The First Jasmine - Chapter 147
Chapter 147 - Su Zuidie
Inside Xinyang City
Ye Li sat lazily beside Mo Xiurao, raising her eyebrows with great amusement as she read a secret letter she had just received. Raising his head, Mo Xiurao happened to catch her intriguing expression and could not help but ask in wonder, "Is there some interesting news again?" Ye Li handed the secret letter over to him and said, "A noble person has emerged from the Western Ling Imperial Palace, and over the past two days, she has likely already arrived at the Western Ling main camp." Mo Xiurao frowned slightly. "A noble person from the palace?" In the imperial palace of Western Ling, besides the Western Ling Emperor himself, those who could be called noble persons were only the consorts and princesses. After pondering for a moment, Mo Xiurao asked, "Bai Long?"
"Your Highness is truly wise," Ye Li praised without the slightest stint.
Mo Xiurao lowered his head and read through the letter in his hand, then looked up at Ye Li and said, "I didn't even know Ah Li had such talented people in Western Ling. Intelligence from Western Ling is currently not easy to come by." Ever since Han Mingyue went to Western Ling, Prince Ding's Manor could clearly feel that the secret guards' operations in Western Ling were constrained at every turn. After all, Han Mingyue specialized in the intelligence trade and knew Prince Ding's Manor well enough. "Is Secret Two currently in Western Ling?" Ye Li nodded: "Among Zhuo Jing and the others, Secret Two is the most suitable for intelligence work. The news of Su Zu... Bai Long coming to Great Chu was extremely secretive. His ability to investigate and uncover it in a timely manner shows that the intelligence network over in Western Ling has achieved a degree of success. But..." Recalling a certain matter, Ye Li could not help but knit her brows. Her original intention in sending Secret Two to Western Ling was not to establish an intelligence network in Western Ling, but for the Nether Blue Flower and the Fiery Red Lotus. Unfortunately, there was still no news of the Nether Blue Flower to this day, and as for the Fiery Red Lotus... they had to wait until June or July of next year.
With just a brief thought, Mo Xiurao understood Ye Li's original intention in dispatching Secret Two to Western Ling. Patting the back of Ye Li's hand comfortingly, he said in a soft voice, "Do not worry, I will be fine."
Ye Li nodded with a smile; it was useless to worry over a problem that could not be solved anytime soon. Curling her lips into a subtle, mysterious smile, Ye Li asked, "Your Highness, do you think we will get to witness the elegance of the number one beauty this time?" Mo Xiurao gave a somewhat helpless smile, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What if we see her? What if we don't?" Ye Li smiled and said, "Is Your Highness not going to show tenderness to the fair sex?" Mo Xiurao looked at her with a smile, his eyes filled with endless gentleness and affection: "In your husband's eyes, only my wife is a fragrant and fine jade in this world." Ye Li could not help but twitch the corner of her mouth, tossing his free sweet talk aside.
Because they had received the news early on, when they truly met face-to-face, intense emotional swings like excitement, joy, or anger—such as certain people imagined—naturally did not occur. Ye Li and Mo Xiurao sat calmly in the parlor, looking at the peerless beauty who had just been brought in. It had to be said that there was still a certain gap between a portrait and the real person. Even though Ye Li felt that original portrait was already beautiful enough, the woman before her possessed a few more degrees of charming allure than the pure, transcendent woman in the painting. Curling her lips slightly, Ye Li turned her head to look at Mo Xiurao sitting beside her. As if their hearts beat as one, Mo Xiurao happened to turn his head as well, giving her a faint smile. Ye Li twitched her lips and turned her head away.
Down in the hall, Su Zuidie looked at the two people on the main seats who were acting as if no one else existed, feeling immensely furious in her heart. She had imagined many scenarios for meeting Mo Xiurao again. It could have been delight, or it could have been anger and ridicule, but she had never imagined Mo Xiurao would turn a blind eye to her. For a peerless beauty, this was absolute humiliation and disgrace.
"Xiurao..." Suppressing the anger in her heart, Su Zuidie called out in a soft voice. Eyes like autumn waters brimmed with tears as she gazed at the two of them in a delicate and pitiful manner, her gaze carrying a few traces of subtle grievance, as if tears would fall at any moment.
Even Ye Li had to praise her magnificent acting skills in her heart. It was just that this Su Zuidie was someone who had known Mo Xiurao since childhood, so did she truly have zero understanding of Prince Ding's Manor? Did she actually believe that such a meeting could cause any impact on Mo Xiurao? Thus, the present situation unfolded: a peerless beauty rarely seen in the world stood before the hall in sorrow and misery, gazing at the Prince Ding sipping tea composedly on the main seat as if looking at a heartless man. Coupled with Ye Li sitting off to the side watching the show, any outsider walking in would mistakenly think this was a drama where a heartless man had enticed a beauty outside, abandoned her, and was now being confronted at his doorstep. Thinking up to this point, Ye Li could not help but let out a muffled chuckle. Mo Xiurao and Su Zuidie simultaneously turned their eyes toward her. Ye Li gave a light cough, sat up straight, and tried her best to make herself look warm and hospitable: "This... Noble Consort Bai, you have come from afar as a guest. Please sit."
The single title "Noble Consort Bai" caused Su Zuidie's expression to change slightly. Retracting the gaze full of unspoken words she had directed at Mo Xiurao, she looked toward Ye Li and said softly, "Is this lady the Princess Consort Ding?"
Ye Li could not help but rub her arm, which was breaking out in goosebumps. What did this look mean, as if Ye Li had done her wrong? Before Ye Li could speak, Su Zuidie had already stepped forward, bent her knees slightly, and curtsied deeply toward Ye Li: "The Princess Consort has worked hard taking care of Xiurao. Zuidie offers her thanks."
This time, Ye Li finally lost her composure entirely. She had thought what kind of country-overturning beauty this Su Zuidie was; although she believed in Mo Xiurao's feelings for her from the bottom of her heart, she still held a slight bit of worry or two. But what was going on now? Is something actually wrong with this Su Zuidie's head? Since she had already addressed her as Princess Consort Ding, did taking care of Mo Xiurao require an outsider like her to offer thanks? She cast an displeased, sideways glance at Mo Xiurao: What is up with your ex-fiancée? Has she lost her mind? Mo Xiurao smiled at her nonchalantly: How would this Prince know? I haven't seen her in many years; she wasn't like this before. Really, Father's taste wasn't that terrible!
Giving a light cough, Ye Li lowered her head, took a sip of tea, and only then adjusted the expression on her face. Giving Su Zuidie a gentle smile, she said, "Noble Consort Bai's words are too heavy. My Lord and I are husband and wife as one; taking care of him is my duty. Furthermore, I am young and ignorant; normally, it is My Lord who takes care of me more often. This... there is no need for Noble Consort Bai to thank me, right?" The smile on Su Zuidie's face froze. Raising her head to see Ye Li's half-smiling expression, she suddenly recalled the Prince of Zhennan's prior warning: "Princess Consort Ding is no easy target; if you underestimate her, it will only bring you massive trouble." The Princess Consort Ding before her was inferior to herself in beauty, temperament, and talent, yet she could receive such high praise from the Prince of Zhennan, causing an instinctive sense of defiance and hostility to rise in Su Zuidie's heart. Thus, from the start, she had deliberately ignored Ye Li, turning her spearhead toward Ye Li only after discovering that Mo Xiurao would not pay attention to her at all. Yet after a clash of merely two sentences, she was left utterly speechless.
"Xiurao... how have you been all these years?" Discovering that Princess Consort Ding was not as easy to deal with as she had imagined, Su Zuidie redirected her gaze toward Mo Xiurao.
Mo Xiurao frowned slightly, calmly drinking his tea as he said, "Fairly well. Why have you appeared here?"
Su Zuidie gently bit her cherry lips, her watery eyes slightly red as she looked at him with grievance: "You... do you still hate me? I know you blame me... several times I wanted to come back to see you and beg for your forgiveness. But... but I didn't dare... boohoo..." Before she could finish her words, teardrops like pearls had already trickled down—what a tragic, beautiful picture of a pear blossom in the rain, making anyone who saw it unable to resist having their heart stir. Unfortunately, neither of the two seated here was an ordinary person. Ye Li held back her throat, which felt a bit itchy, and opened her mouth to speak: "Noble Consort Bai, what Our Prince is asking is: why have you appeared here?"
"I... I snuck out." Su Zuidie cast a swift glance at Mo Xiurao, a blush creeping up her peerless, delicate face. "I know Western Ling and Great Chu are at war, and I knew that you would definitely appear here, Xiurao. No matter what... I am still a person of Great Chu; I cannot go back anymore. If I am caught and dragged back, the Emperor and the Prince of Zhennan will definitely not let me off... Xiurao... I beg you, don't drive me away..." Ye Li looked up at the sky silently. She understood now: this Su Zuidie simply wanted to play them for fools.
Ye Li raised her eyebrows indifferently; since Su Zuidie liked to play games, there was no harm in playing along with her. "Noble Consort Bai, is Young Master Mingyue in Western Ling?"
Su Zuidie cast a glance at her, originally not wanting to answer. But seeing Mo Xiurao look toward her at the same time, she could only say softly, "I haven't seen Young Master Han in a long time."
Ye Li said, "Speaking of which... Han Mingyue betrayed his country and submitted to the enemy; his crime deserves death. However, this person is a bit too cunning; for the time being, neither Our Prince nor I can find him. I wonder if Noble Consort Bai could invite him to return to Great Chu?" Su Zuidie looked at Ye Li with slight displeasure, her brows knitting as she said, "I don't know where he is; I haven't seen him in a long time. Really, Xiurao, I wouldn't lie to you." Mo Xiurao gave zero reaction to this. Ye Li said with a beam, "It doesn't matter if you don't know. As long as Noble Consort Bai stays here, we won't have to worry about Young Master Mingyue refusing to come to our doorstep. Your Highness, don't you agree?"
Mo Xiurao nodded. "What Ah Li says is extremely true. This Prince happens to have an account to settle with Han Mingyue. I leave Noble Consort Bai to Ah Li."
Hearing this, Su Zuidie was clearly deeply struck. Clutching her chest, she looked at Mo Xiurao with sorrow and grievance: "Xiurao... you truly still hate me. You want to use me to capture Young Master Han?"
Ye Li leisurely admired her own slender fingers while smiling at Su Zuidie: "Is Noble Consort Bai's arrival here not to seek Our Prince's forgiveness?"
Su Zuidie hesitated for a moment, but still nodded her head. Ye Li clapped her hands cheerfully: "Then that is truly wonderful! As long as Noble Consort Bai helps us capture Young Master Han, Our Prince will definitely believe in Noble Consort Bai's sincerity. Your Highness, wouldn't you say so?" Mo Xiurao looked at Ye Li with a gentle gaze, saying softly, "What Ah Li says is right." Clearly, such a gentle Mo Xiurao was even more unacceptable to Su Zuidie. Staring blankly at the two before her, Su Zuidie was rendered speechless for a time. Ye Li gave her no chance to refuse, smiling as she said, "In that case, Noble Consort Bai agrees. That is truly wonderful. Since that's the case, Noble Consort Bai may settle down with peace of mind. Living in Xinyang City, I guarantee that whether it is the Western Ling Emperor or the Prince of Zhennan's people, not a single strand of Noble Consort's hair will be touched." Of course, if she wanted to pass messages out, she shouldn't even dream about it.
Su Zuidie was merely stunned for an instant, yet this matter was decisively settled amidst Ye Li's laughter without leaving her any room to object.
Having achieved her objective, Ye Li summoned someone in a very good mood to take Su Zuidie down to rest, and instructed them to ensure Noble Consort Bai's safety without fail.
Watching Su Zuidie depart reluctantly, the smile on Ye Li's face gradually faded. She frowned and said, "What exactly does the Prince of Zhennan mean?" Su Zuidie might be very good at acting, but she could definitely not deceive Mo Xiurao, who knew her background. If she were meant to serve as a spy infiltrating Xinyang City, Su Zuidie was clearly unqualified. Ye Li had over a hundred ways to ensure she could not pass a single word to anyone.
Mo Xiurao's face darkened as well. "The Prince of Zhennan of Western Ling would definitely not use a method he knows to be useless. Ah Li, order our people to keep an eye on the movements in the Western Ling main camp." Ye Li nodded. "Are you saying Su Zuidie is merely a pawn to distract our attention, and the Prince of Zhennan has other designs?"
Mo Xiurao nodded. If he wanted a spy, the Prince of Zhennan would not choose Su Zuidie; she was far too eye-catching. If he wanted to use Su Zuidie to pull off a honey trap, it would be far too inferior.
"I understand. I will send people to keep an eye on the Western Ling main camp and the Prince of Zhennan's movements."