On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Chang'an, Meridian Gate.

The Meridian Gate, which was usually only opened for important ceremonies or the execution of criminals designated by the emperor, was wide open today.

Beneath the tall and imposing city gate, the square was packed with onlookers, a sea of ​​heads moving about, buzzing with discussion.

Inside the cordon, civil and military officials stood solemnly according to their rank, each with a grave expression, not daring to even breathe loudly.

All eyes were focused on the city gate tower.

A temporary platform was erected there, and a red-gold phoenix chair was placed on the platform.

At 3:45 AM, when Murong Yan appeared on the city wall, a deafening roar of "Long live the Emperor!" erupted in the square.

Today, to demonstrate the majesty of the national law and the solemnity of the emperor, she solemnly draped a matching black and gold shawl over the phoenix-adorned dress she wore close to her skin.

On her embroidered robe, the pattern of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix shimmered in the morning light, complementing the giant phoenix pattern that ran the length of her inner nightgown, making her appear extremely majestic.

She ascended the platform step by step, the five-zhang-long dark gold Suzhou brocade trailing behind her dragging across the cold stone steps with a dull "rustling" sound.

The enormous skirt, without any palace servants to hold it up, spread out naturally and majestically, stretching from behind the phoenix throne all the way to the edge of the high platform. With her steps and turns, the skirt piled up and twisted, forming a chaotic scene full of absolute authority and unquestionable disarray.

She sat upright on the phoenix chair, her gaze sweeping coldly across the area below, her voice amplified by her inner strength, clearly resounding throughout the entire square.

"The one who brought the criminal is Cui Mingyuan!"

A moment later, Cui Mingyuan, the once elegant and powerful Vice Minister of Rites, was brought in by two fierce-looking Imperial Guards. His hair was disheveled, his official robes had been torn to shreds in the prison, and his face was filled with terror and despair.

"Your Majesty!"

The guard kicked him in the back of the knee, and Cui Mingyuan fell to his knees with a thud at Murong Yan's feet.

"Cui Mingyuan," Murong Yan's voice was devoid of any warmth, "do you know your crime?"

"Your Majesty! I am innocent! You are wronged!" Cui Mingyuan raised his head, tears streaming down his face, and cried out, "I am loyal to the Great Qian Dynasty and have never had any disloyal intentions! Someone has framed me! They have framed me!"

"Framed?" Murong Yan sneered and winked at Zhao Wuji, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard beside her.

Zhao Wuji immediately understood, stepped forward, unfurled a scroll of silk, and read aloud in a loud voice:

"The Vice Minister of Rites, Cui Mingyuan, colluded with the Northern Desert, betrayed the country, and committed the following crimes! First, after His Highness the Prince left the capital, he secretly wrote to Huyan Zhuo, the Right Wise King of the Northern Desert, detailing the key points of our dynasty's troop deployment and grain transport..."

As Zhao Wuji read aloud the shocking contents of the letter, word by word, the entire Meridian Gate Square went from deathly silent to uproar!

"Heavens! This Lord Cui is actually a spy!"

"They eat the government's salary, yet they commit acts of treason and betrayal! They are worse than pigs and dogs!"

"The soldiers in the northern frontier are bleeding and fighting desperately, and he's stabbing them in the back! Kill him! Kill him!"

The roars of the people were like a tidal wave, one wave higher than the next.

Cui Mingyuan collapsed to the ground, knowing that he was finished.

When that secret letter was found, he had no chance of turning the tables.

In despair, a surge of insane hatred welled up inside him. He abruptly raised his head, staring intently at Murong Yan on the high platform, and roared with a ferocious expression:

"Murong Yan! You wicked woman! You murdered the emperor, usurped the throne, and persecuted loyal officials! The Kong family has been a family of scholars for generations, loyal to the Great Qian Dynasty, yet you, for your own selfish reasons, wiped out their entire family! My Cui family merely spoke a few words of justice, and you fabricated charges against us! Your perverse actions will surely be punished by heaven! You will surely be punished by heaven!"

He tried to use the matter of the Confucius family to stir up a sensitive nerve in the hearts of other powerful families.

However, he miscalculated.

Murong Yan listened quietly to his roars, her face expressionless.

She spoke slowly only after he finished speaking, her voice calm yet carrying an overwhelming power.

"Finished?"

She stood up and looked down at Cui Mingyuan, who was acting like a mad dog.

"You say I have persecuted loyal and virtuous officials? Then let me ask you, just three days ago, the Right Wise King of the Northern Desert, Huyan Zhuo, led ten thousand of the most elite cavalry of the Northern Desert to launch a surprise attack on our army's supply lines. However, the soldiers of our Great Qian, under the leadership of His Highness the Prince, ambushed and utterly defeated the enemy at Eagle's Beak Cliff! They killed seven thousand enemies and captured two thousand! They made Huyan Zhuo flee in terror, severely wounded!"

These words caused the entire audience to erupt in cheers once again!

"We won? We won?!"

"A great victory at Eagle's Beak Cliff! Excellent! His Highness is truly awe-inspiring!"

The people cheered with joy, while the officials looked utterly shocked. This was the first time they had ever heard of such news!

Murong Yan raised her hand, suppressing the sound, her gaze sharp as a knife, and fell on Cui Mingyuan again:

"The great victory our soldiers won with their lives on the front lines, yet you, from behind the scenes, informed your master in the northern desert of their deployments and the locations of their supply lines! Tell me, who are the loyal and who are the traitors?!"

"You and Huyan Zhuo made a pact in your letter that when the royal army from the northern deserts marched south, you would coordinate from within the capital to seize the world! Tell me, is this what you call 'speaking a few fair words'?"

"Your Cui family enjoys the blessings of the Great Qian Dynasty, holding high positions and living off the wealth of the people, yet when the nation is in peril, you betray the country and sell out your compatriots! How dare you mention the Kong family here? The Kong family colluded with foreign enemies to assassinate the emperor; the evidence is irrefutable! Your Cui family is no different from them!"

Every word Murong Yan uttered was like a heavy hammer, striking Cui Mingyuan's heart, and the hearts of everyone else as well.

Cui Mingyuan was rendered speechless by the rebuttal, and could only gasp in despair.

"Guards!" Murong Yan's voice was as cold as ancient ice.

"exist!"

"The traitor Cui Mingyuan shall be executed by slow slicing! All male members of his three clans shall be beheaded, and the female members shall be enslaved by the government! His property shall be confiscated and deposited into the national treasury to reward the three armies of the northern frontier!"

The cruel verdict silenced the entire Meridian Gate Square instantly. The officials were all deathly pale; they hadn't expected the Empress's methods to be so ruthless!

"No! No! Your Majesty, spare me! I was wrong! I was really wrong!" Cui Mingyuan let out a pig-like scream, desperately kowtowing and begging for mercy.

But Murong Yan didn't look at him again. She turned around, preparing to return to the palace.

Just as she turned around, a "Night Owl" agent appeared behind her like a ghost, knelt on one knee, and presented her with the latest secret report.

Murong Yan unfolded the secret report, and after just one glance, her phoenix eyes narrowed sharply.

The secret report stated: Recently, mysterious rumors have appeared simultaneously in several prefectures in Jiangnan and the Central Plains, claiming that "the Empress has lost her virtue, and war has descended from the heavens." Even more alarmingly, small-scale outbreaks of disease with symptoms similar to those in the northern border military camps have begun to appear.

Kong Zhiqian's wicked scheme has begun to take effect.

Murong Yan gripped the secret report tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force. She knew that the real war might have only just begun—a war without visible smoke, yet far more dangerous.