140
simply, "Thank you, Lady of the Ding王府." Seeing that Qin Feng wouldn't be persuaded further, Ye Li picked up a memorandum from beside her, wrote several words on it, and handed it to him. She said, "...The World Is Astonished 140, Envoy from Western陵
140. Envoy from Western Ling
On stage, two people were fighting fiercely, evenly matched. Ye Li held a three-foot-long sword that was as venomous as a snake, attacking Chen Yun's vital points repeatedly. Chen Yun was no less formidable; his long spear danced flawlessly, and neither could gain the upper hand. As Ye Li watched the composed young officer opposite her, she smiled faintly and with her sword in hand, she sent a cold streak of light straight at Chen Yun’s face. Chen Yun quickly raised his spear to block it, only to see the sword change direction mid-air and glide along the shaft of his spear upward. Before he could react, Ye Li's sword tip pressed against his throat, while her other hand firmly grasped his spear.
Ye Li arched an eyebrow and smiled: "Captain Chen"
Chen Yun lowered his spear and bowed respectfully: “Your Excellency’s swordsmanship is indeed profound. I concede defeat.” Ye Li didn’t press him; she withdrew her sword, tossed it to Zhuo Jing standing at the side of the stage, then turned and smiled at the generals below, asking, "Who else dares to challenge me" The officers exchanged looks before a burly middle-aged man with double spears jumped onto the stage. Bowing respectfully, he said,
“This officer from the Mo Clan army in Chi Prefecture, Lu Feng, wishes to learn Your Excellency’s high skills.”
Ye Li nodded gently and took a step back. Unlike Chen Yun who was slender and agile, this General Lu appeared as a powerhouse, evident from his heavy double spears weighing at least several dozen pounds. Ye Li, not one to show off, directly drew her most trusted dagger. Lu Feng looked surprised at the glinting dagger in Ye Li's hand: "Is that Your Excellency’s weapon"
Ye Li nodded: “General Lu, please."
"Then this officer will trouble you; Your Excellency, be careful." After his words, a spear came whistling towards her with the power of thunder and wind. Ye Li quickly dodged, her dagger flashing coldly under the morning light.
The people below clearly noticed that when Ye Li held her dagger, she became more dangerous than when she wielded a sword. Several times, Lu Feng narrowly escaped being struck by the dagger’s tip, and if not for his immense strength and every move packed with formidable force making it impossible to confront head-on, he would have been injured long ago.
Aq's dagger descended. Ye Li obviously understood Lu Feng’s strengths and weaknesses, so she didn’t confront him head-on but rather used her agility to constantly wear him down while looking for opportunities to attack. Although she failed to injure Lu Feng, she still managed to startle him greatly. Once again, Lu Feng raised his pair of halberds to smash at Ye Li.
Ye Li dodged to the side and delivered a powerful kick in mid-air before grabbing the ground with her left hand as she hurled her dagger straight at Lu Feng's left shoulder blade area. Seeing this, Lu Feng immediately raised his right halberd to block it but found that Ye Li had already flipped behind him in an instant. "General Lu…"
Lu Feng’s body stiffened as a cold dagger was pressed against the back of his spine. After years of battle, Lu Feng had seen all kinds of injuries and knew very well that if he sustained this one, he would end up paralyzed for life. Lowering his halberds, Lu Feng turned around to bow respectfully towards Ye Li: "Thank you, Queen Consort, for showing mercy; your servant is convinced." Ye Li smiled and said, "General Lu put up a formidable fight with exceptional skills. This queen consort admires you greatly."
The crowd below was silent for a moment before suddenly bursting into applause as soldiers called out their praise one after another. Having won two consecutive rounds, the generals were thoroughly impressed by Ye Li’s abilities and naturally did not wish to challenge her further. Since Ye Li had already fought two matches, if she continued fighting and won again, it would be unfair and leave a bad impression of pitting several men against a woman.
Seeing Ye Li stepping off the stage, everyone hurriedly moved forward. Lyu Jinxian bowed and smiled: "Your Majesty truly impressed your subordinates today; we are all in awe of you. We were unaware of the rules and offended Your Majesty. We hope Your Majesty will not be angry." Ye Li laughed and said, "General Lyu is too kind. It’s a trivial matter, so there's no need to worry about it. I still have some matters to attend to in the city; please take care of the army on my behalf."
Lyu Jinxian immediately responded: "Your Majesty can rest assured." Ye Li nodded and smiled at Yun Ting with a glance, saying, "Captain Yun..."
Yun Ting scratched his head and said with a bitter expression, "Queen Consort, your subordinate knows he was wrong." Satisfied, Ye Li smiled and said, "To admit one's mistake is the greatest virtue. Have you been reading recently"
Recalling when the Queen Consort had sent him into the army and all the books piled higher than himself in his room, Yun Ting’s smile turned even more bitter as he replied, "I have read; I just finished 'Military Strategy'." Ye Li smiled warmly and said, "Good progress. I need several military strategy manuals to teach soldiers, could you please copy ten copies for me By the third day"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Yun Ting’s eyes glazed over as he stared blankly at Ye Li before turning away.
"Brother, what's wrong" Chen Yun patted his shoulder and asked when he saw him looking like a man who had lost everything.
Yunti looked at him silently before turning to leave. "If I fight with you again, it would be as foolish as a pig," he muttered.
Chen Yun stared at the dejected figure walking away from him and then looked blankly at his own hands. Was it really necessary to be so upset after just one fight Feng Zhiyao walked over and tapped Chen Yun’s shoulder with his fan, smiling as he said, "Don’t mind that brat; he’s truly annoyed by copying texts. If Commander Chen has nothing better to do, you could help him copy a few pages. That will ensure that he treats you like a life-saving brother."
"Copying texts" Chen Yun twisted his face in memory of being chased around as a child and forced to copy texts by his father and teacher. He quickly shook his head and said, "Forget it. I’ll go see if there’s anything to eat that can help Commander Yun recover from his copying."
When they hurried out of the city gate at dawn, their return was a leisurely stroll. Ye Li led everyone as she walked around, inspecting different checkpoints and the conditions of the people. Although war was imminent, the citizens in Jiangxia seemed to be quite calm. They were going about their daily lives in an orderly manner, seemingly unaffected by the recent events. Even though they had just fought a bloody battle yesterday which could have led to the loss of the city, everyone was still carrying on with their normal routines as usual.
As Feng Zhiyao walked beside Ye Li, he fanned himself and explained, "The people completely trust the Black Ink Army from the bottom of their hearts. They believe that wherever there is a presence of the Black Ink Army, no city will fall to enemy hands. Their homes are safe."
Ye Li sighed lightly; she didn’t know whether to admire or worry about this level of trust placed in the Black Ink Army. It was certainly something to be proud and boastful about for them to earn such faith from the people, but... When everyone entrusts all their trust and responsibility to the Black Ink Army, relying on them completely, it is a heavy burden indeed. No wonder no one from the Dingguo Duke’s Manor had ever retired in peace; the Manor and the Black Ink Army had long become spiritual and practical pillars of Chu State.
“My Lady, an envoy from Xi Ling wishes to see you,” General Yuan Pei was already waiting at the gate when Ye Li and her group returned. Seeing them approaching, he quickly greeted them and reported this news. Ye Li frowned slightly. "An envoy from Xi Ling"
"The envoys arrived just outside the city walls earlier," General Yuan replied solemnly with a nod. "I let them in on my own initiative; they are waiting for Your Ladyship to receive them." Ye Li nodded and said, “General Yuan did well. Let’s go meet this envoy from Xi Ling. At such a time, anyone who dares enter Jiangxia must be no ordinary person. Please show them to the study.”
"Yes."
Ye Li changed into a new set of clothes and returned to the study. Soon after, General Yuan Pei arrived with the Western Capital envoys. Leading them was an unremarkable middle-aged man accompanied by a military officer and three attendants. All five were dressed in civilian clothing without any weapons, appearing confident as if they had no fear about stepping into this city controlled by the Black Family Army.
The middle-aged man glanced at Ye Li, then stepped forward to bow his hand, saying, "I am Mo Fei, a guest minister under Western Capital's Southern King. I have an audience with Queen Consort of Ding Kingdom in Eastern Chu."
"Mr. Mo, please rise," Ye Li gently raised her hand and smiled. "What brings you here, Mr. Mo"
Mo Fei looked around at the people seated in the study and said with a smile, "Indeed, our Southern King has some matters he wishes to discuss with Queen Consort privately. However... Is it possible for us to have a private conversation" Ye Li smiled and replied, "That's not impossible, but it is unnecessary. As the temporary commander of the Black Family Army, I cannot hold a private conversation with an enemy envoy either morally or practically. Moreover, there’s nothing that can’t be said openly. If Mr. Mo has something to say, he might as well speak up directly."
Zhuo Jing scoffed from his side and remarked sarcastically, "A private discussion Who knows if you're planning to take advantage of the opportunity to assassinate our Queen Consort"
Feng Zhiyao lazily smiled and said, "Assassinating the Queen Consort might be beyond your capabilities. However, it’s wise to guard against others."
Mo Fei's face turned slightly ugly as he wanted to react but quickly suppressed his emotions. He looked up at Ye Li and asked respectfully, "Since Queen Consort has said so much, in that case, I won’t insist. But surely everyone here are close associates of the Queen Consort and Ding Kingdom’s royal household" Ye Li nonchalantly nodded her head. Mo Fei continued, "Our King has a letter for Queen Consort; may we present it to Her Majesty."
He then took out a letter from his sleeve and presented it. Zhuo Jing stepped forward, took the letter, inspected it thoroughly to ensure there was nothing amiss, before handing it over to Ye Li. Ye Li opened the letter and glanced through it for several moments. Then she looked up at Mo Fei standing calmly outside the hall with a casual smile on his face and lowered her head again to continue reading. After some time, she slowly folded the letter into an envelope and calmly sized up Mo Fei. Mo Fei smiled and said politely, "Queen Consort, may I ask your response to what our King mentioned"
"My response" Ye Li laughed softly and looked at him languidly as she called out slowly, "Bring this person before me and execute him!"naturally caught between a rock and a hard place. They did not want nor wish to be enemies with the Prince Dinh王府, but Guan Ting was their superior, and even if this superior was unpopular, they still...