I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Everyone originally thought that Hua Yang would resist, either hiding behind Bai Zhenzhen or being frightened to tears, making the Empress lose face in public.

After all, Huayang was raised in the capital from a young age, not by the Empress's side, so she probably doesn't even know that the Empress is her biological mother.

But that wasn't the case. Hua Yang stretched out his two short arms and ran towards the Empress.

At this moment, Qin Li also jumped down from the carriage.

Wei Hongying appeared beside Qin Li at some point, nudged him with her elbow, and teased, "Did you arrange all of this?"

Wei Hongying simply couldn't believe that Qin Li wasn't involved.

Qin Li stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the mother and daughter, and said in a deliberately serious tone, "You really have no manners. What do you mean, 'you'? You should address me as 'I, the Emperor'."

Upon hearing this, Wei Hongying couldn't help but pout and gave Qin Li a disgruntled look.

Others may not understand Qin Li, but doesn't she?

He's putting on airs like an emperor in front of her; let's see how she deals with him tonight.

"Haha, my dear nephew, you've finally arrived! The city has already prepared a welcome feast. We haven't seen each other for years, so tonight we'll drink until we drop."

Not only did Wei Hongying not address Qin Li as "Your Majesty," but Wang Hu did as well. No matter what, Qin Li was always his nephew.

……

Night fell as expected.

The huge hall was filled with music, singing, and dancing, creating a lively atmosphere.

Today, Emperor Li of Qin personally led his army and arrived at Xuanque Pass.

All the generals of Xuanque Pass came to accompany him; none were absent, nor did they dare to be absent, nor did they want to be absent.

Over the years, many generals have emerged from Xuanque Pass, and tonight is a great opportunity for them to show their talents, which they do not want to miss.

Everyone clinked glasses, chatted in hushed tones, and beamed with joy.

However, unlike the other generals, whose eyes were always fixed on Qin Li in the main seat, the Empress did not even glance at Qin Li, but instead kept her gaze on her daughter Hua Yang beside her.

After spending a day together, the Empress discovered that Hua Yang's well-behaved demeanor was all an act. At this moment, his mischievous nature was revealed, giving her a headache. However, she still patiently took care of him as a mother.

"Come, Huayang, eat some hot food. Don't eat anything too cold, or you'll get diarrhea." The Empress's gaze was gentler than ever before, much to the surprise of the generals who saw her all the time.

Is this still the same stern, imposing, and invincible general?

Hua Yang didn't eat. Instead, he raised his innocent-looking face to look at the Empress and asked in a clear, crisp voice:

"Your Majesty, I've heard you were once an emperor. Are you an emperor?"

The Empress smiled gently, reached out and patted her little head, and replied, "Yes, it was the Emperor, but that's all in the past. Why is Huayang suddenly asking about this?"

Hua Yang smiled, his eyes revealing a mischievous glint. "That's not what I wanted to ask. I wanted to ask which number mother the Empress is in Hua Yang's family."

As they were talking, Hua Yang counted on his short, chubby fingers and said:

"Huayang has several mothers: Consort Pei, Consort Xiao, and Consort Bai. They all love Huayang and Father Emperor very much. Does the Empress love Father Emperor?"

The Empress was taken aback, unsure how to answer the question.

She was different from Qin Li's other women.

There's no need to say you love Qin Li.

As for why she wanted to have a child with Qin Li...

She simply thought Qin Li had good genes, and she also happened to need a child; that's all.

As for the romantic love between ordinary men and women, she had absolutely no feelings for Qin Li.

"Your Majesty, why are you silent? Is this question so difficult to answer?"

When Hua Yang pressed for an answer, the Empress couldn't help but look at Qin Li.

She had reason to suspect that Qin Li had deliberately arranged all of this to embarrass her and make her lose face.

Haha, all men are the same.

Qin Li, who was drinking, saw the Empress's gaze and felt inwardly wronged.

He didn't intentionally arrange for Huayang to ask such a question; Huayang asked it himself, and it had nothing to do with him.

Qin Li beckoned and said, "Come here, Huayang, come to your father."

Hua Yang disappeared in a flash, running to Qin Li's side, which made the Empress look at Qin Li with even more resentment.

"Father, why is your relationship with the Empress different from that of the other consorts?" Hua Yang asked, blinking his grape-sized eyes.

How can they be the same? She was an empress, and although she's not an empress anymore, she still retains the nobility and arrogance of an empress in her bones, and she looks down on him from the bottom of her heart.

"Same, how could they be different?" Qin Li said. "It's possible that Father and Empress have been separated for too long and are a little estranged. They'll be fine in a few days."

"Yay! Yay!"

Hua Yang clapped his little hands, "Then in a few days, Father and Empress will play with Hua Yang together."

"it is good."

Qin Li responded.

Hua Yang extended his little finger: "Shall we pinky swear?"

Qin Li was amused by the clever little girl, but he still extended his little finger and held it together with hers.

"Pinky promise, a hundred years from now."

After making the pinky promise, Huayang ate a few more bites of food and then ran off to play somewhere else.

After Qin Li assigned someone to look after Hua Yang, he stopped worrying about her.

After Hua Yang left, Qin Li looked at the assembled generals and asked, "What are your thoughts on this battle?"

Wang Hu was the first to slam his fist on the table and speak: "What other opinion could there be? Of course, our army will win!"

"Nephew, you don't know, we've captured two of Murong Qingcang's sons alive. With these two as hostages, Murong Qingcang can't turn the tables. Plus, with you coming here in person, the morale of the army is greatly boosted. If you ask me, we should open the city gates tomorrow and launch a preemptive attack. We'll definitely wipe out the Northern Mang army outside the city, leaving them utterly defeated and running for their lives."

Upon hearing this, the other generals echoed his sentiments. They already held the advantage, not to mention that Qin Li had come in person.

The Great Zhou will surely win this battle, and the Northern Barbarians will surely lose.

But just then, a discordant voice rang out.

"Leave them utterly defeated, fleeing in disarray? General, you really dare to dream! Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Do you really think the Northern Barbarians are so easily defeated?"

The one who said this was none other than the Empress, and only she dared to say such a thing.

Others may not understand Northern Mang, but doesn't she?

A head-on confrontation at this point would only result in mutual destruction, and the Great Zhou would end in a Pyrrhic victory, which is definitely not what Qin Li wants.

"Hey, you woman, you've been in our Great Zhou for years, why are you still siding with outsiders? How old are your and my nephew's kids? Still thinking about Northern Mang? Do you still want to go back and be the emperor of Northern Mang? Let me tell you, dream on!"

"After this battle is over, you will obediently return to the capital with my eldest nephew and become a good wife and mother."

Wang Hu didn't tolerate the Empress's behavior and spoke his mind.

Upon hearing this, the Empress's face turned red with anger.

But he didn't say anything, he just kept drinking in silence.

They drank one cup after another, and the pot of wine on the table was soon empty.

Seeing that the Empress remained silent, Wang Hu assumed she was in the wrong and afraid, so he waved his hand and said to Qin Li:

"Nephew, a woman like that just needs to be taught a lesson."

"It's alright, your uncle will take care of it for you. After this battle is over, you can take her back and have a few more children with her, and she'll behave herself."

Hearing this, Qin Li reached out and rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

He had a premonition that something bad was going to happen at tonight's welcome banquet.

Sure enough, the moment this thought crossed her mind, the drunken empress slammed her hand on the table, stood up, and pointed at Wang Hu, saying:

"You filthy wretch, shut your stinking mouth!"

"Do you really think that just because everyone calls you a great general, you actually are a great general?"

"In terms of martial prowess, you're not the strongest; in terms of strategy, you're at the very bottom."

"He only got the position of general because of his connection with him."

The Empress pointed at Qin Li.

This means that Wang Hu only became a general because he was Qin Li's uncle; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to become a general.

Although the words are rough, the principle is sound.

Wang Hu is not cut out to be a great general!

Over the years, if it weren't for everyone working together, Xuanque Pass would have been lost countless times in Wang Hu's hands.

Enraged by being insulted to his face, Wang Hu's face turned red with anger. He stood up with a bang and yelled, "You bitch, who are you calling a whore? Say it again if you dare!"

"If it weren't for me, you would have died in Northern Mang long ago. A woman rejected by Northern Mang came to our Great Zhou and became a general. Instead of thanking me, you dare to curse me!"

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You want to use our power to make a comeback and become the emperor of Northern Mang again? Dream on!"

"In this battle, we will clearly show the world that the Great Zhou is the true ruler of the land, and that there will be no more Northern Barbarians!"