154 Caught in the Net

and said, "General Yuan, don’t worry; Feng San won’t let Western Li troops cross past Jiangxia."Yuan Pei did not refuse the offer of help. He clasped his hands together respectfully and said, "Then I...154. Caught

154. Caught

Han Mingyue carefully observed Su Zuodie and felt a slight relief in her heart. Although she had lost some weight, it didn't seem that she had been subjected to any torment. The scar on her forehead was not very noticeable either, and even if there were any marks left behind, they would certainly not affect her appearance. When Su Zuodie saw Han Mingyue's arrival, she briefly showed a look of joy, but quickly suppressed it and asked: "Did you bring the Purple Vase Dew" Han Mingyue frowned and said, "Didn’t Princess Consort Ding give you any medicine for your wounds Are they still painful" At the mention of Ye Li, it clearly touched Su Zuodie's sore spot. She waved her sleeve coldly and angrily said, "Don't mention that賤人!"

Han Mingyue sighed and took out a delicate little porcelain bottle from her bosom, handing it to Su Zuodie. Su Zuodie accepted the bottle and sniffed its contents before nodding in satisfaction and turning into the room to apply the medicine in front of the copper mirror.

Following her into the bedroom, Han Mingyue saw that the furnishings were rather simple and understood where Su Zuodie's anger towards the young girl had come from. Being pampered since childhood, she was never someone who could endure hardship; no matter what, if it wasn't up to a certain standard, she wouldn't settle for it. But being confined in this crude place by Ye Li, how could her mood be good After applying the medicine, Su Zuodie finally had the heart to turn around and look at Han Mingyue. She was satisfied to see a hint of infatuation and admiration in his eyes. This restored much of her confidence that she had lost due to setbacks here recently. Lifting her head slightly, she raised one corner of her mouth gracefully and asked softly: "Mingyue, have you come to save me" Han Mingyue's expression changed as he nodded with a sigh, saying, "If I'm not here to save you, then why am I here I've arranged people outside to assist us. We can leave here in just a moment."

Su Zuodie was stunned and after hesitating for a moment, shook her head and said, "No, we can't leave like this."

Han Mingyue frowned: "Is there anything else you need to do here" Su Zuodie gritted her teeth and said, "Ye Li! That wretch… You go help me kill her." Han Mingyue's smile was somewhat forced and bitter as he looked deeply into Su Zuodie’s eyes trying to reason with her, “Zuodie, I promised that...I won’t lay a hand on Ye Li again.” Not only because of Mo Xiuyao, but also due to Han Mingchi. No matter how infatuated Han Mingyue was with Su Zuodie and regardless of the consequences, Han Mingchi remained his only brother, the closest blood relation in this world. He knew well what kind of feelings his younger brother had for Ye Li; although he understood it was merely one-sided on Han Mingchi's part, Han Mingyue knew that if he were to actually harm Ye Li, Han Mingchi would never forgive him. Never before had he genuinely considered becoming enemies with the little brother he had raised since childhood. Su Zuodie’s expression changed as she sneered coldly: "Promise! Yet another promise! I knew from the start that you don’t think much of me at all. If so, why should you care about my life and death And there's no need for a big shot like yourself to come rescue me. Even if Ye Li kills me, it would be what I deserve. You can just leave without worrying about me."

"Drunk Butterfly," Han Mingyue said solemnly, "This is not the time to be capricious. It's already good enough that we can get out safely now; it's impossible to act on your desire to deal with Ye Li. These past few days should have made you realize that Mo Xiuyao won't take your side."

Being hit where it hurts, Su Drunken Butterfly was momentarily at a loss but realized Han Mingyue was right. However, letting Ye Li go so easily left her unsatisfied. With a flirtatious glance, she looked towards Han Mingyue and sweetly said, "So your meaning is that you will give me an opportunity to teach her a lesson later"

Han Mingyue was momentarily stunned; his intention had been for Drunken Butterfly not to provoke Ye Li anymore. But now wasn’t the time to reason with her, so he merely nodded, “There will be opportunities in the future.” Su Drunken Butterfly smiled sweetly and lowered her eyes, saying, "I knew you would be the best to me." How could she miss Han Mingyue’s evasiveness But it didn't matter; once Han Mingyue agreed, she was sure he would eventually comply with her wishes. With regards to Han Mingyue, Su Drunken Butterfly always had infinite confidence and means.

"Wishing to deal with this concubine, why choose a time I'm right here," a clear yet lazy voice came from the outer hall. A shock ran through Han Mingyue as he secretly warned himself that he hadn’t noticed someone entering the flower pavilion in the outer hall. He heard Ye Li say lightly, "Mr. Han, it has been quite some time since we parted ways in Guangling; won't you come out to catch up"

Han Mingyue looked down at Su Drunken Butterfly and smiled reassuringly as he said softly, "Don’t be afraid, nothing will happen. Let’s go outside."

They walked through the screen door and out of the room; Ye Li was lazily leaning against a soft couch in the flower pavilion, smiling contentedly at them.

Seeing Han Mingyue, she said with a smile, "Mr. Mingyue, your skills are impressive. It seems that this Xiangyang City and the Prefect’s Manor allow Mr. Mingyue to come and go as if there's nobody here." If Han Mingyue didn’t understand at this moment, he wouldn't be fit to be the master of Tianyi Pavilion who controls the empire’s intelligence network. He said with a bitter smile, "Perhaps it was due to the Graceful Consort’s restraint" With such capable people under her command, she certainly wouldn’t have let him enter and stay undetected for so long in the Prefect’s Manor; most likely, they had set a trap waiting for him to fall into it. Ye Li smiled slightly as she said softly, "Mr. Mingyue is deeply passionate and can be called an emperor of love in this era, which this concubine greatly admires. Since Concubine Bai has invited again, why wouldn’t Mr. Mingyue come" Hearing the sarcasm in Ye Li’s words, Han Mingyue smiled faintly without responding.

Ye Li rested her chin on her hand and looked at the two people with a faint expression. "Originally, for Mingyi's sake, this Consort should not make things difficult for Mr. Han. But now the situation is somewhat special. So… it seems that I have to offend him." Han Mingyue clasped his hands together and smiled calmly. "Being in Your Highness’s wife’s hand, Han Mingyue feels humbled and will accept any punishment she wishes to give me." Ye Li nodded slightly. Despite still looking as refined as ever, there was a hint of regret in her heart for this man who had everything: family background, looks, abilities, and means, even surpassing ordinary people by far. It’s no wonder he could become Mo Xiuyao's friend when young; unfortunately, despite his exceptional talent, he ended up where he is now just because he couldn’t overcome love. Han Mingyue did not have an easy time in Western Capital. Even with the vast power of Sky One Pavilion, as long as Su Zuodie was around, he could live carefree and unrestrained wherever he went. But instead, he got entangled with Su Zuodie. Although the royal family needed his power, they also guarded against him as if he were an outsider. They even had their eyes on his power, because using something belonging to others is never as convenient as having it for oneself.

Ye Li waved her hand and said softly, "Take Mr. Han down."

Han Mingyue smiled at her and asked, “Prince Ding doesn’t want to see his old friend” Ye Li looked at him calmly. “Does Mr. Han think that the prince still has time to meet friends now” After a moment of thought, Han Mingyue nodded lightly, indicating that he understood. He furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "I understand why Your Highness is so thoughtful. If I give you what you want, what do you plan on giving me in return" Ye Li stared at Han Mingyue for a long time before she laughed softly and said calmly, “Mr. Han thinks that this Consort wants to make a deal with you” Han Mingyue raised an eyebrow, indicating he meant exactly that. Ye Li regretfully replied, "Originally, if Mr. Han had come directly to me and made a deal, I would have agreed. But now that I’ve put in so much effort to keep Mr. Han here, simply exchanging equally seems a little unfair to me. Besides, without needing to make a deal with Mr. Han, this Consort can also obtain what she needs."

Han Mingyue frowned and disbelief was written all over his face. "This is impossible. If Sky One Pavilion could be so easily controlled, I wouldn’t need to struggle like this." Ye Li shook her head and said, “To be honest, this Consort doesn’t have much interest in Sky One Pavilion. Such a huge intelligence organization; even if Mr. Han handed it over to me, would you think I dare use it” Han Mingyue stared at the elegant lady with suspicion; he had never guessed right about her thoughts since their first meeting, which made him feel increasingly uneasy. Ye Li said indifferently, “If it can’t be used for me, then this Consort’s opinion is to destroy it!” Han Mingyue took a deep breath and finally showed surprise on his handsome face. "You want to destroy Sky One Pavilion" This was the Sky One Pavilion that countless ambitious heroes and even emperors desired; to have it in hand meant controlling most of the secrets of the world, but this lady before him wanted to destroy it without hesitation.

Ye Li said calmly, “In fact, I’ve already started destroying it.”

Han Mingyue closed his eyes and when he opened them again, there was a profound silence in his gaze. "Sky One Pavilion has your people."

Ye Li smiled approvingly and gently clapped her hands; a gray-clothed man walked in from the door and calmly glanced at the slightly pale Han Mingyue and Su Zuodie beside him before respectfully bowing to Ye Li, saying, “Subordinate Dark Four greets Your Highness Consort.” Ye Li smiled and nodded. "Stand up. You’ve worked hard these days." Dark Four replied politely, “Failing to fulfill Your Highness Consort's command is my duty; I do not dare speak of hardship.” Ye Li said, “You did a good job. Just like Zhuo Jinglin Han, starting today you are no longer a Dark Guard.” Dark Four bowed again respectfully and said, "Subordinate Guard藺 greets Your Highness Consort."

Korean Mingyue had a pale complexion and looked at Wei Lin indifferently, asking, "Are you an undercover guard of the Prince Dìng's王府"

Wei Lin stood up and said to Korean Mingyue, "That’s correct. These days, I’ve been troubling the Pavilion Master with his care."

Korean Mingyue smiled bitterly; indeed he had taken good care of him. Within less than half a year, he had promoted an unknown person to become his most trusted right-hand man. This was not only because this person once risked his life to save Korean Mingyue but also due to his appreciation for the other’s talent and ability. Feeling somewhat powerless, he turned around to look at Ye Li and said, "I didn’t expect that the Prince Dìng's王府undercover guard would already be so outstanding; are those close to the Princess Consort even more remarkable" He had once been very close to Mo Xiuyao and naturally understood something about the undercover guards of the Prince Dìng's王府. However, Wei Lin’s capabilities far surpassed what was typical for an undercover guard. At first, he also suspected that Wei Lin could be from the Prince Zhèn's王府or the Western Capital Bai family, or even from the emperor or other forces and sent to spy on him. But in the end, it turned out that Wei Lin had absolutely no connection with these people at all; so he trusted him but never expected him to be from the Prince Dìng's王府.

Ye Li smiled and said, "Mr. Han is being too kind. Please ask Mr. Han to go down now. Perhaps the prince will find time to chat with Mr. Han later on. As for those people in the northwest… there’s no need for Mr. Han to worry about them. Isn’t it useless even if he does"

Korean Mingyue was speechless for a long while before saying, "Princess Consort is very astute; I concede defeat."

Ye Li smiled faintly without replying and waved at someone to escort him down.Doctor Lin really doesn’t need to worry so much about this."Originally, Ye Li didn’t want to be so straightforward, but with people sending wild game and food to her house every three days and two nig...