On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the second year of Shenghui, the red lanterns for the Lantern Festival had not yet been taken down from the walls of Chang'an City when a blood-stained urgent military report, eight hundred miles away, like the bitterest cold wind in December, broke through the tranquility of the imperial city and reached Fenghuan Palace.

Liaodong was defeated!

According to the urgent report, Goguryeo general Kim Woo-seong took advantage of the frozen Yalu River and led 20,000 elite troops to cross the river at night and raid the important border town of Tieshan City.

Although Li Xin, the Liaodong defender, had previously received a secret order from Murong Yan to "act according to the plan" and to make Tieshan City "tight outside and loose inside" to lure the enemy, he never expected that the Goguryeo army would be so powerful and the offensive would be so brutal!

The defenders pretended to be defeated in order to lure the enemy deeper into the city. However, the Goguryeo army was like a mad dog. After breaking into the city, they did not try to test the enemy but went straight into the hinterland, burning, killing and looting. A huge hole was torn in the Liaodong defense line in an instant. Several cities were in danger and the military and civilians suffered heavy casualties!

Li Xin fought desperately and was seriously injured, and he barely managed to stabilize his position, but a large area of ​​Liaodong had fallen into the hands of the enemy and the war was raging!

When the news reached the palace, Murong Yan was playing chess with Lin Zhen in the warm room.

The tangle of black and white pieces on the chessboard mirrored the state of affairs. She was still wearing her black and gold Sujin cotton nightgown, the "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix"—the "Divine Phoenix Descent Skirt," over which she wore a casual black and gold Sujin long gown, untied and draped lazily.

When the commander of the secret guards almost stumbled in and presented the military report stained with mud and suspected blood, Murong Yan was holding Bai Zi's hand, hanging in the air.

Lin Zhen instantly put down the black piece in his hand, took the military newspaper with a serious expression, and quickly browsed it. The more he read, the gloomier his face became.

Murong Yan didn't say anything, but just looked at Lin Zhen quietly. The usual laziness and tenderness in her phoenix eyes quickly faded away at a speed visible to the naked eye, froze, and finally turned into a bottomless cold pool.

The pavilion was as warm as spring, but it seemed as if all the warmth had been drained away in an instant.

"Read." She parted her red lips and uttered a word, her voice terrifyingly calm.

Lin Zhen took a deep breath and read out the tragic situation in the military newspaper word for word in the calmest possible tone.

With every sentence she recited, the frost on Murong Yan's face grew thicker.

When she heard "Li Xin was seriously injured, several cities in Liaodong fell, and the people were massacred", her fingers hanging in the air trembled slightly, and the warm white piece fell on the chessboard with a "click", disrupting the game.

Deathly silence.

After a long time, Murong Yan slowly stood up.

The five-meter-long Su Jin train, along with the hem of her gown, slid slowly and even heavily from the warm couch to the cold floor as she moved. The dark gold brocade left a messy and depressing mark on the smooth ground.

"Well done, Li Xin." Her voice remained calm, yet it was like the silence before a snowstorm. "What a master of 'following the plan'! I told him to lure the enemy in, but I didn't let him 'lure' the entire Liaodong region into it!"

She turned around suddenly!

The movements were as fast as lightning, accompanied by a rage that was suppressed to the extreme!

The light and elegant dark golden train and the hem of the long gown were suddenly lifted up by the swift turn!

Like the wings of an enraged phoenix, it spread out with a bang, and with a swish, it swept over the chess basket beside the couch, and the black and white chess pieces scattered all over the floor!

As the tail suddenly floated up, the "gold woven all over the ground" lining was revealed, which was densely woven with gold threads and seemed to be burning with cold flames under the light in the pavilion!

The pattern of Hundred Phoenixes Facing the Sun shone in an instant, and golden light flowed, but the golden light was now filled with hostility and murderous intent. It was noble and glorious, but it was more like the prelude to a bloody revenge!

The hem of her skirt fell, and the brilliance was swallowed up by the darker ink and anger.

"Deliver the order!" Murong Yan no longer looked at the messy chessboard. Her voice was as sharp as a knife tempered with ice, decisive and resolute.

"Li Xin, the Liaodong garrison commander, has delayed military operations, resulting in the loss of troops and territory. His crimes are unforgivable! He must be arrested and brought to the capital immediately! No, there's no need to bring him to the capital!" A cold glint flashed in her eyes. "Order the imperial envoy to bring my sword and seal to the Liaodong army and execute him on the spot! His head will be displayed in all the border areas! I will show all the soldiers what the consequences of losing our country are!"

When these words were spoken, even Lin Zhen's face changed slightly.

Although Li Xin was guilty, his crime did not deserve the death penalty, let alone beheading him in front of the army and sending his head to the nine borders!

This punishment is too severe!

But when he looked at Murong Yan's icy eyes, he knew that any persuasion at this moment would be futile and might even backfire.

She needs blood to wash away the shame and restore the military prestige.

"Yes." Lin Zhen responded in a deep voice and immediately ordered the secret guard to pass on the message.

Murong Yan's chest rose and fell slightly, and it was obvious that she was still angry.

She walked to the window and pushed it open, letting the cold air from outside rush in.

The cold wind blew her wide flared sleeves and loose long hair, but she was completely unaware.

"Goguryeo, Jin Wucheng." She looked towards the north, and pronounced the two names word by word, each word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth. "I wanted to give you a chance, but you are seeking death!"

She turned around suddenly, her eyes sharp as a knife, staring directly at Lin Zhen: "My husband, gather the troops and I will lead the army in person in three days!"

"Personally leading the army?" Lin Zhen's heart was shocked. Although he had expected this, he still felt a pang of anxiety when he heard it in person. "Yan'er, Liaodong is bitterly cold, and the war is dangerous. Your body is worth a million gold..."

"No need to say more!" Murong Yan interrupted him, her tone unquestionable, "I have made up my mind! Goguryeo has bullied me too much! In this battle, if we don't hurt them, scare them, and break their backs, there will be no peace in the northern borders of Daqian! I want to see for myself how many heads Jin Wucheng has left for me to chop off!"

Her voice was filled with unquestionable determination and an almost crazy hostility.

The successive victories and absolute power seemed to make her unable to tolerate any form of failure and provocation, especially the provocation from the clown like Goguryeo!

Lin Zhen knew he couldn't dissuade him, so he could only take a deep breath and kneel on one knee: "I obey your command! I will protect your majesty and serve you at your side, even if it means death!"

Murong Yan looked at him, the hostility in her eyes subsided slightly, and a hint of complexity flashed across her eyes.

She reached out and gently helped him up. The black jade ring on her fingertips was slightly cool.

"Husband, get up. I know it's dangerous, but there are some things I must do myself." Her voice was lower, with a hint of unnoticeable dependence. "With you here, I feel at ease."

Lin Zhen stood up and held her hand tightly. "Don't worry, Yan'er. With your husband here, I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll go and make preparations. I'll gather the elite imperial guards and gather food, fodder, and weapons."

Murong Yan nodded and looked out the window again, as if she had already seen the beacon fires in Liaodong. "Go, I need some peace and quiet."

Lin Zhen bowed and retreated, leaving only Murong Yan in the warm room.

She stood quietly in front of the window, the cold wind blowing her long hair and skirt.

The divine phoenix skirt fluttered in the cold wind, and the dark golden light seemed even colder and more murderous under the gloomy sky.

The messy tail on the ground was like a devastated battlefield after a defeat, and also like her confused and determined mood at the moment.

She knew that Li Xin might have been wronged, that beheading a general in front of the army might shake the morale of the troops, and she also knew the risks of leading the army in person.

But she also knew that at this moment, what she needed was iron-blooded and thunderous means, to declare to the people of the world - anyone who offends the majesty of Daqian will be punished no matter how far away he is!

And she, Murong Yan, is definitely not someone who can be bullied!

That divine phoenix dress will no longer be a gorgeous decoration in the deep palace, but a battle robe that will soon be stained with blood!

After a long time, she slowly closed the window to isolate herself from the cold outside.

She walked to the dressing table and looked at her beautiful yet cold face in the mirror, as well as the ink-gold nightgown she was wearing.

She stretched out her hand and gently stroked the phoenix on her skirt that was holding its head high and about to fly. The last trace of hesitation in her eyes completely disappeared, replaced by an iron-hard killing intent.

"Send an order," she whispered softly to the empty warm room, her voice clearly reaching the ears of the palace maids waiting outside, "bring my armor here."

A bloody storm sweeping across Liaodong is about to be completely ignited by the anger of this empress in nightgown.