Daji: The Fox Spirit of Xuanyuan Tomb (Part 4)

A story adapted from Creation of the Gods , based on the image I created for The Shadow’s Secret Challenge . My artwork submission: https://budgetpixel.com/p/62597 Part 3 Word of Empress Jiang’s condition reached Crown Prince Yin Jiao and his younger brother Yin Hong. The two hurried to the Western Palace, where Yin Jiao found his mother still alive but terribly mutilated by the torture. Seeing her son, Empress Jiang told him that Jiang Huan had falsely accused her of treason and that Daji’s slander had led to the torture that destroyed her eye and hands. She urged Yin Jiao to clear her name and avenge the injustice done to her. Moments later, she died before him. Overcome with grief and rage, Yin Jiao seized a sword and killed Jiang Huan, the man whose false testimony had condemned his mother. He then rushed out intending to kill Daji as well. The attempt was stopped, and when King Zhou learned what his son had tried to do, he ordered both Yin Jiao and Yin Hong put to death. The princes escaped from the palace, but Daji warned the king that allowing them to reach their mother’s powerful relatives would be dangerous. If they found protection there, she argued, the grievance over Empress Jiang’s death might become open rebellion. King Zhou therefore sent men after his own sons. The princes escaped, but the episode deepened the unease within the court. Ministers who had already watched Empress Jiang die now saw the king turn against his own children as well. Among those who could no longer remain silent was the elderly Chancellor Shang Rong. At Nüwa’s temple, he had pleaded with King Zhou to erase the poem that insulted the goddess. The king had ignored him then, and now the old minister returned to court to find the royal household torn apart and the government increasingly ruled by cruelty and suspicion. He personally presented one final memorial before King Zhou. In it, he condemned the death of Empress Jiang, the persecution of the princes, the torture of loyal officials and the king’s obsession with Daji. If King Zhou wished to restore order, Shang Rong told him, he must cast aside the corrupt men around him and put Daji to death. King Zhou flew into a rage and tore the memorial apart. Shang Rong understood that there was nothing more to say. Rather than allow himself to be dragged away and executed, the old chancellor denounced the king for destroying the inheritance of his ancestors and threw himself headfirst against a stone pillar in the hall. He died before the throne. The man who had first warned King Zhou at Nüwa’s temple was gone. Yet even King Zhou understood that the death of Empress Jiang had created dangers beyond the palace walls. Her father, Jiang Huanchu, was the powerful Eastern Marquis. If he learned how his daughter had died, rebellion might follow. King Zhou raised the matter with Daji. She told him that such affairs of state were beyond her and suggested that he summon Fei Zhong for advice. Fei Zhong proposed a ruthless solution: summon all four great regional lords to Chaoge at the same time. Once they were inside the capital, the king could deal with them before any of them had the chance to return home and raise armies. King Zhou approved the plan. The Eastern Marquis Jiang Huanchu, the Southern Marquis E Chongyu, the Western Marquis Ji Chang and the Northern Marquis Chong Houhu were summoned to the capital. When they learned what had happened to Empress Jiang, the divisions between them became clear. Jiang Huanchu and E Chongyu openly condemned the king, while Chong Houhu remained aligned with the Shang court. Ji Chang also became entangled in the crisis, though ministers pleaded to spare his life. Jiang Huanchu was dragged outside the Meridian Gate and hacked to pieces. E Chongyu was also condemned and executed. Chong Houhu survived and continued to serve Shang. Ji Chang, for the moment, was spared and appeared likely to be allowed to return west. Fei Zhong had other plans. Knowing that Ji Chang was famous for his skill in divination, Fei Zhong and You Hun approached him during a farewell gathering and encouraged him to drink. Once the wine had loosened his caution, they asked him about the future of Shang. Ji Chang answered too truthfully. The destiny of the dynasty, he said, had grown dark. King Zhou would not meet a peaceful end, and Shang itself would not endure beyond the years that Heaven had allotted it. Fei Zhong and You Hun carried those words directly back to the king. King Zhou was furious. He had just spared Ji Chang’s life, only to hear that the Marquis of the West had predicted his ruin. Ji Chang was summoned back before the throne. (To be continued in Part 5) If you would like to explore another side of the story, you can also read my Champions and Supernatural Mounts in Creation of the Gods series, which explores some of the most memorable warriors and immortals accompanied by extraordinary creatures. Creation of the Gods (《封神演义》, Fengshen Yanyi ), also known as Investiture of the Gods , is a classic Chinese mythological novel set around the fall of the Shang dynasty and the rise of the Zhou dynasty. It blends history, folklore, Taoist mythology, magic, gods, demons, and legendary heroes into a vast story of war between the Shang and Zhou. The novel is traditionally attributed to Xu Zhonglin (许仲琳), a writer of the Ming dynasty, although its exact authorship remains uncertain and Lu Xixing (陆西星) has also been proposed as a possible author. It was probably written during the late 16th century, with the earliest known surviving editions appearing in the early 17th century, around the 1600s–1620s.