Chapter 34: Have a Fool Be the Marshal
"En, Wan er has never been competitive." YMW nodded firmly with a smile.
"Then Wan er will do it for us?" Ye Hongyi looked towards Yao Mowan delightedly. This woman's pure and innocent face was beautiful enough to make a person's breath stop and drive them crazy.
"Wan er will do whatever Your Majesty tells Wan er to do!" Yao Mowan nodded seriously. Internally, she was celebrating this turn of events. If someone else was the marshal, Ye Junqing would've been in serious danger this time.
"Wan er's the only one we can trust in this entire palace…" sighed Ye Hongyi as he pulled her into his arms tightly. He felt like if he let go even for a second, this cute little sprite that the Heavens had bestowed him would disappear.
This particular night, Ye Hongyi actually didn't have sexual intercourse with her and just hugged her tightly like he wanted to pull her into his heart. He had fallen in love with this fool. Ye Hongyi no longer had any doubt about this.
The next morning, at breakfast, Guan Osprey Palace reverberated with Ye Junqing's angry shouts.
"Did His Majesty take the wrong medicine? How could he have made you marshal? You're a woman!" As Ye Junqing stared at the edict in his hands, he felt like the world was falling apart.
"Hasn't Prince heard of the saying that a woman's headdress does not concede to the beards of men?" Yao Mowan had expected Ye Junqing to react like this, so her expression remained unperturbed.
"Don't try to tell this prince that His Majesty is making you marshal because a woman's headdress does not concede to the beards of men!" said Ye Junqing indignantly. Even though he was aware of how wise and farsighted Yao Mowan was, he still couldn't accept the fact that she was now his commanding officer.
"Regardless whether Prince is willing or not, during this campaign, you'll have to obey Mowan. Otherwise…" Yao Mowan let her words linger.
"Otherwise what?" asked Ye Junqing, annoyed.
"Otherwise Mowan will order the soldiers to pull down your pants and have you publicly spanked. Prince isn't afraid of pain, but are you also not afraid of embarrassment?" said Yao Mowan leisurely. She suddenly felt that today's breakfast was particularly delicious.
Things turned out as Yao Mowan had said. Regardless of whether Ye Junqing was willing or not, Yao Mowan still headed out of the imperial city with the identity of marshal.
The day of their departure, all of the citizens of the imperial city came to watch. Eternal Peace Street was filled with people. The majority of the crowd were young women that had gathered in hopes of catching a glimpse of Ye Junqing. Even though he wasn't donning the armor of the marshal anymore, he was still the most attractive sight in the procession.
The silver armor gave his handsome face a stern air that made his features even more charming and sharp. He was riding on horseback with a spear in hand. His current majestic manner was completely different from the elegant impression he usually gave off.
In the very center of the procession, Yao Mowan was in gold armor and sitting on a war chariot that was being pulled by eight large horses. She looked as solemn as a Buddha, but her appearance was more luxurious than it was stern. Though the young girls kept following Ye Junqing with their eyes, everyone else was looking at Yao Mowan.
"She looks proper, but in reality she's just a embroidered pillow casing!" Someone commented.
"The pillow casing's embroidered nicely, but inside is just a bunch of fodder!" sighed another person.
"Hey, fodder's still useful. Your analogy has issues!" said someone else pointedly to imply that Yao Mowan couldn't even compare to fodder. Who in the imperial city didn't know of this woman who the emperor favored the most? The Noble Consort Yao of the current dynasty was a fool! A fool was going to be the marshal? If it wasn't that His Majesty's brain experienced an issue, then it was that this world had gone crazy.
Yao Mowan sat comfortably in the golden sparkling chariot as she swept her clear eyes over the citizens and took in their expressions of disappointment or contempt. Inwardly, she sighed.
Ye Hongyi had truly made a crucial mistake. He had only been trying to figure out a way to get rid of Ye Junqing and had forgotten to consider the result of his actions. Having a fool be the marshal not only lost him the support of the military but also the faith of the people. His action was the same as destroying his own city walls. This campaign was going to be a crucial step for her to pave the way to the throne for Ye Junqing.
The procession grandiosity left the city, then headed towards Geyan. Yao Mowan had Liu Xing stay in the palace. Someone had to pay attention to Yao Suluan and Yao Residence. Since Yao Suluan had already gone crazy, Yao Mowan made Liu Sha stay behind to protect Liu Xing as well. After Ting Yue got injured last time, Yao Mowan became even more cautious. She couldn't allow anyone else who was devoted to her to get hurt.
Two days after leaving the imperial city, they encountered a storm. Ye Junqing ordered for the army to postpone the march and set up tents in the nearby forest.
After the order was given, over a hundred tents were set up in the forest in less than fifteen minutes. Out of all of the tents, Yao Mowan's was the most luxurious. It had a silk canopy with crystal tassels, a tea set, incense burners, a bed with a canopy… It had everything; it was practically like a miniature Guan Osprey Palace.
"Your Highness, the esteemed prince said that he needs to look into the army itinerary and doesn't have the time to come here." Ting Yue returned from Ye Junqing's tent and delivered his reply.
"That's why I say that your junior brother seriously doesn't have any taste. It's misty outside and there's a fine rain, so it's the perfect time to sample tea while enjoying the scenery. The most important task right now is not to let down such beautiful scenery." Yao Mowan shook her head helplessly as she glanced towards Yan Nansheng.
"Cough cough… Wan er, your taste is truly unique, most ordinary people wouldn't be able to keep up," replied Yan Nansheng sincerely as he listened to the sounds of the ferocious storm outside.
"Tell the esteemed prince that this is a military order. If he doesn't come, this marshal will personally spank him!" Yao Mowan paid no attention to Yan Nansheng's ridicule and just turned towards Ting Yue. Just as Ting Yue was about to leave to carry out this order, Yao Mowan added something else.
"Don't forget to remind him that he'll be spanked with his pants off!" When Yao Mowan said this, Yan Nansheng who was sitting in front of her jolted. How pitiful must the days be for his junior brother! Yan Nansheng decided let go of the incident in which Ye Junqing had tricked a nine revivals pill out of him and just treat it as a compensation for Ye Junqing to console him for his pitiful life.
Yao Mowan's method was very effective. Ye Junqing appeared in front of Yao Mowan and Yan Nansheng at the speed of lightning.
"You're looking for this prince?" Ye Junqing suppressed the fury in his heart and tried to make his tone as normal as possible, but it didn't sound normal at all.
"It was Nansheng. Mowan was just passing the message along." When Yao Mowan sensed Ye Junqing's suppressed anger, she slowly lifted her tea cup and just flung Ye Junqing off to Yan Nansheng.
"Hey!" Yan Nansheng abruptly sat up. He felt that Yao Mowan's way of passing off the problem was way too shameless.
"You didn't want to see him? Then Mowan will have him head back!" Yao Mowan paid no attention to Yan Nansheng's shocked look and continued speaking with an earnest expression.
"Fine, I was the one that wanted to see him. It had nothing to do with you, happy? Cough cough… Junqing, Feng Yihan has already reached Xiantai yesterday. This person isn't easy to deal with. If you're not confident, I can help you get rid of him!" Yan Nansheng had rushed here as soon as he found that out Ye Hongyi had sent Ye Junqing out on this campaign. He was certain that this was some nasty scheme of Ye Hongyi's.
"No!"
"No!" Ye Junqing and Yao Mowan almost simultaneously rejected him.
"Why?" Yan Nansheng glanced at them, confused. It was rare for their opinions to agree, but he didn't approve of their opinion. After all, if he killed Feng Yihan, great Chu would be able to win this battle without even fighting. He couldn't see anything bad about it.
"This prince fears no one on the battlefield! If you do this, it's an insult to Junqing!" Ye Junqing's words were resolute and his sharp gaze was reminiscent of his past military expertise.
"Then why did Wan er say no?" Yan Nansheng questioned how he had possibly ended up forgetting about Ye Junqing's stubbornness. He should have done it first and asked later. Now if anything happened to Feng Yihan, Ye Junqing would blame it on him!
__________Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]Enjoy~
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