However, the voices of Emperor Wanli were as if unheard by the concubines and palace maids. They continued to walk forward, and only Liu Zhaofei stopped.
It was only then that Liu Zhaofei realized the atmosphere was somewhat off. Just as she was about to say something, her face suddenly turned ashen.
Emperor Wanli and the others were also startled, for Consort Zhou and Consort Xu were each holding a delicate child by the hand.
"What are you holding? Let go at once!"
Emperor Wanli shouted, but the two consorts, with vacant eyes, merely asked in confusion:
"Holding what? It's our children."
The palace maids and eunuchs of the Western Six Palaces turned their stiff heads. Their eyes were now filled only with flames, their eyeballs gone, and light emanated from their seven orifices.
Whoosh!
From the seven orifices of each of these palace maids and eunuchs of the Western Six Palaces, fierce flames erupted!
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, let's play together!"
"Us, and Your Majesty!"
These people spoke with the voices of children, and Emperor Wanli felt his hair stand on end!
Looking at these monstrous beings, Emperor Wanli's thoughts were immediately transported back to when he was three years old!
That was in the forty-fifth year of the Jiajing reign. Emperor Jiajing was still in the palace, on his deathbed, but he still hid himself away every day, claiming to be refining elixirs. Emperor Wanli himself was still very young then. One day, he accidentally entered the Xuanji Treasure Hall and saw his grandfather, Emperor Jiajing, commanding some talismans and spiritual objects that could also emit sounds like children... just like now.
Emperor Wanli didn't understand at the time, thinking he had seen ghosts and was so terrified that he was stunned all the way back to his residence, where he then cried profusely.
The childhood trauma in his heart was stirred. Emperor Wanli's face first lost its color, and then was filled with rage!
"Monsters!"
The voice of the Emperor of Great Ming, carrying immense national prestige, caused the fire spirits to scatter in panic, crying out in alarm. The palace maids and eunuchs dropped their torches and prostrated themselves on the ground, their fiery essence almost dispersed.
It was at this moment that two young children suddenly appeared before Consort Zhou and Consort Xu. One was dressed in red, and the other in white. The child in red held a red embroidered ball in his hand.
The child in red drove away the fire spirits, saying, "You have rashly revealed yourselves and approached Your Majesty. You will be killed by Your Majesty's voice."
"And Your Majesty, if you take another step forward, you will die a very painful death."
Among the two children, the one in white pointed towards the northern gate in the distance. At the northern gate, known as Xizi Gate, some palace maids had already retreated to the side.
The palace maids began to set fires.
The two palace maids outside the gate suddenly burst into flames, falling to the ground in an instant. Their scorched bodies merged into one, gradually growing larger to become a colossal evil spirit spewing fierce flames, its form resembling a large tree!
Emperor Wanli heard the voice of the child in white:
"Your Majesty, do not fear it. You are the Son of Heaven of Great Ming, carrying great national prestige. No one is greater than you. With a single command, we, the spirits and monsters who are not righteous gods, are held back from acting. Therefore, we must rely on mortal bodies to approach you."
"But we are also fire spirits personally enfeoffed by you, having received your grace. Therefore, you cannot simply make us die with a shout."
"We cannot harm you. The flames that will burn you to death next are also flames set by mortals."
"If you can achieve the righteous fruit within the flames, you will become the fire of ignorance and dwell with the heavens."
A great fire ignited around Emperor Wanli.
The Western Six Palaces were already set ablaze by those palace maids.
The spirits and monsters could not set fires themselves, so they chose to possess people, using their hands to overturn braziers and discard lamps, thereby setting fires within the palace.
The corridors of the Western Six Palaces, and their entrances, were sealed by flames, making it impossible for anyone to escape!
—
In front of Tai'an Gate (burned down).
Zhuo Deyuan and Shi Xiang had laid to rest the bodies of their Jin Yi Wei comrades in the courtyard of the Longde Hall. After Song Wuji died, the flames on those bodies had also extinguished. It was clear that the fire of the spirits was extinguished with the death of the spirits.
After Song Wuji died, his true form dissipated into a fireball, but beneath the yellow talisman, a thin, scorched corpse remained. The two Jin Yi Wei guards moved this scorched corpse to the wall.
The scorched corpse was curled up, making it impossible to identify.
However, they unexpectedly saw that the lower body of the scorched corpse seemed to be...
"A eunuch?"
"Look for a tooth tag!"
The two Jin Yi Wei guards searched and indeed found a tooth tag, stuck to the rotten flesh on the thigh. The two identified it carefully, and their faces changed drastically!
"Cui Wensheng?!"
The personal eunuch of Noble Consort Zheng!
Zhuo Deyuan and Shi Xiang exchanged glances, both trembling with fear. As members of the Jin Yi Wei, they naturally knew what the discovery of this tooth tag meant.
Could it be that the spirits entering the palace to assassinate the emperor were related to Noble Consort Zheng?
Combined with the long-standing "Succession Dispute," was Noble Consort Zheng trying to kill Emperor Wanli and then push her son to the throne?
The so-called Succession Dispute referred to the court officials, in accordance with the Ming Dynasty's principle of establishing the eldest son as the crown prince, supporting the eldest son Zhu Changluo as the crown prince. However, Emperor Shenzong of Ming disliked the eldest son Zhu Changluo, born to Consort Wang Gong, and instead doted on Noble Consort Zheng, intending to establish her son, the third son Zhu Changxun, as the crown prince. This was met with strong opposition from the ministers and the Empress Dowager Cishou.
Emperor Shenzong had argued with the ministers over this matter for eleven years! Countless ministers and imperial relatives were involved!
The two junior officers were sweating profusely, feeling themselves caught in a huge political storm.
If this evidence was handed over, it would implicate many people. Regardless of whether Noble Consort Zheng was innocent or truly involved in this matter, perhaps after this incident, the Succession Dispute would truly come to an end.
This small tooth tag, originally just an identity tag for palace attendants to confirm their identities, had now become crucial evidence in determining the future direction of the Ming Dynasty!
As the two Jin Yi Wei guards were putting away the tooth tag, two palace maids suddenly appeared at the corner of the corridor. Upon seeing them, they claimed to be looking for "Master Song."
"Song?"
The two Jin Yi Wei guards felt a sense of alarm. The fire spirit who had just died seemed to have the surname... Song!
Junior Officer Zhuo Deyuan drew his saber forward, pointing it at the two palace maids, and said fiercely, "Who sent you here!"
The two palace maids stared blankly at the closed door of the Longde Hall, unafraid of the blade. They walked forward, and suddenly fire light erupted from their seven orifices, spinning and attempting to drill into Zhuo Deyuan's seven orifices!
Shi Xiang, standing beside him, pulled him back. The two quickly retreated, and the two palace maids before them had already transformed into burning figures!
"Why isn't Master Song here?"
From the burning mouths of the two palace maids came terrifying and eerie voices. At this moment, the door of the Longde Hall suddenly burst open!
A gust of wind blew, and the two palace maids looked up, only to see Ji Xiang emerging from the Longde Hall!
Within Ji Xiang's inner vision, the blank divine tablet appeared with text!
[A Lian: Fire spirit type, often appears in groups at night, transforming into the appearance of children, gathering fire to play. Their original form resembles a cartwheel.]
[This type of fire spirit, not yet a righteous god, steals a small amount of incense and offerings meant for righteous gods, attaches itself to human bodies, and takes over the seven souls of the body. When not manifested, national prestige is useless. When manifested, national prestige can be used to deter them.]
[Dip an arrow in blood, and when shooting, shout "Shoot my A Lian's head" to kill them.]
Ji Xiang, holding the strategy guide, sneered at the two fire spirits:
"There is no Master Song here!"
"Only a dead Song Wuji!"
Ji Xiang, bearing the national prestige of Great Ming, glared fiercely. With just one look, the heavens seemed to collapse in the eyes of the two fire spirits. They heard a vast roar that almost shattered the souls of the two spirits!