With wives as numerous as clouds and soldiers as numerous as a million, you say he's a useless

Ye Cheng'an's cold and stern expression startled both Zhongbo and Zhuyu.

The eldest son was so kind and righteous. In order to maintain the relationship between father and son and between brothers, he suffered losses and made concessions at every turn, and frequently cleaned up the messes for that muddle-headed prince and his second wife and stepson.

He worked tirelessly and without complaint for many years, to the point that even they couldn't bear to watch! Now, the eldest son is no longer blindly filial and loyal; he has finally shown some of his own sharpness!

This made Zhongbo and Zhuyu happy, but at the same time, they felt a pang of heartache. Who knew how much grievance and bitterness the kind and benevolent eldest son had suffered and endured when he was forced to this point?

"Young Master, I'll say it again: whatever you choose, I will follow you to the death! Please rest well. I will send people to keep a close eye on the movements of the Prince's Mansion and the Prince's Court, and report to you immediately if anything happens." After saying this, Uncle Zhong gave Zhuyu a wink and left.

Zhu Yu knew perfectly well that Zhong Bo meant for her to properly heal the eldest son's wounded heart.

Immediately, she walked behind Ye Cheng'an and gently massaged his head. "Young master, I'll give you a full-body massage~"

As Zhu Yu's gentle and soothing touch fell, Ye Cheng'an's fierce expression softened slightly, but the cold glint in his eyes remained undiminished. In fact, Uncle Zhong was right; he intended to take this opportunity to make a request to his scumbag father and change their current predicament.

However, it is absolutely unacceptable for him to rush to clean up Ye Jinyu's mess.

Replenishing warhorses and restoring military strength are now matters of life and death for the Northern Territory. That scumbag father and that bitch Su Wanrou are the ones who should be most anxious.

As long as he remains calm and waits for the right price, he can reap the greatest benefits!

...

Wangfu.

When Ye Jinyu was carried back, she was covered in blood and had fallen into a coma.

Seeing his beloved second son beaten so badly by the leader of the Hu merchants, Ye Jinglan was instantly enraged. "Outrageous! How dare a mere group of merchants act so violently within my northern borders, treating my son like this... Are they planning a rebellion?"

Su Wanrou frowned, her eyes filled with tears. "Your Highness, how dare a mere foreign merchant beat Jinyu like this if he had no one backing him up?"

"You mean that unfilial son?" Ye Jinglan's anger flared even more.

Su Wanrou said, "I dare not speculate on the eldest young master's affairs. However, the eldest young master has always been in charge of dealing with these Hu merchants, and they have a very good personal relationship. In addition, the eldest young master was recently punished by the prince for hitting Su Kuo because he was dissatisfied with the prince's decree. It is hard to guarantee that he does not hold a grudge..."

Ye Jinglan's eyes were bloodshot. "Both thunder and rain are acts of imperial favor, so why does that rebellious son hate me? Besides, doesn't he have done nothing wrong?"

"My beloved consort, you wait. I will thoroughly investigate this matter. If it is proven that this rebellious son was behind it all, I will punish him severely to avenge Jin Yu!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Su Wanrou still maintained her pitiful appearance, but when she bowed to express her gratitude, a cold glint flashed in her lowered eyes.

However, before Ye Jinglan could send someone to investigate the matter, someone came to report, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The civil and military officials of the court have all gathered at the Prince's residence, demanding to see you! They say this matter concerns the survival of the Northern Border, and that Your Highness, whatever you are doing, must immediately drop everything and come out to meet them!"

"Concerning the survival of the Northern Border?" A mocking glint flashed in Ye Jinglan's eyes. "These old bastards use this to threaten me every day! They're just trying to speak up for that rebellious son, Ye Cheng'an!"

"Fine, I'll go out and see what kind of trouble they're up to this time. My beloved consort, you take good care of Jinyu. I'm going to avenge you and your son!"

After speaking, Ye Jinglan stormed out of the room.

While applying medicine to Ye Jinyu, Su Wanrou waited to hear how Ye Chengan would be dealt with.

Now that he has lost his position as heir apparent, the Northern Court will no longer provide Ye Cheng'an with any assistance or supplies for his journey to Liuzhou. Shouldn't the prince then strip him of his royal status and demote him to a commoner?

As expected, Ye Cheng'an can never outmaneuver this mother and son...

Outside the hall, Pei Heng and a group of officials knelt on the ground. Upon seeing Ye Jinglan, Pei Heng immediately spoke, "Your Highness, the Second Young Master has been asserting his authority over the Hu merchants, threatening them verbally, and even demanding that their leader become his concubine. He has also promised to provide our northern border with warhorses and military supplies free of charge. This has thoroughly enraged the Hu merchants!"

"The Hu merchant has already sent a message back to the Western Regions, stating that he encountered us in our northern border. If this matter gets out, I fear that no merchant in the world will dare to trade with our northern border again!"

"If this matter is not handled properly, not only will the Northern Border be isolated by merchants from all over the world, but it will also be unable to attend the Princess's inspection, which is of utmost importance. Once the Princess discovers that our army has suffered heavy losses and cannot adjust its troops in time, she will surely send a message to the court and send troops to annex it... Your Highness, please make a decision quickly and give an explanation to the Hu merchants!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Jinglan, who had been all high and mighty and ready to confront them, frowned. "Chief Secretary Pei, you said that Jin Yu established his authority over the Hu merchants, used words to threaten them, and even tried to take their warhorses and supplies for free... Is this true?"

"Are you sure you're not trying to excuse Ye Cheng'an's crimes?"

Pei Heng's face darkened. Ye Jinyu had brought this upon herself by being injured by the leader of the Hu merchants, yet she was blaming the eldest young master once again.

It seems that it's that bitch Su Wanrou who's been dumping dirty water again.

He immediately said, "Since the eldest son resigned from his position as heir apparent, he has never even left the mansion, let alone met those foreign merchants. It is all the second son's own doing. If you don't believe me, Your Highness can ask Lu Chuansheng, the postmaster of the post station."

At that moment, Lu Chuansheng stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, what Chief Secretary Pei said is true. It was the Second Young Master who took the initiative to find the post station today to establish his authority over those Hu merchants. He even threatened them that they should either lower the price of warhorses and military supplies by another 20%, or cause some trouble on their return journey so that they would lose all their goods and not earn a single penny..."

"Not only that, the second young master also spoke rudely to that foreign merchant's head and laid hands on him. You know those foreign merchants are known for their fierce nature, they can't stand this kind of treatment."

After hearing the whole story, Ye Jinglan's face darkened, but he didn't blame Ye Jinyu. Instead, he coldly looked at Lu Chuansheng and said, "You've been a postmaster for many years, so you naturally know the consequences of the Second Young Master's actions. Why didn't you stop him?"

"Did you deliberately allow the Second Young Master to clash with the Hu merchants to highlight the importance of that rebellious son?"

"...Your Highness, I am innocent! When the Second Young Master ordered his men to establish his authority, I stood in front of Su Kuo and the others and desperately tried to stop them. It was the Second Young Master who ordered me to be dragged out and had the gates of the post station guarded so that I wouldn't be allowed to enter! This was witnessed by everyone at the post station. If Your Highness does not believe me, you may summon anyone to inquire! If I have uttered a single falsehood, I am willing to die to atone for my sins!!!"

Lu Chuansheng's righteous and righteous demeanor convinced Ye Jinglan that he was not lying.

But what's done is done, and Jin Yu has learned his lesson. How can he explain this to Hu Shang?

Ye Jinglan's arrogance vanished completely. He looked at Pei Heng and asked, "Chief Secretary Pei, what do you suggest we do to resolve this matter?"

Pei Heng sighed softly, "The one who tied the knot must untie it. In my opinion, there are only two ways to solve this problem."

"explain."

"First, we must make the Northern Royal Family's stance on the Hu merchants clear and severely punish those who caused trouble." Pei Heng said, while observing Ye Jinglan's expression. "But given the Hu merchants' fiery temper, if we want them to vent their anger, the Second Young Master will need more than just physical punishment..."

Ye Jinglan frowned. "Jinyu is already seriously injured. Even if he was wrong in this matter, I cannot punish him further. Tell me another way."

Pei Heng said, "The second method is much simpler. If Your Highness wants these foreign merchants to calm down, you should send someone who has a good relationship with them and whom they can trust."

"You mean... that unfilial son!??" Ye Jinglan's brows furrowed even more suddenly.

He had just allowed Ye Cheng'an to resign from his position as heir apparent, and because Su Kuo was beaten, he announced to the outside world that the Northern Royal Family would no longer provide Ye Cheng'an with any substantial assistance. Now he wanted him to go find that rebellious son.

Isn't Pei Heng making it clear that he's going to slap himself in the face?

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Now that I have stripped this rebellious son of his title as heir apparent, I will never allow him to interfere in the internal affairs of the Northern Kingdom again!"

"Besides, I've said it before, the Northern Territory can function just fine without him!"

Ye Jinglan rejected the idea without a second thought, already imagining many scenes of him bowing his head and admitting his mistake, and Ye Cheng'an gloating.

He would never bow down to Ye Cheng'an, no matter what.

Pei Heng said sternly, "Your Highness, you must think this through carefully. The princess's purpose in coming to the northern border is not pure. If you do not quickly purchase warhorses from the Hu merchants and repair your troops, it will be difficult to deal with the princess's inspection. If the imperial court sends troops to attack, the northern border cannot withstand a second impact..."

"It would be unwise to risk war in the North and lose our precious land for the sake of momentary anger."

Pei Changshi was a man left behind by the old Northern King, and he had been unhappy with Ye Jinglan's blindness and lack of understanding for many years.

If either the old King of the Northern Border or the late Queen Consort had lived to see the eldest son grow up, Ye Jinglan would never have been able to sit on the throne of the King of the Northern Border!

They wouldn't just stand by and watch helplessly as their eldest son was bullied by his stepmother and stepson time and time again.

Today, they want to slap Ye Jinglan in the face, to wake him up and see who is loyal and who is treacherous!

Minister of War Han Zhaolie also led a group to exert pressure, saying, "Your Highness, please consider the overall situation in the northern border and ask the eldest son to intervene!"

"Your Highness, please consider the overall situation in the Northern Frontier and request that the eldest son intervene!"

Looking at the sea of ​​officials kneeling at his feet, pleading for his orders, Ye Jinglan felt a surge of anger and resentment, but ultimately took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying:

"Fine, let's summon that rebellious son to the Prince's residence."