The wind atop Fallen Phoenix Mountain carried a murderous chill, and the banners snapped in the gusts.
To ensure the Empress's safety, the Ministry of War had deployed large numbers of men in ambush here.
Armor gleamed cold and hard beneath the sunlight, and dense ranks of elite soldiers stood in formation like cast-bronze statues.
Countless experts lurked in the shadows, their auras deeply concealed. The slightest rustle could set their fingertips twitching-beneath this net cast across heaven and earth, even a bird would struggle to slip through.
Only at the very rear stood the civil and military officials, packed shoulder to shoulder.
No one wanted to miss a spectacle like this.
Besides, quite a few among them harbored other intentions...
Wang Yong glanced sidelong at Deng Shigao beside him, then swiftly swept his gaze over several other ministers with whom he had coordinated beforehand.
Their gazes met in midair, and each saw an irrepressible sneer in the others' eyes.
If nothing unexpected happened, the Empress would be dragged from her throne after this meeting...
But Deng Shigao quietly edged closer to him and lowered his voice. "Minister Wang, we've certainly made an impressive show of force, but does Ning Yuanzhou really dare to come? Could he have learned something and be hiding in his lair, afraid to show his face?"
"Impossible. He'll come."
Wang Yong said solemnly, "The people of Flowing Sand are always talking about 'the realm.' Ning Yuanzhou is especially conceited. If he dared send a letter requesting an audience, he'll dare to attend with only a blade at his side-
"What he wants is the standing to discuss 'the realm' with Her Majesty. If he lacked even the courage to appear, Flowing Sand's reputation would have collapsed long ago."
No sooner had he finished than everyone