Having reached this point, if Mo Suiyun still couldn't grasp Mo Xiaobao's implication, he might as well abdicate immediately. Since he hadn't placed much hope in the honey trap's effectiveness to begin with, Mo Suiyun, though somewhat displeased, didn't fly into a rage. He quickly calmed down and nodded indifferently, "So that's how it is. I truly envy Prince Ding's carefree nature."
These words were undoubtedly sincere. Few in this world could act without any constraints. Even rulers like them, who held power over nations, were often bound by circumstances and strength. Only foolish monarchs could do as they pleased. But Mo Xiaobao was different. He possessed the natural advantages left by Mo Xiuyao. Though still young and perhaps not yet able to truly command respect, he had an intellect surpassing most and the full support of the Xu Family. Thus, he could afford to be willful.
In response to Mo Suiyun's slightly envious praise, Mo Xiaobao merely rubbed his nose and smiled, "I, too, envy Brother Suiyun for finding such a delightful Empress so quickly. May Brother Suiyun and Miss Qian grow old together, never parting."
Mo Suiyun fell silent. For some reason, Mo Xiaobao's well-wishes sounded more like a curse to his ears.
Mo Suiyun soon left with Princess Lin'an. As an emperor—and one about to marry—he certainly didn't have the luxury of idling about like Mo Xiaobao.
Qin Lie, holding Mo Yufeng, sat down nearby and glared coldly at Mo Xiaobao. "So, you came to Huayue Tower this early just to remove one of Mo Suiyun's spies and taunt him a bit?"
Mo Xiaobao sprawled lazily in his chair. "How could I be so bored? I really came for tea. Hua Xiren, Princess Lin'an, and Mo Suiyun were just incidental."
As if I'd believe that!
"Does Mo Suiyun want to marry Princess Lin'an to you?" Qin Lie asked curiously. In truth, including Leng Junhan and Xu Zhirui, they all thought those who kept trying to push beautiful women toward Mo Xiaobao were out of their minds. No matter how stunning, any woman sent his way would only end up tormented. The exquisite spies painstakingly trained by various nations might have been useful elsewhere, but before Mo Xiaobao, they served no purpose other than to be toyed with to death.
"Ah, Brother Suiyun is concerned about my marital prospects. But I can't accept his kindness—how embarrassing." Qin Lie, clearly accustomed to his manner, asked, "So what do you plan to do?"
Mo Xiaobao tilted his head thoughtfully. "Since Brother Suiyun cares so much about me, I should return the favor, right?"
He definitely doesn't want your concern.
"Are you planning to send him a beauty?" Qin Lie asked. Mo Xiaobao nodded cheerfully. "I've even picked the candidate."
"Prince Ding works fast. Who did you choose?" Qin Lie wondered.
"Princess Lin'an?""..." Mo Xiaobao, can you be any more outrageous? While stealing someone's wife, you're also scheming against their cousins. Mo Suiyun, just how much debt did you owe Mo Xiaobao in your past life that remains unpaid?
In the following days, Mo Xiaobao uncharacteristically quieted down. Each day, he simply wandered around Nanjing with his younger brother in tow. Even the Inner Court Guards who had been keeping a close watch on them gradually let their guard down.
At the inn, Mo Xiaobao leisurely fed his brother snacks. Xu Zhirui was out visiting renowned Confucian scholars in Jiangnan and hadn't returned yet, while Qin Lie continued his usual role as a guard. The only downside was Leng Junhan's increasingly grim expression day by day.
"Ahhh! Mo Xiaobao, I can't take it anymore!" One day, Leng Junhan finally couldn't hold back and burst into Mo Xiaobao's room, grabbing the collar of the man who was calmly reading a book and shaking him violently.
"What's wrong?" Mo Xiaobao elegantly raised his hand to swat away Leng Junhan's pale claws, asking leisurely.
The young master Leng's still somewhat boyishly handsome face was deathly pale as he looked at Mo Xiaobao with a hint of grievance. "That Miss Qian... she wants me to elope with her."
Pfft!
Qin Lie, sitting nearby, spat out his tea in shock. Coughing violently, he pointed at Leng Junhan, unable to speak. With his fair and delicate appearance, Leng Junhan didn't possess even half the charm to attract girls compared to Mo Suiyun. Could it be that Miss Qian was overflowing with maternal instincts? To want to elope after just a few days.
Mo Xiaobao, however, didn't seem surprised at all. Smiling, he said, "So it seems the future Empress of Southern Chu isn't particularly steadfast. Mo Suiyun's taste really needs improvement."
Leng Junhan couldn't help but stomp his feet. "What should I do?" he cried, stretching out both hands toward Mo Xiaobao with a look that said, "If you dare say you don't know, I'll strangle you." Mo Xiaobao tilted his head in thought before replying, "Go tell her you can't elope with her."
"Why?" Leng Junhan asked. He had always thought Mo Xiaobao wanted to embarrass Mo Suiyun at the wedding by having no bride.
Mo Xiaobao looked at him in surprise. "Do you actually want to marry her? If that's the case, it's not impossible..."
"Of course not!" Leng Junhan immediately shouted. He didn't want to marry any woman other than Xinxin!
"Then that settles it," Mo Xiaobao said contentedly. "Tell her that all the land under heaven belongs to the king, and if you run away with her, you'll implicate both the Qian family and your own family. Say that you're fated to be apart and that you'll never meet again in this lifetime."
Initially, Leng Junhan thought Mo Xiaobao's idea was both wicked and shameless, but upon hearing "never meet again in this lifetime," his eyes lit up. He nodded solemnly and said, "I understand. I'll act my part well!" Never seeing that gullible Miss Qian again would be wonderful—he had no desire to encounter her ever again.
Watching Leng Junhan's excited expression, Mo Xiaobao secretly smirked to himself: What an easy-to-fool idiot. Did you really think I sent you to seduce Miss Qian just for fun? How could you never see her again?
And so, Mo Xiaobao continued down his path of cunning, malicious, unscrupulous, deceitful, and shameless behavior. Mo Xiaobao, have you truly never heard the saying that good deeds bring good rewards and evil deeds bring retribution—it's just a matter of time?"Wang Ye, Prince Zhennan of Xiling has arrived," a shadow guard announced respectfully outside the door.
"Prince Zhennan of Xiling?" Mo Xiaobao blinked. Qin Lie said calmly, "Lei Tengfeng, Prince Zhennan of Xiling, currently forty years old. The regent of Western Liang, who has... a blood feud with you over his father's death. Surely you haven't forgotten?"
Mo Xiaobao feigned shock, "How could I possibly have a blood feud with Prince Zhennan of Xiling over his father's death?"
Qin Lie replied impassively, "Five years ago, the previous Prince Ding—your father—killed Lei Tengfeng's father. As the saying goes... the sins of the father are to be laid upon the children!" Mo Xiaobao fell silent. He absolutely wouldn't admit to Qin Lie that he had genuinely forgotten about this. A blood feud... seemed like such a nuisance. Couldn't everyone just coexist peacefully?
Mo Xiaobao, with your temperament, even someone who once saved your life would eventually want to kill you—let alone someone with a blood feud against you.
"Wang Ye, Prince Zhennan of Xiling is here to visit," the guard outside repeated after waiting in vain for Mo Xiaobao's response. With a resigned sigh, Mo Xiaobao said, "Please invite Prince Zhennan in."
Upon entering the room, Lei Tengfeng saw a strikingly handsome youth in dark brocade robes lounging lazily on a daybed, with a delicate, porcelain-like child of about five or six in white robes sprawled on top of him. At a glance, Lei Tengfeng recognized them as Mo Yuchen—the true power behind Prince Ding's Estate—and Mo Yufeng, the six-year-old second son of Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li.
Mo Xiuyao's sudden abdication of the Prince Ding title and departure with his Wang Fei had shocked many across the realm, and Lei Tengfeng was no exception. After the initial astonishment, he felt an indescribable mix of admiration and an overwhelming sense of futility and despair. Mo Xiuyao—that man had once stood at the pinnacle of glory, only to fall into the dust, then rise again with astonishing speed to dominate the world, only to retreat unexpectedly at the height of his fame. Such effortless freedom and detachment only highlighted the insignificance of those like himself, still struggling in the mundane world.
The Zhennan Wang and Prince Ding's Estate shared a blood feud. Once, Lei Tengfeng had vowed to endure hardship and one day avenge his father, restoring Western Liang's glory. But now, faced with this languid, exquisitely noble youth, he felt nothing but absurdity and self-mockery. A man past forty, seeking vengeance against a fifteen-year-old boy for his father's death?
Not only was it laughable, but Lei Tengfeng also felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, as if all his years of painstaking effort had been nothing but a futile joke.
Mo Xiaobao studied Lei Tengfeng for a long moment before suddenly sitting up with a grin. "Prince Zhennan of Xiling, I greet you with respect."
Lei Tengfeng stiffened, quickly regaining his composure. He had actually lost focus in front of this boy? His original intention had merely been to assess the capabilities of Mo Xiuyao's successor.
"Prince Ding, I greet you with respect. I apologize for the intrusion."
Mo Xiaobao settled Mo Yufeng onto his lap and smiled. "You flatter me, Prince Zhennan. I was just feeling rather bored. I'm deeply touched that you came to visit me so soon after arriving in Nanjing."Lei Tengfeng's eyes darkened slightly as he smiled faintly, "I heard Prince Ding arrived a few days earlier. This is my first time visiting Nanjing in my life. I was just about to ask Prince Ding for recommendations on places to explore." Having shouldered the responsibility of Western Liang alone for several years, Lei Tengfeng now carried more of a ruler's dignity and grace than when Lei Zhenting was still alive.
Mo Xiaobao clapped his hands cheerfully and laughed, "That's perfect! I was just thinking of gathering a few more people to tour this exquisite Jiangnan region."
On his very first day in Nanjing, Prince Zhennan of Xiling paid a visit to Prince Ding, Mo Yuchen, and they secluded themselves in a room for a full half-hour of private discussion. Naturally, this news reached Mo Suiyun in the palace at the earliest opportunity.
Hearing this, Mo Suiyun's composed and handsome face darkened slightly. With a low voice, he dismissed the guard who had come to report and lowered his gaze, silently calculating in his heart.
At the inn, the four individuals who had been going about their separate business these days gathered together for a rare meeting. Xu Zhirui frowned slightly and asked, "What exactly did you discuss with Prince Zhennan of Xiling?" Qin Lie, sitting beside him, twitched his lips but remained silent. The young Mo Yufeng excitedly raised his small hand and said, "I know! Big brother said the steamed buns and tofu pudding in Nanjing are delicious! That uncle said they should go eat together another day... Big brother said the girls at Huayue Tower are very pretty, and that uncle said he has a few even prettier ones in his estate that he could give to big brother. Big brother said..."
Young Mo Yufeng's memory was remarkably sharp, effortlessly rattling off a dozen instances of "big brother said" without needing to recall. It was evident that Prince Ding and Prince Zhennan of Xiling's so-called secret discussion had been entirely frivolous from start to finish, with not a single serious matter addressed.
Xu Zhirui rubbed his temples with a headache, "You want Mo Suiyun to misunderstand? What's the point of this?" If outsiders were told that Mo Xiaobao and Lei Tengfeng had been discussing such trivialities, no one would believe it.
Mo Xiaobao looked at Xu Zhirui innocently, "Little brother Zhirui, not everything needs to have a purpose to be worth doing. It can just be fun. I just found Lei Tengfeng agreeable and chatted a bit more with him."
Xu Zhirui wasn't fooled, sneering, "Lei Tengfeng's personal visit this time likely means he intends to secretly ally with Mo Suiyun. Your attempt to drive a wedge between them probably won't work." Mo Suiyun wasn't a fool like Mo Jingli and Mo Jingqi from years past. He knew full well that Western Liang and Prince Ding's Estate could never form an alliance. Aside from the blood feud between Lei Tengfeng and Prince Ding's Estate, if Prince Ding's Estate showed even the slightest ambition to unify the realm, Western Liang would be their first enemy—due to geographical reasons, Southern Chu, separated by the Cloud Ripple River, would actually come second. With Prince Ding's Estate at the height of its power, if Lei Tengfeng wanted to oppose them, his only option was to ally with Mo Suiyun.
Mo Xiaobao blinked, "I know that. I just don't like Mo Suiyun and wanted to annoy him for a bit. Is that not allowed? Anyway, I was bored, and chatting with Lei Tengfeng didn't take much effort. Besides, Lei Tengfeng came to me first, didn't he?" He couldn't very well turn him away at the door.
Xu Zhirui stroked his nose, pondered for a moment, then nodded in understanding, "I see. Lei Tengfeng wanted to create the illusion of closeness between Western Liang and Prince Ding's Estate to pressure Mo Suiyun and, incidentally, raise his own bargaining power."If Western Liang were to be won over by Prince Ding's Estate, then Southern Chu would truly be left isolated and helpless. Although they all knew that Prince Ding's Estate could never actually sway Western Liang. Mo Xiaobao nodded and said, "Exactly. Lei Tengfeng wanted to scheme against Mo Suiyun, and since I was bored, I just went along with it."
"If Western Liang and Southern Chu successfully form an alliance, their union will only grow stronger, which won’t benefit us either," Qin Lie said solemnly.
Mo Xiaobao sighed. "Who told our dad to offend so many people? Our Prince Ding's Estate has terrible relations. Western Liang and Southern Chu are destined to ally—Mo Suiyun and Lei Tengfeng are no fools."
Precisely because these two were no fools, driving a wedge between their alliance would be as difficult as trying to kill them both. But it didn’t matter. This world… only becomes more interesting when there are challenges, doesn’t it? One day… this realm would surely be in his grasp!
Mo Xiaobao gazed at the sky outside the window, his eyes filled with absolute confidence and the ambition to look down upon the world.
–––––– Author’s Note ––––––
Ahh, another chapter, my dears. Sorry for the long wait. Really, really sorry. Xiao Bao’s Mischief Chronicles are almost done too. After this side story wraps up, the side stories will probably take a break for a while. Honestly, Feng doesn’t like not knowing when updates will come either. When there’s no update, I feel so guilty I don’t even dare to show my face. There should still be one more CP story with Xiao Bao and the twin buns. To be honest, Feng feels like this is almost equivalent to starting a new story, so it’ll take time to plan. Plus, the new story is currently in the middle of daily 10k-word updates, so… time is precious~
P.S.: Please don’t throw bricks~ I won’t reply to comments, I… don’t dare~ whimpers and floats away
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