I am the snake demon!

"Xu Shi'an, what are you doing? Are you trying to rebel? With your Northern Border people daring to offend the Emperor's majesty, you will be reduced to dust in his wrath!"

Looking at the fierce northern soldiers and gleaming weapons around him, Tian Mingjing's face turned deathly pale, and he questioned Bai Xuan with a fierce but weak expression.

They tried to calm Bai Xuan down by mentioning the emperor, who was far away in the capital.

"Indeed, Shi'an, stay calm. A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan."

Inside the Prince's residence, a middle-aged man, eight feet tall and dressed in a purple brocade robe, spoke up to dissuade him.

Xu Chengfeng, the younger brother of the Prince of Zhenbei.

Killing the imperial envoy is tantamount to treason.

There is no possibility of success in the North now.

Xu Yanheng retreated silently, preparing to flee immediately if things went wrong.

"Is Third Uncle delirious? What do you mean by 'a small act of impatience can ruin a great plan'? These traitors are impersonating imperial envoys. If I capture them, the Emperor will only reward me. Why would he blame me? Or have you really been fooled by them and want to be ungrateful and force your niece to marry someone else while Father's body is still warm?" Bai Xuan looked at Xu Chengfeng with cold eyes, as if a sword had been drawn.

Xu Chengfeng's body stiffened involuntarily. In that instant, he felt as if he were facing not Bai Xuan, but his deceased elder brother.

He's even more terrifying than his older brother.

He'll die if he says the wrong thing!

For a moment, he dared not utter a word.

"Xu Shi'an, who do you think you can fool with your words? If you dare to rebel, you will only implicate the entire Northern Border," Tian Mingjing shouted.

Calm down!

"joke!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Xuan revealed a contemptuous smile and looked at Tian Mingjing, saying, "The Tian family of Hebei is a prestigious clan, renowned for its loyalty and integrity. Even if the current emperor were wise enough not to issue such an edict, as an imperial censor, wouldn't you have remonstrated and dissuaded him?"

"Since ancient times, when scholars die for their principles and warriors die in battle, the nation has always prospered. My father shed his blood for the Great Zhou, sacrificing his life for his country, his body wrapped in a horse's hide—how heroic! How can these officials, seeing the emperor's faults, not die for his cause? They would even risk their lives to plead with His Majesty to rescind his decree. If His Majesty does not comply, they would smash their heads against the golden pillars of the palace. Such servile behavior—is it worthy of being censors? If not an imposter, then what is the real one?"

"Military officers are only required to observe three months of mourning, which has been the custom since ancient times. The Emperor's decree is perfectly reasonable, so what is wrong with it? Xu Shi'an, you have slandered the Emperor, what is your punishment?"

Upon hearing Bai Xuan's words, Tian Mingjing's chest heaved violently with anger, and he stared at Bai Xuan with wide eyes.

Bai Xuan was only using his own words.

Moral blackmail, condescension, and nitpicking—that's all part of his job as an imperial censor.

When did you, a border guard, become qualified to say such things?

"Since ancient times, what kind of 'since ancient times'? Is it more correct than the principles in the Four Books and Five Classics? Furthermore, military generals observe mourning, when did my elder sister become a military general? Don't you understand the principle that a military general's successor is not a military general? Or do you think that what the emperor says is correct, and that the emperor is greater than the Confucian sages?" Bai Xuan questioned without showing any weakness.

"you……"

Upon hearing this, Tian Mingjing's momentum faltered. He looked at Bai Xuan in disbelief. How could a mere brute like him know such principles and speak so sharply?

He absolutely could not say that the emperor was greater than the Confucian sage.

For these civil officials, the foundation of their livelihood lay in etiquette, rules, and a good reputation among the people.

Even emperors make mistakes, which is why ministers can offer advice and restrain them with rites and laws.

If the emperor is always right, what is the point of having ministers?

If he now claims the emperor is great, he can no longer stand among scholars; if he claims the Confucian sage is great, he is a fraud!

"You servile, obsequious, and sycophantic people, now that you see loyal ministers and filial sons, you don't feel ashamed and retreat, but instead bark and howl, trying to please the crowd and making a laughingstock of yourselves. I've seen plenty of shameless people, but I never imagined there would be someone as shameless as you," Bai Xuan said coldly.

"You, you, you..."

Tian Mingjing's eyes widened, his face changed drastically, turning from green to red, then from red to green again, and finally he was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.

"waste."

Looking at the unconscious Tian Mingjing, Bai Xuan sneered. If you can't win an argument, just pretend to be unconscious.

Everyone in the mansion looked surprised upon hearing Bai Xuan's words.

He was a warrior from the North, skilled in fists and swords, with real skill but not good with words. Who would have thought that Bai Xuan would be so eloquent and persuasive?

Leng Shih-hu thought to himself, "The young master speaks so eloquently, even his insults are so unrefined. This is unlike the Northern Territory. If he were to insult people more harshly, he would be a fine general when he goes to challenge them."

Even Duan Baiyu was surprised, never expecting his son to have such abilities.

Huangfu Xiongwen's lips curled up slightly, thinking to himself that his writing was quite good and that he had been modest in his previous statement.

This anger is for the best.

Xu Yuhua cannot marry.

He didn't know Bai Xuan's identity, but he knew about the people of the North.

Bai Xuan, the newly appointed Prince of Zhenbei, had virtually no base of influence in the army and didn't even know a single soldier. His prestige in the army was pitifully low, as he relied entirely on his bloodline to inherit the title.

Now that he has just ascended the throne, he is sending his eldest sister to marry into the capital. Is this a marriage alliance?

The most hated in the military.

Moreover, the fact that the eldest sister had not yet completed her three-year mourning period before getting married was also something that others could use to attack Bai Xuan.

The question is how to handle this next.

He began to look forward to it; accepting this last disciple might not be a bad thing.

Guo Mingcheng is genuinely in a coma, while Tian Mingjing is faking it.

In the end, Wei Xuanli, the only one who remained calm, was also pounding with fear. If the Prince of Zhenbei had only attacked them, it would have been fine. But he had just said those words to Tian Mingjing, which was about righteousness and legitimacy. For a vassal king like the Prince of Zhenbei, righteousness and legitimacy only had one use—to give him a legitimate reason to fight!

This is practically a rebellion.

Will those three be cut down as a sacrifice to the flag?

He came to the North to climb higher, not to seek death.

Wei Xuanli forced himself to calm his turmoil and looked at Bai Xuan, saying, "I wonder how Your Highness intends to deal with us?"

"Those who impersonate imperial envoys must naturally be sent to the capital. Your Majesty, please make the decision," Bai Xuan said.

Hearing Bai Xuan's words, Xu Chengfeng and the others breathed a sigh of relief and stopped trying to stop them.

If they send him to the capital without killing him, then things aren't over yet, and there's still room for negotiation.

This is the attitude of the North.

Then the one who should have a headache is the emperor.

If war breaks out, will the country be shattered? Can the emperor bear the cost?

Especially since the Prince of Zhenbei had just died for his country, and now he was going to kill the rest of the Xu family, the historical records would describe him as more than just mean-spirited and ungrateful.

Upon hearing this, Wei Xuanli breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Prince of Zhenbei was a smart man; perhaps he could still be promoted. He immediately said, "That's inappropriate!"

"You, a thief, have no right to speak here." Bai Xuan glanced at Wei Xuanli, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.

He truly hadn't expected the emperor to be so eager to die.

Let Xu Yuhua marry into the capital.

What is he still doing in the North?

He came to the North to repay a debt of gratitude.

As a result, he wanted to take Xu Yuhua away.

They really think the throne is too secure, don't they?

To prevent him from becoming an immortal, his bones will be crushed and his ashes scattered.

Although the Great Zhou Imperial City is suppressed by array formations, making it a forbidden area for martial artists, he is an anomaly and suffers even more suppression of his luck, resulting in a loss of strength. He is not entirely confident that he can kill the emperor.

But it's not necessarily impossible to outwit someone who isn't.

Once the emperor died and a new emperor ascended the throne, his power base was unstable, so he was not in a hurry to take action against the northern border, and the matter was dropped again.

If all else fails, let them fight.

Bai Xuan was somewhat hesitant to go to the Great Zhou Imperial City, as it was one of the few places in the world where he might actually be able to stay.

However, since the army is on a campaign, they won't be within the imperial city, so Bai Xuan can send them shooting stars every day.

Then they cried out to "purge the court of corrupt officials," and the emperor, coerced by these villains, launched a rebellion.

Speaking of which, the royal family is highly suspected in the attack on the Prince of Zhenbei.

This can also be considered a way of repaying a debt of gratitude.

The uprising is a bit rushed right now.

"No, I can, because I can help Your Highness handle this matter better," Wei Xuanli said firmly.

"Your Highness?"

Bai Xuan then noticed Wei Xuanli's form of address and said with a relaxed expression, "Alright, since that's the case, I'll listen to what you have to say."

Please begin your performance.