OBS Chapter 1: Does the Wei family still have anyone capable of leading troops?
Chapter 1: Does the Wei family still have anyone capable of leading troops?
In the third year of the Jingyuan era of the Great Wei Dynasty, in winter.
The Guard's Residence.
A bone-chilling cold emanated from the wooden plank beneath him, mixed with the rich scent of sandalwood and the ash of paper money, penetrating Wei Zhao's nostrils.
He struggled to open his eyes.
What came into view was a breathtaking expanse of white mourning clothes.
A white banner hangs high, candlelight flickers, and directly in front of them stand nine black lacquered coffins side by side.
Before each coffin, a lamp burned eternally, the tiny flames casting long shadows in the empty mourning hall, filling the room with a somber atmosphere.
Where is this...?
Unfamiliar memories flooded his mind like a tidal wave, tearing at his nerves.
Wei Zhao, the tenth son of the Wei family.
He was frail from childhood and was sent to Qingyang Palace to cultivate Taoism for fifteen years.
Nine elder brothers: Wei Zhan, Wei Po, Wei Jun, Wei Qiang, Wei Qi, Wei Mou, Wei Feng, Wei Ning, Wei An...
Three days ago, the entire army was wiped out in Calabash Valley in the northern border.
He became the only man in the Wei family.
Wei Zhao's body stiffened. He lay on a simple wooden bed, covered with a thin linen garment.
The mourning hall.
Nine coffins.
So, he wasn't dreaming.
He really did time travel.
He transmigrated into the Wei family, a family full of loyal martyrs, but also on the verge of collapse, and became the only son in name only.
His gaze slowly moved, sweeping over the nine kneeling figures in the mourning hall.
Nine sisters-in-law.
They were all dressed in plain white mourning clothes, kneeling on the cold ground.
The eldest sister-in-law, Liu Jingshuang, knelt upright, her back as straight as a spear.
She didn't utter a word or shed a single tear, but the murderous aura emanating from her very bones was colder than the chilling winter air in the room.
Second sister-in-law Su Qingyun had her head down, making it impossible to see her face.
But the hands resting on her knees, with their slender fingers and distinct knuckles, exuded a shrewd and calculating air even while kneeling.
Third Sister-in-law Huo Qingluan's kneeling posture was somewhat casual.
Her fingertips were unconsciously drawing something on the ground in front of her, like complex arrays, which she then erased herself in an instant.
Fourth Sister-in-law Tuoba Yue had an exotic braid that was not tied up and was loose over her shoulders.
Her eyes were red, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall, her hands digging into the cracks in the floor tiles.
Fifth Sister-in-law Shang Wanqing's fingers were covered with calluses, and there were still traces of iron filings that could not be washed off under her fingernails.
She was looking down, intently at her fingers, as if there were some unsolved puzzles or mysteries on them.
Sixth Sister-in-law Hua Jieyu, even while observing mourning, wore delicate, light makeup.
But that once captivating face was now completely devoid of color, its emptiness chilling.
Seventh Sister-in-law Nie Yinniang knelt in the shadows of the corner.
She blends almost seamlessly into the darkness; without careful observation, her presence is virtually undetectable.
Eighth Sister-in-law Xiao Guanyin tightly gripped the hem of her clothes.
The fine fabric was crumpled and mangled beyond recognition, revealing her extreme unease and inner struggle.
Last but not least is Ninth Sister-in-law Xie Daoning.
She knelt beside the ninth coffin, her figure the thinnest, her expression dazed, as if her soul had already gone with the person inside.
Nine sisters-in-law, nine ice sculptures.
The entire mourning hall was completely silent, except for the occasional crackling of the candlelight.
Wei Zhao's heart sank little by little.
Is this his future family?
A group of heartbroken widows, and a terminally ill self.
This hand looks like a dead end no matter how you look at it.
Just then, an old but powerful voice rang out.
"Zhao'er, are you awake?"
Wei Zhao turned his head and saw an old woman with a full head of silver hair, leaning on a steel cane, standing not far away.
She stood tall and straight; the years had not broken her spine, but instead had given her a majestic air.
The matriarch of the Wei family, née Shen.
His elderly mother!
Wei Zhao struggled to get up and bow, but felt weak all over, a metallic taste in his throat, and began to cough violently.
"Cough...cough cough..."
"Lie down."
The old lady's voice lacked warmth; it was calm to the point of being cold.
Wei Zhao's cough paused.
He could sense a deep sense of alienation and estrangement from the memories of this body.
The old mother and her nine sisters-in-law.
As for the "Tenth Prince," who had never participated in military affairs and spent fifteen years recuperating in a Taoist temple, there is probably only scrutiny and questioning.
Just as the atmosphere in the mourning hall reached its most somber point, a high-pitched chanting voice came from outside the door.
"Imperial edict has arrived!"
These three words, like a needle, pierced the deathly silence in the mourning hall.
The nine sisters-in-law trembled in unison, and even the seventh sister-in-law, Nie Yinniang, in the corner, raised her head.
A pale-faced, beardless eunuch dressed in a brocade robe, holding a scroll of bright yellow imperial edict, walked in with his head held high, surrounded by a group of imperial guards.
His triangular eyes swept over the hall filled with white mourning clothes and the nine coffins, showing not a trace of pity, but rather a hint of barely perceptible smugness.
This man is Cao An, the chief eunuch of the palace and the adopted son of the treacherous minister Lu Song.
"Grandma Wei, receive the decree."
Cao An unfolded the imperial edict with a forced smile and began to read it aloud in a high-pitched voice.
The imperial edict was nothing more than posthumously honoring the nine sons of the Wei family, with earnest words and the utmost mourning and glory.
They used all sorts of impressive phrases like "pillars of the nation" and "unparalleled loyalty and bravery."
But when he got to the end, the tone suddenly changed.
"...Your Majesty is deeply saddened, but the country cannot be without generals for a day, nor can the northern border be without commanders for a day."
"The Wei family was loyal and brave; the entire family sacrificed their lives for the country, truly a tragedy for the Great Wei."
Cao An paused, his cold eyes slowly sweeping over the nine sisters-in-law kneeling on the ground, finally landing on the old matriarch's face.
"This military power... does the Wei family still have someone capable of taking it?"
See you in the picture!
All the previous posthumous honors and commendations were just a prelude to this last sentence!
The Wei family's male members have all died. They calculated that the Wei family would be left without anyone, and they wanted to take this opportunity to regain military power!
Once military power is reclaimed, the Wei family army, forged with the blood of three generations of the Wei family, will be devoured by Lu Song's cronies in an instant.
The fate of the Wei family, who had lost the protection of the army, and the orphans and widows in the mansion, was predictable.
The air inside the mourning hall instantly dropped to freezing point.
The knuckles of Liu Jingshuang's hand, which rested on her sword, protruded.
Second Sister-in-law Su Qingyun's breathing also became slightly disordered.
Wei Zhao could even feel that all eyes were focused on the old lady from all directions.
Everyone wanted to know how this iron-willed matriarch, who had supported the Wei family for fifty years, would deal with this seemingly unsolvable coup attempt.
The old lady's face remained expressionless as she extended her wrinkled hand and slowly accepted the imperial edict.
"Your Majesty, I receive the imperial decree."
Cao An's lips curled into a confident smile.
However, the next moment, the old lady's voice rang out again, each word sounding as if squeezed out from between her teeth, carrying the sound of metal and stone.
"Please inform His Majesty."
"The Wei family still has men."
The moment she finished speaking, the veins on her hand gripping the steel cane bulged, and the hard cane groaned under the strain.
Cao An's smile froze on his face.
The nine sisters-in-law looked up at the same time, their nine complex gazes all fixed on the pale-faced, still panting young man on the wooden bed.
The Wei family still has men?
Just him?
A medicine jar?
A good-for-nothing who's been knocking on a wooden fish in a Taoist temple for fifteen years?
Wei Zhao felt the scrutiny, suspicion, and even a hint of contempt in those gazes.
He smiled bitterly to himself.
Yes, how can a patient who has difficulty even standing up lead troops?
What can we use to fight against the treacherous minister who controls the government?
This isn't a dead end, it's a desperate situation.
Just then, a cold, otherworldly voice exploded in his mind.
[A strong will to survive and a thirst for revenge have been detected in the host...]
[God of Slaughter Template Activated...]
[Binding...]
[The template for the God of Slaughter Bai Qi has been bound!]
boom!
A violent and unfamiliar power suddenly surged from his limbs and bones.
It was a pure power born for killing!