His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man with an air of nobility, Mu Yuan narrowed his eyes, a barely perceptible look of astonishment flashing within them.

"sit."

Pointing to the empty stone bench opposite, the middle-aged man smiled at Mu Yuan, his smile refined and approachable.

As he spoke, he poured himself a cup of tea and pushed it in front of Mu Yuan.

"Try it."

Mu Yuan picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

"How does it taste?"

Mu Yuan put down his teacup and replied, "It has a fragrant taste and a mellow aftertaste. This must be Longjing tea."

A satisfied smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face:

"I didn't expect you to be so young and yet know the art of tea tasting. It is indeed Longjing tea, picked just as the buds sprouted in the early morning, and then personally cooked by the master tea master. It was just delivered to me half an hour ago."

"In that case, I'm really lucky." Mu Yuan struck up a conversation with the other person familiarly, without any awkwardness, even though he didn't know their name.

"This oolong tea, besides its fragrant and mellow taste and rich flavor, also symbolizes the balance of strength and gentleness."

The middle-aged man picked up the purple clay teapot and poured Mu Yuan another cup.

Mu Yuan slowly rose, bowed, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said:

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness."

On the way with Gao Sheng, Mu Yuan guessed that the person he was meeting was either the emperor or the crown prince.

Aside from these two people with extraordinary connections and influence.

No one knew he had arrived in the capital today, and no one could accurately track his movements.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Mu Yuan judged from his demeanor and expression that the middle-aged man was none other than the current emperor, Zhu Xu.

Zhu Xu was taken aback for a moment. A look of surprise flashed across his face when Mu Yuan recognized him, but he quickly recovered and said with a smile:

"Don't be so formal, sit down and let's talk."

Mu Yuan listened to him and sat down again.

"How did you figure out my identity?" Zhu Xu asked calmly, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

Mu Yuan smiled calmly and said, "Your Highness possesses extraordinary bearing and extraordinary abilities, enabling you to accurately track my movements and send people to find me. In this vast capital city, who else besides Your Highness has such capabilities?"

"Excellent! I knew I hadn't misjudged you; you truly are a rare and promising talent!"

Zhu Xu clapped his hands, applauding Mu Yuan's reasoning.

"Your Highness is too kind," Mu Yuan said modestly.

Although the matter involving Feng Zhong was ostensibly orchestrated by Lan Shi, it was actually the Crown Prince himself who instigated it.

However, since the Crown Prince has not shown much hostility at the moment, Mu Yuan will not act rashly. He can only follow etiquette and temporarily adhere to the duties of a subject to a ruler, and see what the other party intends to do.

"His Majesty has decreed that Qin Hongxiu and Tuoba Yueniang's families should remarry. You've come to the capital for this reason, haven't you?"

Zhu Xu didn't mince words and directly stated the purpose of Mu Yuan's trip to the capital.

"Exactly," Mu Yuan nodded.

Since the Crown Prince has investigated so thoroughly, he must have put in a lot of effort beforehand. Moreover, since the other party didn't try to hide anything, he has even less reason to conceal it.

"If I could help you resolve this matter, would you be willing to assist me and accomplish something great?"

Zhu Xu spoke very bluntly, and any normal person would understand what he meant.

However, when faced with Zhu Xu's deliberate attempt to win him over, Mu Yuan pretended to be confused.

"Your Highness, I don't quite understand what you mean."

Amidst the undercurrents of various factions in the capital, if he wanted to protect himself, he would have to pretend to be ignorant when necessary. If he truly submitted to the Crown Prince, with his abilities, he could indeed resolve the matter of Qin Hongxiu and Tuoba Yue's remarriage.

But the price to pay is offending the current emperor.

It is true that the emperor is old, but he is no ordinary person who has been able to sit on the dragon throne and control the world for decades.

The tiger may be old, but its power remains.

Submitting to the Crown Prince is like stroking a tiger's whiskers.

"What? Is it beneath you, the commander of the Western Army, to work under my command?" Zhu Xu raised an eyebrow, his smile vanished, and a powerful aura of oppression emanated from him.

"Your subject dares not," Mu Yuan said neither humbly nor arrogantly. "As the Crown Prince and the future master of the world, I am deeply humbled and honored to serve you."

Zhu Xu sensed that Mu Yuan's words implied weakness, and his expression softened slightly.

At this moment, Mu Yuan changed the subject:

"Unfortunately, I am of limited talent and knowledge, and only know how to train troops. I am completely ignorant of national affairs, so I feel that I cannot help Your Highness. Please do not force me to do things that I cannot do."

This sudden reversal made Zhu Xu feel humiliated, as if he had been tricked.

"Stop playing tricks on me!" Zhu Xu slammed his hand on the stone table in front of him, exuding authority.

Outside the pavilion.

Qin Hongxiu, who was waiting, heard shouts coming from inside the pavilion.

We need to go there immediately.

She wanted to see what had happened in the pavilion and why the argument had broken out.

Furthermore, who exactly is the person inside the pavilion?

Why is it so mysterious?

"General Qin, please don't make things difficult for me!" Gao Sheng stepped in to stop Qin Hongxiu, who was about to head to the pavilion.

"Get out of my way!"

An argument broke out in the pavilion. Qin Hongxiu, worried about Mu Yuan's safety, immediately and without hesitation attacked Gao Sheng.

Gao Sheng was forced to retaliate.

The two began to fight fiercely.

At this time.

Inside the pavilion, Crown Prince Zhu Xu kept pressuring Mu Yuan, but Mu Yuan always responded selectively, and pretended to be crazy the whole time.

"Are you truly determined not to submit to me?"

Zhu Xu's face grew increasingly gloomy.

"I am a subject of the Great Qian Dynasty, and naturally also a subject of the Crown Prince. Please forgive me for not being able to understand the Crown Prince's so-called submission." Mu Yuan lowered his head, deliberately feigning a look of fear.

The more he acted this way, the angrier Zhu Xu became.

Although Mu Yuan was new to the area, he had heard quite a bit about Mu Yuan's activities in the Southwest.

If such a person cannot be used for one's own purposes, Zhu Xu will certainly not let him go easily. Moreover, Mu Yuan has something that he values ​​highly.

That is the military power of the Western Army!

The emperor grew old day by day, but he ate a lot and slept soundly every day. Despite his advanced age, he was still very healthy.

Several years ago, he favored his concubines, and one of them even gave birth to a prince.

This energy.

Even Zhu Xu admitted that he was inferior to him.

He was made crown prince in his teens and has been crown prince for almost thirty years.

As long as the emperor is alive, he will never be able to sit on the dragon throne.

Although he had served as regent for many years and cultivated considerable power, giving him the ability to rival the emperor, Zhu Xu knew that the stronger he became each day, the deeper the emperor's suspicion of him would grow.

Therefore, he needed to control a large amount of military power, completely overpower the emperor, and thus force him to abdicate.

The five armies under the command of Duke Lan Shi of Liang were not enough to overwhelm the emperor.

This was also the reason why he had Lan Shi send people to the southwest to seize control of the Western Army. Unfortunately, the plan ultimately failed.