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

In the Prime Minister's study in the capital, teacups were shattered all over the floor.

Lu Song stood behind the desk, his facial muscles twitching, and his gray beard trembling.

"nine?"

"Nine top assassins, the nine most elite members of the Seven Kill Tower—"

"Not a single one came back alive!"

The man in black, kneeling on the ground with his face pressed against the bricks and his back soaked with sweat, didn't dare utter a single word.

Lu Song's chest heaved violently. He paced around the study twice, his shoes crunching over shards of porcelain with each step.

Shen He is dead.

Nine top assassins, all nine died, not a single one survived.

"waste."

Lu Song clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh.

"A bunch of good-for-nothings who just eat and do nothing!"

Lu Song became increasingly agitated. He picked up a cup of ice-cold tea and took a sip. The tea was bitter and astringent, just like his mood.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

"Prime Minister! Prime Minister!"

A steward stumbled in, his face as white as paper, ignoring the pain of his knee hitting the threshold.

"Outside, outside—"

He stammered for a long time.

Lu Song glanced at him.

Speak like a human.

The steward swallowed hard, his finger trembling as he pointed towards the door.

"The Wei family sent someone to deliver a coffin!"

Lu Song thought he had misheard.

"What?"

"Coffin!" the manager yelled, his voice cracking.

"The finest Phoebe zhennan wood, carried to the front gate, was what the person delivering the coffin said—"

He took a breath.

"They said it was reserved for Your Excellency, the Prime Minister!"

The study was quiet for three breaths.

Lu Song's face changed from white to red, then from red to green, and finally settled on a rusty dark color.

"presumptuous!"

When those two words came out of my throat, the tone of my voice was distorted.

"How dare you! That old bastard from the Wei family—"

He overturned the bookshelf, and bamboo slips and scrolls crashed to the floor.

"Throw it away! Throw it out right now! Throw it outside the city! Throw it into the mass grave!"

The manager got up and ran.

Lu Song was panting heavily, his hands braced against the wall, veins bulging from his forehead all the way to the base of his neck.

Sending a coffin.

In broad daylight, they were delivered to the main gate of the Prime Minister's residence, in front of the entire street of people.

This isn't a threat; it's a slap in the face.

They beat Lu Song so badly he had nothing left to hide.

Tomorrow morning, the news will spread throughout the capital from east to west—the Wei family has sent a coffin to the Prime Minister.

The storytellers in the teahouses embellished the story, and the drinkers in the taverns seized the opportunity to make a scene. Those upright officials who already disliked him probably even wrote down their impeachment petitions.

That vicious old woman!

Lu Song closed his eyes and scratched a white mark on the wall plaster with his fingernail.

He can't rush things.

He fell into the old lady's trap when he got anxious. She sent the coffin not to scare him, but to force him to take action.

He will reveal his weakness as soon as he makes a move.

No, that's not right.

He has one more move to make.

Lu Song turned around abruptly and tugged at his clothes.

"Someone, help me change my clothes!"

"Where did the master go?"

"Enter the palace."

Lu Song carefully placed his official hat on his head and tidied his appearance in front of the bronze mirror.

The face in the mirror was frighteningly gloomy, but he managed to force a look of grievance.

I have to go and cry in front of the Emperor.

The Wei family has become so arrogant that I can hardly survive. Your Majesty, you should decide what to do.

Emperor Yuanxi was wary of the Wei family, but he also did not want the Wei family and the Prime Minister's Mansion to completely break off relations.

With the war still raging on the eastern front, the court cannot afford to be in chaos. In order to stabilize the situation, the emperor will surely give him an explanation.

What explanation?

He reprimanded the old lady.

It would be best to have the old lady enter the palace to confess her crimes.

Thinking of this, a slight smile finally appeared on Lu Song's lips.

Don't you love sending coffins?

Let's have a good discussion in front of the emperor and see who lies down first.

……

The main hall of the Wei residence.

The old lady held a bowl of ginseng soup, slowly blew on it to cool it down, and took a sip.

His face was covered in smile lines.

Junior Tutor Zheng Anshi sat in the guest seat, his face etched with the words "heart pounding with fear."

"Grandma, what's wrong...?"

Zheng Anshi rubbed his hands together and lowered his voice.

"You're delivering a coffin to Lu Song?"

The old lady put down her bowl and smiled broadly.

"Yes, it's made of Phoebe zhennan wood."

Zheng Anshi almost ground his back teeth to powder.

"That was too impulsive!"

He took a step forward.

"The Wei family army is still fighting outside, and Zhao'er has led the army to Hangu Pass. You're the only one left holding the fort in the capital. And you're humiliating Lu Song at this time—"

He was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead.

"What if that old dog suddenly jumps over the wall in a panic? Wouldn't you be...?"

He didn't say the second half of the sentence; he didn't dare to.

The old lady placed the ginseng soup on the table and slowly wiped the corner of her mouth.

"Young Master, what's the rush?"

Zheng Anshi opened his mouth.

The old lady raised her hand to stop him from speaking.

"Wei Jiajun will not return to Beijing in the short term."

Zheng Anshi was taken aback.

The old lady picked up her cane and gently tapped it on the ground.

"I have already sent Zhao'er to Hangu Pass. Zhao Qing in the east has been holding out for two months, with 60,000 men carrying 700,000 troops. Letters requesting reinforcements are being sent to the capital one after another—"

She paused for a moment.

"Lu Song suppressed them all."

Zheng Anshi froze.

He was the Junior Tutor, the Imperial Tutor, and well-informed, yet he was completely unaware of this matter.

Was the urgent report from Hangu Pass suppressed?

Sixty thousand people risked their lives to fill the gaps, yet not even a single letter could be delivered from behind?

"Zhao Qing is a scheming, greedy, and dishonest person."

The old lady spoke in a very calm tone.

"But he was able to withstand the back-and-forth fighting between the Donghu and Xianyuan factions on the border for almost two months without losing the pass, which shows he was a talented general."

She glanced at Zheng Anshi.

"It would be a pity to stand by and watch someone die."

Zheng Anshi's lips moved twice, and it took him a long time to finally manage to utter a sentence.

"The old matriarch is a woman of great wisdom and righteousness..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly realized what he had said.

"Then you absolutely mustn't provoke Lu Song at this critical juncture!"

Zheng Anshi slapped his thigh with his hand.

"The Wei family army is in the east, the capital is empty, and all you have are a few servants and the spies left by Hua Jieyu—if you stab Lu Song in the back now, aren't you just handing him a knife?!"

The old lady picked up the ginseng soup and took another sip, unhurriedly.

Zheng Anshi was so anxious he was pacing back and forth, about to try to persuade him again—

"Imperial edict arrives—"

A sharp voice pierced through the door.

The old lady's bowl was placed on the table, making a soft clinking sound.

Zheng Anshi stood frozen in place.

A royal eunuch in a scarlet robe stepped across the threshold, carrying a roll of bright yellow silk in his hands, followed by four guards with swords.

"His Majesty's oral decree—"

The eunuch glanced around the hall and read in a high-pitched voice.

"The Dowager Lady of the Wei family sent a coffin to the street, openly humiliating the Prime Minister of Wei. This is contrary to the etiquette of a subject. She is hereby ordered to go to the palace to meet the Emperor, accept her punishment, and confess her guilt."

The last four words landed.

No one spoke in the hall.

Zheng Anshi was completely stunned.

He went to the palace to confess his crimes.

To make an old matriarch, whose entire family was filled with loyal martyrs and whose nine sons died in battle, kneel in the palace to confess her sins.

All because he sent Lu Song a coffin.

The sky is falling!