171: Chapter 171 The Great Yin Dynasty Did Not Believe in Gods

"The Earth God."

"When I was young, I traveled to other kingdoms."

"One of them was called Great Xia, which is very similar to my Great Yin."

"The people there once worshipped the Dragon King and the Earth God for a thousand years."

"However, it had no effect whatsoever."

"Every flood season, the muddy yellow river water would still sweep away everything they relied on for survival."

"Until..."

"A person came to the banks of the Yellow River."

"He told them that changing this river could not rely on worshipping gods, but on their own hands."

"Since then, the history of the Yellow River's floods has come to a complete end."

"From now on..."

"The lands of my Great Yin no longer need an Earth God."

After saying that.

He raised his hand and swung his sword.

The sound, like a watermelon hitting the ground, echoed hollowly within the large tent.

The Earth God's head spun a few times before stopping in a corner.

Candlelight ignited a nearby canvas, illuminating his bewildered expression.

...

Three days later.

The reservoir was finally completed.

This also announced that the floods that had plagued the Zheng Territory for a long time had finally come to an end.

Su Chen faced the direction where ten thousand people knelt to see him off, hearing the cries of "Saint King" still echoing in his ears.

He ordered the driver to turn the imperial carriage around.

They sped towards Zhaoge, rolling over the official road where a few flowers and grasses had actually grown under the nourishment of the new water.

Inside the carriage, the atmosphere was subtle.

Su Daji curled up in a corner, still wearing that simple dress designed for easy movement.

Her hair was unkempt, and a few strands of black hair were stirred by the wind blowing through the gaps in the carriage window, sticking to her slightly sweaty forehead.

Her eyes were cast down, and her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the cold "ice soul mirror" in her sleeve.

At this moment, she was almost certain.

This mirror Su Chen gave her was definitely intended to keep her mind clear while practicing the Hehuan Sect's techniques.

The trip to the Zheng Territory, what she had seen and experienced, was too shocking.

The figure of that man wading through the disaster victims, his determination in going against the flow during the landslide, and his steady heartbeat and burning body temperature when he held her in the tent.

And his decisiveness when he slew the Earth God.

Everything.

It was all completely beyond her expectations.

Not only did he not show any of the traits a tyrant should have.

On the contrary, he had earned the title of "Saint King" from the people of the Zheng Territory.

What made her even more uneasy was.

The night before leaving the Zheng Territory.

She had once again received instructions from her sect through secret channels.

It wasn't an urge to assassinate, but a new mission.

"Frame Queen Jiang by using sorcery and curse the King."

The instructions were cold and concise, accompanied by the hiding places and forging methods for several pieces of "evidence."

She was required to execute it as soon as possible and do her best to frame Queen Jiang in front of Su Chen.

She had to make Su Chen believe that Queen Jiang's guilt was certain, so she would be thrown into a deeper prison.

Or even... executed.

Queen Jiang...

That gentle and haggard face appeared before Su Daji's eyes.

Even she had to admit it.

Queen Jiang's beauty was not inferior to hers at all.

It was just that she had grown up in a privileged environment and always seemed to hold a certain air about her.

She wasn't skilled at using all sorts of vixen-like tricks to win Su Chen's favor like she was.

But it had to be said.

Since she entered the palace, this nominal mistress of the six palaces had never spoken a harsh word to her.

Even though she enjoyed great favor and captured almost all of the King's attention.

The look in Queen Jiang's eyes when she saw her was, at most, a fleeting moment of gloom and complexity.

There was never any malice or jealousy.

Even when she first entered the palace and was at a loss regarding palace etiquette.

This long-neglected Queen had even quietly given her a few tips in private.

If Su Daji were to summarize Queen Jiang.

She was a woman who was kind to the point of being somewhat timid, yet stubbornly held onto a certain sense of duty.

She didn't even know for whom Queen Jiang's timidity and stubbornness were for.

Frame her?

And with such a vicious charge?

Su Daji couldn't help but think of the reasons her sect had vaguely mentioned when they gave her this mission.

Because her assassination had made no progress for a long time, the sect seemed to have lost patience and had sent several new batches of "sisters" into the palace at Zhaoge.

Those sisters were certainly far inferior to her in terms of cultivation, talent, and even the art of disguised assassination.

But they were also a group of cultivators.

The Hehuan Sect disciples, who had been carefully trained and possessed various means, were all, without exception, quietly eliminated when they tried to approach the core of the inner palace or made any unusual movements.

The actions were clean and decisive, and the clues were wiped away without a trace.

According to the news that luckily made it back, the one leading the cleanup behind the scenes.

Seemed to be that seemingly harmless Queen Jiang, who had lived in the Cold Palace for a long time.

She actually had such ability?

Su Daji's mind was in a mess.

She could roughly guess the sect's intention.

Queen Jiang came from a large country in the East that was very skilled in trade, and she was the bond of a political marriage.

Her very existence was a safety measure for the relationship between the Yin Dynasty and the East.

Removing her would both further isolate and anger the Yin Dynasty, and provoke the relationship between the great Eastern country and Yin Shang Dynasty.

It would also completely clear the obstacles in the harem.

Paving the way for her and the Hehuan Sect to completely control the environment around King Zhou.

Killing one person to kill two birds with one stone was indeed the Hehuan Sect's usual ruthless style.

But...

Did she really have to do this?

When it came to making a move against Su Chen, she could still deceive herself with "blood feud" and convince herself it was a righteous revenge.

But against that woman who had never harmed her and had even shown her some kindness...

She really couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Beloved Consort."

Su Chen's voice suddenly rang out, giving her a start.

He didn't look at her, still leaning on the cushion, resting with his eyes closed.

His face was slightly pale from blood loss and days of fatigue.

"I see that even after the floods in the Zheng Territory were resolved, you still look worried."

"Is there some concern in your heart, or has something happened?"

Su Daji's heart skipped a beat.

Company with a king is like company with a tiger.

Moreover, the Su Chen before her was simply too sharp.

Sometimes Su Daji always suspected that he had already discovered something.

He was just simply keeping silent.

She composed herself and looked up.

Su Chen still had his eyes closed, the lines of his profile appearing somewhat blurred in the swaying light and shadow.

This man was sometimes as violent as a Shura, and sometimes as deep as an ancient well.

And sometimes, when they were alone, he would show such a lonely and weary expression.

It was as if he were deliberately doing it for her to see.

Regarding Su Chen, she couldn't see through him, and she became increasingly afraid to act rashly.

Perhaps... this was also an opportunity?

She only needed to tell Su Chen that something had happened on Queen Jiang's side and that Su Chen needed to go and visit her.

It would count as completing the sect's mission.

Although there was no direct framing, if Queen Jiang really did something like sorcery because of vying for favor, the sharp Su Chen would surely notice.

And it wouldn't go as far as directly framing Queen Jiang, who had helped her so much.

In terms of conscience, it would be perfectly acceptable.

"Your Majesty..."