Pharaoh's Temptation
Ever since the thrilling experience under the Eye of Horus that day, Ding Wei knew that the land beneath her feet was far more turbulent and unpredictable than the undercurrent of the Nile.
The palace, this gilded cage, every inch of the air is filled with the fishy sweetness of power and the cold fragrance of conspiracy.
On this day, the sun in Thebes was still scorching, but the meeting hall was freezing cold.
The tall stone pillars were engraved with the sacred relics of the gods. Pharaoh Ramses sat on the golden throne, his blue eyes as deep as the sea, and he calmly glanced at the ministers with different expressions on the steps below.
The stagnation of the air was broken by a deep and oppressive voice.
"Your Majesty." Duke Anubis, the man who controls the priest group of Upper Egypt and half of the military power, took a step forward.
He was a tall and strong man with a face as hard as granite, and his hawk-like eyes sparkled with undisguised ambition.
"For the sake of Egypt's eternal foundation and the purity and stability of the divine bloodline, I believe that the Pharaoh's power should be jointly supervised by the temple and the aristocratic council. Military power, in particular, should not be held in the hands of one person to prevent unforeseen circumstances."
As soon as the words fell, the whole room fell into dead silence.
This was tantamount to an open declaration of power, with the sword pointed directly at Ramses on the throne.
Ding Wei stood behind Ramses and her heart suddenly sank.
She could feel dozens of eyes instantly focused on her, some probing, some hostile, and some gloating.
As expected, Anubis changed the subject and shot his gaze at her like a poisoned arrow.
"What's more, there are some...unnecessary changes in the palace now." He paused deliberately, his voice full of suggestive contempt.
"A foreign woman of unknown origin is so capable of frequently interfering in our internal affairs and disrupting the order of the palace. This is not only disrespectful to the gods, but also a blasphemy against Egypt's thousand-year-old traditions! I implore Your Majesty, for the sake of the kingdom's peace, to release this woman..."
"That's enough."
A cold voice sounded, not loud, but with an authority that brooked no room for questioning.
It's not Ramses, but Ding Wei.
Before anyone could react, she walked out gracefully, stood in the center of the hall, and faced the powerful duke.
At that moment, she felt a pressure as great as a mountain, as if all the old forces of Egypt had transformed into the figure of Anubis, ready to crush her, an alien, to pieces.
But she was not at all flustered.
To retreat is to die.
Here, silence is not golden, but a step to the abyss.
Ding Wei bowed slightly, her gesture impeccable, and then raised her clear eyes, her voice echoing clearly in the hall: "Respected Duke Anubis, your loyalty to Egypt is evident to all, but I cannot share your concerns."
Her opening remarks were neither humble nor arrogant, which surprised the crowd who were ready to watch the show.
"The Duke proposed supervising the Pharaoh's military power. It sounds like it's for risk sharing, but I would like to ask..."
Ding Wei's speech was not fast, but every word she said was precious and her logic was terrifyingly clear.
"The Hittites are now lurking in the north, and the Libyan tribes are ready to strike in the west. If the military situation becomes urgent, the Pharaoh's decree must first undergo divination in the temple and undergo lengthy discussions in the Council of Nobles. Who will be held responsible for this missed opportunity? You, or the gentlemen present?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of several generals in charge of border military affairs changed slightly.
Ding Wei pressed on without pause, "Your Excellency the Duke said that military power shouldn't be monopolized. So, after the Pharaoh's military power is reduced, where should this power go? Should it be distributed among the generals, allowing them to govern independently, or... should it be concentrated in the hands of the equally powerful priest group?"
She glanced meaningfully at Anubis, the leader of the priest group.
"You!" Anubis's face turned pale. He didn't expect that this seemingly weak woman could be so sharp in her words.
"As for me!"
Ding Wei calmly met his gaze, and also the scrutiny of everyone else. "I have no clan background, no fiefdom, and no military authority. I simply share your Majesty's concerns with my limited knowledge. Whether everything I do benefits Egypt is for your Majesty and the people to judge. And the Duke's proposal today is ostensibly about oversight, but in reality it's about decentralization; it's ostensibly about dictating, but in reality it could lead to internal strife. I believe everyone present here has their own judgment on who is disrupting order, and whose plans will harm Egypt's fundamental interests."
Her words were like a sharp scalpel, accurately dissecting Anubis's true ambitions beneath his high-sounding rhetoric and displaying them bloodily before everyone.
She didn't directly accuse him of treason, but everyone understood her meaning.
In the hall, even the sound of breathing disappeared.
The nobles looked at each other with complicated expressions.
They may not like Ding Wei as an outsider, but her words hit the nail on the head.
What Egypt fears most is internal friction.
Ramses had been sitting quietly on the throne, watching Ding Wei's petite body burst out with amazing energy.
She is like a papyrus standing proudly in a desert storm, flexible yet indestructible.
The initial surprise in his eyes had long since transformed into deep admiration and tenderness.
This woman can always bring him surprises.
He finally spoke, a barely perceptible smile in his voice: "I appreciate Duke Anubis's loyalty. But there is no need to discuss this matter further."
The final word.
Anubis's face turned from blue to white, and he could only retreat back to the queue in hatred. His poisonous gaze was fixed on Ding Wei's back, as if he wanted to burn a hole in her.
Ding Wei won.
With the wisdom of modern political games, she beautifully won the conflict between humans and the entire old society.
However, before one wave of troubles subsides, another wave of troubles arises.
The struggle in the palace never takes place only in the meeting room.
The harem garden is more private and more sinister.
Hathor, the priestess of noble birth who had always had a crush on Ramses, blocked Ding Wei's way.
"You, a strange woman from a foreign land, have once again stolen the limelight in the court."
Hathor's voice was laced with the venom of jealousy, and her beautiful face was twisted with resentment.
"Do you think you can deceive His Majesty forever with just a little cleverness? You don't deserve it at all! You don't belong here. Your blood is filthy and your soul is base!"
The harsh words were like cold needles, piercing Ding Wei's heart.
She felt aggrieved, and a strong desire to refute surged in her chest.
She could argue with the ministers, but she found herself powerless in the face of such pure and unreasonable jealousy.
Arguing with Hathor here?
It would only make you become a shrew like her, which would play into her hands.
This is the most direct conflict between people and also an inner battle of self-restraint.
Ding Wei took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in her heart, and said lightly: "Priest Hathor, I think there is some misunderstanding between us."
"Misunderstanding? The only misunderstanding is why you haven't been driven out of Egypt yet!" Hathor pressed on.
A thought flashed through Ding Wei's mind like lightning.
A head-on confrontation is not a good option. She needs to use a more clever way to resolve the current predicament, or even... turn the enemy into a friend.
She suddenly revealed a gentle smile. "Priestess of Hathor, I have a favor to ask of you. In a few days, I'd like to hold a small gathering for the ladies of my palace to share some... interesting stories and crafts from my hometown. I'm new here, and I don't know many of the rules. Your guidance would be truly helpful."
Hathor was stunned. She had prepared a lot of vicious words, but Ding Wei's sudden punch was like a punch on cotton.
Invite her?
Still asking her for advice?
Is this a sign of weakness or a new conspiracy?
In the end, vanity prevailed.
She snorted coldly: "Since you are so sincere in asking for advice, I want to see what tricks you, a stranger from a foreign land, can come up with."
A few days later, the party was held as scheduled in the open-air garden of the palace.
The noble ladies and female officials in the palace were invited, most of them came with the intention of watching the fun, while Hathor watched coldly from the side, ready to seize Ding Wei's mistakes and ridicule her at any time.
Ding Wei did not demonstrate any earth-shattering modern technology, as that would easily be mistaken for witchcraft.
She simply took out some common olive oil, beeswax and several kinds of spice petals, and then used a method they had never seen before - the water bath heating method, to extremely carefully extract and filter the essence of the petals, and then perfectly blended it with beeswax and oil to make a delicate, smooth and long-lasting perfume.
As she was making the ointment, she told an ancient legend in her gentle and pleasant voice about "the god of love and beauty searching for the lost incense recipe", cleverly linking this story with the ointment in her hand.
When the crystal clear ointment was distributed to each of the women, they were all stunned.
It was an unprecedented experience, the aroma was pure and layered, and the texture was more comfortable than any oil they had ever used.
"Oh my god, this is amazing! My skin has never felt so smooth!"
"This scent... is much more elegant than just wearing the spice sachet!"
The women chattered around Ding Wei, asking her for the secret of making the dish.
Ding Wei explained patiently without hiding anything.
She brought not only a box of perfume, but also a new and exquisite lifestyle.
Her unique talents and gentle and humble attitude quickly won the favor of everyone.
Hathor was isolated aside, looking at Ding Wei, who was like a star, with a wonderful expression on his face.
Her aristocratic status and position as a temple priest, which she was proud of, seemed so pale and powerless in the face of Ding Wei's practical and elegant wisdom.
She felt even more angry, but she couldn't find any reason to get angry. She could only watch Ding Wei successfully establish her own social circle.
Just when the undercurrents within the palace subsided temporarily, a bigger storm swept in from outside.
Thutmose, an emissary from the enemy Hittites, arrived in Thebes.
He brought a personal letter from Pharaoh Hattusili III and a covenant that seemed full of sincerity for peace.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was more solemn than last time.
Thutmose was eloquent. He praised Ramses' civil and military achievements, and lamented the huge losses caused by the war between the two countries. He sincerely expressed the Hittites' willingness to maintain eternal friendship with Egypt and jointly develop the disputed areas on the border.
"Your Majesty the Pharaoh, this treaty will usher in hundreds of years of peace between our two countries. We are willing to open the northern trade routes and share wealth with Egypt. As a sign of sincerity, we only hope that Egypt can symbolically withdraw a small number of its troops from the Kadesh area to show mutual trust." Thutmose said with a smile, his words full of temptation.
Some war-weary nobles have begun to stir.
Ramses' face was as gloomy as he looked at Ding Wei.
He knew this was another test.
Ding Wei had already translated and analyzed the covenant written in cuneiform on the clay tablet countless times in her mind.
She stood up, her voice calm but powerful: "Lord Thutmose's vision of peace is appealing, but this covenant, with all due respect, is more like poison wrapped in honey."
Thutmose's smile froze for a moment.
Ding Wei walked to the sand table in the center of the hall, picked up a small wooden stick, and pointed to the Kadesh area. "The alliance requires us to withdraw our garrison, which sounds merely symbolic. But this is a strategic high ground overlooking the entire Orontes Valley. If we withdraw, the Hittite army can quickly gather here without us noticing and march straight to Damascus, severing all our ties with the East."
She pointed to another point. "The covenant states that we will share the northern trade routes. But the fine print clearly states that the Hittites will lead the guarding and taxation of the trade routes, with Egypt 'assisting.' How can this be considered sharing? It's clearly asking us to use Egyptian goods to supplement the Hittite treasury!"
Her analysis is penetrating and exposes the traps hidden beneath the fancy words through the lens of modern geopolitics and diplomatic treaties.
Each one of them made the Egyptian officials present break out in cold sweats.
Thutmose's expression had completely changed. He tried to defend himself, but Ding Wei didn't give him a chance and listed the logical loopholes and potential risks in the covenant one by one.
In the end, Thutmose was in a miserable state under the contemptuous gaze of everyone.
In the hall, everyone's view of Ding Wei changed completely.
If I just thought she was smart before, now I deeply admire her.
This woman possesses a strategic vision that transcends her time.
Ramses looked at her with blazing eyes.
He was proud of her, but at the same time, a deeper thought arose in his mind.
He needed to put her completely and unshakably on her feet.
Suddenly, Ramses addressed Ding Wei in a tone he had never spoken before, speaking with unprecedented severity: "Ding Wei, you have repeatedly displayed extraordinary talent and wisdom, drawing widespread attention. But there are also rumors within the palace that your wisdom is not divinely gifted, but rather a form of...unnatural power unbecoming of this land. How can you prove your loyalty?"
This question was sharp and fatal, like a double-edged sword, instantly pushing Ding Wei to the forefront.
Everyone's eyes were focused on her again, this time with a sense of judgment.
This was Pharaoh's temptation and the last hurdle she had to cross.
Ding Wei's heart sank suddenly. She raised her head and met Ramses' deep blue eyes.
She knew that her answer would determine her future destiny and the direction of the budding relationship between her and him.
The entire hall fell silent, waiting for her answer.
Far away in the Hittite capital, a larger web of conspiracy has quietly unfolded.
Ding Wei didn't know that her real enemy might not have appeared yet.
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