Chapter 162: Fu Li's Assistance. Besides, Zhou Ying hosted a banquet for Huang Fei...
Besides, Zhou Ying is hosting a banquet for Huang Feihu, and today is already the fifth day.
Although Huang Feihu was a surrendered minister of the Shang Dynasty, he was of noble birth and an experienced general on the battlefield. The rulers and ministers of the Zhou Dynasty accepted his family much faster than they had accepted Shen Gongbao and Jiang Ziya.
Jiang Ziya didn't take it seriously, but Shen Gongbao felt a little jealous and said to Jiang Ziya privately, "Is birthplace so important to the human race?
I remember when my uncle and I arrived in Xiqi, we talked a lot and demonstrated our strength, and it took a lot of effort to get to our current status.
"This Wucheng King has arrived and is placing himself above you and me simply by virtue of his birth. This is truly absurd!"
Jiang Ziya soothed him, "The Central Plains clans are like this. We're here to experience the calamity anyway, so why should we bother with their mortal rules?"
Shen Gongbao knew that what Jiang Ziya said was true, and he himself might understand these principles. As a leopard from a humble background, he had never enjoyed any privileges. His only good fortune in life was the chance to become a disciple of a sage.
When it comes to privileged people like Huang Feihu, Shen Gongbao can remain calm unless they directly exercise their privileges. But now that his privileges have been thrust into his face, he simply cannot remain indifferent.
Jiang Ziya smiled and said, "If you can't do it, then you can't do it. Even saints have their likes and dislikes, let alone you and me. I know you, uncle. No matter what you think, you won't act against them. Is there anything wrong with thinking that?"
After hearing this, Shen Gongbao immediately felt better and a smile appeared on his face: "Junior Brother Ziya, you really understand me."
Jiang Ziya smiled and said, "We went to Kunlun Mountain together, experienced the secret realm together, and became disciples one after the other. Although we are nominally of different generations, we are actually as close as brothers. If I didn't understand you, wouldn't you have protected me in vain all the way to Kunlun?"
Shen Gongbao was completely happy. He laughed and pulled Jiang Ziya towards his tent.
"Come on, come on. I was so busy welcoming guests at the banquet just now that I can see you haven't eaten or drunk enough. I just happened to have some good wine and fresh fruit hidden away. Let's have a personal chat."
In fact, Shen Gongbao is very easy to coax, at least in the eyes of Jiang Ziya.
He didn't ask for much, just a little recognition. As long as there was a capable person who was willing to recognize him, he could swallow any grievance, even if it was great, and he wouldn't even think it was a grievance.
In Shen Gongbao's eyes, all the kings and ministers of Xiqi combined are not as capable as Jiang Ziya.
After being appeased by Jiang Ziya, Shen Gongbao's mentality immediately calmed down. The next day, when he faced King Wucheng, he not only managed to keep a fair face, but also was able to calculate the gains and losses of the other party's surrender with a pure mindset.
Ji Fa sat at the top, with Shen Gongbao and Huang Feihu sitting on either side of him. Below Shen Gongbao sat San Yisheng, below Huang Feihu sat his wife Jia Danjiao, and below San Yisheng sat Jiang Ziya.
Originally according to rank, Jiang Ziya should be above San Yisheng.
But he knew in his heart that Shen Gongbao was a demon from the countryside, a branch of the Jiang clan. If it weren't for the few bamboo scrolls passed down by his ancestors, he would have had a hard time even reading.
In the eyes of the Central Plains clans, who valued origins, they were both scoundrels. Being suppressed by two scoundrels, they were certainly dissatisfied.
Now Shen Gongbao had firmly established himself as the head of all officials and also controlled military power. The two of them took all the benefits and gave in to the officials in terms of status, making those officials of noble birth feel better and saving them from trouble.
Therefore, no matter in front of others or behind their backs, as long as San Yisheng was present, Jiang Ziya never argued with the other party.
As the king and his ministers were enjoying themselves, Nezha strode in. After paying his respects to King Wu Jifa, he said to Shen Gongbao with a serious expression, "Brother Shen Gong, Sister Fuli from Mount Emei has arrived with the Saint's decree. Please quickly prepare the incense table to receive the Saint's decree."
He only said "Fuli of Mount Emei" but did not mention "Fuli of Penglai Island", which means that Fuli came here for the affairs of the Three Religions and used the identity of a disciple of the Three Religions.
Shen Gongbao was startled and stood up suddenly, bowing and saying, "Yes." Ji Fa then said, "King Wu, please suspend the banquet for a moment. It is important to receive the sage's decree."
The ruler and his ministers did not dare to neglect the order. They ordered the soldiers to prepare the incense table and offerings, while returning to their tents to change their clothes that were stained with alcohol. Anyone with some status crowded out to receive the order.
Fu Li stood on the cloud and saw that they were about to stop the show, so she took out the List of Investiture of the Gods. She held the List in her left hand and a bright blue lotus in her right hand, and slowly flew over with the auspicious clouds.
Today she was dressed as a nun, with a lotus on her head, auspicious clouds under her feet, and a purple cloak winding in the clouds. Her appearance was elegant, her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, and the corners of her lips were slightly smiling, giving her a solemn and dignified appearance.
King Wu Jifa led a group of civil and military officials to kneel behind Shen Gongbao, but Fu Li ignored them and asked loudly, "Where is Shen Gongbao?"
Shen Gongbao bowed and said, "Disciple is here."
"Where is Jiang Ziya?"
"Disciple is here." Jiang Ziya stood up from behind San Yisheng, moved to the side of Shen Gongbao and knelt down.
Fu Li said in a deep voice, "The Saint sent you down the mountain to assist the wise ruler and help Zhou destroy Shang. Now that we've seen initial success, the Saint is very pleased. He has specially bestowed upon you the List of Conferred Gods and the Divine Whip. I hope you two will make good use of them and refrain from doing anything that defies Heaven."
The Conferred God List flew in front of Shen Gongbao, and the Divine Whip flew in front of Jiang Ziya. They both respectfully accepted it, not noticing that the Ji Zhou monarch and his ministers behind them had changed their expressions when they looked at them.
They couldn't see it, but Fu Li saw it all. She smiled secretly and raised her hand to scatter a piece of golden flowers.
Those golden flowers were condensed from pure spiritual energy. Each of them landed one on the ruler and his ministers, and the effect was immediate. Whether they were suffering from chronic illnesses or years of hidden injuries, they all felt a sense of relief, as if they had returned to a time before illness or injury.
After delivering the last wave of assists to the two, Fu Li maintained his cool image and flew away on auspicious clouds without stopping for a moment.
How effective is this wave of assists?
The next day, the head of the Jiang clan, which had been intermarried with the Ji clan for generations, came to the Zhou camp. He first paid a visit to King Wu and was then introduced by King Wu to meet Jiang Ziya.
Although both parties have the surname Jiang, their relationship is like that between the royal family of the Sui Dynasty and the Yang family of Hongnong. If you insist, there is some connection between them.
Jiang is one of the eight major surnames in ancient times. All people with the surname Jiang have the same ancestor, Jiang Yuan, the mother of Shennong.
The head of the Jiang family came here with only one purpose, which was to connect with Jiang Ziya and adopt Yi Jiang, an orphan girl from the eldest clan whose parents had both passed away, to him.
The orphan girl claimed to have lost both her parents, but in fact she was the granddaughter of the clan leader. Although both her parents were gone, she had been raised by her grandmother since she was young and was a qualified noblewoman of the clan.
As for why Yi Jiang had to be adopted by Jiang Ziya, it was because after Ji Fa was designated as the heir, the marriage between the Ji and Jiang families that had begun in the time of Duke Dan continued, and the object was Yi Jiang.
Ever since the identities of Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao as disciples of the saints were exposed, both the Ji clan and the Jiang clan wanted to be closely tied to them and get some of the saint's glory.
Shen Gongbao was a demon, so we won't talk about that. It just so happened that Jiang Ziya was born with the Jiang surname, his parents were both dead, and he had no wife or children. After the two sides discussed it overnight, they came up with this plan.
In Jiang Ziya's eyes, this was a farce. He saw it clearly in his heart, like a mirror.
But he was more clear about the purpose of his coming to Xiqi. If taking on a false reputation could make their future actions smoother, why not do it?
Suddenly, the old bachelor Jiang Ziya had a daughter, who would soon marry King Wu. He and Shen Gongbao, two impoverished men, suddenly became sought-after nobles.
Shen Gongbao, who finally enjoyed his privilege, was not as happy as he had imagined. He only felt that it was absurd and funny, and his filter of the privileged class was completely shattered.
——So that’s it, nothing more than that!
When Fu Li changed her appearance and cast a spell on herself and came back, she found that Shen Gongbao seemed to have attained enlightenment.
"Did you meet a master and receive guidance?"
Hearing her voice, Shen Gongbao quickly turned around: "Senior Sister..."
"No, don't call me Senior Sister." Fu Li said with a smile, "My last name is Dai, and I'm a female cultivator from Penglai Island."
Shen Gongbao readily accepted the advice: "Master Dai."
Jiang Ziya put down his writing brush and explained Shen Gongbao's reasoning. Fu Li scoffed, "The more someone prides themselves on their noble birth, the more they fear those with even stronger connections."
Shen Gongbao sneered, "Because they know too well how reckless they can be when they have the power to support them."
They were the ones who acted recklessly in the past, and when they meet someone with a stronger background than theirs, they are naturally more afraid of becoming the target of the other party's recklessness.
Fu Li pointed at him and said to Jiang Ziya, "This is truly enlightenment."
Jiang Ziya smiled and said, "Teacher, I have always been worried that my uncle's temper would cause me trouble. From now on, you won't be afraid anymore, right?"
Shen Gongbao looked at the two of them in surprise, with emotion welling up in his eyes.
But before he could say anything, Nezha opened the curtain and walked in: "Sister, I knew it was you!"
He strode forward and walked in front of Fu Li. The joy on his face fell again and he said unhappily, "Since you've returned, why didn't you come to see me first?"
Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao looked at each other, then tacitly moved away, reducing their presence and not speaking.
——It’s best not to get involved in things that you shouldn’t get involved in, so as not to get yourself into trouble.
Fu Li was very good at dealing with Nezha. She smiled and said, "I knew you would find me no matter where I am."
Nezha's face suddenly lit up with joy, which made Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao feel embarrassed to watch.
——This is so easy to appease!
But the next moment, they realized that maybe they were wrong.
"I knew that Sister would be reluctant to leave me and would definitely come back. Sister, I know a place with amazing scenery. When I first went there, I thought about such beautiful scenery and I must take you there to see it. Sister, let's go together."
He knew how to take advantage of his own strengths. He lowered his head slightly, taking advantage of his height, and fully displayed his gifted face in front of Fu Li.
Sure enough, Fu Li did not refuse him. She quickly recognized Jiang Ziya and the other man and followed him out.
The two were left looking at each other.
Shen Gongbao: "Ziya, don't you think Nezha has been planning this for a long time?"
Jiang Ziya: "Don't think so, he is."
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