5: Are your wings hard?

All the civil and military officials in the court, regardless of their inner thoughts, bowed in unison, about to prostrate themselves in worship.

But just at this moment!

Outside the hall, the voice of an inner attendant, responsible for announcing, suddenly drifted in:

"Prime Minister, Marshal Shentu arrives—!"

This announcement was like a clap of thunder, booming in the silent Qian Tian Hall!

All sounds, all movements, ceased abruptly at this instant.

The entire hall fell into a dead silence.

Every single civil and military official in the court abruptly raised their heads, their faces filled with incredulous shock and bewilderment.

The Prime Minister?

Gu Changqing, who was plagued by a curse, his Divine Soul on the verge of collapsing, and on his last breath?

How did he come?!

Especially Grand Tutor Li Hongtai, standing at the forefront of the officials, his smugness and composure instantly froze. He looked as if struck by lightning, his pupils violently constricted, his mouth slightly agape, yet unable to utter a sound.

How is this possible?

How could he be here?

Shouldn't he be lying in bed, waiting to die?!

High on the Dragon Throne, Li Muwan's cold Phoenix eyes also narrowed sharply at this moment.

Her small hand, resting on the armrest of the Dragon Throne, unconsciously tightened.

All her plans, all her preparations, were based on the premise that Gu Changqing was about to die!

But now... In an instant, all eyes in the hall, whether filled with shock, fear, doubt, or anticipation, were fixed on the magnificent hall doors, carved with the image of ten thousand Vicious Beasts paying homage.

Under the soft morning light,

a figure, bathed in this morning light, stood against the light, his silhouette edged with a brilliant golden rim.

He was tall and upright, clad in a profound black long robe, on which intricate and ferocious gluttonous blood patterns were embroidered with dark red blood silkworm threads. Like living things, as he walked, the blood patterns seemed to slowly flow, devouring the surrounding light.

Most startling was his snow-white hair, forming an extreme and striking contrast with his profound black robe.

His white hair was untied, casually draped over his shoulders, gently fluttering with the breeze as he stepped through the hall doors, adding an indescribable touch of wickedness and allure.

As he took a step into the Qian Tian Hall, an invisible Qi field, like a tide, instantly swept through the entire hall.

This was not an intentional pressure exerted by a powerful cultivator, but an absolute majesty stemming from a higher level of life.

It was like an ancient Vicious Beast patrolling its territory, entering a sheep-filled pen.

The air in the hall instantly solidified, the temperature dropping several degrees, leaving only the heavy and suppressed breathing of the officials.

Following behind him was Shentu Kuang, clad in Marshal armor.

He was like a moving iron tower, each step making the floor tiles hum. The undisguised iron-blooded Evil Qi made several civil officials in the back rows turn pale, almost nauseous.

Shentu Kuang walked straight to the front of the martial generals' queue without looking sideways. As he stood there, the original head of the martial generals, a Marquis, unconsciously retreated half a step, yielding his position to him.

However, Gu Changqing did not walk towards the ranks of the officials.

Under the horrified gazes of all the civil and military officials, he ascended the jade stone steps connecting the imperial platform and the Dragon Throne with unhurried steps, one by one.

Those nine steps were the dividing line between the Son of Heaven and ordinary ministers.

Yet, he walked as if on flat ground.

Finally, he stopped.

He stood before the Dragon Throne, which symbolized supreme Imperial power, merely three feet away from the small emperor in the Dragon Robe.

He did not turn around, did not bow, and did not even glance at her.

He stood with his back to Li Muwan, his snow-white hair almost brushing the armrest of the Dragon Throne. His deep, indifferent eyes slowly swept over the faces below the steps, faces filled with terror, shock, flattery, and resentment.

The entire Qian Tian Hall was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Time, at this moment, seemed to freeze.

Everyone was completely stunned by this scene.

The Prime Minister, upon arriving at court, actually ascended the imperial platform first, treating the Son of Heaven as nothing, and looking down upon the ministers!

What arrogance, what overwhelming power!

Facing Gu Changqing's gaze, which seemed to penetrate people's hearts, the officials below, regardless of their inner thoughts or official rank, not one dared to meet his eyes.

They all lowered their heads and cast down their gazes, as if looking for one more second would cause their Divine Soul to be sucked into those eyes and shattered to pieces.

That was a fear stemming from the depths of their bones.

The Prime Minister was not dead!

Not only was he not dead, but the suffocating pressure emanating from him seemed even more terrifying than ever before.

It was an aura that, after countless battles and power struggles, had returned to its original simplicity, yet was also more dangerous.

In the dead silence, a slightly hoarse voice broke the suffocating quiet.

"Cough... This old minister, congratulates the Prime Minister!"

Grand Tutor Li Hongtai, the head of the officials, forcibly suppressed the turbulent waves in his heart and stepped out from the ranks.

He forced a smile, uglier than a cry, and bowed deeply to the figure on the imperial platform: "The Prime Minister enjoys eternal blessings, and was able to overcome the Sect's curse and remain unharmed. This is truly a blessing for our Great Qian Dynasty, and a blessing for the myriad people!"

Although his words sounded like congratulations, they were secretly sharp, highlighting the four words "Sect's curse." This served both as a reminder to everyone that Gu Changqing had offended a cultivation Sect, and as a test of Gu Changqing's reaction.

"The Grand Tutor is absolutely right! The Prime Minister is a man of great destiny, with boundless good fortune!"

"Congratulations, Prime Minister, rejoice, Prime Minister!"

As Li Hongtai spoke, the other court officials seemed to find their backbone and immediately reacted, echoing his words. For a time, the hall was filled with sycophantic flattery, somewhat diluting the previous dead silence.

Minister of Rites Zhang Xu even had a face full of fawning smiles, forgetting that just a moment ago he was vehemently cursing Gu Changqing as a national traitor.

Minister of Public Works Wang Yan let out a long sigh of relief, his suspended heart finally settling back into his chest. Meanwhile, Minister of War Xu Long and Minister of Finance Wu Qingfeng and others stood ramrod straight, their faces filled with genuine excitement and exhilaration.

With the Prime Minister here, their sky would not collapse!

However, the man on the imperial platform seemed to pay no heed to the hall full of flattery.

His gaze slowly moved, finally resting on the ashen-faced Li Hongtai, and he spoke slowly, in a calm voice:

"While This Minister was recovering, I heard..."

"The canal project has stopped?"

As the last word fell, the temperature of the entire hall plummeted to freezing point once again.

The once noisy court instantly returned to dead silence.

Everyone's fawning smiles froze on their faces.

It's here!

Everyone knew that the excavation of the Grand Canal was a monumental policy pushed by the Prime Minister against all opposition.

For this, he had offended countless noble Families and Sects along the route and endured countless slanders.

Now, he returned from his illness, and the first thing he did was to demand accountability!

"Whose idea was it?"

Gu Changqing's voice remained calm, without a trace of anger.

But these simple five words evoked more fear than any furious thunder.

The officials below bowed their heads even lower, not daring to breathe.

Especially Grand Tutor Li Hongtai, fine beads of cold sweat had already seeped onto his forehead.

In the past few days, he had not held back from influencing Your Majesty, saying that the canal project was a waste of resources and harmed the people, and that the top priority was to appease the populace and stabilize the court.

But would he dare to say such words in front of Gu Changqing?

He wouldn't dare!

He had personally witnessed, three years ago, an imperial censor impeaching Gu Changqing in court, with fierce words, enumerating his ten major crimes.

As a result, before the words even finished, Gu Changqing said, expressionlessly, "Noisy."

The next moment, that imperial censor bled from all seven orifices, his Divine Soul was annihilated, and he died on the spot, in full view of everyone.

Since then, no one dared to openly contradict this Powerful Chancellor in court again.

Looking at the civil and military officials below, who were silent as cicadas in winter, Gu Changqing's face was devoid of expression.

In this oppressive silence that was driving people to madness, a clear and tender, yet exceptionally firm voice, sounded from behind Gu Changqing.

"It was I, Your Majesty, who ordered it stopped."

All the civil and military officials, including Shentu Kuang, suddenly looked up, staring in disbelief at the supreme Dragon Throne.

They saw the twelve or thirteen-year-old empress, Li Muwan, had stood up at some point.

Her small figure, clad in a voluminous Dragon Robe, stood ramrod straight, her small face taut. In her beautiful Phoenix eyes, there was no longer the usual fear and evasiveness, only cold chill and unyielding majesty.

Gu Changqing slowly, slowly turned around.

This was the first time he had truly looked at the nominal ruler of the Great Qian Dynasty since entering the hall.

Their eyes met.

One pair was profound as an abyss, having weathered many storms, indifferent to the common people as straw dogs.

The other pair was like a newborn calf, clear as snow, containing unyielding stubbornness and imperial majesty, as well as a hint of empress's authority.

Li Muwan met Gu Changqing's gaze without showing any weakness, saying clearly, word by word: "The excavation of the canal involved tens of millions of laborers, consumed nearly half of the national treasury, and along the way, countless spiritual fields were destroyed, causing hundreds of cultivation Families to suffer damage to their Spiritual Veins and shake their Foundation. This act wastes resources and harms the people, causing widespread resentment, and brings a hundred harms and no benefits to the nation and its people! As the ruler of the Great Qian Dynasty, I, Your Majesty, ordered the work to stop. What is improper about that?"

Her voice echoed in the empty hall, every word resonating with power.

Gu Changqing looked at her and suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, yet carried a playful amusement that saw through everything:

"Your wings have hardened?"

He uttered these four words lightly, filled with the admonishment of an adult to a child.

These four words were more insulting than any severe reprimand.

However, to everyone's surprise, not only was Li Muwan not angered, but she took a step forward, and the imperial majesty stemming from the depths of her Divine Soul actually became even more solidified.

"Gu Changqing."

She called him by his full name!

"I, Your Majesty, am the ruler of this Imperial Dynasty, the Son of Heaven, appointed by Heaven! And you are merely my subject!"

"What?" Li Muwan's chin lifted slightly, her Phoenix eyes flashing with cold light, "Does I, Your Majesty, as the Emperor, not even have the right to issue an imperial decree to stop work?"

"Prime Minister Gu?"

She bit down hard on the last two words, full of icy sarcasm.

??????????

The entire Qian Tian Hall completely erupted!

All the court officials were dumbfounded, their expressions blank, as if they had witnessed the most incredible thing in the world.

She's crazy! The little emperor is crazy!

How dare she?! How dare she speak to Gu Changqing in such a tone?!

All along, this young empress had been like a mouse seeing a cat in front of Gu Changqing, not daring to even breathe loudly. Every time she attended court, she was merely a nodding Puppet, sitting quietly on the Dragon Throne until Gu Changqing said "Dismissed," only then daring to rise and leave.

But today, she not only refuted Gu Changqing but even, with the dignity of the Son of Heaven, publicly questioned him in court!

What is going on?!

Even Gu Changqing himself felt a hint of surprise.

His usually unruffled eyes finally showed a genuine ripple.

He observed the little girl before him with interest. Within her small body, there seemed to be a powerful Soul completely unsuited to her age.

That composure, that majesty, was definitely not something a twelve or thirteen-year-old child could fake.

Interesting.

When did this canary, which he had kept in a cage, grow sharp claws and a beak capable of pecking its owner?

Where... did she get her confidence?