Chapter 61: King Zhou’s Way of Governing His Ministers

King Zhou passed through that uncanny gate of immortals and returned to the capital of Zhaoge. As he recalled the bizarre and extraordinary events that had befallen him—most notably, the ominous prophecy that his kingdom would be destroyed in twenty-eight years—his heart burned with anxiety.

He could never have imagined that, in later generations, he would be remembered as a tyrant: greedy for beauty, cruel and despotic, licentious beyond measure, and a murderer without remorse. Heaven! Was his life truly as sordid as the chronicles of the future claimed? If those accounts were accurate, then he, Di Xin, would be nothing less than a fiend risen from the depths of hell—more terrifying even than the most dreadful demon.

Back in his palace chambers, King Zhou’s mood fluctuated wildly, and it took him nearly two hours to gradually process all that had happened. His teacher’s instructions remained vivid in his mind; not a single word did he dare to forget.

“Your Majesty, it is midday. Would you like to have your meal now?” a palace maid asked timidly.

When the king had returned, he looked as if he had suffered a grave illness—his face was anxious and fearful, and there was a fury on his countenance that none had ever witnessed. They always said serving the king was like serving a tiger; his temper was as unpredictable as the weather in March.

The palace maids lived in constant caution, needing to remain vigilant at all times. A single misstep could provoke the king’s displeasure—and their lives would be forfeit.

King Zhou glanced at the maids, noting their nervous, trembling demeanor. He was irritated and asked, “Come here, all of you. Tell me—are you truly so afraid of me? Am I some monstrous beast? Do you fear me every day you see me?”

“Your Majesty… this servant deserves to die!” In an instant, more than ten maids knelt in unison, their foreheads pressed to the floor, bodies trembling.

King Zhou chuckled bitterly, “So I am more terrifying than the beasts of the mountains. Enough, do not kneel; go now.”

He waved them away, his impatience evident. The maids departed, anxious and fearful. He had no appetite for the midday meal; his mind was in turmoil.

With a sweeping gesture, King Zhou ordered the palace attendants to summon all his ministers at once.

What? An audience at noon? The king seemed quite unlike himself lately—his ministers had grown accustomed to his unpredictable moods, which always left them harried and exhausted.

Complaints were useless, of course. When the king called, they came, fulfilling their duties as subjects.

In the great hall, the ministers assembled according to rank: Grand Tutor Wen Zhong, Prime Minister Shang Rong, Deputy Prime Minister Bi Gan, Grand Tutor Wang Shu, Uncle Ji Zi, Chief Astronomer Du Yuanxian, Senior Minister Mei Bo, and others formed one faction. The other side included Fei Zhong, You Hun, Earl Chong Hou Hu, Bo An, Ji Sui, and their associates.

The left and right factions were truly birds of a feather; each group matched its own kind, for as the saying goes, families do not mix.

The pure remain pure, and the corrupt remain corrupt. White is white, black is black—even if the two try to mingle, they cannot blend.

“Grand Tutor Wen, do you know why His Majesty has summoned us all at noon? This has never happened before. What could be the reason?” Fei Zhong asked Wen Zhong.

Wen Zhong, who had always disdained Fei Zhong and his ilk, merely snorted contemptuously, not bothering to reply.

Fei Zhong, rebuffed, felt a surge of irritation and thought coldly, “Hmph! Wen Zhong, how arrogant you are—if not for the king’s favor, let’s see how long you can keep up your airs. The moment I get my chance, I’ll bring you down.”

“Minister Fei, why do you think His Majesty has called us all here so suddenly at noon? Could something grave have happened?” You Hun asked anxiously. “My left eyelid won’t stop twitching—could this be…?”

“Silence! Don’t say another word.” Fei Zhong quickly cut him off. “His Majesty is wise and divine—we, as subjects, dare not speculate about his thoughts. That would be disrespectful, a crime punishable by death.”

“Yes, yes, I spoke thoughtlessly,” You Hun replied.

“The king arrives—silence!”

With the call from the palace guards, King Zhou strode in hastily.

“We bow before our king—long live the king!” the ministers greeted him.

Seated upon his throne, King Zhou was silent.

Today, the king’s behavior was decidedly strange, and the ministers could not guess what had happened. All harbored uneasy feelings.

King Zhou, his gaze cold and shadowed, surveyed the assembly. After a long pause, he finally spoke, “Rise, all of you.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The ministers returned to their places.

“I imagine you are all curious: why would I summon you here at noon? Hmph!” King Zhou sneered. “The reason is simple—this morning, upon waking, I had a most peculiar nightmare.”

“Why don’t you try to guess what I dreamed about?”

The king’s mind was not to be guessed lightly; such presumption was a capital crime. The ministers knew this well. The usually verbose, sycophantic Fei Zhong and You Hun held their tongues.

“What’s wrong with you? I merely ask you to guess—are you all too afraid?” King Zhou frowned, his gaze settling on Fei Zhong and You Hun. “You two are usually the most talkative—tell me, was my nightmare a good one or a bad one?”

“Your Majesty, this servant… this servant…” they stammered.

“We do not know!” Fei Zhong and You Hun flushed red with embarrassment.

The king was not himself today; something unpredictable had clearly occurred. Their anxiety only grew.

“Very well. If you won’t speak, I shall.”

“My nightmare was most disturbing. In a vast empty palace, a great wine pool appeared—filled with fragrant, exquisite wine. I was immersed in the pool, reveling night after night…”

“In the end, I discovered the pool was filled with corpses, decayed and bleached to bone. I alone, a living man, soaked in that pool—surrounded by blood and death…”

“Tell me, why would I dream such a terrifying and uncanny vision?”