Unspoken Esteem

You Hun had been thrown into the death cell, and the people of Chaoge were overjoyed!

They spread the news from person to person. Chaoge was more lively today than it was during the New Year!

Everyone was talking about it, eagerly awaiting word that You Hun would be executed after autumn. Then they could go over and throw a few rotten eggs at him!

After news of You Hun's execution spread, King Zhou's reputation soared among the people of Chaoge and throughout the Shang Dynasty. They cheered his actions!

"Our Great King seems to have come to his senses lately!"

"No, no, you've got it all wrong. The Great King was never foolish. He only pretended not to understand anything so those treacherous ministers would reveal their true colors!"

"Otherwise, how could he tell who was good and who was bad among the court officials?"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"I heard Fei Zhong disappeared a while ago, too. Have you heard?"

"Someone else has already taken Fei Zhong's post. They say the newly appointed Lord Bai is a good official, too!"

"Yes, Lord Bai Jingqi wasn't very well known before, but he had an excellent reputation in the provinces. He was incorruptible and dared to speak his mind. I heard he was once a disciple of Viceroy Bi Gan?"

"So that's how it was?"

"Lord Bai didn't study under Viceroy Bi Gan for long, though. He soon joined the provincial bureaucracy, so not many people know about his past!"

"I see!"

All of Chaoge, and even the entire Shang Dynasty, was caught up in heated discussion!

The changes in the capital had made no difference, good or bad, to the lives of ordinary people in the provinces. But for King Zhou, getting rid of Fei Zhong and You Hun had a