Chapter 2017

"The two strategies you presented today are interlocked, ruthless and precise, calculating every human heart... very good."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiao was about to reveal a smile, but Wu Zhao's tone shifted, suddenly carrying an endless sense of oppression.

"However, I am very curious. Such a strategy of total annihilation, such a scheme to strip the sinews and peel the bones—is it truly something you, Wang Xiao, exhausted your efforts to conceive in a single day?"

"Hiss!"

Wang Xiao felt his scalp tingle.

"Re... replying to Your Majesty, it is indeed... it is what this subject pondered deeply!"

Not only did sweat begin to seep from Wang Xiao's forehead, but it also began to seep from his back.

"Pondered deeply?" Wu Zhao sneered, her jade fingers tapping lightly on the imperial desk, producing a heart-trembling *tap-tap* sound.

"'The Tragedy of Luo Cheng' severs one's bloodline, piercing the heart and shattering the gall; 'The Rift of Chen and Yuan' sows discord, killing without a trace. Such strokes of genius, I have only seen on one person. Wang Xiao, do you know... how the crime of deceiving the Emperor is to be punished?"

Once these words were spoken.

There was almost no hesitation.

Wang Xiao immediately pressed his head against the floor, his voice ringing out.

"Your Majesty, this subject knows his wrong!"

"It was Prime Minister Gao!"

"These two strategies were devised by Prime Minister Gao. The Prime Minister ordered this subject to keep it secret, and only then did this subject, blinded by greed, beg Your Majesty for mercy..."

Wang Xiao thought to himself.

Are humans not also animals? And animals can be referred to as livestock!

He is a beast; there is nothing wrong with that statement!

It was indeed him!

Wu Zhao's heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, sour and astringent, yet carrying a sense of relief that it was indeed as expected.

The moment this name was spoken, the very air in the Imperial Study seemed to freeze.

"Gao Yang..."

Wu Zhao murmured the name, emotions surging in her phoenix eyes, complex to the extreme.

Within them lay nostalgia, resentment, amazement, and a trace of powerlessness—one she herself was unwilling to admit—at being seen through and controlled.

Even though he was not in the imperial court, he could still turn clouds and rain, stirring up storms through the hands of others.

Did he present such a poisonous strategy to take revenge on the Yan Kingdom? Or to... help her? Or, perhaps, simply to watch a play?

"Speak, I do not wish for any detail to be omitted." No joy or anger could be detected in Wu Zhao's voice.

Very quickly.

Wang Xiao recounted the reason for going to Ping'an Village, as well as everything he saw and heard along the way, leaving out nothing except perhaps the color of Gao Yang's undergarments.

Finally.

Wang Xiao did not forget to add, "By the way, Your Majesty, before this subject departed, Lady Shangguan specifically sought me out, saying that the weather has been abnormal these past few years, fearing the arrival of a Little Ice Age, and requested Your Majesty to take precautions and plan early!"

"A Little Ice Age?"

Wu Zhao frowned.

"Lady Shangguan said this is an extreme disaster rarely encountered in a thousand years, but once encountered, it means the sun's heat reaching the earth will sharply decrease, and vast territories will fall into a longer, more brutal cold."

"Winter may extend by several months, and summer may become short and gloomy. The consequences are often a thousand miles of barren land, corpses littering the fields, and even... signs of a dynasty's collapse!"

In an instant.

Wu Zhao's complexion changed.

She understood Shangguan Wan'er's temperament.

If there were not extremely reliable evidence and immense concern, given Shangguan Wan'er's cold and self-restrained nature, who disliked speaking recklessly, she would never have uttered such a shocking, near-alarmist prophecy!

If this were true, then for Da Qian, a catastrophe was approaching...

She took a deep breath and asked, "What else did Wan'er say?"

Wang Xiao understood the intent and spoke, "Your Majesty, at first this subject did not believe it either, as this Little Ice Age is unheard of and never mentioned in ancient texts, so I asked."

"But Lady Shangguan was very certain. She claimed to have read through ancient texts and mastered celestial phenomena. Although she dared not guarantee that what Da Qian encounters will definitely be a Little Ice Age, this Little Ice Age certainly exists."

"When this subject asked how high the credibility was, Lady Shangguan said it was as high as the palace walls."

"This subject... dares to guess that this was also said by Prime Minister Gao, and Lady Shangguan learned it from his mouth."

Wang Xiao said as much.

Wu Zhao's pupils constricted.

Although Shangguan Wan'er was well-read, she did not read just anything. She was most averse to folk superstitions, which naturally included divination and celestial phenomena!

Therefore...

The answer was obvious.

This was what Gao Yang said, and Shangguan Wan'er was reminding her.

In this instant.

Wu Zhao's thoughts flew, thinking further and deeper than Shangguan Wan'er.

Shangguan Wan'er was kind-hearted, cared for the people of the world, and valued affection and loyalty. Even she knew this, and how could Gao Yang, who understood the human heart like the back of his hand, not know?

Coupled with the fact that Shangguan Wan'er chose Gao Yang, and the guilt in her heart toward her...

These words would reach her sooner or later.

Could Gao Yang not have guessed this?

Wu Zhao's heart was a blank void.

She discovered that she could see through that man less and less.

He could clearly have stood by and watched, said nothing, let Da Qian fend for itself, and watched her make a fool of herself.

But he chose to speak, through Wan'er's mouth, to warn her of this heaven-sized crisis.

Was he pitying the people of the world? Or... did he, after all, harbor a trace of reluctance toward this Da Qian, toward her... the Emperor who had failed him?

Wu Zhao closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

What she owed him... was it merely affection? It was her life, the empire, a debt that could never be repaid!

Wang Xiao noticed something was amiss.

He hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, this subject suddenly had a stomachache before leaving, so I returned and happened to hear some things. It seemed Lady Shangguan was apologizing to Prime Minister Gao, and the Prime Minister was using a scheme to provoke the guilt in Lady Shangguan's heart, as well as something about beautiful legs, wearing silk in the cold, and demanding some compensation at night."

"This subject is not fond of women, so I do not know the meaning."

Wu Zhao: "..."

"..."

The next day.

The sun was bright.

Outside Changancheng, near an inconspicuous mountain hollow by the official road.

Inside the carriage, Gao Yang was closing his eyes to rest, while Gao Changwen sat restlessly, his legs clamped tight, his face looking extremely wretched.

"Brother, it's not working, it really... really isn't working!"

"If this isn't resolved soon, it's going to turn into a tragedy!"

Gao Yang opened his eyes helplessly, "Changancheng is not far now, hold on a little longer."

Gao Changwen clutched his stomach and nodded.

"Then this younger brother... will... will endure it."

But the next second.

Inside the carriage.

An indescribable scent began to permeate the carriage.

Gao Yang lifted the carriage curtain and said in a deep voice, "Go quickly! Find a place far away, out of sight, and resolve it completely before coming back!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Changwen felt as if he had been granted amnesty, tumbling and crawling out of the carriage, clutching his buttocks as he scrambled into the bushes on the hillside by the road.

There were many pedestrians on both sides of the official road.

Therefore, Gao Changwen gritted his teeth and ran a bit further, rushing to the foot of a barren, bald hill, finding a patch of dense bushes, and frantically fumbling to undo his belt.

Just as he undid his belt and was about to let it all go, he suddenly heard shouting and cursing from the other side of the slope.

"How bold, daring to steal from the Zhang family's hill? Tired of living?"

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me!"

"This small one... this small one only picked up some 'plague stones' that no one wanted! They aren't worth anything, my lord. Please show mercy, and please accept this small token of my sincerity!"

"'Plague stones'?"