I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

The Crown Prince's investiture ceremony a few days later proceeded without any unexpected incidents.

Following the Ministry of Rites' instructions, Qin Li meticulously completed each step like a puppet on a string.

At dawn, the investiture ceremony was held in the main hall of the palace. Even if Emperor Xuan was unwilling, he had to attend.

Then, Qin Li was led by his entourage to the Wenhua Hall, where he knelt to receive the imperial edict and seal, dressed in a royal robe!

Wenhua Hall, the main hall of the East Palace, has been abandoned for a long time.

The previous crown prince was Emperor Xuan, and this place has not welcomed a new master for decades.

After accepting the imperial edict, Qin Li went to the Empress's palace to pay his respects.

The empress died early, but Qin Li always prevented Emperor Xuan from establishing another empress.

This palace always belonged to Qin Li's mother, and someone came to clean it every day.

In the afternoon, Qin Li went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to pay homage to his ancestors.

After this round, Qin Li was truly exhausted.

But I'm also very happy, he's finally the crown prince, so all my efforts weren't in vain.

In the evening, there was a final banquet where all the officials offered their congratulations.

However, it is still early, so Qin Li can go to his residence in the palace, Wenhua Hall, to rest.

"Your Highness, this place is far too simple and too small; it's practically worth less than a single hair in our manor!"

After leading his group on a tour, Zhou Biao offered his fair assessment.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The First Prince's residence is located on the most bustling street in the eastern part of the city.

The main gate alone has five rooms, which is extremely impressive!

The pavilions and towers inside the mansion were built even better than those in the imperial palace.

There are eight gardens, each with a different style.

Unlike this Wenhua Hall, which is pitifully small and can't accommodate many people at all.

"This is just a place for daily office work. Normally, I... I still live outside the palace," Qin Li said.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Crown Prince generally referred to himself not as "this palace," but as "I, the lonely one."

However, Qin Li was still a little unaccustomed to this form of address.

"Alright, you may all leave. I need to rest."

There's a banquet tonight, so I need to be well-rested.

Moreover, according to intelligence, the Northern Mang delegation will also arrive in the capital today, but it is unknown whether they will attend the banquet in the palace.

The Empress's second uncle is a formidable and ruthless character, and Qin Li must be on his guard.

"Go, go, don't disturb His Highness's rest."

Zhou Biao gestured for everyone to leave, leaving only Chun Tao and Xia Liu to serve.

After everyone left, the hall became much quieter.

Taking off his shoes and lying on the soft couch, Qin Li looked at Chun Tao and Xia Liu, who were still looking around the palace.

"Didn't you expect to live in the palace?"

"All of this is thanks to Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Xia Liu quickly ran over and said some flattering words.

She and her sister Chuntao never imagined that they would be able to enter the palace in their lifetime.

Although she was a servant, being able to enter the palace already put her ahead of the vast majority of women in the world.

Even their young lady, Song Qian, has never been to the palace!

Qin Li hummed in agreement and gestured for Xia Liu to massage his shoulders.

Xia Liu quickly did as she was told, her little hands kneading Qin Li's shoulders.

Seeing Chun Tao still wandering around the hall, Qin Li couldn't help but speak up, "You, come here and massage my legs!"

Chun Tao reluctantly withdrew her gaze, knelt beside the soft couch, and gently massaged Qin Li's legs.

"Your Highness, I heard that you will be traveling to Jiangnan in a few days?" Xia Liu asked tentatively.

She only heard it from people in the manor recently, and she didn't know if the news was true or not.

Qin Li, who had already closed his eyes to enjoy the moment, hummed in agreement with the veracity of the news.

If he could, Qin Li would never want to leave the capital.

In the capital, he was the crown prince, and could do whatever he wanted!

But things happened suddenly; Old Snake disappeared in Jiangnan, and he had to go find him.

It was only when Qin Li went to the library to ask Snake Elder to treat Sui Ge's sister that he learned that Snake Elder had secretly gone to Jiangnan while he was at the border.

It is said that several kinds of poisonous insects have appeared in Jiangnan, which are extremely rare. Old Snake couldn't resist going to see them.

Who knew that he would disappear without a trace as soon as he arrived in Jiangnan, his fate unknown.

Another reason is that the Jade Maiden faction was active in the Jiangnan area.

Zhou Biao is unreliable, so Qin Li plans to personally bring them all back to help him cultivate!

The last reason is that several powerful families in Jiangnan have been restless lately and seem to be plotting a rebellion, so Qin Li is going to suppress them.

If he could control both the northern border and the south of the Yangtze River, the throne would be Qin Li's.

"Your Highness, could you please take my sister and me along as well?"

Upon hearing this, Chuntao quickly tugged at Xialiu's sleeve.

Qin Li is going to Jiangnan, and they won't go.

With Qin Li away from the capital, their lives were incredibly comfortable. They could do whatever they wanted, didn't have to serve anyone, and didn't have to see Qin Li's annoying face.

"I didn't say I wouldn't take the two of you. You two were already on my list for my trip to Jiangnan, so you had no choice but to go."

"After all, she is delicate and needs to be waited on. Zhou Biao and his rough men are too rough. You guys are more skillful and meticulous."

As they were talking, Qin Li reached out and touched Xia Liu's cheek.

Don't underestimate Chun Tao and Xia Liu just because they are maids. In the outside world, their looks and figures would definitely surpass those of young ladies from noble families.

Qin Li thought to himself that he would find some time soon to make things official with the sisters.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Xia Liu was already used to Qin Li's groping behavior.

Chun Tao, on the other hand, tightened her grip as soon as she heard that she was going to Jiangnan.

"What are you doing? You really don't want to go to Jiangnan with me?"

"Are you still thinking about Fang Yuan, and want to go back to his side?"

"After all, he's not dead yet, and we don't know where he's hiding."

Qin Li looked at Chun Tao with displeasure.

Xia Liu quickly stood up and knelt beside Chun Tao. "Your Highness, please forgive me. My sister absolutely did not mean that."

After saying that, Xia Liu nudged Chun Tao with her elbow, urging her to say something.

Chun Tao replied very perfunctorily, "Yes, yes, no, no, we're overjoyed that Your Highness is taking us to Jiangnan."

"As for Fang Yuan?"

Chun Tao couldn't help but say, "Recently, everyone in the manor has been saying that he not only left the Marquis of Wuyang's manor, but also left the capital. His Highness has made a mistake."

It wasn't that they were celebrating Fang Yuan's escape, but rather that they were gloating over Qin Li's failure to capture anyone.

In the capital, on Qin Li's territory, Fang Yuan managed to escape. If word got out, where would Qin Li put his face?

Upon hearing this, Qin Li gritted his teeth inwardly.

We made a mistake, and we were too careless.

Looking back now, Fang Yuan must have successfully left the Marquis of Wuyang's residence by blending into Consort Hui's procession returning to the palace that day, and then left the capital.

"Alright, Your Highness, let's not talk about this anymore."

Noticing Qin Li's unusual expression, Xia Liu deliberately changed the subject, saying:

"Your Highness, who do you intend to make your Crown Princess?"

"I heard that people from above have come to urge you several times, but you still haven't given your word."

Qin Li rubbed his forehead; this matter bothered him even more than Fang Yuan's escape.

"Who do you think should be isolated?"

"This servant wouldn't dare."

This is not a matter for them to discuss.

"Say it, I forgive you all!"

Xia Liu glanced at her younger sister Chun Tao before saying to Qin Li, "Your Highness currently has only three women. The Crown Princess can only choose one of them: Xiao Xue'er, daughter of Prime Minister Xiao; Wei Hongying, a female general from a military family; and the last one is our young lady, Song Qian."

Qin Li interrupted her in time, "Wrong, there's one more."

"Who?"

Both women were very curious.

Qin Li has other women, how come they don't know? Qin Li is really good at hiding it.

"You don't know her. Her name is Bai Zhenzhen. She could be considered a江湖人 (jianghu person, someone from the martial arts world)."

Qin Li couldn't help but smile when Bai Zhenzhen was mentioned.

I wonder how she is now.

She's so stupid, so foolish...

"Bai Zhenzhen?"

The two sisters exchanged a glance, confirming that they were strangers.

They must have had a relationship with Qin Li before they came to the First Prince's residence.

"In terms of status, Xiao Xue'er is the most suitable to be made Crown Princess, but His Highness dislikes her from the bottom of his heart, so he did not make her the Crown Princess."

"As for Wei Hongying, Your Highness may like her, but she is still at the border and is someone else's fiancée."

"My young lady is of lowly status."

"Your analysis is quite correct," Qin Li sighed. "None of them are suitable to be made Crown Princess."

Just then, someone announced from outside, "Your Highness, Lady Wei has arrived!"