The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"The reason she's still alive isn't because of any deep family ties, but because of the reputation Ye Xinghua built for her over the years."

"If she dies, the late emperor will bear a bad reputation. No emperor wants to bear a bad reputation while he is still alive."

"But even I never thought that this woman would be so patient and so strong. After being suppressed by the late emperor for so many years, she still has her own strength."

"Those who followed her are still so devoted to her after all these years."

Ruan Yuhu shook her head. Li Chaohui was not Li Hong. She was not that easy to deal with. Yun Li’s court was likely to be in for another catastrophe.

Having said that, there was nothing Shen Tianjiao didn't understand. Li Chaohui was definitely not a good person and she had great ambitions.

If we let her go this time, it would be like letting a tiger return to the mountains. Who knows what kind of storms and waves she will cause then.

But if we don't let her go this time, it may not be that easy. The forces behind her will not let it go.

Shen Tianjiao suddenly felt a headache. Why did these troubles keep coming one after another, leaving her no chance to breathe.

If she continues to waste time like this, when will her plan of conquering other nations be realized?

When Ruan Yuhu turned around and saw Shen Tianjiao's expression, he knew what she was worried about.

"Girl, you have to take your time when doing things, cooking and eating. You can't be impatient."

"You don't need to worry. Even if she is released, we will have a plan to deal with her."

Shen Tianjiao looked up at Ruan Yuhu and said, "This Wang Yunzhi is the biggest trouble. He is now the head of all officials. Although he does not take sides or form factions and calls himself a lone minister, he is loyal to Li Zhaohui. There is no guarantee that he will be the first to get into trouble."

"Well, that's possible." Ruan Yuhu nodded. Wang Yunzhi has been infatuated with Li Chaohui for so many years. He would do anything for Li Chaohui.

"Then let's start with his wife."

Wang Yunzhi’s wife is Zuo Beichen’s biological aunt.

Shen Tianjiao looked at Ruan Yuhu in confusion and asked, "Start with his wife?"

"Yes, start with his wife." Ruan Yuhu has spent most of her life in this deep palace, and she understands women's minds best.

"Wang Yunzhi is deeply in love with Li Zhaohui. Madam Wang must have suffered a lot over the years. I heard that she moved to another villa to live alone many years ago."

"She must have suffered a lot over the years. Everyone praises Prime Minister Wang and his wife for their deep love and their lifelong devotion. He doesn't even have a concubine for her, but who knows the pain she's feeling?"

"Even if she is pure-hearted and doesn't want to have anything to do with Wang Yunzhi anymore, as a mother she will still consider the future of her two children."

"Don't worry about this matter, just leave it to me."

The reason why Ruan Yuhu can remain invincible in this deep palace is not only because of his own strength, but also because of his ability to control people's hearts.

"Okay." Shen Tianjiao was not good at scheming, and she was very happy to have someone do this for her.

Ruan Yuhu looked at Shen Tianjiao, who was still listless, and said with a smile, "Shall I tell you another secret that might make you happier?"

"Yes." Shen Tianjiao answered decisively without any hesitation.

Ruan Yuhu smiled even more brightly when she looked at Shen Tianjiao. This little girl really still has the mind of a child.

"Li Zhaohui has a lover, Li Chen, the illegitimate son of Prince Li Yong."

"Who?" Shen Tianjiao's eyes widened. Prince Li's son? Shen Tianjiao pinched her fingers and quickly calculated in her mind what kind of messed-up relationship there was between Li Zhaohui and Li Chen.

Ruan Yuhu reached out and hit Shen Tianjiao's hand, "Don't let your imagination run wild. Although Li Yong also has the surname Li, he is not of royal blood. He was given the title of Prince of Li because of his ancestral influence."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Shen Tianjiao patted her heart. She was scared to death. She thought this was another bloody ethical drama.

"A man as proud as Li Zhaohui would naturally fall in love with someone extraordinary. It's a pity that the disparity in status between the two is too great, making it impossible for them to be together openly."

"In order to be with Li Chen, Li Zhaohui even lowered her status and willingly became his lover without any official title."

"But the good times didn't last long. Emperor Gaozu found out about this, and naturally, they were forced to separate."

"In order to save the lives of his family, Li Yong personally used a bowl of poison to end Li Chen's life. It's said that after his death, he wasn't even buried. He was simply wrapped in a tattered straw mat and thrown into a mass grave."

"Li Zhaohui cried her heart out and almost died with Li Chen. In the end, it was the female doctor who attended to her who diagnosed her with pregnancy, which allowed her to stop her suicidal behavior."

"At the time, Emperor Gaozu had a potion prepared to cover up the scandal. But how could Li Zhaohui allow the child to be aborted? To save the child, she begged the Empress Dowager."

"The Empress Dowager, mindful of her previous kindness in raising her, kept the child for her in front of Emperor Gaozu."

"But the child was taken away at birth and raised in a farm outside the capital by someone sent by the Grand Empress Dowager."

"The reason why Li Zhaohui didn't fight to the death and end up in a loss with the late emperor was precisely because of this child."

"Oh." Shen Tianjiao nodded, sighing in her heart that this seemingly glorious eldest princess actually had such a bizarre past.

"Oh what? Is it time for you to say oh now?" Ruan Yuhu looked at Shen Tianjiao's silly look and couldn't help but knocking her head with his hand.

"The most important thing now is to bring that child back to the palace and let her become a key to restrain Li Zhaohui. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Ah, oh, I see." Shen Tianjiao came back to her senses and looked at Ruan Yuhu and answered quickly. She was afraid that if she answered slowly, she would be hit on the head again.

"But Auntie, it's been so many years, is that child still in the village?"

Shen Tianjiao seriously suspected that Li Zhaohui's child had disappeared long ago, otherwise, with Li Zhaohui's ability, the child would have been rescued by her long ago.

"Yes, she hasn't been in that village for a long time." Ruan Yuhu paused and continued, "But I know where she is."

Shen Tianjiao was completely speechless by Ruan Yuhu's heavy breathing.

"Then I'll leave all these matters to my aunt." Shen Tianjiao naturally had no objection to someone being willing to share her worries.

"Okay, I'll do these things." Having something to do is also a good thing for Ruan Yuhu. It is much more interesting than letting her stay bored every day.

"Wang Yunzhi has already made arrangements. I will be meeting Li Zhaohui today at the earliest and tomorrow at the latest."

Shen Tianjiao sighed and continued, "To be honest, I'm really a little scared."

"Why are you so scared?" Ruan Yuhu looked at Shen Tianjiao and said, "Remember, you don't have to be afraid of anything. You are the master of Yunli Kingdom now, and she is just an imprisoned princess."

"Even if she's still powerful now, so what? She'll still have to kneel and bow to you when she sees you."

"You are the king and she is the minister. You don't have to be afraid of her at any time. Show the same audacity you showed in front of the Zhenghe Hall today."

Shen Tianjiao smiled sheepishly and said, "Do I look quite useless now?"

"I used to do this kind of thing often." Ruan Yuhu gave Shen Tianjiao a reassuring smile.

"Aunt, what did you do when you felt unsure and scared?" Shen Tianjiao asked Ruan Yuhu curiously.

"As for me, I told myself that it's no big deal. If she's a fox, then I'll be a wolf. If she's a wolf, then I'll be a tiger. Anyway, I have to be better than her."

"Then after experiencing this kind of thing many times, I gradually became less afraid of it."

Ruan Yuhu said it easily, but in fact only she knew the hardships involved.

Shen Tianjiao lowered her head and smiled, saying, "It seems that my practice is not enough. I need to practice more in the future."

No one is born an invincible king. It's just that they have experienced more things, suffered more setbacks, and been crushed more often, so they have learned to be strong.

Ruan Yuhu smiled and said nothing more. In her heart, she actually hoped that Shen Tianjiao would not have to go through all that and could live a safe and stable life.

But now this wish seems impossible to realize. The path Shen Tianjiao has to take is more difficult and painful than the one she had to take back then.

"Aunt, the Queen Mother can't stay."

As long as Empress Dowager Liu is still alive, not only will the Liu family members be restless, but those who conspire with the Liu family will also be restless.

Only when these people completely lose their backing, have no leader, cannot unite together, and become a pile of loose sand, can we defeat them one by one.

"Well, it's time to send her on her way and go to the underworld to apologize to the late emperor."

The struggle between Ruan Yuhu and Queen Mother Liu has been going on for most of their lives, and now it is time to end it.

"You don't have to go, I'll go." Ruan Yuhu didn't want Shen Tianjiao to get involved in such dirty things.

"And the matter of Concubine Feng can't be delayed any longer. She is different from Empress Dowager Liu. She is the Emperor's concubine. We should consult the Emperor first before deciding how to deal with her."

"Yeah, I know." Shen Tianjiao knew what Ruan Yuhu meant. Although she now had the right to deal with Feng Yuanyuan, Feng Yuanyuan was Li Rui's concubine after all.

If she dealt with Feng Yuanyuan without Li Rui's consent, it would give others a chance to criticize her.

Others would say that she disregarded the imperial power out of jealousy, did not take Li Rui seriously, and dealt with the concubines privately.

Although this is not true, those who spread the gossip do not care whether it is true or not. They only care about the impact and criticism this incident will bring to Shen Tianjiao.

"I know. I will go to Taihe Hall later to ask his opinion and then ask him to issue an order to deal with it."

"Since Feng Yuanyuan's matter has been dealt with, let's also finish Tian Qingqing and Su Wenzhi's matters, so as to avoid more troubles."

After the affair between Tian Qingqing and Su Wenzhi was exposed, Su Wenzhi was imprisoned in the palace. During this period, Li Yuyao and the Su family had gone to the palace several times to ask for him, but were stopped by Ruan Yuhu every time.

Su Wenzhi's affair with the concubine was a capital crime punishable by extermination of the entire clan, so the Su family was naturally panicked. Li Yuyao knew that her husband had betrayed her and done such a heinous thing, but for her own benefit, she had to compromise and find a way to protect him.

The Su family pleaded humbly, but Ruan Yuhu didn't want to give them this chance at all and released Su Wenzhi.

Not only that, she also wants to use this incident to drag the entire Su family into the quagmire, making it impossible for them to stand up forever.

This is the hatred between her and the Su family. It has accumulated for so many years and it is time to come to an end.

"Jiaojiao, leave Su Wenzhi's matter to me. I have an irreconcilable personal vendetta against the Su family that I need to settle."

"Don't ask anything now. I'll tell you when this matter is over."

Shen Tianjiao knew that Ruan Yuhu was a man with a story, and people with stories always had many secrets behind them. She didn't want to be the one to expose the secret.

"Aunt, do whatever you want. You don't have to tell me everything. If you don't want to say it, you don't have to."

Anyway, the Su family is not a good family, and Su Wenzhi is a scum with a beautiful appearance but rotten inside. Such a family and such a person should be dealt with as soon as possible. Keeping them will only bring trouble.

Ruan Yuhu nodded. Shen Tianjiao was the one who knew her best.

"The palace is safe now. Arrange for someone to bring Mu'er back. This child should stay with me to feel at ease."

"Well, okay, I'll go back later to see my father and tell him I'm safe so he doesn't worry. I'll also bring Mu'er back with me."

Shen Tianjiao's heart sank when she thought of her father and son. She didn't know how much torture and fear the old man and the child had endured last night.

Shen Tianjiao, who was worried about her father and son, now only wanted to return to the hot spring villa as soon as possible.

"Aunt, go and take care of the Queen Mother's affairs first. When I come back from the hot spring villa, I will tell the emperor about Feng Yuanyuan and Tian Qingqing."

"Well, okay." Ruan Yuhu knew that the Marquis of Zhenbei was still in a high-risk period of detoxification, so it was understandable that Shen Tianjiao was worried about the Marquis of Zhenbei.

"Oh, by the way, Jiaojiao, what about Zhou Haibei?"

"Him?" This was another troublesome guy. Shen Tianjiao thought for a moment and said, "Our people have been lurking around him for quite some time. He should be able to imitate his appearance and daily habits to a certain extent."

"Then close the internet, lock him up, and let one of our men take his place."

"Well, okay." Ruan Yuhu took out the century-old ginseng prepared for the Marquis of Zhenbei and handed it to Shen Tianjiao. "Take this century-old ginseng back to nourish your father."

Hundred-year-old ginseng is not a rare thing in the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, but it is Ruan Yuhu's intention, and Shen Tianjiao can't refuse her, so she gladly accepted it.