The Prince Offered His Head

"It has come to this. There is nothing more we can do."

Zi Qi passed judgment on their rebellion: it had been an utter failure.

Mai Yun refused to accept it. "Your Highness, can we only sit here and wait to be taken?"

Zi Qi said, "There is only one way left."

Mai Yun asked again, "What ingenious plan do you have, Your Highness?"

Zi Qi said, "We no longer command any troops, and King Zhou has seen through everything. Our only option is to assassinate him by force."

"But..." Mai Zhi, standing nearby, looked puzzled and worried. "King Zhou has valor enough to stand against ten thousand men, and with the Heavenly Sword in his hand, he can vanquish entire armies. Assassinating him..."

Zi Qi let out a long sigh. "King Zhou knows who we are, but he does not know our intentions. We need only have someone carry the rebel leader's head and the list on the Bloodstained Belt Edict, claiming to have abandoned darkness for the light and to be making amends through meritorious service. King Zhou will surely be delighted and grant an audience, giving that person a chance to approach him. Then, all he needs to do is unfold the Bloodstained Belt Edict for King Zhou to inspect, draw the dagger hidden in the belt, and step forward to strike. Our great undertaking can succeed."

"A brilliant plan, Your Highness!" Mai Yun rejoiced. "But where will we get the dagger and the head?"

Zi Qi took out a dagger. "I had the sword bestowed by the Immortal reforged into this dagger. It cuts iron like mud and can sever a hair blown against its edge."

Mai Yun knelt and pleaded, "Though I am a civil official, unlike my elder brother, I have some knowledge of thrusting techniques. I beg Your Highness to let me wield this dagger and assassinate King Zhou."

Zi Qi nodded.

Then everyone turned to look at Zi Yan.

What are you all looking at me for? I know perfectly well what I'm capable of. Assassinate King Zhou? My legs would give out before I'd taken more than a few steps toward him.

Wait...

Zi Yan suddenly realized something. Besides a sharp dagger, assassinating King Zhou also required a rebel's head.

And that head had to belong to someone of sufficient rank and standing to draw King Zhou's attention, or there would be no chance to approach him.

Holy shit!

Doesn't that mean me?

Terrified, Zi Yan instinctively backed away until he hit the wall, unable to retreat another half step.

He finally understood why Zi Qi had specifically brought him into their little band of rebels.

He was plainly of no use at all. He had neither military authority nor popular prestige, and at every meeting, he had been nothing more than an ornament.

So it had all been for this day!

They wanted to borrow his head for one final gamble!

Zi Yan dropped to his knees with a thud, tilted his face toward the heavens, and cried out through streaming tears, "Royal Brother, I don't want to die yet..."

Zi Qi stepped forward and said coldly, "King Zhou has won the people's hearts, but now that the Mandate of Heaven Theory has been proclaimed, he cannot act against Heaven. Though the Beacon Fire has cowed the Feudal Lords, in just a few years they will harbor rebellious thoughts again. This is no blessing for the realm."

Zi Qi had long since stopped calling him a fatuous king and begun calling him King Zhou. Judging by everything that had happened during the rebellion, King Zhou was not remotely incompetent. Every outward appearance had merely been part of his schemes.

But that still would not do.

At first, Zi Qi had simply felt that King Zhou lacked ability, and that he, with his greater reputation for virtue, ought to take the throne. Resentment had driven him to begin plotting, but gradually, as he learned more, he came to feel that King Zhou was actually quite capable.

Mercy and generosity had their advantages. This time, for instance, they had inspired the common people to fight for their king.

Yet that Mandate of Heaven Theory had, in the end, taken a slice from every prince and noble's cake.

Great Shang had long since ceased to be as powerful as it once was. Though the Eight Hundred Vassals came to court, how many submitted as loyally as Chong Houhu and Su Hu?

Moreover, the Marquis of the West's rule in Xiqi was deeply rooted, and his prestige was immense. The common people knew only Ji Chang, not King Zhou. These were all warning signs!

King Zhou's methods of suppressing the Feudal Lords were too merciful, too mild!

Before long, great turmoil would likely descend. In a world of chaos, Great Shang needed a king with stronger methods, one decisive in killing and conquest.

Zi Qi's expression softened slightly as he said to Zi Yan, "Second Brother, if Third Brother dies, our royal uncle will nominate you to succeed him. Remember this: all you need to do is overturn Third Brother's Mandate of Heaven Theory, continue calling yourself the Son of Heaven, and offer sacrifices to Heaven in repentance, praying for forgiveness."

"That way, the Feudal Lords will lose the righteous justification of Heaven's mandate. There are many loyal ministers at court, so even if you spend every day staying in the Imperial Harem, no great upheaval will arise. Our Great Shang's fortunes may endure a little longer."

Zi Qi sighed heavily. How could he not know Zi Yan's capabilities?

He was nothing more than a wastrel of the royal family, but in times like these, an incapable ruler might be better.

Even extending Great Shang's reign by five or ten years would be better than having words that defied Heaven provoke the Feudal Lords and nobles into rising against it together.

Zi Qi cautioned him again. "Second Brother, even if this assassination fails, you need not worry. Third Brother sees the finest details clearly. He will naturally know that I dragged you into this and that you were not at fault. With his mercy, he will not punish you. Afterward, remember to remind him to guard against the Feudal Lords. He must not keep yielding to them with peaceful measures. Third Brother is merciful, but that does not mean the Feudal Lords are."

Zi Qi pulled a talisman from his inner robe, forced Bi Gan's mouth open without a word of explanation, and stuffed it inside. "Royal Uncle, I know your intentions. This talisman was bestowed by an Immortal and can preserve your life. You are a great worthy. Please be sure to preserve yourself so that you may protect Cheng Tang's realm."

Bi Gan's face flushed crimson. At his age, how could he withstand such rough treatment? He nearly passed out.

Only after a long while did he recover enough to speak. Sensing something amiss in Zi Qi's behavior, he then saw Zi Qi pick up the dagger and hurriedly tried to stop him. "Your Highness, no!"

Too late.

No one had expected Zi Qi to take the dagger and slash it across his own throat.

He had not hesitated at all. He had considered borrowing Zi Yan's head, but after pretending to be wise and virtuous all his life, the pretense had become real. Zi Yan had done nothing wrong. He could not bring himself to kill him.

Whether the assassination succeeded or failed no longer mattered. If it succeeded, Zi Yan would ascend the throne and prolong Cheng Tang's realm for a few more years. If it failed, at least it would tell that merciful king that even his own brothers could harm him.

Let me, Zi Qi, use this life to shatter your innocence and illusions.

Zi Qi's body collapsed limply to the ground, its life extinguished.

Mai Zhi and Mai Yun threw themselves over his corpse and wept in anguish. Bi Gan, too, wore an expression of sorrow.

Only now did Zi Yan, who had thought he was about to die, understand. The Prince Offers His Head—how had that ever meant his own?

Zi Qi had clearly decided to sacrifice himself and offer up his own head!

After weeping for a long time, Mai Yun, his eyes red, personally cut off Zi Qi's head.

Then he found a box, placed the head inside, and handed it to Mai Zhi.

Bi Gan also handed Mai Yun the Bloodstained Belt Edict left by the late king.

Mai Yun took the dagger from Zi Qi's hand and wrapped it in the belt. Once everything was ready, he tearfully bowed again and again before the headless corpse, knocking his forehead to the ground. "I, Mai Yun, will not fail this mission!"

The Nine-Bay Hall.

Zi Shou summoned the ministers to court to discuss how to handle the aftermath. Few of the rebels had died; most had been captured alive. There were also more than seven thousand mountain bandits who had merely lost their strength. After a few days' rest, they would be as lively as dragons and tigers again. Such an enormous number of prisoners would be difficult to deal with.

The ministers had yet to recover from the rebellion, and some were still hiding in their residences, not daring to come out.

Zi Shou thought this was just as well. The fewer ministers there were, the less likely his plans would meet with obstruction. This was a rare opportunity.

Court had only just begun, and his seat was not even warm when someone reported that the Senior Grandees Mai Zhi and Mai Yun were outside the hall, carrying the rebel leader's head and begging His Majesty's forgiveness.

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