My System Is Three Thousand Years Early

Wu Ling was shocked for a while.

As soon as Xue'e mentioned the word "Great Yuan," Wu Ling had already thought of something.

It brought to mind what Cheng Guang had previously said to her.

Her heart once again couldn't help but tremble.

It took a long while for Wu Ling to come back to her senses, and the first thing she did upon regaining her composure

was to tightly grip Xue'e's arm and ask,

"The invasion by Great Yuan, the loss of the border, when did it happen?"

Xue'e was startled by Wu Ling's action and then felt a throbbing pain in her arm; she truly hadn't expected Wu Ling to be so strong.

Xue'e frowned slightly, enduring the pain, and respectfully replied to Wu Ling,

"Just a quarter of an hour ago."

After hearing Xue'e's words,

"A quarter of an hour..."
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"The Princely Heir seemed to have left just a quarter of an hour ago, which means he knew in advance that Great Yuan would come. He knew it before Jiang Shicong reported it."

"Why would he know that?"

Wu Ling murmured to herself, barely audibly.

Even though Xue'e was close to Wu Ling, near her lips, she couldn't make out what Wu Ling was saying.

Seeing the change in Wu Ling's expression and that her grip seemed to be getting even tighter, Xue'e could no longer sit still and hurriedly said,

"Your Highness, we should go to the Council Hall now."

"Empress Wang and all the ministers at court are waiting for Your Highness to take charge."

Wu Ling snapped out of it, gave Xue'e a glance with her shining eyes, and then slowly released Xue'e's arm, only to say, "To take charge?"

"Not to just show face? To balance the situation?"

Upon hearing these words from Wu Ling, Xue'e's complexion changed, revealing extraordinary alarm, but she quickly suppressed it and smiled awkwardly.

"What is Your Highness talking about..."

Xue'e was about to say more.

But Wu Ling was not in the mood to listen any longer.

She waved her hand, cutting off Xue'e's words, and signaled that there was no need for further talk.

Then she stood up and headed towards the Council Hall.

When Wu Ling was not far from the Council Hall, the noise and discussions inside subdued significantly.

As Wu Ling entered the Council Hall, not a single person spoke.

At the same time, many ministers, the Noble Consort, and the princes and princesses standing in the corner all turned their gaze upon Wu Ling.

Wu Ling didn't pay attention to those watching her, and after scanning the Council Hall, she looked towards Empress Wang at the head seat.

First, she offered a bow.

Then she asked,

"Mother, did you summon me?"

Facing Wu Ling's bow, Empress Wang's expression showed little change, she just nodded slightly, and then casually pointed to a spot beside her.

"Come, sit down."

Wu Ling frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over to sit beside Empress Wang.

Once Wu Ling had sat down, Empress Wang began,

"Wu Ling, by the time you arrived, you must have roughly heard about what happened from Xue'e."

Wu Ling nodded slightly.

Empress Wang continued, "Then I won't explain much further."

"You are the Crown Prince, and currently, His Majesty's whereabouts are unknown. In times like these, it's up to you to bear the burden of Great Liang."

She then fixed her gaze upon the ministers gathered in the Council Hall.

"Regarding the invasion by Great Yuan, you're in command, assisted by the court ministers. If in doubt, seek the consensus of the ministers."

"Let's repel Great Yuan first."

As Wu Ling heard Empress Wang speak, she couldn't help but glance at Wu Ming standing behind the Empress.

Empress Wang had even brought Wu Ming to her side.

To say that Empress Wang had no designs on the throne was impossible.

Yet at this moment, she was still willing to entrust the opportunity to preside over the court to Wu Ling.

Was this an extraordinary trust, belief that Wu Ling was capable of leading Great Zhou to victory over Great Yuan?

Or did she think Wu Ling posed no threat whatsoever to Wu Ming or to any other prince for that matter?

Wu Ling's eyes dropped, and without speaking, she just softly voiced her assent.

Then, Empress Wang did not focus her gaze on Wu Ling any longer but started to truly discuss with the lords how to deal with Great Yuan.

Only when a decision needed to be made, would she occasionally ask for Wu Ling's opinion.

Although she was asking for Wu Ling's opinion,

Wu Ling knew that neither Empress Wang nor most of the ministers really considered her opinions meaningful.

Most of it was superficial flattery.

If Wu Ling herself really wanted to make a decision, she'd have to put in the effort.

"Crown Prince, Great Yuan's forces are strong and aggressive, and they seem to also have Sky-Man warriors among them. We should immediately call back Duke of the State to protect the Capital city," said a middle-aged minister, starting the conversation. He was Qiu Hao, the Minister of War, tall and handsome, with the calluses of a man accustomed to wielding a sword and a knife.

As Qiu Hao spoke, everyone else's gaze turned to Wu Ling.

At this point, all they needed was for Wu Ling to nod in agreement, and then a royal decree could be issued on behalf of the Crown Prince, summoning the Duke of the State back.

Upon hearing Qiu Hao's words, Wu Ling frowned.

She remembered what Cheng Guang had said.

If Great Yuan was invading Great Zhou, and the Town-Nation Duke's Heir Cheng Guang had foreknowledge, it was very likely that the Duke of the State knew as well.

If the Duke of the State could have returned to protect the Capital city, he would have already done so; there wouldn't be this silence at such a critical time.

It was highly probable that he simply couldn't come back.