Fire and Sand Night

Anubis held up the thin piece of papyrus high up, like a death spell, instantly strangling the breath of the entire meeting hall.

The flickering candlelight made the murals of gods on the wall appear hideous and terrifying.

All those present were Egypt's battle-hardened generals and powerful priests, but their gazes at this moment were like an airtight net, tightly covering the foreign woman, Ding Wei, who was standing quietly beside the Pharaoh.

"Your Majesty the Pharaoh!" Anubis' voice was loud and angry, as if he was accusing a huge crime.

"This letter was intercepted by us, secretly delivered by a Hittite envoy. It's sealed with the Hittite king's signature lion wax seal! In it, this princess from the East promises the Hittite king that she will act as an insider, helping them capture our holy city, Thebes, without bloodshed!"

When these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked.

Whispers began to grow and spread in the corner like poisonous insects.

The generals gripped the hilts of their swords at their waists, and the scrutiny and hostility in their eyes almost tortured Ding Wei to death.

They could tolerate Pharaoh marrying a foreign woman, but they could never tolerate a traitor sleeping next to Pharaoh.

Ramses II's face was as stern as the thousand-year-old stone sculptures on the banks of the Nile. He did not read the letter. His eyes, as deep as the night sky, slowly scanned Ding Wei's face inch by inch.

He didn't speak, didn't question, but the silence itself was the most terrifying form of pressure.

The air seemed to solidify into substance, and the frost of doubt spread throughout every inch of the hall, almost freezing people.

Ding Wei knew that any excuse would be futile at this moment.

In the face of overwhelming evidence, words carry no weight.

Her heart was beating like a drum, but there was no trace of panic on her face.

In a flash, the dream fragments that had troubled her for many days - "fire and sand", the three words suddenly made sense in her mind.

She suddenly remembered that according to Egyptian law, there was a specific day every month when caravans from the deep desert were allowed to enter the city to trade. In order to prevent spies from sneaking in, on that day, the soldiers guarding the city would light a special smoke signal on the beacon tower at the city gate as a signal for passage and warning.

And today happens to be the day when the caravan enters the city!

She raised her eyes, meeting Ramses' scrutinizing gaze. Her voice was clear, cold, and firm, piercing through all the noise and questioning: "Your Majesty, I request that you personally examine this letter."

Anubis sneered, "We have the witnesses and evidence, what else do you want to do?"

Ding Wei ignored him and just stared at Ramses.

Amidst countless gazes, the Pharaoh slowly raised his hand and signaled the guards to present the letter to Ding Wei.

Ding Wei didn't touch the papyrus. Her fingertips gently traced the wax seal, and she spoke calmly to the group, "Look, everyone! Although this wax seal bears the Hittite lion seal, its color is too bright, and its edges are smooth, with only a few tiny, intentional cracks. A letter truly traveling thousands of miles from the Hittite capital would have had its seal darkened by wind and sand, and its edges naturally worn by the impact. This wax seal is incredibly new."

She paused, her eyes piercing Anubis. "But this is not enough to prove my innocence. I have one more request. If Your Majesty will allow me to test the sand, I can immediately determine its authenticity!"

"Test the sand?" A puzzled discussion was heard in the hall.

Sand is the thing that Egypt has the most of, so what can be tested with it?

Ramses'

Ding Wei immediately ordered, "Please send someone to the beacon tower at the South Gate and fetch a handful of sand. Also, take some of the remaining sand from the cracks in this envelope."

The order was promptly executed.

Soon, two guards came back with two clean pieces of pottery.

On one piece of pottery was sand from under the beacon tower, emitting a strange glimmer; on the other piece was yellow sand scraped from an envelope, which looked normal.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the two small pieces of pottery.

Ding Wei calmly ordered someone to bring some hay and put it under the two pieces of pottery.

"Light the fire." She ordered softly.

The flames licked the hay, and the hot air slowly rose.

A miraculous scene happened.

On the pottery fragment containing the sand from the beacon tower, countless tiny grains of sand seemed to be given life. They began to float and jump slightly with the heat, and in the reflection of the fire, they flashed with faint, star-like metallic luster.

On the other piece of pottery, the sand from the so-called "secret letter" was like a pool of stagnant water, motionless and extremely silent under the high temperature.

Ding Wei's voice echoed through the silent hall, each word weighted with weight: "Your Majesty, Generals. To warn the caravan, the wood burning in the city gate beacon towers is mixed with trace amounts of copper ore powder. Over time, the sand beneath the towers has long since merged with this copper powder. True gold fears no fire, and the genuine sand beneath the towers dances when exposed to heat, due to its inherent copper properties. How could the forgers know this secret, known only to border soldiers?"

She pointed sharply at the silent sand and sternly declared, "The sands of war, though tempered a thousand times, remain unchanged! And the sands of lies, no matter how disguised, cannot hide their inherent falsehood and deadness! This letter never left Thebes!"

The whole audience was in an uproar! The truth was like a thunderclap, splitting the fog that shrouded everyone's hearts.

Minister Thutmose's forehead was instantly covered in cold sweat, his legs went weak, and he could hardly stand.

Anubis's face was ashen, and he tried to force a few words of defense, but the elderly high priest beside him had already stepped forward tremblingly. After carefully examining the wax, he bowed to Ramses and said, "Your Majesty, the princess is right. The wax used in this wax is indeed a new product recently produced by the workshop in the royal city, and it is definitely not from the Hittites."

The last hope was completely shattered.

Ramses slowly stood up from the throne, his tall figure casting a heavy shadow, like a giant god about to bring down divine punishment.

His gaze no longer lingered on Ding Wei, but was like two unsheathed blades, fixed firmly on Anubis.

"Anubis!" The Pharaoh's voice was icy cold.

"As a member of the royal family, you colluded with foreign ministers, forged letters from the throne, framed the princess, and intended to undermine the foundation of the country. This crime is unforgivable!"

Before he could finish his words, two guards armed with spears pounced on Anubis like cheetahs and detained him on the spot.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Thutmose turned around and tried to escape from the palace, but was stopped by another team of imperial guards who had been lying in ambush at the door and was dragged back like a dead dog.

A shocking crisis was instantly resolved under Ding Wei's wisdom.

However, there was no trace of complacency on her face.

Under the awed gazes of the crowd, she stepped forward and spoke to Ramses, "Your Majesty, Anubis alone is not to be feared. The real danger lies in his accomplices, those who are hiding behind him and still watching. I beg Your Majesty to detain him for the time being. Use him as bait to lure out the snake and wipe out the undercurrents within the court."

Ramses stared at her, and for the first time in his deep eyes, there appeared a real scrutiny, a mixture of admiration and surprise.

He was silent for a long time, so long that Ding Wei thought he would refuse.

Finally, he nodded and announced word by word, "Your wisdom is worthy of your status. From today on, you may attend all confidential meetings of the inner court."

Princess Hathor witnessed it all in the crowd, from the initial gloating, to the disbelief in the middle, to the deep shock in the end.

She watched how the foreign woman went from being a "suspect" condemned by thousands of people to becoming a "wise man" recognized even by the Pharaoh, and her heart was in turmoil.

She wandered alone in the garden in a daze, her heart filled with complicated emotions.

Ding Wei found her.

She did not blame or show off, but simply handed over a roll of newly written papyrus.

"The calming incense you prepared for your brother last time used hallucinogenic herbs. If the dosage is not appropriate, it can damage the heart meridians."

Ding Wei's voice was soft, but it carried an unquestionable professionalism.

"I've changed the incense recipe for you to a safer one that will be more effective in calming your nerves."

Hathor was stunned. She looked at the medical book and then at Ding Wei's calm eyes. The deep-rooted hostility in her heart quietly melted away at this moment.

Ding Wei said softly, "I don't want to fight for your brother. I just want to work with you to protect this family and Egypt."

That night, Ding Wei dreamed of Queen Nefertiti again.

This time, the queen's face was crystal clear. She smiled and said, "The fire of the sand has died down, but the real storm will rise in the east."

Ding Wei suddenly woke up, cold sweat soaking her back.

Almost immediately, hurried footsteps and panicked cries of guards could be heard outside the palace: "Your Majesty! Urgent military report from the front line, eight hundred miles away! Thirty thousand Hittite cavalry have raided the Kadesh fortress on our border. The garrison commander is in distress!"

Ramses immediately stood up and summoned all the generals in a swift and decisive manner.

The meeting room was filled with murderous intent.

Just as Pharaoh was about to order the army to go to war, Ding Wei pushed aside the others, walked up to him, and calmly requested: "Your Majesty, please allow me to go with the army."

Ramses frowned and flatly refused: "The battlefield is not a place for children to play with!"

Ding Wei met his piercing gaze, refusing to budge, and spoke word for word, "I may not understand charging into battle, but I understand formations, and even more so, the human heart. The Hittites have been patient for years, and now they've come out in full force. While seemingly aggressive, they're actually full of flaws. This isn't a simple surprise attack, but a deceptive ploy to lure the enemy away!"

Her words were so powerful that the entire conference room fell into silence again.

What kind of larger conspiracy is hidden behind the border crisis?

Can Ding Wei's shocking remarks once again give Egypt a glimmer of hope in the midst of the turbulent times?

Ramses' choice will determine the fate of the entire empire.