In the study of the Ding Wang Manor, Mo Xiuyao, Ye Li, and Xu Qingchen were discussing matters when Qin Feng requested an audience from outside: “Your Highness, Your Lady, Qin Feng seeks an audience.”

Ye Li slightly furrowed her brows and said, “Come in. What is it?”

Qin Feng entered the study, glancing at everyone present – Xu Qingchen, Feng Zhiyao, Han Mingyue, and others were all trusted confidants of the Prince and Princess. Without hesitation, he reported, “Mo Jingyu just secretly met someone at a small teahouse in the city. I suspect it might have been Mo Jingli.”

Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow and asked, “Where are they now?”

Qin Feng lowered his head shamefully and said, “They slipped away. That teahouse might be Mo Jingli’s secret base in Li City. I await your punishment.” By the time the manor’s people had infiltrated, the entire teahouse was empty. It was a specially arranged location with hidden passages for escape.

Mo Xiuyao waved his hand and said calmly, “No wall is completely impenetrable. This isn’t your fault. Are you certain it was Mo Jingli? What does he want with Mo Jingyu?”

Han Mingyue smiled and said, “Mo Jingli daring to come to Li City now, his intentions are obvious. As for Mo Jingyu… he probably has some leverage over him.” Xu Qingchen nodded, agreeing with Han Mingyue’s opinion. Looking at Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li, he said, “We should have Little Bao be more careful these days.” Though Mo Jingli might hate Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li more, given their abilities, it would be extremely difficult to harm them. The young Mo Xiaobao would naturally become the most obvious vulnerability.

Ye Li nodded solemnly, taking note of Xu Qingchen’s reminder. She was already planning to assign more people to protect Mo Xiaobao. No matter how clever Mo Xiaobao was, he was still just a ten-year-old child.

Feng Zhiyao frowned and said, “Mo Jingli has become smarter now, even the manor’s secret guards can’t catch him.”

Han Mingyue smiled and said, “It’s not that he’s become smarter, he’s just a frightened bird afraid of death. If he were truly smart, he wouldn’t have come to Li City at all.” Leng Haoyu worriedly said, “His ability to infiltrate Li City at least proves he still has some capable people under him. I fear that now that he has nothing left to lose, he might be planning to perish together with the manor. Such people are always dangerous – we should catch him as soon as possible.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Fools aren’t frightening, and neither are intelligent people – what’s most frightening are madmen who think they’re clever and aren’t afraid of death. Because it’s very difficult to predict what they might do.

Hearing Leng Haoyu’s words, Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows thoughtfully. Xu Qingchen looked at him and asked, “Does Your Highness have any plans?” Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly and said, “It’s just Mo Jingli, no need to worry too much. I have my plans. In a few days, it will be Lin’er and Xin’er’s first birthday celebration. You should focus more attention on that. There seem to be quite a few guests coming this year?”

Feng Zhiyao nodded and smiled, “Indeed, besides the envoys from Bei Rong, Da Chu, and Xi Ling who are already in Li City, the Queen of Nanzhao and her consort, Princess Helan from the Northern Territory, and envoys from the Western Regions are all on their way. They will arrive in Li City soon.”

“It seems Qingbo and Zhang Qilan have done well in Xi Ling?” Mo Xiuyao stroked his chin and smiled. Xi Ling’s imperial city was located in the far west, bordering the Western Regions. But for a long time, the relationship between Xi Ling and the Western Regions had mostly been hostile. Let alone having nations actively send envoys to offer congratulations, even the trade routes between the two countries were often interrupted. In earlier years, the trade routes between the Western Regions and Central Plains were maintained through agreements between the manor and Xi Ling. It wasn’t until the Mo family army took control of most of the northern regions of Xi Ling that communication between the Central Plains and Western Regions truly became unobstructed.

Xu Qingchen smiled faintly and said, “I heard there were several battles at first. Now that the manor is rising like the sun at noon, even the Western Region people know how to read the situation. Naturally, they would send envoys to offer congratulations. By the way, Qingbo and the others are returning with the Western Region envoys this time. They should arrive in about two days.”

Xu Qingchen nodded and said, “Then… shall we let Qingze handle the Western Region envoys?” It would be convenient since Xu Qingze and Xu Qingbo were brothers, making it easier to communicate if any issues arose.

Xu Qingchen and Xu Qingze nodded, indicating they had no objections.

After concluding their discussion, everyone withdrew, and Ye Li turned to Mo Xiuyao to ask, “What do you plan to do about Mo Jingli?” Mo Xiuyao pulled her into his embrace and said with a soft laugh, “Don’t worry, Little Bao has plenty of people around him. He’s no pushover himself – if he encounters Mo Jingli, it’s hard to say who would come out worse.”

Ye Li frowned, dissatisfied, “He’s still a child.”

“In the manor, there are no children after age ten. Ali, we can’t always be by his side. There will come a day when he must stand on his own.” Ye Li fell silent and sighed. Though she understood Mo Xiuyao was doing this for Mo Xiaobao’s benefit, as someone who had once lived in springtime and grown up under the red flag, even coming from a military family but still growing up happily like a normal child, Ye Li found it difficult to accept treating children like adults. In her previous life, at age ten, she was still running around and making mischief with other girls and boys in the compound.

But current circumstances didn’t allow Mo Xiaobao to grow up slowly. Given Mo Xiuyao’s temperament and plans, he intended to hand over the manor to Mo Xiaobao early and retire to a life of leisure. To prevent chaos if someone suddenly lets go of everything one day, starting Mo Xiaobao’s training now was the correct choice.

“Ali doesn’t need to worry, Little Bao is my son too.” Seeing Ye Li worried about Little Bao’s safety, Mo Xiuyao comforted her softly, feeling quite helpless about her excessive worry. No matter how mischievous Mo Xiaobao was, he was still his son – how could a father get his son killed? Could it be that he usually treated Mo Xiaobao too poorly, making Ali so worried? The Prince of Ding rarely felt such self-doubt.

Ye Li smiled faintly and said, “I know, it’s just that I can’t help but worry. You know… sometimes logic and emotions are two different things.” Let alone Mo Xiaobao being just over ten years old – even if he became the world’s greatest martial artist like Mo Xiuyao, a mother would still worry, “Since you have plans, you handle this matter. I’ll take good care of Lin’er and Xin’er.” If Mo Jingli truly became desperate, Mo Xiaobao might not be the only one in danger – Lin’er and Xin’er could be in danger too.

“I promise Mo Xiaobao will be safe and sound,” Mo Xiuyao solemnly promised.

“Mm, I know,” Ye Li nodded with a smile.

“Your Highness, My Lady, something terrible has happened!” Outside the door, Qin Feng hurried in with a grave expression.

Ye Li stood up, “What’s wrong?” Qin Feng was usually steady and composed – if it weren’t a major incident, he would never be so rash as to burst into the study.

Qin Feng said gravely, “The Queen of Nanzhao was ambushed not far from Li City. The Queen and young prince are missing!”

“What?!” Not only Ye Li, but even Mo Xiuyao’s face showed a trace of surprise. Mo Xiuyao thought for a moment and frowned, “Why would the Queen of Nanzhao bring the prince to Li City?” Last year, Princess Anxi had given birth to a young prince in the Central Plains, but Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao weren’t in Li City at the time. Now that child was barely half a year old – even if the Queen of Nanzhao came to Li City personally to offer congratulations, given the long journey, she shouldn’t have brought the young prince.

Qin Feng explained, “After Princess Anxi and her consort left Li City last year, they didn’t return to their country but continued traveling through the Central Plains. They were originally planning to return home, but when they heard the manor was holding a first birthday celebration for the young heir and princess, they turned back to the young prince. Unexpectedly, when they were less than a hundred li from Li City, they were ambushed by a group of mysterious assailants. The consort was severely wounded, and the Queen and young prince are missing.”

“Where is the consort? Quickly invite him in,” Ye Li hurriedly said.

Soon, Nanzhao’s consort Pu A entered. Indeed, his originally magnificent sapphire-colored Southern borderland attire was stained with blood, and Pu A’s arms and face were covered in wounds, clearly having been through a fierce battle.

“Prince of Ding, Princess.” Because Princess Anxi and Ye Li had a good relationship, Pu A was also quite familiar with Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li. Without standing on ceremony, he anxiously said, “Your Highness, My Lady, please save Anxi and the child!” As he spoke, he was about to bow before Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li. Men of the Southern borderlands were extremely proud and rarely knelt to others. The disappearance of his wife and son had thrown this Southern man into panic.

Mo Xiuyao quickly reached out to support him and said gravely, “Pu A, rest assured. As long as the Queen of Nanzhao is still in the Northwest, I guarantee we will find her. This matter… the manor will also give Nanzhao an explanation.”

Mo Xiuyao had a natural ability to calm people’s hearts and inspire confidence. Hearing him say this, Pu A quickly calmed down, took a deep breath, and said, “If there’s anything I can do to help, please command me. As long as… Anxi and the child can return safely.”

Mo Xiuyao patted his shoulder and said, “Sit down first and tell us what happened. Then go rest in the guest room – your injuries are not light.”

Pu A nodded heavily, collected his thoughts, and recounted the assassination attempt. It turned out that for the past half year, Princess Anxi and Pu A had been traveling around with their child. During these six months, the three forces in the Central Plains had been at war, and Princess Anxi had accepted Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao’s advice to stay out of it. Since there were no pressing matters in Nanzhao either, the couple hadn’t rushed to return. When they heard the manor was preparing a first birthday celebration for the two young heirs and princess, given Nanzhao’s relationship with the manor, they naturally couldn’t miss it. So the couple, who had originally planned to return to Nanzhao, turned back. Unexpectedly, on a sparsely populated official road not far from Li City, they were ambushed. Pu A and his guard escorts fought to the death, but the attackers were numerous and each highly skilled. They were caught off guard and at a disadvantage from the start, and in the end, Princess Anxi and the child were taken.

Hearing Pu A’s account, Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li exchanged a glance, both gradually forming an idea of what had happened. Ye Li called for Butler Mo to take Pu A to rest, and just as Pu A was leaving, Feng Zhiyao and the others, having heard the news, arrived.

“I knew it, Mo Jingli was going to pull something!” Leng Haoyu cursed under his breath. “But why kidnap Princess Anxi? Isn’t he afraid of alerting the manor and putting us on guard? Or does Mo Jingli have such great abilities that he views the manor as nothing?”

Han Mingyue frowned and looked at Mo Xiuyao, “Kidnapping Princess Anxi serves no purpose, Mo Jingli gains nothing from it. The only possibility is… he wants to ruin the manor’s birthday celebration. If all the foreign envoys who come to attend the banquet are assassinated or if something happens to them…” If something happened to the foreign envoys on the manor’s territory, even if it wasn’t the manor’s fault, they would still have to answer to the various nations.

Feng Zhiyao said gravely, “If that’s true, he won’t stop with Princess Anxi. There’s also Princess Helan who’s about to arrive in Li City and those Western Region envoys.” In other words, Mo Jingli simply wanted to embarrass the manor.

Ye Li lowered her eyes in thought, then said solemnly, “Feng San, tell Mo Hua to send out the manor’s secret guards to escort all foreign envoys, ensuring they reach Li City safely. Additionally, mobilize fifty thousand troops from the camps near Li City, divide them into groups of five hundred, and have them patrol within a hundred li of Li City around the clock. Order Qilin to station two teams in Li City, and the other four teams in the east, south, west, and north around Li City, ready to provide support at any time.”

“Yes, My Lady,” Feng Zhiyao accepted the order.

“What do you think about the Nanzhao Queen’s situation?” Mo Xiuyao asked. Everyone fell silent. After a while, Leng Haoyu sighed softly, “Let’s hope Mo Jingli… if he wants to negotiate with us, won’t harm Princess Anxi for now. Otherwise…” If the Queen of Nanzhao and her only prince died in Li City, it would do no good for relations between the manor and Nanzhao.

“We’ll do our best to search everywhere,” Feng Zhiyao’s voice was also heavy.

Ye Li nodded, “Pass down the orders, be extremely careful, we must ensure Princess Anxi and the young prince’s safety.”

Han Mingyue said, “Princess Anxi is no ordinary person. Mo Jingli, traveling with such a woman and a child less than six months old near Li City, can’t possibly avoid leaving some traces. My Lady needn’t worry too much.” Ye Li thought for a moment and said, “Then, I’ll leave this matter to Master Han.” Han Mingyue had once been the head of Da Chu’s largest intelligence organization; when it came to finding people, he should have more experience than others.

Han Mingyue bowed with a smile, “I won’t disappoint My Lady’s trust.”

Ye Li sighed softly, “Thank you for your trouble, Master.”

In a cave outside Li City, Princess Anxi woke from unconsciousness, rubbing her slightly aching forehead. A sharp glint flashed in her eyes as she instantly regained clarity and quickly looked around.

“Are you looking for him?” a male voice came from nearby, carrying malice and mockery.

Princess Anxi looked toward the voice and saw a man wearing coarse cloth clothes with thick facial hair standing not far away, holding a swaddled infant in his arms. His way of holding the child was neither skillful nor careful. He casually held the bundle with one hand; fortunately, the child was asleep and not suffering.

“Shuo’er! Who are you?!” Princess Anxi watched the man before her vigilantly. He seemed familiar, but when she tried to think carefully, she realized there was no such person in her memory.

The man seemed to pause before sneering, “The Queen of Nanzhao has such a poor memory. We haven’t met that long ago.”

“We?” This word was exclusively used by Central Plains emperors for self-reference. Princess Anxi was stunned for a moment, then looked more carefully and hesitantly said, “Are you… Mo Jingli?” It was no wonder Princess Anxi hadn’t recognized him. She hadn’t seen Mo Jingli many times before. Moreover, the man before her bore no resemblance to the once proud and sinister King Li of Da Chu except for his height. His once handsome face had become sallow and gaunt, his eyes filled with violence and hints of twisted madness, along with that jarring bandit-chief-like beard that seemed more fitting for a mountain stronghold. No one would doubt if someone said he was a bandit who had come down from the mountains.

Mo Jingli looked at Princess Anxi and burst into laughter, “That’s right, I am Mo Jingli! I’m surprised the Queen of Nanzhao still remembers me!”

Princess Anxi watched nervously as the child in his hands began to stir from his mad laughter, clearly about to wake up.

“Give me the child first,” Princess Anxi said, steadying herself.

“The child? Why should I listen to you?” Mo Jingli looked down at Princess Anxi imperiously. Princess Anxi said gravely, “Shuo’er is still young, he doesn’t understand adult matters. He’ll certainly cry when he wakes up. You surely don’t want his crying to draw the manor’s people here?”

Sure enough, before Princess Anxi finished speaking, the child’s lips quivered and he began to whimper. Just as he was about to burst into loud cries, Mo Jingli, who had grown most irritated by such noises during his days as a fugitive, angrily shouted, “Shut up!”

How could a six-month-old infant understand his warning? The child immediately burst into loud wails. Mo Jingli glared fiercely at Princess Anxi and threw the child. Princess Anxi was startled and quickly leaped up to catch the child in mid-air. Landing back on the ground, still shaken, Princess Anxi gently patted the child, “Shuo’er… be good, don’t cry…”

“Make him shut up immediately! Otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite!” Mo Jingli commanded coldly. Princess Anxi glanced sideways at Mo Jingli but didn’t respond, only softly comforting the child in her arms. In his mother’s embrace, it wasn’t long before the child’s cries subsided, and gradually, sniffling, he fell back asleep.

Seeing the child asleep, Princess Anxi carefully found a flat, dry spot to lay him down, and scattered some insect-repelling medicine around him. As someone from the Southern borderlands, such things were never in short supply.

Only after settling the child did Princess Anxi walk toward Mo Jingli, who stood at the cave entrance, and calmly said, “Why has the Emperor of Chu brought us here?”

Mo Jingli looked at Princess Anxi with malice and sneered, “Why? Can’t I capture you without a reason?”

Princess Anxi shook her head, “I certainly don’t believe that. If Your Majesty had no purpose, you could have killed us from the start. Why wait until now? Is it because of… the manor?” It wasn’t hard to guess. Although Mo Jingli had been deposed by Da Chu’s Grand Empress Dowager and ministers, the root cause was the war with the manor. If he hadn’t been utterly defeated by the manor, those Da Chu ministers wouldn’t have dared to rebel against Mo Jingli in Jiangnan even with ten times their courage.

Mo Jingli stared at her, “You’re clever indeed. No wonder Shu Manlin couldn’t defeat you back then. But unfortunately… no matter how clever you are, you’re useless now that you’re in my hands. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for coming to Li City.”

Princess Anxi fell silent. With her sharp wit, she naturally noticed Mo Jingli’s instability. If Mo Jingli was determined to kill her, nothing she said would matter, and as the Queen of Nanzhao, she would never stoop to begging for mercy.

But Princess Anxi’s calmness only angered Mo Jingli further. He stared at her and began to laugh sinisterly, “Do you think that so-called consort of yours will come to save you? True, he escaped, but… do you think the manor’s people will find you? Even if they can find you… this child, not even a year old yet? Can he last until then?”

Princess Anxi said calmly, “What exactly do you want?”

Mo Jingli smiled, “Nothing much. I just want to see how capable the manor is.”

Princess Anxi closed her eyes and remained silent for a long while before saying, “You captured me just to divert the manor’s attention. You want to do something else… you want to harm the manor’s people.”

Mo Jingli tilted his head and studied Princess Anxi for a long time before sighing, “You truly are a clever woman, far superior to that fool Qixia. Back then… why did I ever fancy that fool?”

Princess Anxi clenched her teeth, anger flashing in her eyes. When Princess Qixia was sent back to Li City by Ye Li’s people, her severe injuries were still unhealed, not to mention her childlike state, behaving like a seven or eight-year-old. Although angry at this disobedient sister, seeing her reduced to such a state by the man she had loved wholeheartedly for over a decade, Princess Anxi couldn’t help but hate Mo Jingli’s heartlessness.

“Since you know, just stay put obediently. Perhaps if I’m in a good mood, I’ll let you go. But if you don’t behave… I guarantee I’ll make you watch your precious son die horribly!” Mo Jingli looked down at Princess Anxi, smiling cruelly. As if thinking of something, hostility flashed in Mo Jingli’s eyes as he smiled, “Right now, the manor’s people must be searching everywhere for us. But… don’t worry, they’ll never find this place. Even if they do… they won’t dare come here, unless they don’t care about your life. Oh, and if you want to try escaping, feel free to try.”

With that, Mo Jingli no longer paid attention to Princess Anxi and strode out of the cave.

Watching Mo Jingli’s figure disappear at the cave entrance, Princess Anxi slowly moved to the entrance. Soon, she understood why Mo Jingli wasn’t afraid of her escaping or of the manor’s people finding them. This cave was located halfway up a cliff, below which was a vast lake stretching almost as far as the eye could see. If she were alone, she might risk jumping from the cliff, but with a child, she truly had no way to escape on her own.

Silently looking at the lake surface below the cliff, she wasn’t very familiar with the Northwest and couldn’t guess where exactly she was. After pondering for a while, Princess Anxi turned and walked back into the cave.