Return to Li City Twin Towns

but he had set up many layers of defense in this courtyard; how did four people manage to enter silentlyLady Consort, now... dark one glanced at his unreliable brother and stepped forward.Ye Li stood...326. Returning to Li City, Twin Birth

In the capital of Chu, the recently arrived army of Mo had taken over from the exhausted guards and reoccupied the city walls. The northern troops could only temporarily cease their advances due to seeing the black banners and soldiers on the walls.

Mosixiao led everyone into the imperial palace of Chu. Gazing at this still magnificent but slightly desolate royal city under a thin layer of snow, Mo Xiuxiao's indifferent eyes couldn't help revealing a faint sense of sorrow, though it was hard to decipher what he felt. As soon as they entered the palace, Mosiaoyun greeted them with Princess Zhenning. Seeing Mo Xiuxiao, she respectfully bowed and said, "I greet Uncle Dingwang."

Mosixiao gave Mosiaoyun a cold glance. He naturally didn't have any good feelings towards him, being the son of Emperor Jingqi and Consort Li. However, this Mosiaoyun seemed quite different from his father. Frowning, he asked, "Where is the Grand Princess"

Mosiaoyun bowed and replied, "The Grand Princess passed away two days ago. But she was concerned about affecting the morale of the defending soldiers, so she ordered us to keep it secret. The Grand Princess's coffin remains in the palace at present, and Zhaoyang has been keeping vigil."

Mosixiao nodded and first went to pay his respects to the Grand Princess. She was older than Duke Hua by two years and had lived a relatively peaceful life free from illness before her death.

After paying his respects at the palace where the Grand Princess's coffin was temporarily placed, Mosixiao met with Zhaoyang. Wearing plain clothes, without any makeup, Zhaoyang looked tired and haggard. Looking at Mosixiao gratefully, she said, "At first, I thought you wouldn't make it in time, and the capital of Chu would fall into the hands of the north. Fortunately..."

Mosixiao briefly recounted the battles that had taken place within the city, including the death of Duke Hua. After hearing this, Zhaoyang's eyes reddened as she let out a long sigh.

The small hall fell silent for a moment before Zhaoyang asked, "What are you going to do with those two children"

Mosixiao raised an eyebrow and looked at her. Sighing, Zhaoyang said, "I didn't like them originally either; what good can come of someone named Liu or a family that bred such a child But over these days, I've noticed they are quite different from their parents. If possible... give them a chance to live. I know you hate the Chu royal family... I used to as well..."

Mosixiao lowered his head, pondering for a moment before saying, "Rest assured, if they behave themselves, I won't harm them." Zhaoyang was taken aback by his somewhat cold words but nodded, "Thank you."

It seemed like not much time had passed since their last meeting yet there wasn't much to say. The atmosphere in the small hall made both of them uncomfortable and soon Mosixiao got up to leave.

Zhaoyang sighed helplessly as she watched him go. She knew where this sense of estrangement came from; now, while the palace still bore the name Mo, it was no longer what it used to be. And although she hated it, she remained a princess of Chu.

With the army's presence, the city quickly returned to its usual bustle despite the recent bloodshed and chaos. People buried their dead and cleaned up their streets, restoring life to the city.

Mosixiao ordered posthumous titles for fallen soldiers and restored governance in Chu's capital. Although there were still hundreds of thousands of northern troops surrounding the city, people’s lives began to return to normal. With tens of thousands of Mo army and Chu officers protecting them, civilians no longer worried about the enemy.

Two months later, Longxing King Mosiaoyun announced that the Mo army and Dingwang had saved their city, so it was now under the command of Dingwang and not part of Chu. This announcement made many people secretly fume but could do nothing about it; among them, the most infuriated was Mo Jingli in Jiangnan.

The Mo army, having recently captured the capital with high morale, had forced back the northern troops together with Nan Hou's forces from Feihong Pass. Due to a lack of supplies and months of hard fighting, both sides agreed to stop fighting temporarily. After several months without any gains, the rear of the northern army was plagued by internal disputes, forcing Ren Qining to retreat.

So it continued until spring. Although Chu's territory still lay in the hands of the north, within eight months, the Mo army had swept from east to west and back again, proving their formidable strength. As a result, Mo’s territories stretched from West Ling's Anping State to Chu’s Zijin Pass—though slightly smaller than West Ling's, it was much larger than Chu in Jiangnan. More importantly, Dingwang now controlled both the eastern and western imperial cities simultaneously.

In the past half year of warfare, regardless of which side it was, they had exhausted countless amounts of money and provisions. For a moment, none of them had the energy to act again. Therefore, while all armies were still wary of each other, they also paused their hands in unison to rest and recuperate. As soon as the war ended, Mo Xiuyao threw all matters big or small in Chu Jing into Feng Zhiriao and Lv Songxian's hands before returning to Northwest on horseback at top speed. Everyone in the Mo Army knew that the princess was pregnant, so they understood why the prince was anxious and did not say anything.

"Ah Li!"

In mid-April, although spring came late in Northwest, it was already late spring now. In Ding Wang's garden, various beautiful flowers were still blooming. Among them, the most magnificent and eye-catching had to be the peonies transplanted from Yunzhou. Various colored peonies competed for beauty, decorating the entire garden elegantly with a lingering fragrance.

Ye Li sat on a stone bench in the garden that was covered with thick cushions, smiling as she watched Mo Xiaobao waving around a small sword with great concentration. Cold Junhan and Xu Zhirui, who were standing nearby watching, cheered along despite Ye Li's doubts about whether these two kids understood what was good or bad. Beneath her light green cloak, the round belly had grown quite large already. While smiling as she watched Mo Xiaobao waving around his sword, Ye Li gently rubbed her bulging abdomen. Although it was now nine months along, this belly seemed a bit too big; Mo Xiaobao's had not been so large when he was born. Recalling Dr. Lin mentioning the possibility of twins for this pregnancy, Ye Li smiled faintly. Having twins wasn't bad either, but she hadn't told Mo Xiuyao yet. Otherwise, given his nature, he might just leave the battlefield to rush back.

Hearing a voice from outside the garden, Ye Li was slightly startled. Was it possible that she would experience auditory hallucinations even in late pregnancy

Mos Xiaobao stopped swinging his sword, blinked his eyes and turned to pout at Ye Li: "Mother, Father has returned." Although he sounded displeased, his black, bright eyes had lit up immediately.

Ye Li looked back and indeed saw a certain person standing by the garden gate, smiling as he looked at her. "Ah Li, I'm home."

"Xiuyao… ."

Seeing that she was about to stand up, Mo Xiuyao hurriedly flicked his foot and leapt into the garden, holding Ye Li firmly with both hands: "Don't move. You…" Looking at her round belly, even the usually calm Ding Wang's eyes widened in concern as he looked at Ye Li worriedly. "Ah Li, are you okay How… how big is it"

"Dr. Lin says that there might be twins, so naturally it would be much bigger than one," Ye Li said with a smile.

What Mo Xiuyao's vision went dark and his limbs felt weak. One was already enough to make him anxious; how could there be two! "How can this happen! Where is Shen Yang, get him here right away for the princess." Mo Xiuyao said anxiously. Ye Li glared at him irritably: "Don't you know that Mr. Shen has gone to see my fourth brother Dr. Lin already examined me and I'm fine; the baby is also doing well."

"But…"

"No buts!" Ye Li said firmly, pulling Mo Xiuyao along: "You should go and wash up and rest after coming back. I was just taking a walk and will be going back now. Let's go home to rest first." Mo Xiuyao had long been in a state of shock and could only let Ye Li pull him away.

The three little boys behind exchanged glances, for a while, Xu Zhirui blinked his eyes and said with a solemn face like his father: "We didn't greet Uncle-in-law."

Little Cold Junhan, the youngest one, patted his head: "Uncle Ding Wang won't be angry since he didn't see us." Uncle Ding Wang hadn't even given them a glance; but… thinking of Uncle Ding Wang's cold and aloof gaze, Little Fool shivered slightly, nodding his small head. Well, if we weren't seen, it was good.

Mos Xiaobao arrogantly stared at his father's retreating back, sniffed, raised his small head: "This young lord doesn't care whether he sees me or not; let's go find Uncle Da,"

The three little boys gathered together and after some discussion, they all agreed that Mos Xiaobao's suggestion was very good. Uncle Da (Uncle, Uncle Xu) was much more kind and approachable than Father (Uncle-in-law, Uncle Ding Wang).

Returning to the main compound where they lived, Mo Xiuyao came out after taking a bath and grooming himself. Ye Li had already arranged some of Mo Xiuyao's favorite dishes on the table. In these few days since he hurriedly returned to Northwest, he hadn't eaten properly. Seeing this spread before him made his appetite come back. He sat down beside Ye Li and invited her to eat with him.

It was not yet mealtime, and Ye Li did not feel particularly hungry. She only ate half a bowl of porridge and stopped there. Sitting by the side, she watched Mo Xiuyao eating while occasionally helping him pick out meat dishes. For many years now, Mo Xiuyao still had his food preferences; if it weren't for Ye Li personally picking out his dishes for him, he would only eat vegetables most of the time. He was even more like Xu Qingchen in terms of being a "hermit" and refusing to eat meat.

While eating, Mo Xiuyao talked about some events that happened in Chu Capital these days. Of course, one of them was the death of Marquis Huaguo. Ye Li had quite an affection for this elderly man; hearing his news, she felt sad and said, "I suppose I will have to go tell Sister Hua and Tian Xiang as well. They…" Mo Xiuyao interrupted her and said, "Don't worry about it; I'll send someone to inform them of the matter. Your priority is these children you're carrying—wait until they are born before thinking about anything else."

Ye Li thought for a moment and only nodded in agreement. "The child will be due next month, so around that time would be my father's birthday." She frowned slightly as she gently stroked her rounded belly and said, "I'll just hold off the celebration of their full moon then." For the prince and princess of Ding王府的小公子和小郡主的滿月宴可不是小事，如果跟外公生日湊在一起，這兩個月就什麼都不用乾了。墨修堯對孩子的滿月辦不辦倒是冇有想法，隻是挑眉問道：“當年墨小寶的滿月可是大辦特辦了的，這兩個小傢夥長大了不會因此而不高興吧？”

葉璃莞爾一笑，道：“王爺還關心起他們兄弟姐妹的感情來了麼？滿月宴能有什麼，要是會為了這個不高興，那就是咱們做父母的教導無方了。”

墨修堯點點頭，笑眯眯地看著葉璃的肚子。不是本王偏心不疼你們，是你們孃親的意思喲。

"Is Miss Li here" came Xu Qingchen's refined voice from outside the door.

The maid guarding at the door hurriedly bowed and said, "His Excellency has just returned. The Lady is accompanying His Excellency for a meal."

Hearing their voices, Mo Xiuyao immediately became unhappy. He had only just returned and was still catching his breath when Xu Qingchen showed up right away. Wasn't he giving him a moment's peace

But Ye Li didn't sense Mo Xiuyao's displeasure as she laughed out loud. "Brother Xu, come in."

Xu Qingchen stepped into the flower hall and saw Mo Xiuyao staring at him with a dark expression on his face. He smiled slightly and said, "When did His Excellency return We didn't even know." Ye Li apologized and said, "We just returned to our compound right away. Does Brother Xu have anything important now"

Xu Qingchen of course could not say that he knew Mo Xiuyao had just returned and came here deliberately to irritate him. He smiled and replied with a smile, "Nothing urgent really; it's just that it's time to draft the invitations for my grandfather’s birthday in two months' time. I happened to be free today so thought of dropping by to discuss with you." Ye Li frowned slightly as she pondered over his words. "The nobles and literati from Northwest, Xi Ling, and Chu Capital must all be invited naturally. But about the others… should we also invite those in Nanzhao, Beirong Borderland, and Western Xi Ling, Jiangnan"

Mo Xiuyao put down his chopsticks and raised an eyebrow. "Of course we should. Last year's dramatic changes mean that even if we don't invite them personally, they would come."

Xu Qingchen nodded in agreement and said, "Understood. By the way, is His Excellency planning to hold my grandfather’s birthday celebration at Chu Capital or Li City"

This was a question that needed careful consideration. Holding the celebration in Chu Capital would mean Mo Xiuyao would move his Ding王府的慶祝地點是楚京還是璃城。如果在楚京舉辦，就意味著墨修堯會把定王府遷回楚京，而如果是璃城，則需要重新考慮楚京的處理辦法。畢竟那是一座都城，並且與西陵皇城不同。西陵皇城算是白撿來的，有自然是最好，丟了也不算太大損失。但楚京四麵受敵，一旦丟失對定王府的聲望絕對是一個巨大的打擊。

墨修堯揉了揉眉心，想了想問道：“大哥有什麼想法？”

徐清塵笑道：“這種大事，自然是由王爺自己決定。”

Moxiu Yao glared at him and said proudly, "I order you to say so."

Xu Qingchen did not care about this. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "Li City is still too small for grand constructions. If we were to do it, it would take a long time to complete. Your Highness being in charge of Chu Capital will be a great deterrent to the people from Beirong and the south."

The implication was that Xu Qingchen preferred moving the Ding王府 back to Chu Capital.

Moxiu Yao naturally understood that what Xu Qingchen said made sense. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Chu Capital is too far from Xi Ling. If there’s something going on over there in the future, we might be unable to reach them in time." Li City had its advantages as well. For example, it was located at the center of the continent. If their strength wasn’t enough, they would face attacks from all sides. But if they were strong enough, this place could expand in all directions.

Xu Qingchen said, "We can't give up on Li City either. However, we currently don’t have a way to quickly enlarge the city to an adequate scale. The world is truly chaotic right now. Wasting resources and causing trouble for the people is not good." To put it simply, Li City was too small. If Ding王府 were only guarding the northwest region originally, there wouldn't be anything wrong with that. But now, the territory under Ding王府’s rule wasn’t smaller than any powerful country. Continuing like this would make them seem insignificant and would make soldiers and officials below feel insecure. Since Prince DIng clearly had no intention of ascending to the throne, nobody knew what would become of Ding王府 in the future. Xu Qingchen had dealt with various governmental affairs in Li City for a long time, so he was well aware of the doubts and rumors among officials and civilians. Under the current circumstances, they either needed to massively expand Li City or move Ding王府 back to Chu Capital.

Moxiu Yao thought for a moment before lifting his head and said, "Master Qingyun’s birthday celebration will still be held in Li City. Afterward, this Prince will temporarily stay in Chu Capital with A Li. Oh… Mr. Qingchen, you should also go there together. All affairs of Li City will remain as usual. Please let Scholar Hongyu oversee them. How does that sound" Xu Qingchen was somewhat helpless and said with a smile, "Since Your Highness has decided, I can only follow your command as a subordinate. Are you planning to… run operations in both Li City and Chu Capital at the same time"

Moxiu Yao nodded and said, "Now we occupy terrain stretching from east to west. The distance is too far. If something happens on the western side, by the time the news reaches Chu Capital, it would be too late. And after dealing with Ren Qining, the role of Chu Capital will significantly decrease. Then, Xi Ling and Beirong will become priorities." The place closest to Xi Ling and Beirong was clearly Li City.

Xu Qingchen raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Your Highness indeed has extraordinary ambitions. But… I have a question that many people are also troubled by."

Moxiu Yao raised an eyebrow and looked at Xu Qingchen with a smile.

"Prince, haven’t you thought about ascending the throne" Xu Qingchen asked. "If it were before, Ding王府 standing on the northwest region would be surprising if Your Highness didn't disdain it. But now that Ding王府 oversees thousands of miles of territory east to west, why…" This question indeed troubled many people. Not only those under Prince Ding’s jurisdiction but outsiders as well couldn’t understand Moxiu Yao’s intentions. If it were someone else, they would have declared themselves king with such vast territories long ago. But unlike them, Moxiu Yao had no sense of self-righteousness.

Moxiu Yao held Ye Li's hand and smiled kindly at Xu Qingchen, "No reason, I simply lack interest."

"Lack interest" Xu Qingchen frowned and rolled his eyes inwardly. Only a composed person like Xu Qingchen could accept this calmly. Others might grab Moxiu Yao’s collar and shake him vigorously asking if he was playing with them! After a moment of surprise, Xu Qingchen calmed down. Well, it wasn’t him who would become the emperor anyway. If he lacked interest, so be it. In reality, ascending to the throne was merely a ceremony and title; no one in Ding王府 dared to claim that Moxiu Yao’s authority was less than the Empress's! Forget about legitimacy!

Moxiu Yao looked at Xu Qingchen with some disdain, "Since Mr. Qingchen has nothing else, you can go back first. I am a bit tired and want to rest for a while."

Xu Qingchen seemed unaffected by Moxiu Yao’s dismissing look and smiled at Ye Li, "If that's the case, Li'er, take good care of yourself. I will properly take care of Xiao Bao and others."

Hearing this, Ye Li felt depressed. She had left her three children in the garden! Was she really so糊塗 during pregnancy "Big Brother, are Xiao Bao and the rest with you It's troublesome…"

"No trouble at all. Just now, Xiao Bao was very sad and told me that his father wouldn't even look at him before leaving," Xu Qingchen’s smile was like a gentle spring breeze.

Moxiu Yao sneered and said coolly, "Then please take care of them temporarily for Mr. Qingchen. After all, Xiao Bao likes Uncle Big the most, right" Upon saying that he liked him best, Moxiu Yao gritted his teeth, deeply feeling that he had raised a disloyal white-eyed wolf. Seeing that Moxiu Yao was really going to take them away, Xu Qingchen no longer teased him and left with a smile.

In the flower hall, Ye Li curiously observed Moxiu Yao, hesitating to speak. Moxiu Yao smiled at her and asked, "Why are you looking at me like this, A Li Have you noticed that your husband has become more handsome and extraordinary after being apart for so long"

Ye Li looked up helplessly and said, "You truly have no plans to ascend the throney broke into a trademark playful smile and raised an eyebrow at Xu Qingchen before turning back to the woman. "Miss, I'm terribly sorry. I am Han Mingxiu, did I frighten you just now Please accept my...