Chapter 11664 — The Ambitious Factions, Once Stirring Restlessly, Begin to Feel a Certain Fear
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
A year ago, when he had first appeared here, he had been seen by all as a lucky man plucked from the Divine Kingdom on Land, a nobody in their eyes.
Yet now, after a mere year, Wei Zhao had appeared here once more, and the entire court, civil and military alike, found itself spontaneously holding its breath.
After all, even when facing the Prince of Qin, they were no more than this.
When all was said and done, even the Prince of Qin had been incapable of beating the Prince of Qi's Estate into outright dissolution and erasure from the rolls.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the dread Wei Zhao inspired in their eyes had already come to surpass that of the Prince of Qin, making him a class apart in the entire Inner Royal Court.
Wei Zhao let his gaze sweep across their faces.
Not one of the assembled courtiers dared meet his eyes; each hurriedly bowed his head.
Only when his gaze passed over Grand Preceptor Hou Chuang did Wei Zhao pause for a moment.
Countless commonfolk watching the scene from afar could not help but cry out in unison: "A power minister! Truly the foremost power minister under heaven! No wonder even the Son of Heaven has been trampled by him and cannot lift his head!"
In the propaganda, Wei Zhao had been cast quite thoroughly in the image of an overbearing power minister beyond all restraint.
Little did anyone know that he held no official post in the Inner Royal Court whatsoever; even the position of Director of the Security Review Bureau had been stripped from him outright after a vacancy lasting a full year.
The Wei Zhao of today, in the Inner Royal Court's court, was a complete nobody.
Reaching the Son of Heaven's presence, Wei Zhao performed no gesture of salute; his first words were a single line.
"What did you summon me for?"
The Zhou Son of Heaven's eyelid twitched, and he was on the verge of erupting in fury.
Puppet Son of Heaven though he was, over the years these top-tier figures, the Prince of Qin included, had at least given him face in public; the minimum courtesies were still observed, enough to keep him from being publicly humiliated.
Wei Zhao's conduct was insolent and discourteous in the extreme.
The Zhou Son of Heaven said in a low voice: "Why do you not kneel before Us?"
The whole hall started in unison, gazing upon this puppet Son of Heaven as though at an imbecile.
At a time like this, he was still thinking about that?
Had this puppet Son of Heaven taken the wrong medicine, or what?
Never mind Wei Zhao—even the other grand figures, the Seven Kings included, at most offered a cupped-hand salute in court; there had never been any question of kneeling.
At the end of the day, he was only a puppet Son of Heaven.
Wei Zhao looked at him strangely: "I am but a rough wanderer of the wilds, unversed in these elaborate rites. Pray forgive me, Your Majesty."
The Zhou Son of Heaven choked on his words, then abruptly rose to his feet: "You do not understand? Very well—We shall teach you."
With that he descended from the Son of Heaven's throne and came to stand before Wei Zhao.
An uproar arose both within the hall and beyond it.
What was the meaning of this? Did this puppet Son of Heaven actually intend to lay hands on Wei Zhao directly?
Who on earth had given him the courage?
Who had given him the confidence?
The common folk at the bottom might still harbor illusions about him, but any clear-eyed observer knew perfectly well that with the meager strength of this Zhou Son of Heaven, he was in no position to stand against Wei Zhao head-on—he did not even qualify to provoke him.
Wei Zhao need not lift a finger; a casual breath might well be enough to snuff the man out.
The two were simply not on the same scale.
What exactly was he trying to do?
Under the gaze of ten thousand eyes, the Zhou Son of Heaven's next move startled everyone.
He dropped straight to his knees before Wei Zhao.
What kind of performance was this?