The rank of Censor Official was two grades below that of Grand Master.
Grand Master was already among the highest-ranking court officials. The only ranks above it were Prime Minister and Vice Prime Minister, the two heads of government.
Hearing that the Great King had promoted him two grades at once, almost sending him straight to the top, You Hun hurriedly kowtowed and thanked him for the favor.
Shang Rong, Bi Gan, Huang Feihu, Weizi, Weizi Qi, and the other civil and military officials immediately stepped forward to object, but King Zhou rejected them all.
With no other choice, the officials retreated. King Zhou had done this sort of thing plenty of times; once he made up his mind, he rarely took back his orders.
Among the ranks of officials, You Hun sneered at his political rivals, openly taunting them. The whole world might look down on him, but as long as the Great King favored him, his standing at court was secure.
"Great King, at the hour of Chen today, a meteor fell from the heavens and struck the Imperial Study. This is a warning from Heaven..."
Shang Rong had always despised the likes of Fei Zhong and You Hun. Though he had already returned to his place among the court officials, he stepped forward again, ready to make an issue of the meteorite.
Unexpectedly, King Zhou waved a hand and cut him off. "Prime Minister Shang, don't go on about warnings from Heaven. I, on the other hand, think this is an auspicious sign. For that reason, I want to build a Star Stealing Tower, right where the Imperial Study used to stand."
A Star Stealing Tower?
At those words, the court officials looked at one another in confusion.
What a brazen name. Was the Great King serious?
"I object!"
Bi Gan was the first to step forward. "Great King, are you building a tower for Consort Su? There are many halls and pavilions in the palace that could be allocated as needed. There's no need to launch a major construction project and burden the people. I heard that Consort Su wanted to build a Star Picking Tower. Why did Great King change the name to Star Stealing Tower? Does he intend to sneak off and have an affair there?"
There really were no secrets in the Royal Palace.
King Zhou hadn't expected Bi Gan to have already heard about it.
In truth, Daji herself had spread the news. To show off King Zhou's favor, she had even embellished the story.
Di Xin admired Bi Gan's boldness, but out loud he launched into his crooked reasoning. "It's precisely because a meteor fell from the heavens that I want to build a tower. This is in keeping with Heaven's will. Why not call it the Star Picking Tower, but the Star Stealing Tower? If you pick the stars, the immortals will know. If you steal them, they might not. As the saying goes, a wife is no match for a concubine, and a concubine is no match for a secret lover... Ahem, forget I said that last part."
"I object as well!"
"I object too..."
Hearing the Great King ramble on like that, some of the other officials also stepped forward to remonstrate.
"Enough. I ask only this: is there not a single person who agrees?"
Before everyone could step forward, King Zhou feigned anger, then looked around and asked.
"I agree!"
Overjoyed, You Hun immediately stepped forward and knelt on the ground. "Great King honors Heaven's will above and cares for the harem below. He promotes the royal family's prosperity and strengthens Yin Shang's fortunes. I wholeheartedly agree!"
"I agree as well!"
After You Hun declared his support, another official stepped forward to echo him.
There it was!
King Zhou nodded to himself. Birds of a feather flocked together. This official also held the rank of Censor Official and was named Fei Lian.
He was a sycophant just like Fei Zhong and You Hun.
He also had a son named E Lai, who served at court as a Middle Grand Master.
Both father and son had been deeply favored by Di Xin's predecessor. Unfortunately for them, they had been placed on Di Xin's list of people to deal with, along with You Hun.
But he couldn't simply give the order to drag them out and kill them. He needed a good pretext—preferably one that kept him out of it.
Speak of the devil.
As Di Xin pondered, E Lai stepped forward and joined his father in supporting him.
Though the three men drew cold looks from the officials in the hall, the smile on Di Xin's face only grew wider. "Those who object may leave court and attend to state affairs. Those who agree, stay behind to discuss the construction."
Seeing this, Shang Rong, Bi Gan, and the others knew there was no stopping it. They left the hall, dispirited, sweeping out with their sleeves.
They had lost all faith in Di Xin. The king's prestige in their eyes kept dropping by one point... then another... then another!
Once everyone who was going to leave had gone, Longde Hall fell quiet.
"My three dear ministers, you are all pillars of the state, men I rely on and capable of great things. My most basic requirement for this Star Stealing Tower is that it must not be struck by another meteorite. Can you do it? Whoever succeeds will oversee the construction and, once it's complete, earn great merit and rise to the highest rank."
This was when King Zhou began digging a hole for them.
"Make sure the tower can't be struck by a meteorite?"
At Di Xin's demand, You Hun, Fei Lian, and E Lai couldn't help frowning.
With the construction techniques available at the time, there was no way to withstand a meteorite strike. They had all witnessed the terrifying sight of the meteorite crashing down from the sky.
Not even building a Star Stealing Tower would help. Even reinforcing Longde Hall tenfold would be useless.
The three men exchanged looks, speechless. None dared take on such a massive task.
Di Xin's expression gradually darkened. "I relied on you so much, and yet none of you can think of a solution? If you can't come up with one this way, try looking at it from another angle!"
"Another angle?"
At that, You Hun's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly replied, "Great King, I've thought of a way to protect against a meteorite. However, the tower would have to be built deep underground. No matter how large a meteorite fell, Great King and the Noble Consort would be completely safe."
"Genius! You're a damn genius!"
Seeing how readily You Hun had caught on, Di Xin grew excited. He dismissed Fei Lian and E Lai, keeping Fei Zhong behind to continue the discussion.
He had wanted to use the construction project to get rid of all three men, but it wasn't enough to justify that.
It might arouse suspicion, so he could only let those two father and son off the hook.
The two of them discussed the matter for over an hour. Only after Di Xin had subtly worked his ideas about Deyue Tower into the conversation did You Hun take his leave, carrying the tonics he had brought as a gift back to the Imperial Study.
The ruined site of the Imperial Study rang with clanging sounds. The Imperial Guards were working at full tilt to chisel into the meteorite.
Unfortunately, the meteorite was exceptionally hard, and after all this time they had made little progress.
At this rate, it would take five to seven days of chiseling before they could break it apart.
Di Xin didn't feel like waiting around. He couldn't stop wondering who was behind the meteorite, so he simply ordered his carriage to Shouxian Palace to see Daji.
"My dear Consort, arrangements have been made for the Star Picking Tower. I've put You Hun in charge, so it's sure to meet your satisfaction."
As soon as he saw Su Daji come to greet him, Di Xin offered her a sweetener.
"Great King acts swiftly and decisively. Truly, he's a man destined for great things. I'm deeply grateful for your kindness. Today, I'll make sure to attend to you properly!"
How could Daji miss such a good opportunity? She swept forward with a waft of fragrance and clung to Di Xin.
"My dear Consort, what a close call today. A stone that huge came crashing down. If I hadn't happened to step outside for some air, the two of us might have been parted forever."
King Zhou suppressed his revulsion as he spoke, watching Daji's reaction.
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