Crowned Consort in Golden Age-Chapter 156. The Value of Su Zuidie

156. The Worth of Su Zuidie

The room was quiet; the only sound was Mo Xiuyao casually placing the scattered chess pieces back onto the board, one by one. Just when Han Mingyue thought Mo Xiuyao would not answer, he heard him say indifferently, "So what?"

Han Mingyue gave a helpless smile. Indeed, so what? Even if the worldly society and the imperial court are in chaos, what does it have to do with his King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion? Moreover, with Tianyi Pavilion’s influence in Great Chu dwindling, Great Chu would be the least affected. The King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion could even seize the opportunity to install its own people. Resting his forehead in his hand, Han Mingyue pondered for a good while before looking up at his former friend. "What benefits would I get?"

Mo Xiuyao’s smile was cold. "This king is sparing your life. Isn’t that benefit enough?"

Han Mingyue was speechless. He had always habitually assumed Mo Xiuyao wouldn’t kill him, yet he always forgot that their former camaraderie had ceased to exist the moment he chose betrayal. Looking at the calm and indifferent Mo Xiuyao before him, Han Mingyue suddenly understood... if he didn’t agree, Mo Xiuyao truly wouldn’t show him mercy. He shrugged helplessly and said, "It seems I have no choice."

Mo Xiuyao calmly regarded the chessboard before him. Han Mingyue frowned and asked, "What do you plan to do with Zuidie?"

Mo Xiuyao’s previously calm expression finally changed slightly. He frowned, disgust clearly written on the handsome features visible beyond his mask. "That is Ah-Li’s concern; this king has no interest in knowing." With his words, he completely entrusted Su Zuidie’s fate—her life or death—to Ye Li.

"Are you truly not concerned about Zuidie at all?" Han Mingyue stared at him, asking in a low voice.

Mo Xiuyao looked up at him, a faint mockery in his eyes. "If this king truly cared for her, do you think you two would still be alive?" It was precisely because he did not love Su Zuidie that he had let them go when she and Han Mingyue left him, even helping them cover their tracks. He had never expected, however, that Su Zuidie and Han Mingyue leaving together was merely an excuse to prevent his wrath. After leaving the Capital of Great Chu, Su Zuidie had unhesitatingly abandoned Han Mingyue and gone directly to Xiling, becoming a daughter of Xiling’s Bai Family and a Noble Consort of Xiling. From start to finish, Han Mingyue had merely been the one used.

Han Mingyue looked at Mo Xiuyao with envy, a faint smile on his lips. "Sometimes, I truly envy you. We’ve known each other practically since childhood. I liked Zuidie from almost the first moment I saw her, but her gaze always followed you. As for you... honestly, I never saw you truly care about any person or thing, aside from the King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion, your father, and your elder brother."

Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow. "Are you complaining that this king didn’t treat you well enough back then, leading to your betrayal?"

The casually spoken word "betrayal" still caused Han Mingyue’s expression to shift slightly. Betraying the one he had once considered his best friend and brother in this life was an indescribable guilt and burden he would forever carry in his heart. He shook his head slightly. "No, the Second Young Master of the King of Ding Kingdom’s Mansion... was dashing, unrestrained, and exceptionally loyal and devoted to his friends. However... Xiuyao, did you know? From the very beginning, I knew you didn’t love Zuidie." At this, as if recalling something, Han Mingyue suddenly began to laugh. Seeing Mo Xiuyao’s gaze turn to him, Han Mingyue laughed even more heartily. "You were very good to Zuidie. You’d give her any fine thing, and as long as her requests were reasonable, you’d fulfill them. Unlike other sons of noble families, you never dallied among women, never even glanced at other ladies, like the equally renowned Noble Consort Liu. But... you never truly *saw* Zuidie. In your eyes, such an exquisite beauty seemed no different from any ordinary woman. When I, when Third Feng, when almost all of us at that age were wrestling with the throes of love, you were completely aloof, as if you didn’t belong to this world at all. Back then, I thought... perhaps I wasn’t entirely without a chance."

Recalling his reckless youth around fifteen or sixteen, Mo Xiuyao couldn’t help but show a hint of nostalgia. "Perhaps it was because I hadn’t yet met that person... If you had told me directly back then, and Su Zuidie had agreed, I would have helped you get together." Recalling the past, Mo Xiuyao had to admit Han Mingyue was right; he hadn’t been angered by Han Mingyue’s blatant expressions of desire for his then-fiancée. As long as it wasn’t his Ah-Li, and as long as the other party consented, he didn’t think helping a pair of lovers come together would make him lose face. Of course, Han Mingyue and Su Zuidie were an impossibility because, from beginning to end, it was never Han Mingyue that Su Zuidie wanted. He might indeed have been heartless, but that was only because he hadn’t yet met the one he truly desired.

"But... I forgot... even if it wasn’t you, it wasn’t necessarily destined to be me." A thread of pain and conflict laced Han Mingyue’s words. "Only when I, with a heart torn by guilt and exhilaration, took the woman I had admired for years away from the Capital City did I realize that betraying my best friend hadn’t been the most painful moment of my life. No, the most painful moment was discovering that the woman I adored was not as I had imagined her to be, yet I remained deeply ensnared, unable to break free. I truly envy you... Xiuyao, spare Zuidie’s life. I beg you..."

"What does Young Master Han intend to trade for Su Zuidie’s life?" Ye Li’s clear and pleasant voice drifted in leisurely from outside the door.

Mo Xiuyao set down his chess piece, rose, and went to the door, taking Ye Li’s hand and leading her inside. He lowered his head and asked, "What brings you over at this time?"

Ye Li smiled faintly, glanced at Han Mingyue, and then said with a light laugh, "It seems that in the Southern Garrison Prince’s eyes, Young Master Han is far more valuable than the ’world’s foremost beauty’."

Han Mingyue gave a bitter laugh. "Princess Consort, you jest. You also understand, don’t you, Princess Consort? I won’t try to escape."

Ye Li turned her head to look at Han Mingyue and sighed. "Alas, what is this thing called love in the world... If not for the current special circumstances, I (this Princess Consort) truly couldn’t bear to make things difficult for Young Master Mingyue."

Han Mingyue lowered his eyes, silent. Had he really fallen so low as to need others’ pity?

"What does the Princess Consort want this humble one to trade? I just made a deal with the Prince; now I’m destitute, with nothing left," Han Mingyue said, spreading his hands and looking at Ye Li with a laugh.

Ye Li pursed her lips into a smile. "Do you truly believe your own words, Young Master Han? Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows. How could a clever man like Young Master Han invest everything in Tianyi Pavilion?"

Han Mingyue’s smile faded slightly. He took a deep look at Ye Li, whose smile was gentle and warm, and sighed. "Xiuyao is truly fortunate to have married you, Princess Consort."

Ye Li smiled lightly. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

Wordless, Han Mingyue took a jade pendant from his robes and tossed it to her. "Princess Consort, since you’re so certain, then this... you surely know how to use it?"

Ye Li was clearly very pleased with the jade pendant in her hand. She smiled. "Young Master Han is indeed generous. Since Young Master Han is so forthcoming, I (this Princess Consort) will not be stingy either. Once the siege of Xinyang is lifted, you, Young Master, may leave with Miss Su."

Having received the desired payment, Ye Li no longer deliberately provoked Han Mingyue by repeatedly calling Su Zuidie ’Noble Consort Bai’.

Han Mingyue raised an eyebrow. "Why not now?"

Ye Li’s smile was kind and innocent. "I am also thinking of Young Master Han’s best interests. Of course, if Young Master Han is in a hurry to leave, I (this Princess Consort) won’t stand in your way."

Han Mingyue was silent for a long moment before cupping his hands. "In that case, I shall impose on you, Princess Consort."

After leaving Han Mingyue’s courtyard, the two walked hand in hand. Mo Xiuyao looked down at Ye Li, who was fiddling with the jade pendant with one hand, and asked softly, "Ah-Li, why did you let Han Mingyue and Su Zuidie go?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Ye Li paused, then raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t you, my Prince, intend not to take their lives?"

Mo Xiuyao scoffed. "What are their lives worth? Taking them or sparing them is merely a matter of a single word."

Ye Li sighed inwardly. Fine, she had misunderstood. She had thought Mo Xiuyao couldn’t bring himself to take Han Mingyue’s and Su Zuidie’s lives but found it difficult to say so. After being together for so long, how could she have mistaken Mo Xiuyao for such an indecisive person? Indeed... she had probably been influenced by Su Zuidie after all.

"For Mingxi’s sake, it’s better to keep Han Mingyue alive. And if we’re keeping Han Mingyue, we must also keep Su Zuidie. Otherwise, I’m afraid Han Mingyue would truly become our enemy, and Su Zuidie is the best tool to keep him in check." After a moment’s thought, Ye Li chuckled softly. "Besides, we’ve received a sufficient price. This is more than enough to buy both Han Mingyue’s and Su Zuidie’s lives, don’t you think?"

Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow, looking at the jade pendant in her hand with curiosity. "What treasure is it that makes Ah-Li so pleased?"

Ye Li laughed. "Don’t you want to know where Tianyi Pavilion’s money has gone all these years? Han Mingyue is known for loving money as much as his own life; could he possibly be short of it? Yet, whether it’s the current Han Family or all the branches of Tianyi Pavilion in Great Chu that we’ve raided, we haven’t found much money, have we?"

Mo Xiuyao looked at the jade pendant with some surprise. "Han Mingyue’s assets?"

Ye Li grinned. "Not just money, but also grain, cloth, weapons, medicinal herbs... Han Mingyue truly lives up to his reputation. When it comes to making money, he’s far more capable than Mingxi. It’s just a pity... his brain seems to short-circuit from time to time." Speaking of this, Ye Li couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret. Among all the people she had met in this world, including Leng Haoyu and those from families like the Feng Family, no one possessed Han Mingyue’s talent for making money. When she saw the results of Wei Lin’s investigation, she couldn’t help but feel it was a great shame. If Han Mingyue hadn’t been so encumbered by Su Zuidie, she wouldn’t have minded collaborating with him. Since collaboration was now impossible, she might as well reap the benefits of his efforts.

Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow. "Han Mingyue planned to profit from the widespread chaos of war?" To be able to tempt Ah-Li, one could only imagine the sheer volume of supplies Han Mingyue must have hoarded.

"In troubled times, those with foresight will not worry about failing to get rich," Ye Li said with a smile.

Mo Xiuyao nodded. "Since Ah-Li says so, then sparing them is fine. However, regarding Su Zuidie, you’d best have someone keep a close watch on her." Ye Li gave Mo Xiuyao a surprised look. Mo Xiuyao lowered his head and smiled. "I know Ah-Li thinks Su Zuidie has no abilities, doesn’t she? But in reality... without Su Zuidie, Han Mingyue wouldn’t be a threat at all. Does Ah-Li understand my meaning?"

Ye Li nodded. "I understand. I will have people watch Su Zuidie." She had indeed, consciously or unconsciously, somewhat underestimated Su Zuidie. But Mo Xiuyao was right; if Su Zuidie truly had no capabilities, how could she have manipulated Han Mingyue for so many years?