Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person.

After spending the night in the camp, Chen Ruoan was led to the royal city the next day. After a series of complicated rituals, including bathing, changing clothes, and offering sacrifices and prayers, the moment to meet the emperor finally arrived.

The Nine-Room Hall of Chaoge stood solemnly, its floor paved with black jade, and its beams and pillars adorned with majestic cloud and thunder patterns. Inside, all was quiet; the officials held their breath, heads bowed, and no one dared to utter a word.

A slender figure slowly walked into the hall.

On the throne, Di Xin sat upright.

The king who ruled over the vast land of the Shang Dynasty had spent his life conquering all directions and had seen countless beauties and noble ladies from all over the world. His eyes were filled with ruthlessness and indifference, but when his gaze fell on the figure below the steps, his deep and cold eyes suddenly froze.

The fox was fresh and beautiful, quite pleasing to the eye.

"What a beautiful woman."

"Come here, let me take a good look at you."

Chen Ruoan's eyelashes were slightly cold, and a clear displeasure flashed in her eyes.

The Records of the Grand Historian states: "Emperor Xin loved Daji and followed her every word." Whether we can get away with this today depends on how reliable Sima Qian's book is.

The world is very tolerant of beautiful women, and now that foxes are considered beautiful, there's no reason for them to be treated harshly by the world.

Chen Ruoan did not raise her head to flatter or bend her knees to please; she simply raised her wrist slightly and gently flicked her wide sleeve.

Ok?

Di Xin was slightly taken aback, then restrained his frivolousness and leaned forward, saying:

“My beauty, I know you are angry, and I understand the suffering your tribe has endured. Everything I promised the Yousu clan, I will keep every word and fulfill every promise.”

Chen Ruoan, who was standing below the steps, finally slowly raised her eyes.

"Your Majesty's kindness is deeply appreciated by my daughter. However, our tribe has just suffered a defeat, our homeland is in ruins, our people are scattered, and some of our elders and clansmen have perished in the war, their remains still unburied."

She lowered her eyes slightly, her posture elegant, yet with a touch of stubborn aloofness, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "According to the customs of the Shang Dynasty, with the grief of losing a relative still lingering and my mind unsettled, I should not enter the magnificent palace and receive extravagant favors at this time."

"Interesting." Di Xin smiled.

Everyone longs to enter the royal palace, reside in a magnificent hall, and gain the emperor's favor, but Lady Su is different from ordinary people.

"Then what do you want?"

Chen Ruoan raised her eyes and looked quietly at the ruler of the world on the throne. She said frankly, "I do not ask for magnificent palaces or golden favors. I only ask that Your Majesty grant me a quiet and humble room where no one will disturb me, so that I may live alone for a few days to calm my mind and mourn my people."

"That's a small matter."

"My beauty, please calm down and recuperate. I hope you can get rid of your gloom soon. I am growing more and more fond of you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Chen Ruoan replied.

Sima Qian was right.

Di Xin beckoned, and someone led the fox to a side hall. Whether it was a den of dragons or tigers or not, Chen Ruoan had a place to stay for the time being. Lying on the bed, she began to think about the day's events, and then she thought of Di Xin's gaze.

"It feels so strange to be stared at by men. How did Jiang Mingzi in this world manage to live 30% of her life as a woman, and even enjoy being pursued by men?"

Speaking of which, even scoundrels have related quirks.

Am I the strange one?

Never mind, it's nothing.

The most urgent task is to break free from the current situation, or at least find a way to nurture the Wishing Tree. The fox's abilities are centered around the tree, and if the tree, which has withstood the "punishment of causality," falls into dormancy, it will be difficult to develop protective spiritual abilities.

"Um--"

During the period when Chen Ruoan settled down, she spent almost all her time trying to awaken the Wishing Tree.

In the side hall, Di Xin's visits became increasingly frequent. This guy had the qualities of a domineering CEO; the more the fox resisted, the more he enjoyed it. The king, obsessed with conquest, also wanted to conquer the land in the heart of the beauty.

There was no other way, so Chen Ruoan started going out more often under various pretexts.

The fox discovered a high platform, very close to the moon, a perfect place to collect moonlight and absorb yin energy.

"There is such a treasure land in Chaoge."

Cultivating under the moon is also part of fox cultivation. The charred tree in Chen Ruoan's soul is slowly sprouting and blooming green leaves.

"Daji entered the palace in 1047 BC, only one year before the next war of cause and effect. In the same year, the Shang Dynasty fell. To protect myself, I must avoid being caught in the war, but is such a short time for cultivation really enough?"

The fox gazed up at the crescent moon in the sky, a deep melancholy spreading across its face. Emperor Xin held himself in very high regard, finding it difficult to form connections with others. If the tree could live, the selection of the first recipient of the imperial edict seemed inevitable.

Making King Zhou's imperial edict shine with golden light is not difficult, but the price may be quite heavy.

"Hmm..." Chen Ruoan pondered again.

Days passed, and foxes sometimes appeared on the platform during the day, except at night. On the fifteenth of one day, many laborers appeared on the platform, along with an official in charge.

"What are you doing?" Chen Ruoan asked, stepping forward.

"Your Majesty, the King knows you like this place, so he plans to build a tower atop the platform. This tower will be a hundred feet high, and from its height one can reach for the stars. Your Majesty and the King can then hold banquets under the moon and conduct court affairs!"

The Star-Picking Tower?

Chen Ruoan recalled that the building required the labor of over a thousand people and took several months to complete. During the construction, the supervisors were tyrannical and cruel, driving many of the people who were building the building to their deaths.

"Who said I like this place? Get rid of this group immediately and don't mention building the building again."

"Gulp~" Upon hearing this, the officials and folk craftsmen in charge of the design swallowed hard and stole a grateful glance at the peerless beauty.

Chapter 261 Who is helping me spread the word?

The location where the craftsmen were situated was called Deer Terrace, where King Zhou hoarded his treasures.

During the initial construction, many laborers died at the hands of the overseers. Everyone knew that King Zhou of Shang was tyrannical, and when they were conscripted, they had prepared for the worst, that they would die. Now, listening to what Chen Ruoan said, they felt that this empress was a reasonable and understanding noblewoman.

"Your Majesty, I will go and report to the King immediately." The official in charge, not daring to offend Chen Ruo'an, bowed respectfully and hurriedly ran away.

The fox glanced at the artisans, whose faces were filled with fear, and sent someone down to await orders. After that, the fox wandered around the Deer Terrace.

Today, Emperor Xin built the "Star-Picking Tower" because Chen Ruo'an liked to climb high and look at the moon. It is not impossible to attribute the debauchery and extravagance of "wine pool and meat forest" to the name of a greedy fox. The name of "Su Daji" as a wicked and wicked woman who brought disaster to the world will probably be gradually confirmed.

"Wait, the punishment of causality limits my identity, but the historical process at the current point in time is not fixed, which means there is room for me to manipulate it."

If Emperor Xin had abandoned his endless conquests and indulgence in pleasure, and instead focused on the well-being of the people, he might have been able to establish a peaceful and prosperous reign, and the fox might have gained a good fortune in the process.

Chen Ruoan returned to her residence, and Di Xin quickly came looking for her.

"My beauty, let us build another Star-Picking Tower atop Deer Terrace, from which we can survey the entire Chaoge region, and drink wine and admire the moon. This is so perfectly suited to your heart, so why not grant it?"

Chen Ruoan replied, "The Zhaixing Tower is a hundred feet high. Tens of thousands of laborers were conscripted to work day and night. All the wood and jade were plundered from the people. It is really too much of a waste of manpower and resources."

"Your words are exactly the same as those of Grand Tutor Bigan." Di Xin's voice was deep and cold, with a hint of sarcasm. "If you continue like this, will your next step be to accuse the king of indulging in extravagance and debauchery, and to condemn the king for levying exorbitant taxes on the people?"

Chen Ruoan said calmly, "So you were aware of all these problems."

"Now, the Shang Dynasty is constantly waging war against the Eastern Yi, exhausting its military supplies and provisions. Internally, it has increased taxes and corvée labor, causing great suffering to the people. With other states eyeing it covetously from the outside and the people harboring resentment from within, the Shang Dynasty is not far from its collapse and destruction."

"presumptuous!"

Di Xin's boundless rage surged forth. He stood up, his tall figure exuding the chilling aura of years of warfare, and retorted sharply, "I personally led the army into battle, winning every single one. All the tribes on all sides submitted to me. How can you say that my country has been destroyed?"

Chen Ruoan countered, "Even if Your Majesty is invincible in battle, in the end, you cannot even win the sincere allegiance of your own people. What is the meaning of such a victory?"

Di Xin's anger was trapped in his chest, leaving him only with utter disgust. He stared intently at the woman before him, his tone filled with disappointment.

“I originally intended to entrust all matters of sacrifice and prayer to you.” Di Xin waved his sleeve and impatiently looked away. “Who knew that you would be just like those stubborn old ministers, spouting sage’s teachings, which are utterly boring.”

Di Xin turned to leave, but before he even reached the door, a very interesting idea popped into his head.

“I have never seen a woman who dares to openly criticize the government. Since you claim to care about the people and see through the ills of the Shang Dynasty, I will give you a chance to prove yourself.”

He slowly turned back, raising his hand to point into the distance outside the house:

"I entrust you with the full authority over all affairs of Fanyi, a city on the outskirts of the city. I will not appoint any regents to assist you. You will be solely responsible for deciding on taxes, agricultural matters, and the people's sentiments. I will give you six months. If, within six months, you can win the sincere support of the people of Fanyi, enabling them to live in peace and prosperity, and making everyone grateful for the King of Shang's benevolence, then I will acknowledge that your words today are not empty promises. From now on, I will be willing to listen attentively to your advice on matters concerning the court and the people's livelihood."

"But if you cannot do it and cannot appease the people of a city, then you must put away these stubborn and pedantic arguments that are just like those of the court officials, and live peacefully in the Jade Chamber as the king's queen, attending banquets with the king every day and staying by his side. From now on, when discussing state affairs, you must not utter the slightest disobedience or complaint."

Chen Ruoan lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment. Was there really such a good thing?

Living deep within the palace walls, constantly trying to avoid people, I finally have a chance to go outside and get some fresh air.

"it is good."

"Tsk!" Di Xin looked at her aloof and proud demeanor. She was someone he had used as a gamble, yet she showed no sign of flattery or weakness. His heart was filled with complex emotions.

"Then you should make preparations as soon as possible. Three days later, I will have someone send you to Fanyi."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Hmph!" Di Xin left indignantly.

Chen Ruoan leaned against the door frame and waved lightly.

Believe it or not, King Zhou of Shang was quite virtuous when it came to matters of love and sex. How does that song go again? "What you can't have is always stirring, and those who are favored are always fearless." The fox was enjoying the perks of being a beauty for the first time.

Three days later, a simple carriage was traveling on the road to Fanyi City. Away from the high-pressure atmosphere of Chaoge, the fox felt relaxed and happy.

Outside the coarse cloth curtains, wild grass grew in abundance; on the outskirts of the town, there was still an unused wasteland.

That area is large enough to build a new city.

Why is this place abandoned?

Faced with Chen Ruoan's question, the accompanying attendant gave an awkward smile, seemingly reluctant to answer.

"Your Majesty, this place is a land of divine retribution. It was prosperous more than a hundred years ago, but the city lord defied the will of Heaven and brought down a large-scale lightning storm. Not a single person in the city survived, and even the houses and fields were buried in the storm."

"Fucheng?"

The attendant felt ashamed, a chill running down his spine: "Even though Your Highness is far away in the You Su tribe, you have heard of the events in Fucheng. The influence back then seems to be far more profound than I imagined."

"I've only heard a little about it. If you don't want to bring it up, then there's no need to say more," the fox casually made up.

He naturally had some impression of Fucheng, the hometown of "Stealing Immortal" Chen, the largest, richest, most populous, and most prosperous city-state in the ancient supernatural world, whose name was just as its name suggested—the City of Fortune.

The people of Fucheng are less susceptible to disease and disability, enjoy abundant harvests, and their waterlogging always recedes. The probability of a person with supernatural abilities being born in Fucheng is much higher than in other places.

Later, Chen's excessive greed for future fortune triggered the first and strongest causal punishment in the history of supernatural powers, turning all the people in the city to ashes except for Chen.

After the destruction of Fucheng, Chen went mad and insisted on using the power of the Myriad Corpse Immortals to resurrect the people of Fucheng.

In the years that followed, Chen captured a large number of intermediate and advanced supernatural beings from all over the world and hid them at the ruins of Fucheng. When the time was right, he killed these supernatural beings in one fell swoop, triggering a major causal event. He obtained the root of the Fruit of Myriad Karmas and successfully summoned the Corpse Immortal of Myriad Karmas, thus igniting the first causal war in human history.

Chen Ruoan lifted the curtain and looked out at the desolate wilderness.

It was overgrown with wild grass, and people lived as tenaciously as those wild grasses.