“General, the Junior General’s corpse has been brought back!”

At the Grand General’s Mansion, Personal Guard Captain Zhao Hu and several personal guards carried the corpse of Xu Xuanwu, seeking an audience with Xu Mujun.

Xu Mujun shook his head and said, “Xuanwu is a traitor, not the Junior General.”

“Even in death, he will not enter the ancestral hall, nor the ancestral tomb!”

“General…”

The group remained silent. At this moment, Deng Yong, the aide-de-camp who had been following Zhao Hu, said, “General, I personally inspected… Xuanwu’s corpse and the scene of his suicide, just as Your Majesty said, Xuanwu indeed died by suicide.”

“That blood letter was also written by Xuanwu himself. There are bite marks on his right index and middle fingers.”

Xu Mujun frowned and said, “Who sent you to inspect it?”

“Since the traitor is already dead, just find some place to bury him.”

“General…”

Xu Mujun waved his hand, turned and left, but his back was filled with desolation.

Zhao Hu whispered, “What should we do? The general seems very unhappy.”

Deng Yong glared at him and said, “Nonsense! The Junior General committed suicide; how could the general possibly be happy?”

Looking back at Xu Xuanwu’s corpse, he gritted his teeth and said, “The Junior General must have been blindfolded by lard, ignoring the great kindness from the general and the consort, he raised arms in rebellion and killed so many of our brothers.”

“If he weren’t the general’s only son, I’d kill him myself!”

“Brother Deng…”

“Enough talking. I will personally take his corpse back to the ancestral house, as the general said, and find a random place to bury it.”

“This… seems to be the only way, Brother Deng.”

“Let’s go…”

The group left the General’s Mansion, having already prepared a fine coffin.

After arranging Xu Xuanwu’s corpse properly, they prepared to leave.

Just then, a female figure suddenly appeared, walking toward the Grand General’s Mansion gate.

Seeing this, Deng Yong hurried to stop her: “Hey hey hey, who are you that you dare to trespass into the Grand General’s Mansion?”

Zhong Chun stopped, looked the group up and down, especially the coffin behind them, and said calmly, “By Your Majesty’s order, I am here to deliver a gift to the Grand General.”

“Gift?”

Deng Yong’s eyes were full of suspicion; this woman seemed to carry nothing—what could she possibly offer?

“Where is your gift?”

Zhong Chun instinctively touched her belly and said, “It’s in my belly: Xu Xuanwu’s child, Xu Mujun’s grandson—isn’t that quite the gift?”

“What?”

“What did you say?!”

Inside the Grand General’s Mansion, Xu Mujun suddenly stood up, unable to believe his ears.

“Did you say you have Xuanwu’s child in your belly?”

“Do you know the consequences of deceiving me?”

Zhong Chun bowed gracefully and said, “Who doesn’t know that Grand General Xu is unparalleled in loyalty? How could a common woman dare deceive the Grand General?”

“You can send someone to ask the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison warden; for the past two months, I…”

She lowered her head, a blush creeping onto her face, and continued no further.

“About seven days ago, I felt nauseous and consulted a doctor who confirmed the pregnancy.”

“You…”

Xu Mujun was stunned and signaled to Deng Yong beside him.

Understanding, Deng Yong suddenly drew his sword and rushed toward Zhong Chun.

“What demon dares come to my Grand General’s Mansion to deceive!”

Zhong Chun’s face changed slightly—this wasn’t how Your Majesty had explained it.

But instinctively, she sidestepped to dodge and simultaneously produced a dagger, curling slightly at the waist, disregarding the open front, aiming the sharp dagger directly at Deng Yong’s neck.

It was a fight to the death.

Either Deng Yong died, or Zhong Chun perished.

“Enough!”

With a roar, Deng Yong stopped, and Zhong Chun’s dagger halted just as it grazed his chest.

“Phantom Spin Step, Chen Liancang’s Black Lotus Treasure Manual—you belong to the Shadow Guard. I believe you!”

“Huff, huff…”

Zhong Chun gasped heavily, realizing Xu Mujun quickly identified her.

“Did Your Majesty arrange for you to be impregnated with Xuanwu’s child?”

“Yes!”

“How long have you been pregnant?”

“Almost two months, General.”

“What orders did Your Majesty give you?”

Zhong Chun remained silent, calmly gazing at the Grand General.

“I, Xu Mujun, have pledged loyalty solely to the Great Yu Imperial Family and Your Majesty. You can speak boldly; I will never act disloyally to Your Majesty.”

After a few moments, Zhong Chun said, “Your Majesty issued no orders.”

“He only said that, should something happen, I should give birth to the child well and honor the Grand General.”

“You…”

Xu Mujun took a deep breath, his lips trembling rarely, but quickly suppressed his excitement, saying, “Deng Yong!”

“I am here!”

“Relay my orders: From today onwards… by the way, what is your name?”

“Replying to the Grand General, the servant’s name is Zhong Chun.”

“Zhong Chun, Zhong Chun… Loyalty?”

Xu Mujun said, “From today onward, Zhong Chun is the Lady of the Grand General’s Mansion. When I’m not here, all matters of the mansion shall be overseen by the Lady. Understood?”

“I understand!”

Deng Yong was moved, secretly glancing at the ordinary-looking woman.

Unexpectedly, the Junior General is dead, but a bloodline remains.

And this woman will become the most important figure in the Xu Mansion.

A meteoric rise!

Xu Mujun then turned to Zhong Chun and said, “You will move into the Grand General’s Mansion from now on; this will be your home.”

“And hereafter, you need not concern yourself with Shadow Guard matters.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Still referring to yourself as a common woman?”

Thinking for a moment, Zhong Chun responded, “Yes, daughter-in-law understands.”

“Eunuch…”

“Hahaha… good!”

Xu Mujun laughed heartily, “Make sure to take care of yourself and hope for our Xu Family to continue our lineage.”

“If you give birth to a son, you will be a great benefactor to our Xu Family!”

“Eunuch, you overestimate me. These are things a daughter-in-law should do.”

“Deng Yong, prepare the horses, I need to enter the palace!”

“Ah…?”

Deng Yong said in surprise, “Grand General, the Imperial City Gate is already closed at this hour, it might be better to go tomorrow…”

“No need! I have important matters to discuss with Your Majesty, and cannot afford any delay, quickly prepare the horses!”

“Understood!”

Deep in the night, a group swiftly headed towards the Imperial Palace.

With Xu Mujun’s token, they had an unobstructed passage.

But upon reaching Baiyu City, they were stopped by Liu Cheng’en and his men.

“Eunuch Liu!”

Xu Mujun quickly approached, “I have a crucial matter to discuss with Your Majesty, please allow me to pass.”

Liu Cheng’en had a peculiar expression, “Grand General, it’s not that I won’t let you pass, but… Your Majesty is not here!”

“Hmm? Your Majesty is not in the palace?”

Xu Mujun was puzzled, “Where has Your Majesty gone?”

“Well…”

Liu Cheng’en’s eyes flashed, “Your Majesty has left the palace, but as for where, I do not know.”

“Left the palace?”

Xu Mujun frowned, “Your Majesty is the Emperor, how can he leave the palace at will? If he encounters danger… forget it, I’ll wait here for His Majesty.”

“Grand General, it’s late, and it’s unclear when His Majesty will return, perhaps you should return to the mansion and wait, when His Majesty is…”

“No need!”

Xu Mujun said, “His Majesty leaving the palace late at night surely won’t take long, I will wait right here.”

“Well… alright then.”

“General, please!”

Liu Cheng’en quickly made way, “Inside Baiyu City, there’s a room prepared for outside officials, Grand General can rest there.”

“Once His Majesty returns to the palace, I will report to him immediately.”

“Thank you, Eunuch Liu.”

Meanwhile, as Xu Mujun waited for Zheng Yi, Zheng Yi was examining treasures in the Zheng Family Treasure Vault.

When Chen Liancang took out ten Foundation Establishment Pills, everyone was stunned.

“Foundation Establishment Pill?”

“Foundation Establishment Pill!”

Noble Consort Cui and Consort Yu rushed in, snatching the jade bottle from Chen Liancang’s hands for a closer look.

“Your Majesties…?”

Chen Liancang quickly stepped back, while Noble Consort Cui and Consort Yu carefully examined the Foundation Establishment Pills in their hands.

“They look very similar, just as described in the master’s texts.”

“Why is there no medicinal fragrance?”

“The surface is cracked, could these Foundation Establishment Pills be ruined?”

“The Foundation Establishment Pill is a holy medicine for Qi Cultivation Cultivators to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. If this spreads, many old folks will fight over it.”

“Hehe, if master finds out, he’d surely rush down the mountain to serve His Majesty~”

As the two women discussed excitedly, Zheng Yi felt his scalp tingle a bit.

“My dear consorts, don’t get too excited yet.”

Zheng Yi said, “These Foundation Establishment Pills seem off, there should be an explanation on the paper.”

“Elder Chen?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Elder Chen quickly unfolded the paper and glanced at it, then shook his head and smiled wryly, “Your Majesties, the Grand Ancestor also foresaw this.”

“The paper records that even the best Jade Marrow Bottle can only slow the loss of Spiritual Qi for over a hundred years.”

“And this has been over three hundred years, the Spiritual Qi inside the bottle’s Foundation Establishment Pills have long dissipated entirely, becoming wasted pill!”

“What? Wasted pill, so unfortunate!”

“Alas, master also once said, Foundation Establishment Pills are difficult to preserve, such a pity…”

The two women sounded bitter, having finally found Foundation Establishment Pills only to discover they’re wasted pills.

“However, the Grand Ancestor also recorded methods to restore the Foundation Establishment Pills.”

Chen Liancang continued, “According to the Grand Ancestor’s instructions, there are two methods to restore wasted pills to Foundation Establishment Pills.”

“The first method involves returning them to the alchemy furnace by an Alchemist and refining them anew with some Heavenly and Earthly Treasures to regain their medicinal properties.”

Noble Consort Cui shook her head, “This method is not feasible.”

“To refine Foundation Establishment Pills, the Alchemist’s cultivation must at least be in the Foundation Establishment Realm, and currently in the entire Great Yu, there is not even one Foundation Establishment Cultivator around!”

“And those Heavenly and Earthly Treasures… simply cannot be found nowadays.”

Everyone nodded, while Zheng Yi had a different perspective.

Currently within the Great Yu Imperial City area, there are seven Innate Spiritual Qi.

As time progresses, some Heavenly and Earthly Treasures are bound to emerge around the Capital.

There may even be Spirit Stone Veins that form!

These things… only need time.

No need to rush, Zheng Yi can wait.

“And, the second method?”

“The second method.”

Chen Liancang looked and said, “Is to place them in an area full of Spiritual Qi, then set up a Spirit Gathering Array to slowly absorb Spiritual Qi, thereby restoring the medicinal properties.”

“The paper includes the Spirit Gathering Array setup methods and array patterns. It looks like the Grand Ancestor wants us to try this method.”

“An area full of Spiritual Qi?”

Zheng Yi suddenly had an idea, wondering if controlling a strand of Innate Spiritual Qi to gather around these ten wasted Foundation Establishment Pills would quicken their restoration of medicinal properties?

“Let’s store them for now, keep them here with me, and later when we find a suitable method, we’ll refine them again.”

“Understood!”

Everyone agreed and quickly gathered the Foundation Establishment Pills, handing them over to Zheng Yi.

At this moment, Yue Chan also came over, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it’s your turn, I wonder what good things you will find in the box you picked?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep