Pressuring the King

"Yang Jian, if I told you the Monster Summoning Banner had been lost, would you believe me?" Goddess Nuwa wore a rueful smile.

It was rather embarrassing to talk about, so she hadn't even mentioned it to the Jade Pipa Spirit. Only two of her disciples, the Nine Heavens Profound Maiden and the Nine Nether Pure Maiden, knew the truth.

What had happened back then was much like what had happened to Yang Jian. A flash of white light had flown out of her treasure pouch and vanished. When she tracked it down, she discovered it had gone to Chaoge, and then she lost all trace of it.

She had suddenly appeared here because she was searching for the Monster Summoning Banner.

In the end, of course, she had found nothing...

"This..."

Yang Jian had no idea what had happened. He looked bewildered. "Should this disciple believe you or not?"

To be honest, he didn't believe her.

If someone could steal the Monster Summoning Banner from Goddess Nuwa, that would mean their magic was greater than hers. And Nuwa was a saint! There were only a handful of beings more powerful than him.

None of them could possibly have stolen something from Goddess Nuwa.

But given Goddess Nuwa's status, what she said ought to be highly credible.

If she didn't want to help, she could have made up any excuse—or simply refused. There was no need to come up with such a flimsy one.

So Yang Jian was torn.

"Whether you believe me is up to you. But if you find out where Sky-Howling Dog is and need my help getting him back, I can come out of seclusion and assist you."

Mindful of her dignity, Goddess Nuwa didn't want to explain any further. Leaving behind a goodwill for the future, she gave the reins a flick and rode her azure luan away.

Watching her figure disappear into the horizon, Yang Jian stood there for a long time before descending to the ground. He used the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts to transform into a young scholar, then set off toward Chaoge.

Di Xin was in a very unsettled state of mind.

The matter of the Monster Summoning Banner and Sky-Howling Dog had already left him feeling uneasy.

Hu Ximei had appeared much earlier than he'd expected. On top of worrying about the banner and Sky-Howling Dog, he now had to puzzle over her real reason for entering the palace.

Was it because of the Monster Summoning Banner, or was she laying the groundwork to enter the palace and beguile the king?

There was no way he could get the truth out of Daji.

And he himself couldn't come to any definite conclusion.

Right at that moment, the ministers had to stir up trouble.

They were kneeling outside Longde Hall, making a collective petition.

Reports kept coming in from over there, and Di Xin gradually got a handle on what they wanted.

First, the ministers demanded that Di Xin attend court on time every day. By convention, he was supposed to hold morning court, but the ministers had waited a long time without seeing the Great King. Many state affairs couldn't be dealt with.

Second, the court officials urged the Great King to keep himself virtuous and stop indulging in women.

This demand stemmed from the affairs of Gun Juan and the red-robed Daoist nun. One had stormed off in anger, while the other had been driven out of the palace. Some people had heard rumors and pieced together what had happened.

Naturally, the court officials were very unhappy with King Zhou.

Third, two major incidents had taken place at the Imperial Study. A meteor had fallen from the sky and crushed it, and today the meteor had exploded. That wasn't all: rather than reflect on his conduct, the Great King had immediately summoned You Hun and ordered him to build Star Stealing Tower on the Imperial Study's former site.

That was the last straw for the ministers. They demanded that the construction be stopped.

When the Son of Heaven grew angry, corpses could pile up by the millions and blood flow for a thousand miles. But when these ministers grew angry, all they did was bare their heads, go barefoot, and bang them against the ground.

Even so, this bunch of ministers had thrown the entire Royal Palace into chaos.

Left with no choice, Di Xin went to Longde Hall.

"Just look at yourselves! You're always pressuring me to do this or that. Now look at Fei Lian and E Lai. They never pressure me. Why can't you learn from them?"

Standing at the entrance to Longde Hall, Di Xin swept his gaze across the kneeling ministers. He made sure Fei Lian and E Lai weren't among them before he bellowed with full authority.

"Great King, Fei Lian and E Lai are treacherous ministers. They flatter their ruler, curry favor, bully the innocent, and embezzle state funds. How could petty villains like them ever risk their lives to remonstrate with you?"

Vice Prime Minister Bi Gan sprang to his feet, filled with righteous indignation.

"Nonsense!"

Di Xin raised his voice. "Vice Prime Minister, you must have evidence to support your words. You must not slander my beloved ministers."

"Great King, please see justice done for your servant!"

"Great King, please see justice done for me and my father!"

Fei Lian and E Lai, who had been hiding inside Longde Hall, heard Di Xin standing up for them and immediately came running out with pitiful expressions. They knelt before him.

Now that things had come to this, since he had already fallen out with Fei Lian and his son, Bi Gan decided he might as well go all the way. He said to Di Xin, "Great King, Fei Lian and his son have been committing evil for a long time. I have evidence of many of their crimes. I'll send someone to fetch it now. Please punish them severely."

"I have evidence too!"

"And so do I!"

Behind Bi Gan, Prime Minister Shang Rong and Grand Master Mei Bai also rose to support him.

"Please review the evidence and punish Fei Lian and E Lai for their crimes!"

Di Xin ignored them. Instead, he went over and helped Fei Lian and E Lai to their feet, then glared at Shang Rong, Bi Gan, and the others. "Today you've come to Longde Hall to force my hand. You demand this and that from me, as though everything I do is wrong, and now you've even drawn up a list of demands. I can only agree to one thing today. Choose among yourselves!"

Hearing King Zhou's words, Shang Rong, Bi Gan, and the others exchanged glances and nodded to one another. Then they said, "We choose a full investigation into Fei Lian and E Lai, and punishment for these treacherous ministers."

"This servant chooses that too!"

"And I!"

The many ministers kneeling before the hall chimed in at once. To everyone's surprise, they were completely united, and they set aside all three of their original demands.

Seeing this, Di Xin could tell just how desperately these people wanted to get rid of Fei Lian and E Lai.

"If the Great King refuses, we'll dash our heads against the walls of Longde Hall!"

Seeing that Di Xin was still hesitating, Shang Rong added fuel to the fire. He picked out a thick pillar and headed toward it.

"We'll dash our heads too!"

With Shang Rong leading the way, Bi Gan and the others joined in. They put on quite a show, making it look almost real.

"Very well... Prime Minister, Vice Prime Minister, and Minister Mei, the three of you will jointly oversee this case. Make sure you neither wrong the innocent nor let the guilty escape. Submit your findings to me for a final decision!"

Di Xin once again gave an Oscar-worthy performance. He issued the order to the ministers as if they had forced his hand and left him no choice.

"Your Majesty!"

With this unexpected success, the ministers promptly forgot the three matters they had originally petitioned over. They sent men to place Fei Lian and E Lai under house arrest, then left the palace to gather evidence.

Di Xin swept his sleeves and stalked away in a fury, ending his performance perfectly.

The court officials' fierce opposition to Fei Lian and E Lai had been far beyond his expectations. He'd originally only wanted to lay the groundwork and push the two treacherous ministers into the spotlight.

He hadn't expected to push them straight into a fire pit.

Brilliant!

Di Xin felt exceptionally refreshed. The gloom brought on by all his troubles had vanished without a trace.

On the way back to his sleeping quarters, he suddenly noticed that the White Puppy in his system space was acting strangely.

Sky-Howling Dog had been quietly chewing on the golden gourd, but now he'd grown restless. He raced and leaped around the vast system space without stopping. If Di Xin could hear him, he'd surely have been barking nonstop.