The Cry of the Phoenix Which Reached the Ninth Heaven Volume 2 Chapter 38

Chapter 38: The King of Qi Feigns Defeat
"In reality…"
"In reality, if King Qi doesn't wish to agree to this, Mowan wouldn't press you. After all, you are the monarch of a nation. Mowan really is being a little selfish in asking this." Yao Mowan used the strategy of loosening the reins in order to grasp them better and said this with a disappointed expression.
"Forget it, this king will agree. It will also count as repaying the favor I still owe Wan er from before." Feng Yihan couldn't bear to see that sad and disappointed expression on Yao Mowan's face, so he decided to agree.
"Mowan is extremely grateful that King Qi was willing to agree to this. However, the root of this is still that King Qi owes Ye Junqing a favor. It has no connection to the favor you still owe Mowan, so in the strict sense, King Qi still owes Mowan a favor." Yao Mowan immediately put away her sad look and gave a serious explanation of the situation.

When Feng Yihan heard this, he felt like he was in the center of tornado. That astonishment and depression left him in complete confusion. He repeatedly asked himself, what was going on? What was going on? Did he just get trolled by Yao Mowan?
Even though he felt like he was tricked, he still kept his promise. Hence, after ordering for Linxi to be defended for three days, once Ye Junqing broke through the defense, Feng Yihan waited very unwillingly for Ye Junqing to capture him.
At this moment, Feng Yihan was sitting leisurely in the main hall of Linxi and sampling tea with a relaxed expression. There was no trace of the sorrow or indignance that a normal captive would have.
"All of you, withdraw!" The moment Ye Junqing entered, he had all the guards withdraw, then personally shut the door tightly.
"Where's Yao Mowan?" Ye Junqing looked towards Feng Yihan sharply. His voice contained faint worry and unease.
"She's waiting in a guesthouse in Anqing to be exchanged for Yihan." Feng Yihan took a sip of tea, then said this helplessly.
"Why did you go easy on this prince? It doesn't make sense!" Ye Junqing ,who had been tensed up this entire time, finally calmed down a little when he captured Feng Yihan. At the very least he'd be able to guarantee that there wouldn't be any threat to Yao Mowan's life.
"In front of Yao Mowan, only her words are reason." Feng Yihan had to admit that Yao Mowan had that kind of ability. She was capable of twisting everything to strengthen her argument.

"This prince doesn't understand." Ye Junqing slowly sat down in front of Feng Yihan. Even though he found this entire matter strange, he couldn't figure out the specifics of how this all happened.
"Back then in Chu's imperial palace, Mowan and Prince had saved Yihan from a difficult situation. Yihan had promised Mowan that Yihan would definitely repay this favor some other day. At that time, Mowan asked me for a favor on your behalf. Today counts as Yihan repaying that owed favor." Feng Yihan originally didn't want to tell Ye Junqing this, but he couldn't bring himself to ignore everything that Yao Mowan did for Ye Junqing, especially since Ye Junqing only cared for Yao Moxin. Even though Yao Mowan refused to admit it, he could tell that she had already fallen for Ye Junqing.
"King Qi's feigning defeat to repay a favor to Junqing?" Ye Junqing was very well aware that his troops weren't that all-powerful and that the military of Qi wasn't that weak.
"The favor's not to feign defeat. The favor was to attack great Chu," corrected Feng Yihan as he set down the cup.
"King Qi means to say that you had attacked great Chu to repay a favor to Junqing?" Ye Junqing found it incredulous.
"Although Yihan doesn't know what Prince had encountered in the palace of Chu, Mowan had indeed sent a letter asking Yihan to hurry and send troops. That was why this campaign occured. Prince seizing control of Linxi, capturing Yihan, these were all Yao Mowan's ideas." Feng Yihan revealed the entire situation.
"Why did she do that… King Qi's that willing to listen to her orders?" Ye Junqing would be able to get the first answer sooner or later, so right now he was more curious about why Feng Yihan was following all of Yao Mowan's orders. If it was just to return a favor, there was no way he'd go this far.
"To be able to listen to the woman you love is a sort of happy honor." Feng Yihan had a good impression of Yao Mowan, but it wasn't to the point of bone-deep love. The only reason he said this was to provoke Ye Junqing and make him realize that some people would be forever out of reach if you missed them at the right time.
Later, when Feng Yihan saw Yao Mowan weeping silently, he regretted his current action to no end.
"You… You like Yao Mowan!?" Ye Junqing's eyes widened with disbelief even as a strange tart sensation appeared in his heart.
"If not, why would Yihan gift Mowan the immortal phoenix tail hairpin? Why would I call the kitten Si Qing? Why would I obey all of her words? It's because I've already set my mind on this woman." Feng Yihan's every sentence pierced Ye Junqing's heart like thorns. The faint hurt and jealousy made Ye Junqing so confused that he didn't even know how he was supposed to react.
Jealousy? But there's no reason for him to be jealous. The one he loved was Moxin. In this lifetime, the next lifetime, that would never change! But if it wasn't jealousy, then what was this stifling suffocating sensation?
"She's the imperial noble consort of Chu! She's not someone you can covet!" Ye Junqing looked towards Feng Yihan indignantly, ignoring his own flustered emotions for now.
"In Yihan's heart, she's just her. As long as she nods, she can immediately become the empress of Qi!" Feng Yihan's words were abnormally resolute and resounded loudly. His clear eyes were filled with bright radiance. Ye Junqing could tell that Feng Yihan wasn't lying.

"She… agreed?" Ye Junqing didn't seem to sense the nervousness and apprehension in his own voice, but Feng Yihan noticed all of it.
Ye Junqing did care about Yao Mowan. This was good. As long as Yao Mowan would be able to get something back for everything she had invested, that would be good.
"If she had agreed, would I still be sitting here?" replied Feng Yihan bitterly. Ye Junqing immediately smiled in relief. His face was filled with schadenfreude.
Hence, two days after this deadlock, Ye Junqing finally exchanged Feng Yihan for Yao Mowan from the defending general of Anqing. In front of the two militaries, Feng Yihan and Yao Mowan walked towards each other. As they brushed shoulders, Feng Yihan asked with a bit of anticipation:

"Wonder when I'll have the chance to see Mowan again?"
"We'll naturally see each other when King Qi repays the favor you owe Mowan," said Yao Mowan with a smile. Although that smile was as beautiful as that of a spring flower, Feng Yihan felt a chill down his back. He had already gone through so much just to repay a favor to Ye Junqing, if he still needed to repay a favor to Yao Mowan… He didn't dare to think about it!
The second day after they got Yao Mowan back, Ye Junqing got another urgent decree from Ye Hongyi. The general meaning was for him to bring Yao Mowan back to the imperial city as quickly as possible. The sentence 'we miss her' made Ye Junqing's heart stir with uncomfortable emotions again.
On the journey back, every time Yao Mowan invited Ye Junqing to the chariot to sample tea, he would come. He even visited several times without being invited, which made Yao Mowan feel a little overwhelmed by this favor.
"Feng Yihan had definitely offered Linxi to Chu for you. He truly cares about you a lot." Ye Junqing had already drank five cups of tea and had been sitting silently for a long time before he finally said this probingly. After all, Feng Yihan was no inferior to Ye Hongyi. If Yao Mowan had ended up being moved by his actions, that was completely normal.
"If Feng Yihan gave Prince five hundred thousand gold taels, would Prince give Xiantai, Jinmen, and Nanxun willing to him?" asked Yao Mowan lightly.
"Five hundred thousand gold taels? You gave him five hundred thousand gold taels!?" Ye Junqing abruptly stood up even as he looked at her in disbelief.
"Prince's reaction isn't too slow after all." It was the truth so Yao Mowan didn't deny it.
"Five hundred thousand gold taels is enough to buy fifty Linxis! You're sure generous! You… you couldn't have fallen in love with Feng Yihan, right? If not, why would you be so generous?" Ye Junqing sat back down and looked towards her seriously.
__________
Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]
Enjoy~
Announcements~

Chiyo got carpal tunnel from typing too much, so Chiyo's looking to hire 1-2 transcribers to help out with typing up Cry of Phoenix chapters! If you have free time, can understand spoken English, and can type, consider helping Chiyo out!
Incentive for readers to apply: As soon as Chiyo finds 1-2 reliable transcribers, Chiyo will release 8 bonus Phoenix chapters! Applicants will also get limited time access to 15 chapters of their choosing.
Offer (for hired transcribers):Will pay $20 per audio hourWork is 1-2 audio hours per monthAccess to a lot of advanced chapters!!