174 Visitors to the Xu Family

nodded and asked, “How is it coming along”The burly man’s face was full of sincere smiles as he replied, "Sir, don’t worry. We won’t make any mistakes at all. Everything is done according to your inst...174. Xu Family Visitors

174. Xu Family Visitors

In the tenth month of the twelfth year of Emperor Jingdi's reign in Dachu, after experiencing a series of events including the victory of Princess King Ding over General Nanwang of Xiling and then her retreat following the arrival of Prince Li, at the end of the month, the Mohist army, which had been fighting against both Xiling and Lili Wang across various parts of Dachu, suddenly withdrew. The local garrisons were left bewildered, while the leaders of the three allied armies hesitated between thinking it was a trap or that the Mohists really did withdraw. It wasn't until they confirmed that the Mohist army had completely withdrawn from all battlefields that the triumphant forces pounced on Dachu's fertile lands with wild abandon. Even Xiling, which had suffered defeat in the northwest, sent reinforcements to Dongchu this time, but wisely avoided the land already firmly controlled by hundreds of thousands of Mohists and instead entered through southern Guan before heading north. Meanwhile, the army of Beirong was stirring up trouble on Dachu's northern border; if it weren't for winter making it unsuitable for war or their desire to observe the Mohist army’s actions, war might have erupted in the north before the south had even cooled down.

The emperor naturally raged at this. The same day, he issued an edict across the land: Duke of Dingjun Mo Xiuyao, who does not repent but harbors resentment, has withdrawn his troops without permission and disregarded the safety of the state's江山與不顧。 He is stripped of his title and military power and ordered to be escorted back to the capital for further punishment. To this edict, Mo Xiuyao merely smiled indifferently and casually crumpled it into a ball before tossing it away somewhere unknown. The ten thousand elite soldiers under the Mohist army followed their master's orders and swiftly stormed all cities within Feihong Pass. Naturally, the Dachu soldiers stationed in these cities did not surrender them easily and fought back fiercely. Thus, the war raged from outside to inside Feihong Pass, with this time being a battle against Dachu’s own troops rather than the Mohists defending it from Xiling's invasion. Emperor Jingqi issued several edicts condemning Mo Xiuyao for disobeying orders, betraying the country and plotting treason. The entire land was in an uproar, but at the heart of this storm stood a man on the precipice of Qingyun Mountains, gazing far into the empty wilderness where the war raged fiercely—yet his eyes remained calm, devoid of sympathy or pity.

"Your Excellency."

Xu Qingze and Feng Zhirao emerged from the forest to pay their respects to the man lost in thought at the edge of the cliff. Mo Xiuyao turned around; Xu Qingze’s gaze flickered slightly as he said, "Qingze... Do you have any news about A Li" Xu Qingze's stern face darkened as he replied softly, "Not yet..." Mo Xiuyao nodded without further comment, merely stating, "Keep searching. Thank you for your efforts." It had been a full month since Ye Lixi fell from the cliff, but neither of them was willing to give up on finding her. After punishing those specifically tasked with searching for Ye Lixi before, Xu Qingze took over this responsibility himself despite his other duties. They all knew that Xu Qingze would never be negligent in searching for Ye Lixi; they just didn't want to accept the harsh reality of not having seen her yet.

Feng Zhirao said solemnly, "Your Excellency, these days Emperor Jingqi has issued several edicts slandering Your Excellency's reputation. Should we do something about it"

Mo Xiuyao replied indifferently, "Before securing Feihong Pass, there is nothing else to be done."

"But..." Feng Zhirao disagreed, saying: "This way, the reputation of Your Highness and Dingguo王府 will surely be greatly affected. I just received a message from an undercover guard that the people in many parts of Jingcheng seem to have been misled by Mo Jinqi's edict and harbor prejudice against Your Highness and the Mo Army."

Mo Xiuyao smiled coldly, saying: "So what The people's views... are merely tools manipulated at will by those in power. Mo Jinqi has always believed that Dingguo王府 hinders him from fulfilling his great ambition to become a great ruler. Now, this King will give him the chance to discard Dingguo王府 and the Mo Army as an obstacle and see what he can do to turn the tide and achieve his grand ambitions!"

Feng Zhirao frowned slightly and said: "Your Highness... should we..."

Mo Xiuyao curled up the corner of his lip with a faint smile, "The Mo Army… will temporarily stop at Feihong Pass. Next spring… they will march westward. Feng San, this King wants the entire world to be thrown into chaos! They like fighting Then no one can stay idle!"

Feng Zhirao was shaken and suddenly remembered what the man before him had said that morning with his hair turned white—indifferently yet ruthlessly. He truly intended to drag this whole world into war, sacrificing mountains and rivers… The departure of that gentle woman must have become an unerasable wound in Your Highness's heart.

Since the twelfth year of Emperor Jing’s reign, when the Mo Army occupied Feihong Pass and expelled all the large Chu garrisons there with no mercy for those who resisted. In the spring of the thirteenth year of Emperor Jing, the Northern Rong iron cavalry also began to stir up trouble on the border of Chu. At this moment, however, Mo Xiuyao in Ruyang City made no reaction and instead issued another order—appointing Lü Jinxian and Zhang Qilan as left and right route commanders respectively, each leading 200,000 troops to attack the border of Xi Ling. This news seemed to signal something to all parties involved. In early February, 300,000 Northern Rong cavalry officially knocked on the door of Chu; Nanzhao reinforced its forces by adding another 200,000 soldiers pressuring Chu; and within Xi Ling, people were in uproar over Mo Army's decision as well. But Xi Ling was still a powerful country that could rival Chu. At this moment, the Prince Regent of Southern Command ordered an additional half million troops to be sent to the border while Prince Hei Feng leading his troops originally stationed within Chu didn't intend to withdraw from Chu either, clearly unwilling to give up on interests already in hand. It seemed as if chaos truly broke out within a short period.

Back then, it was hard for people caught in the situation to see things clearly and understand everything fully until countless years later when historians and literati discovered with amazement that every change at that time seemed subtly related to that man who supposedly just decided to march westward. People also noticed more clearly that all these changes originated from the death of seven thousand Chu soldiers under Cloud Stop Mountain, as well as the disappearance of the Dingguo Princess Consort, who personally led 200,000 Mo Army troops to annihilate the entire Xi Ling army and planned to block another 300,000 Xi Ling reinforcements on that same day. Literati often recited poems here, leaving behind various speculations and conjectures; countless romantic legends also circulated among common people. Some even listed her as one of the ten most beautiful women who brought chaos throughout history, making Lady Ye Dingguo Princess Consort the only woman to be ranked in all categories of historical female generals, extraordinary women, beauties, virtuous empresses, and seductresses at the same time. This war that lasted for several years and swept across four countries was referred to as "Hongzhou Incident" due to its initial trigger being Prince Southern Command's defeat in Hongzhou. And among the common people, there spread a more beautiful legendary name—"The Chaos of the City’s Beauty." As for how many love-hate entangled tales evolved from this, it was even more numerous.

With three countries' troops pressing on and Jinan Mo Jingle's tiger-like vigilance in addition, Mo Jinqi could hardly spare any energy to confront Mo Xiuyao despite his rage towards him. He sometimes regretted being too impulsive at night when everything was quiet, leading to a situation where he couldn't advance or retreat. He knew even more clearly that he had completely driven the Mo Army and Mo Xiuyao into a corner. From now on, the Mo Army would no longer be Chu's strongest bulwark and guardian but instead… the most dangerous enemy. And at present, he could not confront Mo Xiuyao because he himself was in trouble. As Dingguo Prince, he wasn't unaware that neighboring countries’ appetites weren’t something a mere cession of territory could satisfy. He had merely believed previously that without Dingguo王府, he would surely make Chu strong again within an extremely short time and then conquer all sides. However, when he realized… other countries wouldn't give him the chance to become strong.

"Issue an edict to Mo Jingle, telling him I agree with his proposal of ruling south of the river, and tell him clearly who is truly the enemy!"

"This minister obeys."

Ruyang City,

Feng Zhiyao looked at the man in front of her with a calm and leisurely expression, and worry quietly rose in her eyes. Four months had passed since the disappearance of the princess consort, and Mo Xiuyao seemed to be gradually recovering from it. At least he was not often lost in thought like two months ago. However, his increasingly indifferent demeanor made Feng Zhiyao feel uneasy. It was now known throughout the world that Dingguo王府 and Great Chu had turned against each other, and that… in people's eyes, Dingguo王府 had betrayed Great Chu. But she could not see any of Mo Xiuyao’s thoughts or plans for the future. The current Mo Xiuyao seemed more like an observer watching the chaos from a distance, sitting in Ruyang City and idly observing the turmoil throughout the land. If Western Ling was the strongest force, he would send troops to attack it. When North Rong worried about the Moxia Army interfering with Great Chu's war, he withdrew all of his army back to Feihong Pass. Even the news that Mo Jingqi wanted to ally with Mo Jingli could not move him in the slightest. As he looked at the letter in his hand, he simply smiled lightly and said, "Mo Jingqi is too weak; it’s not bad for someone else to accompany him in play. Otherwise… when they can’t keep playing…”

"My lord, there's someone from Yunzhou here," Feng Zhiyao reported quietly.

Mo Xiuyao was startled and sat up with a frown. "What happened with the Xu family and Mr. Qingyun" Feng Zhiyao shook her head. "No, although people in Chu’s capital city have mentioned your relationship with the Xu family, many ministers dissuaded them from pressing further. Moreover, given Mr. Qingyun's and the Xu family's reputation, Mo Jingqi would never dare to take any action against them lightly at this moment." Mo Xiuyao felt somewhat reassured, but Feng Zhiyao frowned and asked, "If my lord is concerned about the safety of the Xu family, why not invite them to Ruyang" Mo Xiuyao shook his head in silence. Looking at him, Feng Zhiyao said after a long while, "My lord hasn’t planned for the future, have you That’s why you don’t want to see the Xu family here in Ruyang. You’re afraid that one day…"

"Feng San…" Mo Xiuyao called out and looked at him steadily. Feng Zhiyao waved her sleeve and said, "Forget it, do as you wish! Anyway, the lives of hundreds of thousands of Moxia Army brothers and their families are in your hands!" With that, she turned to leave. Watching his retreating figure, Mo Xiuyao furrowed his brows and murmured softly, "Hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Moxia Army… so exhausting… Feng San, how many more years can I bear them for Father, elder brother, you must have been exhausted back then as well…"

Shortly after, someone entered. Seeing Mo Xiuyao sitting and lost in thought without making a sound, they simply stood at the door observing him. Mo Xiuyao frowned, looked up towards the newcomer, and was startled. He got up to face the person for a long while before saying solemnly, "Mr. Xu, why are you here" The newcomer took off his felt hat and smiled calmly. "Is my lord not welcoming me" Mo Xiuyao shook his head and said, "Please take a seat, Mr. Xu. Why have you come" Xu Hongyu sized him up before saying, "On the way to Ruyang, I originally thought that when I saw my lord, either he would be sick in bed or drowning his sorrows with alcohol." Mo Xiuyao was somewhat surprised and asked, "Why do you say so" Xu Hongyu smiled and said, "My lord now resides in Ruyang, and the Moxia Army controls five states with nineteen cities, including Northwest. Although it is only one-tenth of Great Chu's territory, it’s no less than Nan Zhao. But what did my lord see on this journey Life for the people is miserable, barely scraping by. If not for the stability within the areas under Moxia Army control, how many people do you think would still be there now" Mo Xiuyao was silent.

Without waiting for him to respond, Xu Hongyu continued, "Before I came, my father told me that with my lord's talent, whether in politics or military affairs, he would not be inferior to Regent Prince Mo Liufang or the first-generation Dingguo King Mo Lanyun." Mo Xiuyao smiled bitterly and said, "Thank you for Mr. Qingyun’s praise; I’m afraid I don’t deserve such high commendation from him. A person who can't even protect his wife and children… how can he be a stabilizer of the country" Xu Hongyu was taken aback and thought of that clever and gentle niece, her eyes filled with sorrow. Ye Li was the only daughter of this generation of the Xu family; Xu Hongyu treated her as if she were his own daughter out of genuine affection. This wasn’t just because of his deceased younger sister who had died young but also because Ye Li was worthy on her own merits. Then… this clever girl left behind a victory that even men might not be able to achieve and suddenly faced such great misfortune, even younger than her mother. Was it really true that the heavens envy beautiful women Carefully observing the man in front of him with a calm and composed expression but eyes hinting at coldness and boundless hatred, Xu Hongyu suddenly laughed out loud and stared at Mo Xiuyao, saying, "Is my lord’s current actions for Li Er’s sake What a devoted lover! I’m sure Li Er would be very pleased to know this in the afterlife!"

"Mr. Xu!" Mo Xiuyao said sternly, staring warningly at the middle-aged man in front of him. Even now, he still could not bear for someone to talk about Ah Li’s life and death in his presence, let alone her uncle.

Xu Hongyu looked at him without fear and sniffed lightly before saying, "If my lord is so deeply devoted, I should thank you on Li Er's behalf. But… Li Er, pregnant as she was, laid this situation out for my lord in Northwest; did it all lead up to my lord hiding in Ruyang City watching the chaos unfold, seeing how people struggle and lives are disrupted" Mo Xiuyao lowered his eyes, a slow cold smile gradually spreading at the corners of his lips. "And what then They want this world Then let them vie for it! Doesn’t Mo Jingqi find Dingguo王府 an obstacle Now that there’s no longer a Dingguo王府 to get in his way, isn't that exactly what he wanted I’m waiting here for him to bring a million troops to suppress the rebellion. From now on… Great Chu will have another great emperor who need not worry about the threat of Dingguo王府 and Moxia Army being a thorn in their side. In this world, there are so many who want my life; I’m sitting here in Ruyang City waiting for them to come!"

Xu Hongyu sighed softly and looked at the man in front of her, who was exuding煞氣. She asked, "Is it that Your Highness has nothing left to live for What have the common people done wrong And what about those who have served the House of Ding King generation after generation"

"Haha..." Mo Xiuyao smiled lightly and lowered his head. "Mr. Xu, I'm afraid it's too late to say these things now. Once this war has begun, it won't end easily without a clear winner or loser. It’s said that Mr. Hongyu is skilled in celestial phenomena; can’t you see… the entire world will be in chaos and the common people will suffer until their fate is sealed," Xu Hongyu replied, "So Your Highness also specializes in celestial phenomena" Mo Xiuyao shook his head, his gaze clear and sharp. "I don't understand celestial phenomena. What I want is this chaotic era, no one can change it!" The world did not come into chaos because of celestial phenomena; rather, the celestial phenomena came to be due to his own scheme. In this chaotic era he had set up, everyone involved was destined to be unable to escape. So let them stay and accompany Agui and their child in death.

Even Xu Hongyu didn’t know how to persuade Mo Xiuyao anymore when faced with such a man. The warmth hidden in her eyes gradually increased as she looked at him. At least, this man truly loved Leye. It wasn't for nothing that Agui had endured so much hardship for him. Looking at Mo Xiuyao’s calm expression, Xu Hongyu even found herself unable to speak out the words of persuasion. Reason was always just reason; even someone like her, a famous scholar, never intended to live as rigidly by reason as others did. This man needed war and the lives of his enemies to ease the pain of losing his wife and unborn child. Just like how he had wanted to kill that fool Mo Jingqi when he first heard about Leye’s news instead of submitting himself to death as expected of a minister. But… whether it was for the Black Family Army, the Xu family, Leye, or even the common people, none could truly bear watching this man drag the world into a bloody war. At least not those innocent civilians and themselves.

After taking another look at Mo Xiuyao in front of her, Xu Hongyu turned and walked out. Just as Mo Xiuyao thought she had left, she reentered the room. She placed a thick stack of documents on the table next to Mo Xiuyao. Zhuo Jing and others who followed behind also carried stacks of documents, placing them before him silently before withdrawing quietly. Since Ye Li’s disappearance, Zhuo Jing, Wei Lin, and Lin Han, who had rushed back, searched day and night along the great river every single day. Until they reached a state of despair and started appearing like ghosts. Both Mo Xiuyao and Feng Ziyao knew that despite their desperation, these three men continued to go out searching frequently.

Xu Hongyu gently tapped on the documents on the table and said, "These are all left by Leye; you can take a look yourself. After reading them, tell me Your Highness’s decision. These days, I might have to bother Your Highness for some time."

Mo Xiuyao was stunned as he looked at the familiar elegant handwriting on the topmost document—A Feasibility Study of Commercial Plans in Northwest Region. Just like Leye occasionally proposing new and seemingly reasonable ideas. From just this line, one could understand what it would be about inside. And beneath that sentence in smaller characters, Leye had always been accustomed to leaving dates at the bottom of documents or memorandums—On the second day of the tenth month in the twelfth year of Emperor Jing’s reign…

Mo Xiuyao's eyes flashed; even while guarding Hongzhou, she still found time to write these things...

Seeing Mo Xiuyao lost in thought over the documents, Xu Hongyu waved at Zhuo Jing and others to take them out. In the silent room, only the sound of flipping through documents occasionally echoed.d to fight till death and kill a few people, there wouldn't be any problem at all. However, Mo Xiuyao never did this even when he was most enraged.Mo Xiuyao remained silent for a while before saying s...