Chapter 1546: Shen Hou

At this moment, perhaps only Prince Qi felt an even greater chill in his heart. For years, to contend with the emperor, he had painstakingly cultivated a reputation as a wise and virtuous prince. He had walked on thin ice everywhere, and supported by the late emperor's trusted retainers, he had only just managed to stand as an equal to the emperor in terms of power and prestige.

But the past two years had been unfavorable for him. High-ranking officials on his side had successively met with misfortune. Seeing his power gradually diminish, he grew anxious and therefore began to retaliate fiercely.

He had initially thought he had a chance to regain ground, but now, this turn of events?

The Demon Emperor calling himself a nephew and offering annual tribute — what an astounding achievement this was! Countless brilliant human emperors before him had never managed to achieve this, yet Zhao Hao had accomplished it?

If he successfully performed the Fengshan sacrifice and announced it to the world, his prestige would become unparalleled. All his lifelong efforts to contend with the emperor would end up as nothing but a joke.

And all of this was caused by Zu An!

The thought infuriated him. Did he owe Zu An from a past life? His faction's decline from prosperity had begun after Zu An arrived in the capital. If he had known this, he should have killed that insignificant worm from the start!

Rage from Zhao Jing: +444,444,444...

At this point, he could no longer contain himself. He didn't even bother to signal his subordinates and spoke directly, saying, "For a matter of such importance, why didn't the demon race send an envoy, but instead had you, a human, deliver it?"

The boisterous court immediately fell silent. Not only Prince Qi's faction but even those from the Crown Prince's faction and the Emperor's own side were somewhat puzzled. This indeed defied common sense.

Zu An slowly explained, "All of this happened by chance. I witnessed the death of the old Demon Emperor in the secret realm. He then entrusted me with delivering messages to various parties in the royal court. However, as soon as I exited the secret realm, I discovered that Crown Prince Golden Crow had begun using his army to ruthlessly purge and slaughter his other brothers. Unexpectedly, the Second Prince, who had been meticulously planning for a long time, managed to kill him instead... Then, I did a few minor things to help the young prince ascend to the throne. Given that I was returning to the human realm, they entrusted me with delivering this letter of state. As long as Your Majesty agrees, a formal delegation will soon be dispatched to finalize the specific details."

Although he spoke casually, everyone in the hall was inwardly astonished. They could imagine how bloody and brutal a royal succession struggle would be, but it was difficult to fathom that Zu An had not only been involved but had also helped the young prince secure the throne.

Many secretly scrutinized Zu An. He currently showed no spiritual energy fluctuations whatsoever. Could he truly have accomplished such a feat?

Or had he suffered severe injuries during that coup, leading to the loss of all his powers?

The crucial fact was right before their eyes: the new Demon Emperor's letter of state had been delivered. They had no choice but to believe it.

Even Prince Qi was speechless now, his face ashen, lost in thought.

At this moment, Pei Lian, a Censor, spoke up, "Master Zu, as a human, assisting the Demon Emperor... that seems inappropriate, doesn't it?"

He was the son of Pei Zheng, the Grandee Secretary, and belonged to Prince Qi's faction. Known for his sharp mind, he shrewdly found an angle of attack.

With his opening statement, other officials from Prince Qi's faction quickly echoed, connecting it to the previous accusation of colluding with demons.

Zu An calmly surveyed the crowd and said, "If I had not been involved, the new Demon Emperor would either be the exceptionally gifted Crown Prince Golden Crow, the foremost of the young generation's 'Five Supremes' among demons, or the Second Prince, a renowned general with profound cunning and formidable strength. I dare ask all of you, would it be more beneficial for our human race if one of them became the Demon Emperor, or if a mere child holds the throne?"

Everyone was rendered speechless. They naturally understood which ascension would be more advantageous. Any other candidate would never have bowed down and called the human emperor 'nephew'. Now, with the young prince doing all this, it seemed so natural, and even the demon elders wouldn't object.

At this point, Zhao Hao spoke, "Enough. The Demon Emperor calling himself our nephew and offering tribute is a joyous occasion for all to celebrate. Issue an edict: a general amnesty throughout the nation for three days!"

"Long live our Emperor, long live, long long live!"

After the officials offered their congratulations and flattery, an official from the Crown Prince's faction seized the opportunity to say, "Master Zu has accomplished such a great feat; he should be appropriately rewarded to encourage all subjects to serve the court..."

Zhao Hao nodded. Being in a good mood, he even found Zu An a bit more agreeable. "My beloved ministers, what kind of reward do you think would be appropriate?"

The officials exchanged glances. This was indeed a difficult question to answer.

If the human army had originally invaded, forcing the demon race to yield and become vassals, that would be the merit of an ordinary diplomatic envoy. An internal commendation from the Ministry of Rites would suffice.

But now, the demon race still retained its strength, especially since both armies were still locked in an indecisive battle. The entire human race had never even conceived of the demon race yielding. Yet Zu An had brought back such a result single-handedly. Calling it a monumental achievement would be no exaggeration.

At this point, an official, flattering the Crown Prince's faction, directly suggested, "Such an unprecedented achievement is unheard of since ancient times. Considering Master Zu is already an Earl, with this merit, he is worthy of being directly enfeoffed as a prince of a different surname!"

"Enfeoffment as a prince?" Hearing this suggestion, the Emperor's eyelids involuntarily twitched.

Prince Qi's face was also icy. How could this commoner be worthy of standing beside me?

Many shrewd individuals in the court immediately reacted. They refuted one after another, saying, "Although Master Zu's contributions are significant, enfeoffment as a prince is too exaggerated. Ultimately, the demon race's willingness to call themselves nephews and offer tribute is due to His Majesty's renowned prestige; they are utterly wary of him. In the end, most of this merit belongs to His Majesty."

With a precedent set, others immediately came up with various ways to praise Zhao Hao's brilliance and martial prowess. Even Prince Qi had to reluctantly join in the flattery.

Witnessing this scene, Zhao Hao was immensely pleased. "My esteemed ministers, you exaggerate. Zu An's role in this is also not to be overlooked."

The court was full of shrewd people. They immediately detected from his tone that the path of enfeoffment as a prince had been rejected. So, they began to deliberate what kind of reward would be appropriate for him.

Watching the various expressions in the court, Zu An's heart remained calm. He wondered what their reaction would be if they knew he had been appointed Regent in the demon realm.

Then another official proposed, "How about bestowing upon him the title of Duke?"

At first, everyone thought it was a bit outrageous, but upon closer thought, Zu An had already accumulated many merits and was an Earl. If he was only promoted one rank, it would seem too meager and reflect poorly on the imperial family's prestige.

Yet Zu An was simply too young. In just two or three years, he had leaped from a commoner to an Earl, and now he might even be enfeoffed as a Duke.

Among the many high-ranking officials in the court, only a handful held the title of Duke. Each of them was a highly esteemed minister. Now, for a young man to join their ranks, it felt rather strange.

Even Bi Zi'ang was filled with jealousy. He considered himself exceptionally talented, one of the top young talents among the capital's prominent families. He had always viewed Zu An as his sister's dog, essentially a servant of the Bi family.

Yet, this person was now directly becoming a Duke, equating his noble rank with Bi Zi'ang's father. The master was now far inferior to the "servant." How could the always proud and arrogant Bi Zi'ang bear this?

Bi Linglong, however, had sparkling eyes. Unlike her brother, she wished for Zu An's status to be as high as possible.

Various factions in the court debated back and forth. Finally, they gradually reached a consensus: to grant Zu An the lowest rank of Duke. Dukes were divided into three ranks: State Duke, Commandery Duke, and County Duke, from highest to lowest.

Previously, Jian Taiding was the Commandery Duke of Yunzhong, with a commandery as his fief.

A County Duke, on the other hand, had a city as his fief. Chu Zhongtian's title of Duke of Bright Moon fell into this category.

Since Zu An lacked any deep-rooted connections, it was clearly impossible for him to be granted a large city like Bright Moon City as a fief. Both Prince Qi's faction and the Emperor's faction reached a consensus that Zu An's rise was too rapid, and he needed to be appropriately restrained. So, they discussed granting him some remote, impoverished small city as his fief.

Just then, Yi Chun suddenly stepped forward, her face filled with grief and indignation. "This man murdered my son and brutally killed government constables! Are we just going to let this go?"

Rage from Yi Chun: +996,996,996...

The court immediately fell silent. Everyone wore awkward expressions, as if they had truly almost forgotten about the matter.

Next, everyone started arguing about how this matter should be handled. Prince Qi's side seized the opportunity to use this incident to incriminate Zu An.

Many from the Emperor's faction also envied Zu An's rapid ascent, so fewer people spoke up in his defense.

The Crown Prince's faction, although they had received instructions from the Crown Princess, were somewhat outnumbered and outmatched, and were gradually pushed back by Prince Qi's partisans.

The Emperor, however, frowned. He naturally understood Prince Qi's intentions. He did not want him to ruin this world-shaking achievement. What prestige would he have left to perform the Fengshan sacrifice then?

So he directly made a definitive statement: "Regarding the Sang family incident, We will dispatch Embroidered Uniform Guards to thoroughly investigate the full circumstances. However, regardless, Zu An was indeed wrong to resort to lethal force. Considering his great service to the human race... hmm, in that case, the ducal title he was supposed to receive will be reduced to a marquisate. Recently, a vacancy appeared in Shen Province; let it be Zu An's fief, and he shall be titled Marquis Shen."

Zu An was instantly dumbfounded. Deep Throat?

What sin have I committed? None of my titles are ever normal!