The Prodigal Son

A few days later, Ningzhou.

Wang Dou and his team, who had arrived in Ningzhou long beforehand, finally received the order to take action.

Late at night, a group of people arrived near the imperial tomb.

Although this is an imperial mausoleum, it does not contain the remains of the three emperors of Daming, but rather the great-grandfather, grandfather, and father of Emperor Gao.

After Emperor Gao established the Daming Dynasty, he posthumously conferred the title of emperor upon his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father, and expanded their tombs, which became the imperial mausoleums we see today.

This is also the location of the ancestral graves of the Zhao clan.

Upon arriving near the imperial tomb, Gui San immediately instructed Wang Dou and the others: "Get ready quickly! If anything goes wrong, you'll all lose your heads!"

Feeling the icy aura emanating from Gui San, the group shuddered and nodded repeatedly.

Before long, the group had prepared everything they needed and checked it repeatedly to ensure there wouldn't be any problems.

By midnight, all the guards of the imperial tomb had fallen asleep.

Although normally it would be desirable for someone to patrol at night, those guarding the imperial tombs had long since reached a tacit understanding.

A symbolic night patrol is enough; after that, everyone can go to sleep!

Just as everyone was sound asleep, a wild beast roared in their ears.

"Aww... Aww..."

The sound wasn't loud, and it didn't initially wake up the people guarding the imperial tomb.

However, as the noise grew louder, it finally woke up the alert people.

Li Datou listened carefully, making sure he hadn't misheard, and quickly nudged his companion beside him: "Niu Er, wake up! Wake up quickly..."

He nudged Niu Er several times before waking him from his deep sleep.

"What's wrong with you in the middle of the night?"

Niu Er mumbled complaints in a daze.

Li Datou patted Niu Er, "Listen, what's that sound?"

Niu Er listened intently for a moment, then yawned and said, "It's probably just some stray cat. Let's go to sleep!"

"That's not how a stray cat sounds!"

Li Datou nudged Niu Er again, "Why do I feel like this is... a dragon's roar?"

"What the hell is this called a dragon's roar?"

Niu Er, impatient, said, "I think you're deaf! Don't bother me, just go to sleep!"

As Niu Er spoke, he closed his eyes again.

"Aww... Aww..."

However, the sound grew clearer and clearer, relentlessly drilling into Niu Er's ears.

"Listen, it really is the roar of a dragon!"

Li Datou said in a trembling voice.

Niu Er remained silent, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

Although none of them had ever heard the sound of a dragon's roar before, the sound did indeed resemble one.

After hesitating for a moment, Niu Er sat up with a dark face: "Someone's probably playing tricks! Wake up the rest of the brothers, let's go check it out! If I catch that bastard, I'll beat the shit out of him!"

Soon, the two woke up those who were still sleeping.

More than ten people encouraged each other and followed the sound with torches.

Before long, they arrived near the monument commemorating Emperor Yizu's merits.

However, as soon as they got close, they saw bright human figures appearing on the monument of merit.

After just one glance, everyone was stunned, their mouths agape, their legs inexplicably trembling, and even the torches in their hands involuntarily fell to the ground.

The figure wasn't very clear, but it was obvious that it was a human figure!

He was still wearing an imperial crown on his head!

But that's not all.

"Look at the sky!"

As someone exclaimed in surprise, everyone instinctively looked up at the sky.

Above the sky, several will-o'-the-wisps flickered, and it seemed that a human figure was constantly moving with the will-o'-the-wisps.

"Emperor Yizu has appeared in spirit!"

Someone shouted, and as if out of control, everyone knelt down on the ground in unison.

"Greetings to Emperor Yizu!"

The crowd bowed their heads, their bodies trembling, and shouted in shaky voices, kowtowing repeatedly.

They didn't know if it was fear or excitement; it was as if it were all just instinct...

……

Yinzhou.

The Prince of Chengyang's Mansion.

"Knock knock..."

Just as the Prince of Chengyang had fallen asleep, there was a series of urgent knocks on the door.

"Your Highness, urgent intelligence!"

The voice of the guard captain rang out from outside the door.

The Prince of Chengyang sat up abruptly, hastily put on his shoes, and let the commander of the guards in.

The commander of the guards hurried to the Prince of Chengyang's side and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, we just received news from Ningzhou that Emperor Yizu has appeared in spirit..."

"What is it?"

The Prince of Chengyang was taken aback and looked at the commander of the guards with a strange expression.

Emperor Yizu... has appeared to us?

This isn't blind...

Ok?

After a brief moment of astonishment, a thought suddenly struck the Prince of Chengyang.

Why did the Emperor Yizu manifest his power at this particular time, when he didn't appear earlier or later?

Could this have been orchestrated by the Empress Dowager?

Is the Empress Dowager trying to force Zhao Luan to come to Ningzhou to pay homage to their ancestors?

Thinking of this, the Prince of Chengyang immediately asked, "How will the miracle occur?"

The commander of the guards hurriedly replied, "I heard that Emperor Yizu appeared on the merit stele in front of the mausoleum, and there were will-o'-the-wisps in the sky, and the mournful roars of dragons echoed endlessly near the imperial mausoleum..."

Upon hearing the words of the guard commander, the Prince of Chengyang was once again astonished.

Show up?

Will-o'-the-wisp?

A mournful roar from a dragon?

The dragon's roar and mournful cry are easy to produce, but what's with the appearance of the Emperor Yi and the ghost fire?

The Prince of Chengyang frowned and asked again, "Are you sure? Could it just be a rumor?"

"Sure!"

The commander of the guards answered with certainty: "It is said that many soldiers guarding the tomb have seen it, and now the news has spread throughout Ningzhou. People near the imperial tomb are paying homage to it from afar! There are also rumors that it is because the current empress favors treacherous officials, causing Emperor Yizu to worry about the fate of the Great Ning dynasty, and thus he wept bitterly at night..."

Upon receiving an affirmative reply, the Prince of Chengyang was immediately thrilled.

Although he didn't know what the appearance of Emperor Yizu and the ghost fire were all about, he was certain that the Empress Dowager had sent people to do it.

Their purpose was to force Zhao Luan to come to Ningzhou to pay respects to their ancestors!

Even though Zhao Luan knew perfectly well that Emperor Yizu could not possibly manifest his power, in order to quell these rumors, he either had to deal with the treacherous Qin Yu or come to Ningzhou to pay homage to his ancestors!

Otherwise, if these rumors are allowed to continue, chaos will surely ensue!

opportunity!

This is definitely an opportunity!

Suppressing his excitement, the Prince of Chengyang quickly ordered, "Summon Mr. Sun immediately!"

"yes!"

Before long, Ji Lianhuan arrived at the room of the Prince of Chengyang.

Upon learning of the miraculous appearance of Emperor Yizu, Ji Lianhuan was also astonished.

Coming to his senses, Ji Lianhuan rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Your Highness, this is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"I know!"

The Prince of Chengyang nodded repeatedly. "What I wanted to ask you is whether it is necessary for me to go to Ningzhou to pay respects to my ancestors?"

His grandfather and Emperor Gao were brothers.

Emperor Yizu was both Zhao Luan's ancestor and his ancestor!

Ji Lianhuan pondered for a moment, then asked with a smile, "Does Your Highness wish to take this opportunity to add fuel to the fire?"

"Mr. Sun truly has a keen eye!"

The Prince of Chengyang nodded and smiled. "I have already gone to pay respects to my ancestors. If Zhao Luan doesn't come to Ningzhou to do so, it would be rather unreasonable, wouldn't it?"

Yinzhou is not far from Ningzhou.

Since Emperor Yizu has manifested his power, it is perfectly reasonable for him, as a descendant of Emperor Yizu, to go and pay homage to his ancestor!

"Then let's go pay respects to our ancestors!"

Ji Lianhuan's face was full of smiles. "By going to pay respects to our ancestors at this time, Your Highness can gain the upper hand!"

"Um?"

The Prince of Chengyang was slightly taken aback, then suddenly laughed in realization, "It is the spirit of Emperor Yizu who has commanded me to send troops to eliminate the evil ministers before the emperor for the sake of the Zhao family's empire!"

Ji Lianhuan nodded.

As Ji Lianhuan lowered his gaze, a barely perceptible sinister smile flashed in his eyes...