The Eternal Beauty of the City of Wealth

King Gou Jian of Yue ignored Fan Li's advice and insisted on going to war, but he underestimated the gap in strength between himself and the Wu army, and was finally defeated and surrendered.

King Fuchai of Wu was victorious and led the prisoners back to the capital, Helu City.

Hearing that Zixuan had come to Wu State for a trip, he was very happy and hurriedly ordered Wu Zixu to go to the other courtyard to invite Zixuan to a banquet.

Wu Zixu was also very happy to hear that Zixuan had come to Wudu. Although there had been some minor conflicts due to the war in the past, those were all past events and not worth mentioning.

So, he got on the carriage and headed excitedly towards Zixuan's villa.

When Zixuan heard that Wu Zixu was coming to visit, he hurried out to greet him: "Master Sima, how are you?"

Wu Zixu saluted hastily: "Everything is fine. City Lord Zixuan is getting younger and more beautiful!"

"No, no! They are all old ladies, haha..."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries and entered the living room, where Zixuan ordered someone to serve tea.

After tea was served, Wu Zixu said, "City Lord Zixuan, I have come here on the king's orders to invite you to the palace for a banquet."

Zixuan nodded: "No problem."

Wu Zixu said again, "City Master Zixuan, I would like to ask you for a favor."

"Sima, please speak."

"City Lord Zixuan, Zixu would like to ask you to persuade the king to kill King Goujian of Yue to prevent future troubles!"

Zixuan asked doubtfully, "Did you destroy the Kingdom of Yue?"

"Even if it is, the country's name has not been changed yet. It is still called Yue State."

"Why?"

"Your Majesty wishes to preserve Yue and protect Wu, for Yue is to the south of Wu."

"If we destroy Yue, Wu will become too powerful, and might even draw the ire of other nations."

"Preserving Yue could serve as a buffer, giving Wu a longer chance to develop."

"Oh, so that's how it is. Lord Sima, could you tell me about the Battle of Fujue?"

Yes! Wu Zixu then briefly and clearly recounted to Zixuan the battle at Fuju and how he had attacked the Kingdom of Yue.

Zixuan immediately thought of the story of sleeping on straw and tasting gall after hearing this: "So, King Gou Jian of Yue surrendered?"

"Yes, City Lord Zixuan, I see that Gou Jian is a man of great resolve and resolve. He is no ordinary man. If he is not eliminated, he will sooner or later become a serious threat to the State of Wu."

Therefore, I would like to ask you to persuade the king to kill him as soon as possible. You have a high reputation among the vassal states, and your words carry great weight."

"If you were to persuade the king, he would certainly listen."

"Didn't you try to persuade them?"

"I tried to persuade him, but the king wouldn't listen. He insisted that it would be too cheap to let him die so quickly."

"Let Gou Jian live as a slave and endure greater humiliation and pain, only then will he feel relieved."

Zixuan nodded and thought to himself, if I persuade the King of Wu he will definitely listen.

If Fuchai really killed Goujian, wouldn't he have changed history?

If I really do this, Gou Jian will not die yet, but I and Fugui City will be reduced to ashes.

I was too embarrassed to embarrass him in person, so I pretended to agree:

"Alright, I will do my best to persuade you. If the King of Wu refuses to listen, I will have no other choice."

Wu Zixu hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you, City Lord Zixuan. Man proposes, God disposes. Just do your best!"

He looked up at the sky and said, "City Lord Zixuan, it's getting late, let's go into the palace!"

Okay, so Zixuan took his mother Queen Ji Yan and several ministers, and walked towards the palace with Wu Zixu as the lead.

In the carriage, the young master asked Zixuan, "My dear, do you really want to persuade the King of Wu to kill Gou Jian?"

Zixuan looked outside and saw that Wu Zixu's carriage was still some distance away from him, so he probably couldn't hear what he was saying.

He whispered, "How could that be? It's impossible for me to change history."

Gongzi Yan nodded: "Well, this is the right thing to do."

"If Gou Jian had died, there would be no idiom 'sleeping on firewood and tasting gall' in later generations."

Zixuan pinched his handsome face and said, "Don't worry, little darling, I won't do anything reckless."

The two chatted and laughed, and arrived at the palace half an hour later. At this time, King Fuchai of Wu had been waiting at the palace gate for a long time.

Seeing Zixuan get off the carriage, he hurried forward and bowed deeply: "City Lord Zixuan, it's been a while since we last met. How are you?"

Zixuan hurriedly returned the greeting: "Thanks to your great blessings, everything is fine."

The two chatted as they entered the dining hall, where a sumptuous banquet had already been set up.

After the host and guest were seated, Zixuan raised his glass and said, "Congratulations, Your Excellency, on your achievements in conquering the Yue Kingdom. I will drink first as a token of my respect!"

Fuchai also drank the wine in his cup: "Thank you, Lord Zixuan!"

So everyone clinked glasses and started eating happily, and then Fuchai ordered the dancers to perform on stage.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, King Fuchai of Wu bowed to Zixuan and said, "City Lord Zixuan, I have a request for your advice."

Zixuan's eyes were hazy with drunkenness: "Sir, please speak."

"It is like this. During this campaign against Yue, Gou Jian surrendered, and many ministers advised me to kill the King of Yue. I would like to hear the opinion of City Lord Zixuan."

After he finished speaking, the ministers all turned their eyes to Zixuan.

Zixuan thought to himself when he heard this, what you fear will come true. I told you to kill someone, but that is against the ban.

I won’t let you kill him, Wu Zixu is looking at him with expectant eyes.

After thinking about it...I got it! Thinking of this, she immediately lay down on the table, pretending to be drunk, and fell asleep.

Gongzi Yan hurriedly took her into his arms. He knew Zixuan was pretending: "King Wu, look..."

When King Fuchai saw Zixuan drunk, he didn't think much about it and thought she couldn't hold her liquor.

He waved his hand and said, "Please take City Lord Zixuan back to his mansion to rest."

Okay, the young master was eager to leave here as soon as possible, picked up Zixuan and walked out of the palace.

Wu Zixu and some of the ministers shook their heads, sighed, and muttered to themselves, "Why did he get drunk at this critical moment?"

After getting on the carriage, the young man scratched Xuan's nose and said, "Stop pretending, my King Xuan."

Zixuan opened her beautiful eyes a little and said, "Did you see it, little darling?"

The young master gave a sly smile, "Don't forget I was an actor in my previous life. I'm the best at this."

"Haha! Good at acting, let's make a movie after we return to Wealthy City."

"Really? Rich City has filming equipment?"

"Of course we have it. Rich City has everything except nuclear weapons."

"Great! Does that mean I can enjoy modern life even in ancient times?"

"Yes, little darling, are you happy?"

"Happy, happy! Dear Xuan, love tiger oil! Hahahaha..."

The next evening, King Fuchai of Wu sent someone to invite Zixuan to the palace for a banquet. Zixuan had no choice but to agree.

This time there were no ministers drinking with them, only Fuchai and Prince Zixuan. After a few drinks, Fuchai clapped his hands.

Immediately, a man with iron chains on his feet walked in.

Fuchai pointed at the man and said, "City Master Zixuan, he is Gou Jian, King of Yue!"

Zixuan raised his head and looked around, and saw that King Gou Jian of Yue had a haggard face and dull eyes. He stood there timidly, not daring to look up.

Fuchai shouted, "Gou Jian! Why don't you kneel down and pay homage to the City Lord Zixuan?"

Ah! Gou Jian was startled, and suddenly looked up at Zi Xuan, then fell to his knees with a plop: "The humble slave Gou Jian pays homage to King Zi Xuan!"