I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Now that he understood that this was Qin Li's little trick, Murong Qingcang would no longer be easily fooled.

He first looked at the two brothers, Qianjun and Wanma, then at Lady Wei, and said with a smile:

"Since one of you is willing to be someone else's son and the other is willing to be someone else's mother, I have nothing more to say. I would like to congratulate you both..."

"Please don't."

Before Murong Qingcang could finish speaking, Madam Wei interrupted, "It's fine if others congratulate us, but you? Forget it. We'd be grateful if you didn't separate us, mother and son."

Seeing that Lady Wei was unyielding, Murong Qingcang was too lazy to waste any more words.

In his eyes, Madam Wei was nothing more than an ignorant woman.

Wasting too much time on her is not worth it at all.

His real purpose in "kidnapping" thousands of troops was simply to force Qin Li to come and meet him.

Qin Li had already arrived, and his goal had been achieved.

Looking at Qin Li, Murong Qingcang deliberately said, "It's really not easy to see His Highness the Crown Prince."

Placing the teacup on the table, Qin Li said without batting an eye:

"Your Majesty, please calm down. At your and my level of status, we are overwhelmed with numerous matters and troubles. There was the rebellion in Jiangnan, and now the imperial examination of our Great Zhou. We simply cannot spare the time to see Your Majesty."

"It's alright, it's alright."

Murong Qingcang waved his hand and said, "Your Highness has come to see me now that you have time. Since you're here, please stay a while longer."

"What, does the Regent have many things to discuss with me?" Qin Li asked knowingly.

Murong Qingcang nodded.

However, before he spoke, he waved his hand to dismiss the thousands of troops and even glanced at Lady Wei.

Madam Wei understood Murong Qingcang's meaning perfectly well. She snorted coldly and said, "Who cares to stay here and listen to you talk? I'd rather spend this time with my two sons to go outside and enjoy the scenery. I'm leaving."

After saying this, Lady Wei led her thousands of troops outside.

After all the irrelevant people had left, Murong Qingcang suddenly stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said to Qin Li:

"I hereby congratulate Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"What's the congratulations for?"

Qin Li looked up at him.

It certainly wasn't because of Jiangnan and the imperial examination that Murong Qingcang congratulated him; there must be something else, but Qin Li couldn't guess what it was yet.

"Of course, congratulations to His Highness the Crown Prince on the birth of his daughter."

Qin Li was taken aback.

His brows furrowed.

The birth of a precious daughter?

When did he have a daughter?

I haven't heard that any of the women in the family are pregnant.

However, at a certain moment, Qin Li suddenly realized what was happening and froze completely.

If the woman at home is pregnant, then the woman outside is pregnant.

Outside, Qin Li only had two women.

Wei Hongying is still serving as a border guard.

And Murong Huang, the Northern Mang Empress, in the Northern Mang royal court.

If Wei Hongying were pregnant, she definitely wouldn't be able to hold back and would write to tell herself.

In other words, the one who was actually pregnant was the Empress of Northern Mang.

Thinking of this, Qin Li couldn't help but curl up a smile.

To be honest, he shouldn't have shown that expression in front of Murong Qingcang.

But Qin Li just couldn't help it. He was a person, not an emotionless machine; he also had joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

Although he usually hides his emotions very well, others cannot tell what he is thinking.

But at this moment, Qin Li couldn't help but feel genuinely happy.

That was Qin Li's first child, how could Qin Li not be happy?

If he could, Qin Li would fly over right now to hug his daughter.

She must be small and soft, like a little glutinous rice ball. The Empress is so beautiful, her daughter can't be any less so.

Before Murong Qingcang could speak again, Qin Li took the initiative to say:

"Such a joyous occasion certainly deserves congratulations."

"But I must congratulate not only myself, but also the Regent. Although the child is not born to the Regent's biological daughter, at least the little one should call the Regent 'Grandpa'."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The regent suddenly burst into laughter, then pointed at Qin Li.

He wasn't laughing out of joy, but rather because he found Qin Li's tricks too clumsy; he saw through them at a glance.

Did they really think that just because that child called him "Grandpa," he would let the mother and daughter go? Don't even think about it!

Hearing Murong Qingcang's laughter, Qin Li knew his trick had been exposed, so he simply stopped pretending and said:

"Even if the Regent is unhappy now, there is nothing he can do about the mother and daughter. Does the Regent not know that I deliberately kept you in the capital to buy time? This time is enough for the Empress to uproot your influence in the royal court."

Murong Qingcang was still laughing, and his laughter grew louder and louder.

In the end, he even showed signs of becoming somewhat deranged.

"How could I not know that His Highness the Crown Prince is stalling for time, stalling for time for my good niece?"

Changing his tone abruptly, Murong Qingcang pointed at Qin Li and shouted sharply, "But Crown Prince, do you really think your little tricks can fool me? I've lived this long and have eaten more salt than you've eaten rice; what kind of tricks haven't I seen!"

"The reason I'm staying in your Great Zhou capital is merely to play along. Do you really think that after I leave, Murong Huang, a mere woman, can cause any trouble in the royal court? Lie'er may be useless, but I have more than just Lie'er as a son. The Crown Prince may not know, but Murong Huang is already a prisoner in the royal court!"

"I must thank the Crown Prince. Without him, how could Murong Huang have so easily overestimated herself and attacked me so quickly? And how could I have suppressed her so swiftly?"

Murong Qingcang thought that Qin Li would be shocked after he finished speaking.

But no, Qin Li never did.

Qin Li's expression remained smiling, as if he was still immersed in the joyous news of having a daughter, completely oblivious to what he was saying.

Gradually, Murong Qingcang frowned, realizing that something was wrong.

He asked tentatively, "Do you have some backup plan?"

Qin Li then stopped laughing and said, "It wasn't us, it was me. When the Empress first told me about this plan, I had a vague feeling that it wouldn't succeed. However, I couldn't directly refuse her. Now it seems that my premonition was right. She did indeed fail after returning and fell into your old fox's trap."

The Empress's plan was excellent. By having Qin Li restrain Murong Qingcang and keep him away from the Northern Mang royal court, the Empress could control the royal court and become the true Emperor of Northern Mang.

But how could that old fox Murong Qingcang let the Empress's plan succeed so easily?

He chose to play along, deliberately leaving the Northern Mang royal court, just to give the Empress an opportunity to take action.

Even if Murong Qingcang is not in the royal court, his sons can still deal with the Empress.

"Stop talking big. What backup plan do you have? The lives of your woman and daughter are in my hands right now."

Murong Qingcang's face was contorted with rage, displaying the demeanor of a victor.

Everyone has a weakness, and he now has Qin Li's weakness in his hands, so he's not afraid that Qin Li won't give in.

In this way, he could not only eliminate the Empress and take control of Northern Mang, but also coerce Qin Li and thus control Great Zhou, achieving two goals at once.

But the next moment, a rumbling sound came from outside, and someone rushed in anxiously to report: "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! A large cavalry force has suddenly arrived and surrounded the post station!"

Upon hearing this, Murong Qingcang suddenly looked at Qin Li.

Qin Li stood up, first patted his clothes, and then said calmly, "This is my backup plan."

Raising his eyes, Qin Li's tone was defiant as he said, "Murong Qingcang, from the day you stepped into the capital, didn't you ever consider that I wouldn't let you leave?"

"You dare!"

Murong Qingcang was somewhat exasperated.

Qin Li stretched out his arms, tilted his head back, and laughed heartily: "What wouldn't I dare to do? I even dared to kill my own brothers, so what in this world wouldn't I dare to do?"

"Now, I'll give you two choices. First, we'll fight to the death: you kill my woman and daughter, and I'll kill you. Second, we'll exchange hostages right here at Xuanque Pass."

After saying that, Qin Li flicked his sleeves, turned around and left. Before leaving, he turned back and said, "Murong Qingcang, my patience has its limits. Think it over carefully."

Upon leaving the post station, the large cavalry force surrounding it was none other than Wang Bao.

Upon seeing Qin Li emerge, Wang Bao dismounted and stepped forward to greet him, asking:

"Nephew, will doing this cause any trouble?"

In the capital, he could act recklessly with his men.

However, there are two areas where he still needs to be more restrained.

One was the imperial palace, and the other was the post station for the Northern Mang delegation.

If things go wrong, and Northern Mang launches another war against Great Zhou, he will be a sinner.

Qin Li simply said, "If anything goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility."

"Lord of the Pass, all you need to remember is to take your troops and surround this place completely. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order, and those who disobey will be killed without mercy."

Seeing that Qin Li was serious, Wang Bao cupped his hands and said loudly:

"yes!"