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

Seeing that Ye Cheng'an was about to be placed under house arrest, yet still calmly questioned him, Ye Jinglan frowned, his eyes filled with a chilling intent.

No, what makes this unfilial son so calm and collected?

Does he really not fear at all being imprisoned in Beian City and spending his entire life under house arrest?

Ye Jinglan's chest heaved violently, his eyes fixed on Ye Cheng'an. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "You unfilial son, you were disobedient and disobedient first. Even if I punish you, there's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"Or do you have some other excuse? The princess just tried to make peace with you, but you pushed her down—many eyes saw it!"

"Is that so?" Ye Cheng'an sneered repeatedly, glancing at Han Zhaolie and the others to the side. "May I ask, Lord Han, did you see me push Su Wanrou?"

"Or is she deliberately trying to sow discord between my son and me?"

Han Zhaolie immediately said, "Young Master, this old minister just saw the Princess Consort come over and whisper something in your ear, and then deliberately lean back. You absolutely did not push the Princess Consort!"

"Su Wanrou is deliberately framing you. Such a femme fatale is completely unworthy to be the Queen of the Northern Border!"

As Han Zhaolie finished speaking, the other veteran officials and subordinates chimed in, "Yes, we all saw it; it was all orchestrated by Su Wanrou herself!"

"She's framing the eldest son!"

"In the past, Su Wanrou and her son did countless things like this. The eldest young master was kind and righteous, so he didn't hold it against them. But who would have thought that the eldest young master's magnanimity would raise two wolves in sheep's clothing! She actually dared to sow discord between the prince and the eldest young master at the New Year's Eve banquet!"

"Your Highness, this vile concubine must be eliminated!"

"Your Highness, please rid the evil concubine and restore justice to the eldest son!"

All the veteran officials and former subordinates petitioned the emperor.

However, Ye Jinglan remained unmoved, coldly staring at them and rebuking them word by word, "Since you are no longer officials of the Northern Border, don't interfere in the internal affairs of the Northern Border!"

"This rebellious son summoned you here today. Without my permission, you are only here to attend the banquet!"

"No one is allowed to make irresponsible remarks about state affairs!"

Seeing that things had come to this point, and that Ye Jinglan was still siding with Su Wanrou and desperately protecting her, Ye Cheng'an's eyes flashed with endless cold light. "Father said they can't interfere in politics, so surely I can?"

"Your Majesty, there is something I do not understand and would like to ask you!"

"What?" Ye Jinglan asked.

Ye Cheng'an said, word by word, "Father and stepmother have never liked me. When I stayed in Beian City, I was frequently treated coldly and suppressed by you. Therefore, I resigned my position as heir apparent and went to Liuzhou. But I was doing well in Liuzhou. Why does Father want me to come back?"

"Don't talk about father-son affection. Have we ever had anything like that between us?"

"At the New Year's Eve banquet, Father said it was a family reunion. Then I ask you, if you truly wish to reunite with me, why do you intend to confine me in Beian City based solely on Su Wanrou's one-sided testimony?"

"Even after hearing the testimonies of so many loyal people, Father still refuses to punish Su Wanrou. So, this woman is doing all this on Father's orders, isn't she?"

"My father sent me back to Beian City so that he could find some excuse at the New Year's Eve banquet to punish me and imprison me under your control forever."

Are you afraid of me?

"..." Suddenly struck in the heart, Ye Jinglan's face turned extremely ugly. He never expected that Ye Chengan would see through everything and even say it in front of so many court officials.

How can he possibly step down now?

If he insists on keeping Ye Cheng'an under house arrest, he will be despised by all the officials, who will think he is a vicious king.

After all, even tigers don't eat their cubs.

Of course, if Ye Cheng'an were not that woman's son, if he didn't have so many old ministers and subordinates in the Northern Border behind him, and if he didn't have so much popular support, he probably wouldn't have done this.

The problem now is that, regardless of their background, their strength has already posed a danger to him.

So, this was the only thing he could do!

"Nonsense! You unfilial son, don't think that by throwing so many accusations at me, you can change the fact that you are disobedient and rebellious!"

"Guards! Seize this rebellious son immediately! Take him away and place him under house arrest. Without my order, he is forbidden to step out of this confinement area, or he will be executed without mercy!!!"

As soon as Ye Jinglan's voice rang out, a pair of royal guards entered and headed towards Ye Chengan's direction.

Seeing this, Su Wanrou's eyes were filled with a look of triumph.

Hmph, Ye Cheng'an, so what if you have accomplished so much in Liuzhou?

In the end, won't they all obediently be trampled under my feet?

From this day forward, even if you're a dragon, you'll have to coil up before me!

"Young Master, we apologize, we were just following orders." Seeing that the royal guards had already approached Ye Cheng'an and were about to strike him with their claws.

But at this critical moment, Zhang, Zhao and Li suddenly led the Tiger Roar Camp troops into the palace from outside.

"Anyone who dares to lay a finger on the young master, I'll skin them alive!!!"

The three men were already brave and fierce, and their roar instantly shook the entire hall, possessing the power to pierce through clouds and split rocks.

Su Wanrou was clearly not expected that Zhang, Zhao and Li would actually barge in. Her first reaction was that her expression turned somewhat ugly, and then a sinister smile appeared on her lips.

These three have arrived at just the right time.

She was just worried that it might be too simplistic and unconvincing to convict Ye Cheng'an of insubordination simply because she was pushed down.

But now the enemy has already sent troops into the royal court.

What does this mean?

This means Ye Cheng'an is plotting a rebellion!

In that case, would she still be worried that placing Ye Cheng'an under house arrest would be illegitimate?

"Your Highness, look! During the New Year's Eve banquet, the eldest son secretly led his troops back to the city, keeping us completely in the dark until the banquet itself, when he finally allowed them to break into the royal court..."

"The eldest young master has clearly harbored rebellious intentions for a long time!"

"Your Highness, you must punish this traitorous minister severely!!!"

The moment of truth had arrived, and Su Wanrou no longer pretended to be gentle and virtuous. She began to openly encourage Ye Jinglan to deal with Ye Cheng'an.

See? This is the woman's true face!

Of course, Ye Jinglan may have known the woman's true colors for a long time, but unfortunately, he and she were birds of a feather.

What the other person is thinking is also what he is thinking.

The reason why Su Wanrou dared to interfere in politics in the inner palace and was so rampant and arrogant was because her will was actually Ye Jinglan's will.

No matter how beautiful a woman is, she can never hold a man's heart so tightly unless she understands his feelings and is even willing to fight for him and do things that he cannot do.

Su Wanrou perfectly fits this description.

Ye Jinglan is ostensibly Ye Cheng'an's father, so it's not good for him to be accused of mistreating his eldest son.

Therefore, he secretly condoned and encouraged Su Wanrou to suppress Ye Cheng'an.

What a disgusting couple!

She clearly got everything by living off a woman, by stepping on the corpses of the original owner's grandfather and mother, yet she still can't tolerate the original owner!

Ye Cheng'an's anger surged, and he immediately said, "Wrong! I brought troops here not to rebel. I don't care about this damned title of heir. If your son likes it, let him keep being it!"

"I came because I cannot bear to see the people of Beian City suffer, because I cannot bear to see loyal ministers wronged, and because I have come to purge the court of corrupt officials and restore peace and order to the northern border!"

"Father, now that you have killed that vile woman Su Wanrou, perhaps I will spare your life."

"You!" Ye Jinglan never expected Ye Cheng'an to dare to do such a thing. His face darkened like iron. "You unfilial son, how dare you..."

"My father dared to lure me back to Bei'an under the guise of a New Year's Eve banquet, dared to frame me and imprison me, and dared to kill Chief Secretary Pei, who had worked diligently and conscientiously for the people his whole life. Why shouldn't I purge the court of corrupt officials?" Ye Cheng'an retorted.

"What I have done is in accordance with the will of the people and the natural order!"

"Su Wanrou and her son must die!!!"

"Heh, heh heh." Ye Jinglan suddenly laughed. "Well, Ye Cheng'an, you used to act so meek and obedient in front of me, but you're actually a wolf in sheep's clothing! You have such wolfish ambitions! You even dared to threaten me!"

"But have you considered that even if you want to purge the royal court's inner circle, how can your mere 12,000 Tiger Roar Battalion soldiers possibly stand against the royal army?"

"You are destined to be my defeated foe!"

Facing Ye Jinglan, who remained so confident even today, Ye Cheng'an smiled, "Who told Father that my only subordinates are the Tiger Roar Battalion?"

"Who told you I only have 12,000 soldiers?"

Ye Jinglan immediately realized that Ye Cheng'an was the only one in Liuzhou, so he must have already absorbed Xiao Heming's army. He gritted his teeth and said, "Even if you absorbed Xiao Heming's 50,000 troops, you would only have 70,000, which is still no match for my royal army!"

"Is that so?" Ye Cheng'an sneered repeatedly. "Then please wait and see, Father. Today's battle will not only determine victory or defeat, but also life or death!"

No sooner had Ye Cheng'an finished speaking than a garrison commander from Beian City rushed in, shouting, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! There are nearly 200,000 troops outside Beian City, besieging the city and intending to attack..."

"Although the royal army is actively resisting, the enemy's advance is overwhelming, and I fear our army will not be able to hold out for long... I implore Your Highness to order all troops in the city to rush to our aid immediately!"

Nearly 200,000 troops?

Upon hearing this, not only Ye Jinglan was stunned.

Even Su Wanrou, Ye Jinyu, and all the officials in their faction were stunned.

How is that possible?

Ye Cheng'an has only been in Liuzhou for a few months, how could he possibly command an army of 200,000 so quickly?

Where did his troops come from?