I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Sunset.

A message reached the palace.

Upon learning of this, Emperor Xuan flew into a rage in his study and even went on a killing spree.

When Huangfu Song and the brothers Zhao Guanwen and Zhao Guanli arrived, they were also taken aback by what they saw in the imperial study.

Inside the imperial study, the corpses of three or four eunuchs lay scattered about, all murdered by sword.

The Xuan Emperor, dressed in a dragon robe, held a sword in his right hand, a few drops of blood splattered on his face, and was panting heavily.

There were other eunuchs in the imperial study, all of whom were paralyzed with fear, kneeling on the ground with their heads buried deep in the earth. Many of them had already wet their pants in fear, and the smell was unbearable.

After a brief moment of shock, Huangfu Song waved to them.

The eunuchs, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly lined up and scrambled out of the room.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Huangfu Song stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said...

"Calm down? How can you expect me to calm down!"

Emperor Xuan was still furious. He raised his arm and swung his sword down at Huangfu Song's head.

When the Zhao brothers saw it, aside from a brief moment of shock, they were overjoyed.

As for stepping forward to stop them, that's even more of an impossible thing to do.

They wished that Huangfu Song would be killed by Emperor Xuan with a single sword stroke.

Ideally, you should strike a vital spot, causing blood to splatter three feet high, a sight so severe even a divine being couldn't save you.

Thus, the two brothers would become Emperor Xuan's most valued confidants.

In the imperial court, they feared no one except for Crown Prince Qin Li's faction.

But to everyone's surprise, Huangfu Song, being a military general, reacted extremely quickly.

With a simple reach, he grasped the Xuan Emperor's wrist.

Emperor Xuan's sword couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes, let alone kill him.

The two brothers were greatly disappointed when they saw this, but this was quickly followed by angry shouts:

"Huangfu Song, how dare you!"

"That's right, how dare you disrespect His Majesty!"

Huangfu Song then realized what was happening, quickly released Emperor Xuan's grip on the longsword, took a step back, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands in a fist, saying, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Actually, you can't entirely blame him. It's a muscle reaction he developed on the battlefield years ago, and he can't change it.

Fortunately, this commotion brought Emperor Xuan back to his senses.

With a clang, he dropped the blood-stained longsword in his hand and went back to sit on the dragon throne.

"Rise, I forgive you!"

After speaking, Emperor Xuan, sitting on the dragon throne, rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

After Huangfu Song stood up from the ground, he stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, why are you so angry?"

He couldn't understand what could have caused the Emperor to go so far as to commit mass killings in his study.

The Zhao brothers also looked at Emperor Xuan, they couldn't understand it either.

"Murong Qingcang of the Northern Barbarians just promised me that he would help me deal with the Crown Prince, but he has already betrayed me. They have reached an agreement to exchange hostages at Xuanque Pass."

He treated Murong Qingcang to good food and drink at the palace, and Murong Qingcang readily agreed to help him deal with Crown Prince Qin Li.

However, Murong Qingcang changed his mind immediately after leaving the palace. The speed of his change caught Murong Qingcang off guard, and what followed was a surge of anger.

What he hates most are people who are untrustworthy and two-faced.

That's why he couldn't help but kill someone in the Imperial Study.

After hearing this, the people in the imperial study nodded in understanding.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. The Northern Barbarians have always been like this. There is no need to be too angry," Huangfu Song kindly advised.

It's not worth getting angry with someone like that.

The brothers Zhao Guanwen and Zhao Guanli also chimed in.

Unlike the people of the Great Zhou, the people of the Northern Mang were born and raised on the grasslands. Without long-term education, being untrustworthy and inconsistent is the norm for them. We cannot expect too much from them.

"My anger has subsided considerably. I summoned you here to devise a strategy. Now that even the Northern Barbarians have betrayed me, what do you suggest I do? Should I just stand by and watch the Crown Prince exchange hostages with the Northern Barbarians?"

Emperor Xuan asked.

"What's wrong with it?"

Huangfu Song asked, puzzled.

In his view, the exchange of hostages between the Great Zhou and the Northern Mang was beneficial and harmless.

Firstly, the Northern Mang Empress has come to the Great Zhou, and she will definitely make a comeback in the future and send troops back to fight.

Why wouldn't the Great Zhou benefit from internal strife within the Northern Barbarians?

The fact that the Northern Barbarians are united is bad news for the Great Zhou.

Secondly, when the Northern Mang Empress comes to the Great Zhou, all those who admire her and her former officials will surely come to follow her.

For the Great Zhou Dynasty, this is an even better thing.

Why not enhance one's own strength?

On the contrary, dragging things out and delaying the exchange of hostages is what puts the Great Zhou on the brink of disaster.

If you're not careful, you could fall and be smashed to pieces.

Because the Northern Barbarians' patience has its limits.

If the delegation led by Murong Qingcang is detained in the capital of the Great Zhou, the Northern Barbarians will definitely send troops to demand their return.

If a war breaks out between the two countries, who knows how many people will die.

Although this was the truth, and Emperor Xuan knew it, he still felt uncomfortable.

He couldn't stand that Qin Li was profiting.

However, he could not openly express his thoughts, as that would be an insult to his imperial image.

After a moment's thought, Emperor Xuan slowly said, "There's nothing wrong with it, but the other party is, after all, an empress of a nation. If she comes to my Great Zhou, how should my Great Zhou treat her?"

Huangfu Song smiled and said, "Your Majesty need not worry about this at all; this is something the Crown Prince should be concerned with."

Huangfu Song only stayed in the imperial study for half an hour before Emperor Xuan sent him away under some pretext.

Because he was here, Emperor Xuan had some things on his mind that he couldn't say in person.

After Huangfu Song left, Emperor Xuan beckoned the Zhao brothers to come forward.

The two brothers eagerly stepped forward, and only then did Emperor Xuan ask, "Do you have any way to stop the hostage exchange?"

As I said before, he's happy as long as Qin Li is uncomfortable, and he'll find a way to stop him no matter what.

The two brothers exchanged a glance, and Zhao Guanwen, somewhat embarrassed, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is indeed as Huangfu Song said, with no harm or benefit. Your Majesty should prioritize the overall situation."

Seeing that none of them were willing to come up with a solution, Emperor Xuan sighed in exasperation and said, "Alright, alright."

"Your Majesty, although we cannot interfere in this matter, the Empress's visit to our Great Zhou may present an opportunity for us to make a move."

"How so?"

"Your Majesty, consider this: what kind of person is the Empress? What kind of woman could possibly be allowed to become Empress of Northern Mang?"

"When she came to our Great Zhou, I simply did not believe that she would willingly serve as a wife and mother to the Crown Prince."

"Therefore, we can use a little trick to create unrest in the Crown Prince's household. If done properly, it won't just be the household that's in turmoil!"

"By then, the Crown Prince's head will be three times bigger than usual!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuan immediately laughed, "This is good, this is good. He used to be a real headache for me, it's time to change things up."