“Your Grace?” After a long silence in the disordered palace, the young palace maid finally called out carefully from her kneeling position.
Noble Consort Liu’s face had already returned to its usual serenity, speaking as though nothing had happened: “You may rise. What happened at Prince Li’s residence today? Mo Jingqi wouldn’t go mad without reason. Apart from it being the day Prince Li was to marry the Peace Consort, there weren’t any major events. Although the Crown Prince’s recent public appearances after his marriage have made him anxious, it shouldn’t cause such a sudden outburst. Something unexpected must have happened today.”
The palace maid rose with thanks and approached Noble Consort Liu, speaking softly: “The Empress Dowager hurried to Prince Li’s residence earlier, then His Majesty summoned Prince Li, the Princess, and Worthy and Bright Dowager Consort into the palace. After Prince Li left, His Majesty immediately came to see Your Grace. This servant didn’t have time to report these matters.”
Noble Consort Liu frowned, “Summoned Prince Li to the palace? What of his wedding?”
The palace maid replied: “This is precisely what this servant needs to report – the wedding was canceled. It’s said the Crown Prince of Xiling stormed off with the Xiling Princess. It seems something happened in the women’s quarters of Prince Li’s residence…”
Noble Consort Liu frowned and waved her hand, “Send word back requesting Mother to visit the palace soon.” Even with her favored position, being inside the palace always meant slower access to outside news.
“This servant obeys. Your Grace… regarding His Majesty…”
Noble Consort Liu’s lips curved into a cold smile, “It’s nothing. He probably faced some anger from the Empress Dowager. We’ll find a way to help him vent later.” The palace maid smiled knowingly: “Your Grace understands His Majesty best. However… the Master sent word asking Your Grace to… be careful of the Empress Dowager. After… all, the Empress Dowager emerged victorious from among the previous Emperor’s noble consorts, not only bearing two sons but also defeating those women and princes to help her son become Emperor. The Empress Dowager is not a woman to be dealt with simply.”
Noble Consort Liu replied calmly: “I know. The Empress Dowager is indeed formidable, but… I’m not to be underestimated either! The Empress Dowager is certainly clever and powerful, but her greatest mistake is that she has never understood what her son is thinking. Does she believe only Mo Jingqi can’t tolerate her desire to control everything? No ambitious man can endure it – some simply refuse to endure, while others have no choice but to endure.”
## At the Established Nation Prince’s Residence
At the hidden training ground deep within the Established Nation Prince’s residence, Ye Li’s face was unusually dark as she stared at Qingluan and A-Jin flying back and forth before her using qinggong. Qingshuang, whose qinggong was equally poor, hid to the side stifling her laughter. Even Mo Xiuyao, sitting nearby, couldn’t help but let the corners of his lips curl up slightly.
Ye Li truly couldn’t understand – with her body’s coordination, balance, and various qualities, plus what Mo Xiuyao called her good martial arts physique, why couldn’t she learn qinggong? She could move across the plum blossom poles or whatever poles as if walking on flat ground. She had even mastered internal energy, something that seemed mystical to modern people, so why couldn’t she fly?
Thankfully, Mo Xiuyao had somehow found a set of qinggong techniques supposedly suitable for women to practice. Now even Qingshuang was learning it properly, but she just… couldn’t feel it!
Ye Li felt that in real combat, whether one could use qinggong didn’t make much difference. She could climb walls over ten feet high without qinggong effortlessly, and she didn’t think those with high qinggong skills could do better than her at infiltration. In close combat, qinggong was even less useful. But… wasn’t flying high with qinggong every Chinese person’s martial arts dream? Since it existed, shouldn’t she learn it following the principle that more skills are better?
“A-Li, what are you thinking about?” Seeing Ye Li’s rare agitation, Mo Xiuyao gracefully refrained from teasing her, but the light in his eyes revealed he wasn’t unwilling to laugh, just holding back.
Ye Li cast a resentful glance at the three people darting around the training ground and said, “I probably don’t have talent for qinggong.”
“Learning qinggong doesn’t require much talent. Only exceptional qinggong needs talent, that’s not something qinggong manuals can determine. Like the romantic warrior Han Mingshi – with mediocre martial arts and half-decent internal energy, if not for his qinggong skills surpassing many supreme masters, he would have died countless times already.”
“This isn’t scientific!” Ye Li felt veins throbbing on her forehead. This completely exceeded human physical limits – how could it not require talent or extremely high internal energy? Most importantly… people simply couldn’t fly!
“What does A-Li think about when performing qinggong?” Mo Xiuyao asked patiently.
Ye Li was somewhat dejected but still carefully explained her thoughts to Mo Xiuyao. After listening, Mo Xiuyao was caught between laughter and exasperation, “A-Li, if you keep thinking this way, you’ll never learn qinggong. How can you perform qinggong while telling yourself people can’t fly?”
Ye Li naturally understood – it was practically self-hypnosis. Ordinary people of this era wouldn’t have such concerns. But Ye Li was different. Even though she had been an elite warrior, even though people could fly in airplanes and even enter space, people of that era still had one deeply rooted, indelible thought: humans couldn’t fly using just their bodies. So Ye Li always subconsciously looked for something to push against, and once she couldn’t find that support and her body reached what she consciously considered the human limit, her body would instinctively enter self-protection mode and fall.
“A-Li, qinggong doesn’t let you fly without support either. It still requires leverage, just much less than those without qinggong need. Maybe a tree branch, or some other small thing – as long as you can control it well enough.”
Ye Li stared at him expressionlessly. Mo Xiuyao smiled helplessly, slapped his wheelchair armrest, and suddenly his entire body flew toward the nearby training ground. After Ye Li’s momentary surprise, she watched his movements intently. She saw his hand quickly tap a wooden post on the training ground, then turn toward another spot. Then came the treetops, the rope nets Ye Li had set up around the field, and finally he returned to his wheelchair. “Did you see clearly?” Mo Xiuyao asked with a smile, reaching out to give her a pale yellow flower he had broken off from the treetop.
“This isn’t scientific at all!” Ye Li gritted her teeth, glaring at Mo Xiuyao. Was this someone who couldn’t walk? Was he? Wasn’t she the one who couldn’t move properly?
“Hmm?” Mo Xiuyao looked at her in confusion.
“I understand now.” Ye Li took the flower and played with it in her hands, “I need to think about it.”
Mo Xiuyao smiled: “I think A-Li just thinks too much. Or perhaps you could try imagining the serenity of falling from a hundred-foot cliff. With nothing to rely on, nothing to grab onto, naturally there’s no leverage.”
Ye Li silently looked at him. She had jumped from hundred-foot, no, hundred-meter heights before. If that was all it took… every paratrooper would become a qinggong master. “I understand, I’ll try it.”
Ye Li’s “trying” meant having A-Jin carry her up the twenty-meter-high wooden pole at the edge of the training ground, and then… jump down!
The first time, she suddenly fell at about ten meters high. Ye Li was lucky to catch a tree branch before landing in the sandpit at the edge of the field.
The second time, she traversed nearly half the training ground horizontally but couldn’t find the next point of leverage in time. She fell from five meters high, but her body’s self-protection was good – she only scraped some skin.
The third time, she lost control and crashed into a wooden post in the training ground, leaving Ye Li in pain for quite a while.
The fourth time…
The fifth time…
Mo Xiuyao sat at the edge, quietly watching that slender figure jump down, fly up, then fall again. Then she would get up, check that nothing was seriously wrong, jump again, and fall again. Mo Xiuyao didn’t stop her, watching her fail repeatedly and try again repeatedly. For the first time, some intense and unfamiliar emotion quietly churned in his calm eyes. His deep gaze held only that slender figure that kept falling and kept standing up.
“Mo Xiuyao, you’re abusing women?!” Feng Zhiyao’s voice suddenly rang out in the quiet training ground. The hidden guards secretly watching nearly fell from their concealed positions, their mouths twitching.
Feng Zhiyao walked over fanning himself, looking at Ye Li in the training ground and then at the silently seated Mo Xiuyao. He shook his head and sighed, “Ah Yao, that’s your wife, not your enemy. I never thought after these years you’d become even less considerate of women.” Mo Xiuyao looked up, giving him a faint glance without speaking. Watching Ye Li constantly falling to the ground, his mood wasn’t particularly good.
Finding no response, Feng Zhiyao rubbed his nose and quietly stood to the side. After watching for quite a while, he asked in confusion: “What game is sister-in-law playing?”
“Qinggong,” Mo Xiuyao replied.
Feng Zhiyao’s expression twisted, his fan nearly jabbing his chin. “Practicing qinggong? This… isn’t she afraid of falling to her death?” They had all learned martial arts since childhood. Feng Zhiyao himself was considered self-taught, never properly trained by any master. But he’d never seen this method of practice. “Are women these days more reckless than men?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a cold glare pierce him. Feng Zhiyao apologetically smiled at the displeased Mo Xiuyao and moved aside to watch Ye Li’s practice.
Ye Li had lost count of how many times she had fallen. When she finally managed to land smoothly on the ground, her entire body felt as if she’d been brutally beaten – everything hurt. But her heart let out a great sigh of relief, feeling a satisfaction and joy she’d never experienced since arriving in this world.
Clap, clap, clap – from the sidelines, Feng Zhiyao applauded, raising his eyebrows at Ye Li with admiration. Qingluan and Qingshuang immediately rushed over. Qingshuang’s bright eyes were already red and swollen, and regardless of others present, she hugged Ye Li, crying “My Lady” over and over. Ye Li looked at her somewhat disheveled self, patted the crying girl in her arms with amusement, and had her stand properly before walking to Mo Xiuyao. “Young Master Feng, we meet again.”
Feng Zhiyao sighed: “The Princess Consort has truly opened my eyes today.”
Ye Li replied helplessly: “It seems so simple for others, yet becomes incredibly difficult for me. Since I want to learn, naturally I must put in extra effort.” Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly: “A-Li, let’s stop here for today. You should go back to freshen up and rest, then have a physician check on you. I’ll be with Feng San in the study.” Ye Li nodded, smiling: “It’s nothing serious, just sore from falling. I’ll head back first. Young Master Feng, farewell.”
Watching Ye Li leave with Qingluan and Qingshuang, Feng Zhiyao turned and asked: “Ah Yao, what exactly are you doing? Surely the guards and Black Cloud Riders can protect the mistress of the Established Nation Prince’s residence – does she need to learn self-defense?”
“Young Master Feng, the Princess Consort wanted to learn herself. The Prince only taught her,” A-Jin spoke up. “I’ve never seen anyone more stubborn or persistent than the Princess Consort. If the Prince hadn’t agreed to teach her qinggong, I truly believe she might have broken her neck trying to practice in secret.”
“Having the ability to protect oneself is more reassuring than relying on others’ protection,” Mo Xiuyao said calmly. “There’s no such thing as flawless protection in this world – even the Established Nation Prince’s guards can’t eliminate all dangers. Each additional skill means more safety in the future.”
Feng Zhiyao shook his head, sighing: “To have such perseverance and courage – even among men, few could compare. I’m quite curious how the Ye family raised such a daughter. Even the Xu family… even they probably couldn’t produce such a woman. Xu family women can be talented and brilliant, but I’ve never seen anyone quite like Ye Li.”
Mo Xiuyao turned his wheelchair toward the study, “I didn’t ask you here to discuss A-Li.”
Feng Zhiyao started, then looked at the retreating figure with raised eyebrows and a smile, “Could it be that Ah Yao is jealous?”
Mo Xiuyao’s study had already been moved to the newlywed courtyard. This courtyard, specially prepared for the Crown Prince and Princess Consort, was the largest in the Established Nation Prince’s residence, even containing an independent library building. After Mo Xiuyao moved in, they quickly reorganized the rooms. The two-story independent library building housed books on the second floor. The first floor was divided in two, with Ye Li’s study on one side and Mo Xiuyao’s on the other. So when they entered the study and saw Ye Li, already changed into fresh clothes, holding a book, and sitting behind the desk, Mo Xiuyao wasn’t surprised. He only asked: “Why isn’t A-Li resting longer?”
Ye Li raised the book in her hand: “It’s not good to lie down immediately after practicing martial arts, so I’m reading for a while. Should I leave?”
Mo Xiuyao shook his head, “If you’re not tired, come join us and listen.”
Feng Zhiyao examined the study’s arrangement and raised his eyebrows in surprise at Mo Xiuyao’s words but offered no comment. Ye Li thought for a moment, then walked over with her book and sat down. Feng Zhiyao curiously glanced at it, “Oh? What is the Princess Consort reading?” In Ye Li’s hands was “The Art of War’s Extraordinary Strategies.”
Ye Li looked down at the book in her hands and said: “Just reading to pass the time.”
“Reading military texts for entertainment – what unique tastes,” Feng Zhiyao thought privately, while his face showed great interest. “How do you find it?”
“Not bad,” Ye Li answered.
Feng Zhiyao couldn’t quite gauge what Ye Li meant by “not bad” and quickly glanced at Mo Xiuyao. Mo Xiuyao remained unmoved, smiling as he asked: “What aspects does A-Li find good?”
Ye Li hesitated slightly before answering: “The strategic aspects are well-written, but tactically…” Perhaps due to the difference between modern and ancient warfare, Ye Li felt many of the tactics described were simply unreasonable, even fantastical. Not that tactics couldn’t be imaginative – in fact, the best commanders often had sky-soaring imaginations. But what this book wrote… Ye Li felt it would be more appropriate to call it fiction. “This author never saw a battlefield,” Ye Li thought silently.
“Strategy? Tactics?” Feng Zhiyao raised his eyebrows.
Ye Li felt somewhat annoyed inside but maintained a perfectly calm expression as she glanced at Mo Xiuyao and said: “Strategy refers to the overall plans and policies of warfare.” Mo Xiuyao glanced at Feng Zhiyao and calmly continued: “Tactics refer to the specific means of achieving strategy, the deployment, and schemes for defeating the enemy. Understand?”
Feng Zhiyao dejectedly looked at the composed couple before him – were they looking down on his limited learning?
“How does A-Li find the tactics?” Mo Xiuyao ignored Feng Zhiyao’s expression and asked Ye Li.
Ye Li shrugged, “Compared to the Imperial Ancestor’s Military Classic, I think this is more like a fantasy novel.”
“Ah… you’ve even read the Imperial Ancestor’s Military Classic?” Feng Zhiyao exclaimed.
Ye Li looked at him strangely: “Both my uncle and grandfather’s homes have copies of the Imperial Ancestor’s Military Classic – what’s strange about having read it? My eldest uncle taught me.” She wasn’t lying; her eldest uncle had indeed taught her military strategy. Though it was less than a month, and they certainly hadn’t finished the Imperial Ancestor’s Military Classic. This statement was also meant to explain why she knew so much about military matters. The Imperial Ancestor’s Military Classic was indeed one of the best military texts she’d seen in this world.
Feng Zhiyao fell silent, “How did you end up in the Ye and Xu families? If you’d been born into the Murong family, given General Murong’s attitude toward educating daughters, our dynasty might have produced a female general.” The Imperial Ancestor’s Military Classic wasn’t just a single book. The complete work comprised twenty-nine volumes, recording the battle examples of seventeen famous generals from both sides during the founding years of the Imperial Ancestor. It even included personal comments from Established Nation Prince Mo Lanyun, making it essential reading for Great Chu’s military officers.
“There are many military texts in the front courtyard study. If A-Li likes, she can get them from there,” Mo Xiuyao said. This courtyard wasn’t meant for handling official matters, so the study’s collection focused more on poetry, classics, and miscellaneous subjects. There were some military texts, but not of the highest quality. Hearing this, Ye Li’s eyes lit up. While this study had many books, after excluding the poetry, songs, and biographies she wasn’t interested in, only some history, geography, and travelogues remained. She had no interest in various dynasty matters or imperial secrets, so she had already browsed through the histories before marriage. She could only read geographical texts and travelogues, but these descriptions of unreachable scenic spots and customs were frustrating.
“This couple… I surrender!” Feng Zhiyao mentally rolled his eyes in convulsions.
Getting back to business, Feng Zhiyao appeared much more serious and agreeable. He looked apologetically at Mo Xiuyao: “Ah Yao, I’m very sorry. I seem to have overlooked quite a few things these past years.” Mo Xiuyao looked up at him, “Oh? News from Prince Li’s residence?” Feng Zhiyao nodded: “Princess Lingyun thought she had outmaneuvered Mo Jingli, but she likely doesn’t know she was the one who got manipulated.”
“How so?”
“It’s said Prince Li’s residence has discovered that the incense in Princess Qixia’s rest chamber was placed by Princess Lingyun’s people, and Princess Qixia was also put there by Princess Lingyun’s people. But… that maid who was first to rush into Princess Qixia’s chamber, as the Princess Consort mentioned, wasn’t Princess Qixia’s person, nor Princess Lingyun’s. Rather… she was a young maid brought out from the palace by Worthy and Bright Dowager Consort,” Feng Zhiyao said with a grave expression.
Ye Li frowned and asked: “That maid…”
Feng Zhiyao said: “She was secretly put to death that afternoon. I’ve had people watching Prince Li’s residence and Princess Xiangyang’s residence. When Princess Qixia was taken back, no maid accompanied her. It wasn’t until midnight that someone carried a maid’s corpse out the back door and dumped it in the mass graves outside the city. However, the maid’s face was disfigured before death, and there was nothing on her body to prove her identity.”
“Then how do you know she was Worthy and Bright Dowager Consort’s person?” Ye Li asked curiously.
Feng Zhiyao smiled smugly: “The coroner found traces of jasmine-scented hair oil in the maid’s fingernails and hair. This hair oil is supposedly specially made by the capital’s premier fragrance shop. It’s extremely expensive – a tiny box costs over ten taels of silver. In the past three months, only five boxes of this fragrance were sold in the entire capital. Two of those boxes were purchased by Worthy and Bright Dowager Consort’s people. So, I guess that maid must have been Worthy and Bright Dowager Consort’s hairdressing maid. Also, yesterday morning Worthy and Bright Dowager Consort had a new hairstyle. According to my agent who is very knowledgeable about grooming, it was not styled by the same person who usually does her hair.”
Ye Li nodded admiringly: “So, Princess Lingyun didn’t want to marry Prince Li and therefore schemed to help Princess Qixia enter Prince Li’s residence, giving herself a legitimate reason to break off the engagement? Conveniently, Worthy and Bright Dowager Consort was also dissatisfied with Princess Lingyun as a daughter-in-law, so she took advantage of the situation to let Princess Qixia take her place. But… this doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t make sense?” Feng Zhiyao asked, puzzled.
Ye Li said: “Unless Lei Tengfeng was also involved in this matter if he hadn’t been so adamant about taking Princess Lingyun away at that time… no matter how much she protested, wouldn’t she still have had to marry in the end? This way, not only would her plan fail, but she’d also give herself another opponent in Prince Li’s residence. Or was she just trying to get leverage over Prince Li and Princess Qixia by catching them in a compromising position? What if Prince Li and Princess Qixia decided to risk everything and told the Emperor about her scheme? Even if she is the Princess of Xiling, she probably couldn’t escape consequences.”
“What does A-Li think made Lei Tengfeng leave so urgently?” Mo Xiuyao asked softly.
Ye Li thought for a moment and said: “Lei Tengfeng discovered Princess Lingyun had been manipulated?”
Feng Zhiyao nodded: “If Princess Lingyun had stayed in the capital, once this matter was investigated, even if the Emperor didn’t want to punish her, he’d have no choice. But now that she’s gone, if the Emperor doesn’t want to damage relations between the two countries, he can only pretend nothing happened. He can’t exactly wage war against Xiling over this, can he? However, this mess means Lei Tengfeng’s trip to Great Chu was wasted. The perfectly good marriage alliance plan was ruined by that foolish Princess Lingyun – Lei Tengfeng must be furious enough to spit blood.”
Ye Li sighed and turned to look at Mo Xiuyao: “Should I be grateful that I’m not worth spending so much effort to scheme against?”
Mo Xiuyao smiled slightly: “Indeed you should be grateful. After all these years… Jingli has impressed me.”
Feng Zhiyao pursed his lips: “I doubt it. The truly formidable one is the person beside him, isn’t it? If he had such cunning, how could he give up… and choose Ye Ying?”
Mo Xiuyao smiled: “What about Prince Li’s Princess Consort? She’s the Minister of Revenue’s legitimate daughter and Royal Consort Ye’s younger sister.”
Feng Zhiyao scoffed: “Sister-in-law is also the Minister of Revenue’s legitimate daughter and the granddaughter of Master Qingyun.”
“Feng San, do you know why His Majesty was comfortable letting me marry A-Li?” Mo Xiuyao asked.
Feng Zhiyao raised his eyebrows. Mo Xiuyao continued: “The Xu family will never attach themselves to anyone, nor will they become anyone’s support in the struggle for the throne. The Emperor understands this, I understand this, and Mo Jingli naturally understands this too. He could never get any help from the Xu family. On the contrary, if he intended to raise troops in rebellion or plot treason that would endanger the common people, the Xu family might even become his obstacle. The story of the Xu family ancestor personally executing an emperor while also devotedly assisting several generations of Great Chu’s monarchs isn’t just a legend. Though Mo Jingli probably just thinks the Xu family is blindly loyal to the Emperor since those true secrets are only passed down between each generation’s Emperor, Crown Prince, and the Xu family head.”
“Even so, putting aside the Xu family, among Minister Ye’s legitimate daughters, at least the third daughter’s marriage was more proper since it was bestowed by the late Emperor,” Feng Zhiyao said.
Ye Li smiled faintly: “I can probably guess about this point.”
Both men looked at Ye Li, who lowered her eyes and said: “My father… must be the Empress Dowager’s person, right? He must have known about Prince Li’s thoughts and the Empress Dowager’s intentions. But if Prince Li married me, he probably figured that what Prince Li would value wouldn’t be the Ye family, but the Xu family behind me. However, my fourth sister’s birth mother’s family is weak. If my fourth sister became Prince Li’s Princess Consort… things would be completely different in the future. The Ye family would rise to great heights. In the current palace, there’s the Empress in the main palace, Noble Consort Liu as the favored consort, and several princes. If Father truly is the Empress Dowager’s person, he would know that Second Sister isn’t favored. So from His Majesty’s perspective… Second Sister’s child’s chances of… aren’t very good. Besides, it’s not even certain if that child can be born safely.”
Thinking back on these days, Ye Li almost admired her father. Everyone thought he married Ye Ying to Prince Li to support Royal Consort Ye in the palace, not knowing that Royal Consort Ye was the backup piece. What a clever case of misdirection, though unfortunately, Ye Ying wasn’t the right piece. If there had been two Ye Yues, perhaps Minister Ye’s vision might have succeeded. It wasn’t these ancient people who were foolish – she was the fool for looking down on them. Given Old Madam Ye’s consistent shrewdness and Minister Ye’s cautious rise in officialdom, how could she have thought they were just getting carried away because Royal Consort Ye was pregnant?
“What a surprising deduction,” Feng Zhiyao looked at Ye Li: “How did the Princess Consort guess Minister Ye was the Empress Dowager’s person? Even the one on the Dragon Throne probably hasn’t figured this out, but the Crown Prince’s Princess Consort hasn’t guessed wrong.”
Ye Li said calmly: “Father seems to occasionally show dissatisfaction with Prince Li, intentionally or not, but he has never done anything that would affect Prince Li. Since he’s already married his most valued daughter to Prince Li, why does he keep showing dissatisfaction? It looks more like a show put on for someone else. Last time with Princess Lingyun’s betrothal, when supposedly both the Empress Dowager and Prince Li were dissatisfied, Father’s attitude was very firm. Of course, this included concern for my fourth sister’s future. But this time, given Father’s intelligence, he couldn’t have failed to see that Princess Qixia would enter Prince Li’s residence. And even if her identity changed, Princess Qixia’s future position in Prince Li’s residence wouldn’t be low. But this time Father seemed to say nothing. He even sent my fourth sister back the same day she came home. My fourth sister told me Father is preparing to send the fifth sister to Prince Li’s residence as a secondary consort in a month, saying it’s to help the fourth sister maintain favor and prevent Princess Qixia from getting ahead in the future.”
Mo Xiuyao looked at Ye Li with a faint smile: “A-Li’s assessment is indeed correct. Minister Ye… his early rise to the position of minister did have some connection to the Empress Dowager. However, I’m more inclined to think he’s playing both sides.”
Ye Li blinked and said: “You mean Father plans to see which side is more likely to win, then back that side?”
“His Majesty’s paranoia is beyond what ordinary people can understand. If Minister Ye didn’t have considerable loyalty, he wouldn’t trust him.”
Even though she had already figured out many things herself, Ye Li still felt shocked. Her father, who appeared smooth and was smooth, while seeming muddle-headed in family matters, was playing the role of a double agent.
“But what’s going on between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor?” Ye Li asked.
Feng Zhiyao sneered: “What else could it be? Our Empress Dowager is called a great heroine of her generation, a female sage. She supported His Majesty’s ascension to the throne as a youth and held power over the realm, but our Emperor isn’t one to be trifled with either. In barely three years, he took back all power into his own hands and respectfully requested the Empress Dowager to retire to the back palace to enjoy her golden years. Power… if you’ve never tasted it, that’s one thing, but once you have, it’s easy to become addicted. The Emperor and Empress Dowager have been at odds for a long time – this is something many noble families in the capital tacitly understand. Although the throne won’t change, the person on it can.”
“So the one with real ambition isn’t Mo Jingli but the Empress Dowager?”
“Mo Jingli naturally has ambition, he just didn’t have the opportunity before. Now that he has a chance, how could he not cooperate? Prince Li’s residence is his residence – even if Worthy and Bright Dowager Consort wanted to do something, it wouldn’t be so convenient without his agreement.”
Ye Li was speechless. No wonder the Empress Dowager didn’t mind brothers fighting – it turned out she hoped her two sons would fight to the death.
“Is power… really that important?”
Feng Zhiyao started, his expression somewhat gloomy as he said: “For some people, I suppose it’s very important.” After just a moment of gloom, Feng Zhiyao quickly returned to his playful demeanor, winking at Mo Xiuyao: “How about it, Your Highness? Since those two in the palace have started playing their cards, should we join in? Or maybe… go for a complete victory?”
“Complete victory?” Mo Xiuyao glanced at him. “And then you’ll handle the aftermath? You’ll take responsibility for the bloodshed inside and outside the palace, you’ll quell the various rebellions, and you’ll defend against the Northern Rong if they invade. If Xiling wants to get involved too, you’ll guard the border?”
“Uh…” Feng Zhiyao awkwardly rubbed his nose. “Indeed, killing a few people isn’t hard. But dealing with the consequences after killing those people is very troublesome.”