Chapter 5: The Case of the Nine Cauldrons

  Wei Zi Qi was originally famous for his virtuous character and liked quietness, having no interest in martial arts whatsoever. Moreover, with his status, there was no need to use force, let alone practice it in daily life. The sword at his waist was merely a decoration, without any practical use.

  Zhang Di Xin was just looking at this point, pulling Wei Zi Qi to determine who was superior, secretly using one hand to exert force, and fiercely pinched Wei Zi Qi. The King of Shou had a divine power in his body, and with Zhang Di Xin's professional training, he naturally understood the way of force. With one pinch, it actually made Wei Zi Qi grit his teeth and cry out "King brother, let go!"

  Although he knew that the Huálóng Chí incident was a trick played by Wèi Zǐqǐ, Zhāng Dìxīn was not willing to let go easily. Instead, he increased his grip strength, pinching Wèi Zǐqǐ's face until it turned pale. Only then did he release his hand and feign surprise, saying: "Wáng brother! What are you doing? If you don't want to engage in a martial arts competition with me, there's no need to collapse on the ground like this!"

  Wei Zi's anger ignited, his eyes burning with even more resentment. He pointed at Zhang Di Xin: "Emperor, how can a country be governed by someone as reckless as you?"

  "What? Brother Wang said that we martial artists are all rough men?" Zhang Emperor Xin asked back, pointing at the Wen Taishi who was drinking on top of Xianqing Hall, "Wen Taishi is the number one fierce warrior in our dynasty, if Brother Wang says so, I'm afraid..."

  The eyes of the people in the hall were already drawn to the two, and with this commotion, they were even more under the scrutiny of all. Zhang Emperor Xin secretly smiled in his heart, thinking that you want to compete with me for the throne, but you're still too tender: "Brother Wang says so, isn't it making the hearts of the triumphant returning soldiers turn cold?"

  "You... you!" Wei Ziqi only then realized that he had misspoken, and knew that he had been tricked by Zhang Disin once again. He also saw that the expressions of Emperor Yi and Wen Zhong on the platform had changed, their faces were even paler than before, and they were even more shocked in their hearts!

  As a loyal supporter of Wei Zi, Wei Yan saw this and didn't know what to do either. He could only follow along with his face turning pale one moment and red the next, thinking that today the Duke of Shou had opened his shell and was actually so eloquent?

  The Shang Dynasty has always been militaristic, but just now, the words of Wei Zi Qi show disdain for military men. Although the many ministers observe without speaking, in their hearts they look askance at Wei Zi Qi. If this man were to become Emperor, wouldn't that shake the foundations of the state?

  "The great king is drunk, please don't blame him." The person speaking wore a black robe, with a coronet on his head and a forty-year-old middle-aged appearance, with a smooth black beard that was quite handsome. Although he was apologizing, when he spoke, every word was clear and resonant.

  The person who spoke was Bi Gan, Bi Gan was the second son of King Tang of Shang, and also the younger brother of Emperor Yi. According to seniority, he was the uncle of Zhang, Di Xin, Wei Zi Qi, and Wei Zi Yan. Since he had spoken up, naturally no one dared to oppose him.

  In "The Investiture of the Gods", Emperor Xin (King Zhou) was cruel and tyrannical, imposing heavy taxes and punishments. Bi Gan sighed: "Not to remonstrate with one's lord when he does wrong is not loyalty; to be afraid to die for telling the truth is not bravery. To remonstrate and die if not listened to is the utmost loyalty." He then went to the Star-plucking Tower to strongly advise King Zhou for three days without leaving. King Zhou asked what made him so confident, Bi Gan replied: "I am confident because of my good deeds and righteousness." King Zhou angrily said: "I've heard that a sage's heart has seven apertures; let me see if it's true!" Then he killed Bi Gan and dissected his heart to look.

  Zhang Emperor Xin was not King Zhou, so he understood the matter of Huang Shu replacing Wei Zi Qi's request for favor. After all, King Zhou was not filial, if Wei Zi Qi became king, Da Shang would not have fallen to the point of destruction, let alone Bi Gan, a loyal and righteous person, whose seven orifices were all for the country and the people.

  Jian Bi Gan begged for mercy, and Wei Zi suddenly became energetic, immediately becoming "drunk" and muttering something incoherently, before being supported away by the servants.

  Di Yi glanced at Wei Zi Qi, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't speak up. Instead, Wen Taishi stood up and said, "Your Highness is not used to the wine's potency, he was just speaking in jest, don't take it seriously."

  Emperor Yi saw that the matter was settled and didn't want to pursue it further, so he sat down to drink wine. Wei Ziyu saw Wei Ziqi leave and felt a sense of excitement in his heart. The originally invisible light began to gradually reveal itself. If Wei Ziqi's power was weak, wouldn't that give him an opportunity? He opened his mouth and said: "I once heard rumors that the third prince was great at changing pillars at Feiyun Pavilion, but I'm not as good. Just now, Wang brother lost his words and ruined everyone's mood. Why don't we let the third prince show off his skills and lift the tripod to revive the excitement?"

  It's true that the Haomen are ruthless and devoid of righteousness. Just as Wei Zi Qi had just left, the stone at the bottom of the well was already in place, and while speaking, he even cleared himself to avoid being treated like Wei Zi Qi by Zhang Di Xin, who had been made a laughing stock.

  Zhang Di Xin took a glance at the bronze tripod, and suddenly his heart was filled with calculations. He immediately stood up and walked to the side of the bronze tripod. Everyone knew that Shou Wang had great strength, but they had never seen the real thing before. At this moment, even more so, they got up to take a look, including Tai Shi Wen Zhong who couldn't help but stand up!

  The bronze tripod is majestic and simple, with two ears standing upright on the mouth of the tripod, three feet at the bottom like animal hooves, looking steady and solid. The black beast pattern on the top is winding and surrounds the tripod in three circles, each side has a beast head, extremely ferocious.

  Zhang Di Xin was supporting himself on the copper tripod, his legs spread apart, his arms stretched out and his blue veins bulging, his face had turned red with effort!

  Wei Ziyan was overjoyed to see Zhang Disheng make a fool of himself, but at this moment, Zhang Disheng just smiled, his eyes revealing extreme disdain and mockery towards Wei Ziyan. He let go with both hands, placing his right hand under the bronze cauldron, and suddenly let out a loud shout. The bronze cauldron actually responded to the sound, slowly rising up!

  "Good!"

  "Long live the true divine power of the king!"

  "Truly a heavenly being!"

  Earlier, everyone thought that Zhang Emperor was out of energy and would make a fool of himself, but unexpectedly, he single-handedly lifted the tripod with ease, and suddenly there were loud cheers!

  "Come and take the food! The first dish, offer to Emperor Yi's holy lord, wishing our great commercial nation prosperity forever, lasting for eternity!" Attendant Zhang Emperor Xin shouted, who dared to be slow, hastily took the food and sent it to Emperor Yi. Emperor Yi was immediately delighted, loudly saying "Good!"

  "The second dish, I offer to you, Commander-in-Chief Wen and all the merchants, wishing our great business territory forever stable, never to raise arms!" Commander Wen was overjoyed upon hearing this. As a commander, he didn't fear war, but rather wished for swords and spears to be stored away, horses to graze on Mount Nan, Zhang Emperor Xin's words had struck a chord in Commander Wen's heart!

  "The third dish, offered to the entire civil and military officials, wishing our great business to flourish and our military to be victorious, with talented individuals emerging one after another!" Everyone who heard this felt honored that they had a share in it, and their evaluation of Zhang Emperor Xin rose even higher. Loyal to the monarch, loving his scholars, and taking pity on his civil and military officials - such a prince must be a blessing for our great business!

  "Your Majesty's great kindness, Your Highness's deep affection, we must work tirelessly until death!" The many officials at this time all knelt down on the ground, speaking in unison. Emperor Yi was overjoyed and ordered everyone to rise, enjoying the "Three Wishes" feast!

  Everyone was delighted, but Wei Ziyuan, who had originally wanted to make Zhang Disen lose face, was even more annoyed. He didn't expect that this move would actually allow Shouwang to show off, and he was unhappy in his heart, so he slumped down at the table and stopped speaking.

  The servant brought food to Wei Ziyan's seat, but his face was full of fear, and even the tray in his hand fell to the ground!

  Wei Zi Yan was already annoyed, and seeing someone dare to knock over the tray in front of him made him even more displeased: "You dog slave, how..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Wei Ziyuan's face suddenly changed, and cold sweat dripped down his body as he collapsed to the ground, pointing at the banquet table with a look of terror on his face: "This...this is why! This is why?!"

  Everyone was shocked and looked at the seat of Wei Ziyan, only to see nine food cauldrons falling on the table, their eyes widened in unison, and they were stunned!

  The Shang Dynasty had a clear hierarchy, and only the emperor was allowed to use the nine tripods. Now, on the table of Wei Zi Yan, the nine tripods have appeared, which is a great rebellion against the moral order!

  "What nonsense! Utter nonsense!" Emperor Yi was furious, and immediately stormed off with a flick of his sleeve. Wen Zhong and Bi Gan saw the items on Wei Ziyan's seat, their faces also changed, but they didn't dare to be slow, and quickly followed Emperor Yi as he left.

  "It must be that the lower officials were careless and misplaced the food, come on, hurry up and restart the banquet!" Zhang Emperor Xin shouted loudly from the side, but in his heart he was secretly delighted, thinking of competing with me for the throne, you are still too tender, it's better to send you to a remote place early, so that everyone can rest assured.

  This was naturally done by Zhang Disen, the copper pot was originally very close to Wei Ziyuan's table, Zhang Disen single-handedly held the pot and with a flick of his long sleeve behind him, he suddenly brought the neighboring table's food pot over, landing it on Wei Ziyuan's seat. This move was originally intended for use on Wei Ziqi's body, but unexpectedly he couldn't take it, in just a moment, he became "drunk", this great good fortune, could only land on Wei Ziyuan's body, and can be considered as making the best use of things.

  "The Nine Cauldrons Case" shocked the imperial court and the common people. Within a short period of time, the news had spread far and wide, and there were various speculations about the incident within the imperial court. Some said that Wei Ziyuan was innocent and had been framed by someone else, while others claimed that Wei Ziyuan had intended to rebel against the emperor, with the nine cauldrons serving as evidence. There were also those who believed that Wei Ziyuan's intentions went beyond rebellion, aiming to overthrow his own father and brothers, and that the nine cauldrons would be used as a signal to spark chaos.

  There is another guess, which is more credible, that Wei Zi Qi plotted a rebellion and let his accomplice Wei Zi Yan respond in the temple, while he himself presided over it outside. Otherwise, why would Wei Zi Qi suddenly leave on pretext during the wine banquet? The two men agreed to use the nine tripods as a signal, and when the tripods moved, they would take action together with Wen Zhong, Bi Gan, and Shou Wang, and catch them all in one net, so that the world of the great merchant would be theirs!

  Wei Ziguo was even more furious upon hearing the news, never expecting that his own departure would give others an excuse, and now he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River!

  What a grievance! It's simply the greatest injustice under heaven! Wei Ziyuan was so angry that he wanted to cry but had no tears. At the banquet, he himself didn't know how it happened that an extra tripod appeared, and even if he had intended to rebel, he wouldn't have been so bold as to put it right out in the open. But now that's exactly what has happened, and even if Wei Ziyuan had a hundred mouths, he couldn't explain it clearly!

  As for the mastermind behind the "Nine Tripod Case", our King Shou, is now frowning and looking worried, staring at the yellow hairpin on the tea table, although he knows that this hairpin is not an ordinary object, but he doesn't know how to use it. Could it be that he has to hold this hairpin behind his back to curse someone?

  Zhang Di Xin thought the more he thought, the more boring it was. He simply threw the hairpin aside and lay on the bed. Just as he had calmed down for a while, he felt his whole body tremble, and in his mind, an extraordinary scene appeared: a half-transparent human body floated in mid-air, with countless white lines traversing its interior, like the meridians of the entire body.

  A strand of azure energy, from the center of his brow, slowly began to move outwards. As the energy passed through his meridians, they flashed momentarily, and a segment of strange text appeared in Zhang Emperor Xin's mind. However, when he looked at it, he didn't recognize a single character...