The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"Tell our people who leave Prince Qing's mansion in the second half of the night that after leaving the capital, we can invite them to our manor house at the Zhenbei Marquisate for tea and rest."

"Also, tell them that these people are all nobles, and that they should behave in a more elegant manner, so as not to alarm them."

Since one Li Minghua is not enough, then please invite Li Hong's princess, son, and grandchildren to accompany them.

However, if Li Hong is so cruel and selfish that he doesn't even want his own wife and children, then there is nothing we can do.

"Oh, I understand." Qiu Tong finally realized why people were entering and leaving Prince Qing's mansion so blatantly in broad daylight.

So they did this to conceal their tracks and make themselves targets for their masters?

Qiu Tong felt a little annoyed. She was obviously a very smart person, so why did she suddenly become confused?

Could it be that spreading gossip with Qiong Niang these past two days has lowered her IQ?

Shen Tianjiao, who was still concentrating on studying the map, had no idea what her little maid was thinking at the moment.

"Third brother, go visit those grandfathers and uncles who used to work for our grandfather and father but are now unemployed at home."

"Tell them the current situation. Let's sit together and let those who are able contribute their strength and those who are resourceful offer their strategies. I don't believe that all of us combined can't defeat his scattered troops."

Shen Tianjiao had already raised her fighting spirit at this time. So what if there was a huge disparity in military strength between them and Li Hong?

Fighting a war requires not only numbers but also wisdom and strategy.

Putting herself aside, there are countless veterans who once followed her grandfather and father who are now unemployed at home in the capital.

Each of these people is a hero. Although none of them can defeat a million soldiers, they can still fight ten of them without any pressure.

"Okay, I'll go right away." It was most appropriate for Shen Tianjiao to let Shen Xinghao do this.

In order to avoid suspicion, the Marquis of Zhenbei would not summon his former subordinates when he returned to the capital. Even if he wanted to summon them, he would not do so openly, but would meet them in private.

But Shen Xinghao, as the son of Marquis Zhenbei, is different. He has every right to visit the homes of these subordinates.

Those subordinates were all of Shen Xinghao's grandfather and uncle generation. As a junior, it was reasonable for Shen Xinghao to visit them, and no one could say anything about it.

"Third brother, I will be in charge of guarding the capital, and everything outside the capital will be left to you."

Shen Tianjiao looked at Shen Xinghao solemnly. Although her third brother was already a general who had experienced many battles, Shen Tianjiao was still worried. She was afraid that he would be impulsive, underestimate the enemy, or have an accident.

"Jiaojiao, don't worry. Third Brother will definitely stop the enemy outside the capital. Even if it means risking my life, I will never let those evil people enter the capital and threaten you and father."

After Shen Xinghao's excitement, he immediately realized the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. If he could not hold on and the rebels entered the capital, the people of the capital would suffer, and his sister, father, and nephew would also be in trouble.

So no matter what, he had to hold the line and prevent the rebels from breaking through the line and harming innocent people and her family.

Shen Tianjiao's face darkened. What she feared most was Shen Xinghao saying such words.

The ending of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion in her previous life was like a nightmare that still frightened her to this day.

She now regards the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion as her own home, the Zhenbei Marquis as her father, and the three brothers of the Shen family as her brothers. She will never allow the things that happened in her previous life to happen to the Shen family again.

"Third brother, listen carefully." Shen Tianjiao's face turned serious. "I don't want you to do anything that will endanger your life. If you can stop the rebels, stop them. If you can't, let them enter the capital."

"In short, no matter what happens, you must not take any risks. Saving your own life is your first priority. Do you remember that?"

"I want everyone in our Shen family to live well. I want Dad and you to live long and healthy lives."

Shen Xinghao was stunned. He had been taught since childhood that no matter what happened, his duty was to protect the people of Yunli. Even if the entire army was killed in the battle and he was the only one left, he must not withdraw from the group and must complete his mission and responsibility.

But now his sister tells him that it doesn’t matter whether the battle is won or not, the most important thing is to save his own life.

Shen Tianjiao's words had a great impact on Shen Xinghao, but at the same time, they also made him feel warm in his heart.

"Okay, Third Brother understands." Shen Xinghao nodded and smiled at Shen Tianjiao.

Shen Xinghao's appearance made Shen Tianjiao even more worried. It would be strange if he had listened to what he just said.

"I'll go see my father and then return to the palace. The old ancestor has made a big deal out of this. Now I'm afraid everyone in the capital knows that Mu'er was assassinated."

"I will return to the palace to summon all the officials and determine Feng Dafu's guilt. I will also give those ministers an explanation for Ling Hai's matter."

Shen Tianjiao looked at Shen Xinghao and said, "Third brother, have someone release Feng Jie from the Ministry of Punishment. I promised Wang that I won't touch anyone in the Feng family except Feng Dafu."

"Keep this Wang, it will be of great use to me in the future."

"Okay, OK, I understand. I'll have someone do it later."

Feng Jie is now a disabled person. After this incident, the Feng family is unlikely to make any waves again.

Since Shen Tianjiao said that keeping Wang Shi would be of great use, Shen Xinghao felt that releasing Feng Jie was just a favor.

If you want others to help you with something, you always have to give them some benefits. It would be a waste of food to keep someone like Feng Jie in the Ministry of Punishment. Sending him back to his mother would make everyone happy and benefit everyone.

"Third brother, I don't plan to bring Mu'er with me when I return to the palace this time. The situation is unclear now, and it's safer for him to stay in the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion than to return to the palace."

"This child is still young, and as you can see, he is cowardly and timid. I'll have to trouble you, Third Brother, to take care of him."

No one knows what will happen in the future. As a mother, Shen Tianjiao naturally wants to seek the safest refuge for her son.

If this time goes smoothly, then Li Muyang's position as crown prince will be a foregone conclusion.

But if an accident happened this time and Li Muyang was not in the palace, then at least his life could be saved and he could survive.

"Jiaojiao, what are you talking about? He is your son, and my nephew. As long as I, his uncle, am here, he will be safe."

Shen Xinghao stepped forward and patted Shen Tianjiao on the shoulder. "Jiaojiao, you have to take care of yourself too. You must be safe and sound. Got it?"

"Okay, I understand." Shen Tianjiao's eyes were red. She hugged Shen Xinghao tightly and said, "Third brother, go quickly. Be careful on the road."

"Okay." Shen Xinghao smiled at Shen Tianjiao, turned around and waved at her with a casual look, saying, "Let's go."

Shen Tianjiao watched Shen Xinghao leave until his back completely disappeared from her sight. Then she turned around, sorted herself out, and went to meet the Marquis of Zhenbei.

The condition of Zhenbei Hou has been much better in the past two days. After all, he has been practicing martial arts for many years and his physical fitness is better than that of ordinary people. In addition, Shen Tianjiao brought a lot of precious medicines from the palace.

Bai Yunchi fed these medicines to Zhenbei Hou and Chaoyun as if they were free, to the point that Zhenbei Hou felt that he had overdone it and forbade Bai Yunchi to feed him anymore.

When Shen Tianjiao arrived, the Marquis of Zhenbei had just woken up and looked in good spirits.

Seeing that Marquis Zhenbei was in good spirits, Shen Tianjiao's mood improved a little.

"Jiaojiao is here." Seeing his daughter coming, the mood of Zhenbei Hou improved. He was so bored these past two days that he was almost autistic. Now his daughter came and could talk to him.

"Well, Dad, you look very energetic today." Shen Tianjiao sat next to the Marquis of Zhenbei. "Have you eaten today?"

"I ate it, I ate it." Zhenbei Hou glanced at Bai Yunchi and said, "This little bastard is different from his careless father. Not only is he meticulous, but he's also annoying."

"He can't just watch me wake up. When I wake up, he either feeds me medicine or food. He never lets my mouth rest."

"This time, your father, I have made up for all the meals you missed for the past few decades."

Shen Tianjiao listened to her father's nagging with a smile. It would be better to say that this was the Marquis of Zhenbei showing off rather than complaining.

"Thank you for your hard work. I will give you a holiday after we return to the palace so you can go back and see your mother and sister."

Shen Tianjiao smiled at Bai Yunchi who was standing beside her. She was really grateful to Bai Yunchi for taking care of Zhenbei Hou. She didn't expect that such a seemingly unreliable person would be so reliable this time.

"It's not hard. This is what I should do." Bai Yunchi, who was praised by Shen Tianjiao, scratched his head and smiled embarrassedly.

"Where is Chaoyun? How is she?" Shen Tianjiao looked at the cloth house built not far away and asked with some concern when she saw no movement inside.

"Oh, she is fine too. She has taken the medicine you brought from the palace and has not had any hypothermia or fainted since."

"She's just a little sleepy. She sleeps most of the day."

Apart from being sleepy, there was nothing unusual about Chaoyun.

"Okay." Shen Tianjiao nodded and said to Bai Yunchi, "I'll talk to Dad for a while. You go out and take a walk to get some fresh air."

"Okay, I got it." When Bai Yunchi turned around and walked out, he took the two little girls who took care of Chaoyun out with him.

"Jiao'er, has something happened?" Marquis Zhenbei looked at his exhausted daughter and asked worriedly.

Shen Tianjiao lowered her head and smiled, saying, "As expected, I can't hide it from you, Dad."

"That's right, you are father's daughter. How could you hide anything from father?" The Marquis of Zhenbei looked at his daughter, feeling extremely distressed.

"Father." Shen Tianjiao held the hand of the Marquis of Zhenbei and said, "I'm afraid there will be chaos in the capital."

Shen Tianjiao had no intention of hiding this matter from Marquis Zhenbei. No one knew what would happen next, so she had to make sure Marquis Zhenbei was mentally prepared.

The Marquis of Zhenbei was stunned for a moment, but soon calmed down. He had experienced this kind of thing many times and was already used to it.

"Who's being restless this time?"

"It was Li Hong." Shen Tianjiao sighed and said, "He teamed up with the Feng family and Ling Hai to assassinate Mu'er yesterday. Fortunately, he met my third brother. Otherwise, Mu'er's life would have been in danger yesterday."

Upon hearing that his grandson was almost killed, the Marquis of Zhenbei became furious, "How dare that bastard Li Hong do that?"

"Dad, don't be angry." Shen Tianjiao hurriedly comforted the Marquis of Zhenbei. Now was not the time for the Marquis of Zhenbei to be angry.

"Mu'er, how are you? Are you hurt?" The Marquis of Zhenbei was furious. If Li Muyang was injured, she would be the first one to not let that bastard Li Hong go.

"He wasn't injured, just some minor scratches on his wrist. But he was frightened. He had a high fever all night last night, and it was my third brother who stayed with him the whole time."

"Don't worry, his fever has subsided. He can eat and drink now and is doing very well."

Speaking of Li Muyang, Shen Tianjiao couldn't hide her worries. If something unexpected happened this time, their mother-son relationship would be broken.

The Marquis of Zhenbei knew his daughter's worry. He held Shen Tianjiao's hand tightly and said, "Jiaojiao, don't be afraid. With Daddy here, you and Mu'er will be fine."

"Have someone bring Mu'er here later. Daddy will be watching over him. Just go and do your thing without worry."

"Father." Shen Tianjiao looked at the Marquis of Zhenbei and hesitated to speak. In her heart, Li Muyang was still a child, and she didn't want him to be exposed to those cruel things too early.

How could the Marquis of Zhenbei not know what Shen Tianjiao was thinking? He looked at Shen Tianjiao and comforted her, "Girl, since she is going to be the future crown prince, you can't treat her as an ordinary child."

"The road to becoming a king is inherently difficult and dangerous. You can't let him be a greenhouse flower, nor can you protect him too well."

"This way, he won't have enough resilience in the future to face anything even more cruel than what he's facing now."

"Going through this kind of thing would be very cruel for other children of his age, but it was a good experience for him."

"A ruler should have a will as strong as steel and the courage to kill and make decisive decisions. Only then can he be a good ruler and fulfill his responsibility to protect the country."

"Yes, my father taught me that I was too weak and too caring. I always thought that he was still young and would have plenty of opportunities to gain experience in the future."

Shen Tianjiao, who became a mother, was indeed much softer in character than in her previous life. Perhaps it was because she had a shallow relationship with her parents in her previous life, so she had an especially strong desire to protect Li Muyang.

"All parents love their children. If you and your siblings were to encounter something like this at your age, your father wouldn't be able to bear it either."

"But only by giving up can you gain. People grow up through giving up and gaining."

Marquis Zhenbei was afraid that Shen Tianjiao would not be able to let go of the burden in her heart, so he counseled his daughter warmly.