I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"Your Majesty, before I leave, this old minister would like to confirm something with you one last time."

"Your Majesty means that as long as the eldest prince doesn't want the throne, you'll give him anything, right?"

"So you're not going to avenge the Third Prince either?"

In the side hall, Huangfu Song and Emperor Xuan talked for a long time.

After the conversation, Huangfu Song had to go and take care of some business.

But after taking only two steps, he turned around and asked.

"yes!"

Emperor Xuan gritted his teeth in anger and closed his dragon eyes tightly.

Although the situation at the border is still unclear, it is necessary to send people to conduct an in-depth investigation.

But based on what Qin Feng just said, Emperor Xuan knew that Qin Li had not returned to the capital on his own but had instead returned to the capital in triumph.

The border war has ended, and Qin Li has repelled the Northern Barbarians.

Such a tremendous achievement would cost Emperor Xuan a great deal of money.

As for the third brother, Qin Yu, he can only blame himself for not checking the almanac before leaving home, which led to him running into Qin Li, who was returning to the capital.

With a fist salute, Huangfu Song prepared to leave again.

"Wait a moment!"

Emperor Xuan called out to him.

Huangfu Song stopped again, turned around, bowed and clasped his hands, "Your Majesty, is there anything else you wish to do?"

Emperor Xuan thought for a moment and said, "We must not show weakness to the eldest brother at the beginning. We must bluff him and let him know that I am not someone to be trifled with."

"yes!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuan nodded.

He waved to Huangfu Song, signaling him to hurry up and get on with his business.

Huangfu Song turned and left, quickly arriving at the main hall.

It is said that Emperor Xuan had to go to a side hall to talk with him.

Qin Li remained in the main hall, awaiting their news.

If this gets out, I really don't know where they'll put their faces.

But this is the true reflection of the pinnacle of power in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The power of the eldest prince, Qin Li, has expanded to an uncontrollable level.

The Zhao brothers had heard most of what Huangfu Song had said from Qin Feng about his arrival.

After bowing to Huangfu Song, the Zhao brothers were about to go to the side hall to report to Emperor Xuan, which could be considered a disguised handover of power.

After everyone left, Huangfu Song went straight to Qin Li.

Qin Li pretended not to see it, not even getting up, and not even lifting his eyelids.

Qin Feng, on the other hand, quickly stood up and gave up his seat.

Huangfu Song was no ordinary man. He was a military general, a confidant of Emperor Xuan, and could be considered the prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty in the true sense.

In Huangfu Song's eyes, this prince, who had no power or influence, was nothing at all.

Of all the court officials, only Qin Li could truly challenge him.

"Making a prince abdicate, Lord Huangfu, isn't he afraid of being criticized by the world for doing this?"

Qin Li sighed softly and took the initiative to attack.

In his opinion, the reason Qin Feng ended up like this was partly because the original owner of the body was useless, and partly because Qin Feng didn't take himself seriously.

A prince should act like a prince, second only to the emperor!

While they lacked power and influence, they were not someone that ministers like Huangfu Song could manipulate at will.

By voluntarily giving up his position to Huangfu Song, Qin Feng was underestimating himself.

If Qin Feng cannot correct this shortcoming, his ambition to achieve great things is pure nonsense.

Huangfu Song faced the challenge head-on, lifted his robe, sat in the spot where Qin Feng had just been, and said with a smile:

"The position was offered by His Highness the Seventh Prince, not something this old minister seized. Why should this old minister fear public opinion?"

"Does Your Highness not know that respecting the elderly and caring for the young is a virtue that has been cherished in our Great Zhou Dynasty since ancient times?"

Qin Li glanced at him. "Are you saying that I, the prince, have not inherited this virtue?"

"This old minister dares not!"

Huangfu Song cupped his hands in greeting, his face still bearing a smile.

Although she said she wouldn't dare, the smile on her face already suggested that Qin Li didn't possess such virtues.

Qin Li was too lazy to argue with him about such trivial matters.

He's not a saint, what use is virtue to him?

Qin Li disdained to become a saint!

Being a bad guy or a villain is much more fun than being a saint!

Twisting the jade thumb ring on his thumb, Qin Li slowly said:

"Tell me, what conclusion did Lord Huangfu reach with Father Emperor just now?"

"The third prince deserved his fate and was more than deserving of death. I, the prince, have upheld justice even against my own family. Do you really intend to punish me?"

"Or perhaps I should just commit suicide right now and offer my head to the third prince?"

Huangfu Song smoothed his wide sleeves and said, "Your Highness, you are too kind. His Majesty has just lost his son and has not yet recovered from his grief. His words were a bit harsh. I hope Your Highness will not take it to heart. After all, that was your father. Father and son should not hold grudges overnight!"

"That would be great!"

Qin Li said, "Then please announce to the world tomorrow that the Third Prince Qin Yu forcibly abducted a woman in the street, a crime that cannot be forgiven, and that I, the prince, shall execute him!"

"inappropriate!"

Huangfu Song immediately voiced his opposition without the slightest hesitation.

"What's wrong with it?"

Standing to the side, Qin Feng couldn't help but ask.

Huangfu Song didn't look at Qin Feng; his gaze remained fixed on Qin Li. "I beg Your Highness, to show mercy and step back. Let's work together to cover this up; this matter is truly not suitable for publicizing!"

"The Third Prince is, after all, a member of the royal family and Your Highness's younger brother. If word gets out that he forcibly abducted a woman from the street, how will the world view the royal family? This old minister is doing this for the good of the royal family and for Your Highness's good."

"Are you threatening me, Your Highness?" Qin Li narrowed his eyes.

"This old minister dares not!"

Huangfu Song cupped his hands and lowered his head.

"Dare not? If you dare not, then do as I say. What is there to hide about this? If the Third Prince dares to do it, why wouldn't he dare let the world know?"

"I know what Lord Huangfu is worried about. He is worried that this matter is ultimately a shameful thing. If it gets out, it will disgrace the royal family. He doesn't want the world to know. But does Lord Huangfu know that there are no secrets in the world? This matter will eventually get out, and the world will eventually know."

"What's wrong with delaying it by one day if we can?" Huangfu Song retorted.

"Hmm? Lord Huangfu, you're getting senile."

Qin Li immediately began to curse, "Now that the world knows, they will only think that my royal family will never tolerate evildoers and will applaud it. But when they find out in the future, they will think that my royal family deliberately concealed this matter."

"How do you think the world will view my royal family then?!"

Qin Li's words were reasonable and well-founded, and Qin Feng, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement.

He also felt that this matter could not be hidden, and that people should not only look at the present, but also look forward and in the long term.

To last, one must acknowledge one's own shortcomings.

Moreover, this flaw has already been corrected by our own people.

People will not only not laugh at this, but will actually applaud it.

Seeing that Qin Feng and Qin Li were of one mind, Huangfu Song gritted his teeth.

If he had known this would happen, he should have sent Qin Feng away.

However, Huangfu Song still did not want to agree to it.

This was also Emperor Xuan's intention.

"What His Highness the Crown Prince said certainly makes some sense, but how will Consort Hui behave in the future? Everyone will think that she failed to properly educate her son and raised a villain. She has just lost her son."

Qin Li sneered, "Sacrificing one person to benefit the royal family, what's wrong with that? I believe Consort Hui is willing to make the sacrifice."

"Lord Huangfu, let me reiterate: this is not a discussion, but a notification! Just do as I say!"

"If this matter cannot be announced to the world tomorrow, I, the prince, will use my own methods to announce it!"

Huangfu Song was furious. Since Qin Li had already made his decision, why bother going through all this trouble? Just play him for a fool!

Seeing that Huangfu Song was quite angry, Qin Li turned his head and gave Qin Feng an order:

"Seventh Brother, go get a cup of iced tea to cool Lord Huangfu down!"

"But your older brother is different; I'd like a cup of hot tea!"

"How did I become a gofer?" Qin Feng muttered to himself, but still hurried off to get it done.

During Qin Feng's absence, Qin Li was also busy. He approached Huangfu Song and said with a smile:

"Lord Huangfu, we both know the truth!"

"My father dared not come out to see me, so he sent you out to negotiate with me."

"It's always been like this all these years!"

"We're old acquaintances, so there's no need to waste too much breath. It's getting late. You tell me your father's demands and bottom line, and I'll tell you mine. We'll discuss it, each of us can compromise, and that'll be the end of it. What do you say?"