“My Lady, Feng Zhi Yao here wants to see you.”

The moment Feng Zhi Yao entered that simple but elegant small yard, he felt a headache as he saw the girl that was reading under a tree. A while ago on the city wall, he knew trouble was coming when he received a message that the princess sent for him. But he didn’t dare to refuse that invitation.

“Mr. Feng, you are too polite.” Ye Li put down the book in her hand and turned around smilingly. “Is this a bad time?”

Feng Zhi Yao smiled bitterly. “Of course not.”

Ye Li watched him closely and smiled: “Mr. Feng San, you are a different person from who you were in the capital. If I run into you now, I might not recognize you.”

Smiling obsequiously, Feng Zhi Yao had a feeling that the kinder the princess was to him now, the more difficult her question would be later.

Ye Li noticed how he tried to look happy and lowered her eyes a bit. “Mr. Feng San, please have a seat.”

Feng Zhi Yao thanked her and said: “My Lady, just call me Feng San.”

Ye Li waved her hand smilingly and said: “I know you have known His Highness since you were a child. You guys are like brothers.”

Feng Zhi Yao had no alternative but to sit down. He felt even more pressure now that he was opposite her. He forced a laugh and said: “My Lady, why do you want to see me?”

Ye Li looked at him directly and said in a serious voice: “I don’t like to beat around the bush. Mr. Feng, how is His Highness’s health?”

Stunned, he hurriedly managed a smile and said: “His Highness’s health? Nothing is wrong with His Highness’s health. Speaking of that, you should be happy for him now that he has finally recovered, My Lady.”

Ye Li looked at him calmly, her eyes clear and bright without a trace of ignorance.

Feng Zhi Yao groaned inwardly. He had no choice but to force himself not to turn his eyes away from her.

After a good while, Ye Li smiled. She said: “Mr. Feng, do you know that a genuine smile doesn’t normally last a very long time. A smile that lasts longer than that is usually… a fake one.”

He paused and blinked as that fixed smile vanishes from his face. “My Lady, your point of view is very… unique.”

“Well… are you willing to tell me the truth now, Mr. Feng?” She asked smilingly.

Feng Zhi Yao had a bitter smile. “Why don’t you ask His Highness directly, My Lady?”

Ye Li sighed slightly. “If he doesn’t want to tell me, he won’t.”

Feng Zhi Yao said: “The fact that His Highness doesn’t speak about it might mean he has indeed recovered.”

Ye Li looked at him and laughed: “Mr. Feng, though I can’t tell whether His Highness is lying, I know at least one thing that a man who was poisoned and has been unable to move around for eight years won’t recover like he has. Even if Mr. Shen has found the antidote and cured his legs, His Highness couldn’t have made such a recovery in half a year.”

An anomaly must mean that something was wrong. If such a miraculous medicine did exist, why did he wait for so many years before he used it?

Feng Zhi Yao looked at her, not knowing what to do as her eyes were fixed on him with no concession. After a good while, he gave up reluctantly and spoke before he considered: “My Lady, even if I don’t tell you, you’ll learn about it one day. He has used phoenix grass.”

Stunned, she still remembered what Shen Yang said. After taking the phoenix grass, it would add a fiery toxin on top of the cold toxin Mo Xiu Yao already had in his body, which meant even Fiery Lotus wouldn’t cure him anymore. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

Feng Zhi Yao lowered his head in dismay as he said: “Nobody could stop His Highness once he made up his mind.”

Ye Li went pale. “Why did he have to…” However, before she finished, her voice came to an abrupt end as she fell back on the chair in distress. When Mo Xiu Yao left the capital, the news that Mo Jing Li raised a rebellion hadn’t reached there yet. He did that… for her…

“My Lady…” Noticing how pale Ye Li, Feng Zhi Yao figured out what was on her mind. He tried to console her: “Actually… His Highness would have still done that if he got the news of Prince Li’s rebellion… He doesn’t have two years before the Fiery Lotus.”

Ye Li nodded a bit at loss and asked: “Is Mr. Shen here?”

Feng Zhi Yao nodded. “Mr. Shen insisted to come here. But he can’t travel fast so he will arrive a few days later.”

Ye Li closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. “I see. Thank you very much, Mr. Feng.”

Feng Zhi Yao frowned a bit worriedly as he said: “My Lady…”

She shook her hand and said: “I’m okay. Go back to your business.”

Feng Zhi Yao looked at her. There was nothing he could do so he bid her farewell.

Ye Li sat silently under the tree, lost in thought. If she hadn’t come here… No, if she hadn’t sent that letter back home, Mo Xiu Yao wouldn’t have come in such a hurry. Perhaps, what Feng Zhi Yao said was right. Mo Xiu Yao didn’t have two years to wait for the Fiery Lotus. Perhaps, he would have had the phoenix grass after all. But… now she knew he did that for her…

“Secret Guard No.3.”

“My Lady?” Secret Guard No.3 appeared behind her, looking a bit worriedly at the girl who seemed in a fragile state.

“Where is Secret Guard No.4 right now?”

Secret Guard No.3 answered: “He just left for Xi Ling. You have ordered him to dig up what happened to Han Ming Yue in Xi Ling, My Lady. He should have just arrived there.”

She nodded and said: “Send him a message. Tell him to leave Han Ming Yue behind and watch the Sick Scholar. If the Sick Scholar wants to have Green Void Flower again, tell him to get it at all cost.”

Secret Guard No.3 hesitated and asked: “Green Void Flower is in Nan Zhao. How about I take a group of men and look for it?”

Ye Li shook her head as she spoke: “Nan Zhao isn’t a small country. Besides, none of us has seen what Green Void Flower is like. Now, Liang should be controlled by Tianyi Pavilion. No… he should be in Xi Ling too, but not with the Sick Scholar. Send a message to Han Ming Xi. Tell him he should honor his promise to me now.”

“Yes, My Lady.” Secret Guard No.3 nodded and disappeared behind her in a flash.

After Secret Guard No.3 left, Ye Li remained where she was for a long time before returning to the yard she currently shared with Mo Xiu Yao. Back in their room, she didn’t see him there. Thinking about it, she headed for the study in the front yard but was stopped by two secret guards at the door.

“My Lady, His Highness has said that he won’t be seeing anyone for now. Please leave.”

Ye Li glanced at the two men who didn’t dare to look at her and asked: “What?”

“His Highness said that he won’t be seeing anyone for now, including…you, My Lady.”

She took a step backwards calmly and said: “I know you are simply following orders and I don’t want to make things difficult. But… I am going in.”

The two looked at each other quickly and blocked the door. “Please don’t make this difficult for us, My Lady.”

She said: “You won’t be disobeying the order if I knock you down before I go inside, right?”

“Well…” The two secret guards looked at her vigilantly. They had seen what the princess could do before. They weren’t sure whether they could stop her without hurting her. “My Lady, I’m afraid not…” One of the men at the door made a gesture and several men landed on the ground from trees and rooftops.

Ye Li raised her brows and sneered: “Secret Guard No.2 and No.3, get them!”

“Yes! Two deep voice answered. Then, two figures landed in the yard like lightning bolt. Within seconds, several secret guards were under control.

Noticing their angry and unwilling stares, Secret Guard No.3 patted one man on the shoulder and said: “Brother, no harsh feelings. There are good and bad secret guards, right?”

All secret guards had started at the same place. That was why Secret Guard No.2 and No.3 knew those men so well while those men didn’t know them at all. They didn’t suffer for months for nothing. Now came the difference. It wasn’t that those men were weak. It was because Secret Guard No.2 and No.3 had reached a higher level than them. If it wasn’t for the awkward situation, Secret Guard No.3 really wanted to look up at the sky and laugh out loud.

Ye Li turned smilingly at the two men at the door. “Now, do you want me to make you step away?”

The two men sighed and made way for her. “This way please, My Lady.”