FID – Chapter 1080

Chapter 1080: If you say it is, then it is!

Feng Mohan didn’t flinch at the Empress Dowager’s look of disdain. He leaned in with a cheeky grin, making sure to tease the two little ones sitting on the couch playing with toys.

Badou and Hongdou were nearly a year and a half old, and could already walk short distances on their own without support.

Feng Mohan’s favorite thing was to watch the two kids walk, their little legs wobbling unsteadily. Their clumsy, adorable gait never failed to make him laugh for a long while.

Taking advantage of the Empress Dowager’s inattention, he reached out and pinched their chubby little cheeks. “So cute, like porcelain dolls, just like my Imperial Aunt.”

He didn’t mention his Imperial Uncle, so the Empress Dowager let his mischievous hands slide for now.

The emperor, emboldened, grew even more playful, watching the tiny, delicate child with itching hands. He scooped Hongdou into his arms as if carrying a kitten. “I was born before you, and you were born after me. Ah, Hongdou, why are you so little? If you had been born a few years earlier, when you grew up, I would have let you be Empress, Mother of the Nation—”

“Slap!”

Feng Mohan could hardly believe it, his eyes wide as he stared dumbfounded at the Empress Dowager.

He had just been smacked? On the back of his head? By the Empress Dowager?

The old lady nonchalantly withdrew her hand, smoothly rescuing Hongdou from his arms. “Little Hongdou, being Empress isn’t good at all. Later, your Imperial Grandma will personally select a young, talented match worthy of you. There probably aren’t many people in the entire world who could compare to you.”

Feng Mohan: “……” The old empress was scolding him in a roundabout way, saying he wasn’t worthy of Hongdou.

“And another thing, since you’re a girl, you have to protect yourself. A girl’s virtue is important. If anyone dares to lay a hand on you in the future, your grandmother will break his filthy paw!”

Hongdou tilted her head to look at the empress, baring her tiny milk teeth, and pointed at Feng Mohan with her soft, chubby hand, “Grandma, Grandma, hit—”

Feng Mohan grimaced, hiding his ‘filthy paw’ in his sleeve. Before he could say anything, a sharp tug shot through his scalp.

Looking up, he saw his hair being yanked by a tiny chubby hand, being pulled with all its might. And above him, Badou’s eyes sparkled.

He was certain: Badou was taking revenge for him messing with Hongdou’s little fuzzy hair earlier.

Vengeful to the last detail: the true art of his Imperial Uncle was passed down to the very bone.

With two little devils and one old empress against him, Feng Mohan felt utterly helpless and knew better than to provoke them.

He curled his lips at Badou, still fighting his hair, gave a quick smile, scooped up the little one, yanked down his open-crotch pants, and bolted.

Behind him, the little one stared at his now bare little legs, then let out a wailing cry that could shake the sky.

The old empress’s silver hair trembled with anger, and for the first time, she roared, “Feng Mohan! Stand right there!”

“Imperial Grandmother, I’m going to handle government affairs. I’ll come see you again tomorrow!” Feng Mohan waved the little open‑crotch pants in his hand and ran off laughing.

Little brat—did you really think I can’t deal with you?

Next time you dare yank hair from my head, I’ll splash ink on your little birdie, press a sheet of rice paper on it, make a little sparrow print, print a few hundred copies, and give every noblewoman in the capital one!

Let’s see if you can ever find a wife in the capital when you grow up!

Badou cried as if his heart were breaking, tears streaming like they cost nothing, making the empress dowager’s heart twist in pain.

After they finally got him into a new pair of open‑crotch pants, the little one immediately grabbed the waistband with both hands, clutching it tightly, terrified it would be pulled off again.

The empress dowager: “……”

Her silver hair trembled as she held Hongdou and burst into completely unrestrained laughter. Even the granny couldn’t hold back and laughed until her eyes teared up.

Badou started crying again.

After leaving the Yangxin Hall, Feng Mohan immediately summoned Qin Xiao for an audience.

Qin Xiao arrived quickly. The young emperor called for him this formally. Aside from that time when Feng Qingbai went to the southeastern border and the emperor summoned him to the palace intending to kill him, this was only the second time.

Once he entered the Imperial Study and the young eunuch serving tea was dismissed, Feng Mohan went straight to the point: “Elder Qin, I’m worried that my imperial uncle and aunt might be at a disadvantage in Xiliang. Is there any way to intimidate Xiliang so they won’t dare make things difficult for them?”

Qin Xiao had guessed that the young emperor would bring up this matter. He paused briefly, then shook his head: “There’s no way. The King and King’s Consort have already ‘left’ Xiliang and returned to Nanling. Even if we wanted to take action here, we’d have no justification.”

Back then, to confuse Xiliang’s scouts, Feng Qingbai had Wei Zi and Liu Ya pose as the King and his consort, boldly leaving via the main route.

This was common knowledge throughout the realm.

As a result, even if Nanling now wanted to dispatch troops or force Xiliang to comply, there’s no solid reason to do so.

Claim that the King and his consort are still in Xiliang? They could simply deny it.

And they cannot enter Xiliang themselves.

“What should we do then? I don’t believe that the sudden outbreak of the Gu poison in Xue Zhong is a coincidence. Something must have happened over there. Someone is using Xue Zhong’s Gu to torment Xue Qinglian, in order to manipulate my uncle and aunt.”

“If we can’t find a pretext, then we’ll have to act with aggression, station troops west of the canal.”

West of the canal is the border area between the northwest and Xiliang, near Mo City.

“But that’s Xiliang territory. If we station troops there, it would be like forcibly occupying Xiliang’s land, and Nanling would face the scrutiny of the world.”

“No, the twenty-li area along the canal border does not belong to Xiliang.”

“And it doesn’t belong to Nanling either.”

Qin Xiao lifted his gaze, enunciating each word carefully: “Then we’ll mark that territory on the map of Nanling. You are the Emperor of Nanling; if you say it is, then it is.”

Feng Mohan’s heart jolted violently, his pupils constricting.

Luckily, his uncle had already secured Qin Xiao’s loyalty; otherwise, this man would have been a formidable rival.

Brave, intelligent, capable, and with the potential to be a bandit—he had to be on their side. Otherwise, what emperor could rest easy?

His uncle had prepared for the worst!

And yet his uncle was still trapped in Xiliang!

“Mark it!”

A trace of a smile appeared in Qin Xiao’s eyes. “Your servant volunteers to personally lead twenty thousand troops to rebuild Nanling’s northwestern border.”

“Granted.” Feng Mohan reached into the ornate box behind the dragon desk and handed Qin Xiao the tiger tally that had been submitted long ago. “Elder Qin, I want to see my uncle and aunt return safely.”

Running his fingers over the familiar carved lines on the tiger tally, Qin Xiao said calmly, “Your Majesty, you’re entrusting the tiger tally to me so easily. Aren’t you afraid I might take advantage of it?”

“Rebuilding the northwestern border is a task only your experience can handle,” Feng Mohan smiled. “Besides, what is there to fear? If you dare to bully me again, I’ll complain. Elder Qin, I am no longer that green-haired boy; my backing now is bigger, stronger, and more numerous than ever.”

With the Empress Dowager behind him, he wondered what Qin Xiao could possibly stir up.

Carrying the tiger tally, Qin Xiao left the Imperial Study. After some distance, he turned back and looked at the place already lit by candlelight, lips curling into a smile.

This was no longer the green-haired boy of old; he already knew how to target a man’s vital points.

But did he truly think that relying on a mountain of backing made him invincible?

Once this matter was settled, he would return and properly instruct the young emperor, teaching him the meaning of respecting elders.

News of Qin Xiao resuming the post of Grand General and preparing to station troops at the northwestern border spread throughout the capital in a single day, sweeping across Nanling like a hurricane.