The Imperial Noble Consort 66: Ambition and Power

  Ambition and Power

  "Your Highness?" The chaotic palace was silent for a long time before the little maid kneeling on the ground called out cautiously.

  Liu Guifei's face had regained its usual calm, as if nothing had happened, and she said lightly: "Get up. What happened at the Li Wangfu today?" Mo Jingqi wouldn't go crazy without reason, and today was just the day of Li Wang's marriage to Pingfei, there wasn't anything major happening. Although the recent remarriage of Ding Wang made him a bit anxious, it wasn't enough to make him suddenly explode, so something unexpected must have happened today.

  Xiao Gong Nu thanked and stood up, walked to Liu Gui Fei's side and whispered: "The Empress Dowager had previously rushed to the Li Wang Fu, then the Emperor summoned Li Wang, Li Wang Fei, and Xian Zhao Tai Fei into the palace. After Li Wang left, the Emperor immediately came to see Your Majesty. I didn't even have time to report..."

  "Tell her about it." Princess Liu frowned, "Summon Prince Li into the palace? What about his wedding?" The little maid said: "This is exactly what I want to report to Your Highness. The wedding has been cancelled. It's said that the Crown Prince of Xiling got angry and left with Princess Xiling on the spot. Apparently something happened in the women's quarters of Prince Li's residence..."

  "Send a message back to ask Mother to come into the palace as soon as possible," said Liu Guifei, frowning and waving her hand. Even in favor, being in the palace always meant having slower control over news from outside the palace.

  "Yes, milady... The Emperor's place..."

  The concubine, Liu, slightly curved her lip and smiled coldly, "Nothing much, probably just got scolded by the Empress Dowager. Just think of a way to vent his anger later." The little palace maid pursed her lips and smiled, "Still, Your Highness understands the Emperor best. However... Master has sent someone to pass on a message to you, please be careful of the Empress Dowager." After all, the Empress Dowager was a woman who emerged from the group of noble consorts of the previous emperor, not only giving birth to two sons but also defeating those women and princes, finally supporting her own son to become the Emperor. The Empress Dowager was absolutely not a woman who could be simply dealt with. Concubine Liu said lightly, "The palace knows. The Empress Dowager is indeed formidable, but... the palace is not someone to be trifled with either!" The Empress Dowager was indeed intelligent and formidable, but her biggest mistake was that she never understood what her son was thinking.

  Did she really think that only Mo Jingqi couldn't tolerate her desire to control everything? Any ambitious man can't stand it, it's just that some people are unwilling to bear with it, while others can't help but bear with it.

  Dingguo Wangfu

  Still in the deepest hidden martial arts arena of Dingguo Wangfu, Ye Li's face was rarely gloomy as he stared at Qing Luan and A Jian who were flying back and forth in front of him using their lightness skills. Qing Shuang, who was also not good at lightness skills, hid on one side and sneaked a smile, even the corner of Mo Xiu Yao's mouth, who was sitting beside her, twitched slightly.

  She couldn't help but think of picking up a certain degree. Ye Li really didn't understand, with her physical coordination ability, balance ability and various qualities, as well as the good physique for practicing martial arts that Mo Xiu Yao had said, why she couldn't learn lightness skills! She was proficient in using Plum Blossom Poles or whatever poles...

  As if treading on flat ground. Even the internal force, which seems mysterious and obscure to modern people, she has mastered it, why can't she fly? Fortunately, Mo Xiuyao had found a set of light skills that were said to be suitable for women to practice, and now even Qingfeng was learning with a model.

  But she just... didn't feel anything!

  Actually, if Ye Li felt that having or not having lightness skill didn't make a big difference in actual combat, anyway walls over 10 meters high were no problem for her to climb up and down without lightness skill, anyway she didn't think people with high lightness skill would do better than her at stealth, really close-range combat was where lightness skill was more

  It's no use trying to stop her now. But... isn't the dream of every Chinese person with a martial arts dream to have that kind of agility and freedom? Since it really exists, following the principle of "having many skills is not burdensome", why shouldn't she learn it?

  "A Lian, what are you thinking?" Seeing Ye Lian's rare outburst, Mo Xiuyao elegantly refrained from teasing her, but just looking at the sparkle in his eyes revealed that he wasn't not wanting to laugh, he was just holding it back.

  Ye Li gazed resentfully at the three people scattered all over the martial arts training ground and said, "I probably don't have a talent for learning qinggong."

  "Learning qinggong doesn't require too much innate talent." Only extremely good qinggong requires innate talent, which isn't something that can be decided by a qinggong manual, just like Fengyue Gongzi Han Mingxi. His martial arts skills were average and his internal energy was only half of what it should be, if not for his exceptional qinggong skills that surpassed many top masters, he wouldn't know...

  How many times have I died?

  This is unscientific! Yeli only felt the veins on her forehead jumping wildly. This has completely exceeded the limits of human physical capabilities, how can it be possible without using heavenly talent or extremely high internal energy? Most importantly... humans are fundamentally unable to fly!

  "What was Ah Lian thinking when she was using her lightness skill?" Mo Xiu Yao asked patiently.

  Ye Li was somewhat disheartened, but still carefully expressed her thoughts to Mo Xiuyao. After listening, Mo Xiuyao couldn't help but laugh and cry, "A Li, if you always think this way, you'll never learn how to use your lightness skill. On one hand, you're using your lightness skill, yet on the other hand, you're telling yourself that people are unreliable...

  "Can I fly?" Ye Li, of course, knew that this was almost self-hypnosis. Ordinary people in this era would not have such troubles. But Ye Li was different, even if she had been the best warrior, even if people could sit on planes and fly in the sky, or even enter space.

  But at least the people of that era had an idea deeply rooted in their minds that could not be erased. That is, it was impossible for humans to fly with their own bodies. So Yeli always subconsciously wanted to step on something to borrow strength, and once she couldn't find that thing and her body left

  When the distance from the ground reaches the limit of human consciousness, the body will unconsciously enter a self-protective state and fall down.

  "Ah Ling, qing gong isn't something that allows you to fly in mid-air either. It also requires borrowing force, it's just that the amount of force needed is much smaller compared to those who don't know qing gong. Maybe it's a treetop or some other small thing, as long as you can control it well enough."

  Ye Li's face was expressionless as she stared at him, Mo Xiuyao let out a helpless smile, his right hand patted the armrest of the wheelchair, and his entire body suddenly leaped up towards the not-so-distant martial arts training ground. Ye Li was momentarily startled before her eyes fixed intently on his figure, only to see his hands moving at an extreme speed

  Quickly, the speed tapped on a wooden stake in the martial arts arena and then turned to another place. Then it was the treetop at the edge of the martial arts arena, where Ye Li had set up a net rope on the ground. Finally, it landed back in the wheelchair, "Did you see clearly?" Mo Xiu asked with a smile, stretching out his hand to pick a branch from the treetop

  The yellow flower under the broken tile was handed over to her.

  "This is utterly unscientific!" Ye Li gritted her teeth, staring at Mo Xiuyao fiercely. Is this a person who doesn't know how to behave? Huh? In fact, isn't she the one who doesn't know how to behave?

  "Huh?" Mu Xiuyao looked at her in confusion.

  "I understand." Ye Li took over the flower and played with it in her hand, "I want to think about it."

  Mo Xiu Yao smiled and said, "I think Ah Lian is just thinking too much. Or you can actually imagine the clarity of falling from a hundred-foot cliff. Without relying on anything, nothing can be retained, and there's nowhere to borrow strength." Ye Lian looked at him silently, she really fell from a hundred feet

  Not a few hundred feet in the sky jump down. If so, then... every paratrooper will become a master of light work,"I know, I'll go try."

  Ye Li's test was to have Ah Jian take her flying up to the wooden pole standing upright at the edge of the martial arts arena, which was over 20 meters high, and then... jump down!

  For the first time, she suddenly fell from a height of about 10 meters and was caught by the treetop before falling into the sand pit at the edge of the court.

  The second time, he crossed more than half of the training field forward, but failed to find a place to borrow force in time and fell from a height of five meters. His body's self-protection was good, but he scratched his skin slightly.

  For the third time, Ye Li temporarily lost control and crashed into a wooden stake on the martial arts training ground, and was in pain for half a day before recovering.

  The fourth time...

  The fifth time...

  Mo Xiuyao sat at the edge of the court, quietly watching that slender figure jump down, fly up, and fall again. Then get up to check if everything is okay before jumping again, and falling again. Mo Xiuyao didn't stop her, watching her fail repeatedly, then try again and again, a fierce and unfamiliar emotion stirring in his calm eyes for the first time. In his deep eyes, there was only that slender figure constantly falling and getting up again.

  "Mo Xiuyao, you actually bully women?!" Feng Zhiyao's voice suddenly rang out in the quiet training field, and the dark guards who were secretly protecting her twitched at the corners of their mouths, almost falling from their hidden positions.

  Phoenix slowly walked over, shaking his folding fan and taking a stroll, looking at Ye Li in the martial arts arena, then glancing at Mo Xiuyao who was sitting silently on the side. He shook his head and sighed: "Ah Yao, that's your wife, not your enemy. I didn't think that after all these years you'd become even more clueless about cherishing your loved ones." Mo Xiuyao raised his head, giving him a light glance without saying anything. Watching Ye Li continuously fall to the ground, his mood wasn't very good. Having been rebuffed, Phoenix touched his nose and quietly stood aside, watching for a while before asking somewhat puzzled: "Sister-in-law, what are you doing?"

  "Qinggong." Mo Xiuyao said.

  Feng Zhiyao's expression twisted, her chin almost being poked by the fan, "Practice lightness kung fu? This... isn't she afraid of killing herself?" These people were all trained in martial arts from a young age, Feng Zhiyao was a wild card, not taught by any proper master. But he had never seen such a training method before. In this day and age, did women really have no regard for their lives? As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a cold glare shoot towards him. Feng Zhiyao looked at Mo Xiuyao's displeased eyes and smiled apologetically, moving to the side to watch Ye Lian's practice together.

  Yueli herself didn't know how many times she had fallen, and when she finally managed to land smoothly on the ground, her whole body felt like it had been beaten up, aching all over. But in her heart, she let out a huge sigh of relief, feeling more satisfied and happy than she ever had since coming into this world.

  "Bang bang bang——" Offstage, Feng Zhiyao applauded with a face full of admiration and raised an eyebrow at Ye Li. Qing Luan and Qing Shuang immediately surrounded them, Qing Shuang's eyes were already red and swollen, and she didn't care about the people around her, hugging Ye Li and crying loudly. Ye Li looked at herself in a bit of disarray, smiled and patted the little girl in her arms to make her stand up straight before walking towards Mo Xiu Yao, "Feng Gongzi, we meet again."

  Feng Zhiyao sighed: "The princess today has indeed broadened my horizons."

  Ye Li sighed, "Others can learn it easily, but when it comes to me, it's extremely difficult. If I want to master it, I'll have to put in more effort." Mo Xiu Yao smiled faintly, "A Li, let's stop for today. You can go back and rest after washing up, then find a doctor to take a look. I'll be in the study with Feng San." Ye Li nodded, smiling, "It's nothing serious, just a bit painful from the fall. I'll head back first. Farewell, Master Feng." As he watched Ye Li leave with Qing Luan and Qing Shuang, Feng Zhi Xiao turned to ask, "A Yao, what are you doing? The Dark Guards and Black Cloud Riders can't even protect the mistress of the Dingguo Kingdom's palace, do you want her to learn self-defense herself?"

  "Feng Gongzi, it's the princess herself who wants to learn. The prince is only teaching her." Ah Jin spoke up. He had never seen anyone more stubborn and persistent than the princess. If the prince didn't allow him to teach the princess lightness skills, he really thought that the princess might break her own neck from secretly practicing.

  "It's always better to have the ability to protect oneself, rather than relying on others for protection." Mo Xiuyao said calmly. There is no such thing as perfect protection in this world, not even the imperial guards of the Dingguo Kingdom can completely eliminate danger. Having more abilities means having more safety in the future. Feng Zhiyao shook her head and sighed, "To have such determination and courage, even among men, there are few who can compare to you. I'm really curious, how did the Ye family raise a daughter like you? Even if it were the Xu family..." Even the Xu family wouldn't be likely to raise a woman like this. The women of the Xu family may have outstanding talents and intelligence, but someone like Ye Lian is truly rare.

  Mo Xiuyao turned his wheelchair in the direction of the study, "I didn't ask you here to discuss Ah Li."

  Feng Zhiyao was taken aback for a moment, gazing at the departing figure with raised eyebrows and a smile, "Could it be that Ah Yao is jealous?"

  Mo Xiuyao's study was moved to the new courtyard of the newlyweds. This courtyard, specially prepared for the King and Queen of Dingguo, is the largest courtyard in the entire palace, with even a separate library building. After Mo Xiuyao moved in, the two quickly rearranged the rooms.

  Once, the second floor of the two-story independent library was where books were stored. The first floor was divided into two parts: one side was Ye Li's study and the other side was Mo Xiuyao's study. So when the two entered the study, they saw Ye Li, who had already changed into a new set of clothes, holding a book and sitting behind the desk.

  He didn't seem surprised at all, but instead asked: "Why doesn't Ah Lian take a good rest for a while?"

  Ye Li waved the book in her hand and said: "Just finished practicing martial arts, it's not suitable to lie down and rest immediately. I'll read for a while. Do you need to avoid me?"

  Mo Xiuyao shook his head, "Since you're not tired yet, then come over and listen together."

  Phoenix looked around the study's furnishings, and upon hearing Mo Xiu Yao's words, she raised an eyebrow in surprise but didn't express any opinion. Ye Li thought for a moment before walking over with the book in her hand and sitting down. Phoenix curiously glanced at her, "Huh? The princess is reading again?"

  It's just a book "The Art of War". Ye Li lowered her head and looked at the book in her hand, saying: "I'm bored, so I'll take a look to pass the time."

  Reading military books is really interesting. Feng Zhiyao leaned against the back of her chair, with a look of great interest on her face, "How does it feel?"

  "Not bad," Ye Li replied.

  Feng Zhiyao was a bit unsure about what Yelü meant by "not bad", and quickly glanced at Mo Xiuyao. Mo Xiuyao remained unmoved, smiling as he asked: "What do you think is not bad, Lü?" Yelü hesitated for a moment before responding: "The strategic aspects are well-written, but the tactics..." Perhaps due to the differences between modern and ancient warfare, Yelü felt that many of the tactics described were unreasonable, even absurd. Of course, it's not that tactics can't be unconventional - in fact, the most outstanding commanders often have extraordinary imagination. However, what was written in this book... In reality, Yelü thought it would be more accurate to call it "comparable". This author had definitely never been on a battlefield, Yelü thought to himself.

  "Strategy? Tactics?" Feng Zhiyao raised an eyebrow.

  Ye Li's heart was slightly annoyed, but her face remained calm as she glanced at Mo Xiuyao and said: "Strategy refers to the overall plan and tactics of war." Mo Xiuyao swept a glance at Feng Zhiyao and replied calmly: "Tactics are the specific means to achieve strategy, deployment, and the strategies to defeat the enemy. Do you understand?" Feng Zhiyao looked dejectedly at this calm couple in front of him, were they looking down on his lack of knowledge?

  "What does Ah Lian think of the tactics?" Mo Xiuyao didn't pay attention to Feng Zhiyao's expression and asked Ye Lian instead.

  Ye Li shrugged, "Compared to Taizu's military canon, I think this is more like a legendary tale."

  "Ahhh... You've even read the Taizu's Military Classics?" Feng Zhiyao shrieked.

  Ye Li looked at him strangely and said, "My uncle and grandfather's family have the Taizu Bingdian, what's strange about reading it? My big uncle taught me." She wasn't lying, her big uncle had indeed taught her military strategy. However, in less than a month, the Taizu Bingdian was definitely not finished being lectured on. This sentence also happened to explain why she understood so much knowledge about military affairs. The Taizu Bingdian was indeed one of the best military books she had seen in this world.

  Phoenix's distant silence, how were you born into the Ye and Xu families? If you were born into the Murong family, with General Murong's attitude towards teaching his daughter, it's possible that our dynasty could produce a female general. The Taizu Bingdian is not just one book, but rather a collection of 29 volumes, recording the battles of 17 famous generals from both sides during the early years of Taizu's reign. Among them are also the handwritten comments by Prince Dingguo Mo Lan Yun, making it a must-read for the great Chu warriors.

  "In the study of the front courtyard, there are many military strategy books. If A Lian likes, she can go and take them," said Mo Xiu Yao. This courtyard was not originally a place for handling official business, so the books in the study were mostly biased towards poetry classics or miscellaneous studies. There were also some military books, but they were not of high quality.

  Upon hearing this, Ye Lian's eyes lit up. Although there were many books in the study, if she excluded the poetry and songs that she was not interested in, as well as the biographies of famous people, what remained would only be some historical geography travel notes. She had no interest in the secrets of a certain dynasty or the history of a certain era, so she had already browsed through all the history books before she got married.

  Therefore, she could only read some geographical travel notes, but this kind of thing that could only be looked at and not touched, famous scenery, customs, and human feelings, made people feel depressed.

  This couple... I'm fed up with you! Feng Zhiyao rolled her eyes in her heart.

  After speaking the truth, Feng Zhiyao looked more serious and pleasing to the eye. He looked at Mo Xiu Yao with some guilt and said: "Xiao Yao, I'm really sorry. These past few years, it seems I've neglected many things." Mo Xiu Yao raised his eyes and asked: "What's going on? Is there news about the Lei Wang Fu?" Feng Zhiyao nodded and said: "Princess Lingyun thought she was clever and schemed against Mo Jing Lei, but I'm afraid she didn't realize that it was actually her who got schemed against."

  "What did you say?"

  It's said that the Li Wang Fu has already investigated and found out that the incense in the resting room of the Qi Xia Princess was placed by Ling Yun Princess, and the Qi Xia Princess herself was also put there by someone sent by Ling Yun Princess. However...the first maid who rushed into the Qi Xia Princess' room on that day, as mentioned by the Wang Fei, was not a person of the Qi Xia Princess, nor was she a person of the Ling Yun Princess. But rather...a small maid brought out from the palace by the Xian Zhao Tai Fei.

  Feng Zhi Yao's expression turned somewhat solemn as he spoke. Ye Li furrowed her brow and asked: "That maid..." Feng Zhi Yao replied: "That maid was secretly put to death that afternoon. I've been sending people to keep an eye on the Li Wang Fu and the Shao Yang Gong Zhu Fu. When the Qi Xia Princess was taken back, there were no maids by her side until midnight when someone from the back door carried out a maid's corpse and threw it into the chaotic burial mound outside the city. However, that maid had been disfigured before she died, and there were no identifying items on her body."

  "How did you know it was Empress Dowager Xianzhuang's person?" Ye Lixi asked.

  Feng Zhiyao smiled triumphantly and said, "The coroner found a faint scent of jasmine hair oil on the girl's fingers and hair. This hair oil is said to be a special product from the first perfume shop in Beijing, extremely expensive, with a small box costing over ten taels of silver. In the past three months, only five boxes of this scented hair oil have been sold in the entire city of Beijing. Two of them were purchased by people sent by Empress Dowager Xian. So, I guess that girl is probably Empress Dowager Xian's hairdresser. Moreover, yesterday morning, Empress Dowager Xian changed to a new hairstyle. According to the person I sent to observe her coiffure, who has a keen eye for detail, this new hairstyle is absolutely not done by the same person as before."

  Ye Li nodded and said, "So, the thing is that Princess Lingyun didn't want to marry King Lei, so she designed a plan to help Princess Qixia enter King Lei's mansion, in order to make herself able to openly break off the engagement? And coincidentally, Empress Xianzhao also wasn't satisfied with Princess Lingyun as her daughter-in-law, and took advantage of the situation to let Princess Qixia replace her? But...this doesn't make sense."

  "What's unreasonable about it?" Feng Zhiyao didn't understand.

  Ye Li said: "Unless Lei Tengfeng is also involved in this matter, otherwise, if Lei Tengfeng didn't take Lingyun Princess away so forcefully at that time. Even if Lingyun Princess made a fuss, she would still have to obediently get married in the end, right? In that case, her plan not only wouldn't succeed but would also give herself an additional opponent in the Li Wang Fu. Or is she just trying to grasp something to use as leverage against Li Wang and Qixia Princess? What if Li Wang and Qixia Princess are willing to risk everything and tell the Emperor about her scheme? Even if she's the Xiling Princess, I'm afraid she won't be able to escape unscathed."

  "A Li thought Le Tengfeng was in such a hurry, why?" Mo Xiuyao asked softly.

  Ye Li thought for a moment and said: "Did Lei Tengfeng discover that Lingyun Princess was being plotted against?"

  Feng Zhiyao nodded and said, "If Princess Lingyun is still in the capital, this matter will be investigated and the Emperor will have no choice but to deal with her. However, now that she's gone, if the Emperor doesn't want to ruin relations between the two countries, he can only pretend nothing happened. He can't possibly send troops to attack Xiling just for this, right? But in any case, Leiteng Feng's trip to Great Chu has been a complete waste of time. The marriage plan was ruined by that foolish Princess Lingyun, and Leiteng Feng must be furious."

  Ye Li sighed and turned her head to look at Mo Xiu Yao, asking: "Should I be grateful that I'm not worth his effort in plotting against me?"

  Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, "Indeed, we should be grateful. So many years... Jing Lei has made me look at him in a new light."

  Feng Zhi said with a smirk, "I don't think so. The truly formidable one is the person by his side. If he really had that kind of heart, how could he bear to give up... and take Ye Ying instead?"

  Mo Xiuyao smiled and said: "How is Princess Li? She is the eldest daughter of the Minister of Revenue, and the younger sister of Ye Zhaoyi."

  Feng Zhiyao disdainfully said: "Sister-in-law is also the eldest daughter of the Minister of Revenue, and also the granddaughter of Mr. Qingyun."

  "Feng San, do you know why His Majesty allowed me to marry Ah Li?" Mo Xiu Yao asked.

  Phoenix's distant eyebrow, Mo Xiu Yao said: "The Xu family will not attach themselves to anyone, nor will they become a helper for someone to contend for the throne. This is understood by the emperor, I understand it, and Mo Jing Lei naturally understands it too. He can't get any help from the Xu family, on the contrary, if he intends to raise troops and rebel or plot against the emperor and endanger the people, the Xu family may even become his obstacle." The fact that the ancestor of the Xu family personally killed the king and worked hard to assist several generations of kings of Da Chu is not a legend. However, Mo Jing Lei probably only thought that the Xu family was loyal to the emperor, after all, those real secrets were actually passed down among each generation of emperors and kings and the head of the Xu family.

  "Even so, let's put the Xu family aside. As the eldest daughter of Ye Shangshu, at least Third Miss is more properly married off by the late emperor." Feng Zhiyao said.

  Ye Li pursed her lips and smiled shallowly: "I can probably guess this much."

  Two people looked at Ye Li together, and Ye Li lowered her eyebrows and said: "My father... should be the Empress Dowager's person. He should know the thoughts of King Li and the meaning of the Empress Dowager. However, if he marries me, he probably thinks that in the future, King Li will not value the Ye family, but the Xu family behind me. But the birth mother of my fourth sister is weak. If my fourth sister becomes the queen or... it will be completely different in the future. The Ye family will rise to prominence in one step. In the current palace, there is an empress, a favored concubine is Consort Liu, and there are several imperial sons under her knees. If my father is really the Empress Dowager's person, he would not know that my second sister is actually not favored. So from the emperor's perspective... the opportunity for my second sister's child to... is not great. Moreover, it is not certain whether that child can be born or not.

  These days, Yelü thought back and couldn't help but admire his father a little. Everyone thought he married Yeying to Li Wang to support Ye Shao in the palace, but they didn't know that Ye Shao was actually the spare pawn. What a clever move, openly repairing the bridge while secretly crossing the river, only unfortunately, Yeying wasn't the right piece. If there were two Ye Xue, maybe Ye Shangshu's plan would have succeeded. In fact, it's not that these ancient people were foolish, but rather that I was the one who underestimated them. With Old Lady Ye's usual cleverness and Ye Shangshu's cautious nature in his official career, how could she think that those two would be so arrogant just because Ye Shao was pregnant?

  "What a surprising inference." Feng Zhiyao looked at Ye Li and said, "How could the queen think that Ye Shangshu is the empress dowager's person?" This matter might even be unexpected by the one on the dragon chair, however, Ding Wangfei did not guess wrong.

  Ye Li said faintly, "Father seems to have been expressing dissatisfaction with King Lei from time to time, but in fact, he has never done anything that would affect King Lei. Since he has already married his most beloved daughter to King Lei, why does he still show dissatisfaction? It looks like it's all just a show for someone else. Last time, the engagement was forced by Princess Lingyun, and both the Empress Dowager and King Lei were dissatisfied with it. Father's attitude was very tough back then. Of course, there was also concern for Fourth Sister's future in this matter. But this time, with Father's intelligence, he should have seen that Princess Qixia would definitely enter King Lei's palace. And even if she changed her identity, Princess Qixia's status in the palace wouldn't be low in the future either. However, it seems like Father didn't say anything this time. Even Fourth Sister was sent back home by Father on the same day she returned. Fourth Sister told me that Father has already prepared to send Fifth Sister into King Lei's palace as a concubine a month later, saying it's to help Fourth Sister secure her position and prevent Princess Qixia from stealing the spotlight in the future."

  Mo Xiuyao looked at Ye Li with a faint smile and said, "What Ah Li said is indeed correct. Ye Shangshu... being able to ascend to the position of Shangshu so early is indeed related to the Empress Dowager. However, I'm more inclined to think it's because he's taking advantage of both sides."

  Ye Li blinked and said: "You mean Father plans to see which side has a greater chance of winning first, then bet on that side?"

  "The severity of today's paranoia is absolutely not something that ordinary people can understand. If Lord Ye didn't have sufficient loyalty, he wouldn't believe him."

  Even though she had already figured out many things herself, Yeli was still shocked. Her father, who seemed smooth but actually was really smooth, and appeared muddled in family matters, was actually a double agent?

  "But what's going on with you and His Majesty?" Ye Li asked.

  "Feng Zhiyao sneered: 'What else could it be? Our Empress Dowager is known as a heroine of her generation, a female Yao and Shun. At first, she supported the Emperor's ascension to the throne when he was young, but our Emperor isn't someone to be trifled with either. In less than three years, he completely took back power into his own hands and respectfully asked the Empress Dowager to retire to the palace to enjoy her later years. Power is something... if you haven't tasted it, then so be it, but once you have, it's easy to become addicted. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager have been at odds for a long time, this is something that many of the powerful people in the capital are aware of but don't dare speak of. Although the throne won't change, the person on the throne can.'"

  "So, the one who really has ambitions is not Mo Jingyi but the Empress Dowager?"

  "Ye Chen Mo Jing Lei naturally had ambitions, but he just didn't have the opportunity. Now that he has it, how could he not cooperate? The Lei Wang Fu is his manor, and without his consent, even if Xian Zhao Tai Fei wants to do something, it's not that easy."

  Ye Li was speechless. No wonder the Empress Dowager didn't mind her sons fighting each other, it turned out she actually hoped her two sons would fight to the death?

  "Is power really that important?"

  Feng Zhiyao's expression turned slightly dim as she said, "I suppose it's very important to some people." But the dimness only lasted for a moment, and soon Feng Zhiyao was laughing again. She winked at Mo Xiuyao and asked, "How about it, Your Highness? Since those two in the palace have started playing their cards, should we join in too? Or... how about a total annihilation?"

  "Omnicide?" Mo Xiuyao glanced at him, "Then you come to collect the scene? The palace and the outside are killing each other with blood flowing like rivers, you're in charge. If there's a rebellion in various places, do you go to quell it? When the Northern Rong comes to offend, do you go to block it? Does Xiling also want to participate, so you go to guard the border?"

  Uh... Feng Zhiyao's awkward wiping of her nose, indeed, it's not hard to get a few people killed. But the consequences after getting those people killed are quite troublesome.