His tone suddenly turned astonished, with the last few words becoming sharp and intense. Any dust on the eaves would likely have been shaken down by the sound waves of his voice.

“Lower your voice,” Feng Miao Jun covered her ears, displaying displeasure. “You burst into my hall, yet you don’t know who I am?”

He had come looking for the Queen, but the person before him was not the same one he had seen before!

Zhao Hong Yin was filled with doubt: “What is going on here?!”

A golden light flashed in Feng Miao Jun’s palm, and a golden pestle gradually materialized, six feet long, taller than she was.

She raised the pestle and lightly tapped its base on the ground. A clear, resonant “clang” echoed far and wide—though this was just a small hall, the sound seemed to carry for ten li.

“I am Chang Le, sovereign of New Xia,” she held the golden pestle, her eyelids slightly lowered, her countenance solemn and majestic. “Has General Hong forgotten proper etiquette?”

In Zhao Hong Yin’s eyes there was both shock and confusion, but after repeatedly looking at the golden pestle, he still pushed down mountains and toppled pillars of jade, kneeling on one knee and saying in a deep voice: “I pay my respects to Your Majesty!”

As a general, he must pay proper respects when meeting the sovereign. This golden pestle was a magical artifact used by the founding ancestor of An Xia, which only his direct bloodline descendants could wield. That Feng Miao Jun could hold it in her hand was indisputable proof of her pure royal lineage.

But…

With his kneeling, his imposing momentum came to an abrupt halt. Feng Miao Jun, satisfied, softened her voice: “Please rise.”

Zhao Hong Yin stood up, his gaze still lingering on her face. After this exchange, the challenging questions he had originally intended to ask could no longer be voiced. He only said: “What… what is going on?”

Feng Miao Jun deliberately sighed: “While previously dependent on others in Yan Kingdom, I dared not show my true face. Only after establishing the national treasure and appointing the State Preceptor could Chang Le face the General with her natural appearance.” She lightly touched her face. “General Hong has met my parents. Do I resemble my mother?”

She said she had always disguised herself before. Indeed, her current face was even more bewitchingly beautiful than the original. Though the original Princess Chang Le was beautiful, that beauty could still be described, but now people looking at her wouldn’t know where to begin.

It seemed that even master painters could not capture her essence.

Zhao Hong Yin knew that Princess Chang Le had lived in Tai Ping City for at least three years. A life dependent on others was not easy, and Yan’s capital was the foremost place of luxury and decadence in the mortal world. Even the male hostage from Pu Kingdom could not escape being toyed with. Had she sought refuge in Yan with this nation-toppling beauty, even the capable Fu Ling Chuan might not have been able to protect her?

Disguising herself for self-protection seemed plausible. Besides, the golden pestle had already proven her identity and bloodline. He knew that the An Xia King had only one descendant, Princess Chang Le. No one else could wield this magical artifact.

Moreover, she had passed the heaven-worship ceremony, and even heaven had acknowledged New Xia and its Queen. What more could anyone say?

Identity and bloodline posed no problems—what did her face matter? Zhao Hong Yin understood that even if she weren’t Princess Chang Le but the An Xia King’s illegitimate daughter, her current position would not be shaken in the slightest.

Her bloodline was the legitimate source that could unite all forces within An Xia.

“Yes, very much so.” Her features indeed bore a six or seven-tenths resemblance to the late Queen of An Xia. Based on this face alone, he could confirm she was Princess Chang Le. Zhao Hong Yin composed himself. “I hear Your Majesty is unwilling to go to Lu Bo City?”

His voice was like a great bell, still causing the cups on the table to tremble. It wasn’t that he was angry, but that his voice was naturally deep and powerful.

Feng Miao Jun responded with just one word:

“Yes!”

He had asked directly, and Feng Miao Jun answered even more decisively. Zhao Hong Yin was momentarily at a loss: “Why? Lu Bo City is where your ancestors established their capital for generations, a place blessed by the gods!”

Feng Miao Jun’s smile faded as she spoke word by word: “If there truly were divine blessings, why did An Xia face a day of national destruction? Why did my father, who was benevolent and loving, not even have an intact body after death? My mother was beautiful and intelligent, yet she died by poison in the end?” She looked directly at Zhao Hong Yin and continued softly, “On the day the city fell, where was General Hong? Did you see what I saw? I still remember the scene of raging fire, the fallen city, and the collapsed nation. In midnight nightmares, I still see Wei soldiers killing with their swords! Why must you force me to live in that place of tragedy, to reside in the palace where my parents perished!”

Zhao Hong Yin moved his lips but couldn’t say anything. Though accustomed to battlefields and killing, he had to admit the sovereign was right. His sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons were all filial, and he had never experienced the annihilation of his entire family, being left all alone. The young Queen had suffered the pain of losing her country and family at such a tender age—it was understandable that she wouldn’t want to set foot in that capital again.

“But,” he thought for a moment and found another reason, “the ancestral shrine of An Xia is there. As the sovereign, you shouldn’t…” shouldn’t be too far from the ancestral shrine.

Before he could finish, Feng Miao Jun interrupted him: “But the direct bloodline of An Xia is here, right before your eyes.” She raised her head slightly, arrogant yet incredibly beautiful. “Where I am, there is the capital!” Trees die when transplanted, but people thrive with change. Was this old man clinging to outdated rules, unable to see that the one before him was to whom he should be loyal?

Zhao Hong Yin was somewhat helpless: “Your Majesty, your staying here isn’t because you plan to…”

“Indeed,” she smiled enchantingly. “Wu Sai Er City is a fine place. I intend to relocate the capital here.”

Relocate the capital! Zhao Hong Yin’s eyes nearly bulged to the size of dragon eyes.

“Does the State Preceptor know of this?” Zhao Hong Yin’s face turned cold. “Or is he the one who instigated Your Majesty to relocate the capital?”

Feng Miao Jun looked at him in surprise: “How would instigating me to relocate the capital benefit the State Preceptor?”

“It would! How could it not!” Zhao Hong Yin was furious. “Pursuing personal desires without considering the bigger picture. Your Majesty, please wait here while I go give him a stern rebuke!”

As a commander of armies with elite troops and brave generals under him, and with his formidable cultivation, he held little reverence for Fu Ling Chuan. His willingness to assist the Queen was solely out of loyalty to the royal family.

“Wait, it’s not his idea. Though State Preceptor Fu is likely aware of my intentions,” Feng Miao Jun shrugged. “Besides, he is the State Preceptor, but I am the sovereign. The decision is mine.”

Zhao Hong Yin felt only cold air entering his mouth. This young lady was being too reckless—was relocating the capital something to be mentioned so casually?

Feng Miao Jun folded her arms and asked him: “What advantages does General Hong believe Lu Bo City has? When Wei troops invaded the northwest of An Xia years ago, they fought from the border to the capital, virtually destroying all towns and cities along this route, both defenses and civilian homes. Now, how much effort would it take to rebuild? The treasury is also empty. Besides the roads being already repaired, in what way is it better than Chi Qian Grassland and Wu Sai Er City?”