On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

February 13th, the second year of Shenghui. Two days had passed since the Haizhou City Massacre.

Most of the flames in the city have been extinguished, leaving only scattered black smoke rising from the ruins, like the unwilling souls of the unjustly killed.

The nauseatingly strong smell of blood not only did not dissipate, but in the chill of spring, it mixed with the odor of decaying corpses, forming an even sweeter and more terrifying stench that permeated every corner of the city.

Murong Yan ordered the army to rest in Haizhou City for five days.

That day, after noon, the sky was still gloomy, and lead-gray clouds hung low over the silent city.

She did not stay in the relatively clean and tidy former garrison office.

After lunch, she suggested to Lin Zhen beside her that she wanted to go out for a walk and "see" the city.

A complicated look flashed across Lin Zhen's eyes, but he did not dissuade him.

He knew very well that she had ordered the massacre and she would have to face the consequences.

He nodded silently and ordered the Guards Battalion to clear the area and provide protection.

Murong Yan was still wearing the black and gold Su brocade cotton nightgown with the pattern of "Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" - the Divine Phoenix Descent Dress.

In this city filled with the breath of death, she wore a luxurious black and gold mink shawl, and the five-meter-long Su Jin tail was fully spread out on the ruined streets, hanging messily and dragging behind her.

She walked out of the government office gate side by side with Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen wore dark casual clothes, no armor, but wore a longsword at his waist, his eyes alert and serious. A team of elite black-armored guards, armed with swords and shields, silently spread out in front, behind, left and right, protecting the emperor and empress in the center. Wherever they passed, advance soldiers had already cleared the streets to ensure absolute safety.

The moment she stepped out of the government office, even though she was mentally prepared, the scene that came before her still made Murong Yan's footsteps pause almost imperceptibly.

The world before my eyes is no longer the human world.

The houses on both sides of the street, which were once quite neat, have now mostly turned into scorched ruins, with charred wooden beams pointing crookedly towards the sky.

The unburned walls were covered with marks from knife and axe cuts and splattered blood that had long since dried and turned black.

The road was bumpy and uneven, stained with dark red blood mixed with mud and ash. Broken household items, clothing, and... mutilated, swollen, and blue corpses were scattered everywhere.

There were soldiers, but more were civilians, men, women, the elderly, and even children, lying dead on the ground in various twisted postures. No one collected their bodies, leaving them to be eaten by crows and wild dogs.

The air was dead silent, broken only by the occasional whimper of the wind through the ruins and the dull thud of shovels as soldiers cleared the corpses in the distance.

Murong Yan's face was calm, as if she was wearing a perfect mask.

She stepped forward, stepping on the blood-stained gravel road. The dark golden tail inevitably swept across the filth on the ground, leaving a winding trail.

The fur of the black and gold mink cape trembled in the breeze, forming an extremely strange contrast with this hellish scene.

At this moment, the gorgeousness of the Phoenix Dress is no longer a symbol of nobility, but more like a cold examination of death and destruction.

She walked slowly, her eyes slowly scanning the tragic scenes on both sides.

She saw a child's rag doll lying in a pool of blood and dirt in front of a half-collapsed shop.

She saw several female corpses huddled together in each other's arms next to a smashed well; she saw Goguryeo characters written in blood on a broken wall, which sounded like a curse, but also like a plea.

Lin Zhen followed closely beside her, his eyes more focused on Murong Yan, observing her every subtle reaction while being alert to any possible danger around her.

His hand remained on the hilt of the sword, his knuckles turning slightly white from the exertion.

This scene made even a battle-hardened warrior like him feel nervous. He didn't know what kind of inner turmoil the people around him were experiencing.

Murong Yan remained silent.

She just walked and watched.

Occasionally, she would stop in front of a particularly tragic scene and look at it quietly for a while. There seemed to be an undercurrent surging in the depths of her phoenix eyes, but it would quickly return to calm.

They walked through the market that may have once been bustling, but now only charred skeletons and scattered goods remained. Some porcelain fragments made a crisp sound of shattering under their feet, which was particularly harsh in the dead silence.

They passed by a burned-down temple, the remaining statues half-buried in ashes, their features blurred.

When she reached a relatively wide street that seemed to be a main road, Murong Yan stopped.

This was where the fighting was most intense, with corpses piled up like mountains. Although most of them have been cleared away, the ground has been soaked in blood and turned dark red, and the smell of corruption in the air is the strongest.

Several soldiers were transporting corpses in carriages in the distance, and the sound of dragging chains was monotonous and heavy.

A strong cold wind blew, blowing up the ashes and scraps of paper on the ground, and also blowing the hem of Murong Yan's cloak and the fluff of her shawl.

She raised her head slightly and looked deeper into the city, where there were still endless ruins and dead silence.

At this moment, a very faint baby cry suddenly came from a half-collapsed courtyard nearby!

The sound was as thin as a thread, but it was extremely clear in the dead silence.

The guards instantly became nervous, their swords were half an inch unsheathed, and they stared at the courtyard with sharp eyes.

Murong Yan also heard it.

Her gaze turned towards the direction of the crying. She did not give any orders immediately, nor did she move, but simply listened quietly to the faint voice that represented life and despair.

Lin Zhen looked at her and whispered, "Yan'er?"

Murong Yan was silent for a moment. The crying continued, intermittently, with the weakness of someone on the verge of death.

Finally, she spoke slowly, her voice calm but with a barely perceptible hoarseness: "Go and see him. If he's still alive, send him to the wounded camp and hand him over to the military doctor."

"Yes." A guard took the order and quickly and cautiously led the two men towards the courtyard.

Murong Yan did not stay any longer. She turned around and prepared to return along the same route.

It seems that this "walk" is about to end.

The moment she turned around——

The movements were filled with a sense of heaviness and determination after witnessing such a tragic scene!

The messy dark golden train and shawl hem that were winding on the blood-stained ground were suddenly lifted up by the swift rotation!

The luxurious brocade and mink fur brushed across the dark red ground, making a swish sound, as if stirring up the sighs of countless dead souls!

As the tail suddenly floated up, the densely woven golden lining inside was revealed, which seemed to condense all the death and sorrow under the gloomy sky!

The pattern of a hundred phoenixes facing the rising sun flashed in an instant, but the golden light had no warmth at this moment. There was only a cold, tombstone-like glow, noble and brilliant, but it only highlighted the despair and silence of the land beneath his feet!

This glimpse is no longer a display of strength, but a silent mark of a man-made disaster!

The hem of the skirt fell, burying the cold golden light again under the quiet ink color and the cruelty of reality.

Murong Yan walked towards the government office, her steps seemed heavier than when she came here.

Lin Zhen followed silently, reached out, and gently held her arm.

This time, Murong Yan did not refuse, and even leaned slightly towards him, using his strength to walk.

He returned to the government courtyard and dismissed his attendants.

Murong Yan stood in the yard, looking up at the still gloomy sky, and remained silent for a long time.

The mink fur on her body, which was stained with the smell of the dead city outside, had been carefully taken off by the palace maids, revealing the divine phoenix skirt underneath, which was intact but seemed to be stained with invisible blood.

Lin Zhen walked up to her and asked softly, "Yan'er, are you okay?"

Murong Yan did not answer immediately.

She lowered her head and looked at the mud and dark red stains on the hem and train of her skirt. She reached out her hand and gently brushed them with the tip of her finger wearing the black jade ring.

"Husband..." She finally spoke, her voice soft and a little tired, "Does Haizhou City look like a giant tomb?"

Lin Zhen's heart ached as he held her slightly cold hand. "War is so cruel. Yan'er, this isn't your fault. It was the Goguryeo people who started it."

Murong Yan shook her head, a faint, bitter arc curling up at the corner of her mouth: "I gave the order, I made the blood flow..." She paused, her eyes became firm again, even with a hint of ruthlessness, "But I don't regret it. If I had to do it again, I would still do it. The blood of Tieshan City must be washed away with blood. I want Goguryeo generations to remember this lesson!"

After she finished speaking, she stopped looking at the scene outside the yard and turned to walk into the room.

The dark golden tail drew a heavy and resolute track behind it.

Lin Zhen looked at her back, feeling mixed emotions.

He knew that this massacre would be an indelible mark on her life, and would change her and even the future of this empire.