Orphaned Girl

"Who are you?"

Consort Sun screamed.

"This old one... cough cough, I've been an eunuch for too long, I can't change my speaking habits for a while."

This person's face was pale and beardless, and his voice was sharp: "A mere chicken thief, not worthy of Consort Sun's attention. You should talk to your son more, lest you never see him again!"

Consort Sun thought of the chaos outside and trembled in fear, holding the Sixth Prince tightly.

Eunuch Wang frowned, recalling all the eunuchs in the palace, and suddenly had a thought.

"You are Feng Zhong from the Directorate of Palace Services' lavatory!"

"No wonder Eunuch Wang was valued by the late Emperor, and appointed as a minister of state as a eunuch, which can be said to have started a precedent for the dynasty."

Feng Zhong sighed in admiration, "This old one is just a small person who washes latrines, like flies and maggots in the latrine, and can actually have Eunuch Wang remember my name."

Eunuch Wang said coldly: "This old one can't compare to you, who can use disguise to control the inheritance of the dynasty."

As he spoke.

The palace gate opened with a bang, and hundreds of soldiers rushed in.

Prince Qin Zhao Yuan followed closely behind, with the real Zhang Zhengyang accompanying him on the right, also holding a sharp sword in his hand, the blade still dripping with blood.

"Father Emperor, your son is late!"

Zhao Yuan saw the Hongchang Emperor lying on the dragon bed, and instantly shed two lines of hot tears, not knowing whether it was sadness or excitement.

Eunuch Wang questioned: "Your Highness Prince Qin, why did you break into the palace gate without an edict?"

"Eunuch, shut up!"

Zhao Yuan wiped away his tears and scolded: "This Prince received a secret report from Zhang Zhengyang that Consort Sun was trying to murder the Father Emperor and forge an imperial edict to push her own son to the throne. I immediately brought troops to rescue him, but it was too late!"

In a few words, he completely denied the political correctness of the edict.

In future national history records, it will also be that Consort Sun and others assassinated the emperor and usurped the throne, and Zhao Yuan led troops to set things right late at night.

Duke Cheng took a deep look at Zhang Zhengyang and asked, "Can this old man leave?"

"Duke, please!"

Zhang Zhengyang ordered people to make way and explained to Zhao Yuan in a low voice: "The noble families share the same fate as the country. Duke Cheng is not a supporter of the Sixth Prince, and can be won over after the matter is settled."

Zhao Yuan nodded slightly and looked coldly at the Sixth Prince Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi was intelligent and had already guessed what was about to happen. With a slightly childish voice, he pleaded: "Second brother, this younger brother is willing not to be the emperor, can you spare this younger brother and mother's lives?"

Zhao Yuan was slightly stunned and hesitated slightly. This younger brother was usually the most well-behaved and obedient, and had a good relationship with several older brothers.

"Your Highness, you must eliminate the root of evil, or it will become a disaster in the future!"

Zhang Zhengyang reminded: "The Sun family is in charge of the Capital Garrison. Tomorrow morning, a large army will come. At that time, it will be Your Highness' turn to beg your younger brother to spare your life."

"Kill!"

Zhao Yuan no longer hesitated and waved his hand to give the order.

After a while.

Consort Sun and Zhao Yi fell in front of the Hongchang Emperor, and all the other eunuchs and palace maids in Shangyang Palace died.

At Mao hour [5-7am].

The officials entered the palace to attend the early court in the Hall of Heavenly Mandate.

Since the former Crown Prince's rebellion failed, the Hongchang Emperor personally attended to state affairs again.

Due to his old and weak body, most of the early court sessions were just a formality. After Eunuch Wang announced something like "His Majesty's dragon body is unwell," the civil and military officials would return to their respective homes.

As a result, when they entered the Hall of Heavenly Mandate, they looked up and saw a middle-aged man sitting on the dragon chair.

Feng Zhong, who was temporarily promoted to the palace attendant, took out a bright yellow edict and read it aloud, the general idea being that the late Emperor had died last night at midnight, leaving an edict that Prince Qin Zhao Yuan would succeed to the throne.

The civil and military officials looked at each other, not knowing whether to cry or pay homage.

Zhang Zhengyang took the lead in kowtowing and shouted, "Long live Your Majesty!"

The others immediately understood, kowtowed three times and prostrated nine times, acknowledging Zhao Yuan as the new emperor.

Chen Family Village.

The defeated army commander died from being eaten by a group of ghosts, his flesh and blood were eaten clean, leaving only a pale skeleton.

Zhou Yi carefully sensed the changes in the ghosts and found that after they devoured the living souls and flesh and blood, most of them had slightly strengthened their aura, and had also gained a fierce aura.

Another small number of Yin souls, after the commander died, actually turned into green smoke and dissipated.

Old Man Chen's wronged soul led the villagers' Yin souls, and kowtowed to Zhou Yi in unison.

"Thank you for your kindness!"

Zhou Yi asked: "What are your plans for the future?"

Old Man Chen said: "Naturally, we will disperse our remaining souls and reincarnate as soon as possible."

"Excellent."

Zhou Yi nodded slightly. If not for the stimulation from the House-Protecting Talisman, the ghosts wouldn't even be able to manifest their forms. In just three to five days, their souls would have scattered.

Without any spiritual objects to cling to, and without methods to refine souls, they couldn't even become vengeful spirits.

Old Man Chen was able to maintain his intelligence and had the ability to spew ghost mist because he had studied and understood reason in life, making his soul far more resilient and powerful than ordinary people.

Old Man Chen pleaded, "I must trouble benefactor to dig a pit and bury our corpses. There is no need to dig separate pits and erect tombstones, as no one will come to offer sacrifices in the future anyway."

Zhou Yi nodded in agreement, resolving to find a feng shui treasure land so they could be reborn into wealthy families in their next lives.

Upon hearing this, the ghosts kowtowed and thanked him again.

Among mortals, there are masters who are skilled in feng shui, using various formulas and secret techniques to find the so-called dragon veins. However, in the eyes of cultivators, these are just petty tricks. With their magical power, they can sense where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is clear and rich, which is definitely a feng shui treasure land.

Afterwards.

Old Man Chen led the way, and Zhou Yi found a trailer to collect the corpses from each household.

The various ways they died were too horrible to describe.

Zhou Yi discovered that after collecting the corpses, some of the weaker Yin souls dissipated on the spot with the wind, and the stronger vengeful souls became even more transparent.

After filling a cart with corpses, Zhou Yi found a feng shui treasure land near Chen Family Village and stomped his foot to blast open a large pit.

After the corpses were buried, those already faint Yin souls completely disappeared.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Yi had a hidden guess in his heart: "Perhaps the funeral custom of burial for peace originates from this, as it can effectively reduce the harm of vengeful spirits to the world!"

The second cart was mostly filled when they arrived in front of a farmer's small courtyard.

"This is Shuanzhu's home. His daughter, Ya'er, is only two years old. It's truly a sin!"

Old Man Chen's gaze swept over the sparse Yin souls, not finding Shuanzhu.

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow and, hearing a breathing sound, said, "Perhaps there are still living people here?"

Upon hearing this, Old Man Chen's excited soul became unstable, and he rushed into the house and then back out.

"Chen Ya'er is alive!"

Zhou Yi pushed the door open and saw two corpses lying on the bed. The man had been stabbed in the abdomen, and the woman's neck was half severed.

The two died in each other's arms, their blood staining the bed black and red. The sound of breathing came from underneath them.

Zhou Yi turned over the corpses, lifted the bedding, and found a little baby girl wrapped inside.

She looked about two or three years old, pink and tender, seemingly hungry.

As soon as the bedding wrapped around her disappeared, the baby girl struggled to turn over, crawled onto her mother's body, and grabbed randomly, her little hands covered in blood, which she licked haphazardly to satisfy her hunger.

"Benefactor!"

Old Man Chen knelt down and kowtowed again, "Chen Ya'er is the only seedling in the village. I beg benefactor to give her a bite to eat and raise her to adulthood."

"Get up."

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment. He had been alone and carefree for nearly thirty years.

He didn't want another person in his home. First, the Longevity Dao Fruit could not be exposed. Second, he had no experience raising children. If he made a mistake, his conscience would be uneasy.

However, Zhou Yi couldn't bring himself to watch the little girl starve to death.

"Brother Chen, I have unavoidable difficulties, but I will take Chen Ya'er back to Shenjing and help her find a good family."

"I will visit her often and guarantee her a lifetime of peace and happiness!"