The First Marquis of Leisure

The group gathered together, and thanks to the efforts of Zhang Chunqiu and Zhao Sisi, they made their decision.

The Eighth Prince and the Third Prince finally nodded in agreement, and everyone unanimously decided that Bai Xinghe would preside over the poetry competition between the Yan and Zhao states!

However, after the group had made their arrangements, Bai Xinghe did not arrive for a long time.

A servant from the Zhang residence entered: "Master, the Eighth Prince, the Third Prince, the Princess, and Young Master Bai are not at the Marquis's residence. The people at the Marquis's residence said they went out early this morning!"

Upon hearing the servant's report, the group didn't think much of it and continued their discussion.

About half an hour later, a servant from the Zhang family suddenly ran in, his face pale.

"Something terrible has happened!"

"What happened? Don't panic!" Zhang Chunqiu stood up and asked.

The servant wiped the sweat from his brow and said in a panic, "Just now, news came from the palace. It says that Young Master Bai ordered his men to smash up Jufulou Restaurant and also beat up Li Chentian, a scholar from Yan State."

"He was immediately taken away by the officers of the Governor's Office. His Majesty personally ordered that Young Master Bai beheaded and his head displayed to the public!"

What!

Upon hearing this, the group was all shocked and stood up abruptly.

"Old Master Zhang, Third Prince, Father, please think of something! We must protect Young Master Bai!"

Zhao Sisi looked worried and extremely anxious.

"Old Zhang, Eighth Uncle, you must go to the palace immediately! I dare to go to the Governor's prison right now!"

The third prince made a quick decision and proposed it.

.......

At this moment, in the Nine Gates Admiral's prison, Bai Xinghe and four personal guards were imprisoned separately.

Bai Xinghe was not worried about his safety and remained calm and composed.

He knew very well that in this poetry competition between Yan and Zhao, probably no one but himself would dare to say that victory was assured.

However, while he was doing nothing, Li Taibei and Zhao Feishuang actually brought Chen Ping and other scions of prominent families to the prison.

When enemies meet, their eyes are filled with intense hatred!

Bai Xinghe stood up and looked at Li Taibei, Zhao Feishuang, and the others.

"Bai Xinghe, it seems you're quite carefree."

Zhao Feishuang had a stern face, her expression full of resentment.

"You slut, Li Yuan is dead. Which young master are you hooking up with now?"

Bai Xinghe showed no respect for Zhao Feishuang, immediately launching into a barrage of sarcasm.

This made Zhao Feishuang stomp her feet in anger, but she quickly calmed down.

"Useless trash! It seems you don't know that half an hour ago, Father Emperor personally issued an edict to behead you and display your head to the public!"

Upon hearing this news, Bai Xinghe was taken aback.

However, he soon became indifferent, only feeling quite disappointed.

Admittedly, Zhao Tianhe was not a foolish ruler, but he was not a wise ruler either.

They enjoy wielding power and manipulating the art of emperorship.

His father had died, and his attitude had remained ambiguous, which had made him realize the truth.

Now that the emperor has personally ordered his own execution, he has seen through the true nature of this emperor even more clearly.

"So what? Can your emperor father really kill me?"

Seeing Bai Xinghe's nonchalant expression, Chen Ping and the other scions of prominent families laughed.

"Bai Xinghe, I have said it before, I will definitely cut you into a thousand pieces and use your head to pay homage to my son Li Yuan."

"Old man, I told you, no one can kill me!"

"Is that so?" Li Yuan sneered repeatedly.

"You little beast, if Bai Tianque were still alive, that would be true. But now that Bai Tianque is dead, not only will you not escape death, but I will also behead everyone in the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion!"

Bai Xinghe ignored him, waved his hand, and said provocatively, "Old man, this is all you and your cronies are capable of. I'll be watching and see if your heads are still on tomorrow."

Meanwhile, the palace

Zhang Chunqiu, the Eighth Prince, the Third Prince, and Zhao Sisi arrived as quickly as possible.

"Get out of my way! I need to see His Majesty immediately!"

Zhang Chunqiu was anxious; he was more anxious than anyone else.

Not only because they were already impressed by Bai Xinghe's talent, but more importantly, because Bai Xinghe was related to the future of the Great Zhao!

The palace eunuchs wanted to obstruct the process, but considering Zhang Chunqiu's status as a tutor to three generations of emperors, and the presence of the Eighth Prince and Princess He, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to report it.

After a while, Zhao Tianhe appeared.

"Your Majesty, you are confused!"

Zhang Chunqiu was so anxious that he lost his composure and no longer cared about the difference between ruler and subject, losing his composure in front of the emperor.

He immediately launched into a tirade of complaints and accusations, his words filled with urgency.

"Old Zhang, what has caused you to rush to the palace in such a hurry?"

"Your Majesty, Young Master Bai must not be killed, absolutely must not be killed!" Zhang Chunqiu shouted.

"Your Majesty, please issue a decree immediately to pardon Bai Xinghe!"

Zhao Tianhe remained expressionless and said coldly, "Elder Zhang, you don't need to interfere in this matter. Bai Xinghe publicly assaulted Li Chentian, a doctor from Yan State. This is a serious matter, and Yan State must provide an explanation, otherwise it could easily provoke another war between the two countries!"

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" Zhao Sisi pleaded anxiously, "Your Majesty, Young Master Bai is not the kind of person who acts arrogantly. I beg you to have mercy and pardon him."

Zhao Tianhe glanced at Zhao Sisi, then at his eighth brother. This carefree prince had long since withdrawn from worldly affairs, yet he had unexpectedly become involved.

He already knew that on the day of the burial, only Zhang Chunqiu, his third son Zhao Feng, and his eighth brother, who held significant positions in the court, were present.

"Eighth brother, I wonder what connection you have with the Marquis's mansion that would lead you to the palace in person?"

The Eighth Prince sighed and said, "Your Majesty, what Elder Zhang and Sisi said is also what I, your humble servant, think. Young Master Bai is of great importance, and we must not allow him to be harmed!"

"Ha!" Zhao Tianhe couldn't help but sneer upon hearing this.

"What? Does my empire have anything to do with an ignorant and incompetent wastrel?"

"You've probably forgotten that Bai Tianque is dead. The fact that I haven't immediately ordered the confiscation of the Marquis's estate is already an act of consideration for Bai Tianque's past contributions!"

"Bai Xinghe is a capricious and arrogant person who has repeatedly offended me. He publicly broke off his engagement, humiliating the royal family, murdered the prime minister's son in the street, and beat up ministers. He has committed all sorts of evil deeds."

"I have tolerated this for too long, and today he has vandalized Jufulou and assaulted a high-ranking official of Yan. If I do not punish this man, how can I answer to my officials, how can I answer to the world!"

"A tyrannical ruler!" Suddenly, Zhang Chunqiu clenched his fist and shouted angrily.

This cry of "tyrant" startled everyone.

Even Zhao Tianhe himself was taken aback. He did indeed respect Zhang Chunqiu, after all, he was the tutor of three emperors and a great Confucian scholar of his time.

But as an emperor, being publicly called a tyrant, Zhao Tianhe's face darkened as he was addressed by his servants!

"You cannot distinguish between loyalty and treachery, you only know how to manipulate power. Let me ask you, if it weren't for General Bai guarding the frontier and spending his life on the battlefield, would Great Zhao enjoy the peace it has today?"

"As the emperor, you show no compassion for your subjects. Not only did you not attend General Bai's funeral, but you also remained ambiguous and tacitly approved Li Taibei and others' retaliation against the Marquis's mansion!"

"General Bai's body is barely cold, yet you intend to publicly behead his only son. Do you still dare to say you are not a tyrant?"

Zhang Chunqiu went all out and pointed at Zhao Tianhe, angrily rebuking him.

"Zhang Chunqiu, don't try to act like an old man! You insulted His Majesty in public, a capital offense!" Several close ministers and eunuchs couldn't stand it anymore and began to jump out and criticize Zhang Chunqiu.

"Get out of my way! You're nothing but a bunch of scoundrels and eunuchs! Don't you dare sully my eyes!"

Zhang Chunqiu, though his hair was white, exuded an imposing aura.

"You tyrant, I have only one sentence: if you kill Bai Xinghe, the Great Zhao dynasty will be doomed, and I will kill myself right here in this imperial palace!"