I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

A few days later, Qin Li personally led the expedition.

Early in the morning, Pei Qingluan hurriedly ran out of the palace to see him off, disregarding even the Empress's imperial demeanor.

"Didn't we already properly see them off last night? Why are you here again this morning?"

Qin Li reached out and gently tucked a few strands of Pei Qingluan's hair, which had been ruffled by the wind, behind her ear, his voice even more tender.

Seeing this scene, the civil and military officials at the city gate all wore smiles, and some even couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

Your Majesty and the Empress are such a loving couple; it is truly a blessing for the Great Zhou Dynasty.

This is also the foundation of a country's prosperity. If His Majesty and Empress are not loving and cannot even manage their own family well, how can they expect to manage the great Zhou Dynasty well?

Others might not understand the meaning behind Qin Li's words, but how could Pei Qingluan, who had been married to Qin Li for many years, not understand?

Her face turned bright red all the way to the back of her ears, almost dripping blood.

Just thinking about what happened last night made her want to bite Qin Li hard.

They were an old married couple, and Qin Li's flirtatious behavior made her very embarrassed.

Where no one could see, Pei Qingluan reached out and pinched Qin Li's arm hard, making Qin Li wince in pain. He disregarded his imperial dignity, for Pei Qingluan showed no mercy.

"Stop playing dumb with me. Where's Huayang? Where have you hidden him?"

Pei Qingluan left the palace early in the morning, not to see Qin Li off. Just as Qin Li had said, he had already properly seen him off last night, so there was no need for her to do it again.

She left the palace early this morning for Huayang.

Since Huayang came to the capital, although several women took care of her together, she took the most care and worried the most. She also slept with Huayang every night.

After serving the emperor last night, she went to sleep with Huayang as usual. He was still there before she went to sleep, but when she woke up this morning, Huayang was gone. That's why she rushed out of the palace.

Hua Yang was still so young, and she absolutely refused to let Qin Li take Hua Yang away.

As they were talking, Pei Qingluan looked at the carriage behind Qin Li and was about to walk towards it. Needless to say, Hua Yang was definitely inside the carriage.

Qin Li quickly stretched out his arm to stop her, saying, "Have you thought this through? If you keep her here, you won't have a peaceful life. I'm doing this for your own good."

Hua Yang was mischievous from a young age, even more so than the boys. No one in the manor could handle her, and Pei Qingluan had to clean up her messes countless times.

With Hua Yang gone from the capital, Pei Qingluan will finally have a few days of peace.

"What? For my own good? Taking her away from me is for my own good?" Pei Qingluan laughed angrily.

Although she is not Huayang's biological mother, she has long regarded Huayang as her own daughter. When someone tried to take her biological daughter away, she didn't fight back, which is already good enough.

"Don't worry, Huayang isn't going away forever. We're all parents; we can't just stand by and watch that mother and daughter be separated for so many years, can we?"

Qin Li said comfortingly.

Pei Qingluan knew what Qin Li meant. Huayang was the Empress's daughter and had been raised in the capital. Over the years, the mother and daughter had never met.

The Empress must be going crazy with longing, dreaming of seeing her daughter again, and this is her chance.

Human hearts are made of flesh and blood. After sighing a few times, Pei Qingluan gave up on approaching the carriage.

But she stared at Qin Li very seriously and said, word by word, "I can let you take her to the border, but you must promise me that you will not let her suffer in the slightest. We raised her well in the capital, making her healthy and carefree. We can't let her suffer just because we've moved her to a different place."

If Qin Li can't even agree to this, then she will never agree to let Qin Li take Huayang to the border.

Qin Li said, "Of course I can guarantee that, but I dare not guarantee whether her mother, the Empress, can do it."

Based on Qin Li's understanding of the Empress, she would definitely blame Hua Yang for being raised to be like this.

Pei Qingluan couldn't help but sneer: "Your Majesty doesn't need to worry about that. She is Huayang's mother. I don't believe there is any mother in the world who wouldn't love her child."

Qin Li nodded.

Releasing Pei Qingluan, Pei Qingluan came to the carriage. Without lifting the curtain, she stood beside the carriage and softly instructed, "Come back soon. Your Consort Pei and Consort Xiao are waiting for you in the palace, preparing delicious food for you."

Hua Yang's voice immediately came from inside the carriage: "Good."

Before long, the army set out on the expedition, though the number of soldiers was not large.

Firstly, the army was still fighting against the Buddhist kingdom in the south, and the number of troops in the capital was already small.

Secondly, the forces at Xuanque Pass are already sufficient for this war with Northern Mang, so there is no need to mobilize additional troops.

Qin Li only needs to bring a small number of people to Xuanque Pass.

Even though there weren't many people, they still protected the carriage in the middle very tightly, as if there were some priceless treasure inside.

As the convoy drove further and further away, Pei Qingluan, the queen of the country, led her civil and military officials to gaze into the distance.

Pei Qingluan parted her red lips and couldn't help but murmur, "Triumphant return, triumphant return..."

……

Meanwhile, in the Cold Palace!

The hunched-over Emperor Xuan was diligently sweeping the entire hall with a broom in hand.

It wasn't that he had figured it out, but rather that Qin Han's fist was too hard.

He was so afraid of being beaten that he had no choice but to pick up the broom.

Looking at Qin Han standing under the eaves outside, Emperor Xuan really wanted to pick up a broom and fight him.

But he knew that he, an old man in his eighties, was no match for the strong and vigorous Qin Han.

All we can do now is to endure it for the time being.

Where there is life, there is hope.

One day, he will make a comeback, and he will repay Qin Han tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold for what he did to him.

Qin Han said, "Benefactor, His Majesty is personally leading the expedition today. If we win, you will be considered a meritorious official."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuan, holding a broom, came up behind Qin Han and asked, puzzled, "What does the Master mean by this?"

Although Qin Han was his son and Qin Han used to be his subject, now he dared not call Qin Han by his name or call him "Second Brother," and only dared to address him as "Master."

Qin Han turned his face and smiled, "If you abdicate and His Majesty ascends the throne, and the Northern Barbarians are completely brought under the control of my Great Zhou, what else would you be but a meritorious official?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuan couldn't help but sneer, thinking to himself: Does he really think Northern Mang is a pushover that can be bullied at will?

The people of Great Zhou have only enjoyed a few good days, yet they've already forgotten who they are. They've become so audacious that they dare to challenge Northern Mang.

Those were a group of barbarians from the grasslands who ate raw meat and drank blood. In terms of civil administration, they were naturally inferior to the Great Zhou, but in terms of martial arts, the Great Zhou could never defeat them.

However, this is for the best. It would be better if Qin Li died on the northern battlefield, as that would increase his chances of restoring his rule.