The Emperor sat upright in the main hall of the Ministry of Works. He wanted to appear more imposing by receiving the two men in the palace’s grand hall, but that hall was quite far from the palace gate, which would not be conducive to him and his ministers fleeing if necessary, so he did not return there.
At this moment, he could only straighten his back and sit in the main hall of the Ministry of Works, with numerous ministers and hastily gathered young men from aristocratic families standing on both sides. Soldiers were concealed at the sides as he received Wang Mi and Zhao Hanzhang with as much dignity as he could muster.
The hundred men Zeng Yue had brought were guarding inside and outside the gate. They had already changed into different clothing—not only could Wang Mi not tell, even Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan couldn’t notice without paying close attention.
When they reached the entrance to the main hall, a eunuch tremblingly blocked several people, saying in a low voice, “To have an audience with His Majesty, please have the two generals remove your weapons.”
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t hesitate. She turned and tossed her long spear to Ting He, instructing with a smile, “You all wait outside.”
Wang Mi, however, didn’t move. The eunuch looked at him, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Zhao Hanzhang said to him, “Let’s go, His Majesty is waiting to see us.”
She turned sideways toward Wang Mi, bowing slightly, “General Wang, please.”
Wang Mi was quite satisfied with her humility. He glanced at the eunuch and said, “Unfortunately, there are too few people in this world as sensible as General Zhao. Someone, drag him away and behead him.”
When the eunuch heard this, his body went limp and he collapsed directly to the ground, his whole body trembling so much he couldn’t speak.
The people behind Wang Mi were about to step forward to drag the man away. Fu Tinghan pressed his lips together, about to step forward, but Zhao Hanzhang had already advanced a step to block them, saying with a smile, “He doesn’t understand the rules, but he is still His Majesty’s person—the palace has its own people to teach him. Today is General Wang’s great day, why bother getting into a quarrel with this slave?”
Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze swept over Zeng Yue and the others who were serving as palace guards. They were quite clever, stepping forward without a word to drag the eunuch away.
The eunuch, having narrowly escaped death, had tears streaming down his face but didn’t dare make a sound.
Wang Mi was very displeased. He looked coldly at Zhao Hanzhang. He wanted to establish his authority, and she undermined it. At this moment, Wang Mi suddenly felt murderous intent.
Zhao Hanzhang seemed oblivious, continuing to turn sideways and even bowing slightly to invite Wang Mi inside.
The people inside also seemed to sense the pressure Wang Mi was exerting. An official walked out with small steps. Seeing the two people in armor outside the door, he bowed and said, “General Wang, General Zhao, please come in quickly. His Majesty cannot wait to see the two generals.”
Zhao Hanzhang also bowed, saying, “General Wang, please.”
Only then did Wang Mi’s expression improve somewhat, and he stepped inside.
Before Zhao Hanzhang lifted her foot to enter, she imperceptibly glanced at Zeng Yue and Ji Yuan.
Ji Yuan paused in his steps, not following inside, but stopped and even blocked the ten personal guards Zhao Hanzhang had brought. “The hall is narrow and small, we should wait outside.”
The personal guards agreed and all remained outside.
Wang Mi’s subordinates were also clever—they didn’t all stay behind, but they also didn’t all follow inside.
Upon entering the main hall, they found it was indeed narrow and cramped. With many ministers and young men from aristocratic families already standing there, even less space remained.
They swept their eyes over the guards in the room, seeing that there were only two beside the Emperor and two at each of the four corners. After receiving Wang Mi’s nod, they withdrew most of their men, leaving only about twenty people lined up behind Wang Mi and Zhao Hanzhang.
Seeing Wang Mi enter the room with armored soldiers like this, all the ministers frowned but didn’t dare voice their opposition.
The Emperor was also somewhat nervous. Sitting at the head position, he wanted to stand up in greeting, but after glancing at Fu Zhi, he ultimately remained seated without moving.
Secretary Fu was right—when the two sides first met, they would inevitably test each other. This was the first stage of testing. Even if he felt weak and panicked inside, he had to sit steady. Otherwise, Wang Mi would become the next Prince Donghai, perhaps even worse.
Having finally gotten rid of Prince Donghai, did he want to fall into another wolf’s den?
Thinking this way, the Emperor clenched his fists and sat behind his desk, waiting for the two to come forward and pay their respects.
Seeing this, Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly, feeling somewhat satisfied.
She took the initiative to step forward, cupping her hands in salute. “Your subject Zhao Hanzhang pays respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well.”
Wang Mi glanced at her, then raised his head to look at the Emperor seated above. This was their first meeting.
The Emperor was only in his twenties, but his face was haggard, with strands of white hair at his temples. He looked somewhat older than Wang Mi, showing how difficult his life had been these past years.
Wang Mi curled the corner of his mouth, clasped his fists, and only bowed slightly. “Your subject Wang Mi pays respects to Your Majesty.”
Seeing that he was willing to bow, the Emperor breathed a slight sigh of relief and immediately raised his hand, saying, “Both generals, please rise. Someone, quickly bring seats for them.”
“That’s not necessary,” Wang Mi’s gaze swept over the people in the room, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “Outside, the fire is raging greatly, and with the night wind, who knows when the great fire will burn here. Please, Your Majesty, leave Luoyang with me to avoid the disaster, and return after the fire is extinguished.”
“The Luoyang palace city is invaluable and absolutely cannot allow the great fire to spread here,” Fu Zhi raised his eyes to look at the two people in the hall. “Please, General Zhao and General Wang, do your utmost to preserve Luoyang city and protect the palace.”
Wang Mi didn’t respond, only staring intently at the Emperor, urging him to quickly get up and leave with him.
Seeing him so forceful, the Emperor couldn’t help looking toward Fu Zhi and the others.
Wang Mi saw this and also swept his eyes over Fu Zhi, Zhao Zhongyu, and others, suddenly feeling murderous intent.
To control the Emperor, Fu Zhi and the others couldn’t be allowed to remain. He didn’t want to become entangled in internal strife like Prince Donghai, ultimately being driven to leave the capital in anger.
Since he had promised Zhao Hanzhang to be a subject of Jin, then he wanted to be the greatest one—the Emperor only needed to listen to him.
Wang Mi turned on his toes to walk toward Fu Zhi. Zhao Hanzhang stepped forward with a smile, calling out, “Why is General Wang in such a hurry? After fighting all night, why not sit down and have tea first? I see this great fire won’t burn its way in for a while.”
Seeing Zhao Hanzhang repeatedly contradict his intentions, Wang Mi turned back with an angry expression to look at her. “General Zhao, you…”
A flash of cold light swept by. Wang Mi didn’t even have time to see clearly what was in Zhao Hanzhang’s hand before an indescribable pain struck. He widened his eyes, reaching up to cover his throat, looking at the still-smiling Zhao Hanzhang in disbelief.
Zhao Hanzhang had struck too quickly—no one had time to react. After a good while, red blood finally began gurgling out from between Wang Mi’s fingers as he covered his throat. His mouth moved, murmuring, “You, you…”
Blood kept pouring out. Finally, he couldn’t even make a sound, just staring wide-eyed as he fell straight backward.
The personal guards, six or seven steps away from them, finally reacted. With a swishing sound, they drew their blades. Fu Tinghan turned sideways to shield Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang had already turned her head and coldly ordered, “Kill!”
The sound of clashing swords immediately came from outside. Zhao Hanzhang drew Wang Mi’s sword, stuffed the still-bloodstained short blade into Fu Tinghan’s hand, pushed him toward the Emperor, and went forward to meet Wang Mi’s personal guards.
From the four corners of the room, many people dressed in guard uniforms immediately leaped out, charging toward Wang Mi’s personal guards in the center.
Screams immediately arose in the room. Most people retreated to avoid the fighting, while others picked up swords from the ground and joined in.
The Emperor’s hands and feet went weak. Protected by two guards, he retreated to a corner of the wall. “This, this…”
This was completely beyond his expectations.
—