It's not too much to say that a beauty is a little bit stronger

King Zhou's smile gradually cooled, replaced by a gloomy look.

He turned his head to stare at the burly prince, his eyes as sharp as ice blades, making it almost suffocating.

"And then?" His tone was not loud, but it carried a fierce pressure.

The prince gritted his teeth, as if weighing the pros and cons, but in the end, he blurted out the words that had been suppressed in his chest:

"How can you possibly conquer the world by mocking the princes and disregarding national defense? The Quanrong have been spying on us for years. How can we treat state affairs like this as a joke?"

As soon as he finished speaking, King Zhou narrowed his eyes. He slowly sat up straight, raised his hand, and waved casually, "Come here."

As he finished speaking, a burst of orderly footsteps was heard outside the hall. Soon, several burly soldiers walked into the hall.

These soldiers were dressed in fine armor, and their steps were heavy, exuding a sense of oppression.

But what terrified all the princes was that their eyes—

The pupils are pitch black, without a trace of white.

Those people were not ordinary people at all, they were the medicine men of King Zhou.

The medicine man is completely obedient to the King of Zhou and possesses power beyond that of ordinary people.

The hall was completely silent; even the sound of breathing seemed unusually abrupt.

The King of Zhou stared at the prince and said coldly, "You are so bold! You dare to plot rebellion."

When these words were spoken, all the princes in the hall were shocked.

Someone whispered:

"Treason? This is just a complaint, how can it be considered treason?"

Some people were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they lowered their heads, not daring to look at King Zhou again.

The burly prince's expression changed slightly, realizing the danger. But before he could open his mouth to argue, King Zhou waved his hand again: "Action!"

The black-eyed soldiers drew their swords without hesitation, and with a flash of cold light, they walked towards the prince in unison.

The followers around him rushed to protect him, but were kicked away by the soldiers at lightning speed the next moment.

The prince suddenly stood up and drew his sword to resist, but it was of no avail.

The black-eyed soldiers moved quickly and precisely, with almost no pause.

There was a dull "puff" sound, and his head was cut off by a knife. Blood gushed out instantly, splashing on the people around him.

The head rolled to the ground, staring straight into the air with astonishment and anger that prevented it from reacting.

Everyone was stunned, and even their breathing seemed to be suddenly cut off.

The hall suddenly became so quiet that only the faint sound of flickering candlelight could be heard.

King Zhou looked at the headless corpse on the ground with a cold expression, then slowly spoke:

"He dares to say such things, he is stirring up public sentiment and attempting to alienate the relationship between me and the princes."

As he spoke, a sinister smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "If this isn't treason, what else could it be?"

The words were calm, but every word was like a knife, piercing everyone's ears.

When the other princes heard this, their faces turned pale with fear and shock, and no one dared to stand up and refute.

The man's fate just now was so shocking that they lowered their heads unconsciously.

King Zhou glanced at the crowd. "All those present today are loyal ministers willing to aid me in this time of crisis. As for those messengers who delivered the message but were late, I have already executed them all. The loyal will be honored, the rebellious will be punished. Do you have any objections?"

His words were like thunder from the blue sky, exploding in everyone's ears.

All the princes were stunned.

Those princes who didn't come...were all executed?

It turned out that those messengers were actually sent by King Zhou.

Some people feel lucky and fortunate that they made it through.

Only Xiao Huai looked extremely calm, as if he was used to everything. He didn't even react much when King Zhou chopped off people's heads.

The smile on King Zhou's face deepened. "The state is in dire straits. I need loyal ministers who are devoted to the court, not traitors who pretend to obey but actually disobey. I will remember the loyalty of everyone present and will overcome this difficult time with you."

The entire hall was silent. The bloody execution just now made everyone silent.

King Zhou looked around and seemed very satisfied with the silence before him.

As his eyes wandered, they stopped at Xiao Huai's face.

"Marquis Qinglan," King Zhou said, "I am very pleased that you can come. Although Heng's military strength is weak, you are willing to bravely risk your life to come to the king's defense. I will remember this act of loyalty."

King Zhou smiled slightly, a gleam in his eyes, as if testing, or joking:

"I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. I wonder what reward Marquis Qinglan wants?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall changed slightly.

The princes who had just lowered their heads to avoid trouble turned their eyes to Xiao Huai, as if they wanted to get some clues from his expression.

Xiao Huai sat calmly, not at all disturbed by the sudden question.

He slowly stood up and bowed to the King of Zhou. His expression was calm, yet revealed a sense of nonchalant composure: "Serving the Emperor is my duty. Why should I demand a reward?"

Having said that, his appearance made many people suspicious.

Someone quietly noticed that although Xiao Huai was wearing military uniform, a sharp sword at his waist, and dressed meticulously, his slightly messy hair revealed some information.

It seemed as if he had really rushed over as soon as the beacon fire broke out, and he didn't even have time to tidy up his appearance on the way.

In this way, his loyalty seems to become somewhat credible.

They had no idea that Xiao Huai's messy hair was caused by sleeping in the carriage.

And he didn't know how to take care of long hair.

A hint of a smile flashed in King Zhou's eyes. "Marquis Qinglan, I just said that as long as you dare to ask, I can satisfy you. Tell me boldly, what do you want?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Huai tapped the table casually with his fingers.

After a moment, he slowly raised his head, his red eyes shining brightly under the gloomy light, like the coldness of a hunter before catching his prey.

The light and shadow passed over his well-defined profile, making his features more refined, and the faint smile at the corner of his lips was even more dazzling.

"Since the king said that there is nothing in this world more worthy of fighting for than a beautiful woman..." Xiao Huai paused, then changed his tone and looked at the woman in King Zhou's arms, "If you must say what you want, then I want her."

His voice was clear and his tone was neither hurried nor slow, but this simple sentence was like a huge rock falling into a calm lake, instantly disrupting the entire banquet.

For a moment, the hall was in an uproar.

"What a shame!"

"How dare Marquis Qinglan be so presumptuous?"

"Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!"

The faces of the princes were all filled with astonishment.

The woman in his arms—Xuan Ji.

She was a beauty cherished by King Zhou, with fair skin and beautiful looks. She lowered her eyebrows and gently stroked King Zhou's sleeve with her slender fingers.

Xuan Ji had long been called a demon concubine by the world because she was so beautiful. She was so beautiful that everyone thought she was a fairy and had confused the mind of King Zhou.