The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

The moment the door of Zhenghe Hall was closed, the sounds of fighting and screaming from inside were endless, forming a sharp contrast with the tranquility outside.

That’s right, Shen Tianjiao had no intention of letting these people go this time. These aristocratic families were accomplices to the evil and did all kinds of evil things.

In order to balance the political situation, Shen Tianjiao can choose to turn a blind eye and let them go for the time being.

However, Shen Tianjiao absolutely could not tolerate what happened today, where those who colluded with the treasonous conspirators broke into the palace to force the emperor to rebel.

If they are not taught a cruel and bloody lesson today, they will probably never recognize the reality.

If Shen Tianjiao let them off easily this time, they would not be grateful for her kindness and restrain their greed. Instead, they would become even more involved in such things.

Only by letting them realize the cruelty of reality will they behave themselves and not dare to have any unreasonable desires.

Shen Tianjiao looked up at the sky which was becoming brighter and brighter, but her mood became heavier and heavier.

Her dream of building a strong country is extremely difficult both internally and externally, and she still has a long and difficult road ahead.

Soon Zhang Hui came out of the Zhenghe Hall, his clothes stained with blood.

"Your Majesty, it's been done."

Shen Tianjiao collected her thoughts, gathered her composure, and said, "Order all officials to enter the palace for a court meeting."

"Empress, aren't you going to clean up here?" Zhang Hui asked hesitantly, thinking of the dead bodies and the sea of ​​blood in the palace.

The tragic scene inside the Zhenghe Hall would make even the military generals who had fought their way through seas of blood and mountains of swords change color, not to mention the civil officials who had never seen the world.

"No need to clean up, this is for them to see, let them all see what the fate of traitors and rebels is!"

Shen Tianjiao remained calm. She had crawled out of piles of dead bodies countless times, and this kind of scene was nothing to her.

"Yes, I obey your command." Zhang Hui didn't say much, and went straight to find someone to notify all officials to enter the palace for court.

When the ministers arrived at the Zhenghe Hall and saw the tragic scene, they were all frightened without exception. Some of the timid ones even fainted on the spot.

Although all the officials were shocked by the scene before them, no one dared to say anything.

What a joke. At this moment, in this place, who would dare to say anything? Not to mention in front of someone, even behind their back, no one would dare to say anything.

These people are all smart, none of them is stupid. Who doesn't want to live and dares to speak out at this time? Do they think their life is too long and want to keep company with those people?

Ever since Shen Tianjiao took over as regent for Li Rui, most of these court officials have been unwilling to obey Shen Tianjiao's orders, and often they pretend to obey but actually disobey her orders.

The reason is simple, it's just that they bully Shen Tianjiao because she is a weak and vulnerable woman.

But after what happened today, no one in the court of Yunli Kingdom, or even in the entire Yunli Kingdom, dared to look down on the Queen, the master of the central palace.

Now these court officials not only have a fear of Shen Tianjiao in their hearts, but also have a psychological shadow.

From then on, no one dared to disregard the words of the Queen.

This was exactly what Shen Tianjiao wanted. She looked at the courtiers in front of her, all with varying expressions, and said, "You all saw it. Prince Qing brought these people into the palace last night in an attempt to force the emperor to abdicate."

"The situation was so dangerous at that time that I won't say more. Fortunately, with the blessings of the heavens and ancestors, we were able to escape danger without any harm and completely wipe out these rebellious people."

"Everyone has just gone in and taken a look. I'm sure everyone inside is familiar with them."

Shen Tianjiao looked up at the many terrified court officials in front of her. Among those plotting rebellion in the hall were their relatives, old friends, and students...

In a word, these people were plotting a rebellion. Although they did not enter the palace together to force abdication last night, it does not mean that they were not involved and can stay out of it.

Shen Tianjiao's eyes swept across the faces of these court officials. She spoke softly but forcefully, "No matter what your relationship was with those people in the palace, and no matter whether you knew about their rebellion or not, I will let bygones be bygones this time."

"But if anyone is so bold as to challenge my patience, I won't mind meeting the same fate as you."

"We dare not, we are terrified. From now on, we will definitely support the Emperor and the Empress and will follow them until death without any second thoughts."

Listening to the unanimous oaths sworn by these court officials, Shen Tianjiao sneered in her heart. At least half of these people were forced to surrender temporarily due to the situation.

As long as they are given a chance one day in the future, the vows they made today will become things that never happened.

But Shen Tianjiao didn't care whether they were loyal or not. These people would be eliminated sooner or later anyway. Keeping them now was just to balance the political situation.

They just need to keep quiet for a while and not make trouble, so that Shen Tianjiao can handle the things at hand and come back to deal with them.

"I will not pursue today's matter any further. Since the person is already dead, I will grant you one more favor. Whoever family the person inside belongs to will claim the person and bury him."

As soon as Shen Tianjiao said this, the court officials who had relatives in the palace were immediately terrified. This was not grace at all, it was clearly a death warrant.

But since Shen Tianjiao has already spoken, we have to accept it even if it is a death warrant.

Therefore, the relatives of those who died in the hall had no choice but to kneel down and express their gratitude.

After dealing with the matters in Zhenghe Palace, Shen Tianjiao returned to Yuxiu Palace, followed by Wang Yunzhi.

"Prime Minister Wang, please make some arrangements. I need to meet the Grand Princess."

Shen Tianjiao is a person who likes to speak her mind and does not like to hide things or play tricks.

The fact that this matter was resolved so smoothly was not only due to Shen Tianjiao's careful planning, but also thanks to Li Chaohui's intelligence and support.

There is no free lunch in the world. Li Chaohui naturally has her own purpose in helping Shen Tianjiao.

Shen Tianjiao herself had long wanted to meet the legendary, peerlessly beautiful Princess Li Zhaohui.

Wang Yunzhi raised his head and stole a glance at Shen Tianjiao. Now that the fact that he was Li Chaohui's man had been made public, there was nothing to hide.

What Wang Yunzhi is most concerned about now is Shen Tianjiao’s attitude after she knows about this matter.

However, he didn't get any clues from Shen Tianjiao's expression, which made him a little disappointed.

"Yes, I will arrange it right away." Wang Yunzhi hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Could Her Majesty order the soldiers guarding Anguo Temple to be withdrawn? This will make things easier."

Shen Tianjiao thought for a moment and said, "Let's not withdraw for now. The Grand Princess went to Anguo Temple to pray for blessings. It was the will of the late emperor, and everyone knows it."

"If we hastily withdraw those people before this matter is concluded, it will surely cause another dispute."

"That would not benefit anyone, and it would do more harm than good to the Grand Princess."

"I will order the soldiers not to obstruct or embarrass you. Please go ahead and make the arrangements."

"Yes, I will arrange it right away." Wang Yunzhi didn't dare to say anything more. Shen Tianjiao's attitude was unclear now, so he needed to be cautious.

After Wang Yunzhi left, Shen Tianjiao just sat there thinking about things.

This was the scene Ruan Yuhu saw when he came in to bring tea and snacks to Shen Tianjiao.

"Girl, what's wrong?" Ruan Yuhu walked to Shen Tianjiao and touched her forehead, wondering if she was too tired these days and had just experienced such a bloody scene, so she was not feeling well.

"I'm fine." Shen Tianjiao looked up and smiled at Ruan Yuhu. "I was thinking about the eldest princess. Aunt, do you know her well?"

"She seems to have some understanding of it." Ruan Yuhu sat down next to Shen Tianjiao.

"Speaking of this eldest princess, she was indeed a prominent figure back then. Not only was she beautiful and radiant, she also held great power and unparalleled wisdom."

"Back then, the number of people who fell under her spell could be described as countless. By the way, the Prime Minister Wang who just left was one of the most fanatical among them."

"Her popularity back then was so great that no one could escape her brilliance. She was as dazzling as the sun in the sky."

"But people tend to lose themselves gradually when being admired by others. The eldest princess was no exception. At that time, she was like a hedgehog in armor."

"People who like her praise her and those who don't like her attack and abuse her."

"Aunt." Shen Tianjiao suddenly interrupted Ruan Yuhu and asked, "Is it true that Emperor Gaozu issued an imperial decree to make her the Crown Princess and pass the throne to her?"

Ruan Yuhu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Then what do you think, Jiaojiao, is this true or false?"

Shen Tianjiao's heart skipped a beat. She looked up at Ruan Yuhu and said, "Could it be fake?"

"Well, Jiaojiao is indeed smart." Ruan Yuhu smiled and nodded, saying, "The Emperor Gaozu is not an old fool. He has many sons. Why would he choose his daughter to inherit the throne?"

"Although such things have happened before, they are beyond the scope of people's acceptance."

"If Gaozu really chose her as his successor, it would be equivalent to causing constant strife and conflict within Yunli. He would never do such an unwise thing."

Shen Tianjiao nodded in understanding and asked, "So what about that rumor? I heard that it was widely known back then."

Ruan Yuhu shook his head and smiled, then said, "As for that rumor, it's a long story."

"Everyone knows that the late emperor and Li Zhaohui are siblings, but they are not actually born of the same mother."

"The late emperor's mother was the late Empress Dowager, Emperor Gaozu's first wife, Empress Ruide."

"Li Zhaohui's biological mother was the then Imperial Noble Consort Ye Lihua. This Noble Consort Ye was Gaozu's childhood sweetheart and his most beloved."

"But when Concubine Ye gave birth to Li Zhaohui, no one knew what happened. Li Zhaohui was born safely, but her mother, Concubine Ye, died during the childbirth."

"Emperor Gaozu felt pity for his daughter, who lost her mother at birth, so he sent Li Zhaohui to the empress. From then on, Li Zhaohui became the empress's eldest daughter."

"This incident became a taboo and a secret within the palace. As time went by, it was gradually forgotten. Everyone just thought that Li Zhaohui was the queen's son."

"There's nothing wrong with living like this, but some people insist on making something out of nothing."

"Noble Consort Ye's brother is the renowned Grand Master Ye Xinghua of our Yunli Nation. I'm sure you've heard of him. He's a man whose intelligence is almost demonic."

"No one knows how Concubine Ye died, but Ye Xinghua blamed it on the Queen, believing that the Queen took advantage of Concubine Ye's childbirth to kill her in order to consolidate her favor."

"But in fact, there is no need for the Queen to do so. She comes from a distinguished family and her position in the palace is unshakable. Even the favored Concubine Ye can only be inferior to her."

"There was no need for her to take the risk of harming Concubine Ye. Besides, she and Emperor Gaozu only had a relationship as husband and wife, not a romantic one."

"But if a person becomes paranoid, no one can change him. Ye Xinghua is convinced that it was the Queen who killed his sister."

"So when Li Zhaohui grew up, Ye Xinghua sent people to her and instilled some very bad things in her."

"It was precisely because of those things that Li Zhaohui and the Queen became estranged and did many outrageous things."

"Ye Xinghua is a very ambitious man. He is unwilling to be left behind, nor is he willing to see the Ye family unable to join the ranks of aristocratic families. So he mobilized all his connections to pave the way for Li Zhaohui."

"Li Zhaohui is naturally intelligent, and with Ye Xinghua's careful guidance and the momentum he created for her, she soon began to shine in front of everyone."

"The Ye family isn't very powerful, but Ye Xinghua has many disciples. After Li Zhaohui came of age, he contacted many court officials and forced Emperor Gaozu to depose the late emperor's crown prince, establish Li Zhaohui as the crown princess, and pass on the Yunli throne to Li Zhaohui."

"In order to prevent Yunli from causing chaos, Emperor Gaozu verbally promised to make Li Zhaohui the crown princess."

"I didn't expect Ye Xinghua to immediately send someone to spread the news, making it known to everyone in Yunli."

"But not long after, Ye Xinghua suddenly died, and this ridiculous incident came to nothing."

"Having lost Ye Xinghua's protection, Li Zhaohui still didn't know how to restrain herself. Naturally, her fate wasn't good. She was abandoned by both her father and brother."