The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"Is her biological mother still alive?" Marquis Zhenbei frowned. If the child's biological mother was still alive, wouldn't it be a waste of raising her?

The Marquis of Zhenbei is just like all parents in the world. He becomes petty and calculative whenever something concerns his children.

"Father, An An's biological mother is a very sensible person. After she sent her child to me, she never came to Yuxiu Palace again."

"Although she comes from a humble background, she understands the rules and knows when to advance and retreat better than many people from wealthy families."

"She gave An An to me as her daughter sincerely. She won't interfere with me and separate An An anymore. This daughter won't be raised in vain."

How could Shen Tianjiao not know what the Marquis of Zhenbei was thinking? Her father had lived an upright and kind life. Although he was a general who was decisive in killing people, he often helped others and rescued those in need.

What he was worried about now was that An An's biological mother was still alive and would sow discord between him and An An in the future, causing the relationship between them to become estranged. He was even more afraid that he would be wronged because of this matter in the future.

"Jiaojiao, people change." The Marquis of Zhenbei sighed as he looked at his daughter, completely losing the joy he had when he first saw An An.

"Father, people do change, but you must also believe that the child your daughter raises will not be naive, but a child who can distinguish right from wrong and understands reason."

Shen Tianjiao smiled and comforted the Marquis of Zhenbei. She did not tell the Marquis of Zhenbei what Ruan Yuhu said because she was afraid that he would think too much.

"That's true." Marquis Zhenbei nodded in agreement. How could the daughter raised by his Marquis Zhenbei Mansion be bad?

"Okay, Dad, let's not talk about An An anymore." Shen Tianjiao looked at Zhenbei Hou and said, "Brother will be back soon, and we have to arrange the detoxification for him right away."

"Has the person been caught?" When Zhenbei Hou heard that Shen Yiyang had to be detoxified, his expression became serious and nervous.

"They caught him right away. Qiu Tong went there personally." Shen Tianjiao has always recognized Qiu Tong's abilities.

"My daughter is not talking about this matter now, but about you."

"My business? What's my business?" Marquis Zhenbei looked at Shen Tianjiao in confusion and asked.

"It's been a while since you returned to the capital. Apart from the day you returned, you haven't been seen since then. There's already a lot of speculation in the capital."

"Now that your grandson is the crown prince, if you don't show up in front of everyone, it will definitely arouse their suspicion."

"Now is a time of great turmoil. Any rumors that are unfavorable to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion will cause panic."

"Besides," Shen Tianjiao hesitated for a moment, then continued, "and Li Zhaohui will be coming out soon. If you stand in front of everyone, you can intimidate her and prevent her from acting recklessly."

"Li Zhaohui is coming out? How is that possible?" Zhenbei Hou looked at Shen Tianjiao in shock. "The late emperor issued a decree to imprison her for life. Who would dare to let her out?"

"Father, the late emperor has been dead for so many years, and now everything has changed."

"It's my daughter who wants to release Li Zhaohui."

After Shen Tianjiao said this, she stopped talking. She was ready to be scolded. After all, Li Chaohui was not an ordinary dangerous person.

"Did she force you to do it?" Marquis Zhenbei immediately guessed that Shen Tianjiao was forced into this situation.

Shen Tianjiao did not receive a scolding from the Marquis of Zhenbei, but instead received his concern, which made her feel warm in her heart.

"Yes, she set a trap for me, and now I have no choice but to find a way to let her out."

"But even if I don't let her go, she will find ways to break free from the trap that the late emperor has imprisoned her in. If that happens, the situation will only become more dangerous."

"If I let her out, then at least for the time being she would be cautious and wouldn't dare to rebel openly."

"The late emperor shouldn't have been so soft-hearted and let her go. Raising a tiger will eventually bring trouble." The Marquis of Zhenbei shook his head and smiled bitterly, "It's better this way. We will have to face it sooner or later anyway. The sooner it is resolved, the sooner we can rest in peace."

"Although my father doesn't know how much power she has secretly cultivated over the years, no matter how powerful she is, no matter how many people she has under her command."

"Jiaojiao, you don't have to worry. As long as my father and the Zhenbei Marquisate are here, Li Zhaohui will never be able to turn things around."

What a joke. He, Shen Lin, is the commander-in-chief of the army who is in charge of all Yun Li’s troops. If you want to bully his daughter, you have to ask his fist if it agrees.

"Yes, daughter knows." Although Shen Tianjiao is capable of dealing with Li Chaohui, her father's words still make her feel very safe.

"Father, the most important thing for you now is to take good care of your health. Only when you are in good health will others not dare to bully your daughter."

"Don't worry, Jiaojiao. Father knows." The Marquis of Zhenbei nodded. "Jiaojiao, what you just said is indeed a big problem. Father can't go out now. Those people won't be able to wait until the poison in Father's body is completely cleared."

"Do you think this is feasible? Your second brother's stature is most similar to Daddy's. For the time being, let him pretend to be Daddy and deal with those people."

Shen Tingzhi, who had not yet returned home, had no idea that his father and sister had already arranged a job for him before he came back, and it was a very difficult job.

Shen Tianjiao lowered her head and thought for a moment, then raised her head and said, "Okay, my daughter thinks this is a good idea."

Although Shen Tianjiao had never met Shen Tingzhi, since her father said so, it must be correct.

"Okay, then when your second brother comes back, have him pretend to be Dad and enter the palace. This is the best way to prove to those people that Dad is safe and sound."

Marquis Zhenbei has always recognized the ability of his second son. With Shen Tingzhi's help, Marquis Zhenbei can continue to detoxify and recuperate with peace of mind.

"Okay, let's do it." Shen Tianjiao stood up and looked at Zhenbei Hou and said, "Father, you can't be too tired now. You should rest for a while and then go next door to see Chaoyun."

"Well, go ahead." Marquis Zhenbei nodded at Shen Tianjiao, indicating that she didn't need to worry about him.

When Shen Tianjiao walked to the next door, she saw Bai Yunchi sitting outside the door and taking a nap. Shen Tianjiao looked at Bai Yunchi and felt a little guilty. He had indeed worked too hard these days.

Although she was reluctant, Shen Tianjiao still woke up Bai Yunchi. Bai Yunchi rubbed his eyes and when he saw Shen Tianjiao standing in front of him, he quickly stood up and greeted her.

"No thanks." Shen Tianjiao stopped Bai Yunchi from bowing and greeting her. "Thank you for your hard work. Go and have a rest. I just have something to tell Chaoyun."

"Yes, thank you, Her Majesty, for your consideration." Bai Yunchi did not refuse Shen Tianjiao's kindness. He was indeed exhausted these days.

"Well, go ahead. Don't worry about this place. I'll ask someone to take over from you later." Shen Tianjiao looked at Bai Yunchi in front of her. He didn't look like a dandy anymore. It turned out that people cannot grow up without experiencing things.

If Bai Qishan saw Bai Yunchi's current appearance, he probably wouldn't believe it. She has lived up to her trust.

After seeing Bai Yunchi off, Shen Tianjiao went into the house. The two little girls who were ordered to guard here saw Shen Tianjiao coming in and quickly stood up to greet her.

Shen Tianjiao waved her hand, signaling them to keep quiet and go outside.

The two little girls understood and immediately tiptoed out of the room.

Shen Tianjiao walked to the bed and sat down, looking at Chaoyun who was still in a coma. After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and took her pulse.

Because of the battlefield in her previous life, Shen Tianjiao learned some medical skills from military doctors. Although her skills were not very advanced, she was still able to handle the disease with ease by looking at the pulse.

You don't know until you feel it. Shen Tianjiao was shocked when she felt Chao Yun's pulse. Chao Yun's pulse was intermittent, and it was obvious that he was extremely weak.

I really don't know how this girl has managed to hold on until now. If it were someone else, they would have died based on the pulse condition now.

Shen Tianjiao withdrew her hand and looked at Chaoyun. In fact, her feelings towards Chaoyun were still very complicated.

Chao Yun was the one who harmed her first, so she should have hated her. But now Chao Yun has become like this in order to save her father, which makes Shen Tianjiao feel guilty.

Chao Yun, who was sleeping very uneasily in bed, woke up from a nightmare and the first thing he saw was Shen Tianjiao.

"Empress, why are you here?" Chao Yun spoke in a very weak voice. She supported her weak body and tried to get up.

But Shen Tianjiao pushed him back and said, "If you feel unwell, just lie down. There's no need to get up."

Chao Yun was really out of energy and strength, and didn't want to say anything, so he just lay down obediently.

"Chao Yun, I'm asking you, you have to tell the truth honestly." Shen Tianjiao looked at Chao Yun seriously.

Chao Yun was confused by Shen Tianjiao's sudden question. She was a little flustered and didn't know what Shen Tianjiao was going to ask her.

"Your Majesty, please ask me. I will definitely know everything."

"Okay, then I'll ask." Shen Tianjiao looked at Chao Yun and asked, "If the Gu you've had in your body since childhood leaves your body and you detoxify someone else, will it endanger your own life?"

Chao Yun opened her eyes wide and looked at Shen Tianjiao. She didn't expect Shen Tianjiao to ask her such a question. For a moment, she didn't know how to answer.

Seeing Chao Yun remained silent, Shen Tianjiao knew that her guess was correct.

"You knew from the beginning that if you tried to detoxify my father, your life would be in danger, right?"

Faced with Shen Tianjiao's questioning, Chao Yun didn't know what to say except to remain silent. She volunteered to detoxify the Marquis of Zhenbei, and she didn't want anyone to feel guilty about her.

"You knew this would happen, so why did you do this?" Although it was Shen Tianjiao who forced Chao Yun to detoxify the Marquis of Zhenbei, Chao Yun could have easily deceived Shen Tianjiao and saved his own life.

Or he could betray Lady Yu, let Shen Tianjiao capture Lady Yu, and let Lady Yu detoxify Marquis Zhenbei.

But Chao Yun did not choose either of these two options. Instead, she used her own life as the price to detoxify the Marquis of Zhenbei. This made Shen Tianjiao at a loss as to what to do.

"Zhao Yun has always been deeply sinful. This is just to alleviate some of the sins in his heart."

Chao Yun looked up at Shen Tianjiao. In fact, she was still very grateful to Shen Tianjiao in her heart. She had hurt Shen Tianjiao, but Shen Tianjiao did not hold a grudge and even cared about her life and death.

Another thing is that her status is low, and few people in this world care about her life or death. Even the master who raised her since she was a child was just using her.

But now Shen Tianjiao cares about her life and death, how can she not feel grateful?

"Your Highness, there's no need to feel guilty. Even if this poison doesn't leave my body and I don't detoxify the Marquis, I won't live long."

"Why? Hasn't this Gu been in your body since you were a child?"

After asking this question, Shen Tianjiao suddenly remembered the lover's Gu planted in Li Rui's body. Chao Yun had said that the Gu would stay in Li Rui's body and feed on Li Rui's flesh and blood. In the end, it would hollow out Li Rui's internal organs and turn him into a mere shell and die.

Thinking of this, Shen Tianjiao couldn't help but shudder. Raising a Gu in one's own body is probably the cruelest thing in the world.

Chao Yun gave a bitter smile and said, "This is the fate of every Gu breeder. No one can escape it."

"What about Madam Yu? If she and Shen Pingzhi are old acquaintances, then she should be quite old. Isn't she still alive and well now?"

Shen Tianjiao looked at Chaoyun in confusion, not understanding why Lady Yu could let her survive but Chaoyun couldn't.

As long as Lady Yu can survive, then Chao Yun should also be able to survive.

"She is still alive, but the price of her life is too high and too cruel."

Thinking of the methods that Lady Yu used to survive, Chao Yun couldn't help but shudder.

"She's still alive because every once in a while, she'll find a child and drain their blood. This ensures she has enough blood and essence in her body to feed the Gu King."

"The Gu in her body has been nurturing for a long time, so it has become a King Gu. King Gu is very toxic, but it also requires more blood and essence."

"So even if she drinks the boy's blood after a while, it can only slow down, but not stop, the Gu King's erosion of her body."

"That face already looked like that of a frail old man on his deathbed. It was just a mask of human skin covering up his true features."

Shen Tianjiao felt sick after hearing this. The person who took a child's life to prolong his own life had such a vicious mind that he really deserved to be struck by lightning.

Ever since Shen Tianjiao became a mother and had two children, Li Muyang and Li Muyan, she has become more soft-hearted and can't stand hearing such things.

This Lady Yu cannot be kept alive. If she is allowed to live, it would be unfair to the children she killed.

"You must stay alive and hold on. I will immediately send people to Miaojiang. Since humans can raise Gu, there must be a way to break it."

No matter what, Shen Tianjiao wanted to give it a try and let Chaoyun survive.