Queen Helan came to visit the day after Ren Qining led his troops out. Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li had already left that inn and were staying in an ordinary small courtyard in the city. Although several noble children had disappeared, and regardless of how Tan Jizhi had managed it, all these noble families unanimously chose not to report this highly suspicious matter to Ren Qining. Thus, Ren Qining remained unaware of what changes had occurred secretly within his royal city, and confidently led his great army to attack Zijing Pass.

Although the Northern Territory hadn’t been established for long, the court nobles, especially the former dynasty’s old ministers, had long since lost their founding fighting spirit and pioneering drive. They had waited far too long – so long that if Ren Qining’s generation couldn’t achieve it, they might abandon this ethereal dream of a wealthy nation. So now, although they were still far from achieving their ancestors’ vision of a prosperous nation, they had at least established a vast country. In their view, as long as they drove away or killed all the Northern people, they would succeed. They had worked hard for too long, and now it was naturally time for them to enjoy themselves.

Now, in the eyes of these former dynasty ministers, so-called state affairs were far less important than their matters. They acquired gold and silver treasures, their obtained lands and mansions, their beautiful wives and concubines, and their children and grandchildren. They had worked hard for the Lin family for so many generations, and now it was naturally time to receive their rewards. Therefore, no one found it strange that their sons had been kidnapped, or that some force might have infiltrated Changqing City. They only knew they needed to rescue their descendants and prevent the kidnappers from harming them. The current Prime Minister was particularly concerned, as the kidnapped one was the son of his most beloved concubine, who was also Cloud Consort’s younger brother from the same mother.

“My Lord, My Lady, Queen Helan requests an audience,” came the guard’s report from outside the small courtyard, where Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao were sitting opposite each other playing chess. Hearing the guard’s announcement, Ye Li put down her chess piece and smiled, “Please show her in.”

Soon after, Queen Helan entered with her people. Following behind her was the Northern man who had led the fight at the inn the other day, reportedly Queen Helan’s cousin.

“Prince Ding, Princess Ding.” Queen Helan’s smile was bright and straightforward, showing none of the shyness typical of Central Plainswomen. Ye Li smiled and said, “Thank you for coming personally, Queen Helan. Please, both of you, sit.” Queen Helan didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down opposite Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao, saying with a smile, “The Prince and Princess are truly skilled. If my cousin hadn’t told me in the palace, I might not have known you two had arrived in the Northern Territory.”

Ye Li apologetically said, “We came in haste and didn’t have time to notify Queen Helan. Please forgive us.”

Queen Helan waved her hand and said, “No need for such formalities with me. I’m very pleased that the Prince and Princess could come personally. At least this proves that you both truly have sincere intentions to cooperate with our Northern Territory, doesn’t it?” Ye Li glanced sideways at Mo Xiuyao, who gave a faint smile, indicating she could handle everything.

Ye Li nodded and stopped beating around the bush with Queen Helan. Looking at the two people present, she asked, “Can Queen Helan make decisions on all matters concerning the Northern Territory?”

Queen Helan smiled and said, “The various Northern tribes have secretly elected my father as Khan. Even if there are matters I cannot decide, my father certainly can. Princess, please rest assured.” Ye Li nodded satisfactorily, though inwardly she sighed – the Northern people weren’t as simple as they thought. At least this Queen Helan, her father, and the young man before them who appeared simple but wise, were not to be underestimated.

“That’s good. The Prince Ding Manor can help the Northern Territory deal with Ren Qining. We guarantee that he and his forces will never have the chance to cause trouble in the North again. Similarly, the Northern Territory must promise that after success, they will completely withdraw beyond the original borders between the North and the former Da Chu. Does Queen Helan have any objections?” Ye Li said calmly.

Queen Helan nodded and said, “No problem. We only want to live our original way of life. Although we Northern people may not be as clever as you Central Plains people, we don’t want to be used as pawns.” Every time Ren Qining went to war, he always had the Northern Army charge at the front. While this was partly because the Northern army was more valiant than the newly established Central Plains forces, wasn’t it also a way to weaken the Northern army and reduce the Northern population? Now, although the Northern Territory had established a country and expanded its territory, the Northern people weren’t skilled at farming, and many weren’t accustomed to Central Plains life, making their lives even more difficult than before.

“Although Ren Qining’s subordinates are selfish and greedy, quite a few are truly capable. Moreover, Ren Qining is always guarding against us. Now that he’s gone campaigning, he’s taken most of the Northern army, and most of the troops stationed in Changqing City are Central Plains people. After these two years of war, the Northern army only had about three hundred thousand left, while Ren Qining’s Central Plains forces numbered over a million. I wonder what plans the Prince and Princess have?” The young man who had been silent spoke up, with hints of resentment in his tone. That the Northern army now only had three hundred thousand could be considered partly due to the Prince Ding Manor. In last year’s battle at the Chu capital, the North lost over two hundred thousand troops, which also made the Northern tribes hate Ren Qining to death.

Ye Li wasn’t concerned about his attitude. In warfare, there was naturally no room for mercy, especially since both Da Chu and Prince Ding Manor had lost many people defending the Chu capital. Between countries, there were neither permanent friends nor permanent enemies. At least currently, regarding Ren Qining, weren’t their objectives aligned?

Ye Li calmly said, “Ren Qining’s forces may indeed far outnumber the North’s, but those truly useful probably aren’t many.” Both Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li came from military backgrounds and naturally understood the difference between newly recruited soldiers who knew nothing and so-called battle-hardened veterans. If it came to actual fighting, perhaps ten of Ren Qining’s Central Plains soldiers might not be able to handle one Northern soldier. Not because they were too weak, but because compared to those fierce veterans who had galloped through the white mountains and black waters, fighting between various tribes, they were just ordinary civilians who had just picked up weapons.

“Moreover… these troops were originally Da Chu civilians. When it matters, they may not necessarily remain loyal to Ren Qining.” The reputation of being descendants of the previous dynasty was good, but that only worked after careful cultivation made the civilians’ lives better than before, making them begin to miss the now very distant previous dynasty. But now, Ren Qining had established his country and occupied Da Chu as the Northern Territory’s consort. In many people’s eyes, he was just a foreign invader who looked like a Central Plains person. Furthermore, the civilians here hadn’t lived well these past two years, and Ren Qining’s massive military recruitment had made their lives unbearable. The area outside Zijing Pass, near barbarian territory, had always been sparsely populated. How could the civilians not be full of complaints when Ren Qining recruited over two million troops in just two short years?

Queen Helan blinked and smiled, “I’d forgotten – with Prince Ding here, why worry about those troops not willing to change sides?” After traveling through Da Chu and Li City, Queen Helan witnessed Prince Ding Manor’s status and influence among Da Chu’s civilians. This was also why they agreed to the conditions so readily. They weren’t strong enough to compete with the Prince Ding Manor for this territory.

“When we withdraw from Da Chu, what about the troops Ren Qining took away?” the young man asked with furrowed brows.

Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao exchanged glances, and Mo Xiuyao said indifferently, “Isn’t that something you should consider?” The young man’s face darkened as he said, “Are we just going to let Ren Qining use so many people as cannon fodder? Those are the North’s most valiant sons!”

Mo Xiuyao said somewhat lazily, “Did this prince ask you to agree to Ren Qining’s military campaign?” You caused trouble for this prince and still expect help in withdrawing your troops? Just thinking about those troops surrounding Zijing Pass now made Mo Xiuyao somewhat unhappy. Queen Helan pulled back her hot-tempered cousin and smiled apologetically at Ye Li, “Prince, Princess, we were also helpless. Ren Qining was determined to campaign. Unless we immediately turned against him, what else could we do? We’ve already tried our best to delay his timing.”

Ye Li smiled slightly and tugged at Mo Xiuyao’s sleeve behind her, shaking her head slightly. Only then did Mo Xiuyao put away his displeased expression and stop speaking. Ye Li thought for a moment and said, “Getting him to withdraw the troops isn’t impossible. However… I have no guarantee how many can be brought back. We can only proceed gradually.”

Queen Helan said joyfully, “I’ve long heard that the Princess is resourceful, and seeing you today proves it true. Princess, you’re straightforward, and we Northern people aren’t stingy either. As long as the Princess helps us successfully bring our Northern warriors back, Helan is willing to reveal all of Ren Qining’s secret forces. The Lin family has hidden in Da Chu for two hundred years and still maintains such vast power – surely the Prince and Princess don’t want them to return in several decades?”

Ye Li looked at Queen Helan with some surprise, and Queen Helan smiled and said, “Princess need not doubt. These were all collected by my sister before her death. After all, she was married to Ren Qining for over ten years and naturally knew much more than we did.”

Ye Li pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement. The Northern Territory had been severely weakened after years of being used by Ren Qining. Even if they brought back all three hundred thousand troops, they wouldn’t have the strength to contend with the Mo family army for some time.

Queen Helan cupped her hands and smiled, “Then many thanks to the Princess.”

“We each benefit from this. Queen Helan need not be so polite.” Rather than passively waiting for Ren Qining to lead his army to attack Zijing Pass and join forces with the Northern Rong to surround the Mo family army, they might as well stab Ren Qining in the back first. With his home front on fire, let’s see if Ren Qining still has time to cause trouble for the Mo family army.

After seeing off Queen Helan and her group, Mo Xiuyao gazed at Ye Li silently for a while. Ye Li smiled gently and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Mo Xiuyao took her hand in his and said solemnly, “I have to go.” Ye Li nodded and said, “I know. I’ll settle the Northern Territory matters as quickly as possible and return to join you.” Now the Mo family army was in full-scale war with both the Northern Rong and the Northern Territory. This was also different from last year’s battle – last year was about seizing the Chu capital, and whether they succeeded or not wasn’t a matter of life and death for either side. But this time it was a fight to the death, and in such circumstances, both leaders of the Prince Ding Manor couldn’t remain in this small corner of the Northern Territory. Even just to stabilize army morale, one of them had to appear on the battlefield. That Mo Xiuyao could accompany Ye Li to the Northern Territory and stay for so long was already exceptionally rare.

“Have someone keep an eye on Tan Jizhi. This person can’t be trusted too much. If he shows any signs of disloyalty, just kill him,” Mo Xiuyao whispered. Knowing he was worried about her, Ye Li leaned into his embrace and said softly with a laugh, “You know me, I’ve always been very measured in what I do, knowing what should and shouldn’t be done. I won’t put myself in danger.” If she had been indifferent to life and death before, she was no longer so now. She had a husband who loved her, three underage children, and so many relatives who cared for her. No matter what, she would take good care to preserve her life.

Mo Xiuyao said somewhat gloomily, “How can I not worry? I just want to find a place to hide you away, never let anyone else see you, and never let you encounter any danger.”

“You’re such a grown man yet still so childish, aren’t you embarrassed?” Ye Li helplessly rolled her eyes, then looked at him with a smile and said seriously, “I can’t possibly ever see anyone else.” Mo Xiuyao’s expression grew even more gloomy, “I know, you can’t let go of those Xu family people, and then there are your friends, and Mo Xiaobao!” When mentioning Mo Xiaobao, Mo Xiuyao habitually grounds his teeth.

Seeing his face full of indignation and jealousy, Ye Li smiled gently and placed a light kiss on his lips, saying, “Alright, if in the future you don’t have to manage the Prince Ding Manor anymore, and you still feel this way. I’ll sacrifice myself and go wherever you want to make you happy, how’s that?” Hearing this, Mo Xiuyao’s eyes lit up, “Ari, do you mean it?”

Ye Li blinked, “Of course I mean it.”

“Good. Once I pass the throne to Mo Xiaobao, we’ll go live in seclusion.” The gloom on his handsome face completely disappeared, and Mo Xiuyao’s entire face was filled with animation. Seeing his excited and eager expression, Ye Li couldn’t help but show black lines on her face, “You’re not planning to go back and immediately pass on the position, are you?” She believed Mo Xiuyao was capable of doing such an unreliable thing.

Mo Xiuyao embraced her and said somewhat regretfully, “This prince wants to do that…” Seeing Ye Li’s displeased narrowed eyes, he quickly continued, “Unfortunately, Mo Xiaobao is a bit too young. At least we have to wait until he can ride horses and fight in battle, right? Hmm… how about fourteen? This prince hadn’t even turned fourteen when he went to the battlefield.” Mo Xiaobao was eight this year, fourteen would be six years later… what a wonderful thing. By then, Xu Qingchen would still be around, and if Mo Xiaobao was clever, he could even trick Xu Qingchen into risking his life for a few more years. Thinking this way, Mo Xiuyao suddenly felt that heaven had truly been kind to him. It must be to make up for his rough and unlucky first half of life, so they sent him such an anticipated latter half…

Seeing him lost in pleasant thoughts, Ye Li wordlessly pushed him away and walked toward the room. Mo Xiuyao had no choice but to follow, but before leaving, he glanced at the wall not far away. His sleeve moved, sending a burst of force through the air, and something fell with a thud, followed by a muffled groan.

After seeing Mo Xiuyao off, Ye Li turned back, and as soon as she entered, she saw Tan Jizhi sitting in the courtyard smiling at her. However, his sitting posture was somewhat strange, and he kept reaching for a spot on his shoulder, unable to help wincing.

Seeing his odd appearance, Ye Li calmly raised an eyebrow and said, “What brings Master Tan here?”

Tan Jizhi smiled and said, “I had matters to report to the Prince and Princess. I just happened to encounter the Prince and Princess saying goodbye and didn’t want to disturb, so I waited here respectfully.” Ye Li looked at the dirt on his deep blue robe hem and said lightly, “Thank you for waiting so long, Master Tan.”

“It was indeed a long wait.” Tan Jizhi said somewhat through gritted teeth. Seeing Ye Li sit down opposite him, he raised an eyebrow and smiled, “The Prince trusts leaving the Princess alone in the Northern Territory?” A silver flash appeared at Ye Li’s fingertip, and with a swoosh, a bright flying dagger flew past Tan Jizhi’s cheek and embedded itself in the tree behind him. Ignoring his teasing, Ye Li smiled slightly and said, “Would Master Tan like to test why the Prince feels confident leaving me alone?”

Tan Jizhi quickly shook his head. He hadn’t missed Mo Xiuyao’s earlier words about “if he shows any signs of disloyalty, just kill him.” He also believed that Ye Li was capable of killing him. Quickly changing the subject, he said seriously, “I’ve already made contact with the Prime Minister of the Northern Territory, and… briefly mentioned the matter of my identity versus Ren Qining’s.”

Ye Li looked at him, “Why would he believe you’re the real one and Ren Qining is the fake?” When Lin Yuan was just born, the Lin family went through a dramatic change. Several family members fled in panic with the Lin family’s young master Lin Yuan, and Ren Qining was only found by the Lin family retainers when he was almost ten years old.

Tan Jizhi shook his head and said, “He didn’t believe me, and he doesn’t need to. The previous dynasty fell over two hundred years ago. Princess, do you think whether the so-called royal descendant is real or fake still matters that much? Those people just… some can’t forget the glory of the previous dynasty and their families, some are truly desperate. Even if they hadn’t found Ren Qining back then, there would have been Zhang Qining or Li Qining. They just need to believe that I can give them more than Ren Qining can.”

“That might be quite difficult,” Ye Li rubbed her forehead thoughtfully. Even though Ren Qining was now full of troubles, from any angle, he was still more successful than Tan Jizhi and could offer more benefits. After all, Ren Qining still had the Northern Kingdom, while Tan Jizhi had nothing. Would those who had already started enjoying the good life be willing to give up Ren Qining when it meant they would have to struggle for several more decades?

Tan Jizhi smiled faintly and said, “Indeed, it’s very difficult. But it’s not impossible. There are also conflicts between these former dynasty ministers and Ren Qining. These people want to drive away or kill all the Northern people quickly, so they can enjoy the fruits of victory without having to share with the Northerners. But Ren Qining seems more interested in using the Northern people to fight for him. However, the Northern people aren’t fools. If he wants them to continue fighting for him, he can’t let Queen Helan bear an heir and make him crown prince. And this happens to be something those old conservatives cannot tolerate. This time, when Ren Qining brought Queen Helan and Cloud Consort back to the palace, Cloud Consort miscarried just two days after arriving. The Prime Minister’s faction believes it was done by the Northern people and wants Ren Qining to severely punish Queen Helan. But Ren Qining was in a hurry to attack Zijing Pass, so he suppressed the matter.”

“And the truth of the matter?” Ye Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

Tan Jizhi said, “It might have been the Northern people. After all, they would not allow Cloud Consort to bear a prince of pure Central Plains blood first. However… it’s also possible that Cloud Consort was exhausted from traveling and truly had an accidental miscarriage. But who cares about such things?” The Central Plains people just wanted to use this incident to hold the Northern people accountable. Whether or not the Northern people did it, they were all pleased to see it happen. As for Ren Qining, for now, he could only try to smooth things over.

“So, the Prime Minister is dissatisfied with Ren Qining?” Ye Li asked.

Tan Jizhi smiled and said, “It’s nothing much. In their view, now that the country is established, what does it matter who is emperor? As long as someone can bring them more benefits, replacing Ren Qining with Tan Jizhi isn’t impossible. I wouldn’t even be surprised if one day they wanted to climb up and become emperor themselves.”

“I’m sorry, but you won’t be becoming emperor this time,” Ye Li apologized sincerely.

Tan Jizhi pursed his lips and said, “It’s fine, I don’t want to be the Northern emperor, and I especially don’t want to be a puppet.” He wanted to restore his dynasty, not be a puppet who couldn’t make any decisions for himself, let alone a puppet with a barbarian name attached.

Seeing his somewhat dejected appearance, Ye Li asked curiously, “Have you ever done anything in your life that you truly wanted to do?”

Tan Jizhi looked at her and said, “Yes, I’ve been doing it all along.”

Ye Li’s mouth twitched slightly, and she said, “You mean restoring the dynasty?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Tan Jizhi didn’t mind, his life’s greatest dream was to restore the dynasty, wasn’t he always working on that? Although there hadn’t been much success.

Ye Li shook her head and looked at him with a complicated expression, saying, “I can see that you want to restore the dynasty.”

Having interacted with Ye Li several times, Tan Jizhi had some understanding of her. He asked, “The Princess seems to disapprove.”

Ye Li smiled faintly and said, “Everyone has their aspirations. I’m not a royal descendant, so naturally, I don’t understand that feeling. However… is it necessary to drag all the common people into warfare just for one family’s rule over the world?”

Tan Jizhi’s face darkened slightly and said, “What do you mean ‘is it necessary’? This world originally belonged to my Lin family!”

Ye Li said calmly, “Before your Lin family, this world belonged to the Xue family. If you could change dynasties just by killing the emperor, I wouldn’t object even if you changed emperors every day. But every time a dynasty changes, it’s the common people who suffer the most. They don’t owe your Lin family anything. It was your Lin family’s ancestors who were incompetent and dragged them into warfare. And afterward, generations of Lin family descendants have been trying to drag them into warfare again.”

Tan Jizhi was speechless. He didn’t agree with Ye Li’s words but vaguely felt that what she said wasn’t wrong either. After a while, Tan Jizhi finally gave a cold laugh and said, “The Princess speaks well, but what are you and the Prince doing now? Does the Princess still want to tell me that the Prince has no ambition to compete for the world? Does the Princess think I would believe that?” Mo Xiuyao’s deep schemes made one break out in a cold sweat just thinking about them. He appeared to be constrained everywhere, forced by circumstances. But in just a few short years, he had transformed Prince Ding Manor from its years of decline and suppression after defeat to its current state, with territory spanning both Da Chu and Xiling, simultaneously occupying the capitals of the two greatest nations of the time. How could such a transformation not terrify people? Looking back now, one would realize that many things were calculated by Mo Xiuyao in advance.

Ye Li said calmly, “What does it matter whether you believe it or not? When the opportunity presented itself, should the Prince Ding Manor just bare its neck for the blade, Master Tan? Your Lin family ancestors just couldn’t accept their defeat, while you… are just trying to fulfill your ambition. It has nothing to do with restoring the dynasty.”

Tan Jizhi was speechless again, and after a long silence, he couldn’t help but sigh and say, “Perhaps the Princess is right. But I’ve been on this path for over thirty years, even if I wanted to stop, I couldn’t.”

Ye Li raised an eyebrow, “Because you took a wrong turn before, you have to resolutely continue down the wrong path? If there’s a cliff ahead, does Master Tan also plan to jump down without blinking?”

Tan Jizhi smiled helplessly and said, “Perhaps.”