The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"Girl, Mu'er and An'an are actually your children. They were just born from someone else's womb."

"Ah!" Shen Tianjiao looked up at Ruan Yuhu in confusion and asked, "Aunt, what do you mean by that?"

"Isn't what I mean obvious?" Ruan Yuhu looked at Shen Tianjiao, who was confused, and shook his head with a smile.

"I said these two children were originally your children. They were just born through Concubine Rong and Concubine Du's wombs."

"You don't have to wonder why I say this. I have reasons and grounds for what I say."

Ruan Yuhu grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the table and said as she ate them, "I won't say much about Mu'er. He has always been the closest to you, his mother."

"You usually have little time to be close to Mu'er, and you rarely care about him, but Qiong Niang has put a lot of thought into him."

"But this child is still only close to you, his mother. He is just polite to others, maintaining his most basic courtesy, rather than getting close to them."

"Even to Qiong Niang, who takes care of him every day, he is too polite and not close enough."

"And this little thing that came today. The reason I didn't go today was because she kept crying. She probably knew you didn't want Feng Yuanyuan to die today."

"How is this possible? She's just a little kid who knows nothing."

Ruan Yuhu just mentioned Li Muyang's matter. Shen Tianjiao admitted that this child treated her as a mother differently from others. He really treated her as his own biological mother.

But Li Muyan is just a little baby who knows nothing. How can she know what I am thinking?

"Although I've never raised a child, I know that mother and daughter are connected by heart. Today, she didn't just cry for a while, but kept crying until Chunchao came back."

"As soon as Chunchao returned, the little girl stopped crying and fell asleep in no time. Isn't that amazing?"

"Because she wouldn't stop crying, I had someone call Lady Du from Fanghua Garden. But guess what, they didn't even give face to Lady Du, her own mother, and refused to let her hold her."

"That's why I said these two children are yours, just born from someone else's womb."

"Jiaojiao, you are truly a blessed person. Please raise these two children well."

"Yeah." Although Shen Tianjiao found Ruan Yuhu's words unbelievable, she also felt a little touched in her heart.

"Okay, it's really getting late. You should go to bed quickly. There are still many things waiting for you to do tomorrow."

Ruan Yuhu stood up and prepared to go back to rest. She was waiting here for Shen Tianjiao because she was worried. Now that Shen Tianjiao was back and she had said everything she needed to say, it was time for her to go to bed.

"Aunt, I have something else to ask you." Shen Tianjiao was still thinking about what her father had just told her about the late emperor's misdeeds. If she didn't ask clearly, she was afraid she really wouldn't be able to sleep.

Ruan Yuhu stopped, looked back at Shen Tianjiao and asked, "What's the matter?"

Shen Tianjiao hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Yes, it's about the late emperor."

Although everyone said that the late emperor doted on Ruan Yuhu and treated her like a treasure, Shen Tianjiao felt that Ruan Yuhu did not seem to be wholeheartedly in love with the late emperor. There was always a faint sense of avoidance that she did not want to talk about.

"Ah!" Ruan Yuhu was momentarily stunned, then returned to normal. "Just ask whatever you want to know."

"Today, I heard from my father that after the late emperor ascended the throne, he killed all the girls under the age of three from the royal family and the aristocratic families."

"And the late emperor? His cause of death wasn't a sudden illness, but rather a body full of ulcers that couldn't be cured. Is this true?"

Shen Tianjiao asked this not because she didn't believe what her father said, but because she wanted to know what disease the late emperor died of.

"Well, that's a long story." Ruan Yuhu smiled slightly. She had long since regarded the past as a passing cloud. Now, when she talked about someone she had hated all her life, she could treat it with a normal heart.

"Your father was right. It was the late emperor who did it. He ordered the death of those children, but he did it in secret. Afterwards, he blamed the children's deaths on the evil spirits."

"So, he hid it from many people, but there is no such thing as an impenetrable wall in this world. No matter how secretive or careful he was, he couldn't resist someone's tracing back to the source."

"The late emperor died of ulcers all over his body, but it wasn't because he had some incurable disease. He was poisoned, and the poison penetrated his bones and was incurable."

Although Shen Tianjiao had already guessed it in her heart, she was still shocked when she heard Ruan Yuhu say it with her own ears.

Who on earth has the courage and ability to poison an emperor?

You must know that the late emperor was not the incompetent Li Rui today. He was a man of considerable means and intelligence. Even at the last moment of his life, he still maintained his clarity and skill.

"The person who poisoned her was the imperial concubine Yang Xueying at the time. Her daughter, Princess Huai'an, was among the girls who died."

"Yang Xueying gave birth to two children, one is Princess Huai'an, and the other is a prince named Li Zhao."

"Both children died in infancy, at the hands of their own father."

"Huai'an died because he violated a taboo, while Li Zhao died because he was concerned."

"The Yang family had lived in Yongning for a long time, and many of their descendants held official positions in the court, making them quite powerful. The late emperor was afraid that after Li Zhao came of age, he would be supported by members of the Yang family and threaten his position, so he had someone else kill Li Zhao when he was still a child."

"The successive deaths of her two children were a huge blow to Yang Xueying. She began to shut herself in, and from her former bright and outgoing self, she became depressed and taciturn."

Ruan Yuhu sighed at this point, "She's quite pitiful, having spent so many years in the palace, half dead and half alive."

"Later, someone told her the truth about the death of her two children, so she started her revenge plan."

"She activated a pawn of the Yang family who served the late emperor, and had that person inflict the late emperor with the most powerful poison in the world, called Tianji Powder."

"The poison was colorless and odorless, and even the poison testers who served daily were unaware of it. By the time they discovered it, it had already penetrated the bone marrow and was ineffective."

Shen Tianjiao sighed deeply after hearing this story. In this deep palace, the emperor's family, calculations are everywhere. Everyone sets traps and kills people for their own interests, but everyone is also a link in this trap, waiting to be exploited by others.

Therefore, this is also the main reason why Shen Tianjiao still dislikes this palace after two lives.

"So what happened to Concubine Yang? There doesn't seem to be any trace of her in the palace."

"What good will come of plotting to murder the emperor? She had already prepared her own path to death before she even did it."

"When she learned that the late emperor had taken ill with poison, she burned down the Mingyue Pavilion where Princess Huai'an once lived, and went to be with her two children."

"Mingyue Pavilion is now known as Qionghua Garden. The concubine poisoned the emperor. This is the greatest shame and humiliation for the imperial family and also the most secret secret."

"Of course, this kind of thing can't be made known to others. Of those who knew about it back then, except for me, everyone else is dead."

Except for Ruan Yuhu, all the others who knew the inside story were buried with the late emperor when he died.

This also once again proves Ruan Yuhu's position in the late emperor's heart and the late emperor's trust in her.

Shen Tianjiao stepped forward and held Ruan Yuhu's hand. Although Ruan Yuhu said it lightly, Shen Tianjiao could still imagine the danger and difficulty at that time.

Ruan Yuhu turned around and looked at Shen Tianjiao, smiled, and said, "It's been many years."

"Yes, it's all in the past." Shen Tianjiao originally wanted to say that such a thing would never happen again, but she really couldn't say it.

Being in this deep palace full of calculations and dangers, no one knows what will happen tomorrow, and any guarantees seem pale and powerless.

"Jiaojiao, what are you going to do with He Wanying? You can't keep her locked up forever, right? After all, on the surface, she has nothing to do with Mu'er's assassination."

"And her father, as the Minister of Works, an official appointed by the imperial court, the crime of condoning his relatives in the assassination of the prince alone is enough to get him killed."

"But the He family is quite influential in the court. If He Ping is killed this time, I'm afraid there will be chaos again. The court is unstable now, and the most feared thing is chaos."

The previous topic was too heavy, so Ruan Yuhu wanted to talk about something else to ease the atmosphere.

However, the matter between He Wanying and He Ping does need to be resolved. The longer it is delayed, the greater the trouble will be.

"Aunt, how about this? Let He Wanying be released first. As for He Ping, although he may be spared the death penalty, he will be punished for his crimes. I will remove him from his position as Minister of Works."

"How about demoting him three levels and sending him to Yanzhou? This is the last respect I can give to the He family."

Ruan Yuhu understood that Shen Tianjiao was going to kill someone with a borrowed knife. The fact that Shen Xinghao led people to Yanzhou to encircle and suppress the remnants of Li Hong had not been made public yet, and no one in the court knew about it.

If He Ping went to Yanzhou, where there was a war, there would inevitably be casualties. If He Ping died at the hands of the rebels, no one could be blamed.

"Well, that's very good." Ruan Yuhu changed the subject and asked, "But, Jiaojiao, even if He Ping died at the hands of the rebels, I'm afraid the He family wouldn't let it go."

"After all, the one who went to Yanzhou to quell the rebellion was the Third Young Master of the Zhenbei Marquisate, your third brother."

"Have you thought of a follow-up strategy? The He family was something the late emperor wanted to eliminate, but he failed. They are much more difficult to deal with than we imagined."

Shen Tianjiao smiled. She had naturally already thought of the subsequent response plan.

"Isn't it that Ling Xifeng is here? I haven't killed him until now, just to wait for today to uproot the He family."

"Ling Xifeng? He Ping's nephew?" Ruan Yuhu only knew that Ling Xifeng was the previous head of the Ministry of Punishment. This man was cruel and ruthless, and did things without leaving any room for others. He was a minion raised by Li Rui.

"Yes, it's Ling Xifeng." Shen Tianjiao looked at Ruan Yuhu and said with a smile, "Auntie probably doesn't know yet, but Ling Xifeng is not only He Wanying's cousin, but also her childhood sweetheart."

"Before He Wanying entered the palace, the two had already pledged their lives to each other, and the elders of both families had also agreed to this."

"If He Wanying's sister hadn't been framed and lost her eligibility to enter the palace, they would have been husband and wife by now."

The secret about He Wanying and Ling Xifeng was discovered by the original body accidentally. Unexpectedly, it has now become the most important factor in bringing down the He family.

"Is there such a thing?" Ruan Yuhu frowned. The harem is really in chaos now. It seems that it is time to clean up the harem. Otherwise, these women will really make trouble.

"Well, the reason Ling Xifeng was able to take the position of Chief of the Ministry of Punishment was not only due to his own abilities and the help of the He family, but also because He Wanying was the one who ultimately made it happen."

"In order to get Ling Xifeng the position of Chief of the Ministry of Punishment, she has been trying to curry favor with Li Rui over the years."

Shen Tianjiao knew very well that He Wanying was a woman who was even more scheming and vicious than Feng Yuanyuan. If she did not use Ling Xifeng to get rid of He Wanying and the He family, He Wanying would definitely be a great disaster in the future.

"Okay, then what do you want to do?" Shen Tianjiao knew what kind of person He Wanying was, and Ruan Yuhu naturally knew it very well as well.

If they want to take action against the He family now, then He Wanying will not be able to stay.

"I'm going to have someone instigate He Wanying to find a way to go to the Ministry of Punishment and deliver the fake death drug to Ling Xifeng. I'm going to use this opportunity to release Ling Xifeng."

"The Ling family is now completely empty, and I was the one who forced his father, Ling Hai, to death. Ling Xifeng, desperate, will definitely go to the palace to find He Wanying and discuss countermeasures with her."

"I'm going to set the trap and wait for Ling Xifeng to come to the palace to find He Wanying. I'll catch them red-handed and leave them with nowhere to defend themselves. I'll convict them of conspiracy and adultery."

"Having an affair with a concubine, plotting rebellion, either of these two things is enough to get the He family beheaded or exiled."

"Although the He family is powerful, they don't have military power. Their power comes from the aristocratic families and the court. But if the affair between He Wanying and Ling Xifeng is exposed and exposed."

"Then everyone close to the He family will choose to distance themselves from them immediately and use public opinion to attack and slander the He family, completely crushing them into the dust."

Shen Tianjiao said this not because she was a prophet, but because she understood and saw through the essence of human nature.

When you are flourishing, everyone wants to add to your glory, but once you lose your power, everyone wants to step on you and leave you in the dust with no chance of recovery.