Translation of Zuo Zhuan Cui Zhu killed his king

Reference: During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Mingguang of Qizhuang had an affair with the wife of minister Cui Zhu. When Cui Zhu found out, he planned to kill Duke Zhuang and make Duke Zhuang's half-brother Chujiu the king, namely Duke Jin. Cui Zhu also proclaimed himself Prime Minister, and he was domineering and arbitrary in government affairs. But he was very afraid of the crime of regicide, especially worried that it would be recorded in the history books by historians and leave him with eternal infamy. So he ordered Tai Shibo, who was responsible for recording historical events, to be found and said: "The emperor is dead, so you should write that he died of illness. If you write according to what I said, I will treat you favorably. If not, Don't blame me for being rude!" After saying that, Cui Zhu drew his sword with murderous intent. Qi Taishi looked up at Cui Zhu, picked up the bamboo slips calmly, and started writing. After finishing the book, he handed the bamboo slip to Cui Zhu. Cui Zhu took the bamboo slip and looked at it. It read: "In the fifth month of Xia, Cui Zhu murdered King Guang." Cui Zhu was furious and killed Tai Shibo with his sword. According to the practice at that time, historians were hereditary. So Cui Zhu summoned Taishi Zhong, the second brother of Taishi, and said: "Your brother disobeyed my orders. I have executed him. From now on, you will take over the post of Taishi. Just write that Duke Zhuang died of illness, otherwise , that will be your fate." He pointed at Taishi's body and said viciously. He fully thought that Tai Shizhong would be frightened by his power and obey his orders. However, Tai Shizhong calmly spread out the bamboo slips and wrote: "In the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu murdered King Guang." Cui Zhu was furious and drew his sword to kill Tai Shizhong. Then he summoned Taishi's third brother, Uncle Taishi, and said fiercely: "Your two brothers are dead, don't you cherish your own life? If you change the way of writing, there is still a way to survive." But Taishi The uncle calmly replied: "It is the historian's bounden duty to write according to the facts. It is better to die than to neglect one's duties." In the end, he still wrote according to the facts on the bamboo slips. Cui Zhu was so angry that he gnashed his teeth and killed Taishi's third brother, so that Taishi Ji could fill the gap. Tai Shi Ji unfolded the bamboo slip and handed it to Cui Zhu. Cui Zhu saw that the words were still there, sighed and asked Tai Shi Ji to step aside. Another historian of the State of Qi, Nan Shi, heard that all the Taishi brothers had been killed. He hurried over with bamboo slips in his arms to take over from the Taishi brothers and record Cui Zhu's crimes in the annals of history. When he saw that Taishi Ji had recorded the facts, he returned. So this sentence was left in the history books: "In the twenty-fourth year of King Ling of Zhou, the sixth year of Qi Zhuang Gong, in the spring of March Yihai, Cui Zhu killed Qi Zhuang Gong Guang in his mansion...". Finally, Cui Zhu's evil deeds were truly recorded, leaving conclusive and credible historical data for future generations. However, the brothers Taishi of Qi were not afraid of violence, worked hard one after another, and their righteous deeds of writing straightly will always be recorded in the annals of history and passed down through the ages. ———————————————————————— Taishi wrote: “Cui Zhu killed his king.” Cui Zhu then killed Taishi, and Taishi succeeded him The younger brother continued to write, and two of them died. The third brother continued to write, and Cui Zhu had to give up. After hearing that the Taishi brothers had been killed one after another, the Nanshi family went to the court with a document stating that Cui Zhu had killed the monarch, but did not return until they knew that the incident had been recorded.