Chapter 8: Emperor Yi Collapses, Chaos in the Palace

  As soon as Wen Zhong's voice fell, his figure disappeared in front of Bi Gan. Seeing this, Bi Gan suddenly thought of the palace maid today and couldn't help but tremble in his heart. Emperor Yi's personal maid, he himself wanted to recognize her, but that palace maid was very unfamiliar!

  No good! Bi Gan secretly cursed in his heart, and hastily rushed to the palace. The guards saw Wang Shu just leave, but he quickly returned, and none of them dared to stop him!

  Entering the nine-room hall, Bi Gan only saw a palace maid lying on the ground, a medicine bottle overturned, and the medicine scattered all over the floor. Wen Zhong stood alone in front of the window, looking despondent.

  Bi Gan knew in his heart that something was amiss, and hastily rushed to the bedside, only to see Emperor Zhou's face turn pale, with only outgoing breath remaining, no incoming breath. The great heavenly son, the sage ruler Emperor Zhou had already passed away!

  "This... how can this be good..." Even Wen Zhong, a seasoned veteran of many battles, couldn't help but feel anxious. Earlier, when Emperor Shu was not yet established, there was an attempt on his life, and if news of this gets out, the whole world will likely fall into chaos!

  "Your Highness! The Emperor's decree, Your Highness is summoned to the palace!" Zhang Di Xin had just begun to indulge in the warmth of his hometown when he heard the urgent message from outside, the voice almost trembling with anxiety, the actions extremely flustered, probably having rushed over without a moment's rest.

  Zhang Di Xin did not dare to slack off. Even Jiang Wen and Yang Jiu, two people, didn't have time to inform them, so they hastily rushed to the Ninth Chamber Hall.

  Is something wrong with Emperor Yi? The more Zhang Dexin thought about it, the worse he felt. Along the way, he saw that the imperial star was declining and on the verge of collapse.

  When he and Zhang Dexin arrived, Wei Ziqi and Wei Ziyuan also happened to arrive. The three of them met, all with cold faces, but Wei Ziqi and Wei Ziyuan's expressions were flickering, as if they were worried and hesitant, and seemed to be both extremely sad and extremely happy. Everyone rushed over in a hurry, and at the moment, no one paid much attention to this.

  Three people entered the nine-room hall, Emperor Yi was already lying on his bed with a canopy raised, seemingly very tired. Zhong and Bigan stood in front of the bed, their faces as usual.

  "The matter of today, I have already known..." Emperor Yi said slowly in the tent, his voice was very slow and gentle, but when it fell into the ears of Wei Zi Qi and Wei Zi Yan, they felt a chill down their spine, as if needles were pricking their back, and a layer of cold sweat instantly appeared on their forehead. "The position of the Son of Heaven... is it really that important?"

  "Your Majesty! I was wrong! I was deceived by others! Please forgive me, your subject..." Emperor Yi had just finished speaking when Wei Ziyu suddenly kowtowed like a pounding garlic and cried until his eyes were blurry. But unexpectedly, Wei Ziqi suddenly went mad, drew the long sword from his waist and stabbed it straight into Wei Ziyu's back!

  Wen Zhong and others did not expect that the usually gentle and elegant Wei Ziyu would suddenly become violent. In the midst of urgency, it was also too late to stop him. Zhang Disheng was the closest, instinctively using force to push, the long sword straight into the thigh of Wei Ziyuan, a cluster of blood flowers rose and splashed onto Wei Ziyu's face!

  "Hahaha…… What a great King of Longevity! What a great illness! You're just a martial artist, how dare you want my throne!" Wei Ziqi seemed to have gone mad, he suddenly removed the crown from his head and pointed at Zhang Dexin, "What are you? We were born by the same mother! Why are you legitimate and I'm illegitimate? Why?"

  Wen Zhong and others saw Wei Zi Qi speaking in a humble tone, intending to stop him, but Zhang Emperor Xin blocked the crowd, letting Wei Zi Qi continue speaking.

  "Hahaha…… The whole world says I'm benevolent! But my benevolence can't even defeat a single martial artist? What a joke! It's simply a joke! Hahaha…… This prosperous land, it's all over! All over!" Weizi Qi laughed loudly, his eyes brimming with tears, unable to distinguish between sadness and madness. "I, Weizi Qi, am the true Son of Heaven of the great merchant family! What is Zixin, anyway?"

  After Micro Zi Qi finished speaking, Zhang Emperor Xin slowly got up and pulled Micro Zi Qi with one hand: "Do you know the situation of our great Shang Dynasty? Now, within the dynasty, there are internal worries and external troubles. Externally, there are the five regions, Dong Yi, and Quan Rong. Internally, there are the four directions and 800 vassals! Which one is not a wolf-like ambition? Not to mention the three major vassals in the southeast and north, even Xibo Hou Ji Chang, who is known for his virtues, is the greatest threat to our great Shang Dynasty!"

  Wei Zi Qi's eyes flashed a sharp light upon hearing the name of Xi Bo Hou Ji Chang, and then he started raving again. Zhang Emperor Xin knew in his heart that it was all because of Wei Zi Qi alone, and he didn't dare to have any thoughts of usurping the throne, so he brought up Xi Bo Hou, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be true!

  It was thought that King Zhou of Shang was tyrannical, and then King Wu of Zhou launched a punitive expedition against him. However, it turned out that during the reign of Emperor Yi of Shang, the Marquis of Western Qiqi had already begun to plot in secret, what a sage-like person, what a Marquis of Western Qiqi Ji Chang!

  Wen Zhong and Bi Gan, as high-ranking officials in the imperial court, had followed Emperor Yi for many years. They naturally knew the situation of the world very well and knew that what Zhang Yizhi said was not empty words. Since Tai Ding, the Shang Dynasty's national strength had been declining, while the vassal states were getting stronger and fatter, their military power had increased greatly, and they no longer took the Son of Heaven seriously. This was true for the 800 vassals, let alone the four bordering vassals!

  This is the story of Emperor Yi marrying off his sister to the Marquis of Western Bo, and King Zhou's marriage to the daughter of the Eastern Bo. Emperor Yi also went on four military campaigns against the five directions, all in order to demonstrate the great military power of Great Shang, and intimidate the vassals. This was already the last effort made by Emperor Yi for Great Shang!

  Think about it, which emperor would like to go to war year after year, making the people miserable? Emperor Yi had no choice and could only do so! An emperor being able to be so selfless is all for the sake of the nature of the common people avoiding even greater disaster.

  Zhang Di Xin finished speaking, the curtains suddenly rose, and under the bed, Emperor Yi had been dead for a long time. He only opened his mouth to ask questions, but it was just Wen Zhong's magic, and he didn't expect to deceive such an inner ghost.

  Things have come to this, Wen Zhong and Bi Gan both knelt down on the ground: "We await your orders, Your Majesty, please make a decision on this matter."

  Emperor Yi died, and Zhang Emperor Xin was already grief-stricken. Seeing that Wei Zi Qi seemed foolish and crazy, Wei Zi Yan's thoughts were all in vain, his appearance was like a wooden man, and his heart was full of emotions: "The two princes are already like this, killing them is meaningless, let alone demoting them to commoners, never allowing them to attend court again..."

  Hearing this, Wen Zhong and Bi Gan both said "good". Emperor Yi died soon after. At that time, it was even more impossible to reveal the secret. The next day, Wen Zhong transmitted the emperor's decree: Shou Wang had a good nature, was well-versed in literature and martial arts, and was appointed as the crown prince of the current dynasty. Wei Zi Qi and Wei Zi Yan did not rebel or commit any crime, but thinking of the heavenly grace, they were demoted to commoners and forever forbidden from attending court.

  "Foolish! Utterly foolish! How could you commit such an act!" In the city of Xiqi, a white-haired but youthful-looking old man rushed forward and rebuked the kneeling person, "Assassinating the Emperor! Do you know what kind of crime that is? If it's discovered, how will my Ji clan survive?"

  "Your Lordship! Now that Emperor Yi is dead, wouldn't it be better for King Shou to ascend the throne? That man is reckless and lacks wisdom...” The person kneeling in front of him had not finished speaking when he was stopped by the old man. After a long while, the old man finally let out a deep breath: "You may withdraw, from now on, never be so rash again!"

  That young man left with a scornful face, muttering to himself: "If it weren't for this, the throne would have had to wait until the end of time..."

  When the emperor passed away, according to the Shang Dynasty's rituals, they should have observed a hundred days of mourning. After that, the new king would ascend to the throne. Zhang Xin knew this was an extraordinary time and could only delay announcing the news of Emperor Yi's passing until after the funeral rites had been performed for a hundred days. Wen Zhong and Bi Gan also agreed with his proposal when they learned about it.

  To deceive the public, Zhang Emperor Xin acted normally during the day and guarded his filial piety in the nine-room temple at night. As for those who knew the truth, Bi Gan originally wanted to kill them, but was stopped by Zhang Emperor Xin and was placed under house arrest in the Shouwang Palace.

  "The dragon's body is the foundation of protecting the country, Your Highness must not overwork." After Emperor Yi passed away, Zhang Emperor Xin had been in Shouwang Palace for several days without coming out. Jiang Wencuo was worried and came to ask, "I have prepared ginseng soup for you, it should be drunk while hot."

  Zhang Di Xin felt better after drinking the ginger soup, ancient people drank this kind of thing, besides chicken soup it's all chicken soup, this is already his third cup today, Yang Jiu had sent one over earlier.

  Jiang Wencan saw Zhang Disen frowning, and didn't dare to speak either, could only stand aside. Jiang Wencan was virtuous, gentle and elegant, although very good, but too dazzling, lacking a kind of spirit that women should have. Zhang Disen knew his attitude was not good, and felt apologetic in his heart: "Recently I've been feeling irritable, it's hard on you, go call Jiu'er to come with me for a walk."

  Three people walked out in a line, and it was known that Zhang Emperor Xin liked to walk. Jiang Wenchu and the two of them specially changed into simple clothes for the trip. Unbeknownst to them, they saw a crowd of people surging forward, with shouts and calls filling their ears, and suddenly realized they had arrived at the market.

  Jiang Wenchun and Yang Jiu were already in the inner palace, and they rarely went out. At this time, seeing these folk kites and cloth tigers, they suddenly felt refreshed, and their hands kept picking up things, gradually forgetting Zhang Dixing who had accompanied them to relax.

  Zhang Di Xin liked the two of them like this in his heart, but he didn't stop them either. He simply sat under the willow shade and waited slowly.

  "Haha, little girl, what's the point of following me? Come with me and I'll make sure you have endless glory!" Just then, a loud noise came from afar, and among them was a seven-foot-tall man who stood out like a bamboo pole in the market.

  "Do you know who I am! How dare you be so presumptuous!" Two beautiful women in the crowd rebuked him, but he just smiled more lecherously, with a green glow already appearing in his eyes. He snapped open his folding fan: "Hahaha...the more virtuous and chaste the girl, the more interesting she is!"

  He said, his hand was about to reach out towards the girl, when a black shadow flashed by. The man didn't even have time to react before he was knocked aside. The person who had struck him was Zhang Disheng. The big man was shocked and scrambled to get up from the ground, his eyes fixed on the black clothes on Zhang's body. His look of surprise instantly turned into a cold sneer: "I am Fei Gang, the housekeeper of the Fei Lian family! Who are you? A insignificant person like an ant, dare to touch the whiskers of a tiger!"

  The colors of the Shang Dynasty were divided into grades, with white being the most noble. The nobles and aristocrats often wore yellow and red, while Zhang Emperor Xin wore a black robe, which naturally wouldn't be worn by any high-ranking officials. So he put his mind at ease and became even more arrogant!

  Zhang Di Xin was already feeling depressed, and seeing the two discolored flowers next to him suddenly made him furious: "Ants?! Today I'll show you what ants are!"

  As soon as the words fell, Zhang Di Xin suddenly punched Fei Gang and flew away. Fei Gang didn't expect Zhang Di Xin to suddenly attack, so he covered his chest with both hands. However, Zhang Di Xin's fist directly hit Fei Gang's face, and with just one punch, he was sent flying. In front of Fei Gang's eyes were red, yellow, and purple lights mixed together!