Study Hall Deliberations

from the capital city and wasn’t an uninhabited wilderness. The mountains and forests naturally belonged to someone, but because of bandits that ordinary people were afraid to deal with them. Dark Gu...70. Study Room Negotiations

70. Study Room Negotiations

Stepping into the study, Feng Zhirao saw two people sitting inside and playing chess. He felt envious of Mo Xiuyao's life.

"Your Highness," Feng Zhirao said lazily while leaning against the door frame, "it's not fair to let others work so hard outside while you enjoy yourself by playing chess at home." In this world, how could one keep their mind balanced Those with a bitter fate had to run around in cold winds and rain like him. But those who were fortunate enough could sit comfortably inside the warm study room, playing chess with beautiful women by their side like Mo Xiuyao. Ye Li smiled as she glanced at Feng Zhirao. Though his face clearly showed displeasure, there was more genuine happiness in his eyes than usual. It seemed that he wasn't too unhappy.

Mo Xiuyao placed a chess piece and then looked up at Feng Zhirao, asking, "What's the matter"

Feng Zhirao slowly walked in with an open fan, saying, "Is there nothing interesting that I can't come to see Having a princess as your wife is really different. Back then, you would be lying on the bed barely alive." Evidently, Feng Zhirao didn't mind poking at Mo Xiuyao's wounds; he casually found a spot next to him and sat down while looking around the room's furnishings. "Recently, Chief Manager Cold Second asked someone who was an expert in architecture. Was it for this annex It’s really great. Princess, can your little brother also have one like this" Even though Feng Zhirao had seen many things, he still couldn't figure out how the warmly decorated room worked after a long time of observation. That didn’t matter; knowing what function it served was enough. In winter, who would be patient to burn charcoal that cost almost as much as silver and was inconveniently smelly and uncomfortable

Ye Li smiled slightly and said, "Actually, I don't understand these things very well either. If Feng公子is interested, you can talk to those craftsmen." Ancient artisans' wisdom was indeed remarkable; she had only drawn a rough design and explained her ideas and principles. Those experienced craftsmen had arranged the water heating system in less than half a month. No wonder there were many lost crafts that even 21st-century machinery couldn't replicate. Feng Zhirao's eyes lit up, "Are all of these people from Cold Second Thank you, Princess; I'll go see him tomorrow." Haha, once he had a warm house like this one and threw a grand banquet at the estate, would those high-and-mighty fellows be drooling with envy "Huh Your Highness, did Cold Second mention whether we could make money from this Of course... We won't forget Princess's contribution." Remembering that Ye Li was the original creator of this warm room, Feng Zhirao couldn’t help but send her a flattering smile.

Mo Xiuyao held up his chess piece and said, "Cold Second has calculated it; building such a warm room would cost at least 17,000 taels. Even after the technology matures and costs decrease, they won't drop below 15,000 taels. The high costs mean that people wouldn’t spend money on this." Feng Zhirao thought for a moment and shook his head, "That's indeed true."

There were many powerful officials in the capital, as well as numerous wealthy individuals. But if building such an annex alone cost over 10,000 taels, few people would be willing to spend tens of thousands on a warm room. If it was only for a profit of 100-200 thousand taels, there was no need to specially research this at present.

Ye Li laughed and said, "Actually, Feng公子's idea isn't bad. If the cost can be reduced to about one thousand taels... It would have a great market."

Feng Zhirao sneered, "What profit could we make with just a thousand taels"

"If it's around 1,000 to 2,000 taels of silver, then the nobles and wealthy merchants in the capital city, as well as ordinary prosperous merchants, might choose to buy heated rooms instead of buying silver charcoal. And if we're talking about all of Grand Chu... or even Western Ling and Northern Rong" Ye Li said with a light smile.

Feng Zhirao was taken aback for a moment, looking at Mo Xiuyao who seemed not to want to interject. After pondering for a while, he said, "I'll mention it to Leng Er later."

"You're referring to Second Young Master of the Leng Family, Leng Haoyu" Ye Li asked. "As far as I know, Second Young Master hasn’t been on good terms with His Highness." Unlike Feng Zhirao and Mo Xiuyao who grew up together, Leng Haoyu was a few years younger than them. When something happened to Mo Xiuyao, Leng Haoyu should have only been around twelve or thirteen years old. Moreover, the Leng Family was staunchly loyal to the emperor. Feng Zhirao nodded and looked at Mo Xiuyao in puzzlement as he asked, "Has His Highness not mentioned this to Madam" Mo Xiuyao replied calmly, "I sent him a message asking him to come over to our mansion, but it seems that he's too busy." Feng Zhirao seemed to remember something and lowered his head with a low chuckle. He said, "Leng Er went out drinking two days ago and was caught red-handed by his future father-in-law. General Mu beat the living daylights out of him; I’m guessing he’s still unable to leave home now." With Leng Er's love for face and pride, he wouldn’t reply back to Mo Xiuyao saying that he had been beaten up and couldn't leave.

Ye Li was taken aback. She asked in surprise, "Second Young Master Leng was beaten by General Mu"

"Indeed, Madam didn’t see it at the time. General Mu didn’t hold back then. Poor Haoyu has no one to turn to—his father doesn’t care for him and his mother hates him. He might still be lying in bed feeling neglected right now. I’ll go see him tomorrow." Feng Zhirao said with a hint of schadenfreude. Ye Li asked someone to pour a cup of hot tea for Feng Zhirao before asking, "Since the young master is His Highness’s friend and he has been injured, should we send someone over to check on his well-being" Mo Xiuyao replied, "Feng Zhirao can go." Before Feng Zhirao could respond, Mo Xiuyao added, "When he can leave home again, ask him to come here."

Feng Zhirao knew that if there wasn’t any official business, Mo Xiuyao wouldn't summon them. He immediately wiped off the lazy smile on his face and said seriously with a nod, "What does His Highness need"

Mo Xiuyao took the document from Ye Li and said, "This has just been sent over from Southern Frontier; take a look."

Feng Zhirao glanced at Ye Li before opening the document to read. The more he read on, the uglier his expression became. By the time Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li had finished their game of chess and were putting away the pieces, Feng Zhirao finally lifted his head to say, "Mou Jingli secretly funded a rebellion by the Holy Woman in Southern Frontier What’s going on here If I’m not mistaken, Princess Qixia’s younger sister is the Crown Princess-to-Be of Southern Frontier. Once she ascends the throne, Nanzhao would become Mou Jingli’s biggest aid." Mo Xiuyao held his warm cup of tea and said calmly, "Don’t forget that the King of Nanzhao is only forty years old now. As long as nothing unexpected happens, the Crown Princess-to-Be still needs at least twenty more years before she can ascend to the throne."

"The King of Nanzhao and Princess Qixia are also father and daughter. How could he not support his own son-in-law" Feng Zhirao asked.

Mo Xiuyao shook his head and said, "I’ve had dealings with the King of Nanzhao in the past when he was still the Crown Prince of Nanzhao. He’s very cautious and intelligent; he would never support Mou Jingli. If he did, he would have married Princess Qixia to Mou Xiuyao during his mission to Nanzhao two years ago instead of waiting for her to travel all the way here to Grand Chu. Back in June when that incident occurred, I’m sure both he and the Crown Princess-to-Be were very unhappy with Mou Jingli’s actions." Feng Zhirao looked down at the document in his hand and said, "This analysis is correct too. So... When did Mou Jingli start consorting with this Holy Woman of Southern Frontier

Feng Zhiyao felt that they had underestimated Mo Jingli over the years. In his eyes, Mo Jingli was always a hot-tempered fool since childhood. Even though he himself was just an illegitimate son from a wealthy merchant family while Mo Jingli was a high-ranking prince, Feng Zhiyao never took him seriously. However, looking at all the chaos happening in the capital city over the past two years, which incident did not have Mo Jingli's involvement Especially in the last half year, he had discovered that there were quite a number of officials supporting Prince Li.

"This should have happened when he was on his mission to Southern Frontier. After all, he stayed there for an extended period back then," said Mo Xiuyao with a frown.

"Do you think... does the emperor know about this" Feng Zhiyao asked out of curiosity; it was always entertaining to see royal brothers and cousins fighting each other.

"He should not know. Your men have yet to report back," Mo Xiuyao replied. Feng Zhiyao's face darkened—his subordinates were in charge of managing all the information for Prince Ding, and they had already received news about the Southern Frontier but still hadn’t heard anything related to this matter. Of course, he knew that Mo Xiuyao wasn't distrustful of him; otherwise, Mo Xiuyao wouldn’t have shown him the intelligence so easily. But it was always uncomfortable knowing someone was better than you.

"You needn't feel ashamed—the news has yet to spread. No one knows about this except for those who have seen this file," Mo Xiuyao didn’t want to crush his friend’s confidence, saying: "I cannot disclose my source of information, but try your best to pass it on to Prince Jingqi."

"Pass it on to Prince Jingqi" Feng Zhiyao raised an eyebrow. "He will be livid. Still, if they fight among themselves, we can use the time to do other things. Should we send someone to Southern Frontier Although the current chaos benefits us, it won't necessarily be good for us in the long run." The people of Nanzhao were fierce and greedy; they had been eyeing China’s rich natural resources since ancient times. Only their weak national strength made them unable to challenge China's authority.

"We have no one available at present, but there is someone suitable over in Southern Frontier who should be able to handle the situation for now," Mo Xiuyao said. "Let us not concern ourselves with this matter temporarily. What news do we have from Northern Rong"

Feng Zhiyao gave a light humph, saying: "Since the failed marriage alliance between Western Ling and China, their secret contact has increased significantly compared to before. It seems that Lei Tengfeng also noticed the conflict between Jingqi and Jingli brothers, so he changed his mind quickly and is now waiting for internal unrest in China before forming an alliance with Northern Rong."

"Lei Tengfeng... If there's instability within China, do you think Western Ling will fare any better" Mo Xiuyao’s smile was cold as he said: "Shouldn't Mr. Shen be back by now"

Feng Zhiyao was taken aback and replied: "He should be coming soon."

"After he returns, please invite him to Western Ling." Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly and said, "I heard that the emperor of Western Ling has been plagued by illness for a long time. Doctor Shen is renowned in his field, so I believe there’s a chance he will be interested."

Feng Zhiyao raised an eyebrow and smiled, "The emperor of Western Ling and Prince Regent Southern Command It seems like a good idea, but it remains to be seen whether the healthy emperor of Western Ling can endure having this unnamed yet influential prince regent in his country"

Ye Li sat quietly by the side as she listened to the two discuss matters concerning various countries. Unconsciously, her mind began to wander. Over the past half a year, she had become well-informed about many of the events happening in the capital city. She was also clear about how Emperor and Empress Dowager were secretly fighting against each other over Prince Li in court and out of it. Never did she expect that Mo Jingli would drag Nanzhao into this struggle too; when these three were scheming against one another, did they ever consider those who were working hard behind the scenes to ensure their country’s prosperity

"Ah Li, do you think helping the Holy Maiden of Southern Border in secret benefits Mo Jingli" Just as she was deep in thought, she suddenly heard Mo Xiuyao ask.

Ye Li was taken aback and frowned. "Even with Empress Dowager’s support, Mo Jingli may not be able to defeat the emperor; he is already at a disadvantage when it comes to public opinion and morality. The emperor is the rightful heir of the late emperor and his own brother, so after enfeoffment, the emperor has been kind to him. To openly oppose the emperor would only put Mo Jingli in an unfavorable position. I believe that… Mo Jingli values Nanzhao too much; on the surface, he gains more than he loses with Princess Qixia. Therefore, there must be some power or figure in Nanzhao that helps him."

Mo Xiuyao nodded and said, "Ah Li is right. We all think Mo Jingli has changed too quickly over these years. But… if we take a closer look, we’ll see that he only began to change after returning from Southern Border. Most people haven’t noticed this change. I’m certain that before this time, Mo Jingli may have had ambitions but never considered seizing the throne."

Ye Li stood up and took out a map from one of the cabinets beside her, laying it on the table as she said, "I don’t know what gives him such confidence. But in my opinion, if he can control all of Southern Border, even if Mo Jingli fails to seize the throne, the losses won’t be his." Feng Zhiyao curiously leaned closer and asked, "How so"

Ye Li pointed at the map as she explained. “Prince Li’s fief is in Lingzhou, less than 300 miles from Nanzhao. The Royal House of Great Chu requires princes to reside in the capital for two months each year, but Mo Jingli stays in the capital almost all year round because Empress Dowager and Consort Tai妃 Xianzhao are concerned about him. Of course, this may also be due to Emperor’s vigilance against Mo Jingli. Nevertheless, Lingzhou is still Prince Li’s fief; with his current confidence, I’m sure he has full control of it. If Nanzhao aids Prince Li wholeheartedly, Yong Prefecture between them will fall into their hands as well. To the east of Lingzhou lies a vast plain, and if there are sufficient troops, Prince Li can march straight to the southeast and control most of the southwestern region. Even with reinforcements from court, it would take at least 20 days for the fastest Black Cloud Cavalry to arrive across the Yunlan River that spans Great Chu. As far as I know… no army in Great Chu specializes in naval warfare, including the Mo Clan Army and the Black Cloud Cavalry.”

As her slender fingers gestured on the map, Feng Zhiyao’s expression gradually darkened. He was more familiar with the geography of Nanzhao and Great Chu than Ye Li, so he understood all too well what would happen if this were a military confrontation. The eastern part of Lingzhou in Great Chu had always been peaceful, far from the border, thus making it sparsely populated by troops. If Mo Jingli really joined forces with Nanzhao to advance southeast instead of following its usual strategy of moving north, once they crossed Suixue Pass in Yong Prefecture, half of southern Great Chu would be practically handed over.

—— Interlude ——when Qingxia rushed in, flustered.Her heart jolted; she immediately stood up and asked, "What happened" Usually calm Qingxia seemed quite frightened, her voice trembling as she said, "Just now, the Pr...