Gu Hai looked at Mo Yike, his heart sinking. Indeed, Mo Yike is sharp. From what I just said, he already guessed what happened.
“That’s fine,” Gu Hai said with a smile.
Mo Yike stared at Gu Hai, wanting to find clues from Gu Hai’s face. Inside, he felt extremely anxious.
When he met the emperor earlier, he had come to understand the rough situation. He also instantly grasped Long Wanyu’s importance.
Before others could notice any problems, Mo Yike immediately rushed over to verify whether Long Wanyu was still in Major Metropolitan City.
If she was gone, they needed to chase after her right away. Even if they had to use force, they had to bring her back.
After all, Gongyang Sheng had vanished, likely taken away by the Qian Nation’s men. After Major Metropolitan City was reduced to rubble, Gongyang Sheng would have guessed what was going on. The Qian Nation would definitely make a move, considering this involved the Slaughter Heavenly Dynasty’s accumulations.
The most effective way to prevent the Qian Heavenly Dynasty from doing anything would be to grasp its weakness: Long Wanyu.
Mo Yike urgently rushed over and put on a show of social pleasantries just to meet Long Wanyu.
Mo Yike stared at Gu Hai, waiting for him to refuse. However, Gu Hai nodded with a faint smile.
Mo Yike frowned slightly but did not say anything. After all, it would be best if Long Wanyu was still in Major Metropolitan City.
“Mister Mo, how about you wait for a while? I’ll go and check with the princess?” Gu Hai said with a smile.
“Alright.” Mo Yike nodded.
However, Gu Hai did not invite Mo Yike into the manor. Gu Hai had laid a ritual array in the manor, resulting in fog shrouding the place.
After Gu Hai entered the fog, his face sank. “Hurry, inform Li Shenji to return. There is a change in the situation.”
“Yes!” Ju Lu answered and quickly vanished, tunneling underground.
Gu Hai observed the outside with a sullen expression through the fog.
If it were another person, Gu Hai would think of a way to send that person away. However, Mo Yike was an incredible person. He would not stop until he met Long Wanyu.
Is turning hostile the only way? However, Long Wanyu had just left the city and could not have gone far yet. Even with Ye Shenzhen protecting her, there might be problems if Imperial Emperor Xi Yu personally went to capture her. Furthermore, Gu Hai was still not certain of Ye Shenzhen’s strength.
Delay?
I can only delay now to buy Wanyu more time to get farther away.
Outside, Mo Yike frowned slightly when he saw Gu Hai enter the foggy area.
“Men!” Mo Yike called out.
“Present!”
“Immediately send someone to investigate the surroundings. See if any immortal crane carriages had left. Also, inform the guards at the city gates. Tell them to carefully check every immortal crane carriages that enter or leave,” Mo Yike instructed.
“Yes!”
“Inform the ministry of works. Tell them to prioritize the underground ritual array of Major Metropolitan City. Activate it as soon as possible to prevent anyone from tunneling underground. At the very least, make sure we can know immediately if someone digs an underground tunnel,” Mo Yike instructed.
[TL Note: The ministry of works is a department that dealt with the construction and maintenance of infrastructure in ancient China. Here is a Wikipedia entry on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Works_(imperial_China).]
“Yes!”
Gu Hai walked out of the fog after a while and met with Mo Yike again.
“Mister Gu, can I visit the princess now?” Mo Yike asked with a smile.
“Sorry, Mister Mo. The princess is currently resting. How about you come back tomorrow?” Gu Hai shook his head with a bitter smile.
“It’s alright. I can wait for the princess,” Mo Yike said with a determined tone as his expression changed.
“Since that is the case, do as you please.” Gu Hai shook his head.
Mo Yike frowned slightly, as Gu Hai had not invited him into the manor.
However, when considering the recent unpleasantness at the Mo Residence, he could not force anything.
Mo Yike raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked at the manor’s fog, feeling anxious. Gu Hai’s excuse resulted in him being unable to take indiscriminate action. Am I going to just wait here?
No. I have to go in and take a look.
Mo Yike had a bad feeling that Long Wanyu had already left. However, since Gu Hai did not turn hostile, he could not just barge in.
“Men!” Mo Yike called out again.
“Present!”
“The young archduke is nearby, right?” Mo Yike looked at one of his subordinates.
“Yes! He should be at the recently rebuilt restaurant nearby,” that subordinate said respectfully.
“It will be a few days before the archduke makes his apology to the Qian Nation envoys. That is not very sincere. Go and invite the young archduke over to apologize on the archduke’s behalf!” Mo Yike instructed.
[TL Note: The emperor’s brother is still a prince since he was the son of the previous emperor. In this novel, I used the title archduke, which also happens to be a prince’s title, to make it less confusing. The son of any prince is still a prince. So, the nephew of an emperor is also a prince. To avoid confusion, even though the Chinese words for this person’s title is young prince, I used young archduke, as it would make sense that an archduke’s son would be an archduke.]
That startled this subordinate. However, he eventually answered, “Yes!”
Then, that subordinate quickly left.
“The young archduke?” Gu Hai wondered aloud.
“Archduke Xi Kang’s son, Xi Yong.” Mo Yike nodded.
“Oh? Xi Yong?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.
Over the past few days, Gu Hai had been studying the information on the Yuan Nation’s nobility. Xi Yong was a second-generation noble like Mo Yike and Qin Zibai. However, he did not have Mo Yike’s intelligence or Qin Zibai’s martial skills. The only thing special about him was his fiery temper and penchant for getting into trouble.
Mo Yike is calling him over?
Gu Hai immediately understood Mo Yike’s plan.
Gu Hai’s heart sank, but he could not actually show it on his face. After all, Mo Yike phrased things very nicely, saying that Xi Yong would represent Archduke Xi Kang to apologize.
Rumble…!
Before Xi Yong arrived, another group of people approached.
It was Qin Zibai with some of his subordinates. They quickly arrived outside Gu Hai’s manor.
“Lord Mo is here as well?” Qin Zibai frowned slightly.
“Lord Qin?” Mo Yike said with a frown.
Qin Zibai nodded while smiling.
Then, Qin Zibai turned to Gu Hai.
“Mister Gu!” Qin Zibai walked over to Gu Hai and suddenly bowed respectfully.
Gu Hai immediately avoided Qin Zibai’s bow. “Lord Qin, what are you doing?”
Qin Zibai said with a bitter smile, “Mister Gu, many thanks for helping in the northern sector. Otherwise, I might have already died at the saber of that Second Battalion commander. Qin Zibai owes you another one.”
“Lord Qin is too polite. I only went to help due to Mister Mo’s request,” Gu Hai countered with a smile.
Mo Yike showed a faint, bitter smile. Naturally, he could tell that Gu Hai said this for his benefit. If he exposed Gu Hai after Gu Hai just gave him face and mentioned helping him, he would be requiting good with evil.
Mo Yike sighed inwardly. One had other considerations when one held office. As a Yuan Nation official, he had to prioritize the Yuan Nation’s interests.
When Mo Yike heard what Gu Hai said, he did not dare to say anything more.
However, Qin Zibai shook his head and said, “That is another matter. When I returned home earlier, my father told me to come and thank Mister Gu. At the same time, he also told me to thank Princess Wanyu in person, no matter what, for not being stingy and letting Mister Gu make a move.”
“Oh?” Gu Hai raised his eyebrows.
The Qin Clan’s clan head?
Gu Hai glanced at Mo Yike. Clearly, the Qin Clan’s clan head had thought of the possibility of Long Wanyu having left, just like Mo Yike.
“That’s right! Before I left, my father said that the princess might have been shocked by recent events, so he told me to bring a Nerve Calming Pearl for her. He told me to hand it to the princess personally.” Qin Zibai took out a jade box.
Mo Yike showed a faint, bitter smile. While Qin Zibai’s father was blind, his heart could see clearly. To think that he even anticipated Gu Hai’s excuse of the princess being shocked and prepared a Nerve Calming Pearl in advance.
Gu Hai frowned slightly and shook his head. “I’m sorry. The princess is already resting. How about you come again tomorrow?”
“There’s no need. My father instructed me to wait here if the princess was already resting. That way would show sincerity,” Qin Zibai said seriously.
“Alright,” Gu Hai said with a faint, bitter smile.
“Mo Yike, why did you call me over?” A furious shout suddenly came from the other end of the street.
“Huh?” Everyone turned their head to look.
They saw a male youth in red robes. A group of escorts followed behind him, showing sullen expressions.
“Young archduke!” Mo Yike greeted with a smile.
“Xi Yong?” Qin Zibai raised his eyebrows.
The red-clad man, Xi Yong, suddenly noticed Gu Hai and the others.
“Oh? Gu Hai?” Xi Yong narrowed his eyes and showed a cold smile.
Gu Hai had been in the limelight over the past few days. However, Xi Yong felt boundless hatred for him. Not long ago, Gu Hai had humiliated Xi Yong’s father, Archduke Xi Kang, at Five Sacred Mountains Academy in front of the entire city.
If Archduke Xi Kang had not issued a blanket order not to disturb the Qian Nation envoys, Xi Yong would have come long ago.
Xi Yong might not be as capable as Qin Zibai and Mo Yike, but he was still the noble young master of the Xi Clan.
He had been enjoying himself at a restaurant earlier, but Mo Yike’s men came over and asked him to go and apologize to Gu Hai.
In a slightly drunk state, he immediately came over with bloodshot eyes.
“Young Archduke,” Gu Hai said with a faint smile.
Mo Yike said, “Young Archduke, His Reverence already issued an edict, preparing to get Archduke Xi Kang to apologize to the Qian Nation envoys in front of the civil and military officials for being so rude at my Mo Residence not so long ago. After all, that was just a misunderstanding. I recalled seeing Young Archduke nearby earlier, so I asked my men to invite Young Archduke here to offer the princess your apologies on behalf of the archduke first.”
“What? My father has to apologize to that lass in front of all the civil and military officials at the Great Sigh Palace Hall?” Xi Yong’s temper suddenly flared up.
“That’s right.” Mo Yike nodded.
Gu Hai could tell that Mo Yike was making use of Xi Yong to cause trouble and allow Mo Yike to investigate whether Long Wanyu was here or not.
“Mister Mo, do you think that my Qian Nation envoys do not have enough trouble as it is?” Gu Hai asked seriously.
“Mister Gu!” Mo Yike turned his head to explain.
“There’s no need to say anything. Young Archduke Xi Yong, right? Please go back. Hah! We do not need your apology,” Gu Hai said in a heavy voice.
“Ha! You want me to go back? It’s not that easy! Gu Hai, don’t you want me to apologize to you on behalf of my father? Well, bring it on. Let’s go. Bring me to meet that lass. Humph! After I apologize for my father, all the previous matters are canceled.” Xi Yong immediately stepped forward, wanting to enter the ritual array.
“Halt!” Gu Hai glared.
However, Xi Yong ignored Gu Hai.
Gu Hai’s face sank as his voice suddenly rose several times in volume, spreading into the surroundings.
“My Qian Nation envoys came bearing friendship. However, you keep humiliating us over and over again. Is this the way the Yuan Nation treats its guests? At Five Sacred Mountains Academy, you intended to use the calligraphy Dao to humiliate us, trying to make us appear uncultured. At the Mo Residence, you searched my Qian Nation envoys, making accusations about our morality and conduct. That forced us to leave and buy a manor to stay in. When the Yuan Nation encountered danger, my Qian Nation did not forget our friendship, risking our lives to help. Now, there are people among my Qian Nation envoys who got shocked and need to rest. Despite my buying my own manor, you still don’t let us rest, trying to search us again? Xi Yong, you are going overboard!” Gu Hai shouted.
Many of Major Metropolitan City’s citizens heard Gu Hai’s voice.
Xi Yong goggled. There is no way to explain my way out of this. I have not even started a commotion yet. If you tried to stop me, I would just stop. Why are you shouting? What are you shouting? I did not…
