The First Jasmine - Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Secret Message from Yunzhou

The Capital

"Your Highness, a secret message from Yunzhou!" In the study, Steward Mo hurried in holding a letter sealed with black wax shaped like a flame. Sitting at his desk reading a book, Mo Xiunyao abruptly raised his head. He took the letter from Steward Mo's hand, pulled out the contents, and lowered his head to read it quickly, his expression gradually growing solemn. The air pressure in the study seemed to grow sluggish as well, and Steward Mo asked with some worry, "Your Highness?" Mo Xiunyao lowered his head and paused slightly, realizing that the letter in his hand had already been unconsciously crumpled into a ball. Closing his eyes briefly to calm the sudden shock and anger in his heart, Mo Xiunyao unfolded the paper ball, smoothed it out, and folded it properly. In a deep voice, he commanded, "Call Feng Zhiyao over, and also... invite Master Shen to come over as well. Prepare yourselves; I will be entering the palace shortly." Steward Mo frowned slightly. Ever since the Princess had met with disaster, the Highness had not set foot in the palace once. It seemed that the news coming from Yunzhou was indeed a matter of grave importance. Although worried, facing the Highness's command Steward Mo could only lower his head and reply, "This subordinate will go right away."

Before long, Feng Zhiyao and Shen Yang appeared at the entrance of the study. Feng Zhiyao raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Does Your Highness have more instructions?"

Mo Xiunyao reached out and handed over the slightly wrinkled letter, saying in a deep voice, "Take a look." Feng Zhiyao raised his handsome eyebrows; knowing Mo Xiunyao well, he naturally understood the meaning behind his current expression and tone. Without further chatter, he took the letter, walked to the side, and sat down. "From Yunzhou? Is this Old Master Qingyun's handwriting?" Mo Xiunyao nodded silently, and Feng Zhiyao's expression also grew somewhat solemn. Originally, they had only hoped that the Xu family could provide a learned scholar to help translate the items Ye Li had sent back, never expecting it to actually alarm Master Qingyun. Anything capable of drawing the attention of this old master was bound to be no trivial matter. As Feng Zhiyao sat to the side reading the letter, Shen Yang looked at Mo Xiunyao with a puzzled expression and asked, "Is something the matter, Your Highness? Or are you feeling unwell somewhere?" As a physician, Shen Yang had never been particularly fond of meddling in such affairs.

Mo Xiunyao shook his head. "Originally, Master Shen was supposed to set off for Xiling in a few days, but now I'm afraid I must ask you to postpone your departure."

Shen Yang frowned. "Your Highness's plans have changed?" Mo Xiunyao sighed. "There is no time. Master Shen, I must make a trip to the Southern Frontier."

"What?!" Shen Yang exclaimed loudly, causing even Feng Zhiyao, sitting to the side, to be momentarily startled and furrow his brows with concern. Giving Mo Xiunyao no chance to speak, a furious Shen Yang hollered at him, "What kind of nonsense are you spouting, Your Highness? Your current body is indeed much better than it was in the winter, but don't forget that this is only by comparison to winter! The climate in the Southern Frontier is humid and rainy, which is completely unsuitable for your condition. Furthermore... you know very well that the cold poison within your body went out of control last winter. Although we managed to find a way to suppress it, your present body will only grow weaker, and rashly changing environments could very well cause the cold poison to flare out of control completely!" Feng Zhiyao was somewhat puzzled. "Isn't the southern climate warm? Wouldn't that be more suitable for Your Highness's constitution?" Shen Yang rolled his eyes in annoyance. "If that were the case, what have we been struggling for all these years? Why not just send Your Highness to the south to recuperate directly?"

"Master Shen." Mo Xiunyao frowned, looking seriously at Shen Yang as he said in a deep voice, "I must go." The low, resolute voice proclaimed an unshakeable will.

"Reason!" Shen Yang raged, "Please give me a reason, Your Highness, for why you refuse to treat your own life with any regard! As a physician, I at least have the right to know what my patient is rushing off to throw his life away for."

Mo Xiunyao sighed, filled with respect for the elder who had pulled him back from the gates of hell time and time again over the years, though regrettably he now had to go against his wishes. "Because... if I do not go, in the future we will all only be able to redeem our sins with our deaths." Shen Yang was shaken. Anything capable of making Mo Xiunyao utter such words was certainly beyond his ability to prevent—or perhaps completely impossible for anyone to stop. In an instant, Shen Yang seemed to age ten years. He said despondently, "Your Highness, even if you reach the Southern Frontier, given your current physical condition, you will be utterly incapable of doing anything." A body afflicted with cold poison was extremely sensitive to external climate changes. The northern climate was dry, yet even so, whenever rainy days arrived, Mo Xiunyao's body would grow extremely weak and ache faintly; how much worse would it be in the rainy south? Mo Xiunyao's days there would be no easier than winter.

Mo Xiunyao lowered his eyes. "I know you have a way. Master Shen, I cannot go to the Southern Frontier like this. I want to stand up and appear in the Southern Frontier fully intact. Do you understand?"

"You've lost your mind!" Shen Yang cried out involuntarily. Feng Zhiyao also abruptly stood up, saying, "Your Highness, matters haven't reached that point yet. Why don't we set off for the Southern Frontier first, and then... and then we can talk about it when we get there?"

Mo Xiunyao looked at him calmly. "You should know that if I cannot go to the Southern Frontier, it will be too late once things truly reach that stage."

Feng Zhiyao lowered his head, gripping the letter tightly in his hand, left completely speechless.

Shen Yang gave a cold snort. "I don't care what stage matters have reached; if it's impossible, it's impossible! I am a physician, not an executioner, and I will never let you do such a thing!" Ignoring him entirely, Mo Xiunyao said indifferently to Feng Zhiyao, "Go make preparations; I am going to enter the palace." Feng Zhiyao gazed at him, at a loss for words for a long time. Eventually, he could only murmur, "Undercurrents aside... Yes, Your Highness." Mo Xiunyao turned his wheelchair, gliding toward the doorway. As he passed by Shen Yang, he left behind a calm declaration: "Master Shen, I expect to see the medicine when I return."

"I won't give it to you!" Shen Yang finally completely cast aside the gentleness of a physician and roared at the top of his lungs, but unfortunately, the object of his shouting had already departed far away. Feng Zhiyao looked at Shen Yang, whose face was flushed red with anger, and followed him out while clutching the letter tightly. Left to fume, Shen Yang could only vent in the empty study, finally bursting out with a furious howl: "Do you men of the Mo family have something wrong in your heads?! Can this world not spin without you?!"

Feng Zhiyao glanced back at the study and quickly caught up to Mo Xiunyao. Mo Xiunyao asked calmly, "Is there something you want to say?"

Feng Zhiyao was stunned for a moment, before finally shaking his head with a bitter smile. "I have nothing to say. Please grant Feng San permission to accompany you."

Mo Xiunyao frowned. "The affairs of the capital require you to stay and handle them."

Feng Zhiyao raised his chin, his brows carrying a trace of heroic spirit rarely seen in ordinary times: "Your Highness, Feng San is a soldier. My lifelong ambition is to gallop across the battlefield, not to control dark guards and gather intelligence." Mo Xiunyao was slightly taken aback, turning to look at Feng Zhiyao. Too much time had passed, causing him to almost forget. When they were still mischievous children, Feng Zhiyao, dressed in bright red, had stood before him and declared that he would one day become an peerless general victorious in a hundred battles. Afterward, at the age of thirteen, Feng Zhiyao had forsaken the life of luxury in the Feng family to follow him through thick and thin. Perhaps if not for the events of that year, Feng Zhiyao would have already become a legendary general just as he wished, rather than holing up in the capital as he did now, hiding his identity as the commander of the dark guards behind the facade of a dissolute and unrestrained playboy.

After a long silence, Mo Xiunyao said in a low voice, "Very well. If they truly... then they should also know your relationship with the Prince Ding's Estate. I will make separate arrangements regarding the dark guards." Back when Feng Zhiyao had anonymously followed him to fight on the battlefields, very few people knew about it, though they did exist. Overjoyed, Feng Zhiyao clasped his fists. "Many thanks, Your Highness!" Mo Xiunyao smiled faintly in response. "It is I who should thank you. Also, send someone by fast courier to deliver a message to Ah Li. Be careful of Shu Manlin!"

The Capital of Nanzhao

Ye Li looked helplessly at the hostile Han Mingxi and the calm-as-ever Xu Qingchen before her. "Young Master Han..." Han Mingxi let out a light snort, averted his gaze, and smiled at Ye Li. "Little Sister Liuyun, there's no need to be so formal. Since you also know Junwei, you can just call me Big Brother Mingxi." Ye Li speechlessly glanced at him and swallowed back the urge to persuade him otherwise. Seeing that the little beauty refused to pay him any mind, Han Mingxi shrugged with some regret and appraised Ye Li, saying, "Come to think of it, Little Sister Liuyun really does look two parts like Junwei. Actually, is Junwei not Young Master Qingchen's younger brother, but rather your sibling, Little Sister Liuyun? Don't you both share the surname Chu, after all?" Secretly wiping away sweat in her heart, Ye Li replied, "Big Brother Qingchen really is Junwei's eldest brother." Han Mingxi's eyes rolled, and he blinked innocently at Ye Li. "Then Junwei's name certainly isn't real, is it? Little Sister Liuyun, won't you tell big brother? What is Junwei's actual name?"

Ye Li harbored bitter grievances she could not voice, secretly regretting why she had had a momentary lapse of brainpower back then and asked Han Mingxi for help. She cast a look for help toward Xu Qingchen, who was leisurely sipping tea to the side. Xu Qingchen raised an eyebrow and calmly stated, "Xu Qingliu."

"Qingliu? A fine name... and a great match for Junwei. Unlike certain people... practically ruining a good name. No, wait... there is no Fifth Young Master Xu named Xu Qingliu!" Han Mingxi muttered to himself before snapping back to reality, glaring fiercely at Xu Qingchen. Xu Qingchen raised an eyebrow. "Who told you he was one of the five young masters of the Xu family?" Han Mingxi lowered his head to think, only to realize no one had. After a moment of deep thought, he raised his head with a look of sudden realization, his expression toward Xu Qingchen turning somewhat strange and entangled. If one looked closely, a tiny hint of contempt could even be discerned. Ye Li looked helplessly at Han Mingxi: What on earth are you imagining this time?

Han Mingxi let out a hum, looked Xu Qingchen up and down, and nodded. "This young master understands. No wonder I've never heard the name Xu Qingliu, and no wonder he had to assume an alias when traveling outside. Hmph, don't even think about bullying Qingliu from now on... no, if I call him by that name he's bound to notice—none of you in the Xu family are ever going to bully Junwei again! He is under this young master's protection." Ye Li wore a look of utter embarrassment, while Xu Qingchen's handsome brows twitched upward. "Young Master Han has quite the imagination." Han Mingxi scoffed dismissively, "My ability to beat people up is even better. If it weren't for Junwei's sake, see if I don't flatten you!"

"Young Master Han..." Ye Li called out helplessly, feeling a deep sense of touch at how sincerely Han Mingxi treated Chu Junwei, which only added to her growing guilt over keeping things from him.

Han Mingxi glanced sideways at her and said, "Little Sister Liuyun, you'd better find yourself another fiancé sooner rather than later. Some people look like refined gentlemen on the outside, but who knows what kind of trash they are on the inside. Hmph... Junwei hasn't returned for this long and he doesn't even show the slightest bit of worry; I'm going to go find him myself!" With that, Han Mingxi swept out of the room like a gust of wind.

Xu Qingchen put down his teacup and said thoughtfully, "Han Mingxi really treats you quite well."

Ye Li gave a bitter smile. "Right now, I actually really regret deceiving him." Xu Qingchen said indifferently, "Being cautious when traveling outside is the right thing to do. If you explain it clearly to him earlier, he should understand." Ye Li cast a helpless side-eye at him. "Then what was Big Brother talking about with 'Xu Qingliu' just a moment ago? Once everything is brought out into the open later, won't that mean I deceived him one more time?" Xu Qingchen smiled calmly, "Later on, I'll ask Grandfather to enter his name into the ancestral registry, so it won't count as deceiving him anymore. As for you..."

Ye Li looked at Xu Qingchen with confusion, but Xu Qingchen simply shook his head and said nothing more.

"Xu Qingchen!" A fierce feminine roar echoed from outside, followed by a loud clatter as the main doors were kicked open from the outside, and a sapphire-blue figure rushed in at lightning speed. Seeing the aggressive woman, Ye Li instinctively shivered and looked back at Xu Qingchen, only to find him still seated as steadily and leisurely as if the furious woman hadn't come charging specifically for him. The moment the woman rushed to the entrance of the main hall, she was unable to check her momentum and froze, staring blankly at Xu Qingchen. Ye Li blinked, gave a light cough, and greeted, "Princess Sister." Only then did Princess Anxi seem to snap back to her senses; she stepped into the hall and asked with concern, "Qingchen, are you alright?"

Xu Qingchen smiled faintly, "Judging by the Princess's posture just now, I thought Your Highness had come to settle scores with me."

A flush of red flew across Princess Anxi's face, and she glared fiercely at him. "Shouldn't I come to settle scores with you? What good deeds have you been up to inside the palace?"

Xu Qingchen smiled innocently. "I haven't done anything at all." Indeed, he hadn't done a thing himself; all the work had been carried out by the dark guards and the agents of the Tianyi Pavilion. Princess Anxi walked over, sat down, and glared discontentedly at Xu Qingchen. "You didn't do anything, yet you turned the entire imperial palace upside down! Royal Father just summoned me into the palace for questioning, suspecting that I was the one behind it." Although she had originally prepared to do exactly that, hadn't someone else beaten her to it? Why was Royal Father still suspecting her? Xu Qingchen raised an eyebrow. "Knowing that the King of Nanzhao suspects you, yet you still come running here?" Princess Anxi lifted her chin with disdain. "Those few good-for-nothings—this Princess lets them follow only when I want them to, and if I don't want them to, they could run their legs off and still never catch up."

"Did the Princess come over in such a rush for something?" Xu Qingchen asked.

Standing to the side, Ye Li let out an internal sigh. Wasn't Princess Anxi rushing over in such a panic precisely because she was worried about Big Brother's safety? Yet here he was, asking so indifferently whether the Princess had come for business. Did he really expect a young lady to say out loud, "I came because I was worried about your safety"?

Princess Anxi paused for a moment, glanced at Ye Li beside them, and lifted her chin. "Can't I come over when there's nothing the matter? This Princess simply had to come check whether my friend-cum-military strategist is still alive."

Xu Qingchen shook his head. "As it happens, I also have matters to discuss with the Princess. Since the Princess has come herself, I won't need to send someone to the Princess's Estate to look for you." Princess Anxi frowned, looking at Xu Qingchen. "You're not returning to the Princess's Estate?" Hesitating for a moment, she glanced back at Ye Li and said, "Miss Chu is also staying at my estate right now; it would be much more convenient for you to return together so we can discuss whatever needs discussing." Ye Li thought for a moment, and before Xu Qingchen could speak, she interjected, "Princess, I am truly sorry for deceiving you earlier..."

Princess Anxi frowned in confusion, and Ye Li said softly, "That... actually, I..."

"Actually, Liuyun is not some weak maiden without the strength to truss a chicken. Today, it was she who went into the palace together with Lin Han to rescue me. The reason she pretended to know nothing beforehand was simply out of fear that you might be suspicious." Xu Qingchen smoothly took over the conversation. Ye Li raised an eyebrow and cast a subtle glare at Xu Qingchen, who remained as unshakeably serene as a mountain.

Princess Anxi looked at him strangely, then looked over at Ye Li and smiled, "What of it? It's just rare to see a Central Plains woman who is both scholarly and martial like Miss Chu. Miss Chu did it for Qingchen's safety anyway, and I'm not someone so petty."

Ye Li smiled, "Then many thanks, Princess."