The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Shen Tianjiao and Ruan Yuhu separated and started to act on their own.

Shen Tianjiao returned to the hot spring villa, while Ruan Yuhu prepared to go to Kangning Palace to meet Empress Dowager Liu.

Ruan Yuhu looked at the prepared poisoned wine, raised his head and asked Qiong Niang, "Do you want to go with me?"

In addition to the fact that Qiong Niang suffered a lot from Empress Dowager Liu's torture in the past, Empress Dowager Liu also played an important role in her losing her own child.

On the surface, it seemed that the child was killed by Feng Yuanyuan, but Empress Dowager Liu also played a role behind the scenes. Moreover, the Wang family was framed and exiled, which was also the result of Empress Dowager Liu's instigation.

At that time, Qiong Niang's father, Wang Pei, the Minister of Justice, was framed by Empress Dowager Liu for treason because he found out that the Liu family helped Li Hong and raised private soldiers.

Li Rui was just taking advantage of the opportunity to add insult to injury, eliminate dissidents and consolidate his own power.

There is nothing in this world more satisfying than seeing your enemies get their comeuppance with your own eyes.

Qiong Niang nodded and said, "Go, I want to go."

Qiong Niang has now let go of the matter of the child. If the child had gotten out safely, the bond between her and Li Rui would never have been severed.

After letting go of all the love affairs, looking back now, it is actually a good thing that the child did not come into this world. The fact that he did not come only means that she and the child were not destined to be mother and child.

She could no longer care about the child, but she had to seek justice for the harm done to her relatives.

Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its creditor. Blood debts must be repaid with blood.

"Okay, then come with me."

Ruan Yuhu called Qiong Niang because he knew that she had obsessions and resentments in her heart. If these obsessions and resentments were not eliminated, Qiong Niang would never be able to let go of them in her life, and in the end she would be the one who suffered.

So Ruan Yuhu took Qiong Niang, followed by Chunchao, and the three of them went to Kangning Palace in a swaggering manner.

Naturally, no one dared to stop these three people when they arrived at the Corning Palace, so they entered smoothly.

The once glorious Empress Dowager Liu became much older and haggard after just a few days of imprisonment. If you didn't look carefully, you would mistake her for the old maid serving in the palace.

"What are you doing here?" Seeing Ruan Yuhu, Empress Dowager Liu couldn't help but feel nervous. Seeing Ruan Yuhu at this time was not a good sign.

She had been locked up in her bedroom these days, with no access to information, and had no idea what was happening outside. But the moment she saw Ruan Yuhu, she knew that something might have happened to the Liu family.

"What's the matter? Is this a forbidden place, Your Majesty? I can't come here?" Ruan Yuhu didn't even look at the Empress Dowager Liu. He walked straight to the main seat and sat down, as if he regarded himself as the master of this place.

Empress Dowager Liu looked at Ruan Yuhu who was sitting in the main seat. She was so angry that she almost died.

Admiring the ever-changing expressions on Empress Dowager Liu's face, Ruan Yuhu smiled with satisfaction. The two of them had been enemies for most of their lives, and it was rare for them to see such a scene at the moment of their death.

"It must be uncomfortable to be imprisoned, right?" Ruan Yuhu spoke first.

"Hmph!" Empress Dowager Liu snorted disdainfully and said, "You didn't come here to ask if I was feeling well, did you?"

"Of course not." Ruan Yuhu really wouldn't let Empress Dowager Liu down. "I'm not so idle and bored that I came to see if you were feeling well."

"I'm here to tell you something." Ruan Yuhu put away the smile on his face and said seriously, "You're locked up here, and you can't get any news from the outside world. You don't know what's happening outside."

Empress Dowager Liu suddenly became very nervous. She grabbed her clothes at her chest with her hands, a little afraid of what Ruan Yuhu would say next.

"It's been quite lively outside these past two days. Your father is still in the palace drinking tea with the heads of the aristocratic families."

"And your brother, Liu Zhi, was hacked to death in Zhenghe Hall last night for participating in a rebellion and resisting the emperor. His body remains unclaimed, and I'm afraid it will soon be thrown into a mass grave to feed stray dogs."

Ruan Yuhu spoke in a calm tone, as if she was telling a story, but Empress Dowager Liu was so frightened that she fell off the stool she was sitting on.

Looking at Empress Dowager Liu, Ruan Yuhu forced a cold smile and continued, "As for Li Hong, oh, no, it should be said that it was your old lover. He also died in Zhenghe Hall last night. I heard that his death was very tragic."

"Not only was the body stabbed into pieces like dice, but the head was also chopped off and separated from the body. It was a horrific sight."

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Liu could no longer hold back. A mouthful of blood spurted out of her throat, and she fell to the ground with her eyes rolled back.

Ruan Yuhu's words made it very clear that the Liu family was finished this time, and Li Hong was also finished. All her hopes and reliance were gone.

Then, it's her turn next.

"You've never been a contented woman. You were like this when you were young, and I didn't expect you'd still be stubborn even when you were older. Now look what you've done, you've finally brought about your own death."

"If you weren't so greedy, you would stick to your position, behave yourself, and do what a queen dowager should do."

"Then even if the Emperor doesn't like you anymore, at least you can spend your remaining years in peace as the Empress Dowager until you die of old age."

"You can't blame anyone for what happened to you today. You can only blame yourself for being too greedy."

Ruan Yuhu looked at Empress Dowager Liu at this moment, and for some reason she didn't feel happy at all.

This palace is like a man-eating devil's den. Any good person who comes in will become a madman. Am I not also a madman locked up here?

Ruan Yuhu stood up and signaled the palace servants who followed to bring the poisoned wine to Empress Dowager Liu. In fact, it was a blessing to die like this, which was better than being locked up and becoming a truly stupid lunatic.

Unexpectedly, Empress Dowager Liu, who had already fallen to the ground, suddenly sat up from the ground. She rushed out like crazy, shouting, "I want to see the emperor, I want to see the emperor, I am his mother, his mother."

"Liu Rui, are you still not awake?" Looking at Empress Dowager Liu who suddenly went crazy, Ruan Yuhu couldn't help but yell at her.

"Don't you have any idea how much weight you, the queen who killed his biological mother, hold in his heart?"

"Do you think he kept you alive all these years because he didn't want to kill you?"

"He's probably been wanting to chop you into pieces for a long time. He's only letting you live until now because you still have value to exploit."

"Now that the Liu family has fallen, and you've been having an affair with Li Hong, bringing shame to the late emperor, do you think he might let you go? Do you think he might still want to see you?"

Ruan Yuhu's words made Empress Dowager Liu stop her actions instantly. She had been a foster mother for so long that she really forgot how she got Li Rui, her son.

Li Rui was the wolf cub she raised with her own hands, how could he let her go?

Empress Dowager Liu's body suddenly felt as cold as if she had fallen into an ice cave. This time she really had no way to escape.

She had spent half her life trying just to be the best and enjoy the ultimate wealth in the world, but in the end it all turned out to be a pipe dream. She was really unwilling to accept this.

"I advise you to drink this poisoned wine honestly. This way, at least your body will be intact and you can be buried properly. Otherwise..."

Ruan Yuhu didn't say anything else, but Empress Dowager Liu knew what it meant.

But who wants to die? If you don't struggle, you will be sorry for all the hard work you have put in over the years.

"Where is Shen Tianjiao? Where is she? I want to see her." If we can't pin our hopes on Li Rui, then let's transfer them to Shen Tianjiao. Shen Tianjiao is much easier to talk to than Li Rui.

Ruan Yuhu was so angry that she laughed. Who gave her the confidence and self-righteousness?

"The Empress is too busy to see you right now. You can't even see the Emperor, and you still want to see the Empress?"

"You haven't come to your senses yet, have you? In Yunli Country right now, the one who's in charge is the Empress, not the Emperor."

"Okay, stop wasting time. The sooner you get on the road, the sooner you can go to the late emperor and explain to him what happened between you and Li Hong."

"Oh, by the way, Li Hong has passed away before you. Then the three of you can sit together and confront each other."

Ruan Yuhu turned around and wanted to leave. She was old and soft-hearted now, and could not bear to see such a scene.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Ruan Yuhu turned around, Empress Dowager Liu rushed up and grabbed her, saying that if they were to die, they would die together. Why should she die while Ruan Yuhu could live well?

This woman has oppressed her all her life, and even if she dies today, she will take her down with her.

When Qiong Niang saw that Empress Dowager Liu was holding onto Ruan Yuhu and wouldn't let go, the two of them panicked and, one on the left and one on the right, pulled Empress Dowager Liu off Ruan Yuhu.

Looking at Empress Dowager Liu who was like a mad woman, Qiong Niang felt a chill in her heart, as if she saw her own shadow in Empress Dowager Liu. If Shen Tianjiao had not pulled her out of the quagmire, she would probably be even worse off than Empress Dowager Liu.

An old maid who came with them, without waiting for Ruan Yuhu's further instructions, pinched Empress Dowager Liu's chin, forced her to open her mouth, and poured all the poisoned wine into her mouth.

Before the medicine could take effect, the old maid said, "Please leave first, the nobles. This scene behind is really unsightly."

"Yeah." Ruan Yuhu nodded, pulled Qiong Niang and Chunchao and went out.

Empress Dowager Liu, who was fed poisoned wine, soon suffered from unbearable abdominal pain and then died of bleeding from all seven orifices. The whole process took less than a cup of tea.

"My Lord, the Queen Mother has passed away suddenly due to a serious illness."

Ruan Yuhu, who had been waiting outside, heard the palace servant's report and sighed, saying, "Give her a proper once-over and send her off in a dignified manner."

Ruan Yuhu looked up at the people who served Empress Dowager Liu personally, and the people around her immediately understood what she meant.

After Ruan Yuhu, Qiong Niang and Chunchao left, there was another massacre in Kangning Palace.

After returning to Yuxiu Palace, Qiong Niang had not yet recovered from the shock she had just experienced.

When she was a concubine, she had punished many palace maids who made mistakes, but she had ordered others to do it. This was the first time she had done it in person, so it was inevitable that she would be shocked.

Ruan Yuhu looked at Qiong Niang, who looked unhappy, and regretted bringing her with him. "Chunchao, go make me a bowl of calming soup."

"Yes."

Chunchao receded and went out to make calming soup, leaving only Ruan Yuhu and Qiong Niang in the room.

"Girl, do you think what happened today was cruel?" Ruan Yuhu asked Qiong Niang.

Qiong Niang shook her head and said, "Things like this are inevitable in the palace sometimes. This cannot be described as cruel."

"Some people do so much evil that using this method is already very kind to them."

"I've done this kind of thing before. I'm not upset because of the Queen Mother's death. She deserved it. Compared to all the evil she did, letting her die like this was too easy for him."

"I was like this because it was the first time I saw someone die in front of me, and it took me a while to adjust."

"Yeah." Ruan Yuhu patted Qiong Niang's shoulder and said, "This kind of thing may happen from time to time in the future. You must adjust your mentality."

"It will take a long time to protect Mu'er until she grows up. During this time, there will be many people with ulterior motives who will try every possible means to drag Mu'er into the dust."

"If you want to protect him, you have to go through everything and do everything."

"Qiong Niang understands. Don't worry, Auntie, Qiong Niang will adjust her mentality as soon as possible." Qiong Niang looked up and smiled at Ruan Yuhu.

"Well, I still have some things to take care of. After you drink the tranquilizing soup, have a good sleep. When you wake up, everything will be fine."

Ruan Yuhu stood up to leave. She had to deal with the matter of Li Chaohui's daughter as soon as possible. If she didn't deal with it now, it would be impossible to do it when Li Chaohui was free.

"Aunt, I'll take you back." Qiong Niang quickly stood up and wanted to take Ruan Yuhu back, but Ruan Yuhu stopped her and said, "Okay, it's just a few steps away. I can go back by myself. Just take care of yourself."

After returning to his residence, Ruan Yuhu saw Ju Ruo and said, "You must go in person on this matter. You must be strict and cautious. Don't let anyone know except our people."

"Yes, I understand." Ju Ruo looked up at Ruan Yuhu and asked, "Master, after we bring the person out, where should we place him first?"

"Well?" Ruan Yuhu thought for a moment and said, "Bring the person out, then take him back to the palace first. The most dangerous place is also the safest place."

"No matter how hard Li Zhaohui thought, she probably wouldn't have thought that her beloved daughter was in the palace."

"After they enter the palace, they will be first placed in the Waterside Flower City of Yuxiu Palace. It's a secluded place with few people going there. We will also replace all the people in the Waterside Flower City with our people."

"Yes, I understand. I'll have someone clean up the waterside pavilions and flowers and arrange for everyone to be present."