The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"Okay, Third Uncle promises you." Shen Xinghao put Li Muyang down, took his hand and said, "Let's go, let's go eat. Third Uncle is almost starving."

The Shen family’s meals have always been simple. Except for the original Shen Tianjiao, everyone in the family likes to eat meat and cannot live without meat.

So the food was not exquisite, but it was large in portion and rich in variety. There was only a pitifully small plate of stir-fried vegetables on the table, and the rest was chicken, duck, fish and meat.

Shen Xinghao picked up a large chicken drumstick and put it in Li Muyang's bowl. "Children should eat more meat so that they can grow strong. If they grow strong, they won't get sick easily."

Li Muyang gnawed on a chicken leg and said vaguely, "But Madam Qiong said that children cannot digest meat if they eat too much, which is bad for their health. She told me to eat more vegetables and less meat."

"Don't listen to her." Shen Xinghao had no idea who Empress Qiong was. He thought she was the nanny serving Li Muyang.

"Children need to eat more meat to have a strong body. This is what your grandfather taught us. Look at the muscles of your third uncle." Shen Xinghao rolled up his sleeves and showed his biceps to Li Muyang.

Li Muyang stared at Shen Xinghao's biceps with wide eyes. He poked it with his greasy little hands without even wiping them.

"Third uncle, if I want to eat meat every day, can I do the same as you?" Li Muyang tilted his head and looked at Shen Xinghao and asked.

In his mind, his third uncle Shen Xinghao is now his hero.

He is good at fighting and can kick his enemy to the ground with one kick and lift himself up with one arm.

The world of children is pure and lovely, which is something adults can never imagine.

"Of course I can." Shen Xinghao started talking nonsense without thinking.

Shen Xinghao's affirmation immediately broke Qiong Niang's teachings to Li Muyang, making Li Muyang firmly believe that what his third uncle said was true.

He must eat more meat in the future, grow up to be as strong as his third uncle, and practice martial arts well, so that he can be as powerful as his third uncle, and not only be able to protect himself, but also protect his mother.

The uncle and nephew ended their dinner in a very pleasant atmosphere.

After dinner, Shen Xinghao took Li Muyang for a walk.

"Mu'er, your uncle will be leaving soon. You must stay with your grandfather and be strong and brave. If you have any problems, go to Bai Yunchi. Got it?"

It was obvious that before saving Li Muyang, Shen Xinghao was still just a child at heart, not caring about anything except fighting.

But after rescuing Li Muyang, Shen Xinghao instantly grew into an adult and became concerned about everything.

"Yeah, I know." Li Muyang said this without any confidence, his voice was soft, as if he hadn't eaten for several days.

Seeing Li Muyang's expression, Shen Xinghao smiled and patted his head. "Mu'er, you must know that as the eldest son of the Empress, you have to shoulder a lot of responsibilities. This is a responsibility you cannot shirk."

"From now on, you can no longer treat yourself as a child. You have to learn to be an adult, understand?"

"Yes, I know. My grandparents have told me all this." Although he understood the principles, it did not mean that Li Muyang could accept them. After all, all this happened too suddenly.

And the most important thing is that he has not learned, and perhaps he will never learn, how to face separation.

He liked his queen mother, so he didn't want to be separated from her. He liked his third uncle, so he didn't want to be separated from him either.

He also knew that fighting was a very dangerous thing. It was necessary to fight others with real guns and swords, and there would be injuries and accidents.

He didn't want his third uncle to get hurt, nor did he want him to have any accidents.

Growing up is something that cannot be rushed; it takes time. Shen Xinghao does not want Li Muyang to grow up overnight.

Because he had experienced it and knew what kind of pain and hardship it was, he didn't want his nephew to go through it.

"Okay, let's go back to my grandparents." Shen Xinghao wanted to lighten the mood, so he said, "When Third Uncle comes back, I'll take you shopping and buy you some delicious food, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Although Li Muyang was still in a low mood, he knew that he couldn't be willful. He couldn't be disobedient and let his third uncle worry about him while he went out to fight.

After Li Hong escaped from the capital and settled down, he began to send people to inquire about the news in the capital.

When the person who had inquired about the news came back and told him that all his relatives were imprisoned in Prince Qing's Mansion, Li Hong was furious.

"Shen Tianjiao, you despicable villain, how dare you? I am still Prince Qing of Yunli Kingdom and the emperor's uncle."

"The Emperor hasn't said anything yet, nor has he stripped me of my title. How dare an outsider like her act so arbitrarily?"

Only Li Hong could say something so shameless and shameless.

No matter what happens, I like to blame the problem on others. The fault is always someone else's, and I am always the victim.

But he didn't reflect on why he ended up in this situation today.

Li Hong's blood rushed to his head, and he was so angry and anxious that he almost fainted.

"Your Highness, please don't be anxious and angry. Calm down first. The princess and the prince are only imprisoned now. They are not in danger of life for the time being."

"What we need to do now is to calm down and think about how to rescue them."

Yuan Jiang was very happy about the fact that Prince Qing's princess and prince were imprisoned.

This is simply a godsend. If Shen Tianjiao had not imprisoned all the people in Prince Qing's mansion, Yuan Jiang would have had to spend a lot of time and effort to persuade Li Hong to rebel.

Yuan Jiang, who was thinking about his dream of founding a country, overlooked a very serious problem: their journey from the capital was too smooth.

There are no obstacles in front and no pursuers behind. It would be abnormal if everything went smoothly.

Now it’s good. He doesn’t need to say anything more. Li Hong will be unable to sit still and will take the initiative to send troops to rescue his family.

Li Hong now had no choice but to stay calm. He washed his face with cold water, calmed his mind, and sat down to think about what to do next.

He can give up his wife, but he cannot give up his son. He is already an old man, and it is not easy for him to have a son.

Besides, even if he could give birth to another son now, it would still be a question whether he could raise him. Besides, he couldn't afford to waste that time and didn't dare to take that risk.

If he had no son, what would be the point of him seizing the throne? Without a son to inherit it, wouldn't he be making wedding dresses for others? He worked hard for many years, but in the end, others benefited from it.

Then he wouldn't have to wait until he dies of old age, he could vomit himself to death.

So even though now is not the best time, he can only take the risk of sending troops to rebel.

In a small house on the back mountain of Anguo Temple, Princess Li Zhaohui, dressed in plain clothes, sat facing the window in silence after listening to the news from the secret guards about the recent events in the capital.

Shen Tianjiao, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei, was indeed more capable and decisive than she had imagined.

In the past, people said that Queen Shen Tianjiao was just a decoration. She had the most powerful backer, but she allowed Li Rui to control her and ruin her good hand.

But she always felt that Shen Tianjiao was not as incompetent as others said. As the legitimate daughter of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, who could help Li Rui manage Yun Li so well, how could she be a weak person who allowed others to manipulate her?

Now it seems that her guess was correct. The legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei, the current Empress Shen Tianjiao, had been humble in front of Li Rui, just biding her time and waiting for the opportunity.

Now that the time has come, Shen Tianjiao no longer hides her strength. In the past six months, everything Shen Tianjiao has done has been very much to her liking.

Li Chaohui felt that he and Shen Tianjiao were the same kind of people. They both cared about the world and had the ability to know what they wanted.

Shen Tianjiao's current situation was no wonder that she had asked Wang Yunzhi to test the waters and had spent a lot of time making arrangements for Shen Tianjiao.

"Princess, what are you thinking about? Why are you so absent-minded?" Liu Hualan, who was serving Li Zhaohui, saw that Li Zhaohui was so lost in thought that she didn't even have time to eat, so she couldn't help but walk up to her and ask.

Li Zhaohui came back to his senses, smiled and said, "Nothing, I was just thinking that we might have to leave this shabby place soon."

"Leave here?" Liu Hualan's eyes lit up instantly.

Seventeen years have passed since the late emperor sent Li Chaohui to Anguo Temple on the pretext of praying for the country. Only Li Chaohui himself knows how he survived these seventeen years.

"Yes, we have to leave here." Li Zhaohui looked up and looked around, her eyes full of resentment, helplessness and sadness.

It has been seventeen years, she has endured for a full seventeen years. During these seventeen years, she has been waiting all the time, waiting for the opportunity to leave here, and now she has finally waited.

During these seventeen years, her life was worse than those concubines in the cold palace. Apart from being treated worse and not having enough food or warm clothes, those concubines at least had freedom.

But she, apart from having to rely on herself to make ends meet, does not have any freedom at all.

"Princess, are you okay?" Liu Hualan looked at Li Zhaohui doubtfully, worried that she might have gone crazy because she wanted to leave here.

It is not easy to leave here. When the late emperor sent Li Chaohui here, he also issued an imperial decree that Li Chaohui could never leave here.

This also means that with this imperial edict, she will have no chance or possibility to leave here until Li Chaohui dies.

Li Chaohui was accompanied by a large group of guards. Their duty was not to protect Li Chaohui, but to monitor him.

Over the years, Li Chaohui's every move has been under the surveillance of these people.

Every time she sent information outside or received news from outside, she was extremely cautious and careful, for fear of being discovered by others.

Because if someone finds out, they'll have an excuse to kill her and make her suffer forever.

She didn't know how many attacks she had to dodge over the years. If she wasn't a lucky person, she would have been just a pile of bones by now.

Li Zhaohui turned around and looked at Liu Hualan, smiling and saying, "Why, you don't believe me? Do you think I've been locked up here for too long and gone crazy?"

"No, no, that's not it. I'm just a little worried." Liu Hualan lowered her head and didn't dare to look at Li Zhaohui again.

Li Zhaohui sighed softly and said, "Okay, I don't blame you. You've been with me for all these years, and it's been hard for you."

"Princess." Liu Hualan mustered her courage, looked up at Li Zhaohui and asked, "Are we really leaving here?"

"Yeah, yes, we have to leave here." When Li Zhaohui repeated the words 'we have to leave here' again, she suddenly burst into tears without any warning.

Her tears contained so much sadness and helplessness. The eldest princess of Yunli Kingdom had never shed a tear despite being suppressed, subjected to all kinds of unfair treatment, and even in the extremely difficult environment before her.

But at this moment, she burst into tears and let the tears drown her.

When Liu Hualan saw Li Chaohui crying, she couldn't help crying herself, so the two women hugged each other and began to cry silently.

Li Chaohui stopped crying only when she was tired. She had been feeling too depressed over the years, and this cry made her feel much better.

"Princess, please wipe your face." Liu Hualan handed the wet towel to Li Zhaohui.

Li Chaohui took the handkerchief and wiped his face. Looking at Liu Hualan, who still looked a little worried, he said, "Don't worry. When has your master ever lied to anyone?"

"No." Liu Hualan shook her head.

"That's good, just wait patiently." When people are in a good mood, their appetite also improves. Li Zhaohui, who used to eat like a chicken pecking at rice, now eats with relish.

At the Hot Spring Villa, after Shen Xinghao sent Li Muyang to the Marquis of Zhenbei, he did not leave immediately. He stayed with the Marquis of Zhenbei and talked with Li Muyang.

Finally, after coaxing Li Muyang to sleep, Shen Xinghao stood up and said goodbye to Zhenbei Hou.

"Father, I'm leaving now." Shen Xinghao looked at the Marquis of Zhenbei and gave him an overly bright smile.

"Well, go ahead." The Marquis of Zhenbei hid his worries. He didn't want to and couldn't show his worries and weakness in front of his son who was about to go to war.

"The sons of our Shen family are all strong men. Dad knows that my Hao'er is also an outstanding son."

"You must remember, Father, Jiaojiao, and Mu'er, we are all waiting for you at home. Come back safely and triumphantly."

"Yes." Shen Xinghao nodded towards the Marquis of Zhenbei and said, "Father, I understand. Please wait for good news from me."

After saying this, Shen Xinghao turned around and left without looking back. He was really afraid that if he said a few more words, he would not want to leave.

His father is really old. The man who used to be so decisive and ruthless has now become just like an ordinary old father.