After hearing Ye Li’s words, Feng Zhiyao and Mo Xiuyao’s expressions became somewhat strange. One look at their faces and Ye Li knew what these two were thinking. They probably wanted to see Young Master Qingchen make a fool of himself. Unfortunately, this great battle wouldn’t be finished for some time – by the time they returned from war, Young Master Qingchen might have already settled everything and won his lady’s heart. These two were just lamenting their lost chance to see the show of the world’s number one young master.

Marquis Nan coughed lightly, deeply feeling his age and inability to understand these young people’s thoughts. “Prince, Third Young Master Feng, shouldn’t we continue what we were just…” If they let Feng Zhiyao keep digging, he might say something that would make an old man like him feel inexplicably embarrassed.

Feng Zhiyao rubbed his nose, finally remembering they had been discussing important matters before Ye Li arrived. Seeing Ye Li’s return, Mo Xiuyao had long lost patience for dealing with them. He pulled Ye Li to sit down, quickly gave a few instructions, and then drove the two men out.

Standing at the study door, experiencing being thrown out for the first time in his life, Marquis Nan couldn’t quite process it. Feng Zhiyao was quite used to it, pulling the Marquis along with a smile, “Marquis, come, come, shall we go drink at my place?” Marquis Nan finally came to his senses, helplessly shaking his head as he followed Feng Zhiyao.

After walking a few steps, Feng Zhiyao suddenly hesitated and stopped, as if he’d forgotten to tell the princess consort something.

Marquis Nan turned back puzzled, “What’s wrong? Aren’t we going to drink?”

“Seems I forgot to tell the princess consort something,” Feng Zhiyao said.

“Is it official business? What would you know that the prince doesn’t?” Marquis Nan asked. Feng Zhiyao thought for a moment – that was true. Mo Xiuyao would tell the princess consort eventually, at most… just a bit later. Waving his hand, he swaggered off with Marquis Nan.

In the study, Mo Xiuyao held Ye Li tightly in his arms, gently nuzzling her hair atop her head, saying sullenly, “Li’er was gone so long this time.”

Ye Li smiled helplessly, “How is two months long?” A round trip from the north to Jiangnan – two months was already quite fast. But Ye Li also knew this wasn’t the time to argue with Mo Xiuyao, “It was my fault, I’ll return quicker next time.”

Sure enough, Mo Xiuyao said wistfully, “One day apart feels like three autumns. Did Li’er not miss this prince at all?”

Ye Li’s face flushed. She lifted her head to place a light kiss on Mo Xiuyao’s lips, saying softly, “I missed you too, alright?”

Mo Xiuyao’s eyes darkened. He gripped the back of Ye Li’s head, pulling her closer, and deepened the kiss forcefully. Ye Li froze in surprise for a moment but was quickly swept up in Mo Xiuyao’s passionate fervor. Her watery eyes closed as she joined him in their passionate embrace.

“Li’er…” Mo Xiuyao murmured Ye Li’s name lowly. Ye Li felt his deep voice in her ears making her whole body tingle, going somewhat weak.

“Mm?” Mo Xiuyao lowered his head, tenderly and lingeringly savoring the sweet taste of her pink lips. “Li’er…”

“Father! Father! Has Mother returned?!” Mo Xiaobao’s voice came from outside along with the sound of running footsteps, followed by bang-bang-bang knocking at the door. The two people still immersed in tender feelings instantly came to their senses. Ye Li looked at the door somewhat surprised, “Why is Xiaobao in Wei City?”

Mo Xiuyao coldly swept his gaze toward the door, saying flatly, “Last time when Feng San returned to Li City on business, he insisted on coming along. He’s not so young anymore – seeing the battlefield isn’t a bad thing.” However, this little brat dared not disturb his time with Li’er!

Mo Xiuyao snorted lightly, raising his hand toward the door. The door that had been bolted from inside suddenly opened, and Mo Xiaobao, who had been leaning against it, nearly tumbled in headfirst. Fortunately, Mo Xiaobao had begun learning martial arts these past couple of years and had achieved some basic foundation – he just leaned forward and steadied himself at the doorway. He looked somewhat confused at his father and mother sitting inside, then at the open door. He had pushed so hard but couldn’t open it, how had it opened now?

“Chen’er.” Ye Li stood up, smiling at her son. After several months apart, he had indeed grown quite a bit taller.

“Mother!” Mo Xiaobao called out in a daze, immediately stepping into the study and rushing toward Ye Li. Mo Xiuyao’s eyes narrowed – his right hand lightly tapped the table, and a wolf-hair brush that had been on the desk shot toward Mo Xiaobao. Mo Xiaobao cried out in surprise, hurriedly dodging aside, and continued running toward Ye Li. Mo Xiuyao flicked his finger again, and another brush from the desk shot out. This time Mo Xiaobao wasn’t so lucky – the corner of his clothes was pinned to a nearby pillar by the brush. Mo Xiaobao’s outstretched hand was less than three inches from Ye Li.

Mo Xiaobao looked back at his clothes pinned to the pillar, then at his beloved mother just out of reach. His big eyes blinked and immediately became watery, “Mother… The father is bullying Xiaobao. Xiaobao misses Mother.”

“Xiuyao…” Looking at her son’s outstretched hand and pitiful gaze, Ye Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Mo Xiuyao unhappily swept his gaze over Mo Xiaobao, slightly raising his hand to draw back the brush embedded in the pillar with his inner force. It landed with a pat on the brush holder in front of Mo Xiuyao. Mo Xiaobao ducked his head, probably realizing he had come at a bad time – Father’s mood was terrible. He carefully edged closer to Ye Li, “Mother…”

Ye Li reached out to pat Mo Xiaobao’s head, smiling, “Xiaobao has grown taller. Have you been behaving well during this time?”

Mo Xiaobao’s eyes brightened as he nodded vigorously, “Xiaobao has been very good, Mother. Xiaobao has grown up.”

Ye Li laughed and pinched his little nose, “Grown up? If you’re grown up, why do you still want Mother to hold you?” Seeing Mo Xiaobao reaching out for a hug, Ye Li shook her head. Because she hadn’t been around Mo Xiaobao much these past two years, Ye Li felt somewhat guilty and indulgent toward him. But at seven or eight years old, he really shouldn’t be asking for hugs anymore – Mo Xiuyao’s eyes were about to shoot fire.

Mo Xiuyao stepped forward, picking up Mo Xiaobao and bringing him before himself, saying flatly, “Have you finished the tasks this prince assigned you?” Mo Xiaobao proudly lifted his little face, “Of course, I finished them.” It was just an hour of horse stance, half an hour of sword practice, half an hour of horsemanship, and twenty pages of calligraphy – how could such trivial matters stop Mo Yuzhen?

Mo Xiuyao coldly smiled at someone’s proudly forgetful little face, “Very good. Then starting tomorrow, add another hour of archery and twenty pages of calligraphy.”

Uh? Mo Xiaobao’s little face froze. He quickly calculated in his heart – an hour of horse stance, an hour of archery, then sword practice and horsemanship plus forty pages of calligraphy… it would take at least four or five hours to finish… He would die of exhaustion!

“This prince thinks… surely the assignments I gave you were too easy, which is why you are so leisurely. So, from today onward, this prince will guide you strictly. After all… your father and mother have high hopes for you.” Mo Xiuyao said languidly.

Wuu… Mo Xiaobao’s face fell as he looked pitifully toward Ye Li. Ye Li sighed and looked up at the ceiling, pretending not to see her son’s pleading gaze. She believed Mo Xiuyao would know his limits, and more importantly, the more she helped, the more Mo Xiuyao would want to torment Mo Xiaobao. Better let father and son handle things between themselves.

Seeing his plea for help fail, Mo Xiaobao completely despaired. Now Mo Xiaobao finally understood – if Father truly got angry, even Mother couldn’t save him. He could only gaze at Mo Xiuyao with the most innocent starry eyes, “Father, your child… will work hard.”

Young Master Mo Xiaobao’s starry eyes were quite potent. Mo Xiuyao’s lips twitched slightly as he wordlessly looked to the sky: Was this his son? He was being too shameless.

“Good… study well, Father believes in you.” Mo Xiaobao had underestimated someone’s iron heart. Mo Xiuyao firmly extended his hand to pat his son’s shoulder and excused him. His attempt at playing pitiful failing again, Mo Xiaobao stood dazed for a moment before finally running off in tears.

From then on, Wei City lost a swaggering little tyrant and gained a poor child who rose at dawn and studied diligently. Mo Xiaobao was clever and usually didn’t need much time to learn. But the tasks Mo Xiuyao assigned couldn’t be solved with cleverness alone. No matter how smart Mo Xiaobao was or how good his memory and ability to learn by analogy, he couldn’t turn an hour into half an hour, much less turn forty pages of calligraphy into four. For this, the entire General’s mansion clapped and celebrated. Of course, Mo Xiaobao did gain something. When he returned to Li City, Master Qingyun and the Xu family found that Mo Xiaobao had grown taller and healthier, and his calligraphy, which Master Hongyu had previously considered barely acceptable, had improved considerably – it could now be called accomplished.

Although the battle at the front was fierce, Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li in Wei City were relatively free. As supreme commander, he no longer needed to personally charge into battle or arrange troops. Mo Xiuyao only needed to control the overall situation and troop deployments – the frontline commanders naturally handled matters at the front. Previously, Mo Xiuyao had gone to the battlefield merely for pre-battle warmup plus boredom.

However, even so, news continuously arrived from the front. Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao still spent most of each day in the study.

“Lei Zhenting personally led 700,000 troops to attack Ruichang City – He Su and Murong Shen were no match,” Ye Li read softly from a just-delivered urgent report in the study. Mo Xiuyao’s expression remained calm as he leaned back in his chair, saying flatly, “Not surprising. He Su and Murong Shen indeed aren’t Lei Zhenting’s match. However… Lei Zhenting personally taking the field from the start, and committing almost all of Xiling’s main force – does he want to force this prince to act?”

Feng Zhiyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, “Once the prince engages Lei Zhenting, it will give Yelü Ye and He Lianzhen a chance to catch their breath in the north. Who would have thought Lei Zhenting would sacrifice so much for certain victory?”

Ye Li shook her head, “This isn’t a sacrifice. If Northern Rong falls first, Xiling has no chance either. Lei Zhenting tying down Xiuyao not only gives Northern Rong a chance to breathe but also drags out time. In another month or two, Great Chu’s army should arrive.”

Feng Zhiyao frowned, “If that’s the case, we should defeat Northern Rong first, then focus on dealing with the threat from the south.” Otherwise, being attacked from both front and back was infuriating. “By the way, Princess Consort, news of Mo Jingli’s ascension to the throne should arrive these days, right?” Feng Zhiyao asked curiously. Who would have thought Mo Jingli would ascend to the throne in the end? Though this throne came somewhat… at least it fulfilled Mo Jingli’s long-cherished wish.

Ye Li nodded, “It should be soon. Once Mo Jingli ascends the throne, that’s when Great Chu will deploy their troops.”

Mo Xiuyao stared at the large map spread on the table showing various countries’ military forces and battle positions. He reached out to point at Northern Rong, “In that case, let’s deal with Northern Rong first. Besides, we should have news from Yelü Hong soon.”

Marquis Nan frowned, “Then what about General Murong’s situation?”

Once Ruichang City fell, Wei City and Feihong Pass would be next. Marquis Nan couldn’t help but worry.

Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly, “Let this prince see just how formidable Lei Zhenting, this ‘God of War of Xiling,’ really is. Marquis Nan, I’ll trouble you to defend Wei City. With Old General Yuan Pei guarding Feihong Pass, this prince can rest easy. Additionally, this prince will order Fu Zhao and Lü Jinxian to lead 200,000 troops back as reinforcements.”

Marquis Nan was startled and said gravely, “Prince, if you recall General Lü, what about the north?” Once Lü Jinxian led his troops back, there wouldn’t be a single capable general left facing Northern Rong. If only Zhang Qilan wasn’t thousands of li away guarding Xiling, and Leng Huai wasn’t in the Chu capital – then they wouldn’t be so short of commanders.

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows with a smile, “This prince will personally meet He Lianzhen!” Though Mo Xiuyao had never admitted defeat at He Lianzhen’s hands in that battle eighteen years ago, the Mo family army had indeed been severely wounded by He Lianzhen. This matter naturally needed to be resolved sooner or later.

Marquis Nan tensed slightly at the killing intent in Mo Xiuyao’s words, nodding, “Your subordinate obeys, but… not to belittle myself, I fear…” Even with so many people, they might not be able to stop Lei Zhenting. Lei Zhenting’s title as the God of War of Xiling didn’t fall from the sky – at least among Prince Ding’s generals, apart from the prince himself, none had any undefeated divine titles. For ordinary people like them, victory and defeat were simply matters of war. Marquis Nan had fought on battlefields for many years and had suffered quite a few defeats.

Mo Xiuyao’s finger pointed at Feihong Pass and Wei City as he smiled, “Three months to hold these two places. Does the Marquis see any problem?” Marquis Nan fell silent for a moment – did the prince mean to subdue Northern Rong within three months?! After a long while, Marquis Nan stood up and declared loudly, “Your subordinate accepts the command. I will defend Wei City to the death.”

Mo Xiuyao nodded with satisfaction, “Then I’ll trouble the Marquis.”

Sure enough, within a couple of days, news of Mo Jingli’s ascension to the throne finally reached Wei City. Upon receiving the news, Mo Xiuyao didn’t even twitch an eye, casually tossing the report aside as he stood and extended his hand to Ye Li. Ye Li smiled and took his hand – it was time for them to go to war.

Though Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao were heading to war, they didn’t send Mo Xiaobao back to Li City, instead taking him along to the army camp. The Mo family army’s men typically entered military camps for training by their early teens. Though Mo Xiaobao was only seven or eight, there was no harm in him going to observe.

Experiencing a real military camp for the first time, Mo Xiaobao was indeed excited. Unfortunately, the daily tasks Mo Xiuyao assigned pressed down on his head like a mountain, leaving him no time to chase cats or play with dogs.

This time, Mo Xiuyao’s approach was different from his previous methodical standoff with Northern Rong. Several hundred thousand Mo family troops struck like lightning, carrying thunderous momentum as they attacked the cities defended by Northern Rong’s army. The Northern Rong were originally nomads, skilled in long-distance raids and frontal assaults, but extremely weak at defending cities. After losing three cities and retreating four hundred li in just five days, they barely managed to stabilize their position.

In the Northern Rong military camp, Yelü Ye darkly regarded the generals below him, saying gravely, “Mo Xiuyao has taken three cities in just five days – what countermeasures do you have?” He Lianzhen said, “It unexpected that Mo Xiuyao would completely ignore a great enemy like Lei Zhenting and focus solely on attacking our forces. In this old one’s opinion, Mo Xiuyao likely plans to deal with our Northern Rong with full force, then turn to face Xiling and Great Chu.”

Yelü Ye looked at He Lianzhen coldly, “In other words, General He’s previous plan to ally with Xiling and Great Chu has completely failed?” He Lianzhen smiled bitterly – most times Yelü Ye called him uncle, but now he used “General He,” clearly showing great dissatisfaction with him. He Lianzhen sighed somewhat helplessly, “Originally if Mo Jingli hadn’t suddenly delayed his troop deployment time, it wouldn’t have come to this. The current situation is… the plan against Prince Ding’s mansion hasn’t failed, it’s just that we Northern Rong haven’t gained any benefits either.”

In other words, they had harmed others without benefiting themselves. Prince Ding’s mansion indeed had to face attacks from Xiling and Great Chu, but who could have imagined Mo Xiuyao would completely disregard how the fall of Ruichang might affect Feihong Pass and Wei City, even the northwest that the Mo family army had always protected, focusing solely on dealing with Northern Rong first?

Originally Northern Rong and the Mo family army were already at odds, ready to clash at any moment. The current situation didn’t cause Northern Rong any losses, just that they had gained nothing after months of effort.

“The princess consort went to Jiangnan these past two months,” He Lianpeng, sitting below He Lianzhen, suddenly spoke.

Because of his previous defeat, Yelü Ye had been quite dismissive of He Lianpeng. However, He Lianpeng seemed to have changed considerably these past few months, completely ignoring Yelü Ye’s attitude, quietly doing his work, and rarely speaking. This had somewhat improved Yelü Ye’s impression of him. Hearing him suddenly speak, Yelü Ye frowned, “Ye Li went to Jiangnan? How do you know?”

He Lianpeng remained silent, just looking at Yelü Ye with calm eyes. He considered his defeat at Ye Li’s hands his life’s greatest shame and naturally paid constant attention to her movements. However, after those lessons, he no longer acted rashly. Moreover, Ye Li’s movements weren’t easy to track – He Lianpeng had only gradually pieced this together from various clues over the past few days.

He Lianpeng lowered his eyes, “Father should know… about Prince Garrison South’s mansion and Prince Ding’s mansion jointly eliminating Cangmang Mountain.”

He Lianzhen nodded – such a major event had happened not long before he went to Jiangnan, so he naturally knew. He Lianpeng continued, “However after Cangmang Mountain was eliminated, Young Master Qingchen disappeared for a time. Li City didn’t send anyone to handle this matter. During this period, Ye Li also didn’t appear in public, so she must have gone to Jiangnan.”

Anger flashed in Yelü Ye’s eyes as he said gravely, “Again Ye Li has disrupted this prince’s great plans! Mo Jingli’s sudden delay in deploying troops must be related to Ye Li.”

He Lianpeng nodded, “It should be so. However… even if Ye Li hadn’t gone, the alliance of the three nations likely wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. If Young Master Qingchen hadn’t disappeared… he should have been the one handling this matter originally.”

Everyone fell silent. Though that was true, Young Master Qingchen operated openly and was easier to guard against. But now, they didn’t even know what Ye Li had done in Jiangnan.

He Lianpeng said, “The prince likely wants to drive us Northern Rong out from within the passes before Great Chu deploys troops, then he can focus on dealing with Lei Zhenting and Mo Jingli.”

Yelü Ye laughed coldly, “Driving Northern Rong out beyond the passes isn’t so easy! Tell me, how should we deal with Mo Xiuyao?”

The crowd looked at each other. Yelü Ye frowned, “He Lianpeng, you speak.”

He Lianpeng said gravely, “Our Northern Rong army excels at face-to-face combat, and our cavalry especially excels at thousand-li raids, but we indeed aren’t skilled at defending cities.” Now the Mo family army held the initiative – in Central Plains terms, they were using our weakness to attack our strength. Defeat was predictable.

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Yelü Ye asked.

He Lianpeng said, “In this subordinate’s opinion, we should play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses by taking the initiative to attack.” Apart from the royal court, Northern Rong had no proper cities to speak of, so their soldiers naturally never needed to defend cities. Now suddenly switching from attack to defense, they were naturally restricted and couldn’t deploy effectively.

Yelü Ye pondered for a moment, looking at He Lianzhen, “What does Uncle think?”

He Lianzhen nodded, “Peng’er makes sense. This old one also believes our army is at a great disadvantage defending cities – better to turn from passive to active and take the initiative to attack. In terms of cavalry, even if Northern Rong can’t defeat Prince Ding’s mansion, we’re at least evenly matched. Moreover… we have more cavalry than the Black Cloud Riders.” Though the Black Cloud Riders were once called the Mo family army’s most elite force, they weren’t the main force. The Mo family army’s main force was still regular infantry because Great Chu’s complex terrain didn’t allow cavalry to deploy effectively. But Northern Rong had vast grasslands, and their soldiers were primarily cavalry. In a real clash, the Black Cloud Riders definitely wouldn’t have the advantage.

Yelü Ye’s sword-like eyebrows furrowed as he looked coolly at He Lianzhen and the others, “This prince will follow Uncle and General He’s judgment. We cannot retreat further. In recent messages from the royal court, Father King is already very displeased with this prince’s lack of achievements over the past half year and even losing much of the territory we had gained. If we’re defeated again, Father King likely won’t agree to send us more troops.”

Northern Rong itself had vast territory but a sparse population, making it not as easy to gather troops as in the Central Plains. These recent consecutive losses of Northern Rong’s army had already greatly displeased the Northern Rong royal court, giving Yelü Hong more opportunities to attack him.

“Your subordinate understands,” everyone rose and said.

Yelü Ye nodded with satisfaction, “Good, this time let Uncle and General He lead the army. He Lianpeng, don’t disappoint this prince again.”

He Lianpeng said gravely, “Your subordinate understands. Please set your mind at ease, Your Highness.”