It was a long time ago, on a night when the matriarch of the Yuchi Household was experiencing the most dangerous pregnancy. In fact, for women who marry into noble families, childbirth is always a matter of life and death. Why was the matriarch of the Yuchi Household so respected? Because she gave birth to three boys of pure blood for the Yuchi Household.
The time with Yuchi Peng was the most dangerous. The signs were the strongest that time. The whole family believed that a monster would be born that time, and they all had the worst thought that both the child and the unborn child would die. But that time, the illegitimate son of the Lu Household, Mu Hongqing, suddenly came to the door and said that he had a divine herb to calm the bloodline.
That kind of divine herb is extremely rare. It is said that he obtained it by chance in the North Sea, and at that time, the head of the Yuchi Household accepted the favor without hesitation.
The divine herb played a crucial role, saving two lives in succession. One of them was the future head of the Yuchi Household, making this favor seem excessive.
It was after that incident that the head of the Yuchi Household learned that, in addition to the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Techniques, that illegitimate son also possessed that strange contract technique!
Anyone who owes another a favor must repay it, and interest will accrue over time.
Over the years, the Yuchi Household had been looking for an opportunity to repay the other party, but they had never had the chance. The other party had even been deliberately avoiding the Yuchi Household. However, both Yuchi Peng and the head of the Yuchi Household knew that when the other party took the initiative to come looking for them, it would be a huge problem.
Sure enough, as the butler brought the man in, the frail old man gave them a sense of depression even heavier than that of Transcendent monster.
"It's been a long time, General Yuchi." Dressed in black, Mu Hongqing bowed with his hands clasped. His appearance and demeanor were still the same as five years ago, and he looked like an upright and incorruptible education official. However, Yuchi Peng knew that this well-regarded and upright education official was actually a very scheming person.
"Greetings, Mr. Mu." Yuchi Peng gave a junior's greeting.
"You're too kind, Your Excellency," the other party quickly returned the greeting.
The head of the Yuchi Household smiled and invited the other party to sit down. After the steward brought tea and left, he didn't waste any more time and asked directly, "When we heard that Mr. Mu was chasing after the Lu Household, we originally wanted to help Mr. Mu rescue them first, but unfortunately we were a step too slow. We are truly ashamed. We have been trying our best to find out where Mr. Mu has been all these years."
The head of the Yuchi Household was mostly sincere. He had always wanted to repay the favor, but he had no opportunity. Back then, Duke of Qin, Lu Ming, was at the height of his power. Although they were both dukes, his status was far inferior to Lu Ming's. So even though he knew what Mu Hongqing wanted, he couldn't help him. He couldn't afford to offend either Lu Ming or that crazy Madam Lu.
But when Lu Ming and his Madam Lu died in Jiangnan, he did consider going to the Lu Household to save Mu Hongqing's relatives.
By the time he had prepared his men to go, Mu Hongqing's family had already been moved.
After that, he heard that Mu Hongqing had come to the capital, and then he heard that Mu Hongqing had gone to the north to chase after the Lu Household. No one cared about the final outcome. After all, too many major events happened after that. The Northern Snake Mother was released by the Lu Household, and the world was in chaos. Then His Majesty built the Mother and Child Ghosts Temple. There were too many things that made them too busy to pay attention to such a minor figure as Mu Hongqing.
But unexpectedly, the other party returned at this critical moment.
"Back then, I went to the North and followed the Lu Household. I used every means possible to barely save my younger sister. Because she had been tortured since she was young, she had long lost her normal mind. These days, she has been recuperating in Jiangnan. She is my only relative, so naturally I have to stay by her side. That's why I haven't come to visit you, Duke, all these years."
"They've been rescued?" Yuchi Household immediately laughed, "Congratulations! Heaven rewards those who persevere; at least Mr. Mu's years of effort haven't been in vain."
"It's a stroke of luck amidst misfortune," Mu Hongqing said with a smile.
"Mr. Mu, is there anything I can do for you?"
Mu Hongqing smiled. The other party was quite direct. To be honest, he himself didn't know what use the Yuchi Household was anymore. He had found a way to make the other party owe him a favor so that they would help him deal with the Lu Household at a crucial moment. After all, the Yuchi Household was a royalist, and at that time, Lu Ming was at the height of his power and was most likely to oppose the emperor.
After the arrival of the Transcendent, the Yuchi Household has always been unwilling to become ghosts. As a non- Transcendent family, their value to be used is actually not that great.
If Liu Yu hadn't come knocking on his door, he wouldn't have even remembered the Yuchi Household.
A great calamity is about to befall the capital.
"A great calamity?" The head of the Yuchi Household's pupils shrank, and he became increasingly uneasy. This guy is currently in Jiangnan, and his disciple is Chen Qing's concubine. He has probably already pledged allegiance to Chen Qing. If he comes to force him to betray the Xiao Household, then things will be very troublesome.
No matter how great the favor, he couldn't admit to it, even though he was becoming increasingly disillusioned with the actions of that member of the Xiao Household.
"What great calamity are you referring to, sir?"
"My intelligence indicates that His Majesty has gone to Cloud Capital and has been tricked. He cannot return to the capital for the time being, and the capital is about to descend into chaos due to Cloud Capital's machinations!"
" Cloud Capital?" Both the Yuchi Household head and Yuchi Peng looked at each other in confusion. Although the Yuchi Jing family wasn't particularly good at scheming, did those old guys in Cloud Capital, who had been holed up inside all this time, really have the ability to scheme against the current capital?
Are you kidding me?
The ghost soldiers Your Majesty now possesses are so powerful that they would believe they could sweep across the world. To be honest, even if they were to clash head-on with Jiangnan, Yuchi Peng doesn't think Jiangnan could win.
Why would Cloud Capital, a place almost forgotten by everyone, scheme against this place?
"Your Majesty's powerful military comes at a price," Mu Hongqing said in a low voice. " The Mother and Child Ghosts Temple uses the pure resentment of newborn infants to open the Gate of Yin and Yang, allowing vengeful spirits from the Yin-Yang Road to possess mortal bodies and walk in the mortal realm. King Xiang is one of the Four Great Ghost Kings, commanding countless vengeful spirits. Using this method, Your Majesty can gain a powerful military in a short time, but the prerequisite is that the Gate of Yin and Yang is not closed. In this world today, the Earth Spirit has not yet reached the point where resentment fills the sky, and the time for Yin and Yang to become disordered is still lacking. Your Majesty's forced initiation will have hidden dangers."
"Does the gentleman mean the Mother and Child Ghosts Temple?" The head of the Yuchi Household was no fool and immediately realized what the other party was trying to say.
So Your Majesty's army has a weakness? Destroying the Mother and Child Ghosts Temple, does that mean Your Majesty's ghost soldiers will...?
For a moment, the head of the Yuchi Household looked at the other party with a hidden coldness. Was Mu Hongqing telling the truth? If so, would Jiangnan, knowing such important information, try to sabotage it at this time?
What exactly is Mu Hongqing's purpose in doing this?
He would never help destroy the Ghost Temple, no matter how much he disapproved of the emperor's actions, he would never choose to betray the emperor.
"Your Excellency, please don't be nervous." Sensing the murderous intent in the other party, Mu Hongqing quickly explained, "I'm not here to incite Your Excellency to rebel. This time, it was Cloud Capital who controlled His Majesty, not Jiangnan. Cloud Capital orchestrated this move to undermine His Majesty's military power from within!"
"Usurpation?" The head of the Yuchi Household looked at the other party suspiciously. " Cloud Capital been sealed off for a thousand years and has never expanded outwards. How could they possibly plot to usurp His Majesty's military power? Even if, as you say, destroying the Mother and Child Ghosts Temple would close the Great Gate of Yin and Yang and force those possessed vengeful ghosts to return, that would at most cause His Majesty's army to collapse, wouldn't it? How could that be considered usurpation?"
"That's what I want to know too." Mu Hongqing sighed. "I've been away from the capital for a long time and am completely unaware of the current situation here. I came here to find out who is most likely to have usurped His Majesty's army if His Majesty is not here."
"This..." Yuchi Peng was also taken aback. "Isn't Mr. Mu from Jiangnan? Is this your intention to reveal this secret, or Chen Qing's?"
The head of the Yuchi Household also looked at the other party. Although his son had asked a bit too bluntly, given the current situation, he wouldn't believe the other party at all if he wasn't honest.
"It's Lord Ziyue's intention!"
" Lord Ziyue?"