The First Jasmine - Chapter 145
Chapter 145 - Heart-to-Heart
After speaking a few words of encouragement, Mo Xiurao dismissed the crowd, keeping only Qin Feng and Lin Han behind. Once the group returned to the study and sat down, Ye Li turned to Lin Han and asked, "How was this trip to Beirong?" Lin Han answered respectfully, "Everything went smoothly; please rest assured, Princess Consort." Ye Li nodded, then turned her head to look at Mo Xiurao and asked, "What about Princess Ronghua...?" Mo Xiurao said in a soft voice, "Although Princess Ronghua is a bit willful, she is no fool. Ah Li, rest assured—she will not ruin things." Ye Li nodded and let out a gentle sigh. "That is good, then; otherwise, this trip would have been a massive loss." Qin Feng stood to the side listening to their conversation, keeping silent. Since the Prince and Princess Consort did not hide it from him, it was a sign of their trust in him. He had personally participated in training the first batch of Qilin team members, and he was deeply familiar with every single one of them. He knew full well who the eight people Lin Han led out were and who had returned.
Mo Xiurao looked at Ye Li with a smile and said, "Before, I never inquired about Ah Li's affairs. Only after this trip to Beirong did I come to realize that not only can Ah Li manage the Manor and dominate the battlefield, but your skill in training soldiers is exceptionally brilliant as well." Had he not seen it with his own eyes, even Mo Xiurao would have found it difficult to believe that such an army and such soldiers could exist in this world. It was not to say how supreme their martial arts were, nor how brave and battle-hardened they were. Rather, it was their shockingly proficient and precise mastery of various battlefield skills. Mo Xiurao even caught himself wondering just how terrifying it would be if a whole army of such soldiers were truly brought into existence. Ye Li cast a glance at him and said, "These training methods consume far too much manpower and resources, and the demands placed on the soldiers themselves are exceptionally high. Applying them to a battlefield of thousands of troops yields little practical effect; one could say the gains do not offset the losses." Although no one was eliminated during this first training session, that was because these individuals were already the elite among elites, and many had already been screened out during the selection process. Even more importantly, this was Ye Li's first time training the warriors she envisioned in this era. Due to differences in equipment and combat styles between the two eras, this could only be considered an exploration. It was hard to say whether these men truly met Ye Li's standards.
Without blinking, Mo Xiurao looked at Ye Li with a smile. "Does Ah Li have any suggestions?"
Ye Li blinked, staring at Mo Xiurao silently for a long moment. Only after quite a while did she whisper in a low voice, "Give me some time to think."
Mo Xiurao did not mind at all, so long as the objective was achieved. If Ah Li had no interest in these matters, he would hope for her to simply be a leisurely Consort of Prince Ding. However, since Ah Li possessed both the interest and the ability, he would not block her brilliance.
Having dealt with Mo Xiurao, Ye Li turned back to Qin Feng and said, "From today onward, you shall be the Commander of the Qilin. I leave these people in your hands."
Qin Feng nodded and said, "Your subordinate will surely not disappoint the Princess Consort's trust."
Ye Li nodded and said, "That is good. Devote more care and thought to these men. Keep in mind: you are not those ordinary, large-scale armies, and there is absolutely no need for you to participate in face-to-face slaughter on the frontlines. Do you understand?"
Qin Feng raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Your subordinate is confused; we are not weaker than ordinary soldiers." Having learned a body of great skills yet being unable to charge into battle on the frontlines was indeed a very frustrating matter. Could it be that the Princess Consort merely wished for them to serve as scouts to gather intelligence? Thinking up to this point, Qin Feng felt somewhat disheartened. Ye Li raised her delicate eyebrows and said indifferently, "You are indeed not weaker than ordinary soldiers. In fact, you are many times stronger than them. However... if the fifty of you were thrown into a chaotic army of thousands, could you stand against a hundred alone?" Qin Feng was speechless. On a chaotic battlefield, swords had no eyes; determining strength was nowhere near as simple as a martial arts duel on the drill grounds. Sometimes luck was just as important, and surviving made one the strong. No matter how high your martial arts were or how agile your movements, when a hail of arrows rained down, you would still be shot full of holes like a hedgehog. Ye Li looked at him and said, "You cannot fight a hundred men single-handedly, yet the cost of training each of you is a hundred times that of an ordinary soldier. Therefore, the battlefield you must face is also different from theirs. Perhaps it lacks the grand, sweeping majesty of the main battlefield, but it will surely be even more shocking and perilous. Small-scale, high-intensity combat is what you are meant for. As I stated before: tracking and lurking, reconnaissance behind enemy lines, hostage rescue, harassment and sabotage, intelligence gathering, kidnapping and assassination—whatever ordinary soldiers cannot do, you must achieve. These are what you are meant to do. Do you understand now?"
Qin Feng pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Your subordinate understands."
"It is good that you understand. Upon returning to the capital this time, begin the second special training immediately. I will hand over the training methods and subjects to you later. You will be fully responsible for it this time. My requirement is that within five years, the number of Qilin reaches one thousand."
Qin Feng was overjoyed. Although his subordinates were all elites, having a mere fifty men truly felt a bit meager. Qin Feng imagined the feeling of leading an elite team of a thousand men—that feeling would definitely be no less grand than leading thousands of troops and horses. He hurriedly called out in a loud voice, "Your subordinate obeys the order and guarantees the mission's completion!"
"Very well. You may step down."
Having dismissed Qin Feng and Lin Han, Mo Xiurao looked with a smile at the radiant Ye Li, saying, "This Prince now understands why Ah Li held the secret guards of the Prince Ding's Manor in such low regard. Compared to these people of Ah Li's, the secret guards are truly far too inferior. I, too, am beginning to look forward to the day when this team Ah Li spoke of takes shape." Ye Li cast a glance at him and said, "Your Highness, do not speak nonsense; I have never looked down on the secret guards." Many among the secret guards possessed extraordinary abilities; at most, she merely felt that using people this way in the Prince Ding's Manor was a bit wasteful of talent. Mo Xiurao lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said, "Since Ah Li intends to expand the numbers of the Qilin, after returning to the capital, let all the secret guards participate in the Qilin's special training. In the future, the Prince Ding's Manor will abolish the secret guard system."
"Is that really alright?" Ye Li was also somewhat concerned by Mo Xiurao's swift decision. Especially when she recalled a certain weirdly eccentric Secret Guard Commander—if Mo Hua learned of Mo Xiurao's decision, he would probably want to devour her alive.
Mo Xiurao played with a strand of her hair with a smile, saying, "What would be wrong with it? Since there is a more beneficial method, why not use it?" Ye Li said, "Aren't secret guards specifically meant to protect the masters of the Prince Ding's Manor?" Mo Xiurao laughed and said, "Didn't you also say that guard duty is one of the Qilin's missions? Besides, they performed exceptionally well on this trip to Beirong." Indeed, they had performed wonderfully; the people trained by Ye Li could fight and kill, were eloquent and quick-witted, could act and play dumb, and were all-capable in disguise, poisoning, and gathering intelligence. Ye Li looked at him rather speechlessly—so that was the scheme he was hatching all along.
"Your Highness truly knows how to calculate." Ye Li cast a huffy glance at him. Yet in Mo Xiurao's eyes, that glance was a coquettish look full of charm and endless affection. His heart stirred; reaching out a hand, he pulled her into his arms, leaned down, and kissed her.
Their lips and tongues entwined, leaving Ye Li kissed to the point of barely being able to catch her breath. Mo Xiurao's large hand causing mischief everywhere caused her delicate face to flush like rosy clouds, her body turning soft and weak. Ever since returning from Beirong, Mo Xiurao had clearly undergone quite a few changes compared to before. While these changes brought joy to Ye Li's heart, she occasionally found them a bit overwhelming as well. "Mm... you bastard Mo Xiurao... will you die... if you don't go into heat...?" Mo Xiurao let out a low chuckle, his slightly cool lips moving along her slender neck, exhaling lukewarm breath that made Ye Li's face turn even redder. You bastard, Mo Xiurao! A faint gleam flashed in Ye Li's clear eyes, and she raised her hand intending to give him a strike. As if anticipating her move, Mo Xiurao raised his hand, caught her lifted palm, and held it in his hand, gently rubbing it. "Ah Li, if you hit me and it hurts, wouldn't your heart ache for me?"
Ye Li rolled her eyes toward the sky, raised her head, and touched Mo Xiurao's forehead. Mo Xiurao looked at her and raised an eyebrow in confusion. Ye Li said indifferently, "You don't have a fever; why are you daydreaming in broad daylight?" Hearing her words, Mo Xiurao froze for a moment, then leaned against Ye Li's shoulder and burst out laughing. Only after a long while did he raise his head, saying gently, "Ah Li is so heartless. Even if Ah Li's heart doesn't ache for me, as your husband, I would still worry about Ah Li's hand hurting." Ye Li felt helpless, deeply unaccustomed to Mo Xiurao's sudden burst of sickeningly sweet affection. In the past, Mo Xiurao would occasionally tease her with terms like 'wife' or 'husband,' but after returning this time, he had clearly grown much more fond of clinging to her side. Sitting in Mo Xiurao's arms, Ye Li asked in a soft voice, "Xiurao, what is wrong with you?" Mo Xiurao was taken aback and smiled, "What do you mean by what's wrong? Does Ah Li dislike your husband?"
Ye Li looked at him with a tranquil expression, and the smile on Mo Xiurao's face gradually faded. Pulling her into his embrace once again, he took a deep breath before speaking: "Ah Li... I am a little afraid..."
Ye Li's heart trembled. Although Mo Xiurao had always conducted himself with gentle elegance, Ye Li knew full well what a proud man he truly was. If he were not genuinely unable to bear it, he would never reveal his vulnerability before anyone. No—even if he truly could not bear it, he would never display it in front of outsiders.
"What happened?"
"When I was in Beirong and heard about the bloody battle at the Prince Ding's Manor in the capital... when I knew you had to deal with Mo Jingqi and those insatiably greedy nobles while also leading troops into battle... I felt regret... so much regret..." He regretted why he had agreed to Mo Jingqi's request to go to Beirong; if he had stubbornly refused to go, Mo Jingqi would never have dared force him. He even... regretted why he had not killed those people sooner. Every time he recalled that he might very well lose her, the fear and killing intent surging from his heart made him want to destroy every single person and thing within his line of sight. "Ah Li... fortunately, you are alright..."
Ye Li had never considered herself a soft-hearted person, but right now, her heart had softened into a ball of cotton. This strong and powerful man had become so fragile and fearful solely because of her—Ye Li had never been clearer about this realization than at this moment. Lightly wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Ye Li's voice was gentle yet resolute: "It won't happen. As long as I am alive, I will always be by your side." Mo Xiurao lowered his head, pressing his forehead against hers. "Is that true?" Ye Li said, "So long as you do not leave, I shall never abandon." This was the most heartfelt vow she could speak aloud. Ye Li had long understood that Mo Xiurao had done more than enough for her. She understood even more clearly that she could not bear to see this man suffer.
"Never leave, never abandon..." Mo Xiurao murmured softly under his breath; he loved this phrase. The thought of spending a lifetime with Ah Li, never leaving and never abandoning her, filled his heart with delight. Anyone who dared to stand in their way—he would make them pay the proper price!