After the sacrificial ceremony and praying to the ancestors is finished, Ouyang Zen returned to the palace but he didn't step inside. Instead, he went to the palace grounds and blessed the citizens with his presence as each of them was given 5 gold coins and a set of clothes.
This is the tradition of the Eastern Sun kingdom, going on since its foundation.
The nobles, court officials, royal knights, generals, and the members of the royal family will have to present the king with a birthday gift but the commoners and soldiers, on the other hand, will be receiving presents from the royal palace.
As millions of citizens would visit the capital city every year, the donations will start a week before the king's birthday and will end a week after the event. Those who missed the deadline or cannot show their identification documents won't be able to enjoy the rewards.
While Ouyang Zen spent his time there, Mark returned to the royal palace. General Fan and a few other royal guests also followed the suit as it isn't necessary to be present at the palace grounds like with the temple.
General Fan hoped to talk with Mark about the deal but the latter went missing somewhere in the palace. He couldn't find the weapon seller anywhere.
Mt. Lan, Kunyu Mountain range;
Demon King Bael was staring at the dazed prisoner, who was currently trapped in an illusionary realm. His hand was on Li Zheng Kang's head and he had his eyes closed.
Suddenly, a portal appeared out of nowhere and Mark stepped outside of it.
"What are you doing?" He asked curiously.
The demon king opened his eyes and replied, "I'm watching his memories."
"So…" Mark's curiosity increased.
Bael then said, "His life story is interesting but I will tell you what you want to know. The mastermind behind your parents' deaths is your grandmother, who is, unfortunately, no more. It appeared that the ones who died weren't your real parents but you were switched at birth with your half-brother born to your…"
"I know that story. So, don't bother." Mark didn't let the demon finish his explanation and asked him again, "Are you sure she is the mastermind?"
As the demon king nodded, Mark clenched his fist in anger and let out a shout of frustration, "Argh… Dammit."
With the principal conspirator dead, Mark felt all of his planning became useless.
Just then, the demon said, "I have something else to say. But, before that, let me ask you. What kind of relationship do you have with your father, the Emperor of the Shang Dynasty?"
"He is not my father," replied Mark in a sharp tone. He then added, "If you want to fulfill your curiosity, I don't care whether he dies or lives."
With that reply, the demon got his answer and he then said, "According to his memories, Your fath… I mean, Emperor Shang had fooled around with a lot of women when he was in his prime. It appeared that fathered over 46 children in total.
And except for one child, all the remaining illegitimate children and their mothers along with everyone who knew the secret were assassinated too."
"What did you say? 46?" Mark's heart shook for a moment as if a volcano has erupted. Killing commoners, soldiers, or even innocent women is one thing. But, killing children…
Even in his imagination, Mark wouldn't dare to commit an act like that. "Wake him up." He raised his voice in anger.
The demon king obliged his request and snapped his fingers. Li Zheng Kang's eyes became alive and he looked around in confusion. "It's a dream?"
Surprisingly, he adapted to the changes in the situation quite quickly.
Feeling the heat from the sun, Li Zheng Kang asked Mark without showing signs of any weakness, "How long has the time passed?"
Mark responded by taking out the gun from his storage ring and shooting a bullet at Li Zheng Kang's shoulder.
*Bang*
"Argh…" He screamed in pain at once and Mark shifted his aim to the former's left shoulder without speaking anything before shooting more bullets.
*Bang* Bang*. . . . . . *bang* *click* click*
He shot him continuously in different places, perfectly missing his key vitals, until the magazine emptied.
The grand secretariat was feeling pain all over his body and experiencing severe blood loss.
As his consciousness was about to fade away, Mark then spoke, "Bael, heal him."
He saw Bael's stats and skills after he formed the contract and knew what type of abilities he has.
As the demon king healed Li Zheng Kang's injuries, Mark replaced the empty magazine with a new one loaded with bullets.
Pointing his gun at him again, Mark spoke coldly, "I won't blame you for killing all those 46 women who slept with the Emperor but killing their babies? People say that you are one of the noblest officials in the empire. You don't take sides and only serve the throne. You don't have a family as it will become your weakness. You follow the rules and will always make sure justice prevails in the courtroom.
What bullshit rumors are those? You are worse than a monster. Don't you even feel a little bit of remorse for killing children?"
Li Zheng Kang was first surprised as his secret was out like that but then he quickly defended himself with a lengthy reply, "The assassination of illegitimate children of the imperial family is a tradition passed down in the Shang Dynasty. It is the job of a Grand Secretariat to clean after the mess made by his Emperor and the crown prince. All my predecessors did the same.
Fortunately, no grand secretariat ever faced the dilemma of keeping one alive to protect the bloodline. And yes, I don't feel any remorse as I was prepared to do it when I took up the job. His Majesty knew that and yet, he fooled around.
As for the babies, it is their respective mother's fault. They might have willingly or unwillingly slept with the Emperor but it is also a fact that they have the option to kill their baby when they became pregnant.
We cannot kill pregnant women or their unborn children by any forceful methods. It has to be voluntary. We give her a choice to kill the unborn child in exchange for money.
It's not 46 women, Lu Zhen. The total number of women is 114. Of them, 68 agreed to take the money and killed their unborn child by taking the pregnancy termination pill. The remaining women refused.
There are such pills and potions available in the market for a cheap price to do the job but the greed of becoming a concubine by giving birth to an imperial child doomed their lives.
It's nothing but a choice and consequence, Lu Zhen.
If not for the fact that Queen Consort Lan sent you and your mother away from the city, both of you would have died on the day of your birth.
However, your mother's fate was already sealed. Eventually, the late Empress Dowager found out the location of your home and ordered me to proceed with the assassination.
However, I purposely instructed them to spare you as I know that you aren't his illegitimate son but the son of Queen Consort Lan. Regrettably, I only learned the truth after the title of prince was conferred upon the third prince. Killing him would be going against the law and Queen Consort Lan also seemed like she had forgotten you. Furthermore, you are identified as a civilian with no ether energy. Hence, I decided to ignore your existence altogether.
Little did I expect you to return to the Imperial City in ten years and enter our lives as a unique weapon seller. Within no time, you stepped so high into the social ladder that I didn't dare to reveal the truth anymore.
It's not just because you are doing better as Lu Zhen compared to an imperial prince. It is also because your growth in fame and popularity gives hope to commoners.
Ever since you stepped inside the Imperial city and fought with the nobles, the commoners became braver than before and they no longer fear to send their complaints to the court when they faced injustice from nobles or powerful people.
Now, I have said everything I can.
You can take your revenge on me in any way you can but I can't apologize to you for following my duty. Even if I get a second chance, I would do the same."
When Li Zheng Kang first started his explanation, Mark had the urge to clear the magazine once again but as he went on listening, his anger slowly faded away.
In fact, he no longer felt angry with this old man. Instead, his anger shifted to someone else.
"I knew it. In the end, that bastard Shang Fu is the source of my agony. He knew about this absurd rule and yet couldn't control himself lusting for women even when he has several wives. That moth**f**ker played around with 114 women?" Mark concluded that Emperor Shang is the true culprit behind the death of his adoptive parents.
His hatred toward his biological father only grew further and he became more motivated to bring him down for good.
However, there is still one question that's bothering him.
To get clarification on the matter, he asked Li Zheng Kang in response to his explanation, "Did Shang Fu knows that I'm his son?"
Li Zheng Kang stayed silent for a while. He hesitated to answer.
*bang*
Mark grew impatient by his five seconds of silence and shot the bullet into his abdomen, "Just say yes or no. Or else, I will bring him to this same location and ask him by myself."
"He does," answered the demon king in Li Zheng Kang's place.
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