The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"No problem. Your third brother did this willingly. He has experienced a lot at the border over the years and has grown a lot."

Speaking of his sons, although the Marquis of Zhenbei didn't say anything, he was very proud in his heart. His three sons were better than each other.

Shen Tianjiao said nothing more. She knew that whatever she said now would be redundant. The only thing she could do was to make herself stronger so that she could protect all the people she wanted to protect.

"Father, now that you're back, it's time for us to settle accounts. You should have heard from my eldest brother that many forces from various parties have been planted within the Imperial Guards."

"If it's not cleared up immediately, it will be a big problem and a big hidden danger in the future."

Shen Tianjiao had long wanted to deal with those people in the Imperial Guard, but she was too busy to do anything. However, now her father and third brother are back.

Now she has someone who can help her do this, so this matter becomes urgent and must be done immediately.

"Don't worry, your eldest brother had already laid out the plan when he left last time. Just leave this to your third brother."

In recent years, the Marquis of Zhenbei has focused on the northern border and neglected the imperial guards, which has given people the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Even if Shen Tianjiao didn't say anything about this, the Marquis of Zhenbei would have to clean up the mess.

With the words of the Marquis of Zhenbei, Shen Tianjiao could rest assured.

"Father, there's also a problem with the Ministry of Punishment. Ling Xifeng is still being locked up under my order." Shen Tianjiao couldn't help but sigh. These days, the Ling family and the He family have been making trouble behind the scenes for Ling Xifeng.

"Yes." The Marquis of Zhenbei nodded. "Father knows that Ling Xifeng is just a vicious dog raised by that bastard. The Ministry of Punishment has long since lost its original function."

"Both Ling Xifeng and the Ministry of Punishment cannot be kept here. All the people inside must be cleared out and replaced with the people we want."

Shen Tianjiao frowned and said with some concern, "If we want to touch Ling Xifeng, we must first take action against the Ling and He families. Their influence in the capital cannot be underestimated. This may not be that easy."

"Hmph!" The Marquis of Zhenbei snorted disdainfully, "They are just some low-class, despicable villains. Your father has ways to deal with them."

Shen Tianjiao breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that having her father's support made her feel confident and at ease.

"Master, this is freshly baked milk skin pancake. Please try it with the Marquis to see if it suits your taste." Before they finished eating the snacks, Dongyang presented new food.

"Okay, put it here." Although she was already very full, in order to show her gratitude to Fu Dongyang, Shen Tianjiao still let her leave the food behind.

Li Muyang, who was playing with Chunchao, lit up his eyes when he heard that Dongyang brought him the milk skin pancake. This was his favorite dessert at the moment.

Shen Tianjiao looked at Li Muyang's greedy look, waved at him, and said, "Come on, come and have your favorite milk skin pancake."

Li Muyang's greedy look made both Zhenbei Hou and Shen Tianjiao laugh.

"Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you." Looking at Li Muyang who was eating happily, Shen Tianjiao's face was full of kindness.

Unfortunately, this rare harmonious and warm atmosphere ended because of Li Rui's sudden visit.

Looking at Li Rui in front of him, Marquis Zhenbei was furious. If this wasn't in the palace, he would have probably started beating him.

This hypocritical and sanctimonious man, in order to marry his Jiaojiao, humbled himself and said all kinds of sweet words and compliments. But after marrying her, he did not know how to cherish her. Instead of taking good care of her, he treated her coldly and abused her in every way.

Looking at the cold and black face of Zhenbei Hou, Li Rui felt scared, but he had to force himself to put on a smile and deal with it.

"Father-in-law, are you in good health recently?" Li Rui asked cautiously.

The Marquis of Zhenbei replied with a cold face and no emotion: "I am in good health and will not die for a while. I am sorry to disappoint the emperor."

Shen Tianjiao looked at the two people who were on the verge of a fight, and quickly asked Chunchao to take Li Muyang out. She didn't want Li Muyang to witness the quarrel between his grandfather and his father with his own eyes.

Seeing Li Muyang being taken out, Li Rui smiled slyly and said to the Marquis of Zhenbei, "Father-in-law, what are you talking about? I really care about your health."

"You are the pillar of our Yunli Nation. As long as you are here, those cowards will not dare to covet our Yunli Nation. You have worked so hard to guard the northern border over the years."

"Oh, it turns out that the emperor has not lost his memory. He is very clear in his mind." Marquis Zhenbei closed his eyes. He was too lazy to even look at Li Rui.

People need dignity and trees need bark. If a person has no shame, he is invincible. This is what people like Li Rui are like.

He wants others to work for him, but he also wants to kill them all. Where in the world can such a good thing come from?

Li Rui smiled awkwardly, "Father-in-law, you've been traveling so hard, I've specially asked someone to prepare two pots of thirty-year-old Huadiao wine for you."

"Take it back home later and have a few drinks in the evening to help you recover from your fatigue."

Seeing Li Rui's bad intentions, the Marquis of Zhenbei was furious. "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm just worried that I can't afford it."

What he meant was that he was afraid that Li Rui had poisoned the wine and that he would be poisoned to death if he drank it.

Li Rui naturally understood the meaning behind the Marquis of Zhenbei's words, but he was indeed the thickest-skinned person in Yunli. He just smiled indifferently and continued, "My father-in-law is a wine lover. I will have someone send more fine wines to the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion one day. Please enjoy them carefully."

"Hmph!" The Marquis of Zhenbei snorted coldly, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I'm old now and can't drink anymore. I'm afraid I'll be poisoned if I drink too much."

Shen Tianjiao, who had been standing aside and watching coldly, was afraid that her father would be angry at Li Rui's shamelessness, so she quickly spoke up to smooth things over.

"Father, you must be exhausted after traveling all the way back today. I won't keep you here any longer to talk. I'll take you back home to rest."

"Well, okay." Marquis Zhenbei naturally didn't want to continue to be entangled with Li Rui. He was really afraid that if he stayed with Li Rui for a while longer, he would get angry and fall ill.

Seeing the Marquis of Zhenbei stand up to leave, Li Rui hurried forward and said with a smile: "Father-in-law, please go back home and rest today. I will personally host a banquet to welcome you another day and invite all the ministers to come and welcome you."

The Marquis of Zhenbei shook his sleeves and walked straight past Li Rui without saying a word.

When Shen Tianjiao saw her father leave, she hurriedly chased after him. As she left, she instructed Xia He, who was standing beside her, "Quick, go get the snacks that the Marquis is going to take back. Don't leave any behind."

"Master, don't worry. Everything is ready." Xia He turned around and directed the palace servants to take the snacks to be taken back to Marquis Zhenbei, and followed Shen Tianjiao out.

In an instant, Li Rui was the only one left in the huge banquet hall. Looking at the empty banquet hall, Li Rui, who felt neglected and ignored, was almost furious.

Li Rui, who had no place to vent his anger, was furious as he looked at the plates and cups on the table that had not been cleared away.

Without thinking, he walked forward and kicked the table, overturning it, and all the plates and cups on it were smashed to pieces.

Huang Chunhua, who was waiting outside, heard the noise coming from inside and hurried in to see. The mess in front of him left him speechless.

His Majesty the Emperor has a really bad temper. His attitude is not one of seeking peace and showing weakness. He is clearly here to stir up trouble.

"Your Majesty, calm down." Huang Chunhua quickly stepped forward to stop the still furious Li Rui. "You came here today to show weakness to the Empress and the Marquis of Zhenbei. If the Empress saw you like this, wouldn't she be angry again?"

"Your Excellency, a little impatience can ruin a great plan. Please don't act impulsively at this moment, or all your efforts will be wasted."

Huang Chunhua's words calmed Li Rui down. Now was not the time for him to lose his temper. He had to endure it.

Shen Tianjiao escorted the Marquis of Zhenbei out of the palace and gave him numerous instructions and warnings before letting him go.

After watching her father, the Marquis of Zhenbei, ride away on horseback with the support of his followers, Shen Tianjiao turned around and returned to the palace.

On the way back to Yuxiu Palace, she had already heard about Li Rui's heroic deeds.

Shen Tianjiao really didn't bother to deal with this extremely tasteless man. He had no other skills and could only smash things to show off his power.

Humph! Are Shen Tianjiao's things so easy to smash? Can Li Rui just smash them whenever he wants? Those things were all bought by Shen Tianjiao with real money. It wasn't easy for her to make money. If you smashed her things, you shouldn't compensate her according to the price, but double the price.

"Xia He, calculate how much silver the plates and cups that were smashed today are worth. Once you've calculated, take your men to the Taihe Palace and ask the Emperor to double the compensation."

When it comes to fleecing Li Rui, Shen Tianjiao will never show mercy. After all, Li Rui is very rich, so she will fleece as much as she can.

"Well, I'll understand everything when I get back." Xia He forced herself not to laugh out loud. Ever since her master became stronger, her life has become much more comfortable.

When Shen Tianjiao returned, Li Rui had not left yet and was still waiting for her.

Seeing Shen Tianjiao coming back, Li Rui hurriedly trotted over to her and offered his courtesy, "Ah Jiao, you've worked hard today. I asked them to stew some ginseng soup. Drink it while it's hot and get some sleep so you can be energetic tomorrow."

It would have been fine if Li Rui hadn't shown any attention to her, but now that he did, Shen Tianjiao hated and looked down on him from the bottom of her heart. She really didn't know how blind her original self was to be so open-hearted to a man like this.

The man in front of him can be described as useless except for his good looks. There are good-looking men everywhere, so does it have to be Li Rui?

"I heard that the emperor was furious just now and smashed my banquet hall?" The original body is the original body, and she, Shen Tianjiao, is Shen Tianjiao. She will not let the person in front of her have an easy time.

"Ah! That." Li Rui coughed a few times and pretended to explain: "I'm not angry. I just accidentally fell and knocked over the table."

"Oh, so that's how it is. The emperor even knocked over the table when he fell. It must have been a serious fall." Shen Tianjiao resisted the urge to roll her eyes and continued, "Why don't you quickly call the imperial physician to take a look? If the emperor is really hurt, I can't bear the responsibility."

"No, no, it's just a minor injury, a minor injury." Li Rui looked at Shen Tianjiao in front of him, who was no longer considerate, gentle, or tolerant of him in every way, and felt strange and heartbroken.

"It's just a minor injury. The emperor is injured. Even if it's a minor injury, it's still a serious matter and can't be ignored. It's better to summon the imperial physician to take a look. Otherwise, it's hard to say what will happen once we leave Yuxiu Palace."

"If it gets serious when I go back, people will say that I'm a shrew and that I abused the Emperor every time he came to Yuxiu Palace. Then I won't be able to explain myself even if I have a mouth full of words."

When it comes to sarcasm, Li Rui used to be the best, but now Shen Tianjiao is the best.

Li Rui was almost suffocated by Shen Tianjiao's cunning behavior. He now really regretted that he had gone too far in the past and now he was reaping what he sowed.

"Ah Jiao, can we not be angry with each other?" Li Rui now only hoped that Shen Tianjiao could be more generous like before and give him a chance to ease the relationship between them.

"Your Majesty, please call me by my real name, or the Empress. It's not good to call me too affectionately. It's inappropriate, frivolous and disrespectful."

Li Rui had a nice idea, but Shen Tianjiao would never give him any chance.

What Shen Tianjiao said just now were what Li Rui had said to her before. Today, he said them all at once. It hurts the most when a boomerang hits a person.

Sure enough, Li Rui's expression changed. These words were used by him to humiliate Shen Tianjiao. Now when Shen Tianjiao returned them to him, it really hurt his heart.

"You are tired today, so I will go back first. I will come back when you are calmer." It is obviously meaningless to stay now. Li Rui decided to go back first. After all, there is still a long way to go and there are plenty of opportunities.

"Before Your Majesty leaves, please remember to compensate for the broken plates and cups today. Those things were specially brought back from the Western Regions by my father as gifts to me. I wouldn't say they are priceless, but they were certainly worth a fortune in the past."

"Your Majesty, just throw it away as you say. You should at least give me an explanation. This will also help me avoid my father asking about it in the future."

Shen Tianjiao was certain that no matter how outrageous her actions were today, Li Rui would just bite the bullet and admit defeat, because he was now trying hard to restore his relationship with her and the Zhenbei Marquisate. Reality had taught him that without a backer, he was nothing.

Li Rui suppressed his anger and said, "Compensation? It's just some utensils from the Western Regions. I'm not so stingy as to not be able to pay for it."

"It's good that Your Majesty admits it. I will ask the senior palace maid to go with Your Majesty to Taihe Palace to get the compensation back."

As long as Li Rui is in trouble, Shen Tianjiao is happy.