Emperor: When will the Seventh Prince rebel? I will open the city gates to welcome him.

"Your Majesty, please understand! This matter has nothing to do with me!" Minister of Justice Cao Qing felt the hairs on his back stand up.

"Hongxuan! I have no grudge against you, why do you want to frame me?" Imperial Noble Concubine Cao was horrified.

Neither of them had expected that the Seventh Prince Hongxuan, who had always been cowardly and timid, would behave in such a contrasting way today.

Hongxuan sneered in his heart!

He ignored the terrified Imperial Noble Consort Cao and Minister of Justice Cao Qing.

He dragged the two of them into the water at all costs. Using his own judgment and control of the situation, he pretended to be timid and refused to admit that the puppet belonged to him. It was useless for Hongxuan.

Hongxuan will never learn from his mother Xiang Fei's behavior and refuse to admit pleas and cries. If a puppet appears near her bed once, it will appear a second, third, fourth, and fifth time.

There were no princes or ministers in the court to cling to, so the only thing he could rely on was his status as the seventh prince.

Hong Xuan clasped his fists and bowed: "Father! I know that I have committed serious sins and am unworthy of being a prince. I am willing to be demoted to a commoner!"

The princes and ministers all understood that the Seventh Prince wanted to die together with Imperial Noble Consort Cao and the others, with the net destroyed and all of them dead.

If the prince was really deposed and became a commoner.

Then Imperial Noble Consort Cao and Minister of Justice Cao Qing, who he accused of being his accomplices, would inevitably be implicated and held accountable.

Emperor Dingwen Hongjing looked coldly at Imperial Noble Consort Cao and the Minister of Justice who were kneeling on the ground.

"Hmph! Imperial Concubine! You keep making these little gadgets over and over again. Do you think I'm a child who can deceive you at will?"

Imperial Concubine Cao was horrified and looked at Prime Minister Zhang with pleading eyes.

Prime Minister Zhang stepped forward and kowtowed to Emperor Dingwen, "Your Majesty! Now that the new ruler of Northern Shang, Ba Xing, has led 300,000 cavalrymen to gather at the border, there must be no unrest in the court. In this critical moment, we must have General Jianwei and General Dingguo guard the border fortress to prevent the Northern Shang cavalry from suddenly attacking our Dafeng border."

It was very clear in what Prime Minister Zhang Zikuo said.

The father and elder brother of Imperial Noble Consort Cao were General Jianwei Cao Zhu and General Dingguo Cao Wenxiu, who were stationed at the border. The Cao family was full of high-ranking officials. If Imperial Noble Consort Cao was investigated for the incident of creating puppets in the harem at this time, it would inevitably bring great hidden dangers.

The Northern Merchants' army is approaching, so it is even more impossible to punish Imperial Noble Consort Cao and Minister of Justice Cao Qing at this time.

Emperor Dingwen naturally understood that Imperial Noble Consort Cao used the same trick to get rid of Hongxuan. There had been a puppet incident before, and he banished Concubine Xiang to the cold palace. He regretted it now.

At that time, Imperial Noble Consort Cao relied on the protection of his father Cao Zhu to fan the flames, forcing him to deal with Concubine Xiang.

Anyone who saw the performance of the seventh prince Hongxuan today could see that Hongxuan was forced into a desperate situation and had no choice but to resort to this last resort.

Emperor Dingwen said to Consort Cao, who was kneeling on the ground, in a cold tone: "I don't want to see such tricks and such inferior puppets in the palace again. Do you understand?"

"This! This is not mine! Your Majesty, please understand!" Imperial Noble Consort Cao prostrated herself on the ground and sobbed. Of course, she would not admit it.

"Alright! I won't pursue this matter any further!"

"Your Majesty! Xiong'er was knocked unconscious~!"

"I will ask Hongxuan to admit his mistake and apologize to Hongxiong."

After that, he said to the Seventh Prince Hongxuan, "Xuan'er, you knocked your second brother unconscious with one punch. No matter what the reason is, Hongxiong is your elder brother after all. Find a time to come and apologize."

It was only at this moment that the Seventh Prince Hongxuan knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "I know I was wrong! I will definitely go to the Second Prince's residence to apologize to my second brother."

Hongxuan knew that this crisis was over, and at the same time he indirectly warned Consort Cao that even if the puppet man was found in his residence in the future, he should not use this matter to persecute him.

"All three of you, stand up!"

The three of them stood up, and Imperial Noble Consort Cao's exquisite and beautiful eyes were filled with murderous intent and anger. She looked at Prime Minister Zhang who was in the same camp, and just one look from him could tell that Imperial Noble Consort Cao was unwilling.

Although the position of Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace has not been established, among the three candidates vying for the position of Crown Prince, the Second Prince is the most promising, so Prime Minister Zhang is also a member of the Second Prince's party.

Prime Minister Zhang kowtowed again: "Your Majesty! This time, the Northern Merchants' Imperial Master Yu Yi is bringing a delegation to our Dafeng capital. To show our sincerity, our Dafeng country should send a prince to welcome them. I think the Seventh Prince Zi Qi Chong Niu Dou is suitable for the task of welcoming the Northern Merchants' delegation."

Hong Xuan frowned when he heard this. He, the seventh prince, actually went to welcome an envoy from Northern Merchants.

Moreover, this Beishang delegation came with ill intentions. They had just heard from Prime Minister Zhang that Beishang's new ruler, Baxin, had assembled 300,000 cavalrymen to station at the border, intending to attack the Dafeng Kingdom.

"Hongxuan is timid and cowardly, so he is not suitable to be the one to welcome the delegation. Since the new ruler, Baxin, has already stationed 300,000 troops to welcome the Northern Merchants' delegation, it is more appropriate for a military general to go."

"Your Majesty, I think the Seventh Prince is brave and resourceful, and does not seem to be a coward. You can send the Minister of Rites, Mr. Zheng, and the Eunuch Wang of the Imperial Household Department to handle this matter with the Seventh Prince. If you send military generals to welcome him, I am worried that if there is an accidental conflict, the Imperial Master of Beishang will turn around and not come to Dafeng Kyoto, and then we may go to war directly."

Hongxuan glanced at Prime Minister Zhang who had ill intentions.

This is pushing yourself into the fire pit.

"Father! I am willing to accept the mission of receiving the Northern Merchants' delegation." Hongxuan did not refuse, and he was not qualified to refuse. He had no power in the court, and now that he had beaten the Second Prince, he would definitely take revenge in the future.

If he still lives in the secluded courtyard like before, he will just be waiting for death.

"Good! I am very pleased that Xuan'er can share the worries of state affairs."

Hongxuan bowed respectfully to Emperor Dingwen and said:

"Father! I just heard today that the Northern Shang ruler Ba Xin has assembled 300,000 cavalrymen to station at the border. Why is that? Isn't the Northern Shang ruler Ba Yu?"

"Prime Minister Zhang, please explain this to Xuan'er in detail."

Prime Minister Zhang nodded and said, "The ruler of Beishang, Baxin, is the new emperor. He is the sixth prince who seized power. He has put Beishang Crown Prince Bayin under house arrest. He launched a war to divert internal conflicts. His demands are that our Dafeng pay tribute of 10,000 taels of gold, 5,000 young girls, and cede the important border town of Shanqing County. If we don't agree, he will attack our Dafeng. Alas! Our Dafeng has just suppressed the rebellion in the southern border, and there have been natural disasters for years. If we go to war under such circumstances, it will be extremely disadvantageous to our Dafeng."

Hong Xuan looked at Prime Minister Zhang and said sternly, "Do you agree to such conditions?"

"Yes! We agree. Now we seek peace instead of war." Prime Minister Zhang spoke directly.

"Father!"

Hongxuan knelt down and kowtowed to Emperor Dingwen.

"I take back what I just said. I cannot accept your order to receive the Northern Merchants' delegation. Please forgive me for deceiving you!"

All the princes and ministers in the court were stunned.

Noble Consort Cao, who had not yet left, had a smile of success in her beautiful eyes. She had originally planned to trip up the envoys when they were receiving them, but she did not expect that Seventh Prince Hongxuan would simply overturn the table and refuse to do it.

Emperor Dingwen said with cold eyes: "Sir, don't joke! Hongxuan, since you have just received the order, you must go to the reception, no matter if you don't want to go."

"In that case! Please allow me to die!"