With the cannon fodder script in hand, it is easy for the king to change his fate

Chapter 1033 The Heir Takes the Empire as Dowry 45
The Zhou family was dumbfounded.

They hadn't paid much attention to the items in the Ao Kingdom's underground palace, but they never expected something like this to happen, catching them completely off guard.

Thus, its reputation built up over thousands of years was completely destroyed, with no chance of recovery.

Especially among literary circles, there is now only condemnation of Zhou Wenling, who is considered the most shameless person in history.

As for his contributions, let me reiterate: if the Kingdom of Ao hadn't disappeared and the complete version of the "Governance Strategies" had survived, what would Zhou Wenling have been needed for? Even without the complete version, the existence of such a large Kingdom of Ao would surely have left behind a lot of information.

Azhen not only published the summary version of "The Policy of Governing the Country," but also arranged for people to spread rumors everywhere, determined to make Zhou Wenling's deeds known not only in Zhao State, but also in other countries, so that everyone would know that Zhou Wenling was a plagiarist and a sinner in history.

The disappearance of Ao Guo's traces confirms that Zhou Wenling was responsible.

Given the other party's abilities, it wouldn't be difficult to do this; it could be resolved with just a few spells. This is also why the Ao Kingdom was able to disappear so cleanly.

At least in people's memories at that time, the Kingdom of Ao would no longer exist.

If memories change, won't they simply disappear? As generations go by, it becomes very difficult to find any trace of them again.

Why did news of the Kingdom of Ao still circulate? Because memories are easily erased, but other things will always leave some trace. However, these traces don't matter much.

“Grandfather, the news has spread everywhere, and there’s no way to stop it.” Zhou Huo’s face was pale. “Ordinary scholars can only go to Wen’ao Pavilion to read the summary version of ‘The Strategies for Governing the Country,’ but those with official positions are qualified to read the complete version. The complete version is very detailed, and the source is quite early, which is enough to prove that our ancestors plagiarized it.”

"Grandfather, what should we do now? Should we inform the Ancestor? I wonder if he will be angry if he finds out; he seems to care a lot about his reputation."

In truth, Zhou Huo was speechless. If they cared so much about their reputation, why did they have to plagiarize everything? Now they were making their juniors lose face, and they had no chance to salvage their reputation.

Since our ancestors were so capable, how could they have overlooked the underground palace of the Ao Kingdom?

If this Ao Kingdom underground palace hadn't appeared, none of this would have happened. Now, nothing they do will make a difference.

Zhou Hanyi felt his hair was turning completely white. The Zhou family had had a really tough time these past two years. He thought that with the patriarch in charge, they would eventually get their revenge, but then this happened.

A few days ago, someone appeared whose abilities were no less than those of our ancestors.

The old ancestor's words had calmed him down, but now he couldn't help but worry again. He really suspected that something was behind this.

I wonder if this matter has affected our ancestor. He cares a lot about his reputation, and he's not a stupid person, so he naturally guessed that there might be something going on here.

Zhou Hanyi didn't delay and immediately used the jade token to make contact.

However, for some reason, he couldn't get in touch with them. He could only send someone back to Wenling Mountain, while he held the jade token and waited anxiously.

He always felt something wasn't right.

Ah-Zhuang had actually started arranging for people to spread rumors a couple of days ago, and it was impossible to stop them.

With such a huge reaction, Zhou Wenling must have sensed it by now, right?
“I never imagined even this was plagiarized. A thousand-year-old family of scholars, now it’s truly ruined.” Xie Nuo said with some emotion. “The impact this time is indeed unprecedented. Compared to his poems, calligraphy and paintings, Zhou Wenling was most admired for his strategies for governing the country, but they were all plagiarized. He may even be one of the culprits who erased the traces of the proud nation. Nowadays, scholars feel ashamed when they mention him.” Ji Churong added.

"I've heard that quite a few students at the Zhou family's academy are dropping out."

"The study, which had just regained its popularity, has now become deserted again. There are many different kinds of study rooms. Originally, relying on the reputation of the Zhou family, scholars would choose the Zhou family's study room first, as well as the Zhou family's writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones. I'm afraid that will be the case in the future..." Zhuang Xu shook his head and didn't finish his sentence, but everyone knew the outcome.

Zhou Wenling's governance strategies and contributions formed the foundation upon which the Zhou family built their empire.

Now that foundation is gone, no matter what Zhou does later, he will no longer be trusted.

No scholar wants to be associated too much with a family whose ancestors were plagiarists. Besides, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down; many people are quite happy to see the Zhou family collapse.

The news spread too quickly. By the time Zhou Wenling sensed something was wrong, it was too late. He didn't even have a chance to go to the capital to find out what was going on. A loud bang came from the sky, and the entire Wenling Mountain was razed to the ground.

The Zhou clan members who were guarding the foot of Wenling Mountain were dumbfounded as they watched the burning mountain.

News of Wenling Mountain being struck by lightning reached the capital within a few days.

Upon hearing this, everyone was even more convinced that Zhou Wenling was a participant in erasing the traces of Ao Guo. Wasn't this the wrath of heaven and earth?
Now that Wenling Mountain has been struck by lightning, people outside don't know that Zhou Wenling was also struck and his soul was scattered. They only know that even the heavens couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to punish the Zhou family. The fact that Wenling Mountain was struck down is enough to prove that the rumors they heard were true.

If this incident hadn't happened, the Zhou family might have been able to survive. But after it, they were truly nailed to the pillar of shame forever, with no chance of ever recovering. Even if they wanted to recover, they would probably have to live in anonymity and never tell anyone that they came from the Zhou family.

From this point on, anything associated with the Zhou family will be considered despicable.

As everyone was discussing how Wenling Mountain had been leveled by lightning, a sudden, deafening roar echoed across the capital, followed by two bolts of thunder striking the Zhou family mansion. No one was injured, but many witnessed the lightning striking the Zhou family's residence.

While others couldn't hear it, Azhen heard the voice of Heaven.

"To hell with you, Zhou Wenling, you outsider! To hell with your Zhou family! How dare you tie yourself to me! If you want to die, go die yourself! Why drag me into this? I'm so pathetic, tied up the moment I was born."

"This day has finally arrived!"

"Waaah, I've finally survived this ordeal! It was so difficult! Who is born with such a great calamity in their destiny?"

A-Zhu: ...

I never expected the Heavenly Dao to be like this.

It wasn't that the Heavenly Dao was deceived, but rather that it was outmaneuvered by Zhou Wenling. The Heavenly Dao was only just born at that time, so it's not surprising that it was outmaneuvered.

When she created the underground palace in the Ao Kingdom, she didn't use any other cultivator's methods, probably because of Zhou Wenling's existence.

Once traces of cultivator techniques are detected, the items in the Ao Kingdom's underground palace will be destroyed.

When Zhou Wenling arrived here, she had already been in this world for a thousand years. In addition, she came to Zhao Kingdom first, so it was not advisable to use other methods to change things in Ao Kingdom, lest it cause complications and irreversible consequences.