When Generals Chao Tian and Chao Lei brought Jiang Huan into the West Palace,Concubine Huang said,“Queen Jiang! Your enemy's arrived.”

  Queen Jiang opened her eye. “You wretch! Who is it that pays you to make false accusations against me? Heaven will punish you for this!"

  “I dared not refuse the orders you gave me. How can you deny that,Your Majesty?”

  Concubine Huang became enraged. “Jiang Huan, you vile clod! Queen Jiang's been cruelly tortured, even though she's entirely innocent. For this act, Heaven won't spare you."

  In the East Palace,Crown Prince Yin Jiao and his brother Prince Yin Hong were playing chess when the eunuch Yang Rong hurried in.

  “Your Highness, a great calamity's about to befall you!”

  Yin Jiao was only fourteen years old and Yin Hong two years his junior. Neither of them paid any attention to Yang Rong's report.

  “Your Highness! Stop your game. A true disaster's taken place, and will bring both your family and the entire kingdom to ruin,"Yang Rong said again.

  The two looked up from their game and asked,“What great calamity you say's taking place right here in the palace?”

  Yang Rong was all tears. “Someone's dared to slander the queen with a false accusation, and His Majesty's deceived. Her Majesty was tried in the West Palace. When she denied the accusation, one of her eyes was gouged out, and then her hands were burnt to ashes. I urge you to hurry to her rescue."

  Yin Jiao let out a roar and ran with his brother to the West Palace. When they got there and saw the pathetic condition the queen was in, they knelt down beside her and sobbed.

  “Why have you been so cruelly tortured, Mother? Even if you had committed a crime, as queen you're not to be sub jected to torture.”

  Hearing their voices,Queen Jiang opened her eye.“My sons! Look at your mother. I've lost my eye and my hands. Jiang Huan's made a false accusation of me, and Daji convinced the king to torture me. You must clear your mother of this injustice and seek revenge,"she cried out bitterly, and soon died.

  The brothers saw a man still kneeling at one side. “Who's Jiang Huan, and where is he now?”Yin Jiao asked.

  Lady Huang pointed to Jiang Huan and said,“That man kneeling there, your mother's deadly enemy.”

  The crown prince was so enraged that he grabbed a sword hanging on the gate of the West Palace and slashed Jiang Huan in two. In seconds, the ground was covered with blood. But slaying Jiang Huan served only to fire his rage. “I'll cut off Daji's head in revenge for my mother!”Yin Jiao cried, and sword in hand, he flew out of the palace.

  Chao Tian and Chao Lei,fearing that the crown prince would kill them next, fled before him to the Fairy Longevity Palace. Concubine Huang was shocked. “The boy's too young to understand what's happening," she said, and called to Yin Hong,“Hurry and tell your brother to come back here at once. I've something to say.”

  Yin Hong rushed after Yin Jiao. “Brother! Lady Huang wants you to go back at once. She has something urgent to tell you!" he cried.

  Yin Jiao heard this and returned to the West Palace.

  “Dear prince! You've acted too rashly. Now that you've killed Jiang Huan, how can we ever learn the truth! If he were still alive, I could have tortured him with the burning dipper and found out who was behind him. Now that he's dead, what can I do? I'm afraid Chao Tian and Chao Lei have already reported everything to the king and you'll have trouble soon!”Concubine Huang reprimanded Yin Jiao.

  The boys expressed their regrets, but it was too late. Chao Tian and Chao Lei had rushed into the Fairy Longevity Palace. ‘'The princes are rushing over here with their swords

  drawn," they reported.

  “Those treacherous young curs! Their mother sent an assassin to murder me, for which I've yet to put her to death. How dare they try to kill their father! They must die at once. I hereby order Chao Tian and Chao Lei to decapitate those unfilial brats with my Dragon Phoenix sword,” the king, infuriated, cried out the order.

  Back at the West Palace,Concubine Huang had heard the report that “Chao Tian and Chao Lei are coming with the king's sword to decapitate the two princes.”She rushed out to the palace gate, met the two generals, and demanded to know what they were about.

  “By order of His Majesty, we've come to cut off the heads of the two princes as punishment for attempting to kill their father."

  “You stupid fools! The two princes chased you out of here just now. Why don't you go and look for them in the East Palace? Why do you come looking for them here? You're just utilizing His Majesty's orders as an excuse to wander around the inner palace and insult His Majesty's concubines and maidservants. You two wretches are out to cheat and offend His Majesty. I'd chop your donkey heads off right now, if you didn't have the king's sword. Get out of here immediately!"

  Frightened ,Chao Tian and Chao Lei immediately made their way to the East Palace.

  Concubine Huang went back inside.“That tyrant's killed his wife and now he wants to kill his sons. I can't protect you here, so you'd better seek shelter in the Fragrant Palace with Concubine Yang for a few days. You'll be safe once a powerful minister speaks to His Majesty on your behalf," she told the two princes.

  The two princes knelt down and expressed their gratitude. “Dear Lady! How can we thank you for your kindness? Mother's still lying here exposed to the elements. If you could provide her with a coffin, we'll never forget you for the rest of our lives."

  “You had better leave here as soon as possible. I'll try to do as you say," the concubine reassured them.

  The two princes left the palace and made their way to Fragrant Palace. They found Concubine Yang leaning on the gate, anxious to hear about the fate of Queen Jiang. The two princes ran forward, knelt down before her and started to cry. This surprised Concubine Yang. “How's your mother, my good princes?" she asked them.

  Yin Jiao was all tears again.“My father's been taken in by Daji and does whatever she says. He's tortured mother to death. And now he listens to Daji again and wants to kill us. I beg you to save our lives."

  Concubine Yang wept aloud.“My good princes, come in quickly," she told them. She thought to herself ,“When the generals find that the princes are not in the East Palace, they're bound to come here looking for them. I'll get rid of them first and then decide on the next step." She went out again and stood at the gate of the palace. She soon saw the generals bounding up like wolves.“Guards! Arrest these men. This is the inner palace, where intrusion is forbidden under penalty of death," she ordered.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Chao Tian and Chao Lei stepped forward respectfully. “Honorable lady! We're Chao Tian and Chao Lei.On His Majesty's order, we're here to search for the two

  princes," they said.

  “The princes are in the East Palace. How dare you be so rude as to come to my Fragrant Palace! I would have you arrested if you weren't sent by the king. Get out of here now!"Concubine Yang shouted at the top of her voice.

  Chao Tian and Chao Lei dared not say anything and left. When they were outside,Chao Lei said to his brother, “We've been to three palaces already, but we still can't find the princes. We're strangers here and don't know our way around. We should return to the Fairy Longevity Palace and report this to His Majesty."

  After the generals left, Concubine Yang returned to her apartments. “This isn't a safe place for you, dear princes.

  There are too many ears and eyes about,and it's difficult to predict what the king'll do next. I suggest that you go to the Grand Hall and speak with Wei Zi, Ji Zi，Wei Ziyan and Huang Feihu. Even if your father makes trouble for you, they'll protect you,"she told the princes.

  The two princes kowtowed to her in gratitude and bade her farewell in tears. When they left, Concubine Yang sat alone on a silk cushion in her own room. “Queen Jiang was the queen, but she died tragically, a victim of torture and injustice. What can I expect as a mere concubine! Daji makes use of her position to deceive the king. If someone reports to her that the two princes were here, I'll be found guilty and suffer terrible tortures. Though I've served the king for many years,I haven't borne him any children. The crown prince is his own child, yet he feels no fatherly affection for him. Now that he's killed his wife, and ordered his sons'death, the sacred relationships between husband and wife， father and son, and king and ministers have been defiled. My future's dark; very little hope remains," she pondered, and mourned over her fate.

  She then shut herself in her inner room and hanged herself. When King Zhou learned of her death, he was puzzled as to why she had taken such a step, and ordered that her coffin be placed in the White Tiger Hall, according to the customary funeral rites.

  When Chao Tian and Chao Lei arrived at the Fairy Longevity Palace, they saw Concubine Huang entering to make her report.

  “Is Queen Jiang dead?”King Zhou asked her.

  “Yes, she is. But before she took her last breath, she cried out ,‘I‘ve served His Majesty for sixteen years and borne him two sons, one of them the crown prince. I've always behaved myself carefully, performing my duties faithfully. I still don't know who it is that dispatched Jiang Huan to assassinate His Majesty and to accuse me of treason. Though I've been queen, this is of no more significance than fleeting clouds, now that the king's love has flowed away like a river. I'm dying more wretchedly than the birds and beasts. I cannot right the injustice done me and can only trust that future generations will judge me fairly .'Now her corpse is still lying in the West Palace. I pray that Your Majesty might take it into consideration that she's the mother of the crown prince, and grant her a coffin and the right to be placed in the White Tiger Hall in accordance with the burial rites. That way your officials will be satisfied, and you'll preserve your sovereignly virtue.”

  King Zhou approved her request, and when she had left, turned to Chao Tianand Chao Lei.“Where are the princes?”

  “We looked in the East Palace, but couldn't find them. They aren't in the West Palace or the Fragrant Palace either.”

  "If they weren't there, then they must have fled to the Grand Hall. Go arrest them and put them to death ,"King Zhou ordered.

  The Grand Hall was still crowded with ministers and officials waiting for news from the palace. Suddenly Huang Feihu heard the sound of flurried footsteps, and saw the panicstricken princes rushing into the hall. Going forward to meet them, he asked,“What are you so upset about, my good princes?"

  “Please save our lives,General Huang!”Yin Jiao cried out, and all tears, he clung tightly to Huang Feihu's robes. “My father's performed every sort of terrible deed ever since he placed his trust in Daji. When I saw my mother die from the cruel torture he ordered ,I cut Jiang Huan in two and wanted to kill Daji. Chao Tian brought this to my father, and now he's ordered our deaths. I beg you to take pity on my dead mother and save our lives so as to prolong the rule of the Shang Dynasty.”

  All the ministers approached the princes in tears.“How can w possibly disregard the unjust death of Her Majesty? We'll strike the bells and beat the drums, and ask to see His

  Majesty so that we can discover the identity of the real criminal and right the injustice done to Her Majesty,”they said in one voice.

  “The king's failed to play his proper role in the kingdom; he's slaughtered his queen and attempted to kill his sons; he's tortured the loyal to death with burning pillars ,”a voice exploded like thunder at the west end of the hall. “If we're true heroes, we should right the injustice done to the queen and seek revenge for the princes! Yet all we do now is stand around crying like women! As the old saying goes,‘A good bird chooses a solid tree to roost in; a good minister chooses a good master to serve.'The king's recent behavior attests to the fact that he's no longer fit to act as the ruler of this nation, and we should be ashamed to serve him. It would be better for all of us to leave Zhaoge in revolt and select a new ruler to protect our country.”

  Everyone turned to see who dared to speak so recklessly. It was Fang Biand Fang Xiang,Chiefs of Guards in the Grand Hall.

  Huang Feihu was angry. “How dare you speak like this? There are senior statesmen and supreme ministers here to discuss this matter; there's certainly no need for the likes of you to take part. You should be arrested! Get out of here at once!"he swore at them.

  Fang Bi and FangXiang dared not argue with Huang Feihu. They lowered their heads and remained silent. But Huang Feihu had also realized that the dynasty was in trouble. He remained quiet, watching Wei Zi, Ji Zi,Bi Gan and the others sigh and fret and gnash their teeth. None knew what to do.

  “What happened today is just as the Taoist predicted. An ancient saying goes,‘An improper ruler will have corrupt ministers!’ The king's unjustly cut off the head of Grand Tutor Du Yuanxian, cruelly killed Supreme Minister Mei Bo with the burning pillar, tortured his queen to death, and ordered the exe-cution of his two sons. This is bound to bring smiles on the faces of the wicked among us. It is a pity that the Shang Dynasty will fall to ruin and we'll all be prisoners before long," Supreme Minister Yang Ren said.

  “You're right, Supreme Minister,”Huang Feihu agreed.

  The rest of the officials kept silent while the two princes wept bitterly. Fang Bi and Fang Xiang forced their way through the crowd. “King Zhou's a wicked tyrant. In ordering his sons ' execution, he's trying to sever his own ancestral line, and in killing his wife, he's violated the ethical code. We'll escort the two princes to East Lu and raise an army to uproot him. This is a rebellion,"they cried out.

  Fang Bi picked up Yin Jiao and FangXiang Yin Hong, and with the princes on their backs, they left the capital through the south gate. Fortunately they were both strong, for they had to fight their way through numerous officials who tried to stop them.

  All the ministers were astonished at what was taking place, except Huang Feihu, who remained entirely unmoved. Vice Prime Minister Bi Gan approached him. “Why do you remain in complete silence while this rebellion is taking place?" he asked Huang Feihu.

  “It is truly a pity that among so many ministers, none are as loyal as they. They may be vulgar and uncivilized, but they cannot bear to have seen the queen die unjustly and to see the princes die for no reason. They must have realized that they were so low in rank that they couldn't possibly deliver admonitions directly to the king, so they chose to carry away the two princes. They risk their lives doing this, for they know that they 'll probably die if the king sends men after them on horseback. They were acting exclusively out of conscience and loyalty,”Huang Feihu explained with a sigh.

  At this moment, hurried footsteps were heard at the back of the court, and Chao Tian and Chao Lei entered carrying the king’s sword. “Ministers!”they cried out,“have any of you seen the princes here?”

  Huang Feihu told the Chao brothers what had happened and urged them to chase after the four of them. But this was a terrifying thought to the Chao brothers, for they knew that Fang Bi was thirty-six feet tall and Fang Xiang thirty-four and that they were not to be trifled with. They also knew that Huang Feihu was deliberately putting them in a difficult position. They returned to the Fairy Longevity Palace and reported what they had learned to King Zhou.

  The king was greatly enraged. “Go and arrest the Fang brothers and the two princes and put them all to death without further delay!"he bellowed.