Mo Li

War isn't something that can break out at a moment's notice. Although signs of rising conflict are once again emerging beyond the northwest, the people within the region continue to live their lives in peace and tranquility. They believe that no matter what happens, as long as the Mo Family Army stands guard, the flames of war will never reach their homes.

However, the officials and generals of Prince Ding's Estate are well aware that this current calm will not last. They have all begun preparing in secret, sharpening their weapons for the battles to come.

Within the estate, Mo Xiuyao appears unconcerned about the external situation. After the military exercises concluded, he rewarded the deserving soldiers, dealt with those who needed discipline, and then resumed his leisurely life as a peaceful prince. Aside from handling unavoidable political affairs, his days were spent pestering Ye Li and teasing Mo Xiaobao—quite the idyllic existence.

On this particular day, Mo Xiaobao, who had been granted a rare break by Mr. Qingyun, found himself once again bullied by his unscrupulous father to the point of tears, gazing at his mother with pitiful eyes.

Ye Li couldn't help but sigh helplessly. It seemed these two could never peacefully coexist for even an hour. Mo Xiaobao, still young and lacking in combat prowess, was often left defenseless against his father's antics. Most people would have long since fled at the sight of Mo Xiuyao, keeping as much distance as possible.

But Mo Xiaobao was different—where there was difficulty, he charged forward; where there was none, he created it. He fought, lost, and fought again, undeterred by repeated defeats.

Seeing Mo Xiaobao's pitiful act, his shameless father, lounging lazily on the couch, scoffed in disdain. Playing the victim? That's old news for me. Of course, Prince Ding would never admit that compared to Mo Xiaobao's round, fair, dewy-eyed innocence, his own attempts at looking pitiful paled in comparison.

Besides, what kind of father would compete with his son in feigning helplessness? It would utterly ruin his dignity. Thus, Prince Ding firmly rejected such tactics. Though, Your Highness, is it any more dignified for a father to bully his five-year-old son just to vie for attention?

As for later, when Mo Xiaobao would master the art of playing pitiful on his own, refining it into a weapon of deception—eventually evolving into a seemingly innocent but cunningly scheming, flamboyant little white cat—this would give Mo Xiuyao quite the headache. But that was a future he couldn't yet foresee.

Bending down, Ye Li picked up her teary-eyed son and gently ruffled his hair. "Be good, Xiao Bao. Mother will take you out to play. We won't play with Father anymore."

Mo Xiaobao immediately wrapped his arms around Ye Li's neck, beaming brightly. "Mother is the best! Xiao Bao loves Mother the most!"

Ye Li was speechless. She knew this little rascal was faking it. But even when pretending, his pitiful little face was hard to resist. Sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder— who does this child take after? Neither she nor Mo Xiuyao were the type to openly display their emotions. Though Mo Xiuyao occasionally enjoyed putting on an act, Ye Li was certain that even in his childhood, he had never reached this level of crying on command and stopping tears at will.

As for his mischievous personality, it bore some resemblance to Xu Qingyan. But at five years old, Xu Qingyan likely hadn't possessed even a fraction of the cunning that Mo Xiaobao now wielded."Xiao Bao, come down. Dad has something to tell you," Mo Xiuyao said with an exceedingly amiable smile, reclining on the soft couch as he beckoned to Mo Xiaobao.

Mo Xiaobao instinctively sensed trouble and clung tighter to Ye Li's neck, shaking his head vigorously before burying his little face against her shoulder. Unfazed, Mo Xiuyao continued cheerfully, "Really don’t want to hear it? You won’t regret it? Ah… if you regret it later, don’t say I didn’t warn you as your loving father."

Mo Xiaobao’s ears perked up subtly, torn as he stole a glance back at Mo Xiuyao, who still lay leisurely with his eyes closed. Then, as if musing to himself, Mo Xiuyao added, "You know, back in the day, I almost ended up looking like Zhang Qilan. If not for your grandfather—my father—reminding me, the handsome legacy of Prince Ding’s Estate might have been lost forever."

Mo Xiaobao was horrified. Grow up to look like General Zhang?! The image of Zhang Qilan flashed in his mind, and he shook his head frantically to dispel the terrifying thought. Not that Zhang Qilan was unsightly—the general was, after all, a dignified and imposing military commander with regular features, earning him the label of a fine-looking man wherever he went. But the Little Prince had exceptionally high standards for himself. If he couldn’t grow up to resemble his eldest uncle, there were still Feng San or Han Mingxi—or even his father—to aspire to. General Zhang’s appearance simply didn’t align with Mo Xiaobao’s aesthetic ideals.

Thus, for the sake of his future good looks, Mo Xiaobao kicked his little feet, signaling Ye Li to put him down, and warily approached Mo Xiuyao.

After a long pause, Mo Xiuyao lazily opened his eyes, giving Mo Xiaobao a sidelong once-over before slowly reaching out to pinch the child’s plump, round cheeks… pinch! Squeeze! Tweak!

Mo Xiaobao glared furiously at his father, whimpering in protest. Though it didn’t hurt much, it meant he had lost to this man yet again in front of his mother. Sitting up, Mo Xiuyao leaned in to inspect the reddened cheeks he had just assaulted and grinned menacingly. "Do you know you’re fat? And you still dare to make your mother carry you? One day, she’ll be exhausted by you, you little chubby thing. Look at these pudgy cheeks—and you still eat meat every day. When I was five, I wasn’t even half as plump as you. Tell me, won’t you grow up even fatter than Zhang Qilan? Maybe you shouldn’t be called Mo Xiaobao anymore—how about Mo Dapang (Big Fat Mo) instead?"

Mo Xiaobao looked down at his round, fair little hands, his fragile heart shattered by the mental image. Shooting Mo Xiuyao a look of utter indignation, he burst into tears and ran off. Waaah… Eldest Uncle, Father is bullying me…

"Xiu Yao!" Ye Li frowned, casting a disapproving glance at the man still sprawled on the couch, laughing uproariously.

How could he speak to a child like that? It could easily wound their self-esteem. Besides, Xiao Bao wasn’t nearly as exaggerated as he claimed—just a bit sturdier than most children, thanks to the doting care of Grand Tutor Mr. Qingyun. A little plumpness in children was a good thing.Mo Xiuyao grumbled, "I'm doing this for his own good. He's about to start formal martial arts training, and if he's too chubby, he'll only suffer more. When he comes back, A Li, make more vegetable dishes." Ye Li rubbed her forehead—so it all came down to the fact that last night, she had personally cooked all the meat dishes their son loved, slightly neglecting someone in the process. Who could blame her? Mo Xiaobao was a meat lover, while Mo Xiuyao preferred vegetarian fare.

"Understood. Once Xiao Bao returns to the academy, I'll personally cook your favorite dishes, alright?" Ye Li said. Compared to wives who devoted themselves to cooking for their husbands, Ye Li rarely stepped into the kitchen.

Mo Xiuyao finally nodded in satisfaction. "Only for me."

Ye Li agreed but added a warning, "Don't bully Xiao Bao!"

Mo Xiuyao waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry. That kid is like a cockroach—he'll come bouncing back happily in no time."

Ye Li was speechless. A sharp glint flashed in her watery eyes as she pinched his waist hard. Meeting his puzzled gaze, she smirked. "If Xiao Bao is a cockroach, then what does that make you?"

"..."

Sure enough, within half an hour, Mo Xiaobao reappeared before Ye Li, beaming with joy. He fidgeted shyly, hesitating to speak. Suppressing a laugh, Ye Li asked, "What is it, Xiao Bao?"

Blushing, Mo Xiaobao murmured, "Uncle said... even if I grow up to look like General Zhang, even if everyone in the world dislikes me, Mother would never dislike me... right?"

Ye Li shot a covert glare at Mo Xiuyao before smiling warmly. "Of course. No matter how Xiao Bao changes, you'll always be Mother's precious child. No mother in this world would ever dislike her own child."

Mo Xiaobao's eyes lit up, and he nodded firmly. "I understand. I... I won't eat meat anymore."

Ye Li stroked his little face. "You should still eat meat, but you need to have both meat and vegetables. Being picky like yesterday isn't good, understand?"

"I understand. Then..." Xiao Bao hesitated shyly. "Can Mother still hold me?"

Mo Xiuyao gritted his teeth. Where did this brat learn such tricks? The Prince Ding's Estate had never produced such a bizarre specimen in all its history. That bashful act—was it even bearable to watch? Xu Qingchen! It had to be him corrupting Mo Xiaobao. Just you wait!

Ye Li smiled gently. "Of course I can."

Mo Xiaobao nodded solemnly. "When I grow up, I won't need Mother to hold me anymore—I'll hold Mother instead. But for now, I'm still small, so Mother can hold me..."

Such thoughtful filial piety melted Ye Li's heart like soft clouds in the sky. She bent down, lifted Mo Xiaobao onto her lap, and kissed his forehead. "Mother will remember Xiao Bao's words."

Originally, they had planned to take Mo Xiaobao out for fun, but they were followed by the idle Prince Ding, who insisted on tagging along under the pretext of protecting his wife and son. Inside the carriage, Mo Xiaobao lay across his mother's lap, silently conveying his uncle's disdain for his father.

Mo Xiuyao remained unfazed and raised an eyebrow smugly. "Kid, what do you know? This is called 'making the best use of talent and resources.' Or, to put it another way, 'knowing how to delegate.' Since your uncles are so capable, why should this prince exhaust himself handling trivial matters? In the northwest, your father is the highest authority. I only need to set the direction and goals—countless others will work hard to achieve them.""Slacking off! Uncle said an emperor who slacks off and neglects court affairs is a tyrant, so a prince who slacks off and doesn't handle government affairs is also a lazy prince!" The little white dumpling sat solemnly on Ye Li's lap, earnestly discussing the importance of diligent governance.

"Please say that this prince governs his subordinates effectively, thank you," Mo Xiuyao said lazily, casting a pitying glance at his son who wanted to argue the point. Silly boy, you don't even realize your uncle tricked you. He's clearly afraid that when you grow up, you'll be just like your father and do nothing, dragging him down again.

But your father won't let you turn out like me—because I'm counting on you to take over for me when you grow up. By then, this prince will take A Li far away, hold my wife close, and dream to my heart's content. Oblivious to how he'd been tricked by both his father and uncle, the little dumpling widened his eyes. "That's not true! Uncle said diligent governance makes a good emperor!" Everything Uncle said was right.

"Thanks for the reminder, but your father here isn't an emperor," Mo Xiuyao replied with disinterest.

Though he'd learned many things, a five-year-old dumpling might not fully grasp the vast difference between a prince and an emperor. Especially in the Northwest, where the distinction between emperor and prince wasn't all that significant.

Mo Xiaobao's understanding was this: other places had many princes, so princes had to obey the emperor. But the Northwest only had his father as the sole prince, and he didn't have to listen to the emperor. So his father was one-of-a-kind, the greatest prince in the world. What's so great about emperors? Western Liang had one, Great Chu had one, Northern Rong and Nanzhao each had one too. The more emperors there were, the less valuable they became. But there was only one Prince Ding—so if you're going to be something, be the most unique and valuable one. This peculiar notion of Mo Xiaobao's directly delayed the establishment of an empire by many, many years.

Unable to out-argue his father, Mo Xiaobao huffed and turned his head, burying himself in his mother's arms with a pout. Mo Xiuyao ignored him, smiling as he said, "Son, your Grand Tutor must have told you plenty of history. Throughout history, there have been emperors who held court only once every ten or fifteen days yet maintained peace and prosperity, as well as emperors who rose at dawn and worked late into the night yet still lost their kingdoms. So whether an emperor is good or bad isn't directly tied to how diligent they are."

Mo Xiaobao thought for a moment, then crawled out of his mother's arms and nodded. "I know, it also has to do with how smart they are. The idiot Father mentioned, the one who rose at dawn and worked late but still lost his kingdom, is the current idiot emperor of Great Chu." Having said this, Mo Xiaobao nodded emphatically to affirm his own reasoning.

Amused by his seriousness, Mo Xiuyao chuckled. "How do you know it's that idiot? He hasn't lost his kingdom yet."

Mo Jingqi did indeed rise at dawn and work late, though it probably wasn't due to diligence. Mo Xiuyao suspected it was more because he was too busy guarding against everyone to sleep properly. Mo Xiaobao replied earnestly, "Of course he's an idiot. He drove Father away, he drove Granduncle and Uncle away, he likes the worst, worst Prime Minister Liu's family, and he doesn't like Wuyou-jie's mother. Even his own birth mother and younger brother don't like him, and Wuyou-jie doesn't like him anymore. Eldest Uncle said this is called 'destroying one's own Great Wall,' and Feng San said it's called 'digging one's own grave with skill.'"

Ye Li, who had been listening with amusement, now looked torn between laughter and exasperation. What kind of nonsense had he been learning?The journey passed quickly with laughter and conversation, and before they knew it, it was already noon. The carriage carrying the group came to a stop in front of a mountain. From there, they had to continue on foot. Naturally, Mo Xiuyao couldn’t let Ye Li carry Mo Xiaobao, who was already showing signs of becoming a little chubby, for such a long distance, so he ended up carrying the child himself. Mo Xiaobao, nestled comfortably in his father’s arms, showed no discomfort at all. He rested contentedly while curiously observing everything around him and asked, “Mother, where are we going?”

Ye Li smiled faintly and replied, “You’ll know when we get there.” In truth, the relationship between this father and son wasn’t as strained as it seemed. Despite their usual bickering, it was clear that Mo Xiaobao held no grudges against his less-than-honorable father. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so at ease in his father’s embrace.

The group entered the mountain, and within less than five li, the surroundings gradually became heavily guarded. The deeper they went, the tighter the security. Soldiers stationed along the way saluted the two respectfully. However, they were stopped at a checkpoint. “Token and passphrase!” demanded the guard.

Mo Xiuyao had known about this place before but had never actually visited since he had entrusted its management entirely to Ye Li. Hearing the demand, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Even I need a token and passphrase?”

The guard at the checkpoint remained unmoved. “Token and passphrase.”

Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ye Li. With his sharp senses, he could tell that at least several hundred arrows were currently aimed in their direction. Without the so-called token and passphrase, he had no doubt these soldiers would actually fire. Ye Li took out an intricately designed token and handed it over, saying calmly, “Military Soul. Counterphrase.” The soldier examined the token to verify its authenticity before returning it and responding, “Fearless. Wang Fei, please proceed.”

After passing through, they encountered three or four more similar checkpoints along the way. Each had a completely different passphrase. Combined with the advantageous terrain and such defenses, even Mo Xiuyao couldn’t confidently say he could break through unscathed.

“A Li, I’m growing more and more curious about what’s inside this place.”

This mysterious location wasn’t far from Li Cheng, yet no one would have guessed that this seemingly unremarkable place was actually the true mausoleum—or treasure vault—of the previous dynasty’s founding emperor.

The mausoleum wasn’t as grand as those of typical emperors; in fact, it was far less extravagant than the false tomb near Hongzhou. At best, it could be described as a massive underground palace built into the mountain. There were no ornate marble carvings, no gold, silver, or rare treasures—just an ordinary-looking underground palace. Anyone seeking riches would be sorely disappointed upon entering.

Now, however, the place bustled with activity as numerous people hurried about, busy crafting oddly shaped iron tools. Particularly in the innermost area, a crowd had gathered to examine a hollow copper cylinder as thick as a person, mounted on a small cart. Though Mo Xiuyao didn’t know what it was, the sight of that gaping copper cylinder inexplicably gave him a faint sense of danger.Moving away from the hole in the bronze pillar without showing any expression, Mo Xiuyao turned his head to look at Ye Li and raised an eyebrow, saying, "A Li, is this what the founding emperor of the previous dynasty left behind? To be honest, I really don't understand what these things are."

Ye Li looked at him and sighed softly, "Actually, I'm not sure whether this is good or bad either."

When she first arrived here and saw what that predecessor from the previous dynasty's founding emperor had left behind, it had truly surprised her. At the same time, she felt hesitant—was it really appropriate to abruptly transition from the cold weapon era directly into the age of firearms without natural development? Presumably, that predecessor had also been uncertain, which was why these things had never been truly used here, and thus nothing that shouldn't have appeared in this era was ever seen in the history of the previous dynasty.

"So... has A Li figured it out now?" Mo Xiuyao asked with a smile.

Ye Li smiled faintly and replied, "Let nature take its course."

－－－－－－Author's Note－－－－－－

Oops... a bit late. Accidentally napped until six in the evening~