The thousand-year-old family began with King Wu's conquest of King Zhou.

Chapter 7 Duke Zhou Bears King Cheng

At dawn, Zhang Zhao and Ji Dan entered the palace together and presented the bamboo slips to King Wu.

Ji Fa leaned against the armchair, with a thick quilt behind him. His complexion was no longer as rosy as it had been two years ago, and his eye sockets were sunken.

His hands trembled slightly, and he would occasionally pause for a moment while flipping through the bamboo slips, as if he needed to gather his strength.

Zhang Zhao and Ji Dan knelt below the hall, neither daring to look up. The only sound was the rustling of bamboo slips turning, echoing through the empty hall.

After a long while, Ji Fa finally put down the last bamboo scroll. He raised his head, his gaze shifting from Ji Dan to Zhang Zhao, and then back to Ji Dan, a rare smile appearing on his lips.

"Good!" His voice wasn't loud, but his tone was heavy. "With such rites and music to educate the people of Bangzhou, I have no regrets even if I die."

That's too harsh a statement.

Ji Dan immediately kowtowed, his forehead touching the ground, and said, "Your Majesty, long live the King! You shouldn't speak of death so easily!"

Zhang Zhao also kowtowed. Ji Fa waved his hand, stopping them from continuing.

He then ordered that Ji Dan be given a set of black robes and a pair of jade discs; and that Zhang Zhao be given a carriage and four horses.

"You two have made such great contributions that no reward I can give you is enough. Your deeds should be recorded in history books, so please accept this small reward," Ji Fa said again.

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty." Ji Dan and Zhang Zhao kowtowed again to express their gratitude.

……

After that, everything went as usual.

Ji Dan went to the Yi-Luo region to oversee the construction of Luoyi, while Zhang Zhao remained in Haojing. In addition to handling military and political affairs in the Sima Office, he also had to supplement those incomplete rituals, music, and patriarchal systems that did not conform to the Zhou dynasty.

No one expected that this would be the last spring during King Wu's reign.

Ji Dan declared that Luoyi was largely completed, and King Wu then announced that he would move the capital to Luoyi to "reside in the Central Plains".

But before the trip could take place, Ji Fa's illness worsened.

His illness began to worsen last summer. It started with a cough, which the imperial physician said was due to a cold. He was prescribed several doses of herbal medicine, but it didn't help. Instead, he coughed up blood.

Ji Dan would visit the palace every day to inquire about the king's health, and Zhang Zhao would visit him every other day. King Wu would always force himself to sit up and say, "It's nothing," "It's just a minor ailment," and "I'll be fine in a few days."

But his complexion grew more sallow day by day, and his eye sockets became more sunken. The man who once held the yellow battle-axe and commanded tens of thousands of troops in the Battle of Muye now needed servants to help him get up.

Jiang Shang rarely came to the court anymore. Like Zhang Zhao, he sent his eldest son Jiang Ji to Yingqiu to take up the post in his stead.

He himself was recuperating in his mansion in Hokkien, his hair white and his steps unsteady, but his eyes were still deep and sharp.

Zhang Zhao once visited him, and the old man was sitting on the porch, basking in the sun. Upon seeing Zhang Zhao, he didn't exchange pleasantries, but went straight to the point: "I heard from the Fourth Prince that the King's health is deteriorating."

Zhang Zhao remained silent and did not respond.

Jiang Shang then said, "Duke Zhao, you must make preparations."

Zhang Zhao asked him, "What does the Grand Tutor mean by 'preparation'?"

Jiang Shang did not answer, but simply raised his head and gazed in the direction of the palace, his eyes distant and sorrowful.

On the night of the third day of the ninth month, Zhang Zhao was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door. He got up, put on his robe, and opened the courtyard gate to find a pale-faced servant kneeling on the ground, panting: "Lord Liang, the King summons you to the palace!"

The night wind in Gaojing was cool, making his robes flutter. The houses on both sides of the street were pitch black, with only the lights of the palace in the distance shining through the crenellations of the city wall, casting a dim yellow light on the horizon.

He ran until he was out of breath, with only one thought in his mind—this day has finally come.

The palace was brightly lit.

The doors to Ji Fa's bedchamber were wide open, and servants were going in and out, carrying copper basins and medicine pots, each with an undisguised look of fear on their faces.

As Zhang Zhao stepped across the threshold, he nearly collided with a servant carrying a bowl of bloody water. He steadied himself and strode quickly toward the inner room.

Several people were already kneeling in front of the bed.

Ji Dan was at the front, holding Ji Fa's hand, her eyes red-rimmed, but she bit her lip and didn't cry.

Duke Shao knelt behind Ji Dan, his expression solemn, his hands resting on his knees, his knuckles white from the effort. Duke Bi sat at the foot of the couch, tears streaming down his face.

Jiang Shang sat on a small table beside the couch, his aged face revealing neither joy nor anger. He simply watched the person on the couch quietly, as if trying to etch that face into his heart.

Zhang Zhao knelt down beside Bi Gonggao.

Ji Fa lay on the couch, his face ashen, his eyes closed, and his lips devoid of color.

His breathing was shallow, and the rise and fall of his chest was so small as to be almost imperceptible, but his eyes were bright; this was a final burst of energy before death.

"Lord Zhao, you've arrived." Ji Fa opened his eyes, looked at Zhang Zhao, and waved. His voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

However, Zhang Zhao still heard it. He quickly stepped forward, his eyes filled with tears, and said, "Your Majesty, Zhao has arrived."

Ji Fa nodded to him, then glanced around at everyone, forced a smile, and said, "Everyone, please don't be sad for me. This is a decree from Heaven that I must leave this world."

His words deepened the sorrow on everyone's faces.

"Your Majesty, you are the one who bears the Mandate of Heaven, how could you suddenly fall ill?" Zhang Zhao cried.

Ji Fa smiled and shook his head without saying a word. His gaze moved from one person to another, lingering on each person's face for a moment before finally settling on Ji Dan.

"Dan, come closer, I have something to tell you." He was having a hard time speaking.

Ji Dan crawled to the bedside and grasped Ji Fa's hands with both of them. His hands were cold and withered, like a dry branch in winter.

"I'm going back to heaven." Ji Fa's voice was broken, and he had to stop and catch his breath after saying a few words. "Song is still young, and the situation in the Yin Ruins is not yet stable, so I want to entrust the Zhou dynasty to you."

Ji Dan's tears slid down her face and dripped onto the back of Ji Fa's hand.

Ji Fa didn't look at him, but instead said to his men, "Go and bring Song here."

Upon receiving the order, the attendants quickly turned and left the hall, and soon brought Ji Song in.

"Father!" Ji Song, only eight years old, ran crying to the bedside, head bowed. "What's wrong?"

"Cough cough." Ji Fa felt his body growing weaker and weaker, and his eyelids felt as if they weighed a ton, but he forced himself to keep them open. "Dan, come here too, and carry Song on your back."

He carried the king on his back.

Everyone in the palace guessed what was about to happen, and all eyes turned to Ji Dan.

Ji Dan was deeply shocked. He understood the meaning behind his brother's actions, but he still held back his tears and carried Ji Song on his back.

Seeing this, Ji Fa nodded with satisfaction. After coughing violently a few times, he said:

"Today, I hereby appoint Ji Song as Crown Prince and Ji Dan as Grand Chancellor, and bestow upon them the ceremonial staff and halberd of the State of Lu. After my death, Ji Dan shall act as regent, assisting the Crown Prince and acting on behalf of the King."

"You are all important ministers of the Great Zhou Dynasty. You must obey his orders wholeheartedly, just as you would obey mine."

Before anyone could react, he said to Ji Song, "Song, do not be afraid. Your uncles, the Grand Tutor, and Duke Zhao are all ministers of the state. You must serve them as you would serve me, understand?"

Ji Song buried his face in Ji Dan's back, sobbing uncontrollably: "Father, I know, I know..."

Ji Fa seemed to have put down all his burdens and relaxed completely.

He closed his eyes for a moment, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, as if he were having a very long dream.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, his gaze vacant as he stared at the beams of the palace roof, and softly said, "Everyone, I entrust the affairs of Song and the Great Zhou to you. I'm going now..."

These were his last words.

[Ding~ You have completed the historical milestone - Duke Zhou carries King Cheng]

The Emperor's dying wish was to entrust the young Crown Prince with his care. Your historical reputation has been greatly enhanced, your clan prestige has increased by 2000, and you have obtained an item—the Mystic Rank Family Culture Card.

Mystic Rank Family Culture Card: A one-time use item that can change the family's mainstream culture once, such as changing Confucianism to military strategy...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"In the fifteenth year after King Wu received the mandate of heaven, the king served the Duke of Tai, the Duke of Zhou, the Duke of Wen, the Duke of Bi, and the Duke of Shao, just as King Cheng had done!" — Records of the Grand Historian, Basic Annals of Zhou