"I will restore the cultivation of you three, cast you into the cycle of reincarnation, and reborn you as beasts, enslaved by men, never to escape."
After Xuan Tian finished giving his instructions, the three demons kowtowed to Nuwa to express their gratitude, and then made solemn promises to Xuan Tian before transforming into a gentle breeze and disappearing.
Eighteen Shang Kings Want to Select Beauties
At this moment, in the residence of Shang Rong, the prime minister of the Shang Dynasty, several pillars of the Shang court were discussing the day's events.
The old minister Shang Rong, who had served three dynasties, said, "I have summoned you all here today for the reason you know. Yesterday, when I asked Your Majesty to offer incense, I noticed something was wrong with you. You didn't even know who the Goddess Nuwa was. Today, you actually wrote an obscene poem at the temple of the Goddess Nuwa. You are completely different from your usual self."
“Indeed, if I hadn’t watched the Emperor grow up and recognized from his various characteristics that he was indeed the Emperor himself, I would have suspected that someone was impersonating him,” said Ya Bigan.
As the emperor's elder brothers, Wei Ziqi and Wei Ziyan could not say much, lest they cause misunderstandings. They simply sat there silently, worrying.
The Grand Physician Mei Bo said, "If we had known this would happen, it would have been better not to let the King go to the Nuwa Temple to offer incense. Although it might offend the sage, it would still be better than blaspheming the sage."
The old prime minister looked annoyed upon hearing this. Seeing this, the chief minister said, "This is no fault of the old prime minister; no one expected the emperor to become like this. However, it is indeed strange that the emperor has become like this."
King Wu Cheng, Huang Feihu, said, “I have studied under the Grand Tutor with the Emperor since childhood and know the Emperor’s character well. The Emperor has been determined since childhood to glorify our Great Shang and let our Great Shang be passed down for ten thousand years. I don’t understand how it suddenly became like this.”
Grand Master Zhao Qi said, "Could it be that the Emperor feels he has accomplished his mission and is beginning to relax?"
"Absolutely impossible!" King Wu Cheng vehemently denied. After a moment's thought, he added, "Prime Minister, has that lewd poem been dealt with?"
Bi Gan replied, "My servant just reported that after we left, he had already washed away the lewd poem that the emperor had mentioned."
King Wu Cheng was still uneasy, so he summoned a warrior and said to him, "Go quickly to the temple and see if there are any inscriptions left on the statue of the Goddess Nuwa." The warrior agreed and went away. After a short while, he returned and reported that there were indeed inscriptions on the statue.
One sentence shocked everyone present. Bigan said, "What's going on? I clearly ordered someone to wash it away, so why is it still here?" In his great alarm, he quickly summoned the warrior who had washed the poem.
Upon entering, Bigan immediately asked, "Why is the poem I asked you to wash away still here? Was it because you were too lazy to do it?"
The warrior was stunned by Bigan's question and hurriedly kowtowed, saying, "I have indeed washed away the poem. As for why it is still there, I don't know. But everything I have said is true. Even if I had a hundred or ten thousand times the courage, I would not dare to deceive you, sir." After saying this, he kowtowed on the ground repeatedly.
Bi Gan looked at the others with confusion, not knowing what was going on.
King Wu Cheng waved his hand, dismissing the warrior, and said to the crowd, "Now is not the time to concern ourselves with this matter. No matter what happened, the Goddess Nuwa has likely seen the lewd poem the Emperor wrote and must be furious. We mortals should not lightly accept the majesty of a sage. We should think about how to avert this disaster."
The Grand Physician Mei Bo said, "That's right. What we should be thinking about now is how to appease the Empress's anger after she sees this, so as to prevent the six-hundred-year foundation of our Yin Shang Dynasty from being destroyed in an instant."
Shang Rong sat on the couch and said, "Now the only thing we can do is to advise the emperor to go to the Nuwa Temple to pay homage and appease the goddess's anger."
“The emperor is extremely strong-willed, and even if we offer our advice, I’m afraid it will have no effect,” Bigan said.
Everyone felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this.
After pondering for a moment, Meibo said, "Even if we know it won't work, we still have to offer our advice. Otherwise, what use are we ministers?"
For a moment, everyone looked ashamed. After they calmed down, they went to the palace to advise King Zhou.
Inside Chaoge, after discussing the matter, ministers including Shang Rong began submitting daily memorials urging Emperor Xin to kowtow at the Nuwa Temple and beg for the goddess's forgiveness. Emperor Xin was furious. Several times, unable to contain his anger, he wanted to execute the ministers.
However, although the mind-controlling technique of the Quasi-Body was powerful, Di Xin was, after all, the Son of Heaven, protected by the aura of a true dragon. Although his mind was confused, he would still have moments of clarity. Therefore, although he was extremely angry, he still felt in his heart that what they said was right, that they were doing it for his own good, and that he shouldn't have killed them.
Therefore, during this period, King Zhou was extremely troubled. He thought of Nuwa's beauty day and night, forgetting the changing seasons, and neglecting to eat or sleep. Whenever he saw the six palaces and three courtyards, they seemed like dust and dirt, unbearable to behold. He was constantly preoccupied with this matter and remained depressed. One day, he ascended the Xianqing Palace, where his attendants were always by his side. King Zhou suddenly realized something and ordered Fei Zhong, the Imperial Censor, to be summoned.
Fei Zhong was a favored minister of King Zhou. Since King Zhou was bewitched by Zhunti, and Grand Tutor Wen Zhong was ordered to pacify the North Sea, leading a large army on a distant expedition and achieving meritorious service, King Zhou began to favor Fei Zhong and You Hun. These two men constantly misled the emperor, offering flattering words, which King Zhou readily accepted. Generally, when the world is in danger, treacherous ministers naturally rise to power.
Not long after, Fei Zhong came to court. Emperor Xin asked, "When I went to the Nuwa Palace to offer incense, I happened to see her beautiful face, which was unparalleled in the world. She has three palaces and six courtyards, but none of them meet my expectations. What should I do? What plan do you have to appease my heart?"
Fei Zhong said, “Your Majesty is the supreme ruler of the world, possessing the wealth of the four seas, and your virtue is comparable to that of Yao and Shun. All that the world has belongs to Your Majesty. What is there that you cannot obtain? What is so difficult about this? Your Majesty, issue an edict tomorrow, promulgating it to the four vassal states: each garrison shall select one hundred beautiful women to fill the royal court. Why worry that the most beautiful women in the world will not be selected for the royal court?”
Emperor Xin was delighted upon hearing this, saying, "What you have said is exactly what I wanted. I will issue the decree at the morning court tomorrow. You may return for now." He then ordered his carriage to return to the palace.
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