The First Jasmine - Chapter 155

Chapter 155 - The Fate of the Bright Moon Pavilion

Looking at the two guards walking toward him, then at the few people standing beside Ye Li, Han Mingyue let out a soft sigh and allowed himself to be bound without attempting to resist. When it didn't involve Su Zhidie, Han Mingyue had always been a smart man; he naturally knew that given the current situation, resisting would be nothing more than futile. Gazing at Su Zhidie with a trace of apology, Han Mingyue said softly, "Zhidie, it seems we'll have to stay in the Prefect's Estate for a few more days." Su Zhidie gritted her teeth, staring hatefully at Ye Li, who sat at her leisure, before glaring at Han Mingyue. "You've never accomplished a single thing! No wonder His Highness said you're bound to fail at whatever you attempt!"

Han Mingyue lowered his head bitterly. Looking at the two before her, Ye Li sighed, "Is it worth it?"

"Since the choice has been made, there's no question of whether it's worth it or not," Han Mingyue said indifferently. He cupped his hands to Ye Li, then turned around on his own and allowed the guards to lead him away.

Ye Li calmly sized up the peerlessly beautiful woman before her. After the initial awe had passed, and having witnessed Su Zhidie's various behaviors over these past few days, that exquisite face gradually elicited nothing more than a sense of quiet indifference. Looking at her, the corners of Ye Li's lips curled up slightly—the Number One Beauty of Great Chu... was nothing more than this. She was indeed exceptionally blessed in terms of appearance, yet she seemed to lack something that would make one linger with deep attachment. Perhaps the ideal was always the best; the people of the world only remembered the captivating beauty of the Chu Capital whose fame shook the world, and Su Zhidie's early departure had cast an even thicker veil of mystery over such breathtaking looks. But when such a stunning beauty truly appeared before one's eyes, it couldn't help but leave a person with a faint trace of disappointment. The Number One Beauty in the World... was merely this.

Su Zhidie clearly noticed Ye Li's evaluating gaze. If at first she had felt a secret sense of pride, as she gradually noticed a hint of disapproval emerging in Ye Li's eyes, it fueled an uncontrollable anger in her heart. After enduring it for a long while, she finally couldn't hold back and snapped in rage, "What are you looking at?!" Ye Li casually withdrew her gaze and said calmly, "Does Imperial Noble Consort Bai have any other business? If not, return to your room and rest. This Princess takes her leave."

Su Zhidie let out a soft hmph, turned around, and went back into her room.

Ye Li smiled faintly and also stood up to walk outside. As Qin Feng and the others followed behind her, Ye Li asked as she walked, "How are things outside?" Wei Lin said, "Rest assured, Your Grace. All forces of the Bright Moon Pavilion in the Northwest region have been completely rounded up." Ye Li nodded with a satisfied smile. "Although the Prince previously managed to root out many of the Bright Moon Pavilion's secret posts, there were still many fish that slipped through the net. Normally, it wouldn't matter much, but with the two nations at war, having such a force present in the Northwest was quite a headache. We have Wei Lin to thank for this." Wei Lin lowered his head with a light smile. "This was merely your subordinate's duty." Zhuo Jing slapped Wei Lin's shoulder and laughed, "Xiao Si, there's no need to be modest. Her Grace is right—if it weren't for you this time, catching Han Mingyue would have taken us a great deal of effort. But the most important thing is that you're finally back. We brothers can be together again. It would be even better if Boss came back too."

Wei Lin raised his head and glanced at Ye Li. Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "Speak freely."

Wei Lin said, "Your subordinate met Big Brother once two months ago."

Ye Li raised her eyebrows slightly, signaling for him to continue. Wei Lin said, "Your subordinate originally intended to use the Bright Moon Pavilion's network to investigate the King of Hell Pavilion and the Sick Scholar. Later, after obtaining some scattered information, I used an excuse to make a trip to the border, where I happened to run into Big Brother. However, in accordance with Your Grace's orders, your subordinate did not acknowledge him, nor did we exchange any words." Ye Li nodded. "It seems An Yi is doing quite well?" Wei Lin said with a faint smile, "He looked quite well to your subordinate. Thanks to Your Grace's guidance, your subordinate noticed that Big Brother seemed to already be a captain when I saw him." Zhuo Jing clicked his tongue and said, "Although a captain's rank isn't large, for Boss to reach this point in just a few months shows he truly lives up to his name. Who knows, in another two years, Boss might even become a general." Qin Feng, who originated from the Black Cloud Cavalry, sneered, "Stop dreaming. Rising from an ordinary soldier to a captain might not be hard, but jumping from a captain to a general is more than just a step or two—don't even think about it without eight or ten years. Third Young Master Feng has followed the Prince through life and death since he was a teenager, and he's still only a deputy general now."

Zhuo Jing didn't mind at all. "A deputy general is still a general! Could you rise to captain in two or three months?"

Qin Feng fell silent; he indeed could not.

Ye Li put a stop to the bickering among her subordinates with a smile, saying, "There's no need to worry about An Yi for now. Have the guard arrangements for Han Mingyue been made?" Qin Feng answered respectfully, "In reply to Your Grace, they have been arranged. It's just... your subordinate does not understand why Han Mingyue and Su Zhidie aren't being detained together. Keeping them in two separate locations wastes a lot of troops out of nowhere, and our current guards for the Prefect's Estate are not particularly abundant." Ye Li's clear eyes curved slightly as she smiled, "What if keeping them together allows someone to wipe them out in one fell swoop? You may rest assured—if I were the Prince of Zhennan, I would not send people to rescue Su Zhidie. Therefore... the people over on Su Zhidie's side can be withdrawn and placed near Han Mingyue as hidden lookouts." Seeing her subordinates' confusion, Ye Li smiled, "If the Prince of Zhennan truly cared about Imperial Noble Consort Bai, how could he let her come to Xincheng all by herself? Imperial Noble Consort Bai has been imprisoned by us for so long, yet have you seen any movement from the Prince of Zhennan?"

Everyone came to a sudden realization. "Then on Han Mingyue's side..."

Ye Li smiled even more pleasantly. "Without rescuing Su Zhidie, even if this Princess released Han Mingyue right now, he wouldn't leave." Qin Feng finally understood. "Your Grace wants to use Su Zhidie to keep Han Mingyue in check." Ye Li sighed with some helplessness, "You could say that. Keep a close watch on Su Zhidie; she cannot die just yet."

"Reporting to Your Highness... Master Han has lost contact," a subordinate reported respectfully inside the main tent of the Xiling army camp.

The wolf-hair brush in the Prince of Zhennan's hand paused slightly. "What about the Bright Moon Pavilion?"

The subordinate hesitated briefly before saying, "The Bright Moon Pavilion also completely went silent last night. From what your subordinate can see... I fear things bodes ill for them." The Prince of Zhennan closed his eyes, seemingly quelling the rage in his heart. Yet a thread of murderous intent remained concealed within his calm tone. "Pass my order: aside from the troops besieging Xincheng, all remaining forces are to launch a full-scale assault on all cities in the Northwest. This Prince wants Xincheng turned into an isolated city!"

"Your subordinate obeys." Watching the subordinate retreat, the Prince of Zhennan's calm expression turned dark and gloomy as he gritted his teeth and spat, "Han Mingyue, you utter fool!"

Compared to the furious Prince of Zhennan, Han Mingyue appeared remarkably calm and leisurely at this moment. Stepping into the courtyard, Mo Xiurao saw Han Mingyue sitting leisurely beneath the window, entertaining himself with an unfinished game of chess. Hearing the footsteps, he didn't even raise his head as he said with a smile, "Ah Rao, how about coming over for a game of chess?" Mo Xiurao walked over and sat down, picking up a black piece and placing it casually on the board. Han Mingyue raised an eyebrow with great interest as the white piece in his hand descended. Mo Xiurao's expression was calm as he picked up another black piece and placed it down; the two played back and forth. Yet in less than half a stick of incense's time, the originally deadlock chess game had turned into a completely one-sided situation, with large clusters of white pieces dead on the board. Han Mingyue sighed, "Ah Rao, your chess moves carry murderous intent."

"You, on the other hand, are becoming more and more useless," Mo Xiurao said coldly.

Facing his former close friend's evaluation, Han Mingyue didn't mind. Smiling faintly, he said, "I am different from you; I was simply not born as someone who could sever emotions and abandon love." Sever emotions and abandon love? Mo Xiurao let out a cold laugh, sneering at his words. He had never claimed to be a paragon of love, but he was not truly an unfeeling, heartless person either. It was merely that the person he could cherish with all his heart had appeared too late. More importantly, he knew what should and should not be done, and he understood even better who was worth cherishing and who must be abandoned. The men of the Mo family never gave their affection without principle. Therefore, Mo Xiurao felt not the slightest bit moved by Han Mingyue's infatuation—all he felt was disdain.

"This Prince assumes you didn't call me here to catch up on old times?" Mo Xiurao said indifferently.

Han Mingyue nodded and said, "You've already discovered the Prince of Zhennan's layout?" Mo Xiurao did not answer, merely looking at him indifferently. Han Mingyue smiled, "Now that I'm in your hands, you don't need to guard against me like this. Right now, the entirety of Xincheng is in Princess Consort Ding's hands, so as Prince Ding, you naturally have more important matters to attend to. Thinking about it left and right, only this matter is more important than the current siege of Xincheng. Still... I am somewhat curious. Since you already know, why are you still holding your troops back?" Looking at Mo Xiurao, who was quietly playing chess, Han Mingyue pondered for a moment before suddenly realizing, "Is it because of Mo Jingqi? I originally thought the Prince of Zhennan had only contacted Mo Jingli and Nanzhao; I didn't expect Mo Jingqi to take part as well. In that case, you indeed ought to be a bit careful. Perhaps even Beirong will join in on the fun. Xiurao, I'm starting to get curious about how you plan to break this fatal trap laid by the Prince of Zhennan."

Mo Xiurao let out a cold laugh and said, "Since you know so much, you should know that I didn't come to find you just to play chess."

Han Mingyue laughed lazily, "I didn't reveal the news that you already knew to the Prince of Zhennan—is that still not enough?"

Mo Xiurao looked at him indifferently. Han Mingyue shrugged helplessly and said, "The Bright Moon Pavilion's forces in Great Chu were battered into disarray by you; I originally planned to clean things up upon returning this time. It's useless even if you take it now." Mo Xiurao sneered, "This Prince has no need for the Bright Moon Pavilion." Han Mingyue froze, looking at Mo Xiurao with some confusion, only to hear Mo Xiurao say coldly, "This Prince does not dare use things handed over by a traitor to the nation." Han Mingyue smiled bitterly. "Truly, birds of a feather flock together—your words are identical to what Princess Consort Ding said. What then do you plan to do?"

Mo Xiurao said, "This Prince wants the Bright Moon Pavilion to no longer exist in this world!"

Han Mingyue quaked, the chess piece in his hand dropping onto the board with a clatter, disrupting the original layout. Raising his head to gaze at Mo Xiurao's cold and calm face, Han Mingyue shook his head with a bitter laugh, "Xiurao, if you don't act, so be it, but the moment you do, it shakes heaven and earth. Do you know how much chaos will be sparked once the Bright Moon Pavilion disappears?" The Bright Moon Pavilion was no nameless small faction or minor merchant guild; it was touted as the number one intelligence organization under heaven. Even though its forces in Great Chu had suffered heavy damage after being struck with full force by Mo Xiurao, it was still not something an ordinary organization could compare to. Once the Bright Moon Pavilion was gone, it meant the hidden forces of the world would undergo a complete reshuffle.