As the saying went, blessings never came in pairs, and misfortunes never came alone.
Just as the Yi-Luo Rong were following the Luo River and Yi River downstream, a sordid drama was unfolding in Luoyi.
Ever since Duke Huan of Qi had begun asserting his hegemony and the Luo State had begun sending tribute, the Royal House had lived fairly well. At least its former days of poverty and destitution were over.
The worthy and talented men of the realm were mostly busy developing their own states and had no time to concern themselves with the Royal House of Zhou.
Although the Royal House's power had greatly declined, it still ranked as a second-rate state. Moreover, its ruler was the Son of Heaven of Zhou, supported by Jin, Qi, and Luo.
Small states could not defeat him, and great states had no intention of destroying him, so he lived very comfortably.
But once a person lost all lofty ambitions and faced no obstacles to survival, trouble was bound to arise.
The roots of the Royal House's calamity went back half a year.
That day, as usual, the Son of Heaven Ji Tai left affairs of state to the Grand Steward and reclined in the palace, enjoying the dancing girls' songs and dances.
A person's threshold for pleasure would rise. Dances he had once found beautiful now irritated him more with every glance.
He flung down his wine goblet and sighed. "I hold the exalted position of Son of Heaven, yet the feudal lords refuse to offer noble daughters as my consorts. The women they send as tribute look like country wives, their faces unfit to behold.
"My Royal Palace is filled with common powder and rouge. Is this what the Son of Heaven should endure? How truly wretched!
"If