Mo Li

The news of the Mo Family Army's occupation of Chu Jing spread across the land, both north and south of the border, within less than a month. In an instant, the scheming nobles of various nations, who had been embroiled in their intricate power struggles, suddenly sobered up. In less than a decade, Prince Ding's Estate had transformed from a weakened force suppressed by Mo Jingqi into a colossal entity capable of rivaling any power—all under their watchful eyes. Many now regretted not taking the opportunity to strike a few fatal blows when the estate was at its most vulnerable, thereby avoiding the emergence of such an unpredictable and formidable enemy.

However, as they observed the fierce and battle-hardened Mo Family Army stationed at the borders, the restless factions involuntarily withdrew their ambitions. The desire to annihilate the Mo Family Army was undeniably strong, but everyone understood the principle that "the nail that sticks out gets hammered." If they acted rashly and engaged in a life-or-death struggle with Prince Ding's Estate, they would only end up benefiting others.

While the rulers of various nations plotted with their own hidden agendas, chaos reigned within Prince Ding's Estate in Li Cheng.

The usually tranquil and harmonious main courtyard was now bustling with noise. In the flower hall, several people sat or stood restlessly, while the courtyard outside was also filled with anxious onlookers. Those who had long been part of the estate would surely remember a similar scene that had played out seven years ago. Indeed, today marked the arrival of new members to Prince Ding's family.

In the flower hall, Mo Xiuyao sat calmly in the seat of honor. But upon closer inspection, one could see that his entire body had stiffened with tension. Were it not for his immense self-control, he might have already rushed into the inner chambers. Though he had experienced this once before when Ye Li gave birth to Mo Xiaobao, that very experience made the ordeal all the more terrifying. Moreover, back then, there had only been one child, whereas this time, there were two. Everyone in the flower hall instinctively kept their distance from Mo Xiuyao, including the usually mischievous Mo Xiaobao, who loved nothing more than to annoy his father. The boy wisely stayed far away, nestled in the arms of Mr. Qingyun.

Ye Li was not one to scream in pain, so the sounds of her labor were far less harrowing than those of most women in childbirth. Qin Zheng, sitting nearby, couldn't help but recall her own experience giving birth to Xu Zhirui. Back then, her screams had reportedly echoed throughout the entire Xu residence, and the usually stern Xu Qingze had fainted the moment he heard the baby had been born. Comparing that to Ye Li's current composure, Qin Zheng felt rather embarrassed.

Mo Xiaobao stared intently toward the inner chambers, where maids hurried in and out with basins of water. Nestled in Mr. Qingyun's embrace, his dark eyes brimmed with worry. The elder patted his great-grandson gently and said soothingly, "Don't be afraid, Chen'er. Your mother will be fine. Would you like to go play with Zhi Rui and the others? By the time you return, your little siblings will be here." Mo Xiaobao shook his head. "No, Chen'er wants to wait for them to be born. Grand Tutor, did it hurt a lot when Mother gave birth to Chen'er?" Mr. Qingyun smiled. "Yes, it hurts every mother to give birth. That's why you must always be filial to your mother. Understand?"Mo Xiaobao nodded heavily and said, "Chen'er knows. Chen'er will definitely be filial to Mother. Chen'er loves Mother the most."

"Good child."

Outside in the courtyard, many people were also standing. Not only were there members of Prince Ding's Estate, but also people like Hua Tianxiang, Han Mingxi, Ye Wenhua, and others. The drawing room was too small to accommodate everyone, so they had no choice but to wait anxiously in the nearest courtyard.

In the bedroom, Ye Li lay on the bed enduring wave after wave of pain, her face slightly pale. Xu Er Furen watched anxiously as the midwife busied herself, then took Ye Li's hand and said, "Li'er, don't be afraid. If it hurts, cry out." Ye Li forced a faint smile for Xu Er Furen. This childbirth was indeed more difficult than when she had Mo Xiaobao. Another sharp pain struck, and Ye Li couldn't hold back a groan.

Xu Er Furen wiped the sweat from Ye Li's forehead and asked, "What's happening? How much longer until the birth?"

The midwife hesitated before replying, "I'm afraid we'll have to wait a bit longer. The Little Prince's position isn't quite right; we need to adjust it first." Xu Er Furen's expression darkened. Having given birth to two children herself, she knew the complications of a malpositioned baby. "Then hurry up. You know the Wang Fei's status—make sure nothing goes wrong!"

The midwife nodded repeatedly. "Madam, rest assured. The Wang Fei's condition isn't severe, and there will certainly be no problems. She'll just have to endure a bit more pain." Hearing their conversation, Ye Li nodded slightly and said, "It's fine. Go ahead." Only then did the midwife step forward to begin adjusting the baby's position. Xu Er Furen held Ye Li's hand, murmuring comforting words, "Don't be afraid, Li'er... relax. When your aunt gave birth to your third brother, the baby was also malpositioned. There's no need to worry."

Ye Li nodded, enduring the waves of pain.

From day until night, the bedroom echoed with Ye Li's groans of pain, but still, no baby's cry was heard. Mo Xiuyao, who had been sitting in the main seat all this time, could no longer bear it and stood up to head inside. Mr. Qingyun quickly called out, "Stop!" Mo Xiuyao paused but continued forward. Mr. Qingyun said sternly, "If you care for Li'er, don't go in! If you enter, will the midwives dare to act?" This was indeed true. The pressure radiating from Mo Xiuyao at this moment was unbearable not just for the midwives but even for those sitting in the drawing room. Qin Zheng had long since taken Mo Xiaobao outside to wait. If Mo Xiuyao entered now, the midwives would likely panic even more, and mistakes often happened in chaos.

Mo Xiuyao's chilling aura continued to surge as he glanced back at Mr. Qingyun. After a long moment, he finally turned and returned to his seat. But the sharpness in his eyes left no doubt that he wanted to blast open the tightly shut door with a single palm strike.

It wasn't until dawn that the first cry of a baby finally came from the room.The tense and worried crowd seemed to snap out of their daze all at once, rising to their feet. Mo Xiaobao came running in from outside, exclaiming, "I heard my sister's voice!" He dashed toward the door, but the delivery room remained firmly shut. Undeterred, he planted himself by the entrance, eagerly waiting. After what felt like an eternity, another cry rang out, and everyone finally let out a collective sigh of relief. Shortly after, Madam Xu and a midwife emerged, each cradling a baby, their faces beaming. "A boy and a girl, mother and children are all safe," they announced.

The babies were presented to Mr. Qingyun. Though they looked like tiny, wrinkled red monkeys, his face lit up with joy. "Good, good children. How is Li'er?" Second Madam Xu smiled. "She's exhausted after a full day and night of labor and has fallen asleep. Father, look—this is the elder sister, and this is the younger brother." Mr. Qingyun nodded happily. "A perfect pair, very good, very good..."

Mo Xiaobao tugged at Second Madam Xu's sleeve impatiently. "Auntie, Auntie! I want to see my little brother and sister!"

The room erupted in laughter. But when Second Madam Xu turned to hand the babies to Mo Xiuyao for a look, he was nowhere to be found.

With the safe delivery of the babies, the tension finally eased. Everyone had waited anxiously for a full day and night, and exhaustion weighed heavily on them. Especially Mr. Qingyun, who, at eighty years old, could hardly bear the strain. Seeing that Ye Li and the babies were safe, Xu Hongyu quickly instructed Qin Zheng and Xu Qingze to escort Mr. Qingyun back to rest. The others also dispersed to recuperate, leaving only Second Madam Xu and the midwife to tend to the newborns.

Ye Li awoke from a deep slumber to the soft glow of candlelight in the room, the world outside already shrouded in darkness. Out of habit, she reached for her belly, only to find the roundness that had accompanied her for months now gone. Her entire body ached as if it had been taken apart and reassembled. As she shifted slightly, her gaze caught on the cascade of silver hair spilled across the bedside. There, Mo Xiuyao lay slumped over, clutching her hand in his sleep.

At her movement, Mo Xiuyao stirred awake almost instantly. Seeing her eyes open and fixed on him, drowsiness gave way to overwhelming joy. "A Li, you're awake..." Ye Li nodded, gently smoothing his disheveled locks. "How long have I been asleep? Where are the children?"

Mo Xiuyao glanced outside. "It's nearly dawn—you've slept almost a full day and night. The children..." A flicker of uncertainty crossed his eyes; he hadn't even seen them yet.

"Someone come in!"

Qingshuang and the others, who had been waiting outside, hurried in at the call. "Wang Ye, Wang Fei is awake?" Overjoyed at the sight of Ye Li awake, Qingshuang said, "This servant will fetch the warm congee prepared for Wang Fei." Mo Xiuyao stopped her. "Where are the children?"

Qingshuang smiled. "The young master and young mistress are sleeping in the outer chamber. This servant will ask the nursemaid to bring them in." With a quick curtsy, she turned and rushed out.Before long, Mama Lin and Mama Wei each carried in a swaddled bundle. Carefully placing the bundles on the empty space beside Ye Li's bed, they smiled and said, "Wang Fei, come see how adorable the Little Prince and Little Princess are." Ye Li looked down. Though she knew what newborns looked like, she couldn't help but feel slightly awkward. To her eyes, these two wrinkled, reddish little creatures didn't seem particularly attractive. Yet, since they were her own, watching the two little ones sleeping peacefully with their eyes closed filled her heart with a soft, cotton-like tenderness.

Gently touching the babies' rosy cheeks with her finger, Ye Li couldn't help but smile fondly.

Mama Lin said, "Wang Fei, the one in the red swaddle is the Little Princess, and the yellow one is the Little Prince. The Little Princess looks exactly like you did when you were a baby."

Ye Li twitched her lips—she certainly couldn't see any resemblance between this little dumpling and herself. Smiling, she turned to Mo Xiuyao and asked, "Xiu Yao, what do you think?" Mo Xiuyao hadn't been particularly interested in the two little bundles, but upon hearing Mama Lin's words, he leaned over to look. After studying them for a long time and then glancing at Ye Li's face, he finally nodded. "Indeed, they do resemble you. Our Little Princess will surely grow up to be as beautiful as A Li." In truth, he couldn't see the resemblance either, but it was a nice sentiment.

Having slept for a full day and night, Ye Li was now awake and feeling rather hungry. After finishing a bowl of carefully prepared meat porridge brought by Qingshuang, she urged Mo Xiuyao to go rest. He hadn't slept properly since Ye Li had gone into labor two days prior, and only now, seeing her safe and sound, did he finally relax. Once Ye Li finished her meal, he left to get some rest.

Ye Li, however, had slept too much and couldn't fall back asleep. So she placed the two little bundles, whose eyes hadn't even opened yet, on her bed and watched them. Seeing the two babies sound asleep with their eyes closed filled her heart with overwhelming tenderness. She leaned down and kissed their wrinkled little faces.

Just as dawn broke, Mo Xiaobao, having received news that Ye Li was awake, came scampering over. Without waiting for an announcement, he dashed into the bedroom. Ye Li looked up to see his little head peeking in from the outer room and couldn't help but laugh. "What are you looking at? Come in already."

"Is Father not here?" Mo Xiaobao glanced around the room, seemingly confirming Mo Xiuyao's absence before stepping inside. He trotted over to Ye Li and looked at the two babies lying side by side on the bed. "Mother, are you alright now?" Ye Li smiled softly and ruffled his hair. "Mother is fine. Come see your little sister and brother."

Mo Xiaobao climbed onto the bed and knelt beside the two little bundles, poking them curiously with his small finger. "Why do they look like wrinkly little monkeys? They're not cute at all."

Ye Li quickly caught his mischievous hand and chuckled. "In a few days, they'll turn into plump, fair little babies. You looked just like this when you were born too.""What?" Mo Xiaobao was puzzled, with a hint of disdain and disbelief. How could he have looked so wrinkled and ugly? His aunt had clearly told him he was born a plump, fair little darling. But... glancing again at his peacefully sleeping younger brother and sister, they weren’t that ugly after all. Mo Xiaobao nodded emphatically in his heart. Even if his siblings were a bit ugly, he would still dote on them and treat them very, very well—better than he treated Leng Xiaodai and Xu Zhirui!

"What are you thinking about?" Seeing Mo Xiaobao nodding and shaking his head with a thoughtful expression, Ye Li reached out to pat his little forehead.

Mo Xiaobao grinned. "Mother, Xiao Bao will take good care of my little brother and sister."

Ye Li smiled warmly. "Mother knows Xiao Bao will be a wonderful older brother."

When Ye Li had given birth to Mo Xiaobao, she hadn’t observed the traditional month-long postpartum confinement like most families. In her previous life, many women resumed their routines within a week after childbirth, and Westerners didn’t practice confinement at all. Naturally, Ye Li lacked the patience to stay bedridden for a full month—especially with the endless tasks piling up over the past few months. Even so, Second Madam Xu and the two matrons had insisted on keeping her in bed for half a month before allowing her to move freely.

At the end of May, Prince Ding’s Estate sent out invitations to nobles from neighboring countries and renowned figures, inviting them to attend Mr. Qingyun’s eightieth birthday celebration at the end of June. Along with the invitations came another piece of news: Princess Ding had given birth to twins in May—a boy and a girl—adding new members to the estate. News of Ye Li’s pregnancy had only circulated among Prince Ding’s generals and hadn’t been publicly announced. Though outsiders had wondered why the princess, who usually accompanied Prince Ding everywhere, hadn’t participated in the recent battle at Chu Jing, many assumed she had remained in the northwest to oversee affairs. Now that the news had spread, envy and jealousy toward Prince Ding surged. Not only had he just claimed the imperial cities of Western Liang and Great Chu, but his wife had also delivered a pair of twins—a dragon and phoenix pair—as if heaven had bestowed all its blessings upon Mo Xiuyao alone.

Among those who heard this news, none were angrier than Mo Jingli and Ren Qining.

Mo Jingli, of course, had always been at odds with Mo Xiuyao. Now, while the latter enjoyed marital bliss and a growing family, Mo Jingli couldn’t even locate his only son. How could he not be furious? In his rage, he couldn’t help but recall his deep-seated hatred for Mo Jingqi, taking it out once more on the seven- or eight-year-old emperor. The timid and weak young ruler was so terrified he nearly fell ill from distress.

But compared to Mo Jingli, Ren Qining was even more bitter and resentful. His sons, daughters, wives, and concubines had all been slaughtered by Mo Xiuyao—an annihilation akin to wiping out an entire family. On top of that, this had ignited factional strife within the already unstable Northern Border. How could Ren Qining not gnash his teeth in hatred for Mo Xiuyao? When he saw the vermilion invitation adorned with golden auspicious clouds, a surge of fury nearly made him spit blood.

"Mo Xiuyao! Mo Xiuyao!" In the study, Ren Qining’s subordinates watched his gnashing teeth and contorted expression with trepidation, too afraid to speak. After a long silence, as Ren Qining slowly regained his composure, one of them cautiously stepped forward and asked, "Young Master... shall we attend?"Ren Qining sneered, clutching the invitation in his hand tightly as if he were gripping Mo Xiuyao himself. "Go? Of course we’ll go. Not only will I attend, but so will Northern Rong, Nanzhao, and Western Liang. If we don’t, wouldn’t we be looked down upon?" A strategist was startled and asked worriedly, "Could it be that Mo Xiuyao is setting up a Hongmen Banquet this time?"

Ren Qining glanced at his subordinate and snorted lightly. "A Hongmen Banquet? No matter how capable Mo Xiuyao is, he doesn’t have the power to trap and kill so many people within Li Cheng. He merely wants to probe the thoughts of the rulers from various nations. Coincidentally, I also wish to meet Yelv Ye and Lei Zhenting."

Hearing this, the others finally relaxed. Soon, another issue was raised. "If Your Highness attends personally, you’ll likely need to bring a consort. But now..." It was indeed inappropriate for a ruler to visit another country without a female companion, especially since certain occasions required the irreplaceable presence of women. Particularly when Prince Ding's Estate had a Princess Ding who held real power—nobility attending the birthday banquet would undoubtedly bring their own consorts. The problem, however, was that all the women of the Northern Border royal family had been slaughtered, leaving not a single one alive. Now, the matter troubling Ren Qining was also the state of his harem.

Previously, after marrying the princess of a Northern Border tribe as his principal wife, Ren Qining had taken several secondary consorts, most of whom were women from the Central Plains. This naturally pleased his Central Plains ministers, who always considered themselves the orthodox descendants of the Central Plains. Though they had no choice but to rely on the Northern Border’s strength to restore their nation, they still hoped the next generation of emperors would be of pure Central Plains bloodline. Thus, when the queen and her legitimate children were killed, these Central Plains officials couldn’t deny feeling a hint of secret satisfaction. But when the princes and princesses born to the Central Plains consorts also died, they realized the severity of the situation.

Now, a kingdom could not go a day without its ruler, and the harem could not remain without a mistress. But the dispute over whether Ren Qining should marry a Central Plains woman or a Northern Border woman as his queen had reached a deadlock. Initially, when the Central Plains faction was weaker, the matter was simpler. But after the Northern Border seized vast territories from Great Chu, the Northern Territory Army rapidly expanded by recruiting many former Great Chu soldiers. This quickly broke the previous homogeneity of the army, which had consisted solely of Northern Border men, and the Central Plains faction gradually gained leverage to challenge decisions. The debate over whether to marry a Northern Border or Central Plains woman had now dragged on for over half a month. The two factions exchanged icy glares and sarcastic remarks whenever they met, almost coming to blows.

Ren Qining naturally leaned toward the Central Plains faction. As a man, he preferred the gentle and refined noblewomen of the Central Plains over the somewhat rough Northern Border women. But the Northern Border people were not fools. Ren Qining was already a Central Plains man—if he married another Central Plains woman as queen, wouldn’t the Northern Border soon adopt the Central Plains’ name? Where would that leave the Northern Border tribes? Naturally, they opposed it vehemently.The thought of this matter gave Ren Qining an especially bad headache. Originally, if they had successfully captured Chu Jing this time, he could have used the reputation of being the last descendant of the former imperial family to restore legitimacy, and these northerners would have become much less important. Unfortunately, due to Mo Xiuyao's interference, all his efforts had come to nothing. From now on, he would still have to rely on these northerners, and it would be impossible to shake them off or suppress them anytime soon. Not only was it impossible, but he would also have to flatter them even more. With a wave of his hand, Ren Qining cut off the ongoing discussions and said solemnly, "Go announce my decision later. Confer the title of queen to Helan of the Taji tribe."

"Your Highness!" the crowd exclaimed in unison. One of them stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, Princess Helan is willful and unruly—how can she be the queen of a nation?"

Ren Qining said impatiently, "Otherwise, can you find a more suitable candidate from the Northern Border? Stubborn and willful... but there are advantages to being stubborn and willful. At least she won’t have so many schemes to annoy people." His former wife, the Northern Border princess, had no fewer schemes and tactics than any man. The Northern Border did not impose as many restrictions on women as the Central Plains did. That princess had originally been groomed as the heir, but unfortunately, she fell in love with Ren Qining at first sight and willingly became a queen in the harem instead of the formidable leader of the most powerful tribe in the Northern Border. Even so, her constant meddling in many of Ren Qining’s affairs had long since worn his patience thin. If Mo Xiuyao hadn’t struck so ruthlessly, Ren Qining might have actually wanted to thank him properly this time.

"In addition, confer the titles of consorts to the eldest daughter of Minister Wang and the third daughter of Minister Zhang."

With this, everyone was satisfied. When it came to harem intrigue, how could the unruly women of the Northern Border possibly compete with the noblewomen of the Central Plains?