Shockingly Revelation

nd take some rest for a while. I heard that Your Highness spends more than seven hours in your study every day” Ye Li raised an eyebrow and asked.Moxiuyao was taken aback; he sighed softly and said, "...128. A Shocking Secret

This day, a guest who would never have appeared before suddenly showed up at the Mu Yang Marquis Manor. The Mu Yang Marquis was momentarily stunned when he received the steward's report and then his face quickly turned stiff. Standing beside him, Mu Yang looked somewhat haggard; he frowned slightly, revealing an expression of confusion. He only had a few days left until his wedding but there wasn't even the slightest hint of joy on his young face. Seeing his father's rigid and ashen appearance, Mu Yang's originally resentful heart softened considerably. He asked in a serious tone, "Father, what’s wrong"

The Mu Yang Marquis raised his head to glance at him before forcing out a smile. “Nothing… Father will go out to see the Prince Consort of Ding Kingdom.”

Mu Yang frowned slightly and seeing that his father's face was truly not good, he said, "Then let your son accompany you to see the Prince Consort of Ding Kingdom. I also have an acquaintance with her." The Mu Yang Marquis was momentarily stunned by his son’s obvious concern; moved by it, he shook his head and said, “No need. The Prince Consort of Ding Kingdom probably has something important to talk to me. Father will just go see her.” Seeing how resolute he was, Mu Yang did not want to argue.

In the study of the Mu Yang Marquis Manor, Ye Li leisurely admired a famous painting on the wall while standing with his hands behind his back; Zhuo Jing stood respectfully beside him. When the Mu Yang Marquis pushed open the door and saw a rather slender figure standing with its back to him, he was momentarily stunned before quickly recovering himself and bowing, "Greetings to the Prince Consort of Ding Kingdom." Ye Li turned around and smiled, saying, “Marquis, you needn’t bother; I came unannounced and disturbed your peace. Please forgive me.” Ye Li’s indifferent voice sounded pleasant but she emphasized the words 'peace' particularly hard. Those two words were like a thunderclap to Mu Yang Marquis, causing him to inwardly flinch. He forced out a smile and said, "Your Highness is being too modest. It's an honor for this humble abode to have Your Highness grace it with your presence. Please sit down." Ye Li did not hesitate as she sat across from the Mu Yang Marquis; after the maid served tea, he looked at Ye Li and Zhuo Jing standing behind her somewhat hesitantly and said, "This…"

"Marquis needn’t be so formal. I am merely a servant of the Prince Consort," Zhuo Jing said indifferently.

Zhuo Jing called himself a servant but Mu Yang Marquis did not dare to treat him like an ordinary servant. Although no one knew Zhuo Jing’s background, in these past two months, most affairs of the Prince Consort of Ding Kingdom had been handled by Zhuo Jing and Lin Han. It could be said that these two people were completely trusted personal confidants of the Prince Consort.

Ye Li smiled at Zhuo Jing and said, "Zhuo Jing, sit down to talk. If you stand while talking with Marquis Mu Yang, can I not always look up at you"

Zhuo Jing said “I’m not worthy” as he sat in the last seat.

The study seemed to have returned to calm; the three of them quietly drank tea, seemingly competing for who was more patient. Mu Yang Marquis’ gaze shifted between Ye Li and Zhuo Jing, while his smiling face was inwardly suffering. No wonder the Emperor feared the Prince Consort of Ding Kingdom so much. Even if he knew that the Prince was not in the residence and even razed the entire residence to the ground, it would be useless… Such composure for someone as young as the Prince Consort; there is no limit to what she can achieve in the future.

After a long while, Mu Yang Hou sighed softly and looked at Ye Li, asking, "Why has the Queen Consort of Ding Wang honored us with her visit"

Ye Li said calmly with a smile, "I wouldn't dare to instruct. This Consort was actually sent by someone else to ask something from Lord.

Putting down his teacup, Mu Yang Hou replied, "Princess, please speak freely. I will answer whatever you need to know."

Ye Li smiled faintly and said, "I appreciate it then. This Consort merely needs to ask the王爺 a question as someone's proxy. Does Your Highness remember a person named Mu Qingcang"

Mu Yang Hou’s hand trembled slightly; he almost knocked over the teacup beside him but quickly steadied himself. ZHUO Jing, sitting on one side, raised his eyebrows and clearly saw that Mu Yang Hou's hanging hand clenched tightly twice in an effort to relax himself. Mu Yang Hou smiled勉強笑道：“本侯自然知道，沐擎蒼號稱大楚第一高手，天下排名猶在定王殿下之上，天下誰人不知？”葉璃低頭喝茶，淡淡笑道：“侯爺說的是，說起來沐擎蒼和侯爺還是同姓，不知侯爺可認識他？”

Mu Yang Hou was silent for a moment before finally saying in a solemn voice, "Although I have long admired his reputation, unfortunately, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him."

"Lord truly doesn't know Mu Qingcang" ZHUO Jing suddenly asked.

Mu Yang Hou frowned and said somewhat displeased, "What does Young Master Zhuo mean Are you implying that I am lying"

ZHUO Jing's sword-like eyebrows lifted slightly but he did not reply; it seemed to be an acknowledgment of Mu Yang Hou’s words. Seeing Mu Yang Hou about to get angry, Ye Li put down her teacup and said with a smile, "Lord, please don't be upset. It's just that we caught an assassin in our household a few days ago who claimed to be Mu Qingcang and was an old acquaintance of Lord’s. Thus, I merely wanted to inquire about him from Lord. If it turns out Lord doesn’t know him, then there's no need to worry. He is just an assassin; how can he cause trouble now that he has fallen into the hands of Ding Wang’s household" Mu Yang Hou furrowed his brows and said, "Assassin The assassins transferred by Ding Wang’s household to Dali Temple…"

He stopped halfway through his sentence. It was common knowledge among everyone how much weight the assassins handed over by Ding Wang's household carried. Just like how Ding Wang House knew who was behind the scenes funding the various assassins but never made it public, no one dared to reveal that Ding Wang kept more important assassins for himself. That night, when Ding Wang's house fought off an attack, everyone was shocked and frightened; none would dare attempt a jailbreak at Ding Wang’s household in the short term.

Ye Li smiled apologetically at Mu Yang Hou and said, "Since Lord is unaware of it, this Consort has troubled Lord. There are still many matters to attend to at my place, so I bid farewell."

Mu Yang Hou’s heart raced as he blurted out, "How does Princess plan to deal with that Mu Qingcang"

Ye Lye curled the corners of her mouth into a faint smile, cold and aloof. "It's just an assassin. Kill them."

Muyang Duke felt a chill in his heart but could only watch as Ye Lye stood up and left with Zhuo Jing. As Zhuo Jing followed behind Ye Lye, he turned back to look at the still dazed Muyang Duke when they reached the door. He said calmly, "The Princess Consort has decided to execute all the assassins tonight in honor of the soldiers who died defending Prince Ding's manor. If Your Excellency wants to see anyone, you should hurry."

Muyang Duke’s eyes flickered and he forced a smile. "Sir Zhuo is joking. This old minister does not wish to meet anyone." Zhuo Jing nodded indifferently and turned around to follow Ye Lye.

Not until the sound of their footsteps faded away completely at the end of the corridor did Muyang Duke, who had remained standing as a sign of respect for guests long after they had left, suddenly collapse back into his chair. His old eyes that still contained flashes of sharpness revealed fatigue and guilt, but more so an unwavering resolve.

"Father." Mu Yang appeared at the door unexpectedly, looking at his rarely seen depressed father with a complex expression. "Did Princess Consort Ding say something difficult for you to deal with"

Muyang Duke waved dismissively and smiled. "Nothing important. You're getting married soon, Yang-er. Don’t worry about these trivial matters. I’ll handle them."

Yang frowned and looked at Muyang Duke solemnly. "Father, am I not allowed to know what’s going on"

Muyang Duke said, "There's nothing important happening. You're overthinking it."

Yang replied, “I’m not stupid, Father. What does the incident of assassins at Prince Ding’s residence have to do with our household Otherwise, why would Princess Consort Ding…"

"Silence!" Muyang Duke suddenly shouted fiercely, staring at Mu Yang sternly. "Remember well: what happened at Prince Ding's manor has nothing to do with the Mu family!"

Mu Yang sighed in exasperation as if his head hurt when he looked at his father and asked, “Do you know what you are doing” Muyang Duke was taken aback, looking down. "This old minister is only thinking of the prosperity of the Muyang Household. Don’t worry, Yang-er, nothing will happen to you." Mu Yang wanted to say more but seeing his father’s expression, he held back and quietly left.

Upon returning to Prince Ding's residence, Ye Lye turned around to look at Zhuo Jing following her and asked calmly, "Is this result satisfactory"

Zhuo Jing was silent for a while before suddenly raising his hand to wipe his face. A thin layer of leather mask was peeled off, revealing the aged and sorrowful face beneath it. In fact, Mu Qiangcang’s disguise did not resemble Zhuo Jing very closely; however, there were few people who had ever seen Zhuo Jing in person, at least not the Duke of Yangyi. Zhuo Jing usually maintained a poker-faced expression when dealing with outsiders, which is why even the Duke of Yangyi did not notice anything amiss about Mu Qiangcang’s stiffened expression. Mu Qiangcang lowered his head and said indifferently, "I accept defeat."

Ye Li didn’t mean to gloat; she merely stated, “This is a deal. Now tell me what information you have.”

"Aren't you afraid I’ll renege"

Ye Li sneered coldly, "If you break your promise, this concubine will kill Duke Yangyi!"

Mu Qiangcang closed his weary eyes and said, “I understand. I'll tell you what I know. Go ahead and ask.”

Ye Li wiped the smile off her face and looked at the person before her sternly as she asked in a deep voice, "How did former Prince Ding Wang Mo Xiwen die"

Mu Qiangcang was taken aback; he didn’t expect her to ask such a question right away. Still, he answered calmly and frankly, “I killed him.”

Ye Li raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Mu Qiangcang continued, "At the time, I followed orders to go to the border where we fought against Beirong, poisoning Mo Xiwen’s water to make it appear as if he had died of illness." Ye Li glared at him coldly and sneered, “Mr. Mu truly has no qualms about telling everything.”

Mu Qiangcang didn’t care one bit; in a leisurely tone, he said, "Since I promised the Concubine妃子, I will keep my word. If she thinks it’s too much to bear, then let her pretend that I never spoke up."

Ye Li snorted and said, “Mr. Mu, leaving things unsaid leaves me with no choice but not to ask.”

Mu Qiangcang lowered his gaze and said, "With the intelligence and acumen of Concubine妃子, the rest shouldn’t require me to elaborate." Ye Li closed her eyes and took a deep breath before saying, “Very well. This concubine will not ask Mr. Mu about the mastermind behind it all. Please tell me everything you know. And… I make no guarantees regarding your safety.” be worth it. Ye Li felt somewhat surprised and looked at Mo Xiuyao.Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly as he whispered, "There’s quite the difference between receiving full honors of a crown princess and being...