Dark Fire Rekindles
The news that the kerosene mechanism of the West Bank sluice had been dismantled was like a breeze that instantly blew away the haze that had shrouded Thebes.
The people ran around to tell each other, clapping their hands in joy, thinking that the disaster was over and the peace of the royal city had been restored.
However, deep in the magnificent palace, Ding Wei gazed at the jubilant crowd outside the window, without a trace of slackness in her clear eyes.
To her, this was just "the open fire has been extinguished, but the hidden fire is still there."
Amenhotep, the old fox, would never reveal all his cards so easily.
She turned around, her voice calm and composed, "Isis, immediately check the list of priests in the temple for the past three months. Especially anyone who has been alone with the High Priest Amenhotep for more than a quarter of an hour. Don't let any of them go unpunished."
Isis took the order and left, moving as fast as a ghost.
The temple's archives are strict and complicated, but to this "saint" who grew up there, it is just her own backyard.
In just half a day, a shortlist was presented to Ding Wei.
Her fingertips slowly moved across several names, finally stopping at a seemingly insignificant figure - a young priest responsible for recording the stars.
The files record that this man was taciturn and not good at socializing, but he had an unshakable habit: every night at midnight, he would enter the astrological secret room that ordinary priests were not allowed to enter, and burn incense and pray alone.
"Spice." Ding Wei spat out two words.
Isis understood and whispered, "I've found out that the spices he used are very special, containing traces of blue water lilies. They are the same spices that the temple provides to the Queen Mother's chambers to soothe the spirits."
The clues are perfectly connected at this moment.
Ding Wei did not alert the enemy, but ordered Isis to use the most secret means to replace the spices used by the priests with odorless wood ash.
At the same time, a thin layer of golden sand, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye, was quietly spread on the bottom of the ancient copper incense burner.
No words were spoken that night.
The next morning, Isis sneaked into the secret room again and retrieved the incense burner.
Under the candlelight, Ding Wei leaned over to take a closer look and saw several very light fingerprints left on the smooth sand surface.
It was not an unconscious touch, but something was being sketched.
She held her breath and deciphered with Isis, finally spelling out a chilling code: "At three quarters past midnight, the wind rises from the west gate."
West Gate!
It’s Xizha again!
The dismantled kerosene mechanism is just a decoy, the real killer move will be launched at three quarters past midnight tonight!
Instead of panicking, Ding Wei curled up her lips into a sneer.
Now that the enemy has bared his fangs, she will set a trap with her own hands that will leave him with no way out.
She did not go directly to Ramses, but first asked to see Queen Mother Nefertari.
She knew very well that to deal with a powerful figure like Amenhotep, she had to use the royal family's most unquestionable authority.
She revealed everything about the secret language and spices she had discovered, saying only that she suspected there was a mole using the empress dowager's calming incense as a medium of communication with ulterior motives.
After hearing this, Nefert's well-maintained face was instantly covered with a layer of frost.
What she hated most in her life was betrayal and deception.
Ding Wei immediately offered a plan: "Mother, why not summon the priest under the pretext of 'praying for blessings and exorcising evil spirits'? Tell him you've been plagued by nightmares lately and need him to chant sutras to exorcise the demons. Then, have Isis by your side and use a special incense to induce him to reveal the truth."
The plan was executed immediately.
That afternoon, the young astrologer was summoned into the Queen Mother's bedroom trembling with fear.
He knelt on the gorgeous carpet, facing the majestic Nefertir, trembling with nervousness.
Following Ding Wei's instructions, Naifel expressed his "troubles" with a tired look on his face.
Isis lit a stick of incense at the right moment. The subtle fragrance was 70% similar to the smell in the secret room last night, but it had an extra element that made people trance-like.
The priest did not dare to delay and immediately began to recite scriptures in a low voice.
Gradually, under the influence of the incense, his eyes began to blur and his voice became erratic, as if he was talking in a sleep.
"The high priest said... the high priest said that if the two kings go to war and the Hittites attack... they will cause the Nile River to flow backwards, drowning the seven armies... No, it's... they will turn Thebes into a swamp..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly shuddered, as if a basin of ice water was poured over his head, and he woke up instantly!
He looked at Nefer and Ding Wei in front of him in horror, and when he realized what he had said, his face turned pale, and he kowtowed heavily to the ground, shaking like a sieve.
"Well, what a great high priest!" Nefert laughed in anger, his voice icy.
"How dare you use something from my palace to cause chaos in your country? How audacious!" She slammed the armrest and ordered sternly, "Come! Throw this traitor into the dungeon and keep him under strict guard!"
Then, she grabbed a pen and paper and signed a decree with her own hands. Inscribed on it were large, murderous characters: "Anyone involved in rebellion will be executed first and reported to the royal family later!"
The atmosphere at the court meeting the next day was particularly solemn.
Seti, an old minister friendly to Amenhotep, was the first to raise objections. Upon hearing that the temple priest had been arrested, he immediately jumped in to exploit the situation, saying, "Your Majesty! The temple is a sacred place. To have such unrest unfold like this is perhaps a warning from the gods! Your Highness, while intelligent, is a woman after all. To let a single priest's ravings unsettle the temple would surely shake the foundations of the nation and lose the support of the people!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ding Wei walked out with a calm expression, but with an unquestionable aura.
She had expected someone to make trouble.
She winked at the guards, and two guards immediately came up to the hall carrying a tray covered with brocade.
"Lord Seti is right. We must have evidence for everything." Ding Wei personally lifted the brocade cloth, revealing the incense burner and a plate of fine sand.
In front of all the civil and military officials in the court, she poured fine sand into the incense burner slowly and then gently drew a line on it with her fingertips, reproducing the secret words.
"Please look, 'At the third quarter of the hour of midnight, the wind rises from the west gate.' This is the mark found in the rebellious priest's incense burner."
She paused and turned her gaze to Isis, who had remained silent.
"Isis, tell us what the regulations are for this special spice containing blue water lilies in the temple?"
Isis stepped forward, her voice as clear and cold as jade, "This incense is called 'Quiet Night Lotus'. It is forbidden in the temple, and only the high priest can personally blend it. Without his personal instruction, no other priest can possibly obtain even a single drop of it."
As soon as the words were spoken, the whole room was in an uproar!
Everyone's eyes were directed like sharp arrows at Amenhotep, who was standing at the head of all officials.
Ding Wei's gaze was as sharp as a torch, locked onto his impassive face. She spoke each word with a resounding force: "High Priest, I have a question. If it weren't for your personal instructions, how could this humble astrology priest enter the astrology chamber every night? And if it weren't for your ulterior motives, how do you explain this secret message pointing to the West Bank sluice?"
Faced with this thunderous question, Amenhotep's expression remained unchanged, as if everything had nothing to do with him.
Without even raising his eyelids, he spoke calmly, "Your Highness is so powerful that you could trespass into the temple's forbidden grounds and interfere with divine rules. By doing so, aren't you afraid of chilling the hearts of believers worldwide and shaking the ten-thousand-year-old foundation of Egypt?"
What a complete reversal of right and wrong! He actually turned around and accused Ding Wei of breaking the rules!
Just as the ministers were discussing and didn't know what to do, Ramses, who had been sitting on the throne, slowly stood up.
His tall figure cast a heavy shadow, and in his hand was the execution order signed by Nefert himself.
"My Queen Mother has already ordered the investigation of the traitor." His voice was steady and majestic, echoing throughout the hall.
"This isn't a woman interfering in politics, it's the royal family saving themselves!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his arm, and the sentence that read "behead first and report later" was thrown fiercely in the center of the hall like a black lightning!
The slight sound of the papyrus falling on the cold stone slabs was like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone's heart.
"If the high priest has nothing to hide, why should he be afraid of an investigation?"
Ramses' eyes swept across Amenhotep like a knife.
"From now on, the Astrology Chamber will be jointly managed by the Royal Guards and the Temple Priests. All files and artifacts must be thoroughly inspected to ensure no mistakes are made!"
The air seemed to freeze.
Amenhotep was silent for a long time, and finally a crack appeared on his calm face.
He looked deeply at Ramses and Ding Wei, and finally said nothing. He flicked his long sleeves and turned to leave the hall.
Looking at his resolute back, Ding Wei did not feel the slightest joy of victory, but instead frowned.
She lowered her voice and said to Isis beside her, "He retreated too abruptly... That's not like him. I'm afraid he has other plans."
Sure enough, Ding Wei’s premonition was correct.
That night, Isis took advantage of the chaos in the joint management and secretly sneaked into the depths of the astrological chamber. Among the ashes of a hastily burned scroll, she found a piece of broken pottery that had not been completely burned.
When she handed the pottery shards to Ding Wei, her expression was more solemn than ever.
On the pottery fragment, a strange star map was engraved in ancient hieroglyphics, and below the star map were four shocking words - "Two Kings Drawing the Spear".
Isis's voice was barely audible. "Princess, this isn't a prophecy, it's an order. Amenhotep wants to use the celestial phenomena to manipulate public opinion and convince the people of Egypt that the two kings' joint expedition is the root cause of war and disaster!"
It turns out this is his real killer move!
When military destruction failed, they turned to psychological warfare!
Taking advantage of the Egyptians' reverence for gods and stars, they fundamentally shook the legitimacy of the Ramses brothers' rule.
Ding Wei stared at the piece of pottery, a deep light in her eyes.
After a long while, she suddenly chuckled. In the silent palace, the laughter carried a hint of cold sharpness and absolute confidence.
"Since he wants to use the celestial phenomena to build momentum, then we should make use of these celestial phenomena... to our own advantage."
She walked to the desk, picked up a pen, and quickly wrote a secret order on a brand new piece of papyrus. Then she rolled it up and handed it to Hathor, another confidant who had been waiting in secret.
"Tomorrow morning, I want all the observatories in Thebes to 'calculate' the same result." There was a hint of unquestionable command in her voice.
"Tell everyone, three days from now, a heavenly dog will devour the sun, and a blood moon will appear in the sky. This is a sign of great misfortune, and can only be averted by the two kings offering sacrifices to the heavens."
Hathor received the secret order, bowed, and retreated into the darkness.
Silence returned to the palace. Ding Wei stood alone in front of the window, looking at the deep night sky.
She knew that from the moment the sun rose tomorrow, a new war without the smoke of gunpowder would officially begin under the starry sky and in the hearts of all people.
The trap laid by Amenhotep will soon be rewritten by her own hands and turned into a shocking drama directed by her personally.
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