LIGHTNOVELONLINE As Han Ming Xi walked in, he seemed to have lost his usual cheekiness as well as that charming smile on his handsome face. Right now, he was tired and gloomy, with frustration and disappointment.
There was nothing Ye Li could do except for feeling sorry for him.
Mo Xiu Yao had done what he deemed most appropriate while Han Ming Yue chose who he deemed most important. As for Han Ming Xi… he had been the most innocent of all from the start.
“Your Highness, My Lady.” Han Ming Xi sounded a big rigid.
Mo Xiu Yao nodded slightly and said calmly: “Please take a seat, Mr. Han.”
Han Ming Xi sat down without a word. His eyes stopped on Ye Li for a split second then turned to Mo Xiu Yao again. “Your Highness, you knew what my brother was going to do a long time ago, didn’t you?” With his eyes fixed on Mo Xiu Yao, he asked outright.
Mo Xiu Yao nodded and spoke: “Han Ming Yue knows me well. I know him well too. So… I have a rough guess about what he would do for whom. But he probably did expect me here so soon.”
Han Ming Xi was silent.
Right, if Mo Xiu Yao wasn’t here all of a sudden, Han Ming Yue would probably disappear at night or during the day after he had everything arranged. Now, with his plan ruined, Han Ming Yue had no choice but to attack Han Ming Xi out of the blue and fled in haste while leaving an awful mess behind to the younger brother he always doted on.
“Why are you here, Mr. Han?” asked Mo Xiu Yao in a serious tone.
Han Ming Xi asked with his eyes on him: “If I have no plan, what will you do, Your Highness?”
Mo Xiu Yao lowered his eyes and said: “In three days, all the secret bases of Tianyi Pavilion in Great Chu will be eliminated. As for Han Family, I don’t have power over it. If edict comes from the capital, you know what it will be, Mr. Han.”
“Han Family destroyed…” Han Ming Xi mumbled painfully. Big brother, you don’t care about me or our family at all just because of that woman, do you?
Silence hung over the room.
Finally, Han Ming Xi lifted his head and said to Mo Xiu Yao: “Han Family has banished Han Ming Yue. From now on, he isn’t a member of our family anymore!”
Mo Xiu Yao’s brows rose slightly.
Who said Han Ming Xi was good for nothing? Given his decisiveness, he was a better leader than Han Ming Yue.
Mo Xiu Yao nodded. “That being the case, I’ll submit a statement to His Majesty that Han Family is innocent.”
Han Ming Xi lowered his eyes and said coldly: “Thank you, Your Highness.” Though he didn’t have favorable opinions of Mo Xiu Yao, he had to thank him. Even though Han Family banished Han Ming Yue, if he did work for Xi Ling in the future, Han Family couldn’t get away from punishment. If it did by a fluke, the cost of it would be enough to destroy the family. However, with a word of Prince Ding, even the emperor wouldn’t doubt Han Family’s innocence for Prince Ding’s Manor had blood debt with all three neighboring countries who wouldn’t commit treason even if the emperor did.
“Please help me with one more thing, Your Highness, My Lady.”
“Please, just say it,” said Mo Xiu Yao.
Resolute, Han Ming Xi spoke with his eyes on Ye Li: “As leader of Han Family, I want to follow Your Highness and My Lady.” That meant Han Family was going to support Prince Ding’s Manor no matter what.
“What do you want?” said Mo Xiu Yao. He knew Han Ming Xi wouldn’t take such a big bet unconditionally.
In a serious tone, Han Ming Xi said: “I simply want… Your Highness to spare my brother if he ever falls in your palm again.” Han Ming Xi was clear that Han Ming Yue would be an enemy of Prince Ding’s Manor in the future. He also knew that his big brother was no match for Prince Ding, not only for his lesser martial arts skills and wisdom, but also because… he didn’t have an assistant like Princess Ding. That bitch would only cause his big brother trouble.
Mo Xiu Yao laughed quietly as he spoke: “Mr. Han, you do value your brother and family. I grant you that… for your faith in me. From now on, you’ll answer to Ah Li.”
Han Ming Xi gave him a surprised look, then turned to Ye Li beside him. He lowered his head and answered: “Yes, Your Highness. Sorry to have bothered you. I’ll leave now.”
As Han Ming Xi turned to leave, Mo Xiu Yao suddenly spoke as if he thought of something: “Han Ming Yue left readily for he knew me well. He knew that I would never hurt the root of Han Family.”
Han Ming Xi paused, then left without turning back.
“Why tell him that and ask him to listen to me?” Ye Li asked in confusion.
Mo Xiu Yao smiled: “Han Ming Yue values relationships. So does Han Ming Xi. However, Han Ming Yue attaches more importance to personal relationship while Han Ming Xi deems the relationship between brothers more important. It is better to tell him directly than letting him know I schemed for the power of Han Family later which will lead to grievance. As a clever man, he knows what to do. As for… Ah Li, now that we are in this war, neither of us can get away. You need to be powerful enough to protect yourself so that you won’t get in danger when I’m not by your side. Besides, Han Ming Xi is proud and calculating. If he doesn’t respect me sincerely, he might feign compliance when he works for me. But I don’t think he’ll harm you. However, Ah Li…” As if he had remembered something else, he looked at her with all seriousness.
She raised her brow.
He sounded tender and gentle: “Don’t treat him too well. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise?” A bit uneasy under his strange gaze, she asked.
“I’ll kill him!” He said in a small voice but she could tell he meant it. “At least not when I’m still alive.”
Ye Li’s heart quivered. She grabbed his hand and said seriously: “You’ll be fine.”
With a faint smile, Mo Xiu Yao ended the topic. “All right, Ah Li, let’s go back to what we were talking.”
Ye Li remembered it and asked with raised brow: “What kind of woman could captivate a man like Han Ming Yue?” Besides all the beauties Han Ming Yue had seen, as the owner of Cool Breeze Bright Moon House, every girl that worked for him was versatile and beautiful. What kind of beauty could have him so obsessed?
Mo Xiu Yao looked at her and spoke three words in a serious tone: “Su Zui Die,”
“Su Zui… Su Zui Die?!” Ye Li was shocked. “Su Zui Die is still alive?”
He nodded slightly as if he didn’t care much that his former fiancée didn’t pass away, as if he didn’t mind his former best friend was obsessed with her at all.
In a split second, numerous thoughts passed her and she asked after a good while: “Was it Su Zui Die who asked Han Ming Yue to kidnap me last year? Now she is in Xi Ling… and related to the royal family of Xi Ling?”
Mo Xiu Yao looked at her and nodded, a bit apologetic.
She rubbed her forehead as she put all the information together.
Su Zui Die died of disease three months after Mo Xiu Yao’s injury. Now she was in Xi Ling and might belong to the royal family of Xi Ling. Han Ming Yue was Mo Xiu Yao’s best friend, yet he loved Su Zui Die blindly. After Su Zui Die passed away, Han Ming Yue broke off with Mo Xiu Yao. However, it was obvious that Han Ming Yue had wronged Mo Xiu Yao which meant… Han Ming Yue, together with Su Zui Die wronged Mo Xiu Yao. However, Ye Li didn’t think it was an affair. Judging from Han Ming Xi’s attitude towards Su Zui Die, she must have been using Han Ming Yue.
“Su… Han Ming Yue helped Su Zui Die fake her death, didn’t he?”
Mo Xiu Yao’s brows rose slightly with a faint smile as he spoke: “Ah Li, you are so clever.”
Ye Li smiled slightly. “It’s obvious. To keep the news that Miss Su is still alive a secret needs immense power. Although Lord Su enjoys high prestige, Su Family isn’t powerful enough to do that. If you didn’t help her, it must have been the master of Tianyi Pavilion who admires her. You… I don’t think you’ll help her.”