Chapter 1700: Capturing Jiang Kuanyu

 Chapter 1699: Jiang Kuanyu Finds Shu Yu

 Chapter 254.1: Rules Are Dead, But People Can Be Too (Part 1)

Li Yi was shocked and terrified.

How could it be Wei Shuyi?!

And Yu Zai?!

He instinctively glanced at Wei Shuyi’s sides, yet saw no familiar faces… Where had all his men gone?

The answer was not hard to guess, but Li Yi could not accept it. He murmured in panic, “Impossible… how could this be!”

How had the imperial envoy bypassed his line of sight and reached the place where Yu Zai and the eighty-thousand-strong army were stationed?

That army was under Yu Zai’s control; all key positions were manned by his men. How could a mere civil official like Wei Shuyi, in such a short time, quietly bring those eighty thousand soldiers under control?

He could not figure it out, and there seemed to be no way to imagine it—but the fact was right in front of him.

The young man rode forward and looked down at the kneeling, bloodied, disheveled man in ordinary military attire. He was slightly surprised and asked, “…Li Yi?”

With this appearance, it was hard to recognize him.

Chang Suining nodded. “It’s him.”

Wei Shuyi followed the sound of her voice and was somewhat surprised as well. “Miss Chang?”

Even though he had seen her in male attire many times before, seeing her now in military uniform still caught him off guard.

Chang Suining nodded again. “It is me.”

Wei Shuyi then dismounted.

His official robes were spotless, untouched by dust, and his face retained the clarity and refinement of spring mountains. At a glance, he seemed the type born for office: to write reports, appreciate poetry, or enjoy flowers—but not to appear amid the crude, steaming, and blood-soaked chaos of a battlefield.

Yet, here he was.

Seeing him approach, Chang Suining raised a hand. “Minister Wei.”

“It has been a long time, Miss Chang,” Wei Shuyi said, a faint smile in his clear eyes as he looked at her. Then, he glanced at Li Yi. “I never expected that when we met again, it would be under such circumstances.”

But this was no time for pleasantries.

“I have been sent by imperial decree to apprehend the rebel Li Yi,” he said. “You have already captured him through your efforts. I shall report your merits to the Holy Emperor. Therefore, please hand him over to me, Miss Chang.”

Those holding Li Yi did not immediately release him, instead looking to Chang Suining for permission.

Even Deputy General Jin and others instinctively looked to her, waiting for her to speak.

Wei Shuyi did not mind. His eyes, always faintly smiling, also turned to her. He realized she now commanded the loyalty of the people.

Apparently, the reports he had heard about her were true.

This loyalty was earned through her own abilities.

Chang Suining paused briefly before speaking: “I can hand him over to you, Minister Wei, but I need to kill him first.”

Wei Shuyi was slightly stunned. Did she mean to hand him a corpse?

“You cannot kill me!” Li Yi immediately changed his expression and quickly looked at Wei Shuyi. “I have surrendered! I know my mistake! My father, Li Tong, Prince of Huainan, has contributed so much to the court! You cannot execute me without authority! I must return to the capital to face the Holy Emperor… I will confess my crimes in person!”

He hurriedly added, “Also, I know Xu Zhengye’s secrets… I will report them personally to the Holy Emperor once I return!”

Chang Suining found it amusing. This man was not skilled in anything else, but he knew exactly how to try to save his life.

She looked at Li Yi and asked Wei Shuyi, “Does Minister Wei believe him?”

Wei Shuyi remained noncommittal, as if wanting to say something but holding back.

Still, Chang Suining said, “I must kill him.”

Wei Shuyi asked, “What do you mean by ‘must’?”

“Previously, my father should have led one hundred thousand troops to support Hezhou. After he left camp, Li Yi unilaterally altered the route of the remaining eighty thousand soldiers. Using the excuse that a single general could not watch Hezhou fall, he intended to besiege the city—”

“Though he held a mighty army, he acted selfishly, disregarding the lives of Hezhou’s citizens, letting countless innocents die—”

“To seize command, he attempted to assassinate He Wei through deceit. Generals can die on the battlefield, face danger, or fall to cunning tactics; this is understandable. But to die at the hands of such a foolishly malicious person is unacceptable in my eyes.”

Wei Shuyi looked at the eyes filled with indignation for He Wei.

 Chapter 253.2

The girl knelt atop his back, and with a sharp “crack”, she dislocated his right arm!

Li Yi screamed in agony, the sound echoing throughout the dense forest.

Struggling, he barely lifted his head before she struck his already-injured jaw with her elbow. His chin twisted and dislocated, blood spilling from his mouth.

A heavy blow to the jaw disorients anyone, and Li Yi’s mind swirled with pain. One thought alone dominated his brain—“She said… ‘Your kung fu isn’t great, be careful’?!”

Who exactly should have been careful?!

The advisor watching shivered from head to toe.

What was their commander thinking?

Why choose to kidnap her of all people?!

It was as if he had picked a divine sword from a pile of scrap metal to challenge himself, or selected the single path out of a hundred that led straight to the gates of the Underworld!

He had gone and done himself in!

The advisor could only think, “It’s over,” though he realized that the girl had deliberately lured Li Yi out, drawing him into a trap… clever, if ruthless.

Earlier, as Li Yi had dashed forward, Chang Suining had already noted the source of the commotion. Now, having subdued Li Yi, her gaze swept to where the advisor had hidden.

Meeting that look, the advisor panicked, abandoned any thought of saving Li Yi, and scrambled to flee.

Chang Suining didn’t even chase him, simply pulling Li Yi up from the ground.

Li Yi struggled, spitting blood, his words garbled: “You…”

Chang Suining looked at him with amusement: “Do I look easy to bully?”

All of his courage had been expended in his reckless attempt to ambush her.

Ah Dian, true to his word, returned quickly with five or six men. Seeing Li Yi captured, he was shocked—the hide-and-seek had ended far too quickly!

Chang Suining pointed in another direction: “There’s one more.”

Ah Dian, round-headed and eager like a hunting dog, sprinted off to pursue.

Chang Suining led Li Yi out of the forest.

Ah Dian soon returned with the advisor, carrying him out.

Over half of Li Yi’s hundred-man force had already fallen. Now, seeing their commander captured, the rest either fled or surrendered.

Li Yi knelt on the ground, held by two of her men. Chang Suining approached with a short blade in hand.

Li Yi’s face was pale; he shook his head at her.

“I ask, you answer. Understood?” she said.

“…Yes!” Li Yi quickly nodded. “Ask! I’ll tell everything!”

“Why did you defect to Xu Zhengye? Who guided you?”

“…Long ago, Xu Zhengye sent someone to deliver a letter to me!” Li Yi said, suddenly looking at the advisor: “Later… later it was they who persuaded me to cooperate with Xu Zhengye, to trap General Chang in Hezhou. They made me do it!”

Chang Suining glanced at the advisor, then asked: “How did you learn of the Empress’s plan to replace the commander in advance?”

Li Yi had clearly prepared for the change of command, softening Old Chang and plotting to kill He Wei.

“Someone delivered a letter… informing me!” Li Yi poured everything out at once. “They also told me who the Saint had planted as spies around me… to eliminate them early!”

“That person…” Chang Suining narrowed her eyes slightly, “who was it?”

“I don’t know!” Li Yi shook his head frantically, tears streaming: “I really don’t know!”

Chang Suining studied him. “You trusted this person blindly without knowing who they were? Weren’t you afraid of being manipulated?”

“I had no choice!” Li Yi’s eyes glinted with hate. “…The Saint betrayed me after Father died, seizing military power for herself!”

He had already made tactical mistakes—he would surely face severe punishment!

He had endured enough being bullied all his life!

“I only know this much… what happened with General Chang was my own foolishness, believing their instigations. I already know my fault. Don’t kill me, I beg you, don’t kill me!” he pleaded.

A commander of an army begging a young girl—it looked pitiful, almost laughable.

Chang Suining looked at his pitiable form with a cold smile.

Once, she too had felt sorry for Li Yi, bullied by princes; she had even helped him as a child.

But not all pitiful people grow soft-hearted. Some become both pitiable and hateful wrongdoers.

If he hadn’t been restrained, Li Yi might have even kowtowed for mercy.

Chang Suining drew her short blade.

Li Yi froze, mouth slightly open, consumed by fear.

Then suddenly, his expression changed. He looked up sharply to the front.

He heard the sound of hooves!

This direction… it couldn’t be Chang Kuo’s troops—it had to be the route from which Yu Zai’s forces were arriving!

Yu Zai had arrived?!

“You can’t kill me now—my reinforcements are here!” His lips trembled, voice wavering. “Otherwise, they won’t forgive you!”

Reinforcements?

Chang Suining turned to look.

Soon, her own reinforcements arrived from behind—Chang Ren and Lady Jicai with hundreds of cavalry.

Ahead, the approaching army was vast. A direct confrontation would overwhelm her few hundred men.

But that didn’t matter—Li Yi was in her hands.

Once Old Chang stabilized the situation there, he would arrive with the main force.

She needed to see if the approaching troops were indeed Li Yi’s reinforcements.

Scouts ahead reported the discovery to their commander.

Soon, the vanguard appeared within Chang Suining’s line of sight.

Their uniforms matched Li Yi’s army—the eight ten-thousand troops previously dispatched to Yangzhou.

Li Yi’s eyes blazed with joy, scanning for Yu Zai among the approaching soldiers.

Yet the person he sought did not appear.

Until one rider emerged from the army, riding slowly, dressed in official scholar’s robes.

The youth was fair-skinned and strikingly handsome.

Li Yi, hope rising, froze in disbelief: “Wei… Wei Shuyi?!”

 Chapter 886: A Slap Leads to a Grudge (Part 4)  

Twenty slaps might not seem like much, but they could easily ruin a face. If the slap were hard enough, it was possible to knock out all the teeth.  

Fan Meijiao felt her dignity shattered for the sake of a maid, and she was boiling with anger. Seeing the green-clad maid still daring to plead, the fury in her heart surged, and she yanked her sleeve back, pointing to a burly old woman and shouting, "You, slap her!"  

"Yes, Madam!" The old woman responded loudly, stepping forward and delivering a sharp slap to the green-clad maid. The force sent the maid stumbling and falling to the ground.  

"Ah—" The green-clad maid screamed, her voice eerie and chilling.  

It wasn’t surprising that the old woman hit hard; after all, the green-clad maid, relying on her higher rank and Fan Meijiao's favor, had always been harsh toward the lower-ranking servants. She had bullied them a lot in the past, so when she finally found an opportunity, she was not about to let it slip.  

The old woman, who had served Fan Meijiao for many years, understood her temperament. Given the humiliation the green-clad maid had caused, it was only natural for the maid to be punished severely when they returned home. There would be no room for mercy. The old woman slapped the maid without hesitation.  

The sound of the slap echoed through the hall, and after all twenty slaps had landed, the green-clad maid lay on the ground, spitting blood and unconscious. Her once delicate face was now swollen like a pig's head, so badly disfigured that even her parents wouldn’t recognize her.  

Mo Yan hadn’t expected the old woman to be so ruthless, but she felt no sympathy for the green-clad maid.  

Fan Meijiao, having been thoroughly humiliated, was furious at Mo Yan but dared not provoke her further. Listening to the whispers around her, she felt completely embarrassed. She shot Mo Yan a hateful glare before storming out of the teahouse, dragging her maids with her as she rushed back to Zhao Manor to complain, ignoring the upcoming event of Mo Qingze's parade altogether.  

---

"Big Sister, that woman must hold a grudge against you now. What will we do if she seeks revenge?"  

In the private room, Xin'er looked at her calm sister, sipping tea, with a worried expression.  

Mo Yan put down her tea cup and ruffled Xin'er's head, smiling, "If I were afraid of revenge, I wouldn't have done it! You’re just a little girl, don’t worry so much."  

"But..." Xin'er was about to say more when a lively sound of drums and gongs reached their ears. She immediately forgot what she was going to say and hurriedly joined her younger siblings by the window to look outside.  

Mo Yan shook her head and smiled, then walked to another window and released Mao Mao from her space. While the younger ones weren’t paying attention, she let Mao Mao fly out quietly.  

"Look, that’s Father! The one riding in front is Father!" Zhen'er shouted happily, her small hands dancing in excitement.  

"Yes, I see! Yifu's red robe looks so nice!" Sheng'er said, her dark eyes sparkling with admiration as she gazed at the approaching figure of her foster father.  

Zhen'er proudly said, "Of course! Our father is majestic and handsome, the best-looking one! I’ll be like him when I grow up. I’ll take the highest exam and wear a red robe, parading through the streets. I’ll look even better than Father!"  

"Stop being so vain!" Xin'er couldn’t help but tease her brother. "Even if you look better than Father, can you be as smart and pass the highest exam?"  

Zhen'er puffed up his cheeks in anger, "Hmph, don’t underestimate me! I’ll definitely pass the highest exam and show you!"  

Xin'er smiled but didn’t respond, turning back to watch their father instead. However, her dismissive expression seemed to spur Zhen'er on even more.  

The little boy, watching his father galloping on horseback, surrounded by admiration, clenched his small fist and vowed to study hard. He wasn’t just going to pass the exam—he was going to surpass his father, earning the title of top scholar.  

Meanwhile, the streets were filled with spectators, and many young women, seeing the new scholar, were stunned by how handsome he was, even more so than any man they had ever seen. Some bolder ones even threw their handkerchiefs or purse from their sleeves toward the new scholar.  

Who could tell who threw what in such a crowd?  

When Mo Qingze was hit by the first purse, he was momentarily stunned. As more handkerchiefs and purses kept coming at him, he finally realized what was happening and quickly turned his body to avoid them. Getting hit in the face wouldn’t look good.  

Behind him, the second and third place scholars were also affected. The elderly second-place scholar was hit with a fragrant handkerchief in the face, causing him to mutter about the decline of the world. The third-place scholar, about Mo Qingze’s age, also looked displeased—not because the purse hit him on the forehead, but because the one riding at the front, enjoying all the attention, wasn’t him.  

"Father, Father, over here! We’re here!"  

As Mo Qingze passed the teahouse, he heard familiar voices. He looked up and immediately saw his little ones leaning out of the window, smiling with fondness. Knowing that they couldn’t hear him, he raised his hand and waved to show them he had seen them.  

"Ah—Father saw us! Father saw us!" The little ones cheered, their small hands waving even more enthusiastically.  

It wasn’t until Mo Qingze was far in the distance, his figure fading, that the children reluctantly withdrew their gazes. They picked up their tea and drank slowly, soothing their dry throats.  

That evening, there would be a grand banquet at the palace, and Mo Qingze wouldn’t be able to leave until late. Mo Yan and the others weren’t in a rush to head home. After spending some time in the teahouse, they decided to go out for a stroll.  

After a while, the little ones complained that the sun was too strong, so Mo Yan decided to take them to Liu’s house to visit a friend. However, she didn’t expect the Liu family to be surrounded by the Du family at that very moment...   

[End of Chapter]

 Chapter 885: A Slap Leads to a Grudge (Part 3)  

If it weren’t for the fear of being accused of bullying others and damaging her father’s reputation, Mo Yan would have already dealt with this arrogant woman.  

Sure enough, as soon as Mo Yan finished speaking, the surrounding crowd began to murmur:  

"The County Princess is truly the gracious County Princess appointed by the emperor, so generous and magnanimous! But this maid really should be punished, or next time, if someone less forgiving encounters such behavior, this lady might not be so lucky."  

"Still, I don’t think the lady is willing, just look at how fierce her gaze is, she must be hating the County Princess deep inside!"  

"Hmph, ungrateful! Just because they have a little power, they think they can bully others. Fortunately, it’s the County Princess; if it were anyone else, who knows how she’d be tortured!"  

"..."  

Listening to the surrounding discussions, Fan Meijiao was furious. She didn’t think she had done anything wrong, and she wasn’t willing to punish her personal maid for slapping her in the face. Hmph, it’s all this woman’s fault! If she hadn’t insisted on making trouble, she wouldn’t have been humiliated like this.  

Just wait! That bitch will pay for this in the future!  

Fan Meijiao’s heart was filled with hatred, and her face betrayed it. The smile she had so carefully faked earlier completely disappeared as she glared at Mo Yan and gritted her teeth, asking, "Why are you bothering with a maid, Your Highness? When I return home, I’ll teach her a good lesson."  

"So, Madam is unwilling to punish this maid?" Mo Yan, far from being angry, looked at Fan Meijiao with a touched expression and said, "I didn’t expect you to care so much for this maid, it truly shows how deep the bond is between mistress and servant. It must be even stronger than the bond between sisters! I’m really moved."  

In noble families, there was never a close bond between a lady and her maid. If someone were to praise it like this, it wasn’t a compliment about the lady’s kindness; it was mocking her for not acting like a proper lady and mingling with lowly servants. This lowering of one’s status would only invite scorn and cause people to look down on her.  

Mo Yan didn’t care about status, but she said this on purpose to irritate Fan Meijiao. If she cared about face so much, then she should lose all her dignity!  

Sure enough, Fan Meijiao was trembling with anger, her finger shaking as she pointed at Mo Yan, hissing, "You... You shut up!"  

Fan Meijiao came from a merchant family. Although her family had plenty of money, her status was always something she felt ashamed of. Raised in the Zhao family, she had been doted on by the old matriarch, eating well, dressing well, and being pampered—she was even treated better than the legitimate daughters of the Zhao family.  

Despite her attempts to pass herself off as a Zhao family lady, she still carried a deep sense of inferiority about her merchant background and was extremely sensitive about her status. When Mo Yan publicly humiliated her, it hit a raw nerve, and she couldn’t help but shout at Mo Yan.  

Seeing the finger almost poking her nose, Mo Yan’s smile faded, and an air of authority surrounded her, making it clear that she was not to be trifled with: "If Madam continues to speak ill of me, don’t blame me for charging you with disrespecting your superior."  

Fan Meijiao suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing that the person before her was a high-ranking County Princess, someone she could not easily provoke. She wasn’t someone a mere merchant’s daughter could challenge!  

Realizing this, Fan Meijiao’s face turned ugly, but her defiance remained as she unwillingly said, "Then what do you want?"  

Mo Yan smiled faintly and pointed to the trembling maid in green hiding behind her, "Since this mouth caused trouble for Madam, let her be slapped twenty times!"  

Slapped twenty times?  

The maid in green was terrified, shaking uncontrollably, her eyes filled with dread. She grabbed onto Fan Meijiao’s sleeve, pleading, "Miss, please, please save me! I’ll never do it again, I swear!"  

[End of Chapter]   

 Chapter 1698: Taking Control of the Black Market