Dressed as the prince's substitute? I took the throne

If it were the previous incident, Xu Qinglong could safely cooperate with Zhou Chuxuan's alliance, and even fight against Emperor Wu together, but after all, he was a minister of the Wu Dynasty and would never watch the Wu Dynasty perish.

However, Zhou Chuxuan's identity was never the real crown prince of the Wu Dynasty, which led to Xu Qinglong's doubts.

If Zhou Chuxuan really abandoned the city and fled at that time, he would not feel any burden in his heart. After all, he was not a real prince and did not have royal blood.

Zhou Chuxuan was not angry, but continued to sweep the fallen leaves on the ground: "Father-in-law, I understand your difficulties, but even if I am not the real prince of the Wu Dynasty, I am still a person of the Wu Dynasty. I will never allow foreign races to destroy the Wu Dynasty!"

"Our struggle is our internal affair. I will never allow foreigners to wreak havoc on the territory of my Wu Dynasty! In a month at most, I can annihilate the Liao army here and make the Wu Dynasty their grave."

Xu Qinglong looked at Zhou Chuxuan's sincere eyes and finally nodded: "I believe in you, Your Highness. Don't worry, leave the civil and military officials to me!"

As they were talking, Murong Xue hurried in and said, "Your Highness, something bad has happened. The palace has been surrounded by a group of civil and military officials and some scholars. They want Your Highness to give them an explanation."

Zhou Chuxuan's eyes narrowed. It seemed there must be something fishy going on among these civil and military officials. "Father-in-law, I'm afraid you need to come with me."

Xu Qinglong nodded: "These monkey cubs, do they really want to turn the world upside down? Let's go!"

When everyone arrived outside the palace, in addition to some common people, there were also dozens of civil and military officials and scholars, all of whom looked indignant.

"Your Highness, please give us an explanation. This Liao army is not coming out of nowhere!"

"Yes, Your Highness, if you collude with the Liao army at this time, our entire Wu Dynasty will be destroyed. It will be a disaster for the people of the world and countless lives will be lost!"

The scholars and officials got together and made a lot of noise, which affected countless people around them and gave Zhou Chuxuan a headache. Some people even wanted to break into the palace.

"Shut up, me!"

Suddenly, Xu Qinglong slowly walked out from behind Zhou Chuxuan, looking at everyone with firm eyes.

Everyone fell silent immediately. Their respect for Zhou Chuxuan was based on the fact that Zhou Chuxuan had once cleared out spies from the Liao Kingdom, but after all, the time was short, and their trust in Zhou Chuxuan was far less than that in Xu Qinglong.

Xu Qinglong is the only remaining old minister of the Wu Dynasty. He can be regarded as an absolutely loyal minister of the Wu Dynasty in all aspects. At this time, Xu Qinglong's words are more weighty and convincing than Zhou Chuxuan's.

Of course, this is based on the fact that he is dealing with officials and scholars. If it were ordinary people, Xu Qinglong's appeal would be far less than Zhou Chuxuan's.

Among the general public, who knows who Xu Qinglong is?

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the bloodline of the Wu Dynasty, the legitimate heir of the imperial family, and the next Emperor Wu. Could it be that he will watch the Wu Dynasty perish?"

"But, Master Xu..."

Someone wanted to take out the cloth shot by the Liao army and speak, but was immediately interrupted by Xu Qinglong: "The common people have no judgment, are you so stupid too?"

"With a powerful enemy at the gates, you can't even figure out the simplest strategy of sowing discord?"

Xu Qinglong pointed his cane at the officials with great anguish and scolded them, "Use your brains and think carefully. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince really wanted to betray you and surrender to the Liao army, why wait until now? Why not surrender at the very beginning?"

"Furthermore, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince killed the Liao army's commander in one blow. Isn't that proof enough? If that's the case, and the Liao army still accepts His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's surrender, then, with all due respect, they're not the Liao army, they're beasts!"

Xu Qinglong's words completely woke everyone up, and they all lowered their heads in shame.

Zhou Chuxuan waved his hand, took a few steps forward, and said softly, "Everyone, I understand your feelings, but with a powerful enemy at hand, we should not let them deceive the people. Otherwise, it will be difficult to win them back."

"Everyone, I, Zhou Chuxuan, swear hereby that within one month, I will defeat the Liao army, repel the invading enemy, and defend the territory of our Wu Dynasty!"

"If I tell even a single lie, you can charge into the palace and hack me to death. I won't complain."

An official stepped forward and shouted, "Your Highness, I believe in you. I am willing to go up to the city wall and defend the capital of the Wu Dynasty with you."

"That's right, these Liao army thugs are trying to alienate us, and we will never let them succeed!"

“Kill the enemy, kill the enemy!”

"..."

Soon, the crowd near the palace became excited, and everyone once again dispelled their suspicion of Zhou Chuxuan and gradually dispersed.

"Father-in-law, don't you want to come in and sit down?"

Zhou Chuxuan pointed at the gate and smiled.

Xu Qinglong's expression didn't look so natural, and he waved his hand: "I won't go in, I still have to go back and sweep the yard!"

"Father-in-law, I have something to discuss with you. Let's go in and sit down."

Without further ado, Zhou Chuxuan dragged Xu Qinglong into the mansion and said, "Father-in-law, there must be something fishy going on among these officials."

Xu Qinglong sighed, "Yes, there's no smoke without fire. Someone must be secretly stirring up trouble, causing the public to get excited. Does Your Highness have any plans to deal with this?"

"A countermeasure? Haha, of course I have one. That's to lure the snake out of its hole! By the way, follow the clues and catch the enemy in one fell swoop!"

Zhou Chuxuan's lips curled up into an evil smile, which made Xu Qinglong's spine shiver. "Your Highness, could you please tell me about this plan?"

Seeing Zhou Chuxuan smiling without saying anything, Xu Qinglong gave a wry smile: "Your Highness the Crown Prince wouldn't suspect that I'm a spy, would you?"

"How could that be? My father-in-law is now the only senior official in the Wu Dynasty. I doubt no one, and no one should doubt my father-in-law!"

As he spoke, Zhou Chuxuan opened the door and took Xu Qinglong into the inner room.

As soon as he entered the room, Xu Qinglong's face became extremely embarrassed. He looked at Xu Hanyan lying on the bed and said, "Hanyan, are you okay?"

The moment Xu Hanyan saw Xu Qinglong, her face instantly turned cold. She turned her head away without saying a word.

Zhou Chuxuan chuckled, sat down beside Xu Hanyan, gently reached into the quilt, and held her hands: "My dear, after all, he is your biological father, you should at least say hello, right?"

"Humph!"

Xu Hanyan snuggled in Zhou Chuxuan's arms, still without saying a word.

"Your Highness, you called me here just to see this?"