Chapter 36: Invaded Just to Return a Favor

“Esteemed Prince, long time no see!” Feng Yihan paid no attention to Ye Junqing’s shock. After entering, he walked over to sit down by Yao Mowan’s side.

“The moment Yihan got news that Consort Yao was coming, Yihan immediately brought Si Qing here to Xiantai. However, Consort Yao sure made Yihan wait for a long time. You had clearly arrived yesterday, but you made Yihan wait until today.” Feng Yihan’s soft grumble sounded very suggestive. Ye Junqing who had been about to storm off changed his mind and walked back to sit down on Yao Mowan’s other side.

“You’re the one that called him here?” Ye Junqing impatiently asked an obvious question.

“King Qi has been considerate. Mowan hadn’t thought that King Qi would actually come to Xiantai personally and even bring Si Qing.” Yao Mowan paid no attention to Ye Junqing’s question and reached out to take Si Qing, then gave it a big kiss.

“Yihan wouldn’t miss any chances to meet with Mowan,” replied Feng Yihan gently with a smile. Yao Mowan glanced up towards him. His eyes were now resplendent, with no trace of the distress and silent endurance they once contained.

She heard that the coup d’etat in Qi had been very intense. Feng Duo had resisted until the last minute before finally giving up. Countless had died and the previous king was now under house arrest.

As of now, Feng Yihan was like a phoenix that had been reborn through a bath of fire. He was glowing with a magnificent aura. The domineering aura of a king that came from his very bones made people feel instinctive respect.

“Are you guys that familiar with each other?” When Ye Junqing heard Feng Yihan call Yao Mowan in such an intimate way, he felt a faint sourness in his heart.

“Even if King Qi didn’t come this time, Mowan would’ve personally visited Qi to thank you. Mowan knows the price of this immortal phoenix tail hairpin very well.” Yao Mowan stroked Si Qing gently, her eyes sparkling.

“Are you guys treating this prince as dead!? Feng Yihan, if you’re tactful, you’d know to withdraw your troops now! Otherwise this prince definitely won’t show any concern for our past friendship on the battlefield.” Ye Junqing was indignant. The feeling of being ignored, especially by Yao Mowan, was extremely uncomfortable.

“You’re still here?” Before Feng Yihan could speak, Yao Mowan suddenly turned and looked towards Ye Junqing in surprise.

Yao Mowan’s question almost made Ye Junqing stagger to the ground. Could it be that she had missed the sight of him despite his large frame? Was she blind? Was she blind!?

“Esteemed Prince shouldn’t worry about this. Even if Yihan worries about past friendship, it wouldn’t be friendship with you, Prince. Moreover, Yihan’s the monarch of the nation and wouldn’t appear on the battlefield,” said Feng Yihan lightly. His eyes didn’t leave Yao Mowan for a moment.

“This prince won’t stop at just taking back three regions!” said Ye Junqing loftily. Regardless of who it was, anyone that offended great Chu had to pay the price!

“Yihan will wait to see then.” Feng Yihan looked towards Ye Junqing mildly as if he found this threat to be of no concern.

“This is a guest house in Geyan after all, it wouldn’t be good for King Qi to stay too long. Marshal Yao, with this current situation, Junqing has reason to believe that you’re selling out the country!” said Ye Junqing coldly.

“En, all normal people would think so.” Yao Mowan nodded slightly in approval of his words. Yao Mowan’s reaction poured more fuel on Ye Junqing’s anger. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from doing something rash if he stayed, so he left angrily.

Once Ye Junqing’s figure disappeared from sight, Feng Yihan sighed in frustration.

“Ye Junqing seriously doesn’t know what fortune he has. It truly makes Yihan jealous and even hate him a tiny bit.” When Feng Yihan looked back towards Yao Mowan, a trace of unreadable softness appeared in the depths of his eyes.

“Based on how well he treated Eldest Sister, it’d be worth it for Mowan to give up Mowan’s life to repay him.” Yao Mowan admitted without hesitation in front of Feng Yihan that she treated Ye Junqing differently from how she treated everyone else.

“This favor counts as repaid, but from what Ye Junqing said, he doesn’t plan to stop at taking back three cities.” Feng Yihan looked towards Yao Mowan meaningfully.

“Five hundred thousand gold in exchange for Qi’s Linxi region, how’s that?” Yao Mowan got straight to the point.

“Linxi isn’t worth five hundred thousand.” Feng Yihan hadn’t expected for Yao Mowan to offer such a large sum.

“It’s not worth it in King Qi’s eyes, but in Mowan’s eyes, it’s worth as much as a city.” This was Ye Junqing’s first campaign since his status was stripped. Yao Mowan didn’t just want Ye Junqing to seize complete victory, she wanted his name to resound through the country so that no one in Chu could remain unaware of his existence.

“You’re making so many plans on Ye Junqing’s behalf. What can you get at the end?” Feng Yihan couldn’t help but want to know.

“My mind will be at ease.” Yao Mowan’s lips curved in a faint, sad smile.

The next day, when Ye Junqing appeared in the main hall, Ting Yue ran over with an anxious expression.

“Prince, something terrible has happened. Her Highness has disappeared!” Ting Yue’s eyes were red and she trembled as she reported this.

“What do you mean by she’s disappeared?” Ye Junqing frowned as he looked towards Ting Yue in confusion.

“Prince, this servant is telling the truth! Her Highness had gotten a little drunk last night, so this servant had helped Her Highness back to her room to rest. This morning, this servant had waited for a long time, but Her Highness never got up. When this servant went in to check on her, this servant found that Her Highness wasn’t in the room. What do we do? Prince, you must save Her Highness!” As Ting Yue spoke, she fell to a kneel in front of Ye Junqing while sobbing.

“Ting Yue, you sure haven’t followed your master for so long for nothing. You’ve sure obtained quite a bit of legitimate inheritance from her. Your act is truly realistic. If it weren’t for the fact that this prince’s peerlessly wise, this prince definitely would’ve been tricked! Where’s your master? Hurry and tell her to come out!” said Ye Junqing. He didn’t believe her at all.

“Prince, this servant isn’t lying. Her Highness really has disappeared!” Ting Yue kowtowed hard as she beseeched while sobbing.

“With Yin Xue there, the only thing that could possibly happen is that she’d make someone else disappear. How could she possibly disappear? If you don’t wake her up, then I’ll do it myself!” said Ye Junqing angrily. Just as he was about to walk inside, he saw Yin Xue appear in front of him like a phantom.

“Reporting, Prince, Master really has disappeared. Yin Xue had been with Master the entire time yesterday, but after midnight King Qi suddenly visited again and said that he had something important to discuss with Master. Master hesitated for a long time, then finally sent Yin Xue a signal for Yin Xue not to follow. However, all the way until now, Yin Xue hadn’t seen her return. She’s probably… been kidnapped by King Qi.” A trace of a bitter expression appeared on Yin Xue’s usually cold and expressionless face as she said these difficult words.

“Really?” Ye Junqing was stunned and he looked towards Yin Xue with doubt.

“Prince doesn’t trust Yin Xue?” Yin Xue frowned slightly with a disappointed expression.

“Then why didn’t you go save her?” Ye Junqing was still doubtful. After all, if he learned anything from the time he spent with Yao Mowan, it was that she was the one that made other people suffer. No one was capable of gaining the upper hand with her.

“Yin Xue just got back from Xiantai. Feng Yihan was there, but there was no trace of Master. Yin Xue didn’t dare to make any moves to inadvertently alert the enemy, so Yin Xue came back to report to Prince first,” replied Yin Xue calmly.

“Feng Yihan! He actually bit the hand that fed him!” roared Ye Junqing angrily, then he stormed out of the room. Once Ye Junqing walked far away, Ting Yue walked towards Yin Xue.

“Thank God you were here!” Ting Yue patted her chest. Her heart was still pounding uncontrollably. It really was hard to lie while Ye Junqing’s stern gaze was focused on you.

“This was the first time Yin Xue has ever lied in this lifetime.” Yin Xue felt a little downhearted.

“But it definitely won’t be the last time. It’ll get better once you get used to it. We both have to practice hard ah.” Ting Yue’s consolement made Yin Xue feel even more depressed.

Before Ye Junqing could come up with a plan, the incident of Yao Mowan being kidnapped was leaked. The high ranking officers were more overjoyed than they were sympathetic. To them, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, no one was willing to listen to the orders of a fool! Compared to Yao Mowan, Ye Junqing was a way better leader.

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