Transaction

  Article 138: Transaction

  In the dead of night, Ye Li strolled along the winding corridor outside her study, gazing up at the nearly full silver moon with a faint furrowed brow. The next Moonlit Night was approaching soon, yet there was still no news from Mo Xiu Yao who had gone to Bei Rong. This situation made her unable to help but worry. Moreover, the current situation was that Nan Hou had clearly expressed his unwillingness to get involved, while she herself was leading dozens

  Wan Dajun, in her heart, she didn't have as much confidence and calmness as it seemed on the surface. Xiuyao... where are you now...

  "Who?! Come out!" Under the moonlight, Yelü suddenly came back to her senses and pointed towards the end of the corridor behind her.

  After a moment, a tall figure emerged from the corner. Ye Li was slightly startled, her slender eyebrows raised, and her clear eyes narrowed, "Mu Shizi, what are you doing here so late?" Mu Yang's expression was somewhat complicated as he gazed at Ye Li's hands, those delicate and slender white hands that hid a deadly intent. Mu Yang coughed lightly and said, "I didn't mean to intrude..."

  "I'm sorry to have disturbed Your Highness." Ye Li smiled faintly and calmly withdrew her hand into her sleeve. She raised her hand to gently stroke the hair by her ear, asking: "It's so late, does Marquis Shu have anything he'd like to say?"

  Astonishment flashed across Mu Yang's face, and soon he smiled blandly: "The princess is indeed quick-witted and not an ordinary person. I'm just... has the Duke of Nan already agreed to hand over the decision-making power of the great army to the princess?"

  Ye Li furrowed her brow and smiled faintly, saying: "Although the Crown Prince is the son of Marquis Moyang, he is not Marquis Moyang himself. Moreover, even if he were Marquis Moyang, he would not have the right to inquire about major military matters. Crown Prince, you are merely the Southern Marquis and a lieutenant in front of the Deputy General." Ye Li's obvious disdain for Moyang did not provoke him into anger; instead, he leaned against the railing of the corridor with his hands behind his back and said faintly: "I think the Princess knows that

  "What is the real meaning and function of being a school lieutenant?" Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled: "What about it? The Marquis of Nan was heartbroken by the unknown life or death of his son, and had no power to command the three armies. Now that the Western Ridge army is besieging the city, what does Lieutenant Mu think should be done?"

  Facing the calm and composed woman in front of him, Mu Yang couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness and fatigue rising from the depths of his heart. He naturally understood what Princess Ding meant - originally, as the Marquis of Nan, it was already somewhat difficult to control the Mo family's army, let alone now when they didn't even have time to change generals on the battlefield. And although he had the status of a crown prince, he only held the military position of a colonel. Not to mention leading the Mo family's army, he feared that even

  Wants to lead a part of the Mo family army, without Ye Li this queen's nod, no one will buy it. Mu Yang has never been someone who doesn't know the height of the sky and the thickness of the earth, so he didn't have any intention of taking over the military power of the Mo family. However, standing in front of him is clearly a woman who is not yet twenty years old, but the aura and sharpness revealed in her gestures make him this majestic seven

  Even the most stubborn man couldn't help but be moved by her. Such a woman had already completely transcended the meaning and category of women that Mu Yang understood. It was as if she didn't need to rely on anyone, nor could anyone get in her way or stop her. Mu Yang suddenly thought of that handsome man who was still elegant and composed even when sitting in a wheelchair. It seemed that only such a person

  Only such a man can match such a woman.

  "Mo Shi Zi?" Ye Li looked at the person in front of her with a furrowed brow.

  Mu Yang came back to his senses and smiled apologetically: "The princess has misunderstood me, I had no intention of making things difficult for the princess."

  Ye Li raised an eyebrow, but smiled and didn't speak. Mu Yang said: "Now that the Southern King of Lei is still rebelling and not yet pacified, and it's just when Xiling is invading, there are also the Northern Rong watching with greedy eyes. The only ones who can sweep away the enemy bandits are the Dingguo Wangfu and the Mohist army. Mu Yang may not be talented, but he also knows that the world is heavy, so why does he want to make things difficult for the queen?" Ye Li looked him up and down, smiling faintly: "If Crown Prince Mu doesn't make things difficult for me, then isn't he afraid of...

  "That's troubling you?" Mu Yang smiled brightly and said: "Thank you, Princess, for your concern. This is naturally on my mind. However, there's a small matter that I'd like to ask the princess to agree to."

  "The prince speaks his mind directly."

  Mo Yang hesitated for a moment, then said: "I don't know if there's any unpleasantness between my father and the Dingguo King's household, but I hope that in the future, Your Highness will look at me with favor and be more generous."

  Ye Li was taken aback, and after a long while, she lightly sighed: "The Marquis of Moyang has indeed given birth to a good son. With such a child, the Marquis of Moyang should be comforted for his whole life. Alright, I, the Empress, agree to your request."

  Mu Yang cupped his hands and said: "Thank you, Princess."

  Ye Li shook her head and said, "The prince doesn't have to thank me. This transaction with the prince is not a loss for me. After all, compared to what's happening on the battlefield, other small favors are nothing." Mu Yang smiled softly and said, "Being spoken to by the princess like this, it makes me feel ashamed and unable to show my face."

  Ye Li smiled and said, "It was I who misspoke, don't mind me, Your Highness. The sky is getting late, you should get some rest early."

  "Princess, please wait!" Mu Yang said somewhat impatiently: "Princess, may I ask... do you have any news of Yao Ji?" Ye Li turned her head in surprise, clearly seeing the worry and longing on the face of the man opposite her under the moonlight. Ye Li shook her head, looking at the disappointment flashing across Mu Yang's face, and said softly: "Young Master, some people and some things are missed just because they were missed."

  Mu Yang looked at her with a hint of discontent: "How does the princess know that it's impossible to rejoin the broken mirror?" Ye Li replied: "I don't know if there's such thing as rejoining the broken mirror in this world, but... even if the copper mirror is rejoined, it can't hide the cracks that have already formed. And... can the young master really achieve a perfect solution?" Mu Yang's face flashed with a hint of defeat and regret, Ye Li stopped talking and turned to leave.

  "Faintly murmuring: 'I have long worried that excessive emotions would harm my Buddhist practice, and entering the mountains again I fear would lead to another upheaval. In this world, how can one achieve both perfection in the Dharma and not betray the Buddha or you?'"

  "In this world, how can one have both...?" Murong Yang murmured softly, a faint bitter smile spreading across his lips. He would never be able to persuade Yao Ji to become a concubine of the Murong Yang Manor, just as he would never be able to persuade his proud parents to accept Yao Ji as their daughter-in-law. "Not betraying the Buddha, not betraying you," who knows if the person who wrote this poem had also gone through the same struggles and pain as him?

  The next morning, the Western Ridge army unexpectedly did not launch another attack. Ye Li sat in his study organizing various messages and battle analysis from the front lines. When Nan Hou said he was unable to do anything, it wasn't just an excuse - early that morning, Ye Li had just gotten out of bed when someone came to report that Nan Hou was seriously ill. Although there weren't any famous doctors in Jiangxia City, fortunately, the military doctors of the Mo family were extremely skilled, and they rushed over to diagnose him. They reported back to Ye Li that although Nan Hou wasn't extremely old, he had been pampered all his life, so the exhaustion from traveling on military campaigns, combined with anxiety and overexertion, had caused him to suddenly fall ill. With no other choice, Ye Li could only send someone to take good care of him while secretly searching for Nan Hou's heir. Conveniently, Qin Feng had completed his mission and returned to Jiangxia City the night before, so Ye Li summoned him to his study early that morning and ordered him to find Nan Hou's heir.

  "The princess, Yun Xiao Wei is fighting with someone in the training grounds!" Just as he was speaking with Qin Feng, someone hastily came over to report from outside the door.

  Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled, turning to Qin Feng and Zhuo Jing: "These days of continuous travel, yesterday's big battle, and this morning we can already get up and fight. It seems that we still underestimated the abilities of our Mo family military officers." Zhuo Jing rubbed his nose and chuckled softly: "The princess is right." Ye Li stood up and rubbed her shoulders: "In that case, let's take a look too."

  Because it was the time when the two armies were facing each other, the Mo family army's camp was stationed in a vacant lot not far from Jiangxia City. There were soldiers guarding every intersection around the camp. A temporary training ground was set up in the middle of the camp. When Ye Li and others arrived, Yun Tian had already started fighting with a young general of similar age. Several high-ranking generals of the Mo family army and many soldiers were watching and cheering on the sidelines. Mu Yang, who was watching the excitement from the side, was the first to see Ye Li arrive and smiled at her. Ye Li nodded slightly, Qin Feng and Zhuo Jing opened up a path through the crowd for her. Many people didn't even notice Ye Li had reached the front until she did.

  "The princess." Mu Yang spoke up, while paying attention to the crowd in the arena who were just coming back to their senses. With a slightly changed expression, he hastily bowed to Ye Li, and someone else wanted to step forward to pull apart the two people who were still entangled in combat. Ye Li waved his hand with a smile: "It's alright, let them settle the outcome first."

  Although Ye Li said so, with the princess present, the lively atmosphere of the scene just now suddenly dissipated a lot. Many people's faces showed awkward and restrained expressions. Ye Li didn't mind, smiled and asked Mu Yang standing beside her, "Mu Shizi, who do you think has a greater chance of winning?" Mu Yang smiled knowingly, raised an eyebrow and said: "In my opinion, Yun Tian school lieutenant may be even more powerful." Suddenly, the generals on the side showed discontented expressions, one straightforward person blurted out, "From what I've seen, Chen school lieutenant is still more formidable!"

  As soon as he spoke, the crowd saw that Ye Lian's face did not show any displeasure, and they couldn't help but feel a sense of relief in their hearts. They also voiced their support for the young Chen surname officer.

  Murong whispered to Ye Li with a smile: "The princess, it seems that the Mo family army is also very xenophobic." Yun Tian is now also a member of the Mo family army, and he is even a person who was personally cultivated by Princess Ding. However, after all, he is a half-baked newcomer who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The soldiers are all proud and arrogant, and naturally many people look down on him.

  Ye Li smiled lightly and said, "In the military camp, the strong are king, and occasionally competing with each other is not a bad thing, as long as it doesn't affect the big picture." In her previous life, she was in an elite special forces unit where every soldier was a peak warrior. It's only natural that there would be competition among such a group of elites. And it's precisely because of this competition that they would strive to move forward even harder. Because the weak will eventually be eliminated. Similarly, many of the generals in the Mo family army were promoted from ordinary soldiers, and some were even descendants of the royal family who had served the kingdom for generations. Yun Tian may have had merit from the Yonglin campaign, but it was nothing remarkable to the Mo family army's officers. And besides, he was someone she, this still unknown depth king consort, had promoted.

  Mu Yang deeply forgot Ye Li's gaze and smiled softly: "The princess is right."