“His Highness is back.”

A heavy silence hung in the room. Right at this point, a maid’s voice rose from outside. She hardly finished speaking when Mo Xiu Yao entered the room.

As soon as he returned to the capital, he was summoned to the palace before he had time to change. Now, he walked in in a white robe, with a trace of tiredness between his eyes.

“Your Highness!” Minister Ye and Old Lady Ye hurriedly stood up and greeted him.

Mo Xiu Yao nodded slightly and sat down beside Ye Li as he spoke: “Lord Ye, Old Lady, are you here to see Ah Li?”

Minister Ye nodded and answered, a bit awkward: “Yes, Your Highness. Li-er was missing for months. My mother and I have been worried sick. So, we come as soon as we heard you brought her back.”

Mo Xiu Yao nodded, though unconcerned about Minister Ye’s explanation.

If they were worried, they shouldn’t waited so long to take action. For the past few months, Ye’s Manor didn’t even send a person here to ask about Ye Li, let alone helping look for her while Marquis Nan’s Manor had twice sent servants here asking about her. From an objective point of view, Ye Family was cold, even heartless.

“Sun mama tells me that you’ve been busy with the affairs of the manor as soon as you are back. Get some rest if you are tired. Everything else can wait.” Not bothering with Minister Ye and Old Lady Ye, Mo Xiu Yao turned to Ye Li as he said softly.

Ye Li shook her head with a smile.

Minister Ye could tell that Prince Ding wasn’t fond of him. He didn’t want to outstay his welcome and took leave.

The man who sat next to Ye Li was gentle. Yet that didn’t overshadow his imposing bearing. Except the sliver mask that covered half of his face, he didn’t seem unhealthy at all. If Prince Ding did recover, Prince Ding’s Manor would no doubt return to its past glory.

Minister Ye hated himself for failing to recognize Prince Ding’s value because the emperor had his guard up against Prince Ding’s Manor as well as Prince Ding’s poor health. It was already too late to regret.

“Why did His Majesty summon you in such a hurry?” asked Ye Li after she had Minister Ye and Old Lady Ye seen off.

Mo Xiu Yao rubbed his forehead and said with a frown: “His Majesty plans to marry a princess to Bei Rong in order to form an alliance.”

“A matrimonial alliance?” Ye Li immediately recalled the silly marriage of Princess Ling Yun of Xi Ling and asked with confusion: “Does His Majesty have a candidate?”

All daughters of the late emperor had married while Princess Chang Le, born to the empress, Mo Jing Qi’s oldest daughter was only eight years old.

Mo Xiu Yao said calmly: “Someone from a noble or royal family, for sure. Duke Hua’s granddaughter was also considered.”

“Tian Xiang?” Ye Li frowned.

Bei Rong was a land of bitter coldness. Besides, it was clear that the emperor wanted to form a matrimonial alliance simply to get Bei Rong aside in his war against Prince Li. Once Prince Li was dealt with, nobody would remember a woman who was married to Bei Rong for an alliance. If one day Bei Rong and Great Chu went to war, that woman in the matrimonial alliance would be the first to be sacrificed.

Mo Xiu Yao said: “Don’t worry. His Majesty will consider Duke Hua and Her Majesty’s opinion. The most possible candidate will be someone in the royal family. Bei Rong isn’t easy to fool.”

Ye Li nodded, then asked curiously: “Why does His Majesty summon you to the palace to talk about a matrimonial alliance?”

A sneer appeared on Mo Xiu Yao’s face as he said: “His Majesty wants me to escort the bride to Bei Rong on behalf of Great Chu and attend King of Bei Rong’s sixtieth birthday celebration in September.”

Prince Ding as an escort spoke for the surprising grandeur of the matrimonial alliance.

Deep in thought, Ye Li said after a good while: “His Majesty wants you out of here. Why?”

The capital of Bei Rong was located far north. In order to catch the king’s sixtieth birthday celebration in September, the escort at least needed to set off in the middle of July. After the wedding, even if Mo Xiu Yao went back at top speed, it would be October when he returned to the capital. That meant he would leave Great Chu for about three months. Nobody knew what would happen in three months.

Mo Xiu Yao shook his head as he said: “His Majesty has been preparing for years. I don’t know what he wants for now.”

The mind of a smart person was not hard to guess, nor was the mind of a fool, but it was the mind of a person with the wildest imagination that was hard to guess. Mo Jing Li, for example. Intelligent as Mo Xiu Yao and Xu Qing Chen, they didn’t foresee that he would raise a rebellion at that time for they could tell immediately that it was going to be a failure. In fact, even if Mo Jing Li had taken over Scattered Snow Pass in collaboration with Nan Zhao, he wouldn’t have much to gain, but it would be bad news for people at the frontier. However, as the emperor, how much did Mo Jing Qi care about average people?

“Did you agree to do it?” asked Ye Li.

Brow raised, Mo Xiu Yao smiled: “I can’t disobey His Majesty’s order.”

She shrugged. “I see. I’ll stay here.”

He shook his head and said smilingly: “No. Go to Yunzhou.”

She raised her brow at him with confusion.

Mo Xiu Yao continued: “I’m not the emperor. My manor isn’t the palace. I don’t need you here to look after it. Mo Jing Qi… he likes to harm others without benefiting himself when he is driven to desperate situations. I will worry about you unless you go to Yunzhou.”

The heart of Prince Ding’s Manor wasn’t the mansion but the people. Even if the mansion was razed, as long as its master was alive, Prince Ding’s Manor remained.

Ye Li shook her head as she said: “No. If I go to Yunzhou, I’ll get grandpa in danger. Don’t tell me Mo Jing Qi won’t lay his hand on Yunzhou. If he makes a move on Prince Ding’s Manor, he won’t let Xu Family off. Besides, we have more enemies except the one in the palace.”

Mo Xiu Yao looked at her quietly. After quite some time, he sighed: “Ah Li, it seems I can’t give you a normal life.”

Ye Li chuckled. “Of course you can. You can hide me in a secret place. But I don’t like that. Do you understand? I wasn’t the only one who could take the trip to Nan Zhao. I could have sent someone. Even if I didn’t, nothing would have happened to big brother. If I can’t show up in public for a period, I can find a place and live in seclusion. But I went to Nan Zhao because I wanted to. Besides, I love the life out there.” Where she knew who her enemies were even if she might get in danger. However, back in the capital, the exchange of smiles and curtsies on the surface and the stabs in secret gave her headaches. It wasn’t that she didn’t know the rules here. She simply didn’t like it.

“I also feel that when you are out there you are more… stunning.” Mo Xiu Yao said with a chuckle. In the capital, Ah Li always wore a smile in public. She was graceful and tender, a perfect princess from a family of scholars. However, he would never tell anyone that outside Yong Lin, when he shot that arrow, he saw a cold yet proud bearing and glistening eyes as the woman who wore a black as Hidden Cloud Soldiers looked at him. That moment made him realize that his princess wasn’t just a graceful woman who read in the light but also a soldier on the battlefield. He suddenly recalled that many years ago, he had said a prayer in front of his Father Prince and big brother, one that he almost forgot: “I, Mo Xiu Yao, wish my wife will be like Princess Qing Yun, my forebear, and follow me to the battlefields and across Great Chu.” He felt that the arrow saved not only Ah Li, but also himself from heartbreak.

With a faint blush, Ye Li felt that things between Mo Xiu Yao and her had been a bit weird after their reunion in Yong Lin. Usually, she wouldn’t think about it since she was occupied. But she would feel a bit uneasy at times like this, when she wasn’t. Not lump of wood, she knew the relationship between them was no longer that of friends after the kiss outside Scattered Snow Pass. But in front of Mo Xiu Yao, she was unable to show the kind of ease she had when she was in love in her previous life. This uncontrollable emotion even made her a bit annoyed at Mo Xiu Yao. Mo Xiu Yao seemed to understand her feelings and didn’t get too intimate with her. But they were closer and more affectionate than before.