I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

boom!

The little eunuch, covered in blood, was thrown on the ground.

He was already seriously injured, and then he was thrown like that.

He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Where is the chief eunuch?"

Wang Long said.

Soon, a middle-aged eunuch, around forty years old, was brought over.

Wang Long couldn't help but narrow his eyes. "You're the head eunuch?"

Wang Long was somewhat incredulous. According to common sense, shouldn't the chief eunuch in the palace be the most senior person in the palace? How come this one is so young?

After the middle-aged eunuch was brought over, he remained neither servile nor arrogant. He raised his hands high and said:

"Since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has promulgated a number of reform measures and eliminated redundant personnel, including in the palace."

"This servant is in the prime of her life and has been fortunate enough to be promoted to chief eunuch by His Majesty!"

Seeing the middle-aged eunuch speaking so arrogantly, Night Owl, standing behind Wang Long, was instantly displeased.

He shouted angrily, "How dare you speak to a prince like that? What 'Your Majesty'? That's a traitor!"

The middle-aged eunuch remained composed and glanced at the night owl.

Just as he was about to retort, he met the Empress's gaze.

He then calmed down a bit and lowered his head, saying, "Your Highness, please don't be offended. I misspoke."

Fortunately, Wang Long didn't care about any of that, and simply asked, "Do you know this assassin?"

The head eunuch looked at the dying eunuch on the ground, nodded, and said, "I know him. He works in the imperial kitchen. He has no name or surname, but everyone calls him Xiao Guizi."

"But you ordered him to assassinate His Majesty?"

Wang Long deliberately tried to scare him.

At Pei Qingluan's prompting, the head eunuch quickly knelt down:

"Your Highness is wise; how could this servant have the courage?"

Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of the head eunuch, Wang Long turned his attention directly to the junior eunuch.

He had someone push him closer, looking at the little eunuch lying on the ground, barely alive.

Wang Long said slowly, "Who ordered you to assassinate His Majesty tonight? Tell me, and I may spare your life."

Xiao Guizi had been stabbed more than a dozen times, and blood was still gushing from his body. He barely had the strength to speak.

He gave a bitter laugh and said in a hoarse voice, "No one ordered me to do this. It was Xiao Gui Zi who wanted to kill him."

Why?

Wang Long needed a reason.

Xiao Guizi struggled to raise his head, his eyes fixed viciously on Wang Long in front of him: "Why? Why should I tell you! Who do you think you are?!"

boom!

The night owl stepped forward and stomped hard on Xiao Guizi's waist.

Xiao Guizi cried out in pain, as if his waist had been broken.

Wang Long waved his hand, signaling the Night Owl to step back.

If someone is killed before the investigation has even begun, that would be a huge loss.

Leaning slightly forward, looking at Xiao Guizi on the ground, Wang Long asked again, "Don't be so stubborn. I have no grudge against you. Is it really no one who instructed you?"

"Yes, I have."

Xiao Guizi suddenly changed his tune.

"Who?"

Wang Long asked impatiently.

Xiao Guizi raised his bloodied hand and pointed at the night owl beside Wang Long:

"He, he's the one who ordered me to do this!"

Pointing at him by Xiao Guizi, the Night Owl stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Wang Long also looked at the Night Owl, but his expression was very normal, indicating that he did not believe Xiao Guizi's words.

"Your Highness, please let me explain. How could I possibly order him to assassinate His Majesty?"

The night owl quickly offered an explanation.

"I know it wasn't you; you are the most loyal."

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness."

The night owl clasped its hands in a gesture of delight, then turned to glare fiercely at Xiao Guizi, wanting to go up and deliver two more blows.

"You little beast, how dare you slander this general! Believe me or not, I'll chop you down with one stroke!"

Xiao Guizi stubbornly raised his head, his expression ferocious:

"Come on, I dared to assassinate that old bastard, do you think I'm afraid of dying!"

Upon hearing this, Night Owl volunteered to Wang Long, saying, "Your Highness, please hand this man over to me. At the latest, I will be able to interrogate him by tomorrow morning."

Everyone understood why the Night Owl said that.

They will definitely subject Xiao Guizi to all sorts of torture, not afraid that Xiao Guizi won't talk.

"No need."

Wang Long straightened up and said calmly, "Little Gui, you don't need to do this. You're not going to live anyway. Tell me, why did you try to assassinate His Majesty? I can give you a quick death."

Xiao Guizi gritted her teeth and said, "Why? Of course, it's because that old bastard deserves to die!"

"You were doing just fine in the Cold Palace, why did you want to come out?"

"He wants to be emperor again? Bah! He doesn't deserve it!"

"I just can't stand him, I'm going to kill him!"

Hearing this, Wang Long rubbed his forehead in annoyance and waved his hand: "Just drag him away, we won't get anything out of him."

"Yes."

After accepting the order with clasped hands, the night owl quickly dragged Xiao Guizi out and gave him a quick death.

Afterwards, Wang Long looked at Pei Qingluan and asked, "What does Your Majesty think?"

Pei Qingluan, not understanding what Wang Long meant, asked, "What do you mean, 'how'?"

Wang Long said, "I believe that no one instructed Xiao Guizi. As he himself said, he wanted to kill His Majesty. If someone had to instruct him, then it would be the treacherous Li.

Pei Qingluan asked knowingly, "Why does Your Highness say that?"

Wang Long laughed and said, "Because he is a loyal man. It's a pity that his loyalty is to the treacherous villain Li."

"Alright, let's leave it at that."

Wang Long ordered everyone to return home and sent additional men to protect Emperor Xuan's safety.

Tonight's events likely stem from someone's resentment at Emperor Xuan being used by him, and their desire to kill Emperor Xuan and sever his arm.

……

Early the next morning.

Wang Long was still asleep when he was woken up by someone.

He opened his eyes and saw Wang Bao fiddling with objects in his room, looking left and right.

"Why are you here?"

Wang Long propped himself up.

Wang Bao put down the vase he was holding and walked over casually. "Brother, I heard that old geezer was assassinated last night?"

Wang Long frowned: "What old thing? Why do you have to address me as Your Majesty?"

Wang Bao chuckled sheepishly, "It's nothing. I didn't call out to his face. Really? Were you really assassinated?"

Wang Long said, "It's true, we were almost assassinated."

"Who is this assassin?"

Wang Bao asked again.

Wang Long said, "He's not some expert, just a lowly eunuch from the imperial kitchen."

"oh."

Wang Bao responded, "I see."

Wang Long looked at Wang Bao and asked, "What brings you here so early in the morning?"

Wang Bao immediately perked up and said, "Brother, I heard the fighting is fierce over at Daweihai. Should we do something?"

Wang Long supported himself with one hand and waved the other hand gently. "There's nothing to do now. Be careful, there might be a trap over there in the Great Reed Sea."

Wang Bao nodded: "I see... Then what should I do? I can't just sit around doing nothing, or I'll get sick from it."

Wang Long patted Wang Bao on the shoulder and said, "I'm already very grateful for your kindness."

"Here's what we'll do: you take the troops and reinforce the defenses of the palace. No strangers are allowed to approach His Majesty."

"Yes."

……

"Big brother, it seems Wang Long isn't falling for it."

Inside the central command tent at Liujiawan, Qin Feng couldn't help but complain to Qin Li.

They had been there for quite some time, but the 200,000 Liangzhou cavalry in the capital remained stationary.

Qin Li was reading a military report, while Lu Shushu was pouring tea beside him.

After a while, Qin Li finally spoke:

"What's the rush? Haste makes waste. You have to wait and see."

"That makes sense, but we can wait, while the allied forces of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions in the Great Reed Sea cannot."

Qin Feng said, "Their food supplies are almost gone. If Wang Long doesn't fall for their tricks soon, they'll have to surrender."

The allied forces of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions in the Great Reed Sea numbered as many as 150,000, which was no small number, and the amount of food they consumed every day was astronomical.

Some of them have even started digging up grassroots communities.

Food is not the main problem; the weather is.

After several heavy snowfalls in winter, many people froze to death in the reed marshes.

In his opinion, it would be better to send a large army to deal with the coalition of thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions first.

Qin Li waved his hand and said, "This is easy to solve. Send an order to Huangfu Song to send grain and cotton clothes to the Great Reed Sea."

Upon hearing this, Lu Shushu, who was pouring tea, trembled, and a lot of tea spilled out.

Qin Li looked up at her. "What's wrong? Are you shocked?"

Lu Shushu quickly stood up obediently and gently shook her head: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, it's just that I'm too clumsy."

Actually, it wasn't that she was clumsy; she was genuinely shocked, just as Qin Li said.

Despite the enemy being in the Great Reed Sea, Qin Li actually ordered her grandfather to deliver food and cotton clothing to them.

If this gets out, Qin Li will be laughed at to death.

"Alright, let's leave it at that. Tell Huangfu Song to get on with it. I know that Jiangnan is incredibly wealthy. Even if we had to support the combined forces of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions in Dawei for a year or two, it wouldn't be a problem."

With a wave of his hand, Qin Li told Qin Feng to hurry up and get on with it.

Qin Feng nodded, got up and left the tent.

Not long after Qin Feng left, a small head peeked in furtively.

Qin Li pretended not to see it, while Lu Shushu genuinely did not see it.

After peeking in furtively with its little head, the whole person squeezed in as well.

He crept along the edge of the tent and crept up behind Qin Li.

When she got close enough, she suddenly jumped out.

Qin Li was fine, but Lu Shushu was startled and her heart pounded.

Upon recognizing Princess Huayang, Lu Shushu quickly bowed:

"Greetings, Princess Huayang, Your Highness."

Hua Yang looked Lu Shushu up and down, and said in a childish voice:

"My mom said you'll be my mom soon, is that true?"

Lu Shushu didn't know how to answer the question, so she quickly asked Qin Li for help.

Qin Li simply pulled Hua Yang onto his lap and sat down, saying, "Don't listen to your mother's nonsense. She's a jealous person now."

"What is a vinegar jar?" Hua Yang's little head was filled with a big question mark.

"The vinegar jar means your mother is angry with your father and me. Haven't you seen how she hasn't given me a single smile these past few days?"

"Oh, I see." Hua Yang nodded, seemingly understanding.

"By the way, you little rascal, what are you doing here?" Qin Li asked.

Hua Yang hugged Qin Li's arm. "Father, it snowed again last night. It's so beautiful outside. Please come with me to have a snowball fight, okay? Please!"

As they were talking, Huayang used every trick in the book to act cute.

Lu Shushu, who was standing to the side, was deeply moved and wished she had a daughter like that.

Qin Li, who was hugging Hua Yang, said, "Great! It just so happens that your father, the Emperor, also wants to get some exercise. Let's go out and have a snowball fight. But let's make it clear beforehand that the loser can't cry."

Hua Yang jumped off Qin Li and put his hands on his hips:

"Hmph, I won't cry."

After saying that, she pulled Qin Li and quickly walked out of the tent.

Lifting the tent flap, the outside world was covered in a silvery white, as if heaven and earth had merged into one.

Liujiawan is a small village, with a vast reed sea in front of it, where the scenery is even more beautiful...

Not far away, Qin Li was playing in the snow with his daughter Hua Yang, and the two of them were laughing happily.

The empress, clad in armor and with a sword at her waist, felt a mix of emotions she couldn't quite describe.

"Has the matter been clarified?"

The empress asked those around her.

Jin Ge quickly clasped his hands and said, "We've found out. That Miss Lu was originally from the capital. She's the granddaughter of Huangfu Song, the former Minister of War of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and she used to teach at the Imperial Academy."

"Back in the Great Zhou Dynasty, His Majesty entered her tutelage as a student during the imperial examinations and lived with her for a period of time."

"Later, the old emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Xuan, wanted to make Lu Shushu his empress, so His Majesty sent her to Jiangnan."

After speaking, Jin Ge offered his opinion: "General, in my humble opinion, it's not that His Majesty likes her, but rather that she likes His Majesty and can't forget him, which is why she came after him."

The Empress glared fiercely at Jin Ge, who immediately fell silent.

After a while, Jin Ge mustered his courage and said again:

"General, look how much fun the princess and Her Majesty are having! Would you like to join in the snowball fight?"

This is a golden opportunity to ease tensions, and Jin Ge is extremely worried about it.

But the Empress said:

"What snowball fight? Can't you see there are still 150,000 enemy troops in the reed marshes?"

"Let's go to the Great Reed Sea."

"What are you going to do at the Great Reed Sea?" Jin Ge asked, puzzled.

The Empress said, "I just met the Seventh Prince. He was ordered by Qin Li to have Huangfu Song deliver food and cotton clothing to the enemy army in Daweihai."

"Are you crazy? Sending food and cotton-padded clothes to the enemy!" Jin Ge couldn't help but curse.

The Empress said, "Are you out of your mind? How dare you insult Her Majesty! Don't let this happen again."

Jin Ge trembled with anger: "General, whose side are you on?"

He was so worried about the Empress, but she didn't appreciate it at all.

The empress was too lazy to speak, and simply told Jin Ge to follow her.

Soon, the Empress arrived at Huangfu Song's place with a small group of people.

Huangfu Song has received the letter and is preparing food and cotton clothing.

"Why is the ever-victorious general here?"

Upon seeing the Empress arrive, Huangfu Song took the initiative to step forward to greet her.

The Empress gripped the hilt of her sword and said:

"By order of His Majesty, we are sending cotton-padded clothes and food to the enemy troops in the Great Reed Sea."

"It's somewhat dangerous."

Huangfu Song kindly offered a reminder.

The Empress said, "Do you think I'm afraid of danger? Give me the food and cotton clothing."

Huangfu Song couldn't refuse, so he sent people to deliver grain and cotton clothing to the Empress.

After the Empress led her people to escort cotton-padded clothes and grain into the Great Reed Sea.

Huangfu Song couldn't help but stop Jin Ge and ask:

"What happened to your general?"

Jin Ge couldn't help but chirp:

"Please don't be offended, my lord, but my general didn't take her medicine when she went out today."

Huangfu Song's lips twitched violently, unsure of what to say.

After saying that, Jin Ge was about to catch up with the Empress when Huangfu Song said, "Wait for me, I'll go with you."

……

At this very moment, in the heart of the Great Reed Sea.

The makeshift tent was drafty, making it impossible to sleep at night.

They originally planned to fight their way through and eat wherever they could, but unexpectedly they were surrounded in the Great Reed Sea.

With obstacles in front and pursuers behind, they had no chance of escape.

They considered breaking out, but they were surrounded by enemies on all sides, and they didn't know where the Great Zhou got so many troops.

Originally, the decision to form an allied force of thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions was made by three people.

They were the King of Loulan, the King of Kucha, and the Crown Prince of Dayuezhi.

However, not long ago, the King of Loulan died in battle, and now only the King of Kucha and the Crown Prince of Dayuezhi remain to make decisions.

However, now, the two of them no longer resembled a king and a prince; they looked like beggars.

They've all become like this, not to mention the people below them; now even grass roots are being fought over.

"Uncle, what should we do? Are we just going to stay here like this? The weather is getting colder and colder. If it snows a few more times, we'll all freeze to death here."

The King of Kucha and the Crown Prince of Dayuezhi were related by marriage, so the Crown Prince of Dayuezhi had to call the King of Kucha "uncle".

Upon hearing this, the King of Kucha sighed and said, "What else can we do? We are already surrounded and there is no way to escape."

The Yuezhi prince refused to accept his fate and clenched his fist, saying, "How about we try to break through the Huai River defense line?"

"The soldiers in Jiangnan have lived in peace for a long time and are not good at fighting. If we concentrate our elite troops, we might actually be able to break through."

"Once we get to Jiangnan, we'll have a way to survive."

The King of Kucha put his hands in his pockets and said, "Child, don't be silly. Although the soldiers of Jiangnan have lived in peace for a long time and are not good at killing, they can drown us with just a spit from each of them, not to mention their commander, Huangfu Song."

Who is Huangfu Song?

The Crown Prince of Dayuezhi asked.

"The former Minister of War of the Great Zhou Dynasty—what kind of person could be appointed Minister of War? Would they let you break through the defenses?"

Seeing that the King of Kucha disagreed with his opinion, the Yuezhi prince asked again, "Then what should we do? Are we really just going to wait to die? Uncle, I don't want to die yet."

The King of Kucha cursed, "Do you think I want to die? If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have listened to your father's instigation. Now look what's happened, your father is enjoying a life of luxury in the Western Regions, while I'm going to die."

While the two were arguing, a servant came to report:

"Report! People from the Great Zhou have arrived!"

The King of Kucha instantly withdrew his hand, reached for the sword at his waist, and looked at the Crown Prince of the Yuezhi:

"Fight! We absolutely cannot surrender, not even if it means death."

The Yuezhi prince also picked up his weapon and nodded emphatically:

"Yes, no one in the Western Regions has surrendered. We must show the people of the Central Plains just how tough we Western Regions people really are!"

After saying this, the two were about to gather their troops and fight the enemy.

The people below were bewildered and quickly said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the other side is not trying to fight us to the death, but has sent cartloads of grain and cotton clothing."

Both of them were taken aback, and they both saw doubt in each other's eyes.

"What should we do?"

The Crown Prince of the Yuezhi asked.

The King of Kucha, sword never leaving his hand, said, "Go and assess the situation first. Be careful, this might be a trick by the Central Plains people; they are the most cunning of all!"

"Uh-huh!"