Tyrant, you're ruining lives!

[Negative Emotion Points from Bi Gan: +2000...]

[Negative Emotion Points from Huang Feihu: +2000...]

As Di Xin finished speaking, brimming with gratitude and tears in his eyes, Bi Gan and Huang Feihu felt as though a bucket of bitter coptis steeped for nine days and nights had overturned inside their hearts. That bitterness, that sour sting-words could hardly describe it!

They were true loyal ministers who had come to force the king's hand and set the record straight. How had they become loyal ministers who followed the tyrant wholeheartedly, even at the cost of their own reputations?

One thing was beyond doubt: they knew that if they accepted this bucket of shit dumped on their heads, their reputations in Chaoge City would stink forever. Especially among the Conservative Faction, they would be rats crossing the street, everyone clamoring to beat them, everyone spitting on them!

When had this tyrant become so clever that he could run circles around the two of them like this?

"Your Majesty..."

Bi Gan raised his head and looked bitterly at Di Xin, still hoping to plead his case.

"Say no more, Left Chancellor. I understand your heart! Rest assured, you merely betrayed three rebels. That hardly amounts to anything. Betraying traitors-a negative cancels a negative. That isn't betrayal! Don't worry. I will spread word of this throughout the realm, so everyone knows that the Left Chancellor and the King of Wucheng are supremely loyal ministers who would sacrifice anything for me!"

Di Xin shook his head with righteous conviction, cutting Bi Gan off.

Spread it throughout the realm, so everyone knows!

At that moment, Bi Gan and Huang Feihu truly wished they were dead. Wouldn't everyone under heaven know them for their treachery then?

But they knew even more clearly that, even if they died, this deeply scheming tyrant would change his story again. He would claim that, ashamed of their betrayal and their failure to rescue Di Xin, they had taken their own lives to atone. By then, they would be dead, with even less chance of defending themselves!

More than that, what made their blood run cold was how Di Xin kept waving the spear in his hand as he spoke. He seemed to be saying that if they refused to accept this bucket of shit, then in the very next instant, they might "accidentally" impale themselves on his spear!

"Your Majesty..."

Just then, Zheng Lun's shout suddenly came from outside the Palace Gate.

It's over!

Completely over!

Hearing Zheng Lun's voice, Bi Gan and Huang Feihu's eyes filled with despair.

They could not handle Di Xin alone, much less another Zheng Lun on top of him.

"Your Majesty, you praise us too highly!"

With all hope extinguished, Bi Gan gritted his teeth, shut his eyes, and bowed to the ground. Holding his nose, he willingly accepted the bucket of shit and tipped it over his own head.

"I would spill my liver and brains upon the ground for Your Majesty, serving you until my dying breath!"

Huang Feihu likewise had tears of humiliation in his eyes as he smeared that bucket of shit all over himself.

Tyrant, you're ruining lives!

[Negative Emotion Points from Bi Gan: +2500...]

[Negative Emotion Points from Huang Feihu: +2500...]

"Your Majesty, I deserve death! I underestimated Jiang Ziya and let him seize the initiative. I am guilty! Thank heavens Your Majesty is unharmed. Otherwise, even if I died a hundred times, I could never forgive myself!"

By then, Zheng Lun had rushed over. Only after seeing Di Xin safe and sound, with Bi Gan and Huang Feihu kneeling on the ground, did he let out a great sigh of relief. Then he raised his hands and delivered dozens of resounding slaps to his own face, choking out those words with tears in his eyes.

He had looked down on Jiang Ziya from the moment they began fighting. When Jiang Ziya sealed off his hearing, Zheng Lun had become flustered, allowing Jiang Ziya to seize the initiative. While trapped there, his heart had burned with anxiety, fearing that something might happen to Di Xin.

If anything really happened to His Majesty, how could I ever repay him for recognizing my worth?!

Now this is a truly loyal minister. Unfortunately, he isn't quite sharp enough, and his strength is lacking, but his loyalty is genuine!

Watching Zheng Lun slap his own face bright red, Di Xin could not help feeling moved. Compared with Bi Gan and Huang Feihu, this was his truly loyal minister!

"Rise, General Zheng, quickly. Jiang Ziya is full of treacherous schemes. You merely suffered a momentary setback. It is nothing serious. Just be more careful in the future!"

With that thought, Di Xin immediately smiled and reached out to help Zheng Lun up from the ground.

At this, Zheng Lun's fierce eyes brimmed with tears, and gratitude streamed down his face.

What is a wise ruler? This is a truly wise ruler!

From today onward, I must cultivate diligently and serve His Majesty. I'll summon all my friends to serve this wise ruler too. What happened today must never happen again!

As for that despicable villain Jiang Ziya, the next time we meet will be the hour of his death!

"Left Chancellor, King of Wucheng, since you have rendered such unparalleled service, I naturally cannot mistreat you. From today onward, you two will supervise these soldiers in building the Deer Terrace for me, and teach them to read and write. Above all, they must learn loyalty to their sovereign and words of praise for me! From time to time, I will select two of them for a spot check. If anyone fails, it must mean you two are dissatisfied with my praise, and I will publicize this matter again! I trust that loyal men such as the Left Chancellor and the King of Wucheng will certainly not disappoint me..."

Next, Di Xin looked at Bi Gan and Huang Feihu and spoke with a beaming smile.

Crack... grind...

At his words, Bi Gan and Huang Feihu glanced at the soldiers. They immediately heard the grating sounds of fists clenching and teeth grinding, and their bodies nearly went limp!

These men had come to force the king's hand at their instigation. Now their attempt had failed, and the soldiers had become forced laborers, while the two masterminds had emerged completely unscathed as loyal ministers-and even become their overseers. Would these men let them off lightly?

And that was not even all. Men of their standing were actually being made to teach these laborers to read and write, and every lesson would consist of praise for Di Xin...

Di Xin had indeed refrained from killing them himself, but this torment would absolutely make them wish they were dead!

[Negative Emotion Points from Bi Gan: +999...]

[Negative Emotion Points from Huang Feihu: +999...]

Di Xin glanced at the system logs. Seeing that the Negative Emotion Points from these two had begun to drop, evidently because they had already gone numb, he waved his hand. "I have no food for you here. Take them and leave! Also, the chancellor's residence and the King of Wucheng's residence will cover these laborers' food expenses. Once the Deer Terrace is complete, I will weigh them. If even one of them has failed to gain ten jin, it will mean you deliberately mistreated them because you did not want my Deer Terrace completed soon!"

"Your servants take their leave!"

Utterly bereft, Bi Gan and Huang Feihu knelt and kowtowed, then led the laborers out of the Imperial Palace.

[Negative Emotion Points from Jiang Ziya: +999, cumulative total: +61587.4...]

At that very instant, Di Xin saw another entry from Jiang Ziya flash through the system logs.

That fellow really knows how to hold a grudge!

Once he gets his hands on the God-Beating Whip, the Apricot Yellow Banner, and the Investiture of the Gods List, won't he come after me with everything he has?!

The moment Di Xin saw those figures, his heart tightened, and a sense of warning arose within him.

The people one could least afford to offend were petty villains, especially narrow-minded ones. This time, he had offended the petty villain Jiang Ziya beyond reconciliation. He had to make preparations early!

I must strengthen my core followers and make them truly powerful!

At the very least, I need someone who can hold the field-someone who can keep the Chan Third Generation and Jie Third Generation from running wild!

Soon, a figure surfaced in Di Xin's mind.

"Zheng Lun, go to Chentang Pass on my behalf and summon your senior brother Li Jing to Chaoge to report on his duties. Remember to bring his wife and children!" Di Xin's gaze shifted before he looked at Zheng Lun and continued, "If Li Jing says his wife is pregnant and cannot travel far, bring her along in the most softly cushioned carriage! Remember, you must bring his wife here. Even if you cannot bring Li Jing back, you must bring his wife!"

Nezha!

Lingzhuzi!

Since he is the world's foremost demon child, naturally a demon child belongs with a tyrant like me!

As for Ao Bing, he could let him escape this calamity. Without Nezha hammering some sense into the Dragon Tribe, they might awaken a little more slowly, and harnessing their strength would involve some twists and turns. But Di Xin had other things in hand that the Dragon Tribe could not refuse-things these dragons had dreamed of ever since the Dragon-Phoenix War ended, things even the Heavenly Court had never given them...