Chapter 176: Ode to the River Goddess — Beauty Ranking, Fifth Place: Daji of the Shang Dynasty

At the Xianyang training ground, sighs rose and fell in waves.

"What a pity, truly a pity."

Ying Zheng shook his head; although he held no attachment to beauties, Zhen Ji's talent and ultimate fate made him feel regretful, especially her end—her hair covering her face and her mouth stuffed with chaff—was simply too cruel.

"Cao Pi is petty and ungrateful, forgetting past ties; he lacks the bearing of a ruler."

"But Cao Zhi, with his Ode to the River Goddess, at least completed that regret, granting him an immortal name."

He always held a little more appreciation for talented people.

Li Si twirled his mustache and said, "Zhen's talent and beauty are indeed rare. Yet being in an imperial household, especially amid the fierce court struggles of Cao Wei, many meet untimely ends. That she could have her literary fame passed down through Cao Zijiang is a great fortune amid misfortune."

He valued practicality and the continuation of reputation even more.

Meng Yi, however, was even more enamored with the literary elegance of the Ode to the River Goddess,

"'Graceful as a startled swan, elegant as a wandering dragon'—Cao Zijiang's talent is truly extraordinary. Zhen Ji receiving this ode, even though she died in disgrace, her beauty becomes eternal, surpassing nameless green graves."

Being of military origin, he rarely became sentimental.

Fu Su and the other young gentlemen were completely moved by the River Goddess image and its tragic story; they felt deep sympathy for Zhen Ji, harbored some criticism toward Cao Pi, and yearned for Cao Zhi's talent.

The surrounding common folk's discussions also centered largely on Zhen Ji's tragic death and the Ode to the River Goddess.

"My mother, after becoming empress, was still ordered to die, and even in death she wasn't given a proper burial—this emperor is too ruthless!"

"Cao Zhi, though lovesick, wrote wonderfully, as if he truly saw a deity."

"Cao Zhi is the best—talented and still values loyalty and righteousness."

Han Dynasty realm.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, said, "Zhen's son became emperor yet could not be preserved; it's beyond foolishness. That Ode to the River Goddess... its literary style is good."

He subconsciously glanced at Wei Zifu, thinking that he would never treat the crown prince's mother that way.

Wei Zifu silently tightened his hand, inwardly sighing at the many misfortunes of palace women.

Three Kingdoms realm (late Eastern Han, around the Battle of Red Cliffs).

At this point, Cao Cao had not yet captured Ye City; Zhen Ji might still be Yuan Xi's wife, or perhaps had just been taken by Cao Pi.

Seeing the golden list, the Cao camp and the Yuan camp reacted in completely opposite ways.

In the Cao camp, Cao Cao was discussing matters with his generals; upon seeing the golden list he was first stunned, then his sharp gaze swept over the subordinate Cao Pi.

Cao Pi's complexion turned deathly pale, sweat beading on his forehead; the future revealed by the golden list, especially the display of his petty, ungrateful side before his father and the ministers, made him feel as if sitting on a bed of needles.

Guo Jia, Xun Yu and others watched with eyes and hearts, daring not to speak.

Cao Cao snorted coldly in his mind, his assessment of his eldest son inevitably dropping a few points, while he silently thought he needed to impose stricter restraints on palace affairs.

Young Cao Zhi, watching the beautiful River Goddess image on the golden list and the scene of his brother sentencing Zhen Ji to death, showed a shifting complexion, unable to tell whether he was shocked, delighted, or sorrowful, his fist clenched in secret.

……

Yuan camp.

Yuan Shao and Yuan Xi, upon seeing the golden list, were likely filled with both shock and anger; Yuan Xi felt a surge of green envy atop his head, yet helpless, and could only berate Cao Cao and his son.

Post-Jin Dynasty realm.

The scholars and officials discussed Zhen Ji and the Ode to the River Goddess most fervently.

Zhen Ji's image has long transcended history itself, becoming a motif in literature and art.

The golden list's assessment undoubtedly reinforces this cultural symbol once more.

Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang curled his lip and said, "None of the old Cao family are good! Cao Cao is treacherous, Cao Pi is petty, Cao Zhi... can only write essays, what good is that?"

"But that Zhen lady is truly pitiful; sister, we wouldn't do such a thing."

Empress Ma shot him a glance: "It's enough that you know. Treating the harem well is also a virtue."

Qing Dynasty.

Qianlong lay on his couch, gazing at the River Goddess image, and recalled the many consorts of his own harem; a few faces of those who died early or fell out of favor flashed through his mind, evoking an inexplicable melancholy.

"Since ancient times, beauties are like famed generals, never permitted to grow old in the world... Cao Zijiang's ode should emerge prominently."

He, however, could quite empathize with the scholar's mindset.

The assessment of Zhen Ji sparked another round across the myriad realms of complex reflections on beauty, talent, fate, imperial ruthlessness, and literary romance.

The golden list's radiance swirled, continuing its advance toward the next.

【Beauty Ranking, Fifth Place: Daji (Shang Dynasty)】

— Nine-tailed fox, wine pools and meat forests

Title: Divine Beauty Empress

Above the golden list, the eerie red light grew ever more intense, nearly swallowing the earlier clear radiance of the Luo River and the war smoke of Mount Li.

In the center of that scene, the seductive demonic figure lying sideways, together with the faintly swaying fox-tail silhouette, instantly seized every viewer's attention.

A wave of perverse beauty, mixing extreme temptation with bone-chilling cold, rushed onto the senses.

【Name: Su Daji】

【Era: Shang Dynasty (the reign of King Zhou, Di Xin)】

【Title: Nine-tailed fox, Divine Beauty Empress】

Heavenly Sound rose again; this time, the voice seemed to carry the clang of metal striking stone, and also an eerie echo of fox cries, rendering the atmosphere ever more mysterious and dangerous:

【She, Su Daji. A name equated with "demon concubine" and "national disaster," becoming the ultimate symbol of the "beauty that brings ruin" in later ages.】

【Her existence itself intertwines myth and history; in official records she is the beloved concubine described as "beautiful yet argumentative, clever yet scheming," and in unofficial tales she is the nine-tailed fox spirit tasked by Nüwa, whose actions doomed the six-hundred-year reign of Cheng Tang.】

The scene rapidly rewound with the narration of Heavenly Sound, shifting from the decadent wine pools and meat forests back to an older, barbaric battlefield.

Shang troops clad in beast-skin armor, with rugged faces, were attacking a tribe (of the Su clan).

The tribe was defeated; its leader knelt and presented tribute, the most dazzling of which was a girl in plain robes whose unparalleled beauty could not be concealed.

She lifted her head and looked toward the Shang King Di Xin (King Zhou) perched atop the war chariot.

At that moment, Di Xin's eyes burst with an unhidden, blazing glare, like a beast fixing its prey.

And the girl's (Da Ji's) gaze, at first appearing terrified and obedient, concealed deep within her eyes a fleeting, extremely secret, inhuman golden flash.

【The Su clan was defeated; they offered their daughter Da Ji as a peace tribute.】

【Shang King Di Xin, later known as King Zhou, possessed strength enough to support beams and replace pillars, wisdom sufficient to reject counsel and conceal faults, originally bearing the bearing of a heroic ruler.】

【Yet upon seeing Da Ji, he was stunned by her unparalleled beauty, beguiled by her seductive demeanor; from then his soul was bound to her, his dreams entangled, and all matters obeyed her.】

The scene shifts, displaying Di Xin's supreme favor toward Da Ji, far exceeding Zhou King You's toward Bao Si.

Exquisite treasures, palaces and gardens—any request Da Ji mentioned was promptly granted.

Da Ji gradually shed the plainness of her early palace days; her attire grew increasingly lavish and bewitching, her gaze more soul‑capturing, and she often whispered soft, warm words into Di Xin's ear.