I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Whatever Emperor Xuan did or said in a day, there were others who helped Qin Li keep an eye on it, namely Sui Ge, the commander of the Imperial Guard.

There have always been two armies responsible for the security of the palace: the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Household Forces. This is a system of checks and balances to prevent either from becoming too powerful and to ensure mutual supervision.

Although Sui Ge was not as favored by Emperor Xuan as Han Zhen, and after joining Qin Li, he was even less favored by Emperor Xuan, as long as Sui Ge was the commander of the Imperial Guard, he knew what Emperor Xuan did and said every day.

Qin Li had Qin Feng keep an eye on the political climate in the capital!

The protagonist is always the most sensitive to these kinds of things, and no one can compare to him!

For example, during the time he was away from Jiangnan, did Emperor Xuan make any major moves, such as mobilizing troops to the capital, or preparing to depose him as the crown prince?

All of this requires someone to keep an eye on things and then send messages to you in Jiangnan. Qin Feng is the perfect choice.

Just as the two finished discussing this matter, a number of ministers entered Xingqing Palace together. It was Huangfu Song and the Zhao brothers who had returned from Zhaohua Palace. At the same time, they brought news that was hard to tell whether it was good or bad: Emperor Xuan would not be attending the banquet that night.

As soon as the news came out, the hall was filled with discussion, and many people frequently looked at Qin Li.

Tonight's banquet is a special event to celebrate Qin Li's investiture as Crown Prince, yet Emperor Xuan is not attending? This is extremely disrespectful to Crown Prince Qin Li.

It seems that Emperor Xuan does not acknowledge Qin Li as the crown prince from the bottom of his heart, and his refusal to participate is a silent form of resistance. Many people feel sorry for Qin Li.

However, Qin Li himself seemed quite pleased, and even stood up and shouted for the dancers to dance more boldly and unrestrainedly, and for the musicians to make the music louder, all of which would be rewarded.

"Keep the music playing, keep dancing..."

Since the Xuan Emperor isn't coming, it's perfect that we don't have to see his sour face. Why not be happy about that?

If he doesn't come, does that mean Qin Li is no longer the crown prince?

During the day, the formalities had already been completed, and Qin Li had even gone to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to pay homage to the ancestors. He was now the rightful crown prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty!

Seeing Qin Li stand up and shout, the Zhao brothers, who had just found their seats, couldn't hide their disdain.

Qin Li, despite being the crown prince, showed no resemblance whatsoever to one.

In this way, how is he any different from the rich young men who entertain guests at brothels outside?

And they continued playing music and dancing? Listen to this! Is this something a crown prince should say? It's utterly disgraceful for a prince.

However, they dared not directly "teach them a lesson" and could only swallow their anger.

Inside the palace, amidst the lavish celebrations and clinking of glasses, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies at the palace gate suddenly shouted:

"The Northern Mang delegation has arrived!"

Although the eunuch's voice was loud and penetrating, it was too noisy inside the hall for most people to hear; only a few ministers sitting at the door heard it.

They saw that the officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty ignored them and were singing and dancing, making quite a scene.

The members of the Northern Mang delegation looked grim, clenching their fists and gritting their teeth.

They all cupped their hands and looked straight ahead at the leader, who was their Northern Mang Regent and the chief envoy of this mission, Murong Qingcang.

"Your Highness, these pigs from Great Zhou are utterly disrespectful to us! I'm furious!"

"That's right! One day, we, the sons of the grasslands, will surely rise again and slaughter these bastards, leaving not a single one alive!"

"Your Highness, why don't we leave? We'd rather not put up with these pigs from Great Zhou."

"That's right, that's right..."

Many people echoed this sentiment.

If we were to talk about which country is the strongest in the world today, it would be the Northern Mang, and no other small country would dare to compete with them!

Wherever the Northern Barbarians went, they were considered superior, and the local people would try to please them by offering them the best food.

Not to mention these Northern Mang officials, wherever they go, the locals treat them like ancestors.

But what about the officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty? How dare they ignore them! What do they take them for?

Do they really think that just because Great Zhou won this national war, they can ride roughshod over them?

After saying this, many people turned away angrily, intending to regroup and return one day to see if the Great Zhou would still dare to ignore them.

However, since Murong Qingcang, who was in charge, did not move, they did not dare to actually leave.

"Your Highness?"

Murong Qingcang kept talking, and someone tentatively asked a question.

Murong Qingcang slightly raised his hand, looked ahead, and smiled:

"Why get angry? We should be happy that the Great Zhou is like this!"

"The Zhou dynasty, which indulges in wine and women, is far more worthy of our joy than the Zhou dynasty, which is well-armed."

Upon hearing this, the members of the delegation pondered for a moment, and then beamed with joy, cupping their hands in greeting, "Your Highness is right..."

However, being ignored like this and just standing at the palace gate is not a solution.

One of the members of the delegation glared fiercely at the eunuch at the door and told him to go in and announce their arrival.

Seeing this group of fierce-looking foreigners, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies nervously swallowed and hurriedly went into the hall to report.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"

"Your Highness, please don't stand on the table. The Northern Mang delegation has arrived."

The eunuch finally managed to squeeze through the crowd and stand before Qin Li.

At this moment, Qin Li disregarded his image at all. He stood on a wine table, holding a golden cup in one hand and waving it around in the other, telling everyone to eat and drink well, and that the national treasury would foot the bill for tonight's expenses.

"What? What did you say? The Northern Mang delegation is here?" The music and dancing were too loud for Qin Li to hear clearly, so he shouted.

"Your Highness, please come down quickly!" The eunuch in charge of ceremonies was almost frantic.

Qin Li then jumped down from the table and looked towards the palace entrance. Sure enough, there were several people standing there, their attire clearly different from theirs.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Qin Li waved his hand, signaling for the singing and dancing to stop.

The ministers, who were singing and dancing, were suddenly dumbfounded when the dance and music stopped.

"What happened? Why has everything stopped?"

"Keep dancing, keep drinking, keep drinking!"

"Tonight, we won't leave until we're drunk! We won't stop until we're completely drunk!"

Several ministers got drunk and started acting crazy, grabbing people next to them and trying to continue drinking and dancing.

"Go, summon them in!"

Qin Li waved to the eunuch in charge of ceremonies, signaling him to return. He then straightened his attire and walked to the dragon throne.

The eunuch returned tremblingly and came to the side of the Northern Mang delegation.

They didn't even have the courage to look at them, yet they shouted at the top of their lungs:

"The Northern Mang delegation has arrived!"

This time, all the ministers heard it and looked towards the palace entrance. Many of them sobered up instantly.

"Summon the Northern Mang envoy to the palace!"

With another shout from the Grand Eunuch, the Northern Mang delegation followed behind Murong Qingcang.

With chest out and head held high, he strode confidently into Xingqing Palace, as if he didn't recognize anyone.