122 Setting Out

I haven't told Prince Dinhuan about the things that have already happened"Mu Xiuyao looked at him calmly. Han Mingyue shrugged helplessly and said, "The power of Tianyi Pavilion in Great Chu has been...122. Before Departure

The scandal surrounding the arranged marriage was quietly forgotten by all involved, including the Imperial Palace, Duke Ding's residence, and the embassy of Bei Rong. The capital city remained as bustling as ever, though Lady Ding had acquired a reputation among the ladies of high society for being a domineering woman—though their whispers often carried an undercurrent of envy rather than disdain.

Le Yi ignored all external affairs and continued to manage Duke Ding's residence as she always had. Whenever she found time, she would secretly leave the city to check on those training. Before they knew it, the day of the princess’s departure arrived.

The night before their departure, the couple barely spent any time alone together. In a rarely seen crowded study at Duke Ding's residence, when Mo Xiuyao escorted Le Yi inside, everyone present was taken aback momentarily before quickly rising to greet them.

Mo Xiuyao waved his hand and said, “No need for formalities. Le Yi, you know most of these people, but let me introduce the rest to you.” Le Yi sat calmly beside Mo Xiuyao, nodding with a smile.

Around them were familiar faces like Manager Mo, Feng San, and Leng Haoyu. However, there were also several unfamiliar ones. Confused, she turned to look at Mo Xiuyao who explained, "This is General Zhang Qilan, in charge of the nearby troops under the control of the Mo Family Army. The man here is Sun Yan, the supreme leader of the Black Cloud Cavalry. And this one is Mo Hua." As he introduced these formidable middle-aged men, he also quietly called out another name.

A gray-clad man suddenly dropped from the ceiling beam and bowed respectfully, "Your Highness, Lady."

Mo Xiuyao smiled at Le Yi, saying, "This is Mo Hua, leader of the Secret Guards." Le Yi nodded and smiled in acknowledgment. These three were key individuals who controlled the real power within Duke Ding's residence.

Zhang Qilan and Sun Yan quickly stood up to greet her: “Your Highness, we have come to pay our respects.”

Le Yi smiled back, "We are all family here. No need for such formalities."

Feng Zhiyao and Leng Haoyu, seated nearby, exchanged a glance that conveyed mutual surprise and affirmation.

Af ter everyone resumed their seats, Mo Hua vanished once again into the shadows of the study. Le Yi smiled at his discreet departure. She could sense Mo Hua's slight dissatisfaction or defiance but saw no immediate need to address it.

"Your Highness," Zhang Qilan said bluntly as a soldier would, "the journey to Bei Rong is long and will take several months. Is it wise for Your Highness to travel alone"

The others nodded in agreement, though they knew changing the decision was impossible.

Sun Yan suggested, “Your Highness, why not ask His Majesty if we could escort the princess with troops from the Mo Family Army and the Black Cloud Cavalry” The idea drew nods of approval from those present. The feud between Bei Rong and Duke Ding's residence ran deep; they couldn't bear to see their lord travel alone to such a hostile land.

Mo Xiuyao smiled coolly, “The Emperor will not agree. Neither the Emperor nor the people of Bei Rong would permit it.” Sending troops from the Mo Family Army and the Black Cloud Cavalry to escort them likely wouldn't even be allowed near the borderlands of Bei Rong.

Leng Haoyu smiled reassuringly, "There’s no need for excessive worry. The people of Bei Rong are unlikely to directly attack Your Highness. While our troops might not make it across their borders, a few Secret Guards would be unremarkable."

The discussion in the study room paused, and everyone looked at Mo Xiuyao. Although the Ding King Mansion had been very low-key for many years, it was indeed the王爺 who, with his frail body, single-handedly brought the nearly collapsing Ding King Mansion back to its former glory. They should believe that since the king promised the emperor to go to Beirong, he must have already made up his mind. Mo Xiuyao held Ye Li's hand and smiled faintly, "Since I am going to Beirong, I naturally have a foolproof plan. What we need to worry about is what will happen in the capital after my departure." Everyone was stunned. Feng Zhirao frowned and asked, "Is Your Highness suspicious that someone might attack Ding King Mansion after you leave"

Mo Xiuyao said calmly, "It's not easy for others to wait for an opportunity like this when I'm away from the capital. After my departure, everyone will follow the Queen Consort's orders."

Everyone was surprised and couldn't help but look at the quiet woman sitting next to Mo Xiuyao. Although they were impressed by the Queen Consort's performance in the past year or so, a sixteen-year-old girl fully managing the Ding King Mansion still raised questions about her ability. Sun Yan frowned and said, "Your Highness... Do you mean..." Mo Xiuyao didn't answer right away but instead looked at Ye Li with a smile and asked, "Lily, is the jade pendant I gave you some days ago still there" Ye Li was surprised and suddenly remembered what Mo Xiuyao meant. She lowered her head, took out a jade pendant from her sleeve pocket, and laid it open on her palm. Everyone focused and couldn't help but inhale sharply. In Ye Li's hand lay an exquisite piece of white jade that she usually kept with her instead of wearing because it wasn't suitable for women to use. The jade pendant carved with a vividly lifelike depiction of Yazi, the dragon’s second son who was fierce and good at fighting.

Yazi was known as one of the dragon's sons, having a dragon head and wolf body with a fierce temperament, loving battles and killing. But this jade pendant was actually the true military token of the Ding King Mansion. The Mo Family Army and the Black Cloud Cavalry didn't have common tokens either. All armies could be freely mobilized by the Ding Prince, but there was an exception: the Queen Consort holding the Yazi jade pendant had equal power to the prince himself. This is why people generally thought that the Queen Consort of the Ding King Mansion also commanded the Mo Family Army and the Black Cloud Cavalry; in reality, only one or two Queen Consorts throughout history truly possessed such rights because they didn't have this piece of jade.

"Your Highness... The Queen Consort is too young. Perhaps..." Zhang Qilan worriedly said. Although others didn't speak up, the expressions on their faces conveyed the same concern. While the Queen Consort was indeed capable, if given a few more years to hone her skills, she might be able to stand alone. But now, at eighteen and having been in charge of the mansion for only one year, it's hard to feel completely secure about it.

Feng Zhirao rose with a smile and bowed towards Ye Li: "Feng Zhirao will follow Your Highness' orders and obey the Queen Consort's command."

Leng Haoyu raised his eyebrow slightly, following Feng Zhirao to stand up and say respectfully: "Follow the Queen Consort's commands."

"Third Brother Feng, Second Brother Leng, you two..." Zhang Qilan anxiously glared at the two young men who didn't understand the situation. Feng Zhirao waved his fan casually while saying with a smile, "General Zhang needn't worry. The Queen Consort is not an ordinary person in terms of both strategy and military prowess. This year alone, she managed to block Prince Li's army of tens of thousands with just over two or three thousand troops in Yonglin City and even completely destroyed the side forces of Prince Li’s army. Who could say that the Queen Consort doesn't understand military tactics" Zhang Qilan was stunned; he had indeed heard about the Queen Consort defending the city, but didn't take it seriously as Meng Mu Shen was still in Yongzhou, and besides, the Queen Consort is a woman. There were no precedents of women fighting on the battlefield since ancient times. He thought that the Queen Consort merely cooperated with the Black Cloud Cavalry to defend the city. But hearing Feng Zhirao say this personally made it completely different. Given that Feng Zhirao had been in charge of the mansion's secret agents for several years, he wouldn't casually spread rumors. The generals who were present and led troops all looked at Ye Li with a probing gaze; they usually stayed in military camps and didn’t interact much with Ye Li, so they weren’t as well-informed as Feng Zhirao or Leng Haoyu. Hearing what Feng Zhirao said made them feel that their doubts about the king’s decision might be too hasty.

Ye Li put away the jade pendant and smiled at the generals with a steady voice, "This Consort is young and lacks experience. Please give me more guidance in the future." Her words were clear and calm as usual, but the generals felt the sharpness and killing intent that only someone who had truly been on a battlefield would possess. This young queen consort could even completely conceal such an aura, to the point where others wouldn't sense anything unless they paid attention. The generals’ hearts trembled slightly, all bowing their heads in response: "We will follow the Queen Consort's orders."

Mo Xiuyao nodded approvingly and said with satisfaction, "Very good. After my departure from the capital, everything concerning the Ding King Mansion will be decided by the Queen Consort. What she says is what I mean—is that clear"

"We understand!" Everyone replied in unison.

The late-night secret talks in the study went on until deep into the night. When everyone had left, the two of them stepped out and only saw a crescent moon hanging high in the sky. Ye Li looked up at the handsome man beside her and felt a stirring in her heart as an unwillingness to part with him slowly spread through her.

"What's wrong, Ahli" Mo Xiuyao asked softly.

Ye Li shook her head, pushing away the heavy feeling in her heart and smiled. "I'm not very comfortable about you going to Beirong alone, so I've picked a few people for you to take with you."

"What kind of people have made Ahli so confident" Mo Xiuyao asked curiously. "Are they some sort of genius that even this king doesn’t know about"

Ye Li sighed softly and said, "If it weren’t for the emperor’s insistence on not having you take too many people from Ding王府 with you, I wouldn't have given them to you yet because their training hasn't been completed. But since there are limits to how many guards can accompany your person, let's just bring them along."

Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "Since Ahli is so confident in her results after more than a month of training, then this king would like to see what you’ve accomplished."

Ye Li gave him a faint smile as she raised her hand lightly. Mo Xiuyao focused on his surroundings and suddenly yelled out loudly, “Dark guards! Be alert!”

The night was silent after some light movements were heard for a moment. Soon, several figures landed from trees, walls, or rooftops and quickly lined up in front of them with serious voices saying, "Please instruct us."

Ye Li raised an eyebrow in surprise and smiled. "They have been well trained if they can recognize me. How about you, Your Highness"

Mos Xiuyao helplessly shook his head. These people didn’t seem to be very skilled at all, but they were able to silently enter the heavily guarded Ding王府 grounds and deal with opponents that were more than twice their number without being heard. It was indeed a remarkable feat. Maybe these years of self-assurance had made the dark guards from Ding王府 too arrogant.

Ye Li smiled and said, "There’s no reason for Your Highness to feel depressed about this; they could enter silently only because they knew in advance about the layout and security measures of the manor. The palace's guards are well trained."

Mos Xiuyao said, "Ahli, you don’t need to console me, but I will not blame them. Where have the guards gone"

A few moments later, over a dozen dark guards and other guards entered looking disheveled; the former were even too embarrassed to raise their heads as they knew that if real enemies had attacked, they would be unable to defend both Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li in time. The consequences of failing to protect them would be dire.

Mo Xiuyao looked curiously at the eight guards who stood before him straightly. He could feel that these people were completely different from any of his troops, but he knew for a fact that they had all been selected from those three divisions and had undergone a near complete transformation in less than two months. His consort was indeed skilled in training them.

"Ahli, I hope they are not just good at sneaking around," Mo Xiuyao said.

Ye Li raised her head with pride and replied, "Of course not. Without any internal strength, each of them can easily take on fifteen elite soldiers in a hand-to-hand fight. Each one is also proficient in using all types of combat weapons, be it single combat, group attacks, night battles, water battles, assassinations, or stealth missions. They are well-trained for night raids as well."

In a line, the soldiers began to report from the first one. "My lord, I used to be part of the Mohist army, skilled in assassination and infiltration. I also know Northern Rong and Southern Chao languages."

"I used to be a Black Cloud Cavalryman, proficient in archery and hand-to-hand combat."

"I was originally an undercover agent, skilled in disguise, light-footed movements, and poison techniques..."

...

Hearing their reports, even Mo Xiuyao couldn't help but praise, "Ah Li is truly formidable. Are you really giving these people to me"

Ye Li glanced at him with a bad temper and said, "Would you rather I had them out of envy" After saying this, she ignored Mo Xiuyao's reaction and looked around the courtyard at everyone there, saying, "You are the best among the first group to undergo training. You have almost all completed your preliminary training ahead of schedule. Originally, you would have another month to learn more skills before taking the exam. But now, you need to carry out a mission earlier than planned. I'm sorry."

The leading soldier said, "It's an honor for us to serve my lord and lady. Please give your orders." Ye Li nodded and said, "Very well, from today on, you are the personal guards of my lord until he returns from Northern Rong. So, your first mission is to protect him. The objective is that I want to see my lord return safely to the capital without any harm. Can you do it"

"We will follow orders and die completing the task," everyone chorused.

Ye Li smiled and said, "Very good. This mission is not only a test for you but also an assessment of your capabilities as this is the first time you are executing a mission. I'll have Lin Han accompany you; he will be your leader and also the person assessing you. Good luck."

"Thank you, sir."

——

Interlude:nce that's the case, why did Young Master Qingchen spend the night alone with Mingyan last night Could it be that Great Young Master Xu doesn't know about men and women not touching each other or the...