According to Empress Dowager Jiang's request, King Zhao initially invited Zhuang Xun in this way, strictly following a banquet every three days and an invitation every five days, making others envious of the favor Zhuang Xun received.
Zhuang Xun was a little reserved at first, but then he became visibly depraved, losing his previous demeanor and assimilating into the appearance of the Jinyang family.
He resisted at first, gradually let go and became bold, and then he became more arrogant and indifferent. When there was no invitation, the spy's reward was to play songs every night, with a beautiful woman in his arms, to drink and have fun day and night.
King Zhao felt contempt for him, just go for diving and indulge in pleasure, which is no different from some pig heads in China.
It seems that he was persuaded by his subordinates and Li Rusi, asking Zhuang Xun to cheer up, but the result was that drinking turned into hunting, which Li Rusi liked, and the two of them worked nine to five, not caring about Zhao Guo's spy. There is a slight difference between hunting animals and actively distributing them to the surrounding poor people, and those nobles who waste them.
Showing a little bit of a model of benevolence, the rest is the same. In addition to hunting one day, he watches dancing and drinks, and when the mood strikes, he engages in prostitution.
Without leaving the confines of Jinyang, King Zhao still sent people to keep a close eye on him, but the news he got every day was still the same. King Xia You was drinking, as if he had adapted to the life of Zhao.
After being invited several times, Zhuang Xun was either out hunting or talking nonsense drunkenly, looking like he was unconscious.
In addition, he himself was busy with official duties. After all, resolving Jing Zheng's alliance was a big deal. The swords and swords involved were far more dangerous than those in Jizhou. Especially after he signed an alliance with Zhuang Xun, he ignored Zhuang Xun. After all, Zhuang Xun seemed to have given up completely. Progressed.
The King of Zhao slowly relaxed his grip on Zhuang Xun. How could Zhuang Xun run away like this? He could not escape from Zhao if he escaped from Jinyang. He was also hunting around Jinyang, and was accompanied by spies and troops.
He does not have a wife like Zhuang Xun who can entrust the affairs of the country to him and allow him to enjoy himself like Zhuang Xun. He must show his dominance over the court.
He also changed from a feast every three days to a feast every five days, and finally a feast every seven days. Although he still gave rewards, the visible favor was no longer there.
At the beginning of July, Zhuang Xun was invited again. Because he often went out to hunt, his body was not drained by the wine and sex, but he did not have the same spirit as at the beginning. The whole person exuded a sense of luxury and enjoyment, which was almost the same as the nobles of Zhao State. A perfect match.
Fortunately, the nobles did not invite Zhuang Xun to banquets for various reasons, and Zhuang Xun did not accept the invitation. I heard that he was pushed by Li Rusi, which shows that Zhuang Xun is afraid of his wife.
Eat, drink, watch dancing and listen to music.
Maybe he came in a hurry, and Zhuang Xun's face was still unshaven, but it didn't stop him from staring at the dancer's beautiful body with a half-squinted look while drinking.
"King Xia, have you had any problems recently?" King Zhao asked routinely.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. The little king has no shortcomings, and his life is richer and nobler than when he was in the netherworld."
Zhuang Xun handed over his hand and said with a happy face that he was indeed enjoying himself more than before, with gold and silver vessels, beautiful women serving him, and watching the top-notch beauties from the Central Plains dancing, and he could do so without any hindrance after the dance.
People's desires are greatly satisfied in it. If you want to read a book, you don't have to read it yourself. There is a beautiful woman reading slowly next to you. If you want to eat, your pure jade hand will present it. You don't have to worry about anything, you have a broad mind and a fat body.
Fortunately, Li Rusi took him out for hunting, otherwise he would have become mellow and enjoyed the freedom of riding a horse.
"Don't King Xia miss the Kingdom of Xia?" King Zhao asked after hearing Zhuang Xun's words. Zhuang Xun seemed to be completely obsessed with Jinyang.
"It's very happy here. What's there to miss about Xia Kingdom? It's a pity that my wife has to take care of the government affairs. It would be great if she could come."
Zhuang Xun shook his head and said that missing Xia Guo was not something he missed. He was not wrong. He was indeed very happy and almost satisfied all his physical desires.
"King Xia doesn't even want his own inheritance." King Zhao wanted to laugh, but this was still a dragon, just a worm.
"Isn't this your majesty's inheritance? The little king is just taking care of it. When your majesty is free, what will happen to the little king? Why should the little king take care of it?"
Zhuang Xun made the cut perfectly, as if he was ready to hand over the country, without any energy, to embrace a new life.
King Zhao thought for a while, and when he was in Zhuang Xun's environment, he could only indulge in pleasure. Zhuang Xun didn't have to deal with government affairs, so he was happy and happy, and he felt a little envious.
But he would never give up the power in his hands. Is such a person who has lost his spirit still worthy of his attention?
"When Zhao Kingdom unifies the world, King Xia can come to Jinyang with the Queen. I welcome her very much. With Queen Xia's ability in governing the country, it is not impossible for her to be ranked among the three Dukes of Zhao."
If you continue to paint a big pie, people will give you the country, but you don't show your support.
"Don't worry about her. After your Majesty unified the rivers, it is our greatest wish to be able to travel across the nine states. We have always wanted to travel all over the country, but unfortunately we were tied up by government affairs."
Zhuang Xun waved his hands quickly, acting like he had no intention of interfering in government affairs, which made King Zhao laugh. He thought that he had become familiar with Zhuang Xun after entertaining Zhuang Xun so many times.
The other officials who were being entertained also laughed, and the air was filled with a happy atmosphere. Zhuang Xun was like a buffoon accepting the ridicule of a high-ranking official, with a shy face, thinking that he was making everyone laugh.
His temperament is harmless to humans and animals, benevolent and respectful, so this silly smile disguise does not make people feel deliberate, as if he should be like this.
"Okay, okay, when the time comes, I will make King Xia a traveling king, and I will let you, King Xia, travel all over the nine states." King Zhao was unwavering about his future of unifying the nine states, as if that was how it should be.
As for Zhuang Xun's future, he also arranged it casually. The emperor's majesty and authority came out of his mouth, even ignoring the insult, because subconsciously he felt that Zhuang Xun was no longer worthy of his efforts.
Now that everyone in the world knows about their alliance, Xia will appear as a vassal state of Zhao to put Zhao's back behind.
Zhuang Xun had no room for regrets and could only continue to follow Zhao Guo's arrangements.
"Then thank you Your Majesty. We are waiting for His Majesty's decree and the power of the heavenly army to unify the nine states as soon as possible."
Zhuang Xun thanked him and took the ridiculing words seriously, as if he had given up his land, accepted the title of king in a joke, and traveled around.
Because Zhuang Xun was thanking King Zhao, many of the high-ranking officials present could not laugh out loud and just smiled softly.
King Zhao rewarded him with another group of musicians to make his life happier, and no longer paid attention to him. He only occasionally listened to reports and asked what Zhuang Xun was doing today, whether he was hunting or teasing the dancing girl at home.
When she got home, she described what had happened. She was so angry that she wanted to break into the palace with a gun and repeat her miracle in Chengguo.
"Okay, isn't this the effect we originally wanted to achieve? Have you forgotten the story I told you about An Lushan? And Gou Jian's story of lying on his back and tasting his courage."
Holding back the angry Li Rusi, Zhuang Xun relaxed and said that it was obvious that he was humiliated, but Li Rusi felt even more ashamed and angry.
"Of course I know, but, but..."
Li Rusi pursed her lower lip, her face flushed with anger, and she wanted to wash away the humiliation with blood.
"The effect is obvious, isn't it? King Zhao looked at us very strictly at first, but now he has slacked off. After today, I'm afraid he won't regard us as a threat. Isn't this a great good thing? Oh, tell me, Madam Please pass on the news."
Zhuang Xun hugged Li Rusi. This was the plan they made from the beginning. It was really troublesome to have King Zhao keep a close eye on him when he was inviting guests and banquets.
He had no choice but to create an appearance of rapid depravity. Zhuang Xun was also hard-working and didn't like drinking. He would get dizzy every day. He liked watching dancing, but when it became part of his work, it seemed boring.
The reason is that when King Zhao invites him, he either gets drunk or goes out to kill King Zhao's energy. If King Zhao is really in such a mood to play around with the drunken half-drunk every day, then Zhuang Xun can't do anything.
Pretend becomes real, lie down.
However, King Zhao was a normal person and soon got tired of it. The frequency of invitations also decreased, giving Zhuang Xun and the others more time to plan.
I used hunting to find out the layout of the surroundings. I said it was drinking, but the actual drinking was half and half. If I had information, we would discuss it and spend more private time and less time monitoring.
"Let's go to the City God's Temple in July and a half to burn paper to worship our ancestors. At that time, the King of Reincarnation will meet with you, my husband, to discuss how to hide it from the sight of the gods of the Zhao Kingdom."
The information had been burned, and now it was in Li Rusi's mind. As they discussed business matters, her anger dissipated a little.
"Okay, okay, does your majesty, King Lun Lun, support me?" Zhuang Xun was also delighted. King Lun Lun did not respond to the way he asked for the throne. As a hostage, King Xia went to the City God's Temple, which seemed strange.
I had originally planned to go to the City God's Temple to burn paper to worship my ancestors, but it would have been better if the King of Wheels took the initiative.
Zhuang Xun has always been worried that the position of the Lunxuan King is not his. Although he is the real dragon selected by the Lunxuan King, Zhao Guo's actions will not affect the interests of the Lunxuan King, nor will it affect the interests of the Three Immortals of Fu, Lu, and Shou. Therefore, Fu, Lu, and Shou The three immortals expressed their incompetence, so they were really afraid that the King of Wheels would also stand by and watch.
"I support it." Li Rusi affirmed.
"His Majesty the King of Wheels has made it clear that he fully supports your husband in escaping back to Xia Kingdom, and also supports you in unifying Jizhou and striving for world hegemony."
Li Rusi clearly conveyed the meaning of the Wheel King in the information. She had no other intentions and strongly supported it. This made Zhuang Xun feel incredible.
Because he had the example of the Three Immortals of Fortune, Shou and Lu, he still wanted to argue with his arguments, even if it was a small hope, he would have to win the approval of the Reincarnation King. Even if the Reincarnation King did not agree, he would still find other gods to give it a try, even last time He also wrote a letter asking Si Qinmi to ask Ge Guoshi of Yindu.
This was the first time that he had such a strong mood to do something, and the first time that he felt that he had found the meaning of his coming to this world.
I used to think that I was not enough in this way and that, and felt that I would be satisfied as long as I lived a well-off life.
The idea of changing the world is too big, but in actual interactions, I find that there are many smart people, but my own abilities and conditions are insufficient.
It’s different now. He is capable and has a chance to complete this matter. Just like Lan Qiu gave up the Tongtian Avenue planned by Empress Dowager Jiang in order to support him. Zhuang Xun also began to pursue spiritual pursuits after being satisfied with material things. of ascension.
So even if the road ahead is really full of thorns, he will still walk unless the road is blocked, unless there is no way to go.
It doesn't matter to him when others laugh at him. That's because he has a dream hidden in his heart. He is willing to play a fool and make these people become fools when the time comes.
For this reason, he also thought hard for a long time on how to convince the King of Wheels, and repeatedly discussed the issue of merit with He Jung.
According to the meaning of the Three Immortals, it is not impossible for the Zhao State to unify the world. As long as Zhuang Xun manages the land well, he does not need to expand, fight for the world, or even unify Jizhou, and he can cultivate his three acres of land honestly. Divide land.
The merits are already complete, there is no need to work so hard, it is already good, and they are satisfied. Even if Zhao does not unify the world later, Zhuang Xun will earn a lot of merits by being an obedient and surrendering monarch.
As for whether subsequent monarchs do good or bad things, that is not the business of the gods, but of mortals, and it is not the business of Zhuang Xun, because the trend is unstoppable.
Zhuang Xun has done a good enough job in his position, and when calculating his merits, he will not be blamed for any subsequent sins. There is no need for Zhuang Xun to do such a thankless thing.
Isn't it good for him to behave like a Xiaoyao Prince and wait for his next life to become a Xiaoyao Immortal? Therefore, the Three Immortals of Fu, Lu and Shou will not help him.
Now the King of Wheels had agreed so simply, and even wanted to help him ascend to the throne of emperor according to this intention, which was something he could not have expected at all.
All the assumptions and speeches were discarded, and I felt like I was about to face Empress Dowager Jiang, and I kept the prepared speeches and determination in my heart.
"What's wrong, aren't you happy? Are you worried about being discovered?" Li Rusi said with concern, seeing that Zhuang Xun looked sick.
"No, I was just wondering if after today's banquet, if King Zhao sees me as useless, he won't invite me to such a banquet."
Zhuang Xun hoped to say that he was very tired of this kind of banquet, but he still wanted to go to it. It was simply torture, so Mrs. Jiang was a woman who knew how to torture people.
"They are the losers and can't see through your acting skills." Li Rusi praised Zhuang Xun and said.
"You saw through it, but you should only see through that I wanted to hide my weakness to keep myself safe. You couldn't see through that I actually wanted to hit the wall."
There are so many talented people in Zhao State, so how could no one see it?
But what they thought was that Zhuang Xun could not escape and could only show weakness to the enemy. They did not expect that Zhuang Xun wanted to escape from the iron-walled Zhao country.
As Zhuang Xun expected, King Zhao stopped looking for him. On the one hand, Zhuang Xun did not catch his eye, and on the other hand, the coup in Yu State had begun.
The stacked intelligence was hard to see through, and at the same time it seemed that Zheng and Jing were also starting to take action, so he had no time to pay attention to Zhuang Xun.
That's good. Zhuang Xun continued to visit places, exercise, prepare for the physical strength that may be required to escape, and get access to more intelligence.
Until the Hungry Ghost Festival arrives.
(End of chapter)
