163: Chapter 163 Natural Disasters and Man-Made Calamities: Who Can Distinguish Them?

The Official in Charge of Ceremonies finally plucked up his courage to speak of the most serious matter, one that truly could no longer be concealed.

"...In the lands of Zheng Territory, there has been no rain for three months. The seedlings have all withered, the rivers have run dry, and refugees are already appearing."

Zheng Territory was not far from the royal capital, Zhaoge.

It was at most two hundred li away; a fast horse could cover the distance in two days at most.

Urgent reports from the border defenses or floods along the Yellow River were not as critical.

But if something went wrong in Zheng Territory, it would truly shake the very foundations of the Yin Dynasty.

It was at this moment that Su Chen, seated upon the throne, seemed to move slightly.

His gaze beneath the imperial mianliu tassels slowly swept across several positions in the hall.

These were all faces he had seen last night in Bi Gan's memories—officials who had secretly communicated with Western Zhou envoys or immortal sects.

Some of those men lowered their heads, while others' eyes wandered.

But without exception, upon hearing the word 'Zheng Territory'...

Not a single trace of surprise or astonishment appeared in their eyes.

It was as if they had known long ago that something had gone wrong there.

Su Chen suddenly let out a low chuckle.

That laughter caused everyone present to feel their scalps tighten.

"A great drought in Zheng Territory... what exactly is the reason for it?"

Su Chen repeated those words, his voice sounding languid.

Among those present, some did not dare to speak.

Others were exchanging glances with one another.

It seemed they were waiting for something.

Finally.

A slightly plump elderly man dressed in purple official robes stepped forward quickly and offered his opinion.

"In my humble opinion... the lack of rain in Zheng Territory must be because someone has committed an immoral act, drawing the wrath of Heaven."

In an instant.

Many officials present gasped, their mouths hanging wide open.

How could they not understand the implication?

This elderly man in purple robes was High Minister Grand Master, a veteran of three reigns who held immense power in the Great Yin court.

However.

No matter how much power you have, you only have one head.

How many strikes from that tyrant's blade could it withstand?

Upon hearing this, Su Chen couldn't help but smile.

"Does my dear minister mean..."

"...that Heaven refuses to send rain because I have lost my virtue?"

Grand Master's body jerked violently at those words, his face turning deathly pale instantly as he scrambled out of line and fell to his knees with a thud.

"This subject is terrified! I had no such intention!"

"It is only that natural disasters are unpredictable and beyond human reach, this is..."

"I wasn't asking you."

Su Chen interrupted him, his tone remaining flat.

He slowly sat up straight, the jade beads of his mianliu crown clinking together with a crisp sound.

"Last night, I had a dream."

His gaze roamed, and by design or coincidence, it met the eyes of seven or eight ministers dead-on.

These men were all weighty figures in court, either holding real power or possessing excellent reputations.

Seeing Su Chen sweep his gaze toward them, every one of these ministers' expressions changed drastically, their hearts surging with turbulent waves.

"In the dream, I was traveling through the Dragon Palace with the Dragon King."

"That Dragon King said he had an Oracle Judgment Machine in his palace."

"Having nothing better to do, he decided to put my ministers through a trial."

"To my surprise... according to the results of the judgment, our Great Yin actually has many high officials who carry monstrous crimes upon their shoulders."

"Therefore, he had no choice but to halt the rains in Zheng Territory to punish those disloyal and immoral ministers who have committed such great sins."

"Among them are..."

Su Chen didn't care if the Dragon King was from the Great Xia or from France.

He was just looking for an excuse to eliminate those people anyway; such details weren't important.

Name after name fell from Su Chen's lips.

The more the crowd in the royal court heard, the more alarmed they became.

Yet some felt a slight sense of relief.

Every person Su Chen named was a pillar of the Great Yin court.

One could say that without them, the court would be completely unable to function.

No matter how tyrannical Su Chen was, he couldn't possibly kill all these people in one go.

Since these 'tall ones' were bearing the brunt of it, the others were even less afraid of Su Chen.

"Absurd!"

One of the named military officers could not restrain himself and stepped forward with a flushed face.

He was General General, Defender of the Hall, known for his bravery and blunt honesty.

"Your Majesty! How can you suspect your loyal subjects based on nothing but a phantom dream!"

"If such nonsense were to spread, would it not cause the people of the world to lose heart and the soldiers to feel a chill in their bones!"

"Loyal subjects?"

Su Chen smiled, but there was no warmth in that smile, only endless mockery.

"General Fang, tell me, was the temperature of the hot springs at Cuiwei Villa to your liking?"

General felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His burly frame swayed, and the color drained completely from his face.

His lips trembled, but he could not utter a single word.

Cuiwei Villa was the place where he had secret meetings with the Western Zhou envoys.

It was by their command that he had opened the gates of Great Yin's vital passes, letting in the Quanrong people who had already submitted to Western Zhou.

Next, Su Chen seemingly offhandedly mentioned a few more people, calling out their names and noting some of their daily movements.

But only those people themselves knew.

The "daily" movements Su Chen mentioned were precisely the places where they went to meet Western Zhou's secret envoys!

"Before I woke from the dream, the Dragon King told me that if I want to pray for rain in Zheng Territory, the sinners must receive their due punishment."

"And the verdict was... the death penalty."

"I feel uneasy today; I always feel that the air in Zhaoge is too thick with filth."

"Perhaps... killing a few people and using their blood to sacrifice to Heaven and Earth to beg the Dragon King for mercy and bring a sweet rain to Zheng Territory would be quite good."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall was shocked.

Using the blood of ministers to sacrifice to Heaven for rain?

What an absurd, cruel, and unheard-of excuse.

But coming from Su Chen...

Everyone present knew he was not joking.

However, what no one expected was...

The first person to plead for these ministers was not the scholars in the hall.

But Su Chen's Beloved Consort, Su Daji, whom they had always despised.

"Your Majesty, you must not!"

She suddenly spoke up, gracefully stepping forward and kneeling beneath the imperial steps. She raised her peerlessly beautiful face, her eyes filled with a perfectly measured look of pity.

"Your Majesty, Minister Yang, General Fang, and the others are all pillars of the court. Even if they have committed minor errors, they do not deserve death."

"Furthermore, sacrificing humans to Heaven harms the natural harmony. I fear it is not the righteous way to seek rain, but will instead invite further disaster."

"Please, Your Majesty, withdraw your command and let us discuss other strategies for disaster relief!"

Her voice was delicate and mournful, full of sincerity, as if she truly were a virtuous consort who cared for the nation and could not bear to see blood.

Seeing this, some officials in the hall who had not yet been named felt a sense of shared grief. Their eyes flickered, and they were on the verge of speaking up.

After all, if Su Chen dared to use these people for a rain sacrifice today, he would dare to kill them tomorrow.

Su Chen lowered his eyes, looking at the exquisite woman kneeling at his feet.

Her makeup was meticulous today, and the charm in her eyes had turned into a heartbreaking fragility as she pleaded.

Such charm would make anyone feel pity.

"Heh..."

Su Chen knew.

She was testing him.

Testing his bottom line.

Testing whether he was truly so muddled that he would change his decision because of a beautiful face.