The look in someone's eyes when they want to kill them is impossible to hide.

Yun Zheng touched his bare neck and decided to put a scarf around his neck later.

"Master, the hunt is about to begin. Shall I take you there first?"

"Send the others over, you stay here."

"My lord, the Prince of Huainan clearly has ill intentions..."

Zhou Huaichuan handed a flintlock pistol to Yun Zheng: "Xin Xin saw the secret letter from the King of Huainan yesterday. The Southern Barbarian army is already a hundred miles away."

Yun Zheng's breath hitched: "What!"

A hundred miles away, if you ride a horse, you can get there in an hour if you're fast!

No wonder the King of Huainan only buried a few fire mines; with the army pressing in, all his schemes were just empty talk.

"If we survive today, the lineage of the King of Huainan will cease to exist."

Zhou Huaichuan put on a black cloak, concealing the fire in it.

......

The wind in the paddock made the flags flutter loudly.

Emperor Zhou not only wore a thick cotton-padded coat, but also had fire plates placed on his hands and feet.

With the eldest prince and the third prince both present, Zhou Huaichuan was able to sit in the first position to the right of Emperor Zhou.

At Emperor Zhou's command, the eldest prince took the lead and headed into the depths of the forest.

Many guards were also dispatched to protect the two princes.

"Your Majesty, the two princes will not be back for several hours. How about I have the Music Bureau prepare some songs and dances to entertain Your Majesty?"

Consort Shu ignored the Empress and spoke directly to Emperor Zhou.

Emperor Zhou nodded in agreement.

After a few songs, the King of Huainan seized a break in the music and stood up to look at Emperor Zhou.

Emperor Zhou's eyelids twitched. What kind of trouble was the Prince of Huainan up to now?

The Prince of Huainan raised his wine cup: "Your Majesty, although the songs and dances in the capital are good, they become boring after a while. I recently acquired a few Hu women whose dancing skills are superb. Why don't we have them perform a dance for Your Majesty?"

It's not about proposing marriage, official positions, or money; no problem, no problem!

Emperor Zhou nodded in agreement.

The King of Huainan stood up and clapped his hands, and several Hu women stepped forward in response.

Almost all the men in the room gasped.

The reason is simple: these Hu women have alluring figures and stunningly beautiful faces.

More importantly, they were dressed provocatively, with only a piece of cloth wrapped around their chests, revealing their fair necks and slender waists.

The skirt was made of purple silk and gold gauze, cut into thin strips in the middle, revealing her long, white thighs as she walked, making her even more alluring.

The music of the Hu people is mysterious and clear, and the Hu women's dances are bold and seductive.

Emperor Zhou stared intently, his head no longer spinning and his back no longer aching. He swallowed countless times.

Even Chu Xuan, who prided himself on being aloof and disliked beautiful women, was captivated by the sight while holding his wine cup.

No one noticed that the King of Huainan secretly made a hand gesture.

The Hu women danced more and more wildly, one of them even took a wine pot, raised it high, and let the wine slide down her red lips, flow down her jade-like neck, and into her breasts that seemed both clear and indistinct.

Emperor Zhou wished he could immediately bring this beauty into his bedchamber.

Suddenly, the woman twirled around and ripped off the only thing she was wearing on her upper body—a breast wrap. The crowd gasped, and Emperor Zhou even stood up, reaching out to grab the fluttering breast wrap...

As her bodice fluttered, Emperor Zhou saw that Hu Ji's beautiful eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Before Emperor Zhou could react, Hu Ji swiftly pulled a sharp hairpin from her hair and stabbed it at him.

"Protect the Emperor..."

"Boom!"

Emperor Zhou's voice was drowned out by the deafening explosion of fire and thunder, and chaos erupted on the field.

The woman was caught in the blast wave, and her hairpin went astray. Unwilling to give up, she got up and rushed over again.

She was too close to Emperor Zhou, who was ill and unable to move easily. It looked as if the long hairpin was about to pierce his eyes.

Zhou Huaichuan arrived just in time and kicked Hu Ji aside: "There's an assassin! Protect the emperor!"

The guards rushed over, but Emperor Zhou hadn't even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief.

Some of the guards raised their swords and slashed at him.

"What's going on? How dare you?! I am the Emperor! I am the Emperor! Protect me! Protect me!"

Emperor Zhou shouted in fear.

However, half of his ministers and guards sided with the King of Huainan.

Zhou Huaichuan dealt with several guards and shouted sternly, "Prince of Huainan, Minister Sun, Prefect Yu, do you intend to rebel?!"

The Prince of Huainan bowed and said, “Prince An, how can you say that? Today, it was just that Hu Ji attempted to assassinate His Majesty. We risked our lives to protect him, but the enemy planned it perfectly. You, the Second Prince, His Majesty, and the court officials were blown to pieces by fire and lightning, while the First Prince and the Third Prince perished in the jaws of ferocious beasts.”

Emperor Zhou was so angry that his hands trembled: "You traitor, you traitor!"

The King of Huainan sighed dramatically, “Alas, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day. I have been recommended by the ministers and have no choice but to become the emperor of the Great Zhou.”

Emperor Zhou: "You're dreaming! I have the Imperial Guard, the Northwest Army, the Right Guard Army, and the Jiannan Army. How dare you, a mere vassal king's army, do this!"

“My fiefdom may be small, but I have external support.”

Behind the King of Huainan, a sorcerer from the southern barbarians stepped out.

"Are you crazy? You dare to touch a wizard like that!"

Emperor Zhou was now only standing in front of Zhou Huaichuan, who was trembling with fear.

His concubines and ministers were being hunted down by the King of Huainan's men, and shouts and the sounds of blades piercing flesh could be heard all around.

Emperor Zhou: "King of Huainan, whatever you want, I will give you. Now, tell your men to stop!"

What do I want?

The Prince of Huainan shook his head, clicking his tongue: "Your Majesty, you're too stingy. My son wanted to get married, and you just randomly sent over some ugly freak that the Prime Minister of Chu kept outside..."

The wizard stepped forward: "Your Highness, stop wasting words with them and make your move."

The King of Huainan revealed a cruel smile and ordered an attack.

Zhou Huaichuan protected Emperor Zhou and suffered many injuries in the process.

Just when it seemed they couldn't hold on any longer, someone shouted, "Lord Qi has arrived with the Imperial Guards!"

The morale of Emperor Zhou's side was instantly boosted.

The King of Huainan, however, remained unperturbed, standing calmly in place.

"Your Highness, when will the Southern Frontier Army arrive?"

The wizard had a bad feeling; he hadn't received any news from Wumo Wusu since last night.

The King of Huainan: "It's time for them to take the stage. Give them a signal."

The wizard sent five messages in a row, but received no response.

The King of Huainan's face turned grim. With the addition of the Imperial Guards, their side began to show signs of defeat.

"What's going on?!"

The Prince of Huainan seized the signal flares and fired several more.

Finally, the shadow of the army appeared on the other side of the hunting ground.

"If you lay down your swords now, I will spare your lives!"

Seeing his dream come true, the King of Huainan actually started referring to himself as "朕" (Zhen, the imperial "I").

Emperor Zhou almost pushed Zhou Huaichuan aside and came up to exchange a few blows with him.

Liu Xin, who had just been able to stand up, couldn't hide the smugness on his face.

As the Southern Frontier Army marched in front of the crowd, everyone on Emperor Zhou's side fell into despair.

How can we fight an army of over 100,000?

The Prince of Huainan was confident of victory: "Whoever captures Zhou Hong will be appointed Grand General Protector of the Nation! Kill them all!"

The army in southern Xinjiang remained motionless.

"Didn't you hear me? I ordered you to kill!"

A soft, gentle female voice rang out from the army: "Whoever captures Liu Wei will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold and appointed Grand General Protector of the Nation, according to the Emperor's decree! Kill him!"

The Southern Frontier Army surrounded them, swords drawn.

Once the dust had settled, Emperor Zhou wanted to find the woman's voice, but the soldiers of the Southern Frontier Army said that there were no women in the army and that His Majesty had misheard.