Nine Yang Life and Death Transformation

Suddenly, auspicious light appeared in the sky above the Prince Wuping's mansion, multicolored and radiant with countless strands of auspicious energy, instantly sweeping across the entire capital like a torrent. For a time, the streets, alleys, teahouses, and taverns were all abuzz with talk of this extraordinary sight.

Meanwhile, inside the magnificent imperial palace, the Zhou emperor, dressed in a splendid dragon robe, sat on his dragon throne, his face contorted with rage. Suddenly, he grabbed a beautiful white jade cup and smashed it violently to the ground! With a resounding crash, the priceless jade cup shattered into countless fragments, scattering across the floor.

"I am the Son of Heaven, blessed by the heavens, so why would a golden dragon descend upon the Prince of Wuping's residence!" the Zhou Emperor roared angrily, his voice deafening and echoing throughout the palace.

The eunuchs standing to the side trembled at the sudden outburst of anger, kneeling down without daring to breathe or even lift their heads. They knew that the Zhou emperor was furious, and the slightest misstep could cost them their heads.

However, the Zhou emperor's anger did not subside. He suddenly kicked one of the eunuchs in the back, cursing, "What are you useless things standing here for? Go and summon General Qin to see me!"

"Yes, sir!" the eunuch who had been kicked to the ground hurriedly replied, then stood up tremblingly, bowing and slowly backing away. Only after leaving the palace did he dare to wipe the large beads of sweat from his forehead, then jogged out of the palace and headed straight for General Qin's residence.

Before long, the eunuch arrived at the gate of General Qin's residence. After announcing his arrival, he soon met General Qin himself—Qin Hui.

Upon seeing that the visitor was a palace eunuch, Qin Hui felt a sense of doubt, but he still hurriedly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and asked, "What brings you here, sir?" As he spoke, he discreetly took out a silver note of considerable value from his pocket and quietly handed it to the eunuch.

The eunuch understood immediately, quickly stuffing the silver note into his sleeve pocket, then lowered his voice and said, "General Qin, His Majesty is furious! You must know about the auspicious omens that appeared at the Prince of Wuping's residence, right?"

Qin Hui smiled slightly and replied, "You flatter me, Father-in-law. In this capital city today, from sixty-year-old women to four-year-old children, who doesn't know about this?"

"His Majesty is concerned about this matter..." The two walked side by side, conversing as they went. Along the way, Qin Hui listened intently to every word the other spoke, secretly trying to fathom the Zhou Emperor's thoughts. It should be known that the Zhou Emperor and Prince Wuping were brothers born of the same mother. According to ancestral rules, the Zhou Emperor inherited the throne and managed domestic affairs, while Prince Wuping was responsible for foreign conquests. In this way, with the brothers working together, the Zhou Dynasty's territory expanded rapidly, far exceeding the areas ruled by previous emperors.

Eunuch Cao led Qin Hui through the many palaces and finally to the door of the Imperial Study. At this time, the Zhou Emperor was inside, concentrating on reviewing the mountain of memorials. Seeing this, the two dared not make a sound and could only wait obediently at the door.

Time passed by, and after a long while, the deep and majestic voice of the Zhou Emperor came from inside the room: "Come in."

As the words fell, several ministers and generals filed in. Once inside, they all knelt on both knees and shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

The Zhou emperor slightly raised his hand and said, "Rise, all of you. Tell me about this auspicious omen."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Mi, a minister of the first rank, stepped forward, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, this auspicious omen is truly a blessing for our Great Zhou and for our people! Heaven has bestowed such auspicious signs, which foretells that our dynasty will surely prosper and that the country will be peaceful and prosperous."

Yan Song stepped forward: "Your Majesty, Prince Wuping has made outstanding military achievements and rendered great service to our Great Zhou. Such auspicious omens must be a sign that Heaven has been moved by him."

The Zhou emperor's expression changed: "My beloved ministers are right. I must reward my younger brother properly."

Qin Hui noticed something amiss: "Your Majesty, Prince Wuping is unparalleled in battle. The Qin Kingdom has been harassing our borders for many years. Why not let Prince Wuping suppress them? Prince Wuping has just had a son. Why don't Your Majesty bring him to the palace to raise him?"

The Zhou Emperor nodded: "Your words are reasonable. Auspicious omens have descended from heaven. This child must be extraordinary. He should be well nurtured. Eunuch Cao, convey my decree to grant Prince Ping a fiefdom of 100 kilometers of Yongle City. He shall depart on a chosen date. In addition, he shall be granted 10,000 taels of gold and 1,000 bolts of silk..." He was also in a complicated mood. He still had to rely on his younger brother to deal with external matters.

"Yes," the Zhou emperor wrote out the imperial edict, and Eunuch Cao and the others withdrew with it.

Inside the Prince Wuping's residence, countless people came to offer their congratulations. Prince Wuping hosted a large number of ministers, setting up twenty large tables, and the gifts from the guests piled up like mountains.

Wu Feilong was carried around, rolling his eyes at everyone; he hated these social obligations the most. But it was understandable, considering that Prince Wu Ping had seven daughters before finally having a son on his eighth.

After the banquet, Eunuch Cao delivered the imperial edict to Prince Wuping. Prince Wuping opened it, frowned, and realized that he had only been back for a short time and was already returning to the frontier. He reluctantly bid farewell to his family.

The capital city was thousands of miles away from Yongle City, and it took Prince Wuping several months to lead 100,000 elite troops to reach Yongle City.

On a dark and stormy night, a group of masked men sneaked into the Wu Ping Prince's mansion and headed straight for Wu Feilong's room. The steward, Li Ming, sensed their presence and flew over, standing before the door: "Dare to cause trouble in the Wu Ping Prince's mansion in the capital? You're asking for it!" Li Ming, at the ninth level of Qi Refining, had the strength to back it up.

"Attack!" The man in black, wielding a curved blade, charged at Li Ming. Li Ming punched the leader of the men in black, who was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining. He held the curved blade in front of him to block, but the powerful punch continued unabated. The curved blade broke, and the punch struck the man in black, sending him flying backward. He crashed heavily into the wall and fell to the ground, spitting out blood.

The other men in black scattered; even their leader was no match for them, let alone himself.

"Use thunderbolts."

Li Ming dismissed these unorthodox methods as "trivial skills."

Eight men in black pulled out grenades and threw them in different directions. Li Ming thought they would attack him, but the grenades exploded with a bang, blowing open the wooden door.

Hearing the commotion, the guards rushed over. More than twenty of them attacked the men in black, who scattered and tried to escape. Li Ming flew after them, taking down one of the men in black with a single punch each. In no time, he had finished off one of the men in black.

Amid the chaos, the princess entered the room, picked up Wu Feilong, and ran to her own room, saying, "You all stay outside and don't come in without my order."

"Yes," the guards of the Prince's Palace surrounded the Princess's residence completely.