I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

The next morning, before Qin Li had even gotten out of bed, Prime Minister Xiao Yuanlu arrived at the Crown Prince's residence.

"Your Highness, the sun is almost high in the sky."

Standing by the bed, Xiao Xue'er, who was already dressed and made up, reached out and gently shook Qin Li on the bed.

Qin Li opened his eyes and glanced out the window; it was indeed getting late.

After yawning, Qin Li got dressed and got out of bed with Xiao Xue'er's help.

"Has your father arrived?"

Qin Li asked.

Xiao Xue'er nodded obediently, "I'm already here."

Qin Li nodded, then reached out and gently stroked her nose: "You served me well last night. I intend to make you my concubine. What do you say?"

Xiao Xue'er lowered her head, becoming even more obedient: "I will follow Your Highness's arrangements."

Because she once served Qin Li poisoned wine, no one would say anything if Qin Li killed her.

Now, not only are they not killing her, but they're even going to make her a concubine. Xiao Xue'er is overjoyed.

"That's good."

After a while, Qin Li said, "By the way, are you still in contact with the Avengers?"

Xiao Xue'er was startled and quickly knelt down: "Please forgive me, Your Highness. I was just ignorant before."

Qin Li reached out and helped her up: "Don't be afraid, I was just asking casually. Are you still in contact?"

Xiao Xue'er shook her head.

We've lost touch for a long time. Since returning from the capital, Qin Feng and I haven't seen each other once or spoken a single word to each other.

She didn't contact Qin Feng, and Qin Feng didn't contact her either.

She had no idea what Qin Feng had done after returning to the capital.

"How can we manage without contact?"

Qin Li feigned anger, "Find an opportunity to contact them as soon as possible."

"what?"

Xiao Xue'er was completely baffled.

"Huh? What?"

Qin Li reached out and tapped her head: "Listen to me, contact him quickly. I need you to keep an eye on Qin Feng. I'm not comfortable with anyone else doing it."

Since Qin Li had said so, Xiao Xue'er couldn't refuse and could only nod.

After getting dressed and quickly washing his face, Qin Li went outside to meet Xiao Yuanlu.

Prime Minister Xiao Yuanlu was drinking tea in the hall and had not yet seen Qin Li's men when he heard footsteps approaching. He quickly put down his teacup and stood up.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Father-in-law, there's no need for such formalities."

Qin Li quickly walked over and helped Xiao Yuanlu up by the arm.

The two exchanged pleasantries and chatted about everyday matters.

Qin Li also told Xiao Yuanlu about his intention to make Xiao Xue'er his concubine.

Xiao Yuanlu sighed and apologized to Qin Li.

He failed to properly educate his daughter, almost causing Xiao Xue'er to make a grave mistake.

He thanked Lord Qin Li for not holding a grudge and for giving Xiao Xue'er and the Xiao family a chance.

Qin Li waved her hand, indicating that it was nothing, and that it was normal for a young lady to make mistakes.

After chatting about everyday things, the two started talking about serious matters.

Before Qin Li could even ask, Xiao Yuanlu said that he knew what Qin Li cared about most.

Xiao Yuanlu said, "Since Your Highness left the capital for the journey to Jiangnan, His Majesty has fallen ill and has not seen anyone. The imperial physician said that His Majesty is overwhelmed with grief over the deaths of the Third Prince and Consort Hui!"

"You really didn't see anyone else?"

Qin Li expressed disbelief.

Based on Qin Li's understanding of Emperor Xuan, this old man was extremely wicked. The time Qin Li spent away from the capital was a golden opportunity for him to win over the court officials. Could he really resist the urge to see anyone?

Xiao Yuanlu smiled and said, "Your Highness can't be fooled by anything. Although His Majesty didn't meet with the people directly, he met with quite a few through Han Zhen. Here is the list."

Xiao Yuanlu took out a folded piece of paper from his sleeve. Qin Li opened it and looked at it. He was familiar with some of the names, but he was seeing some for the first time.

After reviewing the list, Qin Li placed it on the table. These people would be the focus of his attention from now on.

Now that they have chosen to board Emperor Xuan's ship, they are enemies of the Crown Prince's residence, and Qin Li will not show them any mercy.

"The people on the list certainly deserve to be killed, but the imperial physicians deserve to be killed even more."

Xiao Yuanlu said, "They actually said that Emperor Xuan fell ill because he was too heartbroken over the deaths of the Third Prince and Consort Hui. Wouldn't this make the whole world remember that Your Highness murdered your mother and brother forever!"

Qin Li nodded.

Although Qin Li knew the fault did not lie with the imperial physicians, but rather with the Emperor Xuan who had instructed them to say so, since they had spoken out, they must have been prepared to face his retribution.

Qin Li said casually, "Then kill them all and bring in a new batch of obedient ones to the palace to properly treat that old man's illness."

Xiao Yuanlu cupped his hands and said, "Yes."

That was exactly what he was thinking. Although the imperial physicians were inconspicuous, they had a grasp of the physical condition of everyone in the harem, and if used properly, they could produce miraculous results.

This is the first thing.

The second matter concerns Murong Qingcang, the Grand Preceptor of Northern Mang!

Xiao Yuanlu said, "Since Your Highness left the capital for Jiangnan, Murong Qingcang's attitude has completely reversed. It's as if he's a different person. He stays at the post station all day, leisurely and carefree, not in a hurry to return to Beimang at all. Your Highness, something is definitely amiss. Murong Qingcang must have some ulterior motive. Your Highness must be careful."

Qin Li picked up the teacup, brought it to his lips, and slowly said:

"We made an agreement with the Empress of Northern Mang to use Murong Lie's corpse to blackmail Murong Qingcang into coming to the capital, thus creating a diversionary tactic to give the Empress time to clean up the royal court."

"Logically speaking, Murong Qingcang should come and go quickly. Before I left the capital, Murong Qingcang was indeed like that. But after I left the capital, he changed. It's hard not to suspect that he has other motives."

Xiao Yuanlu nodded and said, "But we know very little about Murong Qingcang, and we don't know where to start investigating. It's really a headache."

Qin Li looked up and asked, "After I left the capital, who has Murong Qingcang seen?"

Xiao Yuanlu mentioned a few names. Murong Qingcang had led a delegation to the Great Zhou, so it was impossible for him to avoid contact with anyone.

These were people he had to contact, and Xiao Yuanlu checked them and found nothing wrong.

"Never mind him for now. I'll go and meet him myself after the New Year!"

Murong Qingcang's purpose is no longer something to be revealed. He is currently in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, on his own territory, and cannot cause any major disturbances.

Qin Li simply couldn't believe that Murong Qingcang could hold back all this time.

The third and final thing is about next year's imperial examination.

Even without Xiao Yuanlu saying it, Qin Li already knew the gist of it. Since he was in charge of organizing and presiding over next year's imperial examinations, no one except the people from the Crown Prince's residence could get involved. The ministers and nobles would definitely have objections, because every year the imperial examinations were a time for nobles and ministers to recruit talent.

This time, they couldn't get involved. All the talent was being recruited by Qin Li alone, so it's no wonder they were anxious.

That's why they demanded a fair and just imperial examination, so that they and Qin Li could start on the same footing.

No, they actually have a slight advantage because Qin Li's reputation is really bad.

If the students were asked to choose between them and Qin Li, most would not choose Qin Li.

That's their goal: to cross the river and then dismantle the bridge, to climb the tree and then remove the ladder!

To this, Qin Li only said one thing: "Since they want fairness, then I will grant them fairness. I hope they can handle it!"