Chapter 19: The Empress Inspects the Cement
“Or perhaps, I shall grant you a favor.”
“Why not simply stay here, serve as my personal attendant?”
The Empress’s voice was languid, yet it cut through the air like an icy blade pressed against Zhao Yi’s throat.
This was intolerable!
Zhao Yi’s face instantly drained of color. Reflexively, he took a step back, his expression righteous and filled with indignation.
“Your Majesty!”
“How can you insult your humble servant so!”
He straightened his back abruptly, his demeanor resembling that of a virtuous lady harassed by a cruel landlord.
“My loyalty is as constant as the sun and moon traversing the heavens, as steadfast as rivers flowing across the earth! All my thoughts and efforts are devoted to Your Majesty, to the Great Zhou, and to the countless common folk of this realm!”
“Today, I come and go burdened with worries for the state, unable to eat or sleep! I only wish to ease Your Majesty’s troubles and to build an ironclad Great Wall for our Great Zhou!”
“To mock me with such base insinuations—truly, it chills my very heart!”
His words were impassioned and solemn, like a torrent of endless rivers. Yet in his mind, he was cursing fiercely.
Damn her!
Just wait until I rise to power—I will pin you to this Dragon Throne and make you understand what true closeness means!
The Empress, caught off guard by his sudden burst of righteous indignation, was momentarily stunned.
She looked at this scoundrel who had shifted from playful fool to patriotic loyalist in an instant, and a twitch appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“Enough.”
She waved her hand impatiently, cutting off his performance.
“Spit it out.”
“All right!”
Zhao Yi’s expression instantly shifted back from the indignant loyalist to the cheeky rascal.
He mysteriously pulled from his bosom a dull gray lump, looking no different from a brick, held it reverently with both hands, and presented it like a treasure.
“Your Majesty, what do you make of this?”
The Empress took the object, feeling its weight and hardness, its rough surface.
She furrowed her delicate brows and examined it closely from every angle.
“What is this? A mere stone?”
“Your Majesty, this is no ordinary stone.”
A profound smile played on Zhao Yi’s lips, his voice brimming with inexplicable pride.
“This is called cement!”
“A national treasure!”
“With it, cities are built as solid as rock! Roads paved with it endure for a thousand years! It is the heirloom that will secure the Great Zhou’s legacy forever!”
The Empress regarded his extravagant praise with a scrutinizing gaze.
“Is it truly as miraculous as you claim?”
She weighed the cement in her hand and lifted her chin toward Zhao Yi.
“Come, demonstrate its power for me.”
“Your Majesty, there’s no need for me to handle this personally.”
Zhao Yi chuckled slyly.
“Send anyone you please to try. If they can break this, I will concede defeat!”
A gleam flashed in the Empress’s eyes as she called out toward the door.
“Nangong Yue.”
No sooner had she spoken than the door to the imperial study swung open.
A woman clad in silver soft armor, tall and imposing, stepped in with an air of valor.
At her hip hung a long sword; her features were cold and stunning, her phoenix-like eyes sharp as blades.
This was none other than Nangong Yue, commander-in-chief of the Forbidden Army.
Zhao Yi’s eyes widened instantly.
Damn! Another rare gem!
This woman was like a rose with thorns—both beautiful and fierce!
Nangong Yue bowed respectfully to the Empress, not sparing Zhao Yi even a sidelong glance.
“Your Majesty.”
“Break this for me.”
The Empress tossed the lump of cement to Nangong Yue.
Nangong Yue took it with a hint of disdain, casting Zhao Yi a cold glance.
“Another schemer who rose by sweet words.”
She didn’t even bother drawing her sword. She simply placed the cement on the ground and raised her booted foot, stomping down hard on it!
She expected the so-called treasure to shatter into dust at her strike.
Yet—
“Crack!”
The sharp sound rang out.
It was not the cement that broke.
It was the bluestone tile beneath her foot.
A powerful recoil surged up through her ankle, numbing it.
She was stunned.
Looking down, she saw the dull gray lump perfectly intact, embedded in the shattered tile without a scratch.
“This…”
For the first time, shock clouded Nangong Yue’s face.
Disbelieving, she lifted her foot again, summoning all her strength, and stomped down fiercely!
“Bang!”
Another tile shattered, yet the cement remained unscathed.
“Clang!”
Finally enraged, Nangong Yue drew her long sword with a flash of cold steel and struck down hard on the cement!
“Clang!”
Sparks flew!
Pain shot through her palm, nearly causing her to drop the sword.
And at last, the cement showed a trace of change.
Where the blade struck, a faint white mark remained.
The entire imperial study fell into a deathly silence.
The Empress’s phoenix eyes blazed with unprecedented brightness as she fixed her gaze on the unassuming lump of cement.
A national treasure!
This truly was a national treasure!
Nangong Yue stood frozen, staring at her slightly nicked sword and the perfectly preserved stone below, her face flushed crimson—the very foundations of her worldview shaken.
Zhao Yi read their astonished expressions and motioned to the Empress to see if Nangong Yue could be excused, as he wished to speak.
The Empress waved her hand dismissively.
“No need. She is no outsider.”
Zhao Yi nodded, then leisurely delivered his final bombshell.
“Your Majesty, this material can be formed in a single day.”
“The cost is almost negligible.”
“The daily output can reach a thousand jin.”
Boom!
These words struck the Empress and Nangong Yue like a thunderbolt from the heavens.
Their breaths quickened instantly; their chests heaved with the intensity of shock, swaying heads dizzyingly.
“Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!”
The Empress exclaimed thrice, suddenly rising with a powerful presence. Her eyes shone with unrestrained admiration and joy.
“Zhao Yi! You have once again done a tremendous service for Great Zhou!”
“Your Majesty overpraises me. It is all for Your Majesty and for Great Zhou.”
Zhao Yi bowed, though a hint of hesitation flickered across his face.
“However, I have one unworthy request.”
“Speak!”
The Empress was in high spirits.
“I wish… to petition for rewards for the craftsmen who toiled to develop this.”
The Empress paused, then looked at Zhao Yi with newfound respect.
“Granted!”
She swept her dragon robe with grandeur.
“Rewards!”
“Generous rewards!”