notes floated from his fingertips. Even these few casual notes made one’s heart feel incomparably delighted and moved.

“Indeed, it is the Phoenix Zither,” Xu Qingchen stopped playing and softly praised.

Xu Qingyan stared at the white jade zither in the brocade box, momentarily stunned by this shocking revelation. The Phoenix Zither… this was the legendary Phoenix Zither that had captivated countless people for hundreds of years? Then the others… Xu Qingyan unconsciously held his breath, staring intently as Xu Qingchen’s long fingers reached for another box.

Inside the box lay a white garment. The Snow Thread Robe didn’t look particularly beautiful, and could even be said to be unremarkable. The white, semi-transparent gauze was woven with faintly visible snow lotus patterns. Whether it was the once-proclaimed world’s finest Phoenix Brocade the Lotus Brocade, or Cloud Water Gauze, countless styles and colors could surpass it in appearance. But the Snow Thread Robe’s value naturally wasn’t in its aesthetics, but in its reportedly impenetrable defense. Xu Qingchen looked up at Mo Xiuyao and asked with a smile, “Your Highness, would you like to try it yourself?”

“Of course, we must test it.” How could he dare give something to A’Li without testing it first? What if instead of being protective, it ended up being the cause of A’Li’s injury?

Mo Xiuyao didn’t stand at the ceremony. After Xu Qingchen stepped back, he stood up. A flash of silver light crossed his waist, and the white garment was lifted from the box. Then came several more sword strikes, the sword light disappearing behind his waist, and the white gauze robe floated lightly into his hand. Mo Xiuyao nodded with satisfaction, “Truly worthy of being called the impenetrable Thousand-Thread Snow Robe – it can block not only sharp swords but also internal force.” Even with Mo Xiuyao’s profound martial arts skills, the Thousand-Thread Snow Robe showed not the slightest damage in his hands, demonstrating its heaven-defying protective power.

“Mo Xiuyao!” Mo Jingli’s face was darker than a pot’s bottom – to so casually slash at these treasures with a sword right in front of him was truly too arrogant.

Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, “Since they’ve been given to me, they’re my possessions. Can’t I cut them a few times to test them?”

Mo Jingli gritted his teeth but said nothing.

Mo Xiuyao satisfactorily took the Snow Thread Robe to Ye Li and said with a smile, “A’Li, do you like it? Later I’ll have someone modify it into a beautiful new garment for you to try?” Among these few treasures, what he valued most was this robe that seemed useless to ordinary people. As for the others, although he had stubbornly refused when Xu Qingchen wanted the Phoenix Zither, that was just joking around.

Ye Li knew Mo Xiuyao’s intentions and nodded with a smile, “It’s very nice, no need to modify it.”

Mo Xiuyao’s expression grew even more pleased, “As long as A’Li likes it.”

The remaining two items – the National Seal and the Destruction Sword – were unsurprisingly also genuine. Mo Jingli had dealt with Mo Xiuyao countless times since childhood and truly didn’t dare to try fooling him with counterfeits. However, in the end, the Destruction Sword was taken away along with the Phoenix Zither by Xu Qingchen, who claimed its murderous aura was too strong and needed study. Mo Xiuyao didn’t mind – with his current martial arts level, he naturally did not need any divine weapons. In the end, after extorting Mo Jingli, the Definitive Prince only got one National Seal for himself. Casually playing with the National Seal in his hand, which was about the same size as an imperial jade seal, Mo Xiuyao looked it over but couldn’t see its value. Somewhat losing interest, he tossed it to Xu Qingyan, who had been eyeing it covetously. Xu Qingyan cheered as he held the National Seal, turning it over and examining it, unable to put it down.

Mo Jingli glanced from the corner of his eye – all these treasures in their hands were his! Was it appropriate for them to examine them so thoroughly right in front of him, the original owner?

“Mo Xiuyao, what I want!” Mo Jingli said in a deep voice.

Mo Xiuyao casually waved his hand, and a small object flew toward Mo Jingli’s face. Mo Jingli raised his hand to catch it, feeling his palm go numb. Secretly shocked at Mo Xiuyao’s profound martial arts, he also gripped the porcelain bottle tightly, opening it to smell and confirm it was the same as what Ye Yue had given him before finally relaxing slightly. Mo Xiuyao glanced at him sideways and said, “Don’t overthink it, I couldn’t be bothered to make fake medicine for you. Whether you have many descendants or your line ends with you has nothing to do with me.”

Mo Jingli gritted his teeth but had to admit Mo Xiuyao spoke the truth.

Mo Xiuyao looked at him and said languidly, “Your hatred for me makes no sense. I didn’t administer the poison, I didn’t hide your son, and I didn’t steal this antidote. I happen to have it and made a profit – what’s wrong with that? Or did you expect me to benefit all under heaven and give without expecting a return?”

Mo Jingli stared at him and said coldly, “I’ll remember this matter.”

“As you wish,” Mo Xiuyao said with a smile. Whether this matter happened or not, Mo Jingli would hate him anyway. So why bother being concerned about it? Whatever could be taken should be taken as much as possible – after all, leaving them with Mo Jingli would just be a waste.

While playing with the National Seal, Xu Qingyan looked up and gave Mo Jingli a pitying glance. He wanted to tell him, Prince Li, you should leave quickly, lest after losing so many treasures you end up coughing blood from anger.

Without him saying anything, Mo Jingli had long since learned his lesson from years of being toyed with by a certain someone. He glared fiercely at Mo Xiuyao and stormed out.