A misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!

A moment later.

Su Hu, head held high and chest out, strode into the Nine Chamber Hall.

He walked straight to the center of the main hall without looking to the side.

"Your subject, Su Hu, pays his respects to Your the King!"

Di Xin sat on the High Platform looking at Su Hu, his drooping crown tassels remaining still, blocking all inquiring gazes.

Su Daji has some clever tricks up her sleeve; she was able to subtly influence Su Hu's mind. No wonder she's a fox spirit.

Since you're already prepared, how could I disappoint you? If you're so eager to enter the palace, then come and be my pet.

"Minister Su, please rise," Di Xin said.

"Thank you, Your the King."

"What brings you here, my dear minister?"

Su Hu raised his head, his gaze sharp as lightning, and locked onto Fei Zhong and You Hun in the crowd.

In that instant.

Fei Zhong and You Hun felt as if they were being stared at by a furious tiger, and a chill ran down their spines.

They hadn't expected that Su Hu would be so stubborn as to dare to bring this matter up publicly.

Su Hu raised his hand and pointed, shouting sternly.

"Your Majesty, I request that you Grand Master Fei Zhong You Hun!"

"These two men falsely claimed to be acting on the Emperor's orders, forged imperial edicts to disrupt the government, and forced this humble subject to offer his daughter to the palace!"

"They spread rumors everywhere, claiming that Your the King is obsessed with women and wants to forcibly take my daughter as a concubine in order to coerce me into submission."

"As a subject of the Great Shang Dynasty, I dare not disobey the king's command, yet I cannot believe that Your the King would do such an absurd thing."

"Your the King has reigned for seven years, diligently governing the country. How could you possibly covet a subject's woman for the sake of beauty?"

"These are clearly two treacherous villains, trying to curry favor and flatter the emperor by presumptuously guessing his intentions!"

"These treacherous and wicked men have tarnished Your the King's reputation and disrupted the court; their crimes deserve death!"

"Your the King, please grant me justice! Eliminate this treacherous villain from the Great Shang Dynasty!"

His words were powerful and resounding.

It must be said that Su Hu was a smart man.

First, they completely absolved the King of any responsibility, shifting all the blame onto Fei Zhong and You Hun.

As long as the King still has a sense of shame and wants to maintain his image as a "wise ruler," he has no choice but to go along with what he said and deal with these two scapegoats.

Inside the main hall, there was a deathly silence.

All eyes were on the throne.

Shang Rong, Bi Gan, and other senior officials were also holding their breath.

They are waiting too.

We await the King's response.

They were eager to know whether this was truly the King's will, or the unauthorized actions of those two treacherous ministers.

After all, the matter of writing the poem at the Empress Wa's Palace is still a thorn in their side.

Perhaps the King has truly changed and begun to crave pleasure?

Marquis of Dong, Jiang Huanchu stood at the head of the military officers, his eyes fixed on his nose, his nose seemingly indifferent to his heart, as immovable as a mountain.

He recalled what Queen Jiang had told him yesterday, and he had already made up his mind.

Now, he wanted to see how the King would deal with these two audacious and treacherous officials.

Marquis Ji Chang of the West had just escaped the threat of death and was now holding his breath, wishing he could turn into a stone statue.

Marquis of the South, E Chongyu and Marquis of the North, Chong Houhu also lowered their heads, not daring to even breathe loudly.

As for Fei Zhong and You Hun, their expressions changed the moment Su Hu spoke, and they cursed inwardly, "You old fool who doesn't know what's good for him."

On the throne, Di Xin's reaction surprised everyone.

He was taken aback at first, then showed a hint of surprise.

"Oh? Is that so?"

He shifted his gaze from Su Hu to Fei Zhong and You Hun.

"Fei Zhong, You Hun."

"When did I issue an edict ordering the Marquis of Ji Province to offer his daughter?"

"How could I not remember?"

Fei Zhong and You Hun knelt down with a thud, crawled on their knees to the center of the hall, and kowtowed while crying out for their innocence.

"Your the King! I've been wronged!"

"We are innocent!"

"Your the King, even if you gave me a hundred lives, I wouldn't dare to falsely convey your imperial decree!"

"My loyalty to Your the King is as clear as the sun and the moon!"

You Hun hurriedly echoed, his obese body trembling uncontrollably.

"Yes, Your the King, this... this is a complete misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding!"

"It is the Marquis of Ji Province who has misunderstood our good intentions!"

Di Xin watched the farce unfold below with utter composure.

"Misunderstand?"

"What misunderstanding? Tell me."

Fei Zhong wiped away non-existent tears, raised his head, and wore an expression of utter loyalty.

"Your the King, we visited the Marquis of Ji Province a few days ago, and during our conversation, we remarked on Your the King's tireless work day and night."

"The harem consists of only the Queen and Consort Huang; it's far too desolate."

"As your subjects, we see this and are deeply concerned."

"We have heard that Su Daji, the daughter of the Marquis of Ji Province, is beautiful and exceptionally talented."

"Therefore... that's why I privately mentioned to Marquis Su that it would be a wonderful thing if one could enter the palace to serve the King."

"We are doing this all for Your the King, and for the sake of the Great Shang Dynasty!"

"Who would have thought... who would have thought that the Marquis of Ji Province would misunderstand and believe that we were forcing him, and even said that we were falsely conveying his orders."

"This is simply... an unparalleled injustice!"

"We admit that we acted hastily without informing Your the King, and this was our mistake."

"But we have absolutely no intention of forging the King's reputation!"

You Hun nodded repeatedly, adding to the discussion.

"Yes, Your the King!"

"We were merely making a suggestion; we never claimed it was Your the King's decree."

These words were so well-chosen that they lightly downplayed the serious crime of falsely conveying imperial orders as merely the mistake of speculating on the emperor's intentions.

Su Hu was so angry that he trembled all over.

I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone this shameless!

He was threatened at the inn, told "Don't push your luck," but now that they're in the main hall, it's just "casual conversation"?

"Nonsense!"

Su Hu pointed at the two men and cursed them.

"If it were merely a private inquiry, why bother using those feudal lords as intermediaries?"

"These past few days, the threshold of the post station has been worn down by visitors. They all claim with absolute certainty that they are acting on your orders and in accordance with the King's wishes!"

"They even threatened me, saying that if I didn't hand over my daughter, I would be disobeying an imperial decree and face dire consequences!"

"This is also a misunderstanding?"

You Hun blinked innocently and spread his hands.

"Marquis Su, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"

When have we ever sown discord among the other feudal lords?

"Those feudal lords went to the post station because they admired your reputation and wanted to make your acquaintance."

"These legs are their own body, and their mouths are their own body. What they say and do is none of our control."

"How can you, Lord Marquis, hold us accountable for this?"

Fei Zhong also chimed in.

"That is!"

"Marquis Su, this is utterly Dao Lecture."

"We kindly wanted to bestow wealth and honor upon you, but you are ungrateful. Why do you have to slander good people like this in the main hall?"

"They want to kill us too!"

"You're using this to settle personal scores!"

"You!" Su Hu pointed at the two of them, trembling with rage.

Su Hu was a military man, and his eloquence was no match for those two professional court jesters.

He was choked by a few words, his face turning red, his chest heaving violently, wishing he could draw his sword and chop these two scoundrels to pieces on the spot.

"Shameless! Utterly shameless! How dare they shirk responsibility in front of the King and the entire court!"

That's enough.

Just as Su Hu was about to roll up his sleeves and argue with these two scoundrels, a majestic voice came from the throne.

Di Xin waved his hand, his face showing some impatience.

"What kind of decorum is this, with all this noise and commotion in the main hall?"

He looked at the three people below, who were arguing heatedly, and slowly spoke.

"I already understand this matter."

"Since we've come this far, then I will make things clear in front of the entire court."

Di Xin looked around, his tone indifferent.

"In the seven years since I ascended the throne, I have never had the thought of taking in many concubines."

"Since my ascension to the throne, I have worked tirelessly day and night, wishing only for the prosperity and peace of my Great Shang Kingdom, and for Four Seas to submit."

"As for matters of the harem, the Queen and Consort Huang are sufficient; I have no intention of adding anything more."

"From now on, I hope all my ministers will refrain from making any further speculations; otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."

These words shocked the assembled officials.

Shang Rong and Bi Gan exchanged a glance, both seeing the relief in each other's eyes.

It seems that the King is still the same wise and mighty the King.

He was not seduced by women!

Since Your the King has said so, then this matter is considered settled.

It was Fei Zhong and You Hun who acted on their own initiative.

"Your the King!"

"Your the King prioritizes the affairs of the state and does not covet beautiful women; this is truly a blessing for the nation and a boon for all the people!"

The courtiers followed closely behind, shouting that he was wise and benevolent.

The weight on Su Hu's heart finally lifted.

As long as the King doesn't have such intentions, then his daughter is safe.

Di Xin waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

His gaze returned to Fei Zhong and You Hun.

"Fei Zhong, You Hun."

"Your subject is here!"

"Your subject is here!"

"You two have presumptuously speculated on the Emperor's intentions, and your words and actions have been inappropriate, causing a negative impact among the feudal lords. You deserve to be punished."

"By my decree, these two are to be fined one year's salary as a warning to others."

"If this happens again, we will not let it go easily."

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your the King!"

"We will return and deeply reflect on our actions, and never dare to do it again!"

Fei Zhong and You Hun kowtowed repeatedly, feeling a great weight lifted from their hearts.

We've passed this hurdle!

A year's salary is nothing; they can easily collect more than that amount from just a few gifts.

The two men immediately kowtowed repeatedly.

Su Hu stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Is that all?

Forcing ministers to offer their daughters as tribute and corrupting the court, all they get is a small fine?

That's too lenient on those two troublemakers!

He stepped forward, wanting to persuade him again.

"Your the King! You mustn't!"

"These two men have behaved wickedly, tarnishing Your the King's reputation. How can a mere year's salary possibly satisfy the people? Your the King, we beseech you to severely punish these treacherous officials!"

Di Xin shook his head.

"Minister Su, this was just a misunderstanding. Now that we've talked it out, let's just let it go."

"Although Fei Zhong and You Hun have made mistakes, they acted out of loyalty to share the emperor's burdens. A minor punishment is sufficient as a warning; there's no need to keep harping on them."

As he spoke, he looked at Fei Zhong and the other man.

"You two, hurry up and apologize to Minister Su!"