Chapter 156: The Rise of Xiqi and the Great Zhou

"What I mean is quite simple. Just now in the imperial court, I noticed that Your Majesty's gaze hardly ever left the princess of the Wusang Kingdom. Well, we are all men; although I am your elder brother, some things... and some words, once spoken too bluntly, can damage the bond between us brothers."

"A blade hangs above the head of lust. Your Majesty, as your elder brother, there are some things I cannot avoid saying. There is no shortage of beautiful concubines in Your Majesty's palace, and Queen Jiang rarely restrains those concubines who vie for favor. If this continues, the inner palace will surely fall into chaos. When that time comes, what will Your Majesty do?"

Queen Jiang was a virtuous queen, but precisely because of this, she rarely managed the concubines vying for favor in the inner palace. Once the inner court was thrown into turmoil, how could the King have the extra energy to manage state affairs?

One has to admit that Weizi Qi, as the older brother, was worrying himself sick for his younger brother, King Zhou.

Weizi Qi had already laid out the matter with crystal clarity. If King Zhou still failed to understand, it could only mean that those who pretend to be asleep can never be awakened.

"Royal Brother, rest assured. Di Xin is no longer the Di Xin of the past."

What did a mere beauty matter?

Ever since the Mister reversed the national fortune and destiny of their Great Shang, King Zhou had been exercising self-restraint in his daily actions.

Just thinking of the evaluations of him by future generations of descendants—pools of wine and forests of meat, the punishment of roasting, hens crowing at dawn, and a series of other absurd deeds—made him shudder.

Finally, Weizi Qi offered a suggestion: "Your Majesty, regardless of everything else, Jiji Aya holds the status of a princess. I suggest handing this woman over to Queen Jiang for instruction. Only if her etiquette and conduct prove acceptable should Your Majesty consider taking her as a concubine."

"Ahem... Then let it be as Royal Brother suggests." King Zhou waved his hand, feeling deeply ashamed.

Brothers could discuss almost anything, but the moment women were involved, things became terribly awkward.

Weizi Qi was also tactful enough to drop the subject of the enemy princess and shifted the topic: "Your Majesty, recently in Zhaoge City, discussions regarding the opening of the Investiture of the Gods have grown increasingly intense. I dispatched some men to make detailed arrangements outside and discovered a few things. I felt it necessary to report them to Your Majesty."

"What is it? Could someone be trying to fish in troubled waters and stir up trouble?" King Zhou knitted his brows.

Weizi Qi nodded. "Indeed, that is the case. According to reports from scouts, some members of the demon and monster clans are already growing restless. This is undoubtedly a hundred harms and not a single benefit to our developing Great Shang."

"Hmph! Is that so? Still, we need not fear them. With the Mister guiding and presiding over us, I certainly have nothing to fear from them," King Zhou said bitterly.

Damn it all, the opening of this Investiture of the Gods truly came at the worst possible time, stirring up trouble precisely at this critical juncture.

Accursed Jiang Ziya! He deserved to die!

"Your Majesty, there is another matter, far more serious than this." Weizi Qi's expression grew even heavier.

"What is it?" King Zhou seemed to sense something ominous.

"The rise of Xiqi and the Great Zhou."

"What? Xiqi and the Great Zhou? This... This... Has it finally come to pass after all?"

King Zhou staggered a step backward, and Weizi Qi's expression shifted. "Your Majesty, are you alright?"

King Zhou shook his head, trying his best to recover his composure. "I am fine... I just never expected that Xiqi would truly rise. It makes this whole thing feel so surreal. But I don't understand. Wasn't it said that the person who triggers the Investiture of the Gods is in our Zhaoge City? Then how could this..."

"Your Majesty, the Investiture of the Gods has yet to be officially opened. As for Xiqi and the Great Zhou, a long time ago, clues could already be gleaned from the various actions of the Marquis of the West, Ji Chang."

"Among the marquises of the four cardinal directions, only the Marquis of the West, Ji Chang, has consistently sent the largest annual tributes and the most generous offerings. On the surface, the Marquis of the West has always submitted as a vassal to our Great Shang, but in reality, it is merely a facade meant to deceive our Great Shang."

"Last time, Shang Rong went on a diplomatic mission to Xiqi, which was Your Majesty giving them a chance to be reined in. But what happened in the end? Not only did they show no gratitude, but now they have established the Great Zhou and directly set themselves against us."

Odious! They had simply raised tigers to invite disaster.

Had he known it would come to this, he should have executed the Marquis of the West on the spot, and he wouldn't be plagued by such vexing troubles today.

With the opening of the Investiture of the Gods, Great Shang would inevitably fall into chaos...

And the ultimate fate of the Yin-Shang was to be conquered and destroyed by the Great Zhou?

Fortunately, the exhausted fortune and destiny of the fallen state had been thoroughly reversed by the Mister.

Yet, whenever he recalled these things, King Zhou would suffer nightmares, dreaming of his country and people reduced to slaves of the Great Zhou, slaughtered like pigs, oxen, and sheep.

It was truly wretched and tragic.

He always woke up from these nightmares.

It must never be allowed to happen!

He had to annihilate Xiqi and the Great Zhou!

A single spark can start a prairie fire! Such a future had to be nipped in the bud.

With this covert thought, King Zhou instantly lost his composure and said to Weizi Qi, "Royal Brother, let us discuss everything else another time. I must go and see the Mister immediately to hear what he has to say."

Only upon arriving at Mister Chu Xiaoyu's farmstead could King Zhou feel a sense of stability and peace of mind.

The opening of the Immortal Gate had come at such a timely moment.

King Zhou hurried over with brisk steps, extremely eager to see Chu Xiaoyu.

However, as luck would have it, because of certain matters, Chu Xiaoyu had gone to the provincial capital.

He had previously given a ginseng fruit to Gu Ruyan for auction.

Yet, unpredictable are the affairs of the world: the ginseng fruit, about to be auctioned, had inexplicably vanished into thin air.

Knowing they had courted a colossal disaster, the Gu family panicked and immediately called Chu Xiaoyu to inform him.

Upon learning of the matter, Chu Xiaoyu did not show a trace of anger. Instead, this made the Gu family feel all the more that it was the calm before a violent storm; once it struck, the Gu family would surely be unable to withstand the tempest.

It was very likely that the Gu family would be uprooted entirely from Beichuan and Dongdu City.

"What? The Mister is not here? Where has he gone?"

Having come with a pressing matter, only to find by coincidence that Chu Xiaoyu was away from the farmstead, King Zhou was completely dumbfounded.

A-Shan looked at King Zhou's anxious expression and asked with some curiosity, "Well, your timing is truly unfortunate. You just happened to catch the Mister when he's out. Why don't you wait for a bit?"

"Alas... I can certainly wait, but do you know when the Mister will return?" King Zhou asked anxiously.

A-Shan tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then shook it. "As for that... I don't know. It could be a day or two, or perhaps four or five days at the longest. By the way, you're in such a hurry to find the Mister—is there an emergency?"

King Zhou looked completely bewildered. "Of course it's an emergency! My destined nemesis has appeared—that Xiqi... Ah, never mind. You're just a young maiden; even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

These were matters of state; why discuss them with a mere girl? Even if he explained, she wouldn't understand.

"Hmph, if you're not going to tell me, fine then! This young lady didn't want to listen anyway. Besides, it's just men's business—nothing more than fighting and killing. I have no interest whatsoever."

A-Shan rolled her eyes at King Zhou, ignored him completely, and went off to play by herself.