Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

Chapter 316 Who is the Loyal Minister, and Who is the Traitor?
The next morning, Emperor Xin arrived at the Nine-Room Palace. Civil and military officials were already standing on either side.

Upon seeing Di Xin enter the Nine-Room Hall, they immediately performed the grand salute of a subject to Di Xin.

Di Xin said "Rise," and then nodded to Zhu Sheng beside him.

Zhu Sheng immediately took two steps forward and said, "The daughter of the Marquis of Dongbo, Lady Jiang, first assassinated Uncle Bi Gan and the old Prime Minister Shang Rong. Later, she sent people to assassinate Consort Su and Your Majesty."

"According to the law, her entire family should be executed, but the king, mindful of their marriage, was unwilling to kill his wife. Instead, he deposed her as empress and banished her to the cold palace."

"As for the family of Marquis Jiang Huanchu of Dongbo, Your Majesty is benevolent and does not wish to pursue their mistakes any further. He will still allow them to guard Donglu and serve as Marquis of Dongbo."

"But a country cannot be without an heir for a day. Therefore, Your Majesty is preparing to make Su Hu's daughter, Consort Su Daji, the Queen of the Great Shang Dynasty."

As soon as Zhu Sheng finished speaking, Shang Rong stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, out of consideration for our marital bond, spared my wife's life, which greatly pleases this old minister."

"Your Majesty has not implicated the entire Dongbo Marquis family because of a momentary offense. This has shown me even more how much Your Majesty values ​​your subjects."

"But Your Majesty should not make Su Daji your queen. Su Daji is not destined to be a queen. If you make her queen, it may affect the fate of our Great Shang Dynasty."

"Because I had long heard rumors that when Su Daji was in Jizhou, someone predicted her fate. They said she was a beauty who would bring ruin to the country, and that she was a reincarnation of Meixi."

Upon hearing this, Di Xin flew into a rage. "How can you take rumors from the streets as truth? The old prime minister actually brought this matter to the court. Aren't you afraid that I will punish you for causing chaos in the world?"

As soon as Emperor Xin finished speaking, Du Yuanxian, the Grand Astrologer, stepped forward and addressed Emperor Xin.

"Your Majesty, I have been in charge of the Imperial Observatory for several years. I am naturally very familiar with the fate of our Great Shang Dynasty. However, I saw yesterday that the fate of our Great Shang Dynasty has actually risen again."

"Moreover, not only is the nation's fortune rising, but even the totem of our Great Shang, the Black Bird, appeared yesterday and let out a loud bird song."

"As far as I know, since the founding of our Great Shang Dynasty, the number of times the totem bird has cried out can be counted on one hand, so this is an extremely auspicious omen."

"And recently Your Majesty proposed to make Consort Su the Queen. Therefore, I can assert that it is precisely because Consort Su is about to become the Queen of the Great Shang that the totem bird has behaved in this way."

Du Yuanxian's words instantly enraged Shang Rong, who launched into a tirade of insults at him.

Just then, Fei Zhong stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the old prime minister just mentioned some rumors circulating in the streets, which reminded me of something."

"I have heard that the Grand Tutor has a daughter named Shang Qingjun. When she was born, an immortal saw her destiny and said that she has the appearance of a queen."

"If what the Grand Tutor said is true, and the rumors circulating in the streets can be taken seriously, then the old prime minister should send his daughter to the palace; otherwise, the old prime minister has ulterior motives."

No sooner had Fei Zhong finished speaking than You Hun stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, what Doctor Fei says is absolutely right. After all, if a woman with the destiny of a queen doesn't marry Your Majesty, then who will she marry?"

"Could it be that the old prime minister intends to give his daughter, who is destined to be queen, to those treacherous officials? So that they can replace the king and make the old prime minister's daughter queen?"

Fei Zhong and You Hun kept talking back and forth, making Shang Rong so angry that she staggered back several steps. If Bi Gan hadn't intervened in time to catch her, Shang Rong would probably have fallen by now.

At this moment, Di Xin spoke directly, saying, "You two ministers are right. You two should immediately take people to the old prime minister's residence and bring my queen to the palace." Hearing that Di Xin really wanted to make Shang Rong's daughter the queen, the most anxious person was not Shang Rong, but Du Yuanxian.

Because Du Yuanxian's mission was to make Su Daji the queen, he used the excuse of the black bird's cry yesterday to support Emperor Xin in making Su Daji queen.

But now, Di Xin actually wants to marry Shang Rong's daughter, Shang Qingjun. Wouldn't that make it impossible for him to complete his mission? And how would he explain this to the Chan Sect?
Left with no other choice, he could only bite the bullet and say, "Your Majesty, the auspicious sign of the black bird's cry has been confirmed in Consort Su. Your Majesty must not let a moment of anger prevent this auspicious sign from coming true."

It was Emperor Xin who proposed making Su Daji his queen. Therefore, Du Yuanxian naturally thought that Emperor Xin would definitely listen to his suggestion after he said that.

After all, her proposals had always been in line with Emperor Xin's wishes, aiming to ensure that he could successfully make Su Daji his queen.

However, to Du Yuanxian's surprise, Di Xin waved his hand and said, "It's alright. Isolate Shang Qingjun as queen. If she cannot confirm the auspicious omens, I will depose her as queen and reinstate Daji as queen."

After speaking, Di Xin stood up and turned to walk out of the Nine-Room Palace. At the same time, he didn't forget to say something to Zhu Sheng.

"Immediately order people to prepare a wedding hall and hold a banquet in the Longde Hall to entertain all civil and military officials. At the same time, announce to the world that I will establish the old prime minister's daughter, Shang Qingjun, as queen."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Sheng nodded in agreement. But before he could go and make the arrangements, he heard Shang Rong cursing Di Xin, saying, "You are a tyrant! You are a complete tyrant!"

"As the emperor, forcibly marrying a subject's daughter is a sign of national destruction. Before long, the empire built by the past kings of my Great Shang Dynasty will be destroyed by your foolish rule."

As he spoke, Shang Rong crashed directly into the dragon-carved jade pillar of the Longde Hall. His brains splattered instantly, and he was dead beyond any doubt.

Di Xin ignored this, and simply said, "Guards, give the old prime minister a proper burial. As for the matter of establishing Shang Qingjun as queen, there must be no delay."

After saying this, Di Xin turned and left the Nine-Room Palace without even glancing at Shang Rong's corpse again.

Emperor Xin's actions inevitably sparked much discussion among the court officials. However, no one dared to stand up and demand an explanation from Emperor Xin on behalf of Shang Rong.

Even someone as fearless as Du Yuanxian wouldn't dare to do such a thing. After all, Mei Bo's entire family was still undergoing labor reform in the mine.

So at most, one can only feel sorry for Shang Rong. It's lamentable that such a veteran official who served three dynasties met such an end.

Little did they know, at this moment, in Shang Rong's mansion, Shang Rong was smiling broadly as he watched his daughter, Shang Qingjun, put on her wedding dress.

"Qingjun, once you arrive at the palace, you must diligently assist the King. For your sake, so that he can rightfully become Queen, the King has disregarded even his own reputation."

Shang Qingjun nodded solemnly, "Father, rest assured, I know how good Your Majesty is to me. I will certainly not let Your Majesty down."

Shang Rong smiled and nodded, then personally saw her daughter out of the room.

Watching his daughter's retreating figure, Shang Rong couldn't help but sigh and say, "It's a pity that I can't witness my daughter becoming the Queen of the Great Shang Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)