Forcing the Palace

"Yang Jian, if I were to say the Monster Summoning Banner is lost, would you believe me or not?" Goddess Nuwa forced a wry smile.

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

The situation was similar to what Yang Jian had described: a white light had shot out from her treasure pouch and disappeared without a trace. When she tried to track it, she found it had gone to Chaoge, and then she lost all connection to it.

Her sudden appearance here was precisely to search for the Monster Summoning Banner.

The final result, of course, was no result...

"This..."

Yang Jian had no idea what was going on and asked, somewhat stunned, "Should your disciple believe you or not?"

Honestly, he didn't believe it.

If someone could steal the Monster Summoning Banner from Goddess Nuwa, it meant that person's divine abilities were superior to hers, and Goddess Nuwa was a Saint. There were only a handful of beings more powerful than her.

It was impossible for any of them to have stolen it from Goddess Nuwa.

However, given Goddess Nuwa's status, her words should carry a very high degree of credibility.

If she didn't want to help, she could have found any excuse, or even refused directly, and it would have been perfectly acceptable. She wouldn't have come up with such a flimsy reason.

Therefore, Yang Jian was conflicted.

"Believe it or not is up to you. However, if you find the Sky-Howling Dog and need my help to retrieve it, I can come out of seclusion to assist you."

Goddess Nuwa, wanting to save face and not explain further, left behind a good deed and departed on the Azure Luan Bird.

Watching the figure disappear into the horizon, Yang Jian stood for a long time before landing on the ground. He performed the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, transforming into a young scholar, and headed towards Chaoge.

Di Xin's mind was in turmoil.

The matters of the Monster Summoning Banner and the Sky-Howling Dog had already made him uneasy.

Hu Ximei's appearance was much earlier than he had anticipated. Besides worrying about the Monster Summoning Banner and the Sky-Howling Dog, he also had to rack his brains to guess her true purpose for entering the palace.

Was it related to the Monster Summoning Banner, or was it a prelude to corrupting the King within the palace?

Asking Daji would never yield the truth.

As a result, he couldn't come to an accurate conclusion himself.

Just at this moment, those ministers decided to stir up trouble.

They knelt outside Longde Hall, collectively submitting a petition.

Message after message came back from there, and Di Xin basically understood their demands.

First, the ministers demanded that Di Xin hold court punctually every day. According to custom, Di Xin should have morning court, but the ministers had waited for a long time without seeing the Great King's shadow, leaving many state affairs unresolved.

Second, the court officials requested that the Great King maintain his self-discipline and no longer indulge in carnal pleasures.

The reason for these demands was the incident with Gun Juan and the red-robed Taoist nun. One left in a furious rage, and the other was driven out of the palace. Some people had, through rumor and speculation, pieced together a general idea of what happened.

The court officials were naturally very displeased with King Zhou.

Third, two major incidents had occurred in the Imperial Study. A meteorite had fallen from the sky and collapsed the building, and today, the meteorite had exploded. This was not all; the Great King, instead of reflecting on himself, had summoned You Hun at the first opportunity to build the Star Stealing Tower on the site of the Imperial Study.

As a result, the ministers were furious and requested the Great King to halt construction.

The wrath of the Son of Heaven could lead to millions of corpses and thousands of miles of bloodshed, but the wrath of these ministers was merely taking off their caps, baring their feet, and banging their heads against the ground.

Yet, it was this very group of ministers that had thrown the entire Royal Palace into chaos.

Helpless, Di Xin had no choice but to go to Longde Hall.

"Look at you all, forcing me this way, forcing me that way. Look at Fei Lian and E Lai, they never pressure me. Why can't you learn from them?"

Standing before the entrance of Longde Hall, Di Xin scanned the kneeling crowd of officials. Noticing that Fei Lian and E Lai were not among them, he shouted with imposing momentum.

"Great King, Fei Lian and E Lai are sycophants, flattering the sovereign and fawning upon superiors, currying favor, and oppressing the good and honest, embezzling state finances. How could such scoundrels offer sincere remonstrance?"

Vice Prime Minister Bi Gan suddenly stood up, indignant.

"Nonsense!"

Di Xin's voice grew louder: "Vice Prime Minister, you must speak with evidence and not slander this King's loyal ministers."

"Great King, please uphold justice for your subject!"

"Great King, do justice for my father and me!"

Fei Lian and E Lai, who were hidden inside Longde Hall, heard Di Xin defending them and immediately ran out pitifully, kneeling before Di Xin.

Since the words had already been spoken, and he had already fallen out with the Fei Lian father and son, Bi Gan decided to go all the way. He said to Di Xin, "Great King, Fei Lian and his son have committed evil deeds for a long time. I have already gathered much conclusive evidence. I will have someone fetch it now. I request the Great King to punish them severely."

"I have evidence as well!"

"I have it here too!"

Behind Bi Gan, Prime Minister Shang Rong and Grand Master Mei Bai also stood up in agreement.

"Please, Great King, examine the evidence and punish Fei Lian and E Lai!"

Di Xin ignored them. Instead, he went over and helped Fei Lian and E Lai up. Then, he glared at Shang Rong, Bi Gan, and the others: "You are forcing the palace today at Longde Hall, demanding this and that from me. It's as if whatever I do is wrong, and you even have a numbered list. Today, I can only agree to one of your demands. You choose!"

Upon hearing King Zhou's words, Shang Rong, Bi Gan, and the others exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and said to King Zhou, "We choose to thoroughly investigate Fei Lian and E Lai, and punish these sycophantic officials."

"This minister also chooses this!"

"This minister too!"

The many ministers kneeling before the hall quickly chimed in, showing surprising unity, disregarding the original three demands.

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

"If Great King does not agree, we will smash ourselves to death in Longde Hall!"

Seeing that Di Xin was still hesitating, Shang Rong added fuel to the fire, walking towards a thick pillar.

"We will smash ourselves to death too!"

With Shang Rong leading the way, Bi Gan and the others echoed his words, putting on quite a show, making it seem as if they were serious.

"Fine... Prime Minister, Vice Prime Minister, and Minister Mei, the three of you will jointly preside over this investigation. Ensure justice is served, and report the findings to This King for a decision!"

Di Xin once again put on his Oscar-worthy acting, issuing the decree to these ministers as if he were extremely reluctant and forced.

"Your decree is heard!"

With this unexpected gain, the ministers completely ignored the three matters they had previously petitioned for. They sent people to place Fei Lian and E Lai, father and son, under house arrest and then left the palace to gather evidence.

Di Xin flicked his robe and left in great anger, his final performance a perfect conclusion.

To him, the ministers' backlash against Fei Lian and E Lai was far beyond his expectations. He had originally only intended to lay the groundwork, pushing the two sycophantic officials into the spotlight.

He never expected them to be pushed directly into a fiery pit.

So cool!

Di Xin couldn't help but feel exceptionally pleased, the gloom brought on by various matters completely swept away.

On the way back to his sleeping quarters, he suddenly noticed an abnormality with the White Puppy in his system space.

The Sky-Howling Dog had been quietly gnawing on a golden gourd, but now it had become frantic, running and jumping non-stop in the vast system space. If one could hear sounds, it would surely be barking its head off.