143 Reunion After a Long Time

red her head and muttered, "Old Master and Master are too biased." Indeed, even if they made Lady Wang disgorge a few tens of thousands in silver coins, their young Miss saw none of it. Ye Li patted h...143. Long-Awaited Reunion

Returning to Jiangxia City, Ye Li waved her hand and had Prince Zhennan and the others escorted away, then took Prince Nanhou with her to see the anxious Lord Nanhou waiting for them. Seeing his son return covered in injuries, Lord Nanhou was both surprised and heartbroken; he pulled his son close while asking if there were any serious wounds. Prince Nanhou hadn't expected to be able to reunite with his parents this lifetime, and couldn’t help but let tears well up in his eyes as he said through gritted teeth, "I have brought shame upon Father."

Lord Nanhou pulled him back up, tears streaming down his face. "Stupid child, it's good that you're home! Why would you say such things" Once the initial joy had subsided, Lord Nanhou remembered that Ye Li and company were still there, so he hastily wiped away his tears and said to his son, "This time, you were able to return safely thanks to the Duchess. You must thank her for saving your life." Prince Nanhou bowed and thanked the Duchess for her help in saving his life. Ye Li smiled faintly and replied with a nod, "Brother-in-law, there's no need to bow. We're family, after all. Did anyone from Xi Ling hurt you" Lord Nanhou and his son glanced at each other, then Prince Nanhou shook his head and laughed, saying, "It was only minor injuries; thank you for your concern, Third Sister. In the future, if there's anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask—Nanhou Manor will certainly offer full support." Ye Li thanked him with a smile, knowing that even if Nanhou Manor could not become an ally of King Ding's mansion in the future, they would definitely never be enemies.

This time, Lei Tengfeng seemed to have finally refrained from causing trouble. Five days later, at the same time and place, he delivered fifty thousand tons of grain and five million taels of silver into Ye Li’s hands. Keeping her word, she released Prince Zhennan. As he returned to Xi Ling's camp, he turned back and gave a deep look at Ye Li before saying, "I was arrogant; this round goes to the Duchess. Princess Consort Ding, we may meet again in the future." Ye Li smiled sweetly and replied, "Your Excellency is teasing me. How could I dare say that I won against Your Excellency It's just good fortune." Prince Zhennan’s expression darkened as he turned away. Unconcerned with victory or defeat, Princess Consort Ding, a mere woman, had won an impressive amount of grain and silver from Xi Ling without showing the least trace of arrogance—she truly was no ordinary lady.

Ye Li watched Prince Zhennan’s figure fade into the distance among the Western Kingdom troops. She turned to Feng Zhirao at her side and said, "Issue orders for full military alert."

"" Feng Zhirao raised an eyebrow in confusion as Ye Li calmly explained, "Having suffered such a loss, how could Prince Zhennan not seek revenge"

“Your Excellency Duchess, Xinyang has been retaken by our forces!” A soldier rushed over with a look of joy on his face.

Ye Li was taken aback and asked, "What did you say" The soldier raised his head and shouted loudly, "Just now, a message came from the front. His Royal Highness led an army of ten thousand soldiers from the north and defeated the Western Xiling Northern Army. Last night, Xianning was recaptured!"

“Xiu Yao has returned!”

"His Royal Highness is back!"

Ye Li exchanged glances with Feng Zhirao, and they both saw the joy in each other’s eyes. Ye Li calmed her mind and declared loudly, "Return to the city!"

Moments after returning to the city, news of the Western Xiling army withdrawing spread outside. Everyone climbed onto the city wall and indeed saw various divisions of the Western Xiling army retreating far away. Yun Ting’s spirit soared; he hurriedly requested from Ye Li, "My Lady, this subordinate requests permission to lead troops in pursuit of the Western Xiling army." Commander Yuan Pei stepped forward and said, "No way. My Lady, although the Western Xiling army has withdrawn, they are not defeated and show no signs of chaos—perhaps they fear that we will attack them from both front and rear in Xianning. If we rashly pursue now, it’s likely to fall into a trap set by the Western Xilers." Ye Li nodded and said, "Commander Yuan Pei is right; let them go. Send orders for the entire army to be on alert and await His Royal Highness’s return."

"Yes!" Mo Xiuyao seemed to have become the faith of the Mo Family Army—or rather, each generation of Prince Dingwang had been the faith of the Mo Family Army. Upon hearing that he was returning soon, everyone’s faces bloomed with joyful and confident smiles. Ye Li hadn’t expected Mo Xiuyao to quietly return to the Great Chu and swiftly break through the blockade of the Western Xiling Northern Army to reclaim Xianning City. In this way, the time-related disadvantage the Great Chu had previously faced diminished greatly. The tensely strained heart of Ye Li also relaxed slightly.

Although she knew Mo Xiuyao was in Xianning, it wasn’t until several days later that they finally met face-to-face. Xianning had been nearly razed by Western Xiling troops and, despite the restraint imposed on local residents by Prince Zhenan, could not avoid being ravaged by the Westerers’ violence. Mo Xiuyao was almost immediately busy upon arriving in Xianning and only managed to send a letter to Ye Li, asking her to temporarily hand over military affairs to Lu Jinxian and Yuan Pei before traveling to meet him there. The work on Ye Li’s hands piled up as well, so it wasn’t until several days later that she completed the handover with Lu Jinxian and Yuan Pei and rushed to Xianning.

"Jade..."

Hearing this deep and pleasant call, Ye Li could not help but tear up. Separated for months, she didn’t realize how much she missed him until now when she heard his voice again. Without thinking further, she threw herself into the waiting embrace of her husband. Fortunately, everyone around them was considerate enough to leave so that they wouldn’t disturb Prince Regent Mo Xiuyao and Princess Consort Ye’s reunion; otherwise, Ye Li would have discovered how uncharacteristic her composed demeanor had become.

"Ah Li… Ah Li…" Mo Xiuyao clung tightly to her as he called out her name softly over and over again. It was as if he wanted to engrave her into his very bones. Looking up at the handsome yet weathered face of the man above, Ye Li whispered tenderly, "Xiuyao…" Mo Xiuyao’s eyes darkened as he cupped her delicate face in his hand and then kissed her cherry-colored lips fiercely. “Ah Li…” Ye Li couldn’t help but raise her hands to wrap around his shoulders while parting her lips to kiss back fervently. Seeing her initiative, the glint of passion in Mo Xiuyao’s eyes intensified as he held her tightly against him, kissing her deeply before picking her up and carrying her into their room.

Inside the room, scattered clothes lay everywhere, while under the broad bed curtains, two entwined figures were intimately embracing each other...

"Ah Li…" When Ye Li opened her eyes, she was greeted by Mo Xiuyao’s handsome smile and the tender affection in his eyes. Memories of their previous encounter flashed through her mind at an incredible pace, rekindling a blush on her just-awakened face. She glanced down to see her bare shoulders covered with lingering traces of passion, then glared at Mo Xiuyao before biting her lip lightly. Mo Xiuyao chuckled softly as he buried his nose in her hair and murmured gently, "After months apart, I’ve missed you so much." Looking into his tender eyes, Ye Li’s heart softened. She whispered back, "How was your journey to Beirong"

Mo Xiuyao looked at her before pressing a kiss on her lips and said, “Nothing major happened. Some small matters delayed our itinerary; I’m sorry that it caused you trouble these days.”

Ye Li intended to tell him about the events of recent days, but Mo Xiuyao seemed to guess what she was going to say as he lifted his hand and pushed her back down gently, saying, “No need to rush. Ah Li should rest for a while first.”

She gave him an odd look and said, “I’m not tired.” She didn’t have the habit of sleeping during the day, and in recent days, Western Capital’s troops had been quiet; everything she needed to deal with were some simple paperwork.

Raising his eyebrows, Mo Xiuyao smiled oddly. "Not tired Well… how about another round then." With that said, he didn’t give Ye Li a chance to react and pressed down on her again. His cool lips lingered on her fair skin while one of his large hands roamed freely over her delicate form.

"Mo Xiuyao! You…” Ye Li was stunned for a moment before she snapped back in a low growl. Before she could get the words out, he silenced her with another kiss. "Mm… bastard…"

“Ah Li... Ah Li... I miss you so much..."

Ye Lì sighed inwardly and was soon drawn into a new wave by the man.

In the study, Mo Xiuyao stepped inside wearing white robes. The people who had been waiting in the study hurried to pay their respects. Feng Zhirao raised an eyebrow and smiled at Mo Xiuyao with deep meaning. Mo Xiuyao glanced at him coolly, and Feng Zhirao tactfully covered his mouth with a fan, indicating that he wouldn’t speak out of turn. Mo Xiuyao sat down beside the couch and said, "I am grateful for Duke Nan's efforts and everyone else's." Duke Nan quickly stood up and said, "Your Highness is too kind. We feel ashamed to face the common people of Chu because Xiangyang fell, but if it weren’t for Your Highness reclaiming Xiangyang in time, we would have no face to see our fellow countrymen. Here are the military seals, please take a look." Since his son had returned safely, Duke Nan’s usual sickly appearance was gone and he seemed much better. He took out the military seals from his sleeve and handed them back to Mo Xiuyao with both hands.

Mo Xiuyao did not decline; he casually received the military seal and placed it aside. In reality, this imperial seal meant nothing to the Mo Family Army, but by doing so, Duke Nan was signaling that everything in the army would be under the command of Prince Dingwang from now on. Mo Xiuyao naturally wouldn’t refuse Duke Nan's goodwill. Although he had been far away in Northern Rong and had led troops all along without rest since then, he knew exactly what had happened in Chu Capital, Xiangyang, and Jiangxia. Of course, he also understood why the usually neutral Duke Nan was taking this attitude.

"Your servant is incompetent, leading to the fall of Xiangyang and the slaughter of civilians; Your Highness should punish me." Leng Qingyu stepped forward, knelt down, and requested punishment. He still looked thin and pale but seemed much better than a few days ago when he was listless.

Mo Xiuyao frowned slightly as he looked at him, and after some time said, "General Leng is the commander-in-chief of one army personally appointed by His Majesty; I have no authority to punish you. Later on, I will send someone to escort you back to the capital, where you can personally ask for forgiveness from His Majesty." Leng Qingyu lowered his head and did not speak, nor did anyone else in the study. Prince Dingwang had the power to control all military commanders nationwide; it wouldn’t be any different even if those were famous veteran generals instead of a mere young general like Leng Qingyu. By saying this, Prince Dingwang was treating Leng Qingyu as an outsider. Considering His Majesty’s character, Leng Qingyu would definitely not have a good time back in the capital.

Leng Qingyu clenched his teeth and finally said resolutely, "Your Highness, I humbly request to be taken in; even if it means serving as a low-ranking soldier at the front, as long as I can defeat the Western Ling people and redeem this humiliation. After returning to the capital, Leng Qingyu will willingly die for my crime!"

Mo Xiuyao looked at him coolly for a while before saying calmly, "If that’s how you feel, then I’ll accommodate your wish."rsonally go out to welcome him" Mos Yao's tone was light but his words carried an invisible pressure. The guards immediately bowed down respectfully and replied decisively, "I accept the order!" As he...