newbobooks Chapter 919: The skirt falls down, and the brilliance is restrained.
Chapter 919: The skirt falls down, and the brilliance is restrained.
Noble, dazzling, and with absolute authority that can crush all provocations!
The skirt falls down, and the brilliance is restrained.
But Murong Yan's murderous intent was like solid ice, instantly filling the entire bedroom!
She didn't look at the letter again, as if looking at it any longer would dirty her eyes.
She waved her hand lightly under her wide flared sleeves and said coldly to the commander of the secret guards, "Feed this filthy thing to the dogs. Watch the dogs eat it up."
"Yes!" The leader of the secret guards responded sternly and carefully put away the letter from the country that was considered a great humiliation.
"Order." Murong Yan's voice had returned to its usual coolness, yet it carried a sense of impending doom and gloom. "Immediately, block all northbound trade routes. Strictly investigate all personnel entering and leaving the checkpoints. Anyone suspected will be executed without mercy."
"Order the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to gather three months' worth of food and fodder for the army within three days, and to assemble them at Zhenbei Pass, a key town in the northern border, and await orders."
"Order the Institute of Gewu to allocate all of the newly manufactured 'Armor-Piercing Crossbows' and 'Sky-Thunder Bombs' to the northern border troops."
"Order the Secret Guard to activate all the 'Night Owls' lurking in Mobei. I want to know every move of the Tatar tribe, especially the whereabouts of Khan Bater! And find Kong Yanzhen. I want him alive."
Her orders were clear, swift, cold, and to the point.
Finally, she turned her gaze to Lin Zhen. The coldness in her eyes melted slightly, but she held an unquestionable determination: "My husband, reorganize the elite troops of the Beijing camp. In three days, follow me to lead the army in person."
Lin Zhen's heart tightened, not out of fear, but out of concern for her safety: "Yan'er! The Mobei region is bitterly cold, the barbarians are brave, and your body is worth a million gold."
Murong Yan reached out and gently pressed her fingertips against his lips, stopping him from saying anything else. Her fingertips were slightly cool, with the lustre of black jade.
"Since he specifically asked to 'invite' me," Murong Yan's lips curled up in a cruel arc, "I will go and 'meet' him in person. Let him see clearly what he covets."
Her tone was calm, yet it contained murderous intent and a self-confidence that bordered on arrogance.
She looked at the commander of the secret guards again. "Also, investigate for me! Who else from the Shandong Kong family was involved in this? All those implicated, regardless of relationship, will be exterminated."
"Your Majesty, I obey your command!" The leader of the secret guards kowtowed and quickly retreated to carry out the order.
There were only two people left in the bedroom again.
The warmth and beauty just now had been replaced by a solemn and murderous atmosphere. Murong Yan stood quietly for a moment, then turned and faced Lin Zhen.
She didn't speak immediately, but walked forward, stretched out her arms and hugged him tightly.
She buried her face in his chest and took a deep breath, as if drawing warmth and strength from him.
The wide flared sleeves wrapped around his waist and back, and the dark gold Su Jin was tightly attached to his blue uniform.
Lin Zhen immediately hugged her back, tightly, as if he wanted to merge her into his bones and blood.
He could feel the slight tremor in her body, not from fear, but from the physiological reaction of extreme anger being forcibly suppressed.
"Husband," she said muffledly in his arms, her voice barely perceptible, "I'm a little angry."
Lin Zhen's heart ached as he gently stroked her back, his voice gentle but firm, "I know. Yan'er, don't worry. As long as I'm here, I won't let any barbarians blaspheme you. This time, I'll be the vanguard of the northern expedition, slay the generals and seize the flags, and force that Bater's arrogant words back into his throat!"
Murong Yan nodded gently in his arms. After a while, she raised her head, her eyes slightly red, but her eyes had returned to their cold, murderous determination.
She stretched out her hand and gently traced Lin Zhen's eyebrows and eyes with the fingertips wearing the black jade ring, and said in a low voice:
"Okay. I'll go with my husband."
"I want to see if the sandstorm in Mobei is strong enough."
"My sword is still harder."
Outside the window, the late spring sunshine is still bright, but it seems to be covered with a bloody shadow from the north.
Inside Fenghuan Palace, the warmth faded away, leaving only the cold determination before the expedition.
The phoenix on the "Divine Phoenix Descent Dress" seemed to have raised its head, ready to flap its wings again and burn all invading enemies.
......
The early summer of the fourth year of Qianyuan arrived quietly.
The pomegranate flowers in the imperial city began to bloom bright red, and the lotus tips in Taiye Lake had already poked out of the water.
However, the atmosphere in Fenghuan Palace, despite its seemingly extreme tenderness and sadness, was quietly mixed with a hint of cold and murderous aura from the distant northern border.
The love between Murong Yan and Lin Zhen seemed to be thrown into a piece of ice because of the extremely insulting "letter from the country" from the Mobei Barbarian King Bater. Although the warmth remained on the surface, a more turbulent and complex undercurrent was surging inside.
Murong Yan did not immediately order her troops to go into battle. She seemed to be immersed in a cold game of cat and mouse.
For her, the threat from the Mobei barbarians is not so much a crisis as it is a new stage to further consolidate the unquestionable bond between her and Lin Zhen and to fully unleash her brutal methods.
She became more and more attached to Lin Zhen, and that attachment was accompanied by an almost pathological possessiveness, as if she wanted to dispel all the covetous gazes and malicious curses from the outside world through extreme intimacy.
It was a sweltering afternoon, the sudden rain having just subsided, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and flowers. Inside the Fenghuan Palace bedroom, a faint styrax incense was burning in a corner to dispel the dampness.
Murong Yan was still wearing the black and gold Su Jin cotton nightgown that had become her signature pattern - the Divine Phoenix Descent Dress, and was sitting side by side with Lin Zhen on the warm kang by the window.
The kang was covered with a cool bamboo mat, and in the middle was a huge military sand table depicting the vast grasslands and deserts north of the Great Wall.
The Divine Phoenix Dress takes on a unique charm in the hazy post-rain light. The ultra-black Sujin base absorbs the moist air, lending a hue that becomes even more profound and tranquil. The golden cotton velvet and genuine gold thread woven into it create a soft, moist, dark-gold sheen in the vapor, creating a mysterious and noble feel with a touch of laziness.
On the nightgown, the giant phoenix that covers the sky is embroidered only with red gold thread. In the quiet afternoon, it loses some of the fierceness of the battle on the battlefield. The layers of phoenix feathers are more gorgeous and exquisite, like a phoenix preening its feathers in the clear sky after the rain, with a hint of leisure in its noble majesty.
The black diamonds in her phoenix eyes shone with a gentle luster. One of her wide, light trumpet sleeves was casually rolled up, revealing a small portion of her snow-white arm, while the other rested softly on the wrist of the small flag on the sand table where Lin Zhen was moving it.
The black jade ring on her left thumb felt slightly cool to the touch. Her five-foot-long Sujin train, unrestrained, stretched freely and meandering across the polished golden brick floor beneath the kang. Part of it even extended to the footstool where Lin Zhen sat, the dark gold brocade forming a striking contrast with the darker color of the footstool.
The breathable cotton and looseness of the nightgown kept her comfortable even in the slightly hot afternoon.
Lin Zhen was dressed in a moon-white thin silk casual dress, and his black hair was loosely tied up with a simple jade hairpin. He looked less cold and more gentle and focused at home.
He was concentrating on the sand table, his slender fingers moving the small flags representing the enemy and friendly forces, his brows slightly furrowed, analyzing the terrain of Mobei and the possible movements of the Tatars.
His expression was focused yet gentle. Whenever Murong Yan spoke, he would immediately listen attentively.
"Look, my husband," Murong Yan stretched out her index finger, which was adorned with a black jade ring, and gently pointed her fingertip at the symbol of the Tatar royal court on the sand table. Her voice was lazy, yet it carried a hint of cold sharpness.
"That idiot Bater was smart to choose a place with abundant grass and water to set up the royal court here. It's a pity it's too close to our Zhenbei Pass."
Her fingertips traced a circle around the mark, as if considering how to harvest her prey.
Lin Zhen's eyes followed her fingertips, and he said in a deep voice, "Yan'er is absolutely right. Although this place is beautiful, it has no strategic advantages. If our army marches quickly through the pass, we can reach the city in a few days. However, the Mobei cavalry comes and goes like the wind. I'm afraid they will flee upon hearing the news, making it difficult to completely annihilate them."
His tone was full of tactical considerations and his determination to fulfill Murong Yan's wishes.
"Escape?" Murong Yan chuckled softly, her laughter like the sound of jade clashing against each other, yet it carried a chilling feeling. She suddenly turned sideways, resting her head gently on Lin Zhen's shoulder. Her hand, beneath her wide, flared sleeves, slid into his palm, interlocking their fingers. The black jade ring felt a slight coolness against his skin.