I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

The imperial seal was right before his eyes, within reach, yet Emperor Xuan hesitated to pick it up and stamp it on the proclamation calling for the conquest of Qin Li.

Emperor Xuan knew perfectly well that Qin Li was a traitor and a rebel, and the King of Liangzhou was even more so.

The King of Liangzhou had no intention of supporting him to become emperor again; he merely used him as a pawn.

To put it nicely, it's called "purging the emperor's inner circle"; to put it bluntly, it's called "using the emperor to command the feudal lords."

Seeing that Emperor Xuan had not made a move, Judge Wu grew anxious:

"Your Majesty, what are you waiting for?"

"As long as that traitor lives, the people of the world will suffer every day."

"My lord, unable to bear the suffering of the people, and even more so of Your Majesty, has obeyed the will of Heaven, raised the banner to punish the treacherous villain, and restored the glory of Heaven!"

These words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the civil and military officials, turning the hall into a bustling marketplace.

Everyone present was a fool; they could all see that Wang Long, the King of Liangzhou, wanted to become emperor, which was why he sent people to stage this whole thing.

"You traitorous scoundrel, how dare you?!"

An upright minister stepped forward, raised two fingers, and pointed them at Wang Long, the Prince of Liangzhou, who was feigning sleep with his eyes closed. He roared, "Wang Long, as His Majesty's maternal uncle, how dare you enter the capital without imperial decree while His Majesty is on a personal campaign? You even led troops to seize control of the palace, reinstated the deposed emperor, and held the empress hostage! This is rebellion! Rebellion!"

Other ministers immediately echoed this, angrily flicking their sleeves and saying:

"Wang Long, it's not too late for you to realize your mistake. His Majesty might be lenient with you when he returns. Don't remain stubbornly ignorant."

"Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, our Great Zhou has gradually grown stronger. The Buddhist Kingdom in the south has been pacified, the Seventh Prince's army is on its way back, and we have won a great victory at Xuanque Pass. In time, our Great Zhou will surely be able to unify the world, and the people will be able to live a good life."

"As His Majesty's maternal uncle, you should have wholeheartedly assisted him in suppressing the Western Regions for the Great Zhou. But what did you do? You actually led troops into the capital while His Majesty was away. This is a heinous crime punishable by the confiscation of your property and the extermination of your entire clan!"

In a short period of time, seven or eight ministers stood up and pointed their fingers at Wang Long, cursing him.

Cao Quan also wanted to step forward, but Xiao Yuanlu held him back tightly.

Wang Long remained asleep with his eyes closed, his hands resting on his sword, motionless, as if he hadn't heard what was said.

Judge Wu was displeased. He picked up a vermilion pen with his right hand and began to splatter ink wildly on the booklet in his left hand, saying as he wrote:

"Dai Xin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Senior Fourth Rank; Jiang Zhan, Grand Counselor, Senior Fifth Rank; Yin Xiangze, Vice Minister of the Chancellery, Senior Fourth Rank..."

Judge Wu recited each person's name, position, and rank without missing a single word.

Finally, he raised his eyelids, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "You gentlemen have spoken nonsense in court, slandering loyal officials. You are sentenced to immediate execution! Execute immediately!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he drew a large X on the names of several people in the booklet with the vermilion pen in his hand.

Immediately, a squad of soldiers rushed in and, without saying a word, began to slash.

In an instant, seven or eight more corpses appeared in the hall, blood splattered everywhere.

The other ministers were so frightened that their legs went weak, and they huddled together, unable to look directly at each other.

Judge Wu nodded in satisfaction and looked at Cao Quan:

"Scholar Cao, did you also want to stand up and speak just now?"

Cao Quan was about to step forward with neither arrogance nor servility when Xiao Yuanlu beat him to it and blocked his way.

Xiao Yuanlu said, "Cao Quan is the newly appointed top scholar and does not understand the rules of the court. It is not his place to speak."

Judge Wu laughed: "Does Prime Minister Xiao have anything to say?"

Xiao Yuanlu said with a smile, "Of course, I think the King of Liangzhou's move is very appropriate. Qin Li imprisoned his father and took the throne. He was a traitor and should indeed be punished."

After speaking, Xiao Yuanlu bowed and cupped his hands towards Emperor Xuan on the dragon throne: "Your Majesty, please make a decision as soon as possible and punish this treacherous villain!"

Many ministers were stunned by these words.

Xiao Yuanlu was not only the prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but also Qin Li's father-in-law.

His daughter, Xiao Xue'er, was none other than Consort Xiao.

What? Wang Long hasn't even used any methods yet, and Xiao Yuanlu has already given in? Is he going to join forces with Wang Long?

However, many ministers understood Xiao Yuanlu's good intentions.

Xiao Yuanlu didn't want any more people to die, so he wanted to compromise for now and preserve his strength.

"Your Majesty, please make a swift decision and punish this treacherous villain!"

Suddenly, someone echoed Xiao Yuanlu's words.

Everyone looked up and discovered that it was actually Empress Pei Qingluan.

"Your Majesty, how could even you..."

Pei Qingluan did not answer, but instead bowed deeply to the Xuan Emperor on the dragon throne.

With the two men taking the lead, the ministers gradually echoed their sentiments.

Seeing this, Emperor Xuan didn't know whether he should be happy or not. In the end, he just sighed, picked up the jade seal on the table, and stamped the imperial edict.

Judge Wu happily presented the imperial edict, stamped with the seal, to Wang Long, who then slowly opened his eyes.

He said casually, "Go, send the order to all the states."

"Yes."

……

Sunset.

The ministers left the palace one after another.

Several people stood on the steps in front of the Golden Palace, bathed in the orange sunset, watching the ministers leave the palace.

Among them were Wang Long and others, as well as Xiao Yuanlu and Pei Qingluan.

Wang Long still held the knife in both hands; it was said that he even slept with the knife in his hand.

Narrowing his eyes, Wang Long said calmly, "Among all the court officials, only Prime Minister Xiao and Her Majesty the Empress are intelligent, but please be even more intelligent. If I hear anything I don't like, I will still kill them."

In other words, the court officials' statements today do not mean they have been granted a pardon.

If they were to say again in the imperial court that Qin Li was not a thief, they would still be executed.

Xiao Yuanlu was the first to answer: "I will obey Your Highness's every command. Whatever Your Highness says, I will follow without question."

Pei Qingluan nodded in agreement.

Two people agreed, but others disagreed.

For example, Xiao Xue'er, who was standing to the side with a displeased look on her face.

She kept muttering to herself... Don't be arrogant. When His Majesty returns, he'll see how he deals with you. You traitorous scoundrel, you deserve to be torn to pieces.

"Does Consort Xiao seem to have a different opinion?"

Wang Long suddenly asked a question he already knew the answer to.

Xiao Yuanlu quickly stepped forward, smiling apologetically, "Your Highness is too kind. My daughter has never been very bright since she was little; she's a bit simple-minded. Please don't take it to heart."

Wang Long laughed and sighed, "It's good that you're stupid. You won't have so many troubles if you're stupid."

After saying this, Wang Long turned and went back to the hall.

Wang Long led his men back, and Xiao Yuanlu couldn't help but scold Xiao Xue'er:

"You'd better behave yourself these days, or don't blame me for not warning you if you lose your life!"

After speaking, Xiao Yuanlu looked at Pei Qingluan, cupped his hands and said, "I hope Your Majesty will take extra care to keep an eye on the Imperial Concubine."

Pei Qingluan said, "Yes, we will."

After saying that, Xiao Yuanlu was about to leave the palace.

"Prime Minister Xiao, please wait!"

Pei Qingluan stopped him and asked, "Is the Marquis of Guanwai in the capital?"

Xiao Yuanlu immediately understood Pei Qingluan's meaning. Liangzhou King Wang Long had rebelled, but Guanwai Marquis Wang Bao might not be so certain, even though Wang Bao was Wang Long's younger brother.

The solution to this impasse may lie with Wang Bao.

"Here I am."

Xiao Yuanlu said, "I will go find the Marquis of Guanwai now."

After watching Xiao Yuanlu leave, Xiao Xue'er couldn't help but ask Pei Qingluan, "What should we do next? Are we just going to stand by and watch Wang Long swagger around in the capital?"

"Otherwise what?" Pei Qingluan retorted. "With His Majesty gone from the capital, no one in the capital can rival him. Moreover, he commands a large army. Those who don't want to die should submit first."

"The logic is sound, but I just don't feel comfortable with it."

After thinking for a moment, Pei Qingluan said, "If you're not comfortable, just vent it. Wang Long is not easy to deal with, but that guy called Night Owl, we can teach him a lesson."

Xiao Xue'er was stunned for a moment: "But just now, Father warned me to behave myself these next few days and not to get into trouble."

Pei Qingluan said, "You are a Noble Consort. They should think carefully before they want to do anything to you."

Xiao Xue'er grinned and said, "Then I'll go."