181: Xu Mujun has a successor

Chapter 180: Xu Mujun Has An Heir

"General, the corpse of the Young General has been brought back!"

At the Grand General's Mansion, personal guard captain Zhao Hu and several personal guards dragged Xu Xuanwu's corpse to request an audience with Xu Mujun.

Xu Mujun shook his head and said, "Xuanwu is a rebel, not the Young General."

"Even after death, he will not enter the ancestral hall, let alone the ancestral grave!"

"General..."

The few remained silent. At this moment, Deng Yong, the advisor who had been following behind Zhao Hu, said, "General, this subordinate personally checked... Xuanwu's corpse and the suicide scene are just as Your Majesty said. Xuanwu died by suicide."

"That blood letter was also personally written by Xuanwu, and there are bite marks on the index and middle fingers of his right hand."

Xu Mujun frowned and asked, "Who told you to check?"

"Since the rebel is already dead, just find some random place to bury him."

"General..."

Xu Mujun waved his hand, turned around, and left, his back appearing extremely desolate.

Zhao Hu lowered his voice and said, "What should we do? The General looks very unhappy."

Deng Yong gave him a blank look and said, "Nonsense! The Young General committed suicide, how could the General possibly be happy?"

He looked back at Xu Xuanwu's corpse again, gritted his teeth, and said, "The Young General must have been blindfolded by lard; to actually disregard the great kindness of the General and the Consort, raise troops in rebellion, and kill so many of our brothers."

"If it weren't for the fact that he isn't the General's only son, I would have killed him myself!"

"Brother Deng..."

"Stop talking. I will personally escort his corpse back to the ancestral home. Just as the General said, find some random piece of land to bury him."

"This... this is the only way, Brother Deng."

"Let's go..."

The few walked out of the Grand General's Mansion, and a fine coffin had already been prepared.

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

Just at this moment, a female figure suddenly appeared and walked toward the entrance of the Grand General's Mansion.

Seeing this, Deng Yong hurriedly stopped her: "Hey, hey, hey, who are you, and how dare you trespass into the Grand General's Mansion?"

Zhong Chun stopped, looked up and down at the few people, especially the coffin behind them, and said calmly, "Following Your Majesty's command, I have come to deliver a gift to the Grand General."

"A gift?"

Deng Yong's eyes were full of suspicion; this woman had nothing on her, what kind of thing could she deliver?

"Where is your gift?"

Zhong Chun subconsciously touched her belly and said, "Inside my belly. Xu Xuanwu's son and Xu Mujun's grandson—wouldn't that count as a great gift?"

"What?"

"What did you say?!"

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

"You say that in your womb, you have Xuanwu's child?"

"Do you know the consequences of deceiving this old man?"

Zhong Chun gracefully bowed and said, "Who in the world does not know that Grand General Xu is unparalleled in loyalty and righteousness? How could this commoner woman deceive you, Grand General?"

"You can send someone to inquire with the prison guards of the Jinyi Guard Imperial Prison about this matter. For the past two months, this commoner woman has daily..."

As she spoke, she lowered her head, a blush appearing on her face, and stopped speaking.

"About seven days ago, this commoner woman felt nauseous and wanted to vomit. After seeking a doctor to check, it turned out I was indeed pregnant."

"You..."

Xu Mujun was stunned and gave a look to Deng Yong beside him.

Deng Yong understood, suddenly drawing his waist saber and slashing toward Zhong Chun.

"What kind of demons and ghosts are you, actually daring to come and commit fraud at our Grand General's Mansion!"

Zhong Chun's expression changed slightly. Why was this different from what Your Majesty said?

However, she also subconsciously dodged aside, while simultaneously producing a dagger in her hand. Her waist slightly bent, ignoring her wide-open defense, and the sharp dagger thrust straight toward Zhong Chun's neck.

This was completely a life-risking fighting style.

Either Deng Yong dies, or Zhong Chun perishes.

"Enough!"

With a sudden roar, Deng Yong stopped his hand, and Zhong Chun's dagger only stopped abruptly after slicing open Deng Yong's chest.

"Phantom Twirling Step, Chen Liancang's Black Lotus Grimoire—you are a person of the Shadow Guard, this old man believes you!"

"Hoo, hoo hoo..."

Zhong Chun breathed heavily, not expecting Xu Mujun to discover her identity so quickly.

"You becoming pregnant with Xuanwu's flesh and blood was arranged by Your Majesty?"

"Yes!"

"How long have you been pregnant?"

"Replying to the Grand General, it has been nearly two months."

"What orders did Your Majesty give you?"

Zhong Chun stopped speaking and looked calmly at Grand General Xu.

"This old man Xu Mujun in this lifetime only loyal to the Great Yu imperial family and only loyal to Your Majesty. You can speak boldly and without worry; this old man will never do anything disloyal to Your Majesty."

After being silent for a few breaths, Zhong Chun said, "Your Majesty did not issue any orders."

"He only said to let me properly give birth to the child and show filial piety to the Grand General."

"You..."

Xu Mujun took a deep breath, his lips trembling rarely, but he quickly suppressed his excited emotions and said, "Deng Yong!"

"This subordinate is here!"

"Transmit this General's order, starting from today... Right, what is your name?"

"Replying to the Grand General, this servant's name is Zhong Chun."

"Zhong Chun, Zhong Chun... Is it loyalty?"

Xu Mujun said, "Starting from today, Zhong Chun shall be the Young Madam of the Grand General's Mansion. When this old man is not around, all affairs in the mansion shall be centered around the Young Madam, understand?"

"This subordinate obeys the command!"

Deng Yong's heart was greatly moved, and he secretly glanced at this ordinarily-looking woman.

Unexpectedly, although the Young General died, he left behind a Bloodline.

And this woman would also become the most important person in terms of status in their Xu Mansion.

A direct ascent to the heavens!

Xu Mujun said to Zhong Chun again, "From now on, you will move into the Grand General's Mansion to live. From now on, this place is your home."

"From now on... you do not need to pay attention to the matters of the Shadow Guard."

"Yes, this commoner woman obeys the command."

"Still calling yourself a commoner woman?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhong Chun said, "Yes, this daughter-in-law understands."

"Father-in-law..."

"Hahahaha... Good!"

Xu Mujun laughed loudly and said, "Nourish your fetus well; hopefully, you can continue to pass down the incense and fire for our Xu Family."

"If you give birth to a son, you will be the great benefactor of our Xu Family!"

"Father-in-law exaggerates, these are all things this daughter-in-law ought to do."

"Deng Yong, saddle the horses, this old man is going to enter the palace!"

"Ah...?"

Deng Yong was surprised and said, "Grand General, the imperial city gates are already closed at this time, how about tomorrow..."

"No need! This old man has important matters to discuss with Your Majesty and cannot delay. Quickly go saddle the horses!"

"Understood!"

Late at night, the group quickly headed toward the imperial palace.

Relying on Xu Mujun's token, their journey was completely unimpeded.

Until they reached White Jade Capital, where they were stopped by Liu Chengen leading people.

"Liu Chengen!"

Xu Mujun walked over quickly and said, "This old man has important matters to discuss with Your Majesty, please announce my presence."

Liu Chengen had a strange expression and said, "Grand General, it's not that this old servant won't announce it, but rather... Your Majesty is not here!"

"Hmm? Your Majesty is not in the palace?"

Xu Mujun was full of suspicion: "Where did Your Majesty go?"

"This..."

Liu Chengen's eyes flashed as he said, "Your Majesty has left the palace. As for where he went, this servant truly does not know."

"Left the palace?"

Xu Mujun frowned and said, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, how can he casually leave the palace? If he encounters danger... Never mind, this old man will wait here for Your Majesty."

"Grand General, the hour is late, and Your Majesty's return time is unknown. How about the Grand General returns to the mansion to wait, and once Your Majesty returns to the palace..."

"No need!"

Xu Mujun said, "Your Majesty left the palace in the middle of the night and surely won't be delayed for long. This General will just wait right here."

"This... Very well."

"General, please!"

Liu Chengen hurriedly made way and said, "Inside White Jade Capital, there is a resting room specially prepared for foreign ministers. The Grand General can rest inside the room."

"After Your Majesty returns to the palace, this old servant will surely report to Your Majesty at the first instance."

"Sorry to trouble Liu Chengen."

Just as Xu Mujun was waiting for Zheng Yi, Zheng Yi was still checking the treasures in the Zheng Clan Treasure Trove at this moment.

When Chen Liancang took out ten Foundation Establishment Pills, several people were all stunned.

"Foundation Establishment Pill?"

"Foundation Establishment Pill!"

Consort Cui and Consort Yu rushed over directly, snatching the jade bottle right out of Chen Liancang's hands, and examined it carefully.

"The two Consorts...?"

Chen Liancang hurriedly retreated, while Consort Cui and Consort Yu carefully sized up the Foundation Establishment Pill in their hands.

"The appearance is very similar, just like what is recorded in Revered Master's ancient texts."

"Why is there no medicinal fragrance?"

"The surface is even cracked, could this Foundation Establishment Pill be ruined."

"The Foundation Establishment Pill is a barrier-breaking holy medicine for Qi Cultivators to Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. If this gets out, who knows how many old fellows would fight over it."

"Hehehe, if Revered Master learns of this, he will definitely scamper down the mountain to render service to Your Majesty~"

The two women discussed excitedly while chuckling with 'hehehe', making even Zheng Yi's scalp go a bit numb.

"The two Beloved Consorts, don't get excited yet."

Zheng Yi said, "This Foundation Establishment Pill looks wrong; there should be an explanation on that paper."

"Old Chen?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Old Chen hurriedly unfolded the paper, took a glance, then shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "The two Consorts, the Supreme Patriarch also thought of this."

"It is recorded on the paper that even if the Foundation Establishment Pill is stored in a fine jade marrow bottle, it can only slow down the loss of Spiritual Qi for a little over a hundred years."

"And more than three hundred years have already passed. The Spiritual Qi of the Foundation Establishment Pill inside the bottle has long since drained away completely, turning it into waste pills!"

"What? Waste pills, how unlucky!"

"Sigh, Revered Master also once said that storing Foundation Establishment Pills is the most difficult. What a pity..."

The two women's tones were also somewhat bitter. Having finally found the Foundation Establishment Pills, they hadn't expected them to be waste pills.

"However, the Supreme Patriarch's paper also recorded the method on how to restore the Foundation Establishment Pill."

Chen Liancang said, "According to the Supreme Patriarch's guidance, there are two methods to restore waste pills into Foundation Establishment Pills."

"The first is for an Alchemist to melt them down again and use some Heaven And Earth Treasure to refine them anew, which can restore their medicinal properties."

Consort Cui shook her head and said, "This method won't work."

"To refine the Foundation Establishment Pill, an Alchemist's cultivation must at least be in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Right now, the entire Great Yu doesn't even have a single Cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm!"

"And those Heaven And Earth Treasures... right now they simply cannot be found."

The few nodded successively, but Zheng Yi had a different thought.

Right now, within the scope of the Great Yu capital, there are seven strands of innate spiritual energy.

As time goes on, some Heaven And Earth Treasures will bound to be born around the capital.

There is even the possibility of producing Spirit Stone veins!

These... all require time.

But there is no rush, Zheng Yi can wait himself.

"What about the second method?"

"The second method."

Chen Liancang glanced at it and said, "Place them in a place abundant with Spiritual Qi, and then set up a Spirit Gathering Formation to make them slowly absorb Spiritual Qi, thereby restoring their medicinal properties."

"On this paper, there are also the setup methods and array patterns of the Spirit Gathering Formation. It looks like the Supreme Patriarch wanted us to try this method."

"A place abundant with Spiritual Qi?"

Zheng Yi's heart suddenly stirred. Wondering if manipulating a strand of innate spiritual energy to gather on these ten wasted Foundation Establishment Pills could make them recover their medicinal properties sooner?

"Put them away first. Leave them with me; once we find a suitable method in the future, we will refine them again."

"Understood!"

The few answered in acknowledgment, hurriedly gathered the Foundation Establishment Pills together, and handed them to Zheng Yi.

At this time, Yuechan also leaned over and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's your turn. I wonder what good things will be inside the blind box you picked?"