A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

"presumptuous!"

The head eunuch shouted in a shrill voice, which barely calmed the commotion in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Zhou Jing was helped back to the stand by two colleagues. His face was still ashen, but his mouth was closed.

It wasn't that he didn't want to curse. It was the hand gripping his arm tightly beside him that reminded him—

You cursed, you felt good, but then what? Did Lu Song lose a hair?

Emperor Yuanxi held his teacup, his brows furrowed in a frown.

He didn't get angry.

Logically speaking, if someone speaks rudely in court, they should at least be reprimanded.

But he didn't.

Because Zhou Jing was cursing Lu Song, and Lu Song's words just now... were indeed a bit too much.

The word "treason" cannot be casually slapped on someone's head.

The Wei family just wiped out 500,000 Northern Rong soldiers, and then they went to rescue Yumen Pass. You're saying they're plotting a rebellion?

If this gets out, what will the world think?

Emperor Yuanxi placed the teacup back on the dragon table, his voice not loud, but his tone carried a hint of impatience.

"Minister Lu, the Wei family is full of loyal and valiant men, and has made great contributions. To call them 'treason' is an overstatement."

Lu Song's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He knew this emperor all too well.

He said "You're exaggerating," but there was no follow-up—no rebuttal, no defense of the Wei family, and no statement that "I trust the Wei family."

This is enough.

The seeds have been sown. What kind of person was Emperor Yuanxi?

He appears kind and generous on the surface, but is actually pathologically suspicious at heart.

Today he said "you've gone too far," but tomorrow night, when he lies tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, what will surely be on his mind is—

Was Wei Zhao's fourth daughter-in-law really a princess of the Western Qiang? Did Wei Zhao have ulterior motives when he led his troops to Yumen Pass?

Suspicion doesn't need evidence. A single grain of sand is enough to keep a suspicious emperor tossing and turning at night.

Lu Song bowed and took half a step back, his face displaying just the right amount of fear.

"Your Majesty, I have misspoke. Please forgive me."

The atmosphere in the Hall of Supreme Harmony eased slightly.

Several civil officials secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the storm had passed.

But there was one person who wasn't going to let it pass.

"His Majesty."

An aged voice came from the end of the left column.

Zheng Anshi, leaning on his ceremonial tablet, stepped out of the ranks, his steps trembling.

At eighty-one years old, his body was as thin as a piece of withered wood, but a burning flame of unwillingness burned in his cloudy eyes.

Emperor Yuanxi's lips twitched.

It's that old geezer again.

"Does Minister Zheng have something to say?" His tone was as indifferent as if he were dismissing a talkative servant.

Zheng Anshi ignored the emperor's attitude.

He lived for eighty-one years, was neglected for half his life, and no longer cared about these things.

He turned around, not looking at Lu Song, but facing the dragon throne, his voice old but clear.

"Your Majesty, this old minister has something to report."

"About Tuoba Yue."

The air in the Hall of Supreme Harmony felt tense again.

Lu Song paused for a moment, then continued to pluck the prayer beads without making a sound.

Zheng Anshi took two steps forward, using his official tablet as a walking stick.

"As Lu Xiang just said, Tuoba Yue is a princess of the Western Qiang, and the Wei family's trip to Yumen Pass is treacherous."

His voice rose a few decibels.

"But as far as this old minister knows—Tuoba Yue had already returned to the Western Qiang royal palace alone before the Wei family army set off for Yanmen Pass!"

These words caused a hum throughout the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Many officials exchanged bewildered glances. Return to the Western Qiang Royal Palace? What did that mean?

Zheng Anshi didn't give them time to process what he had said, and continued speaking in one breath.

"This invasion by the Western Qiang was not the intention of the Western Qiang King. It was the eldest prince of the Western Qiang who seized power and launched the invasion while his father was seriously ill."

He turned halfway around, his withered fingers pointing towards the outside of the hall.

"After returning to Western Qiang, Tuoba Yue has been negotiating with the eldest prince!"

"She contacted her father's former subordinates to delay the Western Qiang's offensive from within—there were problems with supplies, the tribes' coordination was flawed, and the military council was repeatedly delayed."

His voice grew louder and louder, like a blunt hammer striking each pillar of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"Yumen Pass has been besieged for over a month and has yet to be breached!"

"It's true that the defending troops are fighting desperately, but if Tuoba Yue hadn't been holding back the eldest prince's full-scale attack from within the Western Qiang territory—"

Zheng Anshi's cane—no, his scepter—slammed heavily on the floor tiles.

"Yumen Pass is long gone!"

The Hall of Supreme Harmony was completely silent.

Zheng Anshi took a couple of breaths and turned towards Lu Song. He didn't look directly at Lu Song, but rather at the white marble floor tile in front of Lu Song's feet.

"This is clearly a tremendous achievement."

His voice was hoarse, but every word was like a nail.

"A woman, widowed, ventured alone into enemy territory to become an inside agent, risking her life to save Yumen Pass."

"Lu Xiang is quite something—you call someone like her treacherous? You say the Wei family is plotting a rebellion?"

Zheng Anshi finally raised his head, his cloudy old eyes staring straight at Lu Song.

"I'm afraid the one with ill intentions isn't the Wei family—it's you, isn't it?"

He emphasized the last "you" so hard that he almost broke Zheng Anshi's few remaining teeth.

An uproar erupted in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

It wasn't a real explosion; everyone just held their breath.

Is this old man crazy?

To his face, he accused the prime minister of having ulterior motives?

The veterans on the right straightened their backs even more, their hands resting on their swords, though the swords were made of wood, their spirit was conveyed.

Several centrist civil servants had subtle expressions—they didn't say it, but their eyes clearly said, "Well said."

The old lady stood at the head of the right row and did not speak from beginning to end.

Her thumb slowly rubbed the head of the steel cane, a faint, cold smile playing on her lips.

She looked at Lu Song as if he were an old dog cornered against a wall.

She's just here to watch the show. She didn't start the fire; if the old man wants to start it, then let him.

All she needed to do was stand here. Stand where all the officials could see her.

A first-rank imperial consort, with a family full of loyal martyrs, not uttering a single word is the greatest pressure.

Lu Song's expression finally turned ugly.

He dropped his mask of gentle refinement, a flicker of genuine anger flashing in his eyes. But it was only a fleeting glimpse.

He took a step forward, his clasped hands still respectful, but his voice became harsh.

"Lord Zheng has quite the arrogance."

Lu Song's gaze swept over Zheng Anshi's wrinkled old face, and a lukewarm smile appeared on his lips.

"According to you, the fact that Yumen Pass wasn't breached is entirely due to the efforts of a Western Qiang princess?"

He paused for a moment and glanced around the hall.

"What are those 200,000 soldiers guarding the pass? Just for show?"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the military officers darkened.

The statement that "200,000 soldiers are just for show" was not directed at Zheng Anshi, but rather at the morale of the army.

Lu Song didn't stop.

"Who knows what that princess's intentions are?"

"After she returned to Western Qiang, what did she say and do to the eldest prince, and whom did she speak on her behalf—Lord Zheng, did you see it with your own eyes?"

His voice suddenly rose half an inch.

"You dare to present hearsay as military intelligence in the Hall of Supreme Harmony?"

Zheng Anshi's hands were trembling.

It wasn't fear, it was anger.

"Two hundred thousand?"

Zheng Anshi's voice cracked.

He took another step forward, now only a few steps away from Lu Song.

The chief eunuch wanted to stop him, but after looking at Zheng Anshi's face, which looked like it was about to devour someone, he withdrew his hand.

"You said two hundred thousand?"

Zheng Anshi's voice sounded like rusty iron sheets scraping against each other.

"Don't you know what's going on? That Zhao Yuanlang you placed at Yumen Pass, for how many years has he been drawing a salary without working and exploiting his soldiers!"

He pointed his scepter in the direction of Lu Song, his hand trembling violently, but the direction he pointed was never off.

"Of the 100,000 people on the roster, how many could actually fight on the city walls?"

"You tell me yourself! You can't even scrape together 50,000!"

The Hall of Supreme Harmony was deathly quiet.

Lu Song's face finally broke down, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

He held the string of sandalwood prayer beads in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

That's enough.

The voice of Emperor Yuanxi came from the dragon throne.

It wasn't large, but the echo from the Hall of Supreme Harmony amplified the two characters three times.

"The battle at Yumen Pass is not over yet."

Emperor Yuanxi's voice returned to its unhurried tone, as if he were reading a prepared script.

"We'll discuss right and wrong, merits and demerits, after the war is over."