I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

During the court assembly, the two men were beaten black and blue by Qin Li, and now they have been kicked to the ground by Huangfu Song. Their old bones are about to fall apart.

They knew they were no match for Huangfu Song, a soldier by training, so before he could make another move, they scrambled and tumbled to Emperor Xuan's feet, crying and begging for mercy. Two of them, one on each side, reached out and grabbed the emperor's sleeves.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you must do us justice!"

"He, he, Huangfu Song, is going to rebel! He's going to rebel!!"

"Your Majesty, strip him of his official rank! Strip him of his official rank!"

Whether it was Huangfu Song's open defense of the Crown Prince, his defiance of the Emperor, or his current act of assaulting a colleague in front of him, Emperor Xuan could not forgive Huangfu Song and angrily rebuked him:

"Huangfu Song, are you really planning a rebellion?!"

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Song remained unusually calm, but his eyes remained fixed on Emperor Xuan, his heart filled with chills.

Over the years, Emperor Xuan has changed so much that he almost doesn't recognize him anymore.

Everyone knows that the Crown Prince is treacherous and cunning, and his power is growing stronger every day.

As one thing declined while the other rose, Emperor Xuan's prestige in the court waned day by day.

Like all the veteran officials, Huangfu Song hoped to use his meager strength to help Emperor Xuan suppress the Crown Prince and stabilize the court.

Otherwise, if someone like the Crown Prince were to ascend to the throne, the Great Zhou Dynasty would surely perish!

but……

Huangfu Song increasingly realized that it was not the Crown Prince who was treacherous and cunning, but rather that Emperor Xuan was narrow-minded and jealous of talent.

The Crown Prince is protecting himself!

While protecting himself, the Crown Prince can also devote himself wholeheartedly to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The crown prince has done everything a crown prince can do.

As for Emperor Xuan, despite being the emperor, he was actually holding everyone back!

"Does Your Majesty truly intend to avenge these two treacherous ministers?!"

Huangfu Song pointed directly at the Zhao brothers and asked in return.

Everyone was stunned by these words.

In their minds, although Huangfu Song was upright and stubborn, he had never directly contradicted Emperor Xuan.

Even if there are differing opinions, they are expressed tactfully to save face for Emperor Xuan.

But today, Huangfu Song acted out of character, directly questioning Emperor Xuan, which was tantamount to breaking off relations with him.

After a brief moment of shock, Emperor Xuan came to his senses and his whole body trembled.

His lips trembled as he asked, "Huangfu Song, do you know who you're talking to? You're talking to me!"

Having said that, Emperor Xuan abruptly flicked his sleeve, turned around, and walked back towards his dragon throne, muttering repeatedly as he went, "Rebellion! Rebellion! Truly rebellion!"

"I have spoiled you all too much in the past. How dare you talk back to me! I am the emperor, the ruler of the country. How dare you, my subjects, talk back to me!"

"Some of you don't want to do it, but others do..."

As Emperor Xuan was speaking, he suddenly heard his ministers behind him exclaim in alarm, "Minister Huangfu, don't act rashly!"

Emperor Xuan, unaware of what was happening, turned his head to look and saw Huangfu Song stretch out his hands, remove his official hat, and slowly place it on the ground.

Emperor Xuan's eyes widened again, his anger barely contained:

"Huangfu Song, what exactly are you trying to do!"

Huangfu Song's aged face was as calm as a stagnant pool.

After taking off his official hat and placing it on the ground, he slowly began to remove his official robe.

"Your Majesty, I have offended you today, and my crime is unforgivable. I request to be relieved of my post as Minister of War and retire to my hometown!"

He took off his official robe, folded it neatly, and placed it on the ground. Huangfu Song bowed respectfully to Emperor Xuan, then smiled bitterly and left.

Emperor Xuan was furious. He slammed his hand on the dragon throne and roared, "Guards! Guards! Seize this traitor!"

The imperial guards at the palace gate were about to move when Han Zhen stretched out his arm to stop them.

Emperor Xuan roared, "Han Zhen, you're going to rebel too!"

Emperor Xuan was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode.

Han Zhen quickly knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I dare not, but Minister Huangfu..."

Huangfu Song stopped at the door, turned around, and said, "If Your Majesty believes that I am truly a traitor, then arrest me without complaint."

"This is outrageous! This is truly outrageous!"

It would have been better if he hadn't said those words, because they only made Emperor Xuan even angrier. He slammed his fist on the dragon table, causing the items on it to fall to the ground.

He ordered Han Zhen to immediately capture Huangfu Song, but Han Zhen hesitated and did not take action for a long time.

With the ministers in the palace offering their advice, Emperor Xuan finally succumbed to his anger and fainted...

……

afternoon.

Upon hearing the news, Qin Li disregarded whether it was appropriate or not and went directly to Huangfu's residence as a guest.

Huangfu Song did not want to receive them and even had someone announce that he was ill and refused to see anyone.

But Qin Li barged in, and upon seeing Huangfu Song for the first time, he laughed and said, "Didn't you say you were ill, Minister? You look rosy-cheeked, not sick at all."

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Song gave Qin Li an annoyed look, waved his hand, and dismissed the others.

Qin Li, ever the friendly type, didn't treat himself like an outsider. He proactively found a seat, and seeing the teapot and teacups on the table, poured himself a cup of tea. As he drank, he asked, "What exactly happened in the Imperial Study? I heard that old man fainted from anger. How did the Minister manage to do that? Could you teach me?"

Huangfu Song paused for a moment, then sat down and said, "Is Your Highness here to gloat? After all, His Majesty is Your Highness's father. His Majesty is ill; Your Highness should go to the palace to see him."

Qin Li waved his hand and said, "Minister, we've had quite a few dealings over the years, so stop with the high-sounding words in front of me. Tell me quickly, how did you manage to make that old man faint?"

"That is His Majesty," Huangfu Song emphasized.

"Very well, Your Majesty, Your Majesty," Qin Li said. "Speak quickly, or I will have come for nothing."

Having no other choice, Huangfu Song recounted what had happened in the Imperial Study that day.

After listening, Qin Li frowned. "It's that simple?"

If it's so easy to make the Emperor Xuan faint from anger, why hasn't he managed to make him faint after all these years?

It should be noted that Qin Li's actions were far more egregious than those of Huangfu Song.

"It's that simple!"

Huangfu Song said.

Qin Li rubbed his chin. "It seems that the Minister still holds some weight in that old man's heart. The Minister's betrayal today is the direct reason that the old man fainted from anger."

After saying that, Qin Li lowered his hand and said self-deprecatingly, "I'm different. That old man can't wait for me to die, so no matter what I do, he won't get angry."

Huangfu Song didn't want to hear any of this and asked, "What brings Your Highness the Crown Prince here?"

He didn't believe that Qin Li had come just to find out the truth about the Imperial Study and to mock Emperor Xuan. He was sure Qin Li had other motives, such as recruiting him.

"I heard that the Minister requested to be stripped of his official rank and is now a commoner..."

Qin Li spoke up.

However, before Qin Li could finish speaking, Huangfu Song interrupted, "If Your Highness is here to recruit, please refrain from speaking."

Over the course of three years, Qin Li extended numerous offers to him, but Huangfu Song refused them all.

"No, no, no," Qin Li said, "I did not come here to recruit you. I know that the Minister will never collude with me, so I gave up on recruiting him at some point."

"I have come today only to invite Minister Gao to travel south with me. After all, Minister Gao's daughter and her family have been living in Jiangnan for many years. Doesn't Minister Gao wish to visit them?"

Back then, because Emperor Xuan wanted to make Lu Shushu his empress, Qin Li devised a plan to send Lu Heng's entire family to Jiangnan.

In the eyes of the world, Lu Heng and his family of three were dead. For three whole years, they only kept in touch through letters. Huangfu Song never saw Lu Heng and his family again, and it would be a lie to say that he didn't miss them.

However, Huangfu Song did not immediately agree, because he felt that this was still a scheme by Qin Li to recruit him, and he must not fall for it.

Seeing Huangfu Song being so cautious, Qin Li laughed in exasperation.

He stood up and said, "If you don't believe me, then so be it. I will be leading my army to set off soon! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Your Excellency should know how petty that old man is. Now that you have betrayed him, can you guarantee he won't retaliate when he wakes up?"

"Therefore, it would be better for Minister to go to Jiangnan together."

After saying that, Qin Li left, leaving Huangfu Song alone in his chair, frowning in thought...