Taiping Rift 398. Prince Ding is seriously injured "The Truth"

It was already the second night when Ye Li and his party arrived at Feihong Pass in a hurry. Feng Zhiyao had already met them outside Feihong Pass. Seeing Ye Li coming back, Feng Zhiyao was obviously relieved, "Princess, you are finally back." Seeing Feng Zhiyao's expression, Ye Li felt a little depressed and asked, "What happened?" Feng Zhiyao sighed and said, "The prince was ambushed by the people of Cangmang Mountain."

"How could he be so easily ambushed?" Ye Li asked with a raised eyebrow. Let's not talk about how high Mo Xiuyao's martial arts skills are. It is clear that Mo Xiuyao had obtained the list of people lurking in Dingwang Mansion from Cangmang Mountain a long time ago. Why was he ambushed? Feng Zhiyao smiled helplessly and said, "We were careless. That person suddenly attacked... and almost hurt the young master. The prince also wanted to..."

Seeing Ye Li's expression change, Feng Zhiyao said quickly, "Don't worry, Princess. The young master is not injured." Seeing the fatigue that was barely concealed between Feng Zhiyao's handsome eyebrows, Ye Li nodded and said, "You have worked hard these days. How is Xiu Yao?"

Feng Zhiyao frowned and said, "Prince...Princess, let's talk about this when we get back."

Back at Feihong Pass, since most of the soldiers didn't know what happened to Prince Ding, they naturally didn't know that the princess had suddenly returned. Only Yuan Pei, Nan Hou and Murong Shen came to greet Ye Li. Mo Xiuyao was temporarily staying in the general's mansion in Feihong Pass. After returning to the mansion, the group went straight to Mo Xiuyao's yard. After entering the room, Ye Li was stunned by what he saw in front of him, turned around and looked at Feng Zhiyao and said, "What's going on?"

There was indeed a person lying on the bed, covered by a thick quilt that obscured most of his face. Only his long snow-white hair was exposed. Although Ye Li did not walk in, she could tell at a glance that the person on the bed was not Mo Xiuyao at all.

Feng Zhiyao smiled bitterly. The person on the bed suddenly sat up and got out of bed when he heard Ye Li's voice. His handsome face wrinkled tightly as he said to Ye Li, "You're finally back. I'm exhausted from lying here pretending to be dead every day."

"Han Mingxi?" Ye Li raised her eyebrows and looked at Feng Zhiyao and the others with a cold gaze. Feng Zhiyao said in a deep voice: "The prince is missing."

"Missing?" Ye Li stared at Feng Zhiyao with a frown. Although she was not angry, Feng Zhiyao felt a tingling sensation on her scalp. When the princess got angry, her power was no less than that of the prince. She nodded reluctantly, and Feng Zhiyao quickly told her what happened.

It turned out that day, Mo Xiaobao, who was always playful and naughty, was suddenly kidnapped. The other party left a letter asking Mo Xiuyao to go alone, otherwise Mo Xiaobao's safety would not be guaranteed. Mo Xiuyao naturally couldn't let Mo Xiaobao get hurt, so he went to the agreed place alone as agreed. When Feng Zhiyao and others found the place, they only saw Mo Xiaobao who was sleeping after being acupunctured and the ground was covered with blood, but there was no trace of Mo Xiuyao. Afterwards, Feng Zhiyao and others secretly ordered people to search the area within a hundred miles, but they didn't even see the shadow of Mo Xiuyao. In desperation, they had to make it look like Mo Xiuyao was injured. At least people had to believe that King Ding was still in the army.

Ye Li frowned. Feng Zhiyao's narration seemed normal to her. But she felt something was wrong. It was too logical. "How did Xiu Yao deal with the list I sent back?"

"List?" Feng Zhiyao frowned, then remembered and said: "The last time the princess went to Jiangnan, she sent someone to send back the list. The prince put it away after reading it. After that, he was busy with the war in Beirong. It seems that..." He didn't seem to see Mo Xiuyao deal with this matter. If Ye Li's most trusted people are Qin Feng and Zhuo Jing, then Mo Xiuyao's most trusted confidant is Feng Zhiyao. If Feng Zhiyao doesn't know, then Mo Xiuyao really didn't deal with this matter. But this is obviously unreasonable. It is definitely not Mo Xiuyao's style to ignore the spies planted by Cangmangshan in the Mo family army, unless... he keeps them for other purposes.

Han Mingxi laughed mockingly and said, "Some people like to be too smart, but they end up making things worse, right?"

"Mingxi..." Han Mingyue, who had just come in, happened to hear Han Mingxi's words and said helplessly. Han Mingyue glanced at Ye Li's frowning face and knew that this was not the time to joke. She said apologetically: "Princess...Princess, I am not..."

Ye Li pulled the corner of her lips lightly and smiled faintly: "I understand. Master Mingyue, is there any news?" Han Mingyue shook her head and frowned: "According to various sources of information, at present, apart from us, neither Mo Jingli nor Lei Zhenting knows that Xiu Yao is missing. In other words... Mo Jingli's spy did not return. It is possible that... he is dead, or has escaped."

In comparison, the possibility of death is higher. If he is still alive, he can't help but go back to find Mo Jingli and report the news of Mo Xiuyao. If he succeeds, there is no need to escape. After killing Prince Ding Mo Xiuyao, Mo Jingli's reward is enough for him to live a life of luxury for several lifetimes. Moreover, if he escapes alone, he will have to face the pursuit of Prince Ding's Mansion. Where can he escape to? Now, whether it is Mo Xiuyao or this spy, they have no news.

Ye Li pondered for a moment before asking, "Who is that person?"

Feng Zhiyao looked a little unhappy, and said, "They are the guards around the prince, the secret guards." Prince Ding is a master of martial arts, and the time he needs to have secret guards is almost negligible. Mo Xiuyao is surrounded by many experts and talents, and there is no need for him to train his confidants like Ye Li. So compared with the current status of Zhuo Jing and others, the secret guards around Mo Xiuyao can be said to be insignificant. After some of the functions of the secret guards were gradually replaced by Qilin, no one paid attention to these secret guards. But even so, the secret guards are still an extremely important force in Prince Ding's mansion. They are more important than the Mo family army and the Black Cloud Cavalry, because compared with the army, they are closer to Prince Ding himself in the dark. But I didn't expect that Cangmang Mountain could actually plant people in the secret guards. Fortunately, Cangmang Mountain has been destroyed now, otherwise it would be even more disadvantageous to Prince Ding's Mansion.

"Ask Mo Hua to come see me." Ye Li whispered, "You all go down and have a rest. You've been tired these past few days. We can talk about anything tomorrow."

Everyone looked at Ye Li with some worry. They had not had an easy time these past few days. But the princess, who had been traveling for two days and two nights, looked even uglier. Han Mingyue and Feng Zhiyao looked at each other, and Feng Zhiyao nodded and said, "Yes, I will take my leave now. Princess, please have a good rest too."

Ye Li nodded and said nothing more. Everyone left quietly, leaving her alone sitting under the lamp, lost in thought.

"Mother..." It was already late at night, and the study was still quiet, with only the occasional sound of candles popping. Ye Li sat alone behind the desk, thinking with her brows lowered. A somewhat stealthy sound came from the door. Ye Li looked up and saw Mo Xiaobao, wearing a moon-white lingerie and not even an outer coat, standing at the door and looking at her eagerly.

Although it was early spring, there was still no warmth in the northwest, day or night. Ye Li's eyes darkened slightly, and she quickly stood up, took the cloak placed aside, walked over and wrapped him up. The adult's cloak was draped over Mo Xiaobao, immediately wrapping him up completely. Ye Li picked him up with some difficulty and walked to the side to sit down, "Why did you run out without getting dressed?"

"Mother..." Mo Xiaobao looked at Ye Li, tears flashing in his big round eyes. He sobbed and said, "Mother... Xiaobao didn't mean to do it. Wuwu... Xiaobao didn't mean to make father disappear. Xiaobao knows he was wrong, mother..."

"Why are you crying?" Ye Li raised her hand and gently wiped away the tears on his face, then rubbed his pink face and said, "Mother knows, it's not your fault. Don't be afraid...your father will be fine and will be back soon."

"Yeah." Mo Xiaobao sniffed and said seriously: "Father is back, Xiaobao will never make father angry again. Mother, Xiaobao will be good in the future." Ye Li bowed her head and kissed her son's forehead with heartache, saying: "Mother knows that Xiaobao is a good child, don't be afraid, nothing will happen..." Mo Xiaobao is smarter than most children, which means that he knows more about many things than children of the same age. Although Feng Zhiyao and others did not say anything in front of him, and did not even tell him about Mo Xiuyao's disappearance, he himself had already understood it. It's just that those who knew about it in the Tianding Palace were worried and busy, and no one paid attention to his movements, and he did not tell others anything.

But no matter how smart he was, he was still a child. Now that he saw his mother coming back, he could no longer hold back. Without even putting on his coat, he quietly avoided the secret guards and ran to the study to find Ye Li.

Mo Xiaobao sat in Ye Li's arms, his big wet eyes still full of worry, "Mother, is father really... okay?" Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry, he'll be fine. It's already late, Xiaobao, can you go back to sleep?"

Mo Xiaobao raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, "Xiaobao, accompany mother."

"Okay, mother has something else to do, you can sleep for a while if you are tired?" Ye Li carefully pulled up his cloak and said softly. After Mo Xiaobao nodded in agreement, he sat in Ye Li's arms and looked at the memorial in Ye Li's hand with his eyes wide open. Mo Xiuyao suddenly disappeared in the past few days, and the Mo family army had accumulated a lot of things that had to be handled by Mo Xiuyao or Ye Li personally.

Ye Li read two volumes of manuscripts, and when she looked down again, Mo Xiaobao had closed his eyes and fell asleep. Not only the adults were frightened and tired these days, but children were even more sensitive, and Mo Xiaobao was also very tired. He sat in his mother's arms and fell asleep soon.

"I am Mo Hua, requesting to see the princess." Mo Hua's voice came faintly from the door. Ye Li paused for a moment, put down the pen and said softly, "Come in." Mo Hua walked in and was also stunned when he saw Mo Xiaobao in Ye Li's hand, "Princess, the young master..."

Ye Li waved her hands and said, "Wait a minute." She picked up Mo Xiaobao and went to the room separated from the study for rest. She put him on the bed and covered him with a quilt. Then Ye Li turned around and looked at Mo Hua and asked, "Did you bring Mu Qingcang with you?"

Mo Hua's eyes flashed with surprise, and he said in a deep voice: "I was a step late, causing the princess to be frightened. Please punish me, princess."

Ye Li shook her head, looked at him and asked, "Where is the prince?"

"I... don't know." Mo Hua lowered his eyes and said.

"Don't know?" Ye Li raised her eyebrows, looked at Mo Hua with a half-smile, and said, "If you don't know, how did you know to bring Mu Qingcang to rescue me? As far as I know, there are not many people who know Mu Qingcang's whereabouts and can ask for help in advance. Among them... it should not include Commander Mo. In addition, the place where Mu Qingcang is in seclusion is three days away from the place where Ling Tiehan killed me. It takes more than two days to go from Feihong Pass at full speed. In other words... you have set out before the prince was injured. Commander Mo knew in advance that the prince would be missing and that I would be killed by Ling Tiehan when I returned?" There are not many people in this world who can deal with Ye Li and Qilin. If Ling Tiehan or Lei Zhenting did not take action personally, there would be no need to mobilize Mu Qingcang. Even Lei Zhenting now may not be able to do it. Therefore, if there was no extremely accurate intelligence or...premeditation, Mo Hua would not have had enough time to find Mu Qingcang to rescue people.

Mo Hua remained silent. Ye Li looked at him calmly and nodded, saying, "I understand. You just need to tell me if Xiu Yao is still alive. Shake your head or nod." Although Mo Hua was a bit arrogant, he was a very rule-abiding person. If he really couldn't say it, he wouldn't have rejected Ye Li with such a silent attitude.

After a while, Mo Hua finally nodded slightly.

Ye Li breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, the best news was that Mo Xiuyao was still alive. No one knew that even though Ye Li had already made some assumptions in her mind, when she was waiting for Mo Hua to nod, her heart was still as if someone had grabbed it tightly. She didn't even dare to imagine what she would do if Mo Hua's answer was not what she thought.

Ye Li nodded gently. Mo Hua was unwilling to say more because Mo Xiuyao ordered him not to say anything. Although she was a little unhappy that Mo Xiuyao had kept it a secret from her, Ye Li also knew that confidentiality was very important in many things. After all, even if she had already obtained the list that Dongfang You had given to Mo Jingli, who could guarantee that what Dongfang You had given was really all?

"Where did Mu Qingcang go?" After confirming that Mo Xiuyao was fine, Ye Li was in the mood to pay attention to other things. When she saved Mu Qingcang's life, she certainly didn't think that she would be saved by him one day.

Mo Hua said respectfully, "Mr. Mu has taken Marquis Muyang away." What Mo Hua did not say was that Mu Qingcang was seriously injured. I'm afraid he won't be able to recover to his current level in ten years. However, in Mo Hua's opinion, Mu Qingcang's injuries were worth it as he was able to help the princess escape safely from the hands of the Lord of Prince Yan.

"Ling Tiehan..." Ye Li frowned. Now that Mo Xiuyao was not here, if Ling Tiehan continued to oppose them, it would be a big trouble. Then Ye Li had to find a way to get rid of him first. Even after experiencing a life-and-death crisis, Ye Li still did not have much hatred towards Ling Tiehan, and did not want to be enemies with him. Not only because of the friendship between him and her eldest brother, but in fact, Ye Li also knew very well that Ling Tiehan had no intention of killing her. Even if Mu Qingcang did not feel it that day, in the end, she was most likely to be seriously injured and taken away by Ling Tiehan. With Ling Tiehan's strength, if he really wanted to kill her, there would be plenty of opportunities.

Mo Hua said: "Ling Tiehan only agreed to kill the princess on her way back to Feihong Pass with Lei Zhenting. Now that the princess has returned, Ling Tiehan will not take action again. Moreover, according to the news from below, Ling Tiehan has already brought people back to Yanwang Pavilion." And this time Yanwang Pavilion did not suffer no losses. In order to stop Qilin, the most powerful warrior of the Mo family army, even if it was only for a moment, Yanwang Pavilion paid a heavy price. I am afraid that in the next few years, Yanwang Pavilion will not be able to buy and sell killers anymore, unless Ling Tiehan and Leng Liuyue, the sick scholar, take action themselves.

Ye Li nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very good, you can go back and rest."

Mo Hua nodded respectfully, "I'll take my leave."

Watching Mo Hua close the door and leave, Ye Li looked at the flickering candlelight in front of her, a cold smile on her beautiful face, "Mo Xiuyao...are you addicted to games?"

In a mysterious place somewhere in Prince Ding's mansion, Prince Ding, dressed in white clothes and white hair, was lazily leaning on the bed, playing with a simple jade hairpin in his hand. His chest, which was casually covered with an outer coat, was also wrapped in a thick layer of white gauze. His handsome face was a little pale, but he was in very good spirits. Looking at the jade hairpin in his hand, Mo Xiuyao sighed with some regret. Ah Li had returned, but he couldn't go back to see her or something. It was really annoying.

"A-choo!" His Highness Prince Ding sneezed in a rather unglamorous manner, and pulled at his coat in confusion. With his skill, he shouldn't feel cold even without clothes, so why did he catch a cold?

The next morning, everyone came to the study room early to ask for an audience with Ye Li. Although the princess had returned, there was still no news about the prince. The situation on the battlefield also began to develop in a direction that was not favorable to them, which made the generals somewhat anxious, and they all came to Ye Li's yard early in the morning.

After a while, Ye Li came out holding Mo Xiaobao. Mo Xiaobao was wearing a black dragon-patterned robe. Although he still looked very young, his handsome face was tightly tied, just like a little adult.

"Everyone, please sit down." Ye Li said calmly, and took Mo Xiaobao to sit down in the main seat. Looking at Mo Xiaobao sitting next to Ye Li, Feng Zhiyao suddenly had a bad premonition, and hesitated for a moment before asking: "Princess...this young master..." Feng Zhiyao wanted to say that they were discussing important matters now, and it might not be appropriate for the young master to be here. What if the young master was scared by mentioning the matter of the prince?

Ye Li said: "No need, I've told Yu Chen, he knows what to do."

Everyone looked at each other and exchanged glances. As everyone knows, the prince never calls the young master by his full name. The princess who originally insisted was finally assimilated by the prince and called the young master by his nickname. When the princess called out the few words "Mo Yuchen", it meant that she had made a serious decision.

Mo Xiaobao held up his handsome face and nodded seriously.

Feng Zhiyao twitched his lips and asked, "What does the princess mean?"

Ye Li said calmly, "Spread the news. Prince Ding's mood has worsened. Send a message back to Licheng and ask Mr. Shen to come as soon as possible. Half a month later... arrange the funeral for the prince."

ah?!

Everyone looked at the Princess Ding in front of them in astonishment, who was dressed in green and looked calm. Feng Zhiyao stuttered a little, which was rare for him, and said, "Princess, I think...Prince..." Mo Xiuyao was the kind of person who could not be killed. Even if there was no news now, Feng Zhiyao could only guess that he had broken his legs and could not crawl back. But she never thought that he would die like this. Moreover, it was too hard for the princess, who had always been in love with Mo Xiuyao, to say such words.

"He is now seriously injured and unconscious. What's the difference between him and being dead? Let's do this." Ye Li said.

Han Mingyue looked at Ye Li, raised her eyebrows slightly, and stopped Han Mingxi who wanted to speak, saying: "Holding a funeral is indeed a good choice. It will be easier to believe if Mr. Shen is summoned here urgently. I believe that neither Mo Jingli nor King Zhennan will doubt it."

After he said this, everyone suddenly realized what they had missed. The princess made such an arrangement not because she believed that the prince was dead, but because she wanted others to believe that the prince was dead. Feng Zhiyao's heart moved, and he looked at Ye Li and said, "Does the princess know the whereabouts of the prince?"

Ye Li shook his head regretfully and said, "Let's not worry about the prince for now. All those sent out to look for him should be withdrawn. What we need to do now is to stabilize the current situation. Nan Hou?"

Nan Hou stood up and said respectfully: "Our army has fought with the Xiling army several times before. Thanks to the prince's divine military tactics, our army has always won more than lost. However, since the prince... Lei Zhenting's attack has suddenly become much stronger, and our army has found it difficult to cope with it." Although the Mo family army is brave, the Xiling army is not bad either. Not to mention that the number of Xiling soldiers is far greater than that of the Mo family army. Originally, there was no effect when Mo Xiuyao was there, but once Mo Xiuyao was gone, the Mo family army's disadvantages were immediately exposed.

Ye Li nodded and said, "Don't blame yourselves, you have worked hard these days. Now that the Xiling army is strong, we don't have to confront them head-on. Try to avoid direct confrontation."

"What does the princess mean?" Murong Shen asked.

Ye Li said: "Avoid their sharp edge, attack them and they will have to defend. Generals, divide your troops into several groups and fight on your own. Feihong Pass will still be guarded by me and General Yuan Pei." After more than ten years of continuous reinforcement by the Mohist Army, Feihong Pass is definitely as easy to defend and difficult to attack as Hangu Pass, which is known as the most powerful pass in the Central Plains. The Mohist Army does not have the chips to fight the Xiling Army head-on.

"But Princess, if Lei Zhenting puts all his efforts into dealing with Feihong Pass, I'm afraid you and the veteran generals..."

Ye Li smiled and said, "So, you have to make sure he can't use his full strength. I believe this is what the Mohist Army and the Black Cloud Cavalry are good at. In addition, you don't have to worry about Feihong Pass. We have a batch of interesting things that will arrive at Feihong Pass soon. If Lei Zhenting still wants to break through Feihong Pass, he can only pay with human lives. I also want to know how many Xiling soldiers he is willing to pay to attack Feihong Pass."

Although they were somewhat curious about what the interesting thing the princess was talking about was, seeing Ye Li's calm and composed appearance, they couldn't help but feel relieved and said in unison, "As you command."