I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Seeing the two men disregarding the occasion and pointing their fingers at each other while hurling the most offensive insults, the generals looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Why did they suddenly start arguing and using such foul language?

In their opinion, both of them were at fault and both acted impulsively.

Wang Hu shouldn't have called the Empress a "stinky woman," nor should he have said that she harbored ulterior motives and wanted to make a comeback and become the emperor of Northern Mang again.

They had all witnessed what the Empress had done at Xuanque Pass over the years.

Although she was born in the Northern Mang and was once the emperor of the Northern Mang, she and Jin Ge devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the Great Zhou.

The Empress shouldn't have belittled Wang Hu to the point of worthlessness. Although Wang Hu only became a general because of his relationship with Qin Li, he had one advantage: he listened to advice. Knowing that he wasn't very bright, Wang Hu never acted arbitrarily and always listened to advice, which is why Xuanque Pass improved.

The generals were at a loss for what to do. Advising them didn't work, and not advising them didn't work either. In the end, they all looked at Qin Li.

Qin Li took a deep breath and couldn't help but curse, "I personally led the expedition and only arrived at Xuanque Pass today, and you two have put on such a good show for me!"

"Guards! Drag them out and give each of them thirty lashes!"

At a command, several soldiers rushed into the hall, ready to drag the two men out and beat them with a board.

The generals quickly rose to their feet and tried to dissuade them, saying that with a major battle imminent, it would be disastrous if two of them were injured and unable to fight.

But when Qin Li glanced at them with cold eyes, they dared not speak again, for fear of being implicated.

In the end, they could only watch helplessly as the two were dragged out and flogged.

From beginning to end, Wei Hongying didn't say a word, only sipping her wine in small sips.

Seeing the two being dragged away, Wei Hongying gently shook her head, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

What a talent! He's truly a talent.

She wasn't referring to the two people, but to Qin Li.

……

Late at night.

The welcome banquet has ended.

In a mansion somewhere in the city.

The empress lay on the bed with her snow-white back exposed, while several maids applied medicine to her.

Even though the maids were very careful, she still winced in pain and kept groaning.

"They deserve to die, Wang Hu deserves to die, and Qin Li deserves to die even more."

"How dare you call me a slut! There isn't a single good man in the world! And Qin Li, knowing full well that a great battle was imminent, still had me beaten. He clearly didn't want me to achieve any merit!"

As they were talking, the Empress let out a soft hiss in pain.

She couldn't help but turn her head and say, "Could you please be a little gentler...?"

But before she could finish speaking, she froze.

Because at some point, the maids who applied the medicine to her had turned into Qin Li.

"You... what are you doing here?"

In a panic, the empress rolled up her clothes on the bed to cover her private parts.

Qin Li sat on the edge of the bed and chuckled softly:

"Why are you blocking it? It's not like I haven't seen it before. I've seen everything, both what I should and shouldn't have seen."

The Empress was so ashamed and angry that she was about to punch him, but Qin Li was prepared. He grabbed the Empress's wrist and couldn't help but look down.

The empress gritted her teeth, feeling even more ashamed and indignant, and quickly covered her chest with her arms.

"Get out!"

The Empress stopped looking at Qin Li and scolded him.

Qin Li did not leave, but gently stirred the ointment in his hand and said, "I have gone to great lengths to create this time and space for the two of us to be alone. How could I easily leave?"

The Empress immediately understood Qin Li's meaning and said angrily, "You did this on purpose?"

Qin Li deliberately ordered the soldiers to beat her.

"It wasn't exactly intentional, was it? You talked back to your superior, which is a major taboo in the military. Shouldn't you be punished?" Qin Li said.

"That filthy bastard Wang Hu insulted me first." The Empress was extremely indignant.

So what if you scold her? She won't hold a grudge against Wang Hu.

But tonight, how could the Empress possibly swallow her anger when she was being scolded in front of so many people?

"Therefore, I have punished both of you."

Upon hearing this, the Empress felt as if she had punched a cotton ball, unable to exert her strength.

"Lie down, I'll apply the medicine for you. If you recover quickly, you might still be able to fight on the battlefield."

The empress, for reasons unknown, obediently lay down.

Qin Li gently applied medicine to the Empress's jade-like back.

It's called a jade back, but it's actually covered in wounds, with new wounds adding to old ones, like a dried-up and cracked riverbed.

Over the years, the Empress must have suffered a lot.

"It's ugly, isn't it?"

The Empress suddenly spoke.

Qin Li couldn't help but gently touch the scars with his fingers: "They are indeed quite ugly, but I like them very much."

After saying that, Qin Li bent down and gently kissed the scars.

The warmth sent a shiver down the Empress's spine, and she cried out, "What are you doing?"

Qin Li pressed down on her hands and whispered in her ear, "Perhaps I should really listen to Wang Hu and have you give me more children, then you'll behave."

The empress, unable to rise from the weight, gritted her teeth and said, "I am not your possession! If you dare touch me, I will kill you!"

Qin Li stood up. "I know, I've always known."

Seeing Qin Li stand up, the Empress breathed a sigh of relief.

"You've raised Huayang poorly, and I haven't even settled the score with you yet." The Empress abruptly changed the subject.

"No, what's wrong with it?"

As Qin Li applied medicine to the Empress's back, he said, "Why must Huayang be made to be like other little girls, obedient and sensible? Is that what's good? Just like you and Hongying, you're different from ordinary women. Why don't you say anything bad about yourself and Hongying?"

"That's a fallacy," the Empress said.

Qin Li shook his head. "It's not a fallacy, but I feel that Huayang should be free and unrestrained, instead of being a canary confined in a cage like an ordinary princess."

"But she's just too naughty."

Which child isn't mischievous?

"She is a girl."

"So what if she's a girl? You're still a woman, but do you stay home like other women, taking care of your husband and children? You can't even do that yourself, so what right do you have to expect Huayang to do it?"

Seeing that she couldn't win the argument with Qin Li, the Empress said again, "Nonsense."

Qin Li smiled and said, "Say what you will. I will raise my daughter myself. She is none of your business."

"Why don't I need to care? I'm her mother."

"Since you acknowledge that she is Huayang's mother, then come back with me after this battle."

"Go back for what? To be a wife and mother?" The Empress sneered.

Only at Xuanque Pass could she be herself.

She had considered returning to the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, where she could accompany Huayang as he grew up, but after weighing the pros and cons, she still chose to stay at Xuanque Pass.

Do you think I'm the kind of person who forces you to do things you don't like?

The Empress fell silent; she knew Qin Li was not the one.

"Huayang needs her biological mother by her side. Although she has several mothers who love her very much, none of them are Huayang's biological mother. Huayang is about to start her formal education at the palace school. Do you want her to be talked about and ridiculed by her classmates?"

"Who dares to talk about her? She is a princess!" the Empress emphasized.

"They're all kids the same age. Let the other kids talk about it if they want; it's none of your business."

Upon hearing this, the Empress seemed to be able to imagine Hua Yang's pitiful state of being ridiculed and gossiped about, and she would no longer be as happy as she was now.

"You're forcing me to go back with you!"

"I'm not forcing you, but since you chose to give birth to Huayang back then, you should take on the responsibility of being a mother."

"Nonsense."

The Empress continued.

Seeing that he couldn't reason with him, Qin Li got up and left after applying the medicine.

"where did you go?"

The Empress looked over.

"I haven't seen Hongying for several years, and I believe that Hongying is different from you. I'll go and have a chat with Hongying."

After saying that, Qin Li turned and left.

"Once you leave, never come back."

As soon as she finished speaking, the empress regretted it.

How could she say such a thing? What will Qin Li think of her?

Qin Li stopped and turned his head in confusion.

The empress dared not meet his gaze and said, "Don't misunderstand, that's not what I meant."

"What does that mean?"

Qin Li walked back, picked up the ointment, and said, "There were some places I missed earlier, lie down!"

"oh."

The Empress obediently lay down.

But Qin Li didn't apply the medicine to her. Instead, he pressed down on her hands and leaned over her, just like before.

"What are you doing!"

"Shh, don't move, or it will hurt a lot..."

"Ugh, uh... Qin Li, I'm going to kill you..."