I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"Your Highness, why waste your breath talking to this old man? If you ask me, we should just put a knife to his throat and he'll comply."

"If this old man isn't afraid of death, we'll threaten him with his daughter and her family from Jiangnan."

"Your Highness may not know this, but since his daughter and her family went to Jiangnan, they have been under the protection of the Pei family."

"The Pei family is the Princess's maternal family, which means that the lives of her daughter and her entire family are in His Highness's hands."

On the way back to the mansion, Zhou Biao couldn't help but offer Qin Li some advice.

In his opinion, Qin Li has indeed changed a lot over the years, becoming far too kind and no longer possessing the ruthlessness and unscrupulousness he once did.

Otherwise, Huangfu Song would have been a member of the Crown Prince's household long ago.

There's no need for that now; Qin Li has to come in person every now and then.

Qin Li glanced at him sideways, sighed, and couldn't help but curse:

"You know nothing! Our Great Zhou only has these few old ministers left."

"You've all been ruined by me, am I even human anymore?!"

"The seed of an old minister?"

Zhou Biao scratched his head, puzzled. "Your Highness, Zhao Guanwen and Zhao Guanli are considered veteran officials, aren't they?"

"At today's court meeting, you showed them absolutely no courtesy. Not only did you show no courtesy, you even punched and kicked them. How can you be so discriminatory?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Li nearly choked to death, unable to catch his breath.

He glared at Zhou Biao with annoyance and cursed, "Shut up, it's exhausting talking to you."

"In short, all you need to know is that we can't treat Huangfu Song like that."

"As for Zhao Guanwen and Zhao Guanli, their deaths are no loss; they were just two treacherous officials!"

"Once I ascend the throne, the first thing I will do is kill those two—Fei Zhong and You Hun of the Great Zhou!"

"Your Highness, who is Fei Zhongyouhun?" Zhou Biao asked quickly.

"Shut up, I told you to speak, so speak up..."

……

Seven days later.

The army is already outside the city, fully prepared for battle.

Qin Li lingered in his residence for a while.

"Are you really not coming along?"

"This attack on the Buddhist Kingdom will inevitably take us through Jiangnan."

"You haven't been back for so many years, don't you want to go home and take a look?"

Pei Qingluan was packing Qin Li's luggage.

Xiao Xue'er was putting armor on Qin Li.

Qin Li couldn't help but ask Pei Qingluan.

Last night, Qin Li played a trick on two women.

When they woke up this morning, the rosy complexion on the two women's faces had not yet faded.

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingluan paused in packing her bags and gently shook her head.

"I'm not going back. Besides, that's not my home. This is."

Ever since Pei Qingluan's mother died, Pei Qingluan has no longer considered the Pei family in Jiangnan as her own.

Although she still felt close to the Pei family, it was only because of blood ties; there was no one there anymore that Pei Qingluan was willing to return to.

What would she go back for? To visit her second uncle, Pei Yunhe, or her biological father, Li Fuyao? Pei Qingluan didn't want to go back at all; she'd rather stay in the capital.

"Your Highness, Sister Pei's mind is made up. Please don't try to persuade her to go to Jiangnan with you. How about Your Highness take Xue'er with you? Xue'er would like to go to Jiangnan. Xue'er promises not to cause Your Highness any trouble."

As Xiao Xue'er helped Qin Li fasten his armor, she opened her eyes wide and asked with great anticipation.

"Forget about you."

Qin Li said.

Pei Qingluan packed her bags and walked over, chuckling, "Yes, forget about you. Everyone knows your real purpose in going to Jiangnan, Xiao Xue'er. It's nothing more than wanting to pester His Highness day and night."

"His Highness is on a mission to attack the Buddhist Kingdom. You try to climb into his bed every night. How can His Highness concentrate on attacking the Buddhist Kingdom? Where will he find the strength to do so?"

Xiao Xue'er blushed and wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

It's not her fault; she simply loves Qin Li terribly and doesn't want to be apart from him for even a moment.

The journey to Jiangnan could take anywhere from a few months to several years.

The thought of not seeing Qin Li for so long made her very sad.

Xiao Xue'er had no idea how she was going to get through this long and unbearable night alone.

He couldn't possibly sleep with the other women in the manor...

Even if she were willing, Pei Qingluan wouldn't.

"Alright, Your Highness, please hurry, lest you be late!"

"Um."

After leaving the mansion, Qin Li led his men to mount their horses and headed straight for the army formation outside the city.

Before the army, Qin Li gave a brief speech and then ordered the army to set off.

After the army set off, Qin Li abandoned his warhorse and boarded a carriage.

It wasn't that he was lazy, but rather that he had something to discuss with the people in the carriage.

There were two people inside the carriage; they were talking before Qin Li entered.

One of them is the vanguard of the army that is going to conquer the Buddhist Kingdom, the seventh prince Qin Feng.

The other one was the Buddhist master, Venerable Wenzhi.

Three years ago, the four grandmasters gathered together, intending to kill Qin Li in the street.

Qin Li used a scheme to directly kill the two.

The remaining two, Qin Li neither killed them nor could he kill them!

They really want to kill all four Grandmasters in the capital of Great Zhou.

Three years ago, both countries should have declared war on the Great Zhou.

Qin Li did not kill Master Wenzhi and Wu Da, but instead "imprisoned" them in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Today is the day to release the two of them.

He personally escorted the Dharma Master Wenzhi to the Buddhist Kingdom.

Wu Da was sent north to Northern Mang by Su Chen.

"What are you two talking about?"

As soon as Qin Li entered, he asked.

Qin Feng complained, "Brother, in three years, the mage hasn't changed at all."

"Before you arrived, the monk told me that I should join the Buddhist order."

"What do you say?" Qin Li asked, amused.

Qin Feng said, "Of course I disagree. I'm doing just fine as the Seventh Prince, why would I want to become a monk? I'm not sick."

Qin Li nodded in agreement.

Then the two brothers looked at Master Wenzhi together, asking him for an explanation.

"Amitabha!"

Three years had passed, and Master Wenzhi appeared even younger, indicating that he had not been mistreated.

He said, "Two benefactors, the Buddha is merciful and wishes to deliver you both."

"Why would you convert us? Putting aside my elder brother, I, Qin Feng, am the seventh prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, living a life of luxury and pleasure. What good would joining your Buddhist sect do me? Not only can I not eat meat, but I'm also forbidden from touching women. What fun is there in that?"

Qin Feng continued, "Besides, my elder brother will be the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty sooner or later. Is being a monk better than being an emperor?"

Master Wenzhi put his hands together in front of his chest and said, “Benefactors, what you are enjoying and experiencing now is all illusory. People should not be greedy for enjoyment, and they will not be able to go to the Western Paradise after death.”

"Can't we enjoy life while we're alive, but can we enjoy it after we're dead?"

Qin Feng laughed in anger, "What does a dead person know? Once their eyes close and their legs kick, they know nothing."

When Master Jianwen Zhi was about to continue his lecture on Buddhism, Qin Li interrupted him:

"Master, please listen to me."

"You believe in your Buddhist teachings, but my brother and I don't."

"Even if you talk until your lips are sore, my brother and I will not believe you, and we will never shave our heads and become monks or join the Buddhist order."

"Therefore, the monk should go and find other people who are destined to join the Buddhist order."

"Now, what I want to say is..."

"This time, I will release the mage back. Can the mage guarantee that he will not join the army to fight against my Great Zhou army?"

Upon hearing this, Master Wenzhi didn't react much, but Qin Feng was stunned, his eyes wide with surprise.

There's something he dares not say: "Brother, have you lost your mind?"

Releasing Master Wenzhi back now is such a foolish move.

Master Wenzhi is a grandmaster; if we let him go, even the Buddha would be overjoyed.

This undoubtedly makes their attack on the Great Zhou more difficult.

Seeing Qin Feng's meaning, Qin Li gestured to him with his eyes to keep quiet.

"Master, what do you mean?"

Qin Li asked.

After thinking for a moment, Master Wenzhi said, "Everything in the world is preordained."

"Good, with the Master's words, I feel much more at ease."

Having received a reply from Venerable Wenzhi, Qin Li did not linger any longer and got up to leave the carriage.

Qin Feng watched over Master Wenzhi for a whole night before leaving the carriage.

Outside, the sun came out, dispelling the winter chill.

Qin Feng caught up and asked, "Brother, what exactly did that old bald monk mean just now?"

"What old bald monk? He's a world-famous monk with countless followers."

Qin Feng really wanted to curse. Three years ago, he didn't know who it was, but they kept calling him an old bald donkey.

Why are we calling him a monk now?

However, he still dared not say these words aloud.