The First Jasmine - Chapter 146
Chapter 146 - Noble Consort Qingrong
Western Ling Main Camp
Inside the main tent, the air pressure was low and a sinister draft blew in gusts; the Prince of Zhennan’s expression was the ugliest it had been since Western Ling dispatched its troops. Ever since Mo Xiurao suddenly appeared and seized Xinyang, the entire army of Great Chu seemed to have suddenly come back to life. In just a short span of ten-odd days, half of the battle fruits that had originally taken nearly a month to secure were already gone. Not only was the Northern Route Army caught off guard and beaten to a pulp by Mo Xiurao’s surprise attack, but the Southern Route Army also frequently suffered setbacks. Only the Center Army, personally overseen by the Prince of Zhennan, remained fairly stable. However, how difficult would it be to reclaim Xinyang City from Mo Xiurao’s hands once more? What was worse, they had even lost fifty thousand piculs of grain and several million taels of silver to the Princess Consort Ding, making the situation even more dire for the Western Ling army as they faced the impending winter with already insufficient provisions.
"May the Prince calm his anger!" several generals said, trembling with fear.
The Prince of Zhennan gave a cold snort and said, "Calm my anger, calm my anger! Apart from telling me to calm my anger, can you lot speak of nothing else?"
Knowing that the Prince was in the heat of his temper, how could the generals dare to speak another word? They had no choice but to cast pleading glances toward Lei Tengfeng, who sat off to the side. Lei Tengfeng smiled faintly, stood up, and said to the Prince of Zhennan, "Father, we all know that Mo Xiurao is not easy to deal with. Father, do not make things too difficult for them; they have already done their best." The Prince of Zhennan let out a soft snort, swept a ice-cold glare across the crowd, and said, "Scram back! Tomorrow, if you are thrown into confusion by the Mo Family Army again, you can strip off your armor and go be common foot soldiers instead!" The crowd repeatedly voiced their agreement, cast a grateful look at Lei Tengfeng, and slunk out of the main tent in disgrace.
With only the Prince of Zhennan and his son remaining in the main tent and no outsiders present, Lei Tengfeng then smiled and said, "Father, one cannot be impatient when dealing with Mo Xiurao. Although we suffered a bit of a loss over the past few days, in terms of the current situation, we are not at a disadvantage." The Prince of Zhennan sighed softly and said solemnly, "How could I not know this point? But... Tengfeng, do not underestimate Mo Xiurao. In my view, Mo Xiurao is even more dangerous than Mo Liufang!" Lei Tengfeng raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, not expecting his father to give such a high evaluation of Mo Xiurao, whom he had only met a few times. One must know that Mo Liufang was Mo Xiurao's father, his father's greatest—and one could say only—archnemesis in this lifetime. Sure enough... did the blue indeed surpass the indigo?
"If Mo Xiurao had lived a smooth and ordinary life all these years, perhaps I wouldn't have attached so much importance to him. But as you know, what kind of life has he lived all these years, and what kind of injuries did he suffer back then? Yet look at the performance of the Mo Family Army over the past few days; Mo Xiurao shows absolutely no sign of rustiness, and his deployment of troops is even more seasoned than the legends suggest. This shows that even if Mo Xiurao spent the last seven or eight years in pain and seclusion within Prince Ding's Manor, he still possessed the ability to completely command the entire force of the Mo Family Army, and the Mo Family Army remains wholeheartedly devoted to him. This point... Tengfeng, could you accomplish it?" the Prince of Zhennan asked calmly. Lei Tengfeng frowned slightly and pondered for a moment, then raised his head with a somewhat solemn expression. Carrying a mixture of shame and unwillingness in his smile, he nevertheless shook his head: "Your son is incompetent and cannot accomplish it." No one knew better than he how severely injured Mo Xiurao had been back then. He asked himself whether, under such circumstances, he could ever command the Mo Family Army as flawlessly as Mo Xiurao did. It was even possible he would have long been broken into decadence by such pain and torment, or consumed by hatred and driven mad.
The Prince of Zhennan nodded, feeling somewhat gratified as he said, "Being able to see your own shortcomings clearly is a good thing. Mo Liufang sired a good son, and he even got a good daughter-in-law... what a fortunate life."
Lei Tengfeng recalled the woman clad in snow-white attire who talked and laughed with ease on the day of the hostage exchange, and he had to admit that Mo Xiurao was indeed lucky. To marry such a woman as a wife—how many heroes and brave men in the world would be envious to death of Mo Xiurao?
"What are Father's plans?" Lei Tengfeng asked.
The Prince of Zhennan raised an eyebrow and said, "What do you think I plan to do?" Lei Tengfeng smiled and said, "Just now, although Father appeared very angry on the surface, you were not truly enraged. This shows that Father actually already has a way in mind." If his father were truly enraged, let alone him pleading for mercy, even if the Heavenly Emperor himself came, it would be useless. The Prince of Zhennan casually toyed with the jade thumb ring on his hand, smiled coldly, and said, "Back then, Mo Xiurao had a lucky life, and the Prince Ding's Manor was not fated to end. This time... I want to see if he is still as blessed with good luck!"
Lei Tengfeng's heart stirred, his expression shifting slightly as he said, "Father, you plan to..."
The Prince of Zhennan smiled leisurely and said, "The Prince Ding's Manor isn't an eyesore to me alone."
"The Prince's words are quite true; Prince Ding's Manor is indeed an eyesore to many people. There are plenty of people in this world who wish to see it vanish." A soft, enchanting voice drifted in from outside the tent. Upon hearing it, Lei Tengfeng frowned, a flash of disgust crossing his face. The Prince of Zhennan caught it in his eyes and shook his head with an amused smile.
The curtain of the main tent was lifted from the outside, and a slender, charming silhouette walked in. Turning past the screen decorated with a tiger roaring in the mountains, the woman who appeared in the main tent was dressed in pink imperial robes. Her willow eyebrows were dark without pencil, her cherry lips red without rouge, and her exquisite, flawless beauty possessed not a single flaw to be picked. A flicker of her liquid gaze brought forth sparks of starlight that could not help but make one intoxicated. Even though Lei Tengfeng seemed to loathe her deeply, when her gaze swept over, he nevertheless dazed for a brief instant. Seeing Lei Tengfeng's moment of distraction, a faint smile curled at the corners of the woman's lips. She stepped forward gracefully and curtsied deeply: "Greetings to the Prince and the Heir Apparent."
The Prince of Zhennan looked at her indifferently and asked, "Why have you come? Does the Emperor not need anyone over there?"
The woman rolled her seductive eyes and smiled: "The Prince jokes. The Emperor is currently gravely ill in bed; with Her Majesty the Empress there, it is more than enough. Where would he need my service? Could it be... the Prince does not wish to see me?"
The Prince of Zhennan laughed and said, "How could that be? You arrived just at the right time; I happen to have something I need your help with."
The woman smiled even more joyfully. As she smiled, the originally solemn tent instantly seemed to gain quite a few colors. "Whatever the Prince commands, Long'er will surely do her utmost to accomplish it for the Prince." This woman was none other than Noble Consort Qingrong of Western Ling, Bai Long—and also the former number one beauty of Great Chu, Su Zuidie.
Lei Tengfeng's lapse of concentration lasted only for a fraction of a second. The moment the Prince spoke, he had already snapped back to his senses, merely listening silently to the dialogue between the two. The look he swept toward Su Zuidie was still filled with disgust and disdain, as if he were looking at some filthy thing, yet deep within his eyes, something deeper seemed to be struggling. From the moment he began speaking, the Prince of Zhennan had been watching his son's expression; seeing him like this, he sighed softly in his heart. Tengfeng was indeed the most outstanding child among all his offspring and even the entire royal family of Western Ling, but compared to Mo Xiurao, he was still lacking just that bit.
"What commands does the Prince have?" Su Zuidie asked with a smile.
The Prince of Zhennan looked at her with a half-smile and said, "For Long'er to rush over here in such a hurry, I presume you already know that Mo Xiurao is in Xinyang City?" Su Zuidie froze for a brief moment, something flashing swiftly across the depths of her eyes, but it was quickly hidden away by a bewitching smile. She cast a gentle, sideways glare at the Prince of Zhennan and said, "Long'er indeed knows Mo Xiurao is in Xinyang, but by the time I found out, I was already halfway here. Could it not be that I came over simply because I missed the Prince? As expected, the Prince still does not wish to see Long'er." The Prince of Zhennan leisurely appreciated the charming and pouting expression of the peerless beauty before him. With a faint smile, he reached out, pulled her into his embrace, and laughed aloud: "How could I not miss Long'er?"
"Prince..." The beauty leaned against the Prince of Zhennan as if she were boneless, calling out in a delicate voice.
Lei Tengfeng looked at the scene before him with an unsightly expression. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he said coldly, "Father, if there is nothing else, your son takes his leave first."
The Prince of Zhennan let go of Su Zuidie, looked at Lei Tengfeng, and shook his head: "You child are good in every way, except you take everything far too seriously." The usual smile on Lei Tengfeng's face vanished without a trace. Casting a sideways glance at Su Zuidie, he said, "Your son has no need to take things seriously over a whore who belongs to any man. It is merely that I feel disgusted looking at her."
"You! Lei Tengfeng, you go too far!" Su Zuidie's face turned red and white with rage. Turning toward the Prince of Zhennan, her eyes reddened with grievance as she whined, "Prince, look at how the Heir Apparent speaks of me. I... Long'er truly has no face left to live!"
"Enough, you two don't start arguing every time you meet," the Prince of Zhennan said, putting away the smile on his face and frowning. Su Zuidie let out a soft snort, cast a sideways glance at Lei Tengfeng, and for some reason held herself back again. Lei Tengfeng said, "If there is nothing else, your son will leave first."
The Prince of Zhennan shook his head and said, "Forget it, let us talk about proper business. Long'er, regarding Mo Xiurao's matter, what are your plans?"
Su Zuidie's delicate brows knitted slightly, but soon she raised her head again and smiled coquettishly: "Does the Prince want Long'er to go back and find him?" The Prince of Zhennan smiled and said, "Go back and find him? Do you think he will still accept you now? Who under the heavens does not know that Prince Ding is deeply affectionate and singularly devoted to his Princess Consort?" A flash of resentment glinted in Su Zuidie's eyes, yet when she raised her head, her gaze was still filled with seductive charm. She said softly, "Does the Prince not trust me? Long'er grew up together with Prince Ding from childhood. Could it be that I cannot compare to that useless young lady, Ye Li?" What did that Ye Li have besides a decent family background? No, she didn't even have a decent family background—she merely had a good maternal grandfather. Unfortunately, Master Qingyun had long ceased meddling in worldly affairs. She herself was the rightful, officially recognized fiancée of Prince Ding, the number one beauty of Great Chu... of the entire world! Could she really not compare to a woman devoid of talent and beauty?
Lei Tengfeng gave a disdainful snort, expressing his opinion quite clearly.
Su Zuidie glared at him in annoyance. The Prince of Zhennan smiled and said, "How could that be? I absolute trust that Long'er is a peerless, matchless beauty in this world. How could Mo Xiurao dare not fall at Long'er's skirt?"
Su Zuidie smiled at Lei Tengfeng with a touch of triumph. "What does the Prince want me to do?"
The Prince of Zhennan smiled without a word.
"Father, will Mo Xiurao take the bait?" After Su Zuidie left the main tent, Lei Tengfeng frowned and asked.
The Prince of Zhennan looked at him and asked, "Do you think I would be infatuated with her?" Lei Tengfeng shook his head; he could naturally see clearly that although his father had some entanglements with Su Zuidie, he had never moved any true feelings toward her. The Prince of Zhennan smiled and said, "Since I will not fall for her tricks, how could Mo Xiurao?"
"Then, Father, is sending her to seduce Mo Xiurao a bit too much of a joke?" If that woman had the ability to seduce Mo Xiurao, how could she have ended up in Western Ling?
The Prince of Zhennan smiled and said, "Who said I wanted her to seduce Mo Xiurao? With a marvelous person like Princess Consort Ding around, Bai Long is nothing more than a vase that looks nice but serves no practical purpose."
Lei Tengfeng frowned, but soon his brow smoothed over as he looked up at the Prince of Zhennan: "Father has another plan."
"I merely need her to divert Mo Xiurao's attention a bit on my behalf. If she cannot even do this much, she is of no use at all." The Prince of Zhennan let out a cold laugh, his voice cold and ruthless, lacking even a shred of the gentleness and doting affection from moments ago.