My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

His name was Wu Yong, and he was formerly the Vice Minister of Works.

He is now the Minister of Works, and was just forced into this position five days ago.

Ever since the appearance of the Sky Curtain, Shu Jingwei has frequently ordered the Ministry of Works to replicate the various divine objects that appeared within it.

She would kill those who couldn't be created.

She would kill anyone whose work didn't look right.

Even if it's made to look like one, it won't serve the same purpose, so Shu Jingwei still wants to kill it.

They killed one group after another, and all the official positions in the Ministry of Works became invitations to the King of Hell.

If someone in a family is assigned to the Ministry of Works, the whole family has to cry and prepare for his funeral that very night.

After the former Minister Du Mingyi retired, the position of Minister remained vacant.

Nobody wanted to answer.

Until a few days ago, Wu Yong, as the highest-ranking official in the Ministry of Works, was promoted to this position by imperial decree.

Shu Jingwei glanced at him coldly, frowned, and looked down on his pathetic appearance.

But she still spoke up.

"I hereby order you to lead the Ministry of Works to install this soundproofing method in all the sleeping quarters of my summer palace on Canglan Mountain!"

She paused, her gaze slowly sweeping over everyone in the Ministry of Works, causing them to lower their heads, cold sweat pouring down their bodies.

"Furthermore, I intend to move in before the hottest part of summer begins!"

She turned her gaze back to Wu Yong and issued her final ultimatum.

"If you can't do it, you'll be held responsible!"

The hall was completely silent.

It was so quiet that you could hear the soft rustling of the wind through the glazed tiles outside the palace, the tinkling of the bronze bells on the distant palace walls, and the pounding of your own heart in your ears.

Wu Yong lowered his head, pressed his forehead against the cold floor tiles, and gently kowtowed.

"My lord, I obey your order."

The sound was surprisingly steady.

Shu Jingwei raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised.

Surprisingly, this person didn't refuse or beg, which was a bit better than the previous bunch of good-for-nothings.

She withdrew her gaze with satisfaction, flicked her sleeve, and gestured for him to return to his seat, no longer looking at him.

Everyone's eyes were still fixed on Wu Yong.

There was sympathy, there was schadenfreude, but most of all, there was relief at surviving the ordeal.

Ok!

Thank goodness I'm not from the Ministry of Works!

But then came the worry about whether he would suffer the same fate in the future.

For those opportunists who had switched sides from Yao Jingyuan, this was the first time they had felt the pressure of being killed if they failed to do a good job.

They secretly glanced at Wu Yong's back, then at the indifferent Empress on the throne, a chill running down their spines.

Today it's the Ministry of Works, but tomorrow it might be my turn...

But as the most opportunistic group, they also noticed something amiss.

Wu Yong's calm demeanor suggested that he had something to rely on.

For a time, many people started to make calculations in their minds, secretly considering whether they should leave themselves a few more ways out.

Meanwhile, the royalists frowned, a hint of hesitation crossing their minds.

The emperor's actions became increasingly capricious and ruthless; he was willing to sacrifice the lives of officials for the sake of a sleeping quarters in a summer palace.

While members of the royal faction like them wouldn't get involved in factional infighting, they still felt uneasy.

What if one day they fail to complete the tasks assigned by the emperor or make a mistake...?

No, I need to think about it more...

The low-ranking officials in the back row, though not daring to whisper to each other, all suppressed their anger in their eyes.

They seemed to see their own future reflected in the Ministry of Works' plight.

In this emperor's eyes, the lives of his subjects were as insignificant as grass, far less important than his momentary pleasure.

A sense of sorrow, like that of a rabbit mourning the death of a fox, mixed with a silent accusation against a tyrannical monarch, spread through their hearts.

They were powerless and had no voice to resist, so they could only sow a seed of resentment in their hearts, waiting for the day when this tyrannical emperor would finally step down...

Wu Yong returned to his desk and continued gnawing on his chicken leg, but the expression on his face did not show the fear that everyone had imagined.

He was indeed sweating with fear, but a glint of light, unreadable to anyone, flashed in his eyes, hidden by his sleeve.

He is from Cangzhou.

When the war first broke out, his older sister from his hometown fled to the north with her family, and now—

Currently in Fangzhou!

After the battle of Fangzhou ended, his sister sent him a letter containing the details of the battle in Fangzhou that Shu Jingwei had painstakingly suppressed.

He was greatly shocked when he received it yesterday; His Majesty's elite troops—

Those extraordinary soldiers who wielded swords that could cut through iron like mud and wore armor that was impervious to blades and spears!

They were utterly powerless against General Dingyuan's staff-shaped divine weapon!

And my sister also said that the general is already leading his troops to fight outside.

With such powerful weapons at their disposal, the garrison sent by the imperial court to guard the area would never be able to defeat them.

Wu Yong calculated the days and estimated that General Wang Meng's report of successfully capturing the city would arrive in the next couple of days.

The start of the dog days of summer is still several months away.

By then, Shu Jingwei might not even be in charge of the Great Flame anymore, so what is he afraid of?

Cangzhou City.

The light and shadow from the sky cast on the city wall, making the mottled bricks appear yellow and white at different times.

Wang Meng has already led his troops to the city walls.

The night wind, carrying the mixed smells of earth and blood, surged in waves from the wilderness.

Just as he expected.

The guards on the city gate all craned their necks, staring intently at the sky with their mouths agape and their eyes fixed on the ground.

After all, news of the fall of Xuzhou had not yet reached here, and no one would have thought that he would rush to Cangzhou overnight after just taking Xuzhou.

The guards here were already lax, and now they were completely absorbed by the sky.

Wang Meng, hidden in a corner of the city wall, slowly raised his hand.

The night breeze made the hem of his cloak sway gently. He clenched his five fingers together and waved them forward.

He signaled the vanguard to go and take care of the sentries, and then open the city gate directly from the inside.

The soldiers behind him immediately stepped forward and threw ropes toward the city wall. The specially made grappling hooks drew an extremely thin arc in the air and, with a soft "whoosh," bit into the wall crenellations.

They moved lightly, their shoes wrapped in soft cloth, so they didn't make a sound when they stepped on the city wall.

At that moment, the camera from the sky also entered the children's area.

A burst of clear, playful children's voices echoed from the sky, chattering away.

The sound perfectly masked the somewhat obvious "clicking" sound of the ropes fastening to the city wall.

None of the sentries at the city gates of Cangzhou sensed anything was amiss.

The sentry guarding the eastern corner area was looking up, staring intently at the sky.

And at that very moment—

He suddenly felt a chill on his neck.

Immediately afterwards, a very thin, needle-like pain emerged from the place where the coolness spread, crawling along the nerves all the way into the brain.

He paused for a moment, then subconsciously raised his hand to touch his neck.

It felt warm and sticky to the touch.

He held the hand out in front of his eyes—

My hands were covered in blood.

Bathed in the warm white light of the sky, that hand began to tremble violently.

He opened his mouth, wanting to notify his companion a few steps away who was also looking up at the sky—

Enemy attack!

Before the word "have" could even be uttered, a hot, rusty-tasting liquid welled up in his mouth.

In the end, only a very faint "gurgling" sound, similar to a bubble bursting, came from his throat.

His eyes were wide open, almost bulging out of their sockets, filled with bewilderment and fear.

Soon, the light in his eyes dimmed little by little.

The person slowly collapsed.

Wang Meng's vanguard climbed up one after another, and the sentries fell one after another.

Although, in the end, the remaining sentries finally discovered the enemy.

But it was already too late.

The remaining few, before they could even raise their weapons, had their throats slit.

Their resistance was like a stone hitting an egg; they couldn't even inflict the slightest damage on the enemy.

The vanguard quickly dealt with the sentries on Cangzhou City, opening the city gates for Wang Meng and his army.

The troops guarding outside the city poured in instantly.

Wang Meng rode ahead on horseback, signaling everyone to be quiet.

He then led the soldiers, who were already lined up in neat rows, silently toward the garrison's military headquarters.

Tonight, a golden opportunity!

He must take Cangzhou without suffering any casualties!