After hearing Princess Anxi’s response, Ye Li stood up and prepared to go downstairs. She seemed completely indifferent to Princess Anxi’s life or death. This reaction startled the men present. After all, what they knew was that while the Prince of Ding was cold and ruthless, his wife was known for being compassionate. For this reason, she shouldn’t abandon Princess Anxi.

“Wait!” the man said sternly.

One of the men guarding the stairs, hearing their leader’s voice, immediately moved to block Ye Li. However, Ye Li’s delicate face darkened slightly as she reached out, grabbed the man’s extended arm, and twisted it. With a crack, the man who had blocked her path let out a muffled groan and was pushed to the ground. Ye Li turned back, fixing cold eyes on the black-clothed leader: “This Princess respects your loyalty, but you’d best know your limits.”

“Wait,” the black-clothed man said. “We can release Princess Anxi, but… how can I trust you won’t make any moves within half an hour?” Ye Li raised an eyebrow and asked, “Then what do you want?” The black-clothed man replied, “Please, Princess and Prince, wait here together for half an hour. After that, we will release Princess Anxi. Additionally, during this half hour, neither of you can meet anyone from the Prince of Ding’s mansion.”

Ye Li lowered her eyes in thought, then nodded: “Very well. But first, let me take Princess Anxi away. We’ll wait outside.”

The black-clothed man frowned, wanting to refuse. Ye Li spoke coolly, “Your thinking isn’t bad. If the Prince and I waste half an hour with you, but in the end, you set Princess Anxi on fire, who can this Princess complain to?”

The man struggled for a long while. Seeing his hesitation, Ye Li shook her head and turned to leave.

“Princess…”

“If you agree, come out. If not, keep her. If this Princess doesn’t leave within a quarter hour, the Prince will come in personally.”

Watching Ye Li’s figure casually disappear down the stairs, those upstairs looked at each other. “Chief, what should we do?” After long contemplation, the lead black-clothed man finally sighed, “We’ll go out.”

“But what if…” What if the Princess was lying? Here they could use this room doused in strong alcohol as leverage, but once outside, the Mo family troops lying in wait would be enough to turn them into porcupines. The black-clothed man smiled bitterly, “We already lost when we didn’t kill the Princess immediately when she came. Besides, she’s right – what does it matter to the Prince of Ding’s mansion whether the Queen of Nanzhao lives or dies? Even if Nanzhao wanted to cause trouble for the Prince’s mansion because of this, they’d have to get past Western Ling and Great Chu first.” And he seriously doubted if any country dared to cause trouble for the Prince’s mansion now.

“Are we just going out like this?”

The black-clothed man gritted his teeth, “Let’s gamble once on the Princess keeping her word. We’re dead either way – if we can delay for half an hour for His Majesty… that’s serving him loyally enough.”

The others remained silent. Whether for loyalty or other reasons, they had no way back now. The leader was right – they were dead either way and compared to burning to death, they’d rather die quickly from an arrow through the heart.

Outside the restaurant, Ye Li stood beside Mo Xiu Yao, with Pu A standing behind them anxiously watching inside. After a moment, they finally saw Princess Anxi being escorted slowly out of the restaurant.

“Anxi!” Pu A called anxiously.

Princess Anxi shook her head to indicate she was fine.

Mo Xiu Yao cast a cool glance over everyone and said, “Since you’ve come out, release her.” The men watched Mo Xiu Yao warily without moving. Mo Xiu Yao sneered dismissively, “My wife has already told me. If this Prince wanted to break the agreement, you’d have been dead the moment you stepped out. Release her now!”

The black-clothed man holding Princess Anxi hesitated, then finally released his grip on her. As soon as she was free, Princess Anxi rushed over, “Pu A…”

Pu A excitedly embraced Princess Anxi, “Anxi, are you alright?”

“I’m fine…” Princess Anxi said emotionally, “But… but our child… Shuo’er was taken by Mo Jing Li.” His wife’s safe return calmed Pu A considerably. Though equally anxious about their son’s disappearance, his gaze toward Mo Xiu Yao and Ye Li held more admiration and confidence, “Don’t worry… don’t worry, Shuo’er will be fine.”

Beside them, Mo Xiu Yao had already led Ye Li to sit in chairs that the Prince’s guards had brought from somewhere. Mo Xiu Yao rarely honored agreements with enemies, yet he sat in the gentle sunlight waiting for the half hour to pass.

The black-clothed men opposite watched the white-haired Prince of Ding resting with his eyes closed beside his Princess, complex emotions flashing across their faces. These included reverence, resignation, regret, and faith. Even when he decided to come out, he couldn’t be certain the Prince would keep his word. Having this resolution was already quite good. At the same time, it repeatedly showed the difference between the Prince of Ding and the Prince of Li. He knew if this happened to his master Mo Jing Li, Mo Jing Li would never keep the agreement.

“My Lord, My Lady,” a guard hurriedly came and said softly, “Master Qing Chen sent someone to request the Prince return to the mansion immediately.”

Mo Xiu Yao opened his eyes and said coolly, “What’s the matter?”

The guard hesitated, then said quietly, “The young master hasn’t been found yet.”

Mo Xiu Yao sat up, casting a cool glance at the black-clothed men watching them warily from a distance, and calmly lowered his eyes, “This Prince knows. Let Master Qing Chen handle it for now.”

“This…” Though it concerned the young master’s situation, the Prince showed no concern, making the guard worried. But meeting Mo Xiu Yao’s calm gaze, the guard’s heart jumped, and he quickly said, “This servant understands, this servant takes his leave.”

Hearing that Little Bao hadn’t been found, Ye Li frowned slightly. Looking down at Mo Xiu Yao’s hand holding hers, dry and steady, she also relaxed somewhat. Slowly leaning back in her chair, she accompanied Mo Xiu Yao waiting for time to pass.

Half an hour – some felt it passed like a fleeting glimpse of a white colt, others felt it dragged like years. When time finally reached its end, Mo Xiu Yao slowly stood up with Ye Li. Looking calmly at the black-clothed men before him, he said, “This Prince spares your life. Go back and tell Mo Jing Li. Don’t forget… his son is still in this Prince’s hands.” With that, Mo Xiu Yao led Ye Li away without looking back.

Watching Mo Xiu Yao’s departing figure, the black-clothed man let out a long breath. Face to face, the Prince of Ding’s pressure was truly unbearable. Raising his hand to wipe his brow, his hair was already half-soaked with sweat.

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh!”

Several arrows whistled through the air. The black-clothed man alertly leaped to the side, landing just as an arrow struck where his heel had been. Looking back, the men who had been beside him all lay on the ground. In the distance, a black-clothed man holding a bow sat on the rooftop, saying coolly, “Don’t worry, the Prince said to spare your life, we won’t shoot you.”

Watching that person quickly disappear behind the eaves, the black-clothed man felt his whole body grow cold. After a long while, he finally turned and ran frantically toward the exit.

Mo Xiu Yao and Ye Li returned to the mansion, where Xu Qing Chen was anxiously waiting in the study.

“Brother.”

Xu Qing Chen’s handsome face was gloomy as he said displeased, “Why are you only returning now?” Mo Xiu Yao said calmly, “What happened?” Xu Qing Chen picked up a note from the table and handed it over, saying, “Little Bao has fallen into Mo Jing Li’s hands. Mo Jing Li sent this note.”

Ye Li took the note and looked – it was indeed Mo Jing Li’s handwriting. Every word dripped with malice and smugness. Xu Qing Chen sat down, looking at them with displeasure, “What exactly happened? With so many people watching Little Bao, how did he fall into Mo Jing Li’s hands?”

Mo Xiu Yao read the note Ye Li passed him and said calmly, “Don’t worry, Little Bao will be fine.”

Xu Qing Chen studied Mo Xiu Yao for a while, then snorted coldly, “Another of your schemes? Be careful your cleverness doesn’t backfire and trap yourself.” Mo Xiu Yao smiled somewhat helplessly, “This wasn’t my scheme.” Mo Xiu Yao looked pitifully at Ye Li, why do I feel so wrong?

Xu Qing Chen frowned slightly, “Little Bao?”

Mo Xiu Yao blinked innocently, so… it had nothing to do with this Prince.

Xu Qing Chen looked at Mo Xiu Yao and sneered, “You just let him run wild. If something happens…”

“Brother Qing Chen.” Mo Xiu Yao smiled faintly, “Little Bao is almost eleven now, he’s not a child anymore. If we don’t let go and let him act, we’ll never be able to trust him. Besides, if someone is watching him, he won’t come to harm. If something happened, those by his side would report back.”

Xu Qing Chen shook his head helplessly and sighed, “Fine if you as his father aren’t worried, what am I worried about?”

“Brother naturally has Little Bao’s best interests at heart.” Ye Li smiled gently, her fine brows knitting, “I’m also somewhat worried about Little Bao. This father and son… they truly are father and son!” Usually, they couldn’t stand each other, but when it came to big matters, they were so like-minded it was hateful.

The Prince of Ding, wronged by his wife’s transferred anger, innocently rubbed his nose and decided to add this to the account of a certain audacious little devil.

“Achoo!” In a dark corner somewhere, a certain little devil wearing plain cloth clothes sneezed softly. Beside him, someone immediately covered his nose and whispered, “What are you doing?”

In the dim light, a pair of bright clever eyes appeared, “Sorry, sorry… I think I caught a cold.”

“Your bad luck doesn’t matter, just don’t drag down Qin Lie.” Xu Zhirui, also wearing plain clothes, whispered. Mo Xiaobao pouted pitifully, “I could have gone myself, why did Qin Lie have to insist on going?”

“Shut up!” Xu Zhirui rolled his eyes impatiently, “Don’t you know a wise man stays away from danger? Want to go back and be cursed by Uncle Prince of Ding?” Mo Xiaobao blinked, looking pitifully at Xu Zhirui, “Cousin Zhirui, you’re being fierce.”

Xu Zhirui just shot him a glare. He must have been crazy to accompany Mo Xiaobao on such a dangerous mission – did this madman even know how old they were?! If Qin Lie hadn’t rushed ahead first, Mo Xiaobao would have walked right into the trap and delivered himself into that madman’s hands.

Mo Xiaobao was very aggrieved, “It’s just that Qin Lie was too hasty. I had already decided to change the plan, but he ran off without even discussing it. Now we have to work hard to save him.”

Xu Zhirui silently glanced at Mo Xiaobao, and after a while finally said, “When Aunt gave birth to you, why didn’t she just strangle you?” Ungrateful white-eyed wolf described people exactly like Mo Xiaobao. Who was Qin Lie taking such risks for anyway?

Mo Xiaobao grinned quite smugly, rubbing his nose, “Mother loves me most, she couldn’t bear to.”

Xu Zhirui snorted lightly and ignored him. When you go back and get tormented by Uncle Prince of Ding, absolutely no one will pity you! The young master of the Xu family grumbled silently in his heart. However, young Master Xu didn’t know that in this world there were people like cockroaches that couldn’t be killed – the more they were tormented, the more they could endure, and the more they endured, the more abnormal they became. Completely unaware that beside him crouched a little abnormality in the process of evolving, Xu Zhirui carefully got up and moved slowly along the wall covered in dense vines. Their most urgent task now was to find the captured Qin Lie, not bicker here with the heartless Mo Xiaobao.

Following behind him, Mo Xiaobao rolled his eyes heavenward in annoyance – did Zhirui even know who was the older brother here?!

Though Xu Zhirui and Mo Xiaobao were still young, while Mo Xiaobao had been pampered by everyone in the Xu family and Prince of Ding’s mansion since childhood, he hadn’t slacked off on anything he needed to learn. Xu Zhirui, as Mo Xiaobao’s only cousin, naturally and rightfully accompanied the young master Mo in his suffering. Thus young Xu Zhirui became the second person in the Xu family to practice martial arts after Xu Qingfeng. Though both were young, they excelled due to expert instruction and agile movements – even if they couldn’t win a fight when they ran, most people couldn’t catch them.

After a while, they finally moved to the courtyard entrance. Mo Xiaobao looked at the mark Qin Lie had left on the ground nearby and asked puzzledly, “This isn’t the Great Chu embassy, what place is this?”

Xu Zhirui rolled his eyes while saying, “Seems to be the Zhao family’s back courtyard.”

“Zhao family?”

“The Zhao Zhefang who Fifth Uncle mentioned – the one who wanted to marry his daughter to Uncle Prince of Ding. The one who also led people to Lishan Academy to find Great-grandfather.” Xu Zhirui said. Mo Xiaobao’s eyes flickered, finally revealing a strange smile, “Oh, so it’s him.” Don’t think Mo Xiaobao just knew how to make mischief every day – he hadn’t missed anything he should know. At least, Mo Xiaobao remembered very clearly which people wanted to steal his mother’s man. Although he also found his annoying father disagreeable, he didn’t have plans to change fathers yet. Even if he did, it would depend on his mother’s wishes. Before Mother said she didn’t want Father anymore, whoever dared try to steal would die!

“What are you planning now? We’re here to save Qin Lie.” Xu Zhirui said warily.

Mo Xiaobao looked skyward, “Who said we’re here to save Qin Lie? If we wanted to save Qin Lie, wouldn’t it be more convenient to let the guards and Qilin save him? If Qin Lie was injured, could either of us carry him out?” Even though their combat abilities weren’t much worse than adults, they still had children’s bodies – if Qin Lie couldn’t move well, neither could carry him back.

“I always feel like I’ll die because of you!” Xu Zhirui muttered under his breath. Mo Xiaobao smiled like a cat who’d stolen fish, “Don’t worry, cousin Zhirui, big cousin will protect you. After we go in, you go see if Qin Lie and the little emperor are together, I’ll check if the Zhao mansion has any secrets. I’ve met that Zhao Zhefang before – with his courage, he definitely wouldn’t dare betray my father alone.” When Mo Xiu Yao wanted to torture people, his methods weren’t anything a human could imagine. Even with a hundred times more courage, Zhao Zhefang wouldn’t dare betray the Prince of Ding’s mansion in Licheng alone. Either he was caught by some evidence he had no choice about, or he had absolute certainty he could escape afterward.

Xu Zhirui hesitated, but still nodded, “Be careful yourself.”

Watching Xu Zhirui slink away, Mo Xiaobao stood up and signaled to the guards hidden in the darkness, whispering, “Protect Zhirui well.” Sensing people in the darkness leaving to follow the departed Xu Zhirui, Mo Xiaobao smiled and leaped over the wall, disappearing behind it.

In the darkness, someone whispered, “The young master went in, what should we do?”

“Don’t worry about it, the Prince said as long as the young master isn’t in mortal danger, don’t interfere with him,” another answered.

“Alright, we’ll go in too. Hope the guards inside aren’t too strict.” To protect the young master they had to follow at all times, but once inside the courtyard, staying close while hidden would be much more difficult.

A moment later, the place where they had been speaking returned to silence.

In a somewhat dark study in a hidden corner of the Zhao mansion, the Zhao family head Zhao Zhefang sat behind his desk with a gloomy expression, lost in thought. Just then, a servant outside softly reported, “Master, Lord Li, Lord Zhu, and Lord Wang have arrived.”

“Let them in!” Zhao Zhefang suddenly stood up.

Soon, the study door opened and several middle-aged men filed in. The leader walked in smiling, “Brother Zhao, why have you called us here at this hour?”

Zhao Zhefang looked at them and said, “I want you to meet someone.”

“Who could make Brother Zhao so cautious? Today is the first birthday celebration for the Prince of Ding’s young master and princess. Though we’re insignificant people, it’s still not good if we don’t attend.” When saying the words “insignificant people,” the man’s tone was deeply sarcastic.

Zhao Zhefang remained silent, only turning to walk inside. The other three men exchanged glances and followed. Entering the study’s separate rest chamber, on the soft couch lay two children about ten years old. One of them asked curiously, “Brother Zhao is this… is this Great Chu’s young emperor?!” It wasn’t that he was familiar with Mo Suiyun, but the dragon robe Mo Suiyun wore was recognizable at a glance.

Zhao Zhefang forced out a stiff smile and said, “Look at the other child.”

The three men looked together at the richly dressed child lying beside Mo Suiyun, and couldn’t help exclaiming in unison, “Young Master?!”