The First Jasmine - Chapter 117

Chapter 117 - Princess Ronghua

Over the next few days, Ye Li personally went down to the valley beneath the Black Wind Cliff every single day to guide the individuals she had handpicked. Qin Feng, who had consistently followed alongside her to learn, benefited immensely from the experience and grew increasingly in awe of Ye Li's exceptional capabilities. Try as he might, Qin Feng simply could not fathom how the Princess Consort—clearly a young woman in her teens—could possibly possess such profound knowledge of things he had never even heard of. Though Qin Feng considered himself clever, he had to admit that if he wanted to master everything the Princess Consort taught, it would likely take him at least ten or twenty years.

For the group of soldiers pulled aside specifically to be trained as agents, Ye Li placed great emphasis on their psychological states and mindset. During their instructional sessions, she would purposely incorporate adapted tales of legendary special operatives from her past life. Although she omitted specific names and identities, these stories helped the sharp-witted soldiers understand the critical importance of the missions they would shoulder in the future. They came to realize that working as a scout or a spy was far from the lowly, despicable trade they once imagined; in fact, such roles could sometimes single-handedly decide the outcome of a war. The faint traces of lingering regret and dissatisfaction in their hearts were completely swept away by the flood of novel knowledge and practical skills Ye Li brought to them.

"Princess Consort, have you already made up your mind regarding this batch of men?" Walking beside Ye Li while watching her furiously jotting notes at her desk, Qin Feng asked with a hint of curiosity.

Ye Li glanced up at him and replied, "They are merely an experiment; I can't say for certain what kind of actual impact they will ultimately have. Training a qualified agent is far more difficult than training a hundred qualified elite soldiers, and it consumes significantly more time. Besides, this isn't even my primary field of expertise." Qin Feng chuckled and remarked, "This subordinate certainly couldn't tell that the Princess Consort lacks familiarity with this field. Listening to the lessons these past few days has been an absolute revelation. Many of those concepts were things I wouldn't have even dreamed of before. I truly cannot understand how the Princess Consort ever thought of them." With a look that was half-smile and half-serious, Ye Li asked, "Do you really want to know?" Taken aback, Qin Feng couldn't help shrinking his neck back slightly, shaking his head repeatedly as he said, "This subordinate was merely joking." The Xu family was famed for generations of scholars, producing great master literati one after another; it shouldn't come as a surprise that they produced a genius like the Princess Consort, right? Glancing at the thick stack of files piling up on the side table, Qin Feng frowned and asked, "Princess Consort, if your goal is to cultivate agents, why select only men instead of women? After all, women are inherently far less likely to arouse suspicion." Ye Li gave him an unamused look and retorted, "Do you think I haven't considered that? But where are you going to easily find suitable women? Women are different from men; a man's appearance and background can be completely mediocre without drawing unwanted scrutiny, making it harder for others to remain on guard against him. But a woman requires absolute, top-tier talent, beauty, and cunning. Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to get close to the enemy, let alone accomplish anything else."

Qin Feng nodded and said, "The Princess Consort is entirely right."

Ye Li continued, "In the future, you will likely be the one overseeing this division. Keep a sharp eye out for any suitable candidates moving forward. As for those few out there, I'll be heading back to the capital in a couple of days, so these files contain everything they still need to learn—you should study them yourself as well. Once this phase of training concludes, I'll arrange for someone else to separately instruct them in other areas. I currently hold two admission slots for Lishan Academy; once their training wraps up, pick two of them and send them over." Qin Feng was startled. Lishan Academy was a place where countless scions of prominent aristocratic families in Great Chu would break their legs trying to squeeze in. Yet these soldiers from the lowest rungs of the military possessed backgrounds that were hardly illustrious. Regardless of what the Princess Consort ultimately intended to achieve, securing an opportunity to study at Lishan Academy was a profound grace bestowed upon them. "Thank you, Princess Consort." Waving a hand dismissively, Ye Li said, "No need for thanks. Just make sure you select those who are younger. Besides, if they fail the Lishan Academy entrance examinations on their own merits, it'll all be for naught anyway." Qin Feng smiled and replied, "These lads all come from families with a bit of scholarly background; they're quite different from the rough-and-tumble brutes in the army. Once they learn of such a generous grace from the Princess Consort, they'll bust their backsides to pass those exams."

Nodding in satisfaction, Ye Li was about to issue further instructions when a sharp, shrill screech suddenly cut through the air from outside: "Ye Li, get your ass out here right this instant!"

Frowning in displeasure, Qin Feng muttered, "Who on earth has the audacity to come make a scene at the Grand Princess's villa?"

Recognizing the owner of that piercing voice the moment she heard it, Ye Li offered a faint, amused smile. "It's actually quite impressive that she managed to hold out for so many days before coming to make a scene. But since everyone is likely humoring her right now, let her vent for a bit. Go give orders to guide her this way so she doesn't disturb Imperial Aunt's rest."

"Is that Princess Ronghua?"

"It's Princess Ronghua now," Ye Li corrected. Although she was not residing in the capital, reports detailing everything happening there were delivered precisely to her desk every single day. The Emperor had officially conferred upon Princess Ronghua the title of Princess Ronghua for the sake of the marriage alliance with Northern Rong. These days, the Princess Zhaoren Manor was practically turned upside down. Princess Ronghua had initially assumed her mother and maternal aunt would be able to back her up; upon discovering that her mother was entirely powerless to change things, she had resorted to throwing tantrums, screaming, and even going on hunger strikes, driving Princess Zhaoren to the point of turning white-haired with worry. Yet, no matter how wildly Princess Ronghua threw tantrums, how could she possibly override the Emperor's imperial decree? In the end, she had simply been placed under house arrest and forced by court matrons sent from the palace to study court etiquette every day. Given that Princess Ronghua hailed from the imperial bloodline, the standards required of her weren't as rigid as those for palace princesses, meaning her etiquette lessons weren't too shabby and she hadn't suffered any actual physical abuse. Still, it remained a mystery why she had run all the way out here to throw a fit today.

Listening to the commotion outside, Ye Li laid down her brush and walked out. The moment she stepped outside, she spotted Princess Ronghua marching toward her in a grand, imposing entourage. The second Princess Ronghua laid eyes on Ye Li, her eyes instantly flooded with hatred and burning fury. "Ye Li, you treacherous bitch, I'm going to kill you!" Beholding Ye Li as if she were an enemy from past lives, Princess Ronghua lunged blindly forward toward her. Ye Li frowned slightly, prompting Qin Feng to step forward defensively and block Princess Ronghua two steps away from Ye Li, speaking in a cold, measured tone, "Your Highness, please mind your dignity." The title of 'Princess' caused Princess Ronghua's pretty face to distort instantly, and she snarled angrily, "Shut your mouth! When this Princess acts, does she need a lowly servant like you pointing fingers?" Raising an eyebrow indifferently, Qin Feng replied, "My apologies, Your Highness. This subordinate serves the Prince of Ding's Manor; I am not your servant."

"You... you..." Accustomed to unbridled arrogance, Princess Ronghua was already burning with fury and never expected a mere underling from the Prince of Ding's Manor to treat her with such audacity, leaving her choking for words for a long moment. The servants trailing behind her finally snapped back to their senses and rushed forward to soothe her. Annoyed and overwhelmed by the noisy chatter ringing in her ears, Princess Ronghua spun around and delivered a vicious slap across the face of the nearest attendant, snapping, "All of you, shut your traps!" The courtyard instantly plunged into dead silence as Princess Ronghua's retinue scrambled to seal their lips, terrified of provoking their mistress further. Waving a hand at Qin Feng, Ye Li instructed, "Qin Feng, go attend to your duties."

Frowning in hesitant disapproval, Qin Feng muttered, "Princess Consort, I'm afraid this might not be wise..."

Ye Li smiled lightly and said, "Don't worry, Princess Ronghua won't do anything to me." Although he remained uneasy about the unhinged Princess Ronghua, Qin Feng chose to trust the Princess Consort. After all, they were currently inside the Grand Princess's private villa; even if Princess Ronghua wished to cause trouble, it wouldn't be all that easy. As for physical altercations, Qin Feng wouldn't even dare claim he could defeat the Princess Consort herself—ten Princess Ronghuas wouldn't be enough for the Princess Consort to handle.

Once Qin Feng withdrew, Ye Li turned back toward Princess Ronghua with a gentle smile and invited, "Princess, please come inside the parlor."

Thoroughly thrown off balance by such a mild and welcoming attitude, Princess Ronghua found herself caught between advancing and retreating, staring at her with guarded suspicion as she demanded, "What scheme are you plotting?"

Ye Li smiled faintly. "You needn't worry; I'm not plotting any schemes against you. Why on earth would I waste my time scheming against a bride bound for a political marriage alliance?"

"You!" Princess Ronghua flushed red with anger. Ye Li smiled softly and said, "Princess, let's go inside and sit down to talk."

Ultimately, Princess Ronghua obediently entered the flower hall and took a seat, though her almond-shaped eyes continued to glare with merciless, unyielding hostility at Ye Li. After taking a sip of tea, Ye Li calmly asked, "What brings the Princess here to cause a scene at my place today? Is it merely to vent your spleen? If that's all it is, I can choose not to fight back—you're welcome to throw a tantrum, curse, or smash whatever objects you please, as long as it brings you joy. But... what meaning does that hold? Can it change your current reality? Furthermore, does the Princess truly believe that your forced marriage alliance to Northern Rong was brought about by me?" Princess Ronghua froze for a moment before stubbornly puffing up her pretty face and retorting defensively, "Of course it's because of you! Who else put my name on that list? Are you going to deny you wanted to exact private revenge?" Raising an eyebrow, Ye Li retorted with an amused question, "Private revenge? You're welcome to think that way if you wish, but the imperial decree was issued by the Emperor himself; I merely selected the individuals I deemed most suitable. The one who ultimately chose you was certainly not me." Infuriated, Princess Ronghua demanded, "Then why didn't you cross my name off?" Looking at her with amused irony, Ye Li countered, "Why on earth would I cross your name off?" Were she and Princess Ronghua close friends? Was their relationship that deep?

"This Princess does not want to go through with this marriage alliance! Those Northern Rong barbarians are so vulgar, so utterly hideous..."

As she watched a genuine flicker of fear and vulnerability finally break through Princess Ronghua's haughty facade, Ye Li sighed softly in her heart: Who actually wants to be married off in a political alliance?

Princess Ronghua froze, struck completely speechless for a long moment. Indeed, Northern Rong was hardly a pleasant place; which daughter of a prestigious, noble family would ever willingly go to such a land for a political marriage? Ye Li shared no personal rapport with her and even harbored a degree of friction between them—why on earth should Ye Li help cross her name off the list? Watching Princess Ronghua stubbornly bite her lower lip while fighting back tears, Ye Li shook her head inwardly. Though she didn't particularly care for Princess Ronghua, she didn't actively despise her either. Princess Ronghua was undeniably arrogant, spoiled, and blind to those around her, but at the same time, she possessed a relatively straightforward temperament, making her far easier to get along with than those scheming women whose hearts were full of plots and machinations. "How did the Princess manage to slip out of the city today? Surely you didn't come all this way just to beat me up and vent your anger?"

"And would you let me beat you up?" Princess Ronghua challenged.

Ye Li smiled and shook her head. The porcelain cup in her hand shattered into pieces under a subtle application of force as she calmly replied, "You couldn't beat me."

"You!" Princess Ronghua glared at her with bitter resentment, feeling as though this woman was treating her like a monkey in a circus. Looking at her serenely, Ye Li said, "The matter of the marriage alliance can no longer be altered. Instead of wasting your breath holding a grudge against me, the Princess would be far better off pondering what you're going to do with your future."

A flash of sorrow and helplessness crossed Princess Ronghua's eyes. Giving a cold huff, she muttered, "What else is there to do? Just wait to be shoved onto a marriage carriage and hauled off to Northern Rong. And the moment Northern Rong and Great Chu eventually have a falling out down the road, I'll either be tossed into the cold palace or dragged out as a ritual sacrifice." Spoiled and willful though she might be, she still hailed from the imperial family and understood many of the political relationships at play; it was simply that she hadn't previously needed to care. A sharp glint flashed in Ye Li's eyes as she casually set the shattered teacup back onto the table and said, "Once the Princess arrives in Northern Rong, you will be the Crown Princess of Northern Rong. As long as Northern Rong and Great Chu have not officially torn off the diplomatic facade, no one on the surface will dare mistreat you. As long as the Princess is smart enough to survive properly in Northern Rong, the day may yet come when you have the chance to return to Great Chu." Naturally skeptical, Princess Ronghua scoffed coldly, "Return to Great Chu? You make it sound so easy. When that day truly arrives, who on earth is going to remember a mere discarded marriage-alliance princess?" Frowning in thought, Ye Li produced an exquisite jade pendant, split it in half, and handed one half to Princess Ronghua, saying, "Take this, Princess. Should you ever find your life in mortal danger in the future, the Prince of Ding's Manor can save your life once. This is your token of proof."

"What do you want me to do in return?" Princess Ronghua wasn't a complete fool; just as Ye Li had pointed out, their relationship wasn't warm enough to warrant such charitable assistance without conditions.

Ye Li replied, "Fulfill the duties of a marriage-alliance princess and a Northern Rong Crown Princess. Assist the Crown Prince of Northern Rong to the best of your ability."

"Me... assist the Crown Prince of Northern Rong? Are you joking?" Princess Ronghua retained a shred of self-awareness regarding her own capabilities. Asking her to manage as an ordinary imperial consort was one thing, but assisting a crown prince of a foreign nation... wasn't Ye Li overestimating her abilities just a bit too much?

Ye Li stated calmly, "You needn't worry. Since I've made this offer, I will naturally assist you. If you trust me, then whenever someone approaches you in the future bearing the matching half of this jade pendant, you need only place your absolute trust in them. Furthermore, the moment you arrive in Northern Rong, you can appropriately leak certain pieces of intelligence to the Crown Prince to convince him that you can be of genuine use to him—lest you get yourself killed by him the moment you set foot there. The Northern Rong Crown Prince is certainly not going to be thrilled about marrying a future empress of Great Chu." Princess Ronghua looked at Ye Li with a complex expression in her eyes. Growing up in the imperial palace from childhood, she was even two or three years older than Ye Li, yet she had never once stopped to consider matters on such a profound scale. Was this truly the difference between the Princess Consort of Ding and an ordinary county princess?

"If the Northern Rong Crown Prince finds out that I have ties to the Prince of Ding's Manor, why would he ever trust me?" Princess Ronghua asked.

Ye Li smiled and replied, "Find a way to let him know that you can help him deal with Yelu Ye. When Xiunyao escorts you to Northern Rong, I will ask him to communicate with the Northern Rong Crown Prince regarding this. Besides... why on earth would you seek the Northern Rong Crown Prince's trust for nothing? Do you truly believe Northern Rong would ever accept a future mother of the nation hailing from Great Chu? Although Northern Rong is a land of barbarians, they place an even greater emphasis on bloodlines than anywhere else. For hundreds of years, Northern Rong has never produced a foreign queen, nor has any Northern Rong monarch ever carried bloodlines outside of the Northern Rong nobility in their veins. Of course, if you possess the ability to genuinely charm Yelu Hong into changing everything for your sake, I wouldn't mind altering my plan to support you either."

Recalling the rumors describing the hideous, repulsive appearances of those Northern Rong men, Princess Ronghua wrinkled her nose in disgust. Even though that fellow Yelu Ye looked decent enough, he was merely decent. Great Chu had thousands, if not tens of thousands, of men far more handsome than him; who knew what kind of monstrosity Yelu Hong looked like? That wretched Yelu Ping they'd seen previously had looked every bit as repulsive as an ugly pig. With a huff of annoyance, Princess Ronghua snatched the jade pendant from Ye Li's hand and muttered, "This is strictly a fair transaction; don't expect this Princess to thank you." Ye Li pressed her lips together in a slight smile and said, "No thanks needed. However, the Princess should know by now that certain secrets cannot be shared with too many people, right?"

"This Princess is not stupid," Princess Ronghua retorted coldly. Of course she wasn't stupid; she knew full well that Ye Li was using her. But historically, how many political marriage princesses ever met a good end, let alone in a place like Northern Rong? Since Ye Li was utilizing her, at the very least it provided her with a lifeline and the leverage she needed to survive. What had that lofty, high-and-mighty cousin of hers in the palace done for her? Aside from sending court officials to drill her in etiquette she had already mastered long ago, he hadn't even spared her a single word of parting advice, treating her purely as a dispensable chess piece to be discarded at a moment's notice. Since that was how they played, she owed them no loyalty and couldn't be blamed for throwing her lot in with the Prince of Ding's Manor. She wanted to survive just as much as anyone else.

Ye Li nodded. "There is still quite some time before your departure; the Princess would do well to spend these remaining days visiting Grand Princess Zhaoyang and the Empress Dowager more frequently."

Princess Ronghua gave her an uncomprehending look. Ye Li smiled and explained, "Both of those women are exceptionally intelligent. If the Princess humbly seeks their guidance, they can teach you a great deal. As for whatever Princess Zhaoren tried imparting to you... after watching her all these years, I'd say you can safely skip learning any more of that." Displaying no anger whatsoever at Ye Li's blatant mockery of her mother, Princess Ronghua instead fell into thoughtful silence for a moment before admitting, "This Princess understands. I'll be taking my leave now. Oh, and by the way... if you have nothing better to do, you'd better return to the capital soon. Otherwise, you might just find your Prince of Ding stolen away by someone else." With that parting shot, Princess Ronghua strode out with her head held high and her usual haughty demeanor firmly intact, leaving Ye Li sitting alone in the flower hall in a daze, left to wonder whether Princess Ronghua's parting words were meant as a joke or if she was genuinely hinting at something real.