Chapter 553: Return of the Younger Sister, Great Misfortune

As Zu An listened to Bo Yikao's account, his eyelids twitched, and his heart burned with increasing rage. He finally understood how Sancai had truly died. The story of her dying in childbirth was nothing but a deceptive lie.

After Ji Chang brought Sancai back to Xiqi from the Wei River, he specifically had a palace built for her. Sancai was initially quite pleased, believing it showed Ji Chang's great regard for her. However, over the following period, she gradually sensed that something was amiss. Ji Chang's etiquette and treatment of her were impeccable in every respect, and in public, they even appeared as an affectionate couple, attending various important events. But privately, he never visited her bedchamber. They had the title of husband and wife, but no marital intimacy; Ji Chang seemed to treat her as a revered statue.

Sancai didn't mind this, as she wasn't truly fond of Ji Chang anyway. Living alone in the palace even allowed her greater freedom. From time to time, she would write letters to her elder brother and sister, expressing her homesickness. Of course, to prevent them from worrying, she never mentioned her situation.

After the initial period of contentment, Sancai gradually recalled the true purpose of her journey: first, to gather intelligence on Western Zhou, and second, to completely mend relations between the two states. She actively sought to get closer to Ji Chang, but Ji Chang remained elusive and impenetrable. This prevented her from discovering anything or fostering a closer relationship.

Then one day, an accident occurred. Sancai overheard Ji Chang discussing plans to overthrow the Shang Dynasty with his trusted strategists. It turned out that Western Zhou's grand scheme to overthrow Shang had begun as early as Ji Chang's grandfather's generation. At that time, Western Zhou already harbored the ambition to replace Shang, but constrained by Shang's formidable power, they could only proceed slowly and deliberately.

Taking advantage of the decline of the Qiang people's influence and the resulting power vacuum in the Guanzhong region, they spent decades, under the pretext of purging Qiang remnants for Shang and defending the borders, gradually assimilating the former territories of the Qiang. They then began to win over various feudal lords, establishing good relations.

Unfortunately, an unforeseen event occurred midway: Ji Li (Ji Chang's father) was killed by the Shang King, which dealt a severe blow to Zhou's grand plan to overthrow Shang. They also realized that the Shang people were growing wary of their rise. Since their strengths were not yet comparable, they still hadn't decided to completely break ties. They intended to let the Huaiyi people in the east further deplete Shang's power, while they themselves accumulated strength in the interim.

Therefore, when the Shang proposed a marriage alliance, they immediately agreed. However, despite their agreement, Western Zhou naturally couldn't allow the bloodline of a Shang princess to become their heir and thus jeopardize their century-long plan to overthrow Shang, which was meant to span several generations. That was why Ji Chang maintained his distance from Sancai, only acting as a nominal couple.

What chilled Sancai to the bone was that Ji Chang's journey to the Wei River for the marriage procession wasn't for her sake at all, but an opportunity to survey the terrain in that area, preparing for future invasions. The act of bridging the Wei River with boats, though seemingly romantic, was in reality a chance for the Zhou people to practice their river-crossing attack methods.

Understanding all this, Sancai felt a chill run through her. She knew her country was truly in danger. Growing up, she had often heard her elder brother and sister discuss the threat posed by the Zhou people. She had been somewhat dismissive, feeling they were overly cautious. Little did she know the situation was far more severe than they had described.

She urgently wanted to inform Yin Du of everything she had discovered. Unfortunately, her activities were exposed, and Ji Chang and his people discovered her. Consequently, Ji Chang placed her under complete house arrest, forbidding any communication with the outside world. Sancai tried every method to contact Yin Du, but all failed. She realized her fate was to be imprisoned until her death.

She didn't want to live out her days and die so meaninglessly. So, one day, she resolved to take her own life in the palace. She knew she couldn't inform her homeland, and that this extreme method was her only recourse. Ji Chang could hold her captive, but he couldn't conceal the news of her death. Once the news of her death reached Yin Du, it would surely alert the Shang Dynasty. Especially with her clever elder brother and sister, they would surely understand her intentions...

However, she hadn't anticipated that Ji Chang would use the story of death in childbirth to deceive everyone. Although Zu An and Pei Mianman didn't believe it, they soon moved to the next world and were unable to avenge her at the time.

After hearing the story from that year, Zu An and Pei Mianman were already in tears.

“My foolish sister, how could we not know the Zhou people’s wolfish ambitions? There was no need for you to sacrifice your life to warn us!” Zu An and Pei Mianman's hearts were torn as they thought of their beloved younger sister, with whom they had grown up, and how despairing she must have been alone in a foreign land. She had sacrificed her lifelong happiness for her country, and then later, her life. At such a young age, she had endured far too much.

Zu An abruptly stood up. He was going to settle the score with Ji Chang.

At that moment, a jailer asked, “Your Majesty, what shall we do with Bo Yikao?”

Zu An's expression turned cold. “Mince him into paste!” Since this was his historical fate, then let him return to history.

Bo Yikao was terrified by these words. He cursed wildly, “Tyrannical ruler! You break your word! May you die a terrible death…”

Zu An remained expressionless. At that moment, all he wanted was to kill.

After a while, Zu An arrived at Ji Chang's cell. He saw Ji Chang, though injured, was not being tortured at the moment. Instead, he was sitting cross-legged in a corner of the cell, arranging pebbles. The arrangement of the pebbles strongly resembled a bagua (eight trigrams) pattern.

Zu An's expression turned cold. “Who allowed him to rest?”

A jailer nearby cautiously replied, “Royal Uncle Bi Gan just visited. He said that the Marquis of the West's status meant he shouldn't be subjected to such punishment. He was about to come to Your Majesty to intercede, but it seems he missed Your Majesty.”

“Bi Gan?” Zu An's eyelids twitched. In history, he was synonymous with loyal ministers, having repeatedly and frankly advised King Zhou, only to have his heart torn out.

However, he paid no heed to Bi Gan at the moment. He approached Ji Chang, looking down at the eight trigram patterns on the ground. “The *I Ching*?”

Ji Chang seemed slightly surprised. “I didn’t expect Your Majesty to recognize this art. Know that I only developed it after many years of study and synthesis.”

Zu An didn't answer him. Instead, he asked, “I hear this *I Ching* can tell fortunes. You seem to have just performed a divination. What was the outcome?”

Ji Chang looked down at the hexagram on the ground and smiled bitterly. “The Guimei hexagram. Great misfortune.”

Zu An was taken aback. He hadn't expected Ji Chang to actually possess some skill. This indeed foretold great misfortune, and was specifically related to Emperor Yi's marriage alliance. At another time, he might have sought an opportunity to learn the *I Ching* from Ji Chang. After all, Ji Chang was the founder of the *I Ching*, and his *I Ching* clearly possessed mysterious powers.

Unfortunately, he was in no mood for such things now. He casually waved his hand towards the outside, and soon a subordinate brought in a food box. He said coldly, “Marquis of the West, I see you are suffering in this cell. I have specially ordered some meat pastries for you. You should nourish yourself well.”

Immediately after, a jailer brought a plate of meat pastries to Ji Chang. They were steaming hot, clearly freshly made.

Ji Chang stared at the meat pastries before him, and his expression instantly changed drastically.

Zu An sneered, “What, is the Marquis of the West afraid I've poisoned them?”

Ji Chang sighed. “Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. If a sovereign wishes his minister to die, the minister must die; why would poison be necessary? Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your grace.”

His hand trembled as he reached for a meat pastry, brought it to his mouth, and hesitated several times.

Zu An stared at him. He hadn't expected to become the tyrant of historical records. He didn't know why the historical King Zhou of Shang had committed such cruel acts, but he had his reasons for doing so: to obtain justice for his beloved younger sister.

Ji Chang sighed, finally made up his mind, and ate the meat pastries bite by bite. Then, unable to control himself, he rushed aside and vomited violently.

Zu An sneered, “What, does it not suit the Marquis of the West's taste? This meat was freshly slaughtered; it's very fresh.”

Ji Chang was silent. He took a deep breath and said, “The pastries Your Majesty bestowed are very delicious. It’s just that my own body is somewhat…”

Before he could finish, Zu An directly interrupted, “Since they’re delicious, eat a few more.”

Ji Chang was silent.

Even with his deep composure, he couldn't help but feel enraged. However, he remembered his mission. As long as he could survive this ordeal, he would surely seek revenge against the Shang Dynasty in the future, and have the tyrant and that demoness cut into a thousand pieces. What did temporary honor or disgrace matter now?

So, he ate all the meat pastries before him, expressionlessly. “Many thanks for Your Majesty's generosity.”

Zu An looked at him. “Do you know what kind of meat these pastries are made from?”

Ji Chang's heart skipped a beat. “I don't know, nor do I wish to know.”

Zu An said in a cold voice, “Do you think that by eating these pastries as I command, I will be mistaken into thinking you are completely submissive to me? And then I'll let you go, you'll return to Xiqi to bide your time and suffer hardships, and eventually destroy our Great Shang?”

Ji Chang secretly cursed his misfortune. Just then, he immediately heard Zu An's next words: “However you harmed Sancai in the past, I will make you repay it twofold!”

“Guards! Inflict the *hai* punishment upon the Marquis of the West!”