Mo Li

Since Yelv Ye had accepted Ye Li’s suggestion to secretly observe the candidate noble ladies, Ye Li set the matter aside and paid it no further attention. Sure enough, two days later, just as the Northern Rong envoys arrived in the capital to welcome the bride, Yelv Ye’s selection results were announced. The one chosen to be the peace-marriage princess was indeed Ronghua Junzhu. Whether in terms of status, age, or temperament, Ronghua Junzhu was clearly the most suitable candidate. Although Princess Zhaoren immediately went to the palace to plead with the emperor, whatever Mo Jingqi said to her left her utterly dispirited when she emerged, and she never spoke of it again. Meanwhile, Ronghua Junzhu nearly turned the capital upside down in protest. In her eyes, Ye Li, the one who had caused her to be married off to foreigners, was naturally not to be spared. Unfortunately, the Ding Royal Palace was heavily guarded and not a place one could simply enter at will. By then, Ye Li was already leisurely relaxing at Grand Princess Xifu’s estate outside the city.

Though Grand Princess Xifu was already over seventy, perhaps due to her meticulous self-care and excellent temperament, she remained as spirited as ever, showing no difference from when they had last met a year ago. Seeing Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao arrive together, she beamed with joy. The grand princess’s warmth made Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao feel somewhat ashamed—over the past year, first Mo Xiuyao’s health had been unstable, then Ye Li had been away for a long time, so neither had come to visit her outside the city. Yet, the elderly lady never forgot to send them gifts during festivals, though they were not valuable items, they carried her heartfelt affection and care.

The grand princess pulled Ye Li to sit beside her, glanced at Mo Xiuyao standing nearby, and shooed him away, saying she wanted to have a private chat with Ye Li. Mo Xiuyao could only leave with a wry smile.

Watching him go, the grand princess held Ye Li’s hand and gazed at her with a smile, making Ye Li feel somewhat flustered—there was something unsettling about the grand princess’s gaze. "Imperial Aunt..."

The grand princess looked at her kindly and said, "I see you’ve lost weight compared to last year. That Xiu Yao really doesn’t know how to cherish his wife—how could he let a young woman like you travel all the way to the Southern Border?"

Ye Li lowered her head, feeling a little guilty. It had been her own insistence to go to the Southern Border, but she decided to let Mo Xiuyao take the blame for this one. The grand princess nodded in satisfaction and said, "I’ve heard about what you did in the Southern Border and Yongzhou. You truly are a well-raised child of Lord Xu’s family. You were a great help in Yonglin—Jing Li was far too reckless. At my age, I can’t control them anymore, but with you assisting Xiu Yao, his burden will be much lighter. The men of the Ding Royal Palace have always borne heavy responsibilities, and for Xiu Yao, it’s even harder. Fortunately, he has you."

Ye Li replied softly, "It’s only what I should do."

The grand princess shook her head. "Don’t say that. Among all the noble ladies in the capital, not even the past Princesses of the State have done as well as you. However..."Ye Li looked at the Grand Princess with confusion. The Grand Princess smiled at her and said, "Xiu Yao is not young anymore. Shouldn't you be concerned about the issue of heirs for the Ding Royal Palace? Among all the royal mansions in the capital, the Ding Royal Palace is the only one without descendants yet."

Hearing this, Ye Li's delicate face immediately flushed red. Speechless, she stared at the expectant Grand Princess for a long while, unable to respond. The Grand Princess teased her with a playful smile, "Child, bearing children is a common matter. It's been over a year since your marriage—why are you still so shy?"

Ye Li felt utterly embarrassed. Had she been in this era for so long that her thoughts had become conservative? But regarding the matter of children... she truly hadn't considered it. For one, her current body was not even sixteen yet, and secondly, the current political situation was hardly suitable for something like childbirth. However, she couldn't outright tell the Grand Princess that she didn’t want children, so she could only evade the topic, hoping to muddle through for now. The Grand Princess assumed she was merely shy and, after offering a few gentle reminders, let the matter drop. Instead, she made a mental note to remind Mo Xiuyao about it later. Seeing that the Grand Princess didn’t press further, Ye Li secretly sighed in relief and quickly steered the conversation toward some amusing anecdotes from the capital.

Mo Xiuyao stayed with Ye Li for only two days before returning to the capital. The Northern Rong envoys for the marriage procession had all arrived, and as the prince in charge of the marriage alliance, he couldn’t avoid meeting them. Aside from spending time each day chatting with the Grand Princess, Ye Li devoted the rest of her time to the deep valley beneath the Black Wind Mountain cliffs. Though the Grand Princess knew Ye Li went out daily, she never inquired about her whereabouts. With this cover, Ye Li’s movements became even more unrestricted.

Nearly half a month later, when Ye Li reappeared at the base of the cliffs, she nodded in satisfaction at the sight of the elite soldiers training vigorously on the drill ground. Achieving such results in less than a month was already quite impressive. If only there had been more time—ideally, they should have undergone at least two months of physical training before moving on to other aspects. Covered in dust and drenched in sweat, the soldiers inwardly tensed when they saw the ever-smiling Young Master Chu reappear. They didn’t know who this Young Master Chu was, but they were well aware of Qin Feng’s identity. For Qin Feng to serve as his personal guard, Young Master Chu’s status must be extraordinary. But that wasn’t the important part. What mattered was that they had only met Young Master Chu twice, yet each encounter left a deep impression. The first time, he ruthlessly shattered their confidence, then watched with a smile as they all collapsed to the ground. The second time, he stunned them all with his skills and left them with a grueling training regimen that had exhausted them for the past half-month. And now, what would Young Master Chu bring this time?"Everyone, although it's been half a month since we last met, Qin Feng has kept me updated on your training progress. I'm very satisfied. Especially... none of you who were part of the first batch of trainees have fallen behind. However, what you've done so far was only the most basic physical training. Not falling behind merely proves your physical fitness and potential are good. Starting today, you'll begin more detailed training, though the original physical exercises will continue daily." The soldiers couldn't help but groan inwardly—this meant they'd have to squeeze time from their already grueling daily regimen to learn other things.

Clearly, the training over these past weeks had been effective. At the very least, these soldiers from different units now had a strong sense of discipline. Even if they were inwardly complaining, they remained standing at attention without a hint of protest. Ye Li nodded in satisfaction before saying, "Step forward when I call your names." She lowered her head, unrolled the scroll in her hand, and read out seven or eight names. Those called stepped out and formed a separate line. Without exception, these were individuals with specialized skills and relatively higher education.

Ye Li glanced at the men Qin Feng had selected and said, "Wait for me at a training ground ten li southeast of here."

The specially chosen soldiers hesitated for a moment before one stepped forward and asked, "Young Master Chu, what will we be doing? Why aren't we training with the others?"

Ye Li smiled. "Because I believe you require different training. Of course... I suppose I should have asked for your opinions first. Are you afraid of death?"

The soldiers immediately felt insulted, glaring at her indignantly.

"Afraid of death? Then we wouldn’t be the Mo Family Army!"

"Only cowards fear death!"

"We’re not afraid to die, but we want to know what we’ll be doing! At the very least, we don’t want to die without knowing why."

Ye Li wasn’t angered by their defiance. Instead, she nodded approvingly. "Good. I like people who think for themselves. But right now... the first thing you must do is obey. The second is complete obedience. And the third... absolute obedience. Understood?" Her calm yet stern voice silenced them. The training ground fell quiet. Whether they had been called out or left behind, none of the soldiers spoke further, replying in unison, "Understood!"

"Good. Now, run there. You have fifteen minutes."

Without hesitation, the selected men turned and sprinted out of the training ground, disappearing into the dense forest.Ye Li turned to look at the remaining people and said with a smile, "Don’t worry about them. I won’t actually send them to their deaths. Right now, you should be worrying about yourselves. What you’ll be learning next includes weighted training, fully-armed swimming drills, wilderness survival training, breakout and counter-breakout exercises, infiltration and counter-infiltration training, as well as intelligence reconnaissance. Your instructors will arrive first thing tomorrow morning. The final assessment is set for two months from now. I can give you a heads-up about the test items so you can mentally prepare. Carry forty pounds of weight with one day’s rations and survive in the wild for seven days. The mission objective: launch a surprise attack on a combined force of six hundred Black Cloud Cavalry and shadow guards stationed twelve hundred miles away. Requirements: two teams will be searching for you along the way and may ambush you at any time. You are forbidden to steal food or livestock from local farmers, must not reveal your identities, and will be disqualified if captured by local garrisons or patrols, severely injured during the ambushes, or fail to reach the target on time. Understood?" The faces of all the soldiers in the training ground turned ashen. They had originally thought their current training was tough, but Young Master Chu always knew how to make things even harder. Compared to what was coming, their current drills felt like a leisurely retirement.

Ye Li raised an eyebrow at them and said, "You should be grateful it’s not winter right now, or your days would be even worse. But don’t worry—I’ll make it up to you this winter. Also… should we add an anti-sun exposure training session?"

No… That was the collective thought of every soldier. Ye Li didn’t press the issue. "The weather up north isn’t much use for that anyway. There probably won’t be any opportunities this year. Once you pass, next year we can take more of your comrades south for training. For now, that’s all. Qin Feng."

"Yes, sir!" Qin Feng stepped forward. He wasn’t as shocked by Ye Li’s words because he had already been put through the wringer by An San many times over these past days. Because of this, his admiration for Ye Li had only grown, and his loyalty to her was now nearly on par with his devotion to Prince Ding. In Qin Feng’s eyes, the Princess Ding he followed was a once-in-a-generation genius—one could never guess what kind of extraordinary ideas were stored in her mind. Just the fact that she had trained a handful of shadow guards to their current level in less than a year spoke volumes about her brilliance. Remembering the sadistic An San, Qin Feng silently prayed for the soldiers as he followed Ye Li into the forest.

"Come with me," Ye Li said, glancing back at him. Qin Feng obeyed, leaving behind the pitiful gazes of the soldiers. He was still struggling under someone else’s harsh training—how could he possibly save them?The forest, filled with traps of poisonous herbs, venomous insects, and swamps, seemed as easy to traverse as flat ground beneath Ye Li's feet. Qin Feng followed cautiously by her side, somewhat disheartened to find that the princess consort's movements were always a step ahead of his. Just as he was about to strike a snake perched on a nearby branch, a faint sound reached his ears—a sharp dagger had already embedded itself in the snake's vital spot from two feet away, and it fell to the ground with a thud. Ye Li stepped forward, glanced down, and turned to Qin Feng with a smile. "A flower-patterned brocade snake, non-venomous. It has good culinary and medicinal value. Take it back to Shen—he might even teach you a few tricks for identifying poisonous creatures. Aren’t you learning that lately?"

Qin Feng nodded, carefully collecting the lifeless snake, and asked sheepishly, "Does the princess consort recognize every snake?"

Ye Li answered without hesitation, "Most of the venomous ones, yes. Just read more books, and you’ll know. Don’t worry—I’ve checked carefully. There are only two types of venomous snakes in this forest, and neither is particularly deadly. Even without proper treatment, their bites aren’t fatal. When the others come here for training, I’ll arrange for skilled physicians to stay here regularly."

Qin Feng wanted to say he wasn’t afraid, but the thought of the countless snakes, insects, and vermin lurking in the forest still made him shudder at the princess consort’s choice of location.

A distance of ten li was nothing for two agile individuals, and soon they arrived at a training ground on the other side of the valley. To Qin Feng’s surprise, this place—which he had assumed would be even harsher—was not as he had imagined. Located near the valley’s edge, the terrain made it brighter and more comfortable than the cliff base they had been in earlier, with ample sunlight bathing the area. A small courtyard stood beside a stream at the forest’s edge, and the seven men who had been summoned earlier were waiting for them on the grassy field in front.

Ye Li swept her gaze over the seven. Though they bore minor scratches on their faces and bodies, none were serious. Satisfied, she nodded. "It seems your training has gone well. I know you have doubts about why I separated you from the others, but don’t worry—the reason is that your future training and missions will differ from theirs."

One of them stood and asked, "How so?"

Ye Li replied frankly, "Their missions will focus on small-scale, intense combat—such as ambushes, rescues, protection, sniping, and the like. But you… may not even need to fight. What I need most from you is your minds. Your tasks will involve infiltration, concealment, intelligence gathering, analysis, and transmission—though assassination and protection may also be required."

The soldiers frowned, exchanging glances before one spoke up. "Does Young Master Chu want us to become spies?""Spies?" Ye Li raised an eyebrow. "You could say that. It's one of the tasks you might need to undertake in the future. But I prefer to call them agents or spies. Unlike their emphasis on combat training, what you'll need to learn are foreign languages, even local dialects, psychological analysis, customs and traditions of various countries, disguise techniques, tracking and counter-tracking, the establishment and management of intelligence networks, as well as the practical use of various tools, combat skills, close-quarters assassination techniques, and so on... You were all selected from dozens of elites as the most suitable candidates in terms of family background, ability, knowledge, and intellect. Although you're different from them, you'll still be nominally part of the Mo Family Army. All the promises I made last time still apply to you. Moreover, if you die in the line of duty or are injured, the compensation and resettlement fees will be tripled. Of course, before that, you have the chance to opt out. Those who choose to leave can return to continue training with the others."

The group fell silent for a moment. These individuals were the most promising among this batch. Soon, they made their decision. Though they didn't know exactly who this Young Master Chu was, they felt he was different from other commanders. What he spoke of was both novel and fascinating to them, as if it would bring a completely different journey to their future lives. What man wouldn't want to make a name for himself and achieve greatness? Compared to those who were illiterate and only knew how to obey orders, they had a clearer vision. "We choose to stay, Young Master," they reported.

Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled at them. "You truly aren't afraid of death? I won't deceive you—you should know that being a spy or an agent is an extremely dangerous job. Even if you don't lose your life, you might never return home or see your families again."

"We understand, Young Master. We believe His Highness and Her Highness will take good care of our families." This was true—at least compared to other armies, the Mo Family Army had always treated its soldiers generously.

Ye Li nodded. "Very well. No matter what, I guarantee your families will never want for food or clothing. Today, you may rest as you please. Training begins tomorrow."

"Yes, Young Master!"