It was likely that the only one who felt even colder than Yi Chun was King Qi. In order to face the emperor over the years, he had painstakingly created the reputation of a wise and virtuous king. He had always lived as if he were walking on thin ice. Together with the support of the late emperorās trusted aides, he had just barely been able to match the emperor in terms of power and prestige.
However, the past two years seemed to have been extremely unlucky for him. Bad things had happened to the officials on his side again and again. He had begun to panic a bit as he watched his forces being whittled down bit by bit, and thus launched a fierce counterattack. He had thought he had a chance to salvage the situation at first; and yet now, something like this had happened?
For the Fiend Emperor to refer to himself as a nephew before the emperor, just what kind of incredible contribution was that? Countless generations of human emperors had failed to do that, and yet now, Zhao Han had actually accomplished it.
If King Qi allowed Zhao Han to hold the Feng Shan ceremony and the entire world heard of it, no one could ever compare to his prestige again in the future! King Qiās lifetime of hard work facing Zhao Han would end up as nothing more than a joke.
Meanwhile, all of this had been caused by Zu An! King Qi seethed with rage, thinking,Ā Did I owe him something in my last life or something? The losses to my forces began right when he arrived at the capital. If I had known things would turn out like this, I should have just crushed this ant to death back then!
You have successfully trolled Zhao Jing for +444 +444 +444ā¦
King Qi could no longer hold back anymore. He couldn't be bothered to signal his subordinates first before asking, āFor something so important, why didnāt the Fiend Emperor send an emissary, instead allowing you, a human, to pass it on?ā
His voice made the entire court immediately calm down. It wasnāt just King Qiās faction; even those from the Eastern Palace and emperorās factions were confused. Indeed, that didnāt make sense.
Zu An slowly said, āAll of this happened by chance. I witnessed the late Fiend Emperorās death in the secret dungeon, then obtained an important message he entrusted to the Fiend King Court. As soon as I came out of the dungeon, I encountered the crown prince using the army to ruthlessly slaughter his own brothers. No one expected that the Second Prince had also been actively plotting at the time, and he rebelledā¦ In the midst of that, I contributed a bit to help the youngest emperor ascend to the throne. Afterward, I returned to the human side. That was why they entrusted me to deliver this message. As long as his majesty agrees, official diplomats will soon be sent to settle the details of this affair.ā
Even though Zu An had downplayed the situation, the people present were all shocked. It was easy to imagine just how bloody and cruel the struggle for the imperial throne was. However, it was hard to imagine how someone like Zu An had been able to join in on the struggle, let alone help the youngest prince seize the throne.
Many people began to secretly size up Zu An. There wasnāt even the slightest ki aura coming from his body. Had he really been able to do something like that? Could he have been seriously injured during that battle, making him lose all his cultivation?
More importantly, however, the Fiend Emperorās letter was present, so they had no choice but to believe it! Even King Qi had nothing else to say. His expression was completely dark, and his thoughts impenetrable.
Central Secretariat Assistant Director Pei Lian said, āSir Zu is a human, and yet he helped the Fiend Emperor. Isnāt that a bit inappropriate?ā
He was Pei Zhengās son, another person from King Qiās faction. He had always been rather quick-witted and keenly seized an angle of attack. With him taking the lead, the officials of King Qiās factions all voiced their opinions. They also brought up the accusation of collusion with the Fiend races from earlier.
Zu An remained calm as he looked at them, replying, āIf I hadnāt joined in, then the Fiend racesā new emperor would either be the exceptionally talented leader of the Fiend racesā Five Young Extremes, the Golden Crow Crown Prince; or otherwise, the powerful and scheming Second Prince. Let me ask everyone, would it have been more beneficial for us if one of them became the Fiend Emperor, or if a child became the Fiend Emperor?ā
The others were left at a loss for words. They were naturally able to distinguish which one on the throne would be more beneficial! If it had been anyone other than the youngest prince on the throne, they would never be willing to be the nephew of the Human Emperor and show such weakness. However, the youngest princeās actions were so natural that not even the elders of the Fiend races had any objections.
Zhao Han spoke up just then, saying, āAlright, as the Fiend Emperor wishes to pay tribute to us as a nephew, that is something worth celebrating. Pass down the order that the entire countryās borders are to have three days of amnesty!ā
āLong live the emperor! Long live, long live!ā
ā¦
After another round of flattery from the ministers, the members of the Eastern Palace said, āSir Zu has brought back such a great achievement; he ought to be rewarded! That way, the people will be encouraged to work harderā¦ā
Zhao Han nodded. His mood was quite good, so he found even Zu An a bit more pleasing than before. He asked, āWhat do our ministers feel is a suitable reward to give?ā
Those present looked at each other in dismay. It was quite a difficult question to answer. If their armies had invaded the Fiend racesā territory and forced the Fiend races into submission, this would only be the contribution of an ordinary diplomatic emissary. Just some simple rewards from the Department of Ceremonies would already be enough.
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Right now however, the Fiend racesā strength still existed, and their armies were at an impasse. The humans had never expected the Fiend races to just admit defeat. And yet, Zu An had relied on his strength alone to achieve such a result. It really was a groundbreaking achievement.
Another official spoke up to curry favor with the Eastern Palace, saying, āThis kind of achievement is unprecedented. Considering that Sir Zu is now already a count, these contributions are already enough to make him a special king!ā
āA king?ā The emperorās eyelids couldn't help but twitch when he heard that suggestion.
King Qiās expression was also completely cold.Ā How can a loach like this be comparable to me?
Many people in the court quickly reacted and criticized the official. One replied, āSir Zuās contributions are not small, but making him a king is going too far. The reason why the Fiend races were willing to surrender is because of his majestyās prestige; their apprehension is the main reason. In the end, most of the contributions belong to his majesty.ā
With that person taking the lead, the others immediately praised Zhao Han for how heroic and powerful he was. Even King Qi had no choice but to go against his true thoughts and offer praise.
Zhao Han was very happy as he said, āAll of you speak too formally. Zu Anās contributions in this matter cannot be overlooked either.ā
The courtās members were all sharp. They quickly realized that the thought of making Zu An a king had already been dismissed. As such, they began to discuss what other reward would be suitable.
When he saw the changes in the court, Zu An wasnāt all that affected. He thought to himself that, if these people knew he was the Regent of the Fiend races, what kind of reaction would they have?
Another official proposed, āThen, should we just give him the title of duke?ā
At first, people felt that it was a bit absurd, but after thinking about it, Zu An really had brought back many contributions. He was already a count. If he were only raised a single rank as a reward, that would be a bit too cold. It would be embarrassing to the royal family.
However, Zu An was just too young! In just a few years, he had gone from being a nobody to becoming a count. Now, he could even become a duke. The court had so many important ministers, and yet how many were dukes? Every duke was at the peak of officialdom. Now, a youngster could be added to their ranksā¦ Just the thought of it was a bit strange.
Even Bi Ziang was full of jealousy. He felt that his talent was exceptional and that he was also among the best of his peers. He had always merely treated Zu An as his little sisterās dog, which if one thought about it, would at least make him a Bi clan servant.
And yet, Zu An was now a duke! His position was the same as Bi Ziangās own fatherās! Meanwhile, as the young master, he himself was still far off; how could his normally arrogant self tolerate this?
In contrast, Bi Linglongās eyes shone. Unlike her big brother, she only hoped for Zu An to reach higher and higher positions.
The court discussed the situation; in the end, they gradually came to the consensus that they would grant Zu An the lowest grade of the duke rank. Dukes were separated into three types; from high to low, there were State Dukes, Commandery Dukes, and County Dukes.
Previously, Jian Yanyou had been Cloudcenter Commanderyās Duke. The commandery had been his fiefdom. Meanwhile, County Dukes had cities as their feudal fiefdoms. Brightmoon Duke Chu Zhongtian was that kind.
Meanwhile, Zu An didnāt have any foundation, so there was no way he would be given such a large fiefdom as Brightmoon City. Whether it was King Qiās faction or the emperorās faction, both of them had reached the consensus that Zu An had been promoted too quickly and needed some appropriate suppression. As such, they all began to discuss which remote and impoverished small city to grant him.
Suddenly, Yi Chun stood up, crying in grief and indignation, āThis person conspired to murder my son and ruthlessly killed the bailiffs. Are we going to let this matter pass like this?ā
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The entire court immediately calmed down; they were all embarrassed. They seemed to have really forgotten about that. Subsequently, they began to noisily debate what to do.
King Qiās faction seized the opportunity and tried to convict Zu An of a crime. Many people from the emperorās faction were jealous that Zu An had risen in rank too quickly, so they didnāt speak up too much for him either. Meanwhile, the Eastern Palace was naturally acting under the Crown Princessā wishes, but they found themselves to be a bit too weak alone. They were heavily pressured by King Qiās people.
The emperor frowned. He naturally understood King Qiās intentions. There was no way he could let his glorious contribution become muddled; otherwise, what dignity would he have left during the Feng Shan ceremony?
As such, he immediately settled things and said, āThis emperor will send the Embroidered Envoy to investigate the Sang clan situation. However, regardless, Zu Anās act was wrong. Out of consideration for his contributions to the human raceā¦ Hmm, in that case, the title of duke that he ought to have will be reduced to that of marquis. Recently, Shen Land just happens to have had a vacancy open up, so we can grant that as Zu Anās fiefdom and grant him the title of Marquis Shen.ā
Zu An was stunned.Ā Deep throat?[1]
Just what the heck did I do to deserve this? Iāve never gotten a single normal title!
1. Similar pronunciation to āMarquis Shenā. ā