The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Shen Tianjiao returned to the courtyard of the Marquis of Zhenbei. The Marquis of Zhenbei had just finished breakfast and was waiting for her.

"Father." Shen Tianjiao saw that Marquis Zhenbei was in a much more relaxed mood.

"Well, Jiaojiao, come here. The snacks just delivered from the kitchen are all your favorites. Come and try them." The Marquis of Zhenbei invited Shen Tianjiao to come to him to eat snacks. No matter how old a child grows, he is still a child in the eyes of his parents.

Shen Tianjiao looked at the pile of snacks on the table, shook her head and smiled helplessly. She hadn't digested what she had eaten in the morning yet, so how could her stomach have room for all these things?

"Father, what do you think about this matter of detoxification?"

Marquis Zhenbei looked up at Shen Tianjiao and patted the side to signal Shen Tianjiao to sit down.

Shen Tianjiao walked over to the side of the Marquis of Zhenbei and sat down, waiting for him to speak.

"Jiaojiao, after careful consideration, Dad has decided to detoxify."

As the pillar of Yunli, the Marquis of Zhenbei carries not only the glory of the Marquis of Zhenbei's Mansion, but more importantly, the stability of Yunli and the safety of the people.

So no matter how dangerous the detoxification process is, he has no right to choose, the poison must be detoxified.

Shen Tianjiao nodded. In fact, this result was within her expectations. At first, she was afraid that the Marquis of Zhenbei would not be able to bear the pain due to his old age. But when she calmed down, she realized that her father must be cured of this poison.

"Don't worry, Dad. I will stay by your side to protect you while you detoxify." Shen Tianjiao looked at the Marquis of Zhenbei and joked with him in a relaxed manner.

"Okay, with my daughter protecting me, what else do I have to be afraid of?" Marquis Zhenbei looked at Shen Tianjiao with a kind smile. He was already very satisfied that he could reconcile with his daughter this time.

"Father, let's start later today. I'll stay home with you for the next few days."

"It will take some time for Big Brother to come back. After you have cured the poison, both the Gu and the doctor will need to rest for a while before they can detoxify Big Brother again."

"How about we hurry up sooner rather than later?"

"Okay." Marquis Zhenbei had no objection. The poison had to be cured sooner or later anyway, and the sooner the better. After all, it was not certain how long the poison in Shen Yiyang's body would remain. Starting earlier would not delay his son's treatment.

"Jiaojiao, please return to the palace after lunch. This is a turbulent time, so you must protect yourself."

"Father, your third brother, Han Ming, and others from the mansion are here with us. You don't have to worry."

"Father, please don't worry. I know what's going on. We have Qiong Niang and Chun Chao in the palace. If things don't work out, the old ancestor is still living in Yuxiu Palace."

"With them here, who in the palace is afraid of causing trouble?"

The combined fighting power of these three women is enough to turn the world upside down, even if others can't.

"The girl from the Wang family is indeed courageous and much better than her indecisive father."

Shen Tianjiao had already told the story of Qiong Niang when she wrote to the Marquis of Zhenbei.

"Your eldest brother has already found a way to get her two brothers into the Shen family army. As for that stubborn old man from the Wang family and her two brothers, they are too big a target and we have no way to get them out for the time being."

"After a while, let your eldest brother find a way to get them all out. These three people are civil officials. They don't have any other abilities, but they are very cunning."

"When the time comes to deal with those old foxes, let them go. I guarantee there will be no problem."

The Marquis of Zhenbei has been a powerful figure in officialdom for many years and is well versed in the ways of being an official. He believes that using civil officials to deal with civil officials is the best way to maintain a balance of power.

"Father, this is already very good. If Qiong Niang knew about this, she would be so happy."

"She missed her family members so much during those years, and now that she knows they are all alive, it's the best news for her."

In addition to telling the Marquis of Zhenbei about Qiong Niang's affairs, Shen Tianjiao also asked the Marquis of Zhenbei to inquire about the Wang family and asked the Marquis of Zhenbei to take care of them.

"Dad, where is my third brother?" Shen Tianjiao had been back for a long time, but she hadn't even seen the shadow of Shen Xinghao. This was a bit abnormal.

The Marquis of Zhenbei smiled and said, "Your third brother hasn't woken up yet. He drank with me last night. I had to check his health in the middle of the night. I was afraid he might get drunk and crazy, so I gave him some calming tea."

"Maybe the dosage of the tranquilizing tea was a bit too high, plus he was really tired from traveling for days, so he hasn't woken up yet."

After hearing what Zhenbei Marquis said, Shen Tianjiao became a little worried. "Is there anything wrong with the tranquilizing tea? Have you asked the palace doctor to check it out?"

Shen Xinghao has also been practicing martial arts for many years. How could it be that just a cup of calming tea made him sleep until now and still unable to wake up?

"It's okay, it's okay. The court doctor has already checked on your third brother. He hasn't woken up yet because of the wine. Those wines are all aged fine wines privately stored in our wine cellar. They have a strong aftertaste."

"Your third brother's alcohol tolerance is not as good as your second brother's. It's normal to sleep for a long time after drinking too much."

Marquis Zhenbei knows his sons best, and among his three sons, Shen Xinghao is the one who cannot drink the most.

Shen Tianjiao was relieved, "Dad, you take a rest for a while, I'll go see my third brother."

It seems that the two siblings haven't seen each other for six years, and Shen Tianjiao almost forgot what Shen Xinghao looks like.

"Well, go ahead." Marquis Zhenbei nodded, signaling his daughter that she could leave.

When Shen Tianjiao arrived at Shen Xinghao's yard, Shen Xinghao hadn't gotten up yet.

Looking at the somewhat deserted courtyard, Shen Tianjiao felt quite unhappy. Her three brothers had served the country loyally, but were still single.

After I finish detoxifying my father and elder brother, their marriages will be arranged.

After my brothers got married, the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion had new members and moved in. It became lively and popular, and it felt like what a family should be like.

Shen Tianjiao was still thinking about something when she heard Shen Xinghao shout, "Awei, my head hurts so much! Quick, get me some water."

Listening to Shen Xinghao's powerful shout, Shen Tianjiao smiled. Her third brother really hadn't changed at all.

Shen Tianjiao stopped A Wei who was about to go in to pour water for Shen Xinghao, "Let me go, you go prepare some light porridge and side dishes."

Shen Tianjiao, who took over Awei's job, walked into Shen Xinghao's room. Looking at Shen Xinghao, who was sleepy and had messy hair like a chicken coop, she suppressed the urge to laugh and poured him a cup of hot tea and handed it to him.

Shen Xinghao took the cup without even opening his eyes and drank it all in one gulp.

After finishing it all, he belatedly said, "Awei, I wanted water, why did you give me hot tea? It almost scalded me to death."

"If you drink alcohol, drink some hot tea in the morning to sober up." Shen Tianjiao looked at the silly Shen Xinghao in front of her and found it hard to associate him with the general who was so majestic and killed enemies on the battlefield.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Shen Xinghao nodded good-naturedly and crawled back into bed to sleep for a while.

Shen Xinghao, who had just crawled back into bed, suddenly shuddered. The voice he just heard was a girl's voice, right? That wasn't right. There wasn't even a maid to serve him in his yard, so where did a girl's voice come from?

Shen Xinghao opened his eyes and broke out in a cold sweat.

He swallowed and secretly opened his eyes a little. When he saw that the girl standing in front of him was his sister Shen Tianjiao, he excitedly threw off the quilt and jumped up.

"Jiaojiao, is it really you? Is it because Third Brother missed you so much that he is hallucinating? Why are you at home?"

A general actually started crying in front of his sister.

Shen Tianjiao's nose felt sore and her eyes turned red. She reached out and gently pinched Shen Xinghao, then said with a smile, "See, this is not an illusion. I really am Jiaojiao."

"Jiaojiao, third brother misses you so much." Shen Xinghao hugged Shen Tianjiao in his arms. This was his sister whom he hadn't seen for six years.

"Okay, you're already an adult, and you're still crying. Others will laugh at you if they see you." Shen Tianjiao was crying her heart out, but she still asked Shen Xinghao not to cry.

"Just laugh it off. What are you afraid of in front of your own sister?" Shen Xinghao let go of Shen Tianjiao and laughed like a fool.

"Jiaojiao, come and sit down." Shen Xinghao pulled Shen Tianjiao to sit at the table. "Why did you leave the palace?"

"I came back to take care of some things and came to see you by the way." Shen Tianjiao didn't want to tell Shen Xinghao about the poisoning of Zhenbei Hou yet, so as not to affect Shen Xinghao's mood for dinner later.

"Are you just dropping by to see me?" Shen Xinghao pouted at Shen Tianjiao in dissatisfaction.

Seeing that Shen Xinghao was still the same as before, getting angry and acting like a spoiled child at every turn, Shen Tianjiao felt warm in her heart. They had just met and Shen Tianjiao didn't want to make him unhappy.

So he quickly coaxed her, "Okay, I lied to you. I heard from Dad that you were back too. I didn't see you yesterday, so I came back to see you today."

"That's what I said. How could our Jiaojiao just come to see Third Brother?" Shen Xinghao was coaxed in an instant.

"Jiaojiao, wait a minute. Third brother brought you a lot of fun things from Northern Xinjiang. Third brother will give them to you."

Even though the younger sister in front of him has grown up and even got married, in the eyes of her loving brother, Shen Tianjiao will always be a child who is held at the top of his heart.

Looking at the pile of gadgets on the table, Shen Tianjiao wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. After leaving the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion and her father and brothers, who would be able to treat her like a child?

"Jiaojiao, you once said you wanted to go to Northern Xinjiang and see what it's like. Although you can't go there yet, you can take a look at these rare things first."

"I put a lot of thought into getting these things for you. Some are made by local people in Northern Xinjiang, and some are bought from Persian merchants. Take a look at them. Do you like them?"

Shen Xinghao placed the things in front of Shen Tianjiao one by one as if he was presenting treasures.

"Yeah, I like it. I like everything that Third Brother gives me." It really doesn't matter whether the item is good or not. What's important is the thought behind it.

"I'm glad you like it. I'll bring you more things next time I go to Northern Xinjiang. I left in such a hurry this time that I didn't bring back many things."

Since childhood, Shen Tianjiao has always been closer to this third brother. After all, the age difference between the two is the smallest, and Shen Xinghao is most willing to take Shen Tianjiao around.

Some things are engraved in our bones and cannot be changed no matter how much time passes.

Shen Xinghao stared at Shen Tianjiao and asked, "Tell me, are you doing well in the palace?"

"Why are you asking this?" Shen Tianjiao felt guilty and didn't dare to look at Shen Xinghao. She was afraid that Shen Xinghao would be sad when he knew what happened to her.

"Can't I ask?" Shen Xinghao held Shen Tianjiao's hand. "Forget it. Even if you don't tell me, I know you're not doing well. My little Jiaojiao, with the light in her eyes, can't even see it anymore."

"Jiaojiao, I'm asking you this because I want to tell you that if you're unhappy in that cage and want to go home, tell Dad and my brothers."

"We will all support you and find a way to rescue you from that cage."

"The glory of our Shen family today is all due to the men of the Shen family, who risked their lives on the battlefield with real swords and guns. We don't have to rely on our daughters to maintain it like other families do."

"Father, eldest brother, second brother, and third brother are all good. All we want is to be happy every day and to find your own happiness. Do you understand?"

Shen Xinghao's words were worth more than any vows in the world, and Shen Tianjiao's heart was softened once again.

"I know I have the best father and brothers in the world. As long as you are with me, I will always be happy."

"Third brother, if one day I really don't need to stay in that cage anymore, I will definitely tell you and ask you to take me away."

"Before, I was young and ignorant, and did a lot of things that made you sad, but I promise you, I won't do that again in the future."

With such a good father and brothers, why shouldn't Shen Tianjiao protect them well?

"Why talk about the past? Just remember what your second brother told you today." Shen Xinghao reached out and touched Shen Tianjiao's head, feeling that the sister he knew before had really returned.

A Wei brought in the prepared porridge and side dishes. "Third brother, you drank some wine yesterday, so eat something light this morning. Uncle Han has prepared a lot of delicious food for lunch. Let's have a good meal together with Dad."

"Okay." Shen Xinghao laughed so hard that his eyes were almost blind. It didn't matter what he ate at home, everything was delicious.

Shen Tianjiao poured a bowl of porridge for Shen Xinghao and placed it in front of him, saying, "This is your favorite red rice porridge, and these side dishes are also your favorites. It's obvious that Uncle Han prepared them specially for you."

"You should eat more, so as not to let Uncle Han down."

"Okay, I get it. I'll eat a lot."