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

When Lord Lin told him to keep a close eye on Shu Jingwei, saying that there might be a chance for her to change, he was somewhat skeptical.

Do you think Lord Lin is overthinking this? What can a disfigured cripple do?

But since Lord Lin had spoken, he naturally had to listen, so he sent people to keep a close watch on him.

Unexpectedly, less than a month later, things took a turn for the better.

Now it seems that it wasn't that Lord Lin was overthinking things, but rather that he himself had underestimated the situation.

"The Western Regions..." Wang Meng pondered for a moment, his fingers unconsciously stroking the newly sprouted stubble on his chin.

The stubble was stiff and prickly against my fingertips, stretching from my chin all the way to my sideburns.

He had also heard about the complete unification of the Western Regions at the end of last year.

But it's only been a few months since the new year started.

Warfare consumes nothing more than manpower, food, and money, and the unification war involved dozens of tribes, large and small, in the Western Regions.

The cost of such a battle is immeasurable, and logically, this is a time when everything needs to be rebuilt.

Instead of resting and recuperating properly, they sneaked off to the Great Flame to rescue a deposed emperor. I wonder what they're up to.

"Your mission ends here," Wang Meng said, waving his hand at the two spies kneeling before him.

The movement stirred up a slight breeze, causing the candle flame beside the table to tilt slightly, falling to one side before straightening up again after two seconds.

"Go and collect your rewards and rest. I will send people to scout the Western Regions again."

"Thank you, General. We take our leave." The two men clasped their hands in greeting and retreated, taking three steps backward before turning around, their footsteps fading into the distance.

The moment the palace doors opened and closed, a damp, cold wind squeezed in through the cracks, carrying the fishy smell of rain and the earthy scent. The candles around the door were blown about wildly and almost went out.

Wang Meng was left alone in the hall.

The doors and windows were closed, but the dampness still seeped in through every crack, filling the air with the smell of damp paper and stale ink, mixed with the faint scent of candle wax.

The Imperial Study was so large that a person's breathing could easily be diluted into nothingness by the space.

Standing there, Wang Meng felt like a small pebble in a huge cave.

The roof beams hung high overhead, and the golden dragons painted on them appeared and disappeared in the dim candlelight. The dragons' eyes reflected a small spot of candlelight, making them seem to come alive.

The vast emptiness around him made him feel suffocated, and even the sound of his heartbeat seemed to be sucked away by the emptiness, leaving only a buzzing sound in his ears.

The disaster reports from various places have been coming one after another in the past few days. Yesterday, the county newspaper in the south reported that seawater had flooded three counties, and today, news came from the north that another section of the river embankment had collapsed, flooding nearby villages...

Every disaster report was delivered by express messenger, and the urgent reports and memorials piled up on the desk were as high as a small mountain.

When the messenger arrived at the palace gate, both he and his horse were exhausted and almost fell apart.

Moreover, some people have started to engage in clandestine and underhanded activities.

However, with the natural disaster looming, he simply doesn't have the time to deal with them and can only let them run wild for now.

With too many things to do, Wang Meng didn't return to the main camp after court. Instead, he went to the Imperial Study to deal with memorials. He also disliked being served, so he had already dismissed the eunuchs and palace maids.

Now, in the empty imperial study, only the faint crackling of the candlelight and the incessant sound of rain outside can be heard.

The rain pattered on the tiles and on the bluestone slabs in front of the hall, each sound distinct, interwoven in layers, like a never-ending dirge.

This made Wang Meng even more worried.

He frowned and sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples with his fingers. The skin on his forehead felt cool from the rain, and when he pressed his fingers against it, he could feel the throbbing veins.

A few days ago, those two people sent word that Shu Rou had been taken away and was hiding in a manor on the outskirts of Beijing.

He roughly knew who was behind it all; they were none other than those who had previously clamored against him returning the throne to Lord Ye's daughter, but whom he had ultimately suppressed.

These people are not so scary, but now foreign tribes have intervened, and more importantly, there are natural disasters...

He can wait, but the people are probably in a tough spot... Diseases have already started to appear in many areas where refugees have gathered, and we can't wait any longer.

Wang Meng walked to the window and opened it.

The window was made of carved nanmu wood, and it was a bit stiff to push, making a muffled creaking sound. Half of the carvings on the window frame were wet from the rain, and the wood grain had absorbed the water, darkening its color.

There was a lot of water on the windowsill, and the vibration of opening the window caused ripples to spread outwards in circles.

The splashing raindrops immediately drifted in with the wind, hitting his face and making him squint.

The sky outside the window was gloomy. He hadn't seen the stars or the moon for many days; there were only endless layers of gray-black clouds piled up one on top of another.

Occasionally, a flash of light would appear through the gaps in the clouds; it was lightning hidden higher up, obscured by the thick clouds, revealing only a blurry outline.

The dark clouds hung low, almost touching the roof of the palace, shrouding the green tiles in a gray gloom.

The palace walls in the distance were faintly visible in the rain, like a dam that could be breached at any moment.

The red paint on the palace walls had darkened from being soaked by the rain, and the stone beast heads crouching on the walls kept spewing water from their mouths.

Looking at the dark sky, Wang Meng's heart sank even further.

This natural disaster couldn't have come at the worst possible time...

Sometimes he even felt that God was doing this on purpose. The Great Flame had finally gotten better, and the people were just about to start living a good life when this happened.

Do we have to push Da Yan to the brink of death to feel satisfied?

Wang Meng's lips curled into a smile, the curve carrying an indescribable bitterness.

He took out a small stack of communication talismans that Lin Ye had given him from his pocket. The stacked talismans were slightly warm from his body heat.

It is thin and flexible, and it feels neither like paper nor cloth. I don't know what kind of material it is.

The cinnabar runes on the paper appeared even more mysterious and profound in the dim candlelight. The red lines seemed to be alive; they would jump with the flickering candlelight, and a faint light would flow across the paper.

Wang Meng took out one of the talismans, placed it in his palm, and gently rubbed it twice with the pad of his thumb. The calluses on his fingertips scraped across the surface of the talisman, making an extremely faint rustling sound.

The runes on the talisman flickered slightly as he moved it, like a dark red star briefly shining on his fingertip.

Wang Meng's thick fingers lingered on the talisman for a long time. His brows furrowed and then relaxed. Finally, he let out a long breath and made up his mind.

Confirmed for use!

The moment the thought settled in his mind, the talisman in his hand suddenly lit up.

First, there was a faint red light, then the red light grew brighter and brighter, and the entire talisman seemed to burn in his palm.

Light leaked through his fingers, turning his entire hand a dark red.

But there was no flame, nor could I feel any burning pain; there was only a warm red light that illuminated the entire imperial study.

The calligraphy and paintings on the walls, the porcelain on the shelves, and the writing implements on the desk were all bathed in a warm red glow.

In the red light, the runes seemed to come alive, floating up from the talisman paper, spinning twice in the air before falling back onto the surface of the talisman paper and sinking into silence.

Immediately following this, a busy "beep beep" sound came from the talisman.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the empty and quiet Imperial Study, echoing over and over again like a rhythmic heartbeat.

Mixed with the sound of rain outside the window, it created a strange rhythm, as if something in the rain curtain was whispering a mysterious and ancient incantation.

……