The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

When Ruan Yuhu returned to Qingfeng Pavilion, something had happened there.

Among the heads of the aristocratic families who were invited to Qingfeng Pavilion for tea, the oldest head of the Zhao family, Zhao Jie, had fainted not long ago.

At this time, there was a panic in Qingfeng Pavilion, and everyone was surrounding Zhao Jie and making a fuss.

Ruan Yuhu stood at the door, listening to the noise inside. He smiled faintly without changing his expression, and walked in.

"What are you arguing about? It's so noisy! This is the imperial palace, not a market. How can you be so loud here?!"

Ruan Yuhu's appearance and voice were not loud, but he exuded an intimidating majesty.

When Ruan Yuhu's voice was heard, the room suddenly became quiet. The people who were shouting and clamoring just now all shut up, as if they were not the ones making the noise.

Ruan Yuhu walked over and glanced at Zhao Jie lying on the ground without even raising his eyelids.

"If someone faints, we should call a doctor. Do you think you guys can wake him up by making a fuss here?"

As soon as Ruan Yuhu finished speaking, an imperial physician stepped forward and said, "Grandfather, I have been guarding outside. When Old Master Zhao fainted just now, I wanted to come in to treat him, but was stopped outside."

"If you can't get in, I can't treat Old Master Zhao."

Everyone in the room stared at the imperial physician who was acting like an actor, their eyes wide open, not knowing how to expose this shameless behavior.

Ruan Yuhu scanned the people in front of him calmly, then ordered coldly: "You should treat Old Master Zhao first."

"Yes, I understand." The imperial physician immediately got busy. After having Zhao Jie carried to the bed, he began to take his pulse.

The room was so quiet that even if a pin drop were to be missed, no sound could be heard. The room was full of people who had seen the world, had once been influential in the court, and now had the final say at home, but not one of them spoke up to defend himself.

Although Ruan Yuhu did not have an official title conferred by the late emperor, all the dignitaries in the capital knew that Ruan Yuhu not only held an extraordinary position in the late emperor's heart, but her status in the harem was also unmatched.

During the time of the previous emperor, although there was a queen in the palace, everyone knew that the person who truly exercised the queen's privileges was this seemingly unnamed woman in front of him.

Although the late queen died of illness, in fact, when she was alive, she was just an accessory to keep up appearances for the late emperor.

She only has the external title of queen, but lacks the honor that a queen should have.

Even after the death of the previous emperor, Empress Dowager Liu took advantage of her status as the emperor's adoptive mother and successfully ascended to the throne.

Although Empress Dowager Liu was arrogant in front of others, she never dared to provoke Ruan Yuhu, let alone put herself above Ruan Yuhu.

Empress Dowager Liu also had to be humble and courteous in front of Ruan Yuhu.

The reason why Ruan Yuhu was able to dominate the harem and be unmatched many years after the death of the previous emperor was nothing but power.

Before his death, the late emperor gave all his secret guards, troops and trump cards to Ruan Yuhu.

Whether it is the secret guards, the army, or the trump cards unknown to outsiders, this is enough to make people fear Ruan Yuhu.

The imperial physician finished his examination quickly and returned to Ruan Yuhu, reporting, "Your Majesty, there's nothing serious wrong with Old Master Zhao. He's just a little weak due to his age."

"Drink a bowl of ginseng soup later, and you'll be fine after you calm down."

"Yeah." Ruan Yuhu's expression looked better after hearing that Zhao Jie was fine.

"Order them to send some more ginseng soup. Those in office are already old, and it would be good for them to drink some ginseng soup to nourish their bodies."

Seeing that Ruan Yuhu didn't say a word to let them leave even when Zhao Jie fainted, the people in the room felt a little depressed.

This woman, who was once very tough, is still as tough as ever.

It seems that she is determined to fight with them this time, and she will not give up until she achieves her goal.

The Queen now controls the government and has always had a bad attitude towards people like them. Now with Ruan Yuhu backing her up, it seems that their lives are going to become even more difficult in the future.

While everyone was still thinking of countermeasures, Zhao Jie woke up at this time.

"Grandpa, Old Master Zhao said he wants to see you." The eunuch came out from the inner room and reported to Ruan Yuhu with his head down.

"Yeah." Ruan Yuhu handed her hand to Ju Ruo and asked Ju Ruo to help her up.

With the support of Ju Ruo, Ruan Yuhu walked into the inner room and saw Zhao Jie who had woken up and was drinking ginseng soup.

Although the people outside did not follow in, they were all listening with their ears pricked up, waiting to listen to the conversation inside.

Everyone held their breath, not daring to even breathe, for fear of missing something.

"Is Mr. Zhao in good health?" Ruan Yuhu sat down on the armchair by the window and asked Zhao Jie, who had recovered after drinking the ginseng soup.

"Thank you for your concern, old man. I am fine now."

Zhao Jie comes from a prominent family. Not only is he older than Ruan Yuhu, he was also a powerful figure in the court.

But at this time, he was willing to lower his status and call Ruan Yuhu "Ancestor" together with the younger generations. It can be said that he was extremely humble.

Ruan Yuhu didn't care about what Zhao Jie called her. She asked, "Is Mr. Zhao feeling unwell in any other way?"

"Do you want a younger member of the Xuan family to come and serve you closely?"

"Thank you for your kindness, old ancestor. It's not necessary." Zhao Jie waved his hand and looked at Ruan Yuhu and said, "I am in good health."

Zhao Jie signaled to the people around him to help him get out of bed. He stood up straight and said to Ruan Yuhu, "Grandfather, I have thought a lot these past two days. The emperor's decision to abolish the private armies of various families is a good thing."

"This will be beneficial to the stability and unity of the country. It will also allow the major families to put aside their grudges against each other. Everyone can work together in a better and more harmonious way, be loyal to the emperor, and work for the welfare of the country."

"I'm old, and my brain was short-circuited for a moment and didn't think about these things. It was when I fainted just now that I suddenly figured it out."

"My Zhao family has approximately 20,000 private soldiers from various branches. I am willing to send all of them to the Xishan camp and let them serve the country."

Ruan Yuhu looked at Zhao Jie, who was a man of insight and wisdom, and nodded with satisfaction. If he had known what was best for him earlier, he wouldn't have to suffer here.

"Old Master Zhao is truly a model of loyalty to the emperor and love for the people. If everyone could be like Old Master Zhao and share the emperor's worries, why would we worry about Yunli not prospering and becoming a strong country?"

"I am here to thank Mr. Zhao for his understanding on behalf of the emperor."

"Jiuruo, tell someone to send Mr. Zhao back home. He's old and has been overworked these past two days. He must be exhausted. Go back and have a good rest."

Ruan Yuhu wore a proper smile on his face. As he stood up to leave, he instructed Ju Ruo, "When you send Mr. Zhao out of the palace, bring him two hundred-year-old mountain ginsengs."

"Yes, the servant understands."

Ju Ruo supported Ruan Yuhu and walked out in a swagger, completely ignoring the old guys in the room who were looking at each other in confusion.

As soon as Ruan Yuhu walked away, Zhao Jie immediately became the target of everyone's attack.

Words like shameless villain, despicable, traitor, etc. are all mild words. There are even more unpleasant and heartbreaking words that are continuously directed at Zhao Jie.

Zhao Jie was not angry. He just sat there quietly waiting for these old guys to scold him enough.

After cursing for a while, those people stopped cursing at some point. It was not because they had cursed enough, but because Zhao Jie's attitude that it had nothing to do with them made them so angry that they could not continue cursing.

"What? You're not cursing anymore. Have you had enough?" After everyone quieted down, Zhao Jie began to speak.

"You can scold me all you want, I just know one thing: life is more important than anything else. He's just a private soldier, so I'll just hand him over."

"My life is gone, what's the point of having those private soldiers?"

"Could it be possible to use them to exchange for my life?"

Zhao Jie looked at the old men in front of him, whose combined age was nearly a thousand years old, and said disdainfully, "The arm can't twist the thigh."

"Do you think that just by sitting here and disagreeing, and fighting to the end, you can force the emperor to change his mind and retract his order?"

"You've all lived to a ripe old age, why are you still unable to recognize reality and wake up?"

"Things are different now. The Emperor's wings have long been full-fledged, and now with the Empress's assistance, the world of Yunli belongs to him."

"Is there nothing he can do to our noble families?"

"The Emperor is simply considering our relationship and wants us to voluntarily hand over those private soldiers to save our dignity."

"We are resisting to the end today and refusing to surrender. Can't the Emperor use his heavy troops to knock on your doors tomorrow and force you to obey?"

"Don't forget, the Marquis of Zhenbei has returned to the Northern Frontier, but are the 50,000 soldiers in the West Mountain Camp vegetarians?"

"They are all the direct descendants of the Marquis of Zhenbei and obey the orders of the Empress."

Zhao Jie's words instantly made those old stubborn people wake up as if they had been enlightened.

Yes, things are different now. Their emperor is a scheming person. Who among them has not seen his methods?

He gave them a huge favor by not sending troops immediately to their respective homes to embarrass them.

What Zhao Jie said is right. Nothing is more important than life. If you have lost your life, what is the use of those private soldiers?

The arm can never twist the thigh. Under the pressure of imperial power, these aristocratic families are nothing more than insignificant pawns.

Zhao Jie looked at the old stubborn people in front of him, who had different expressions and were all feeling uneasy. He stood up and said, "I am going to go back now. I will stay here with you to cultivate your character."

"Before we part, I have a few words from the heart to say to you all."

"Prince Qing Li Hong, Duke Chen Qian Wanhe, which of these two isn't someone who can stir up the Yunli situation?"

"But what does it matter now? One of them was already beheaded in Zhenghe Hall, and the other is now a prisoner. If nothing unexpected happens, he will also be beheaded and displayed to the public soon."

"This person should have self-knowledge. When it's time to give up, you must know how to give up. Otherwise, it would be fine if you die, but it would be bad if it affects the whole family."

After Zhao Jie said this, he left, leaving everyone in the room looking at each other in bewilderment. Each of them was thinking about what Zhao Jie had just said.

Yun Li’s current master is no longer the master they could control.

It's time for them to think about where to go next.

After Zhao Jie left, he did not leave the palace and go home, but was brought to Ruan Yuhu.

Ruan Yuhu was very satisfied with Zhao Jie's performance today. She was right about him. This old fox was still an old fox. Even though he was no longer the same as before, he could still control everyone with ease.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Mr. Zhao. I will talk to the Queen myself."

"As long as the Zhao family behaves well, doesn't cause trouble, and firmly supports the emperor, I promise you that the Zhao family will always be among the aristocratic families of Yunli, and nothing will change."

Zhao Jie fainted today, it was just a play that he and Ruan Yuhu had agreed upon in advance, just to show it to those people, to remind them and make them realize the situation.

"This old minister assures me that my Zhao family will be absolutely loyal to the Emperor and Empress and will assist His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. We will never dare to harbor any second thoughts."

Zhao Jie quickly bowed his head to show his loyalty. Although the scene just now was an act, what he said was true.

He entered the officialdom at the age of seventeen and became the head of the Zhao family at the age of twenty-five. After experiencing decades of ups and downs, he was able to keep the Zhao family standing strong today. How could he be an old fool who is not in his right mind?

The best thing Zhao Jie did in his life was to stand in the right position and support Li Rui in the battle for the throne that year.

The Zhao family, which was originally an inconspicuous small family, has become one of the major families in just over a decade.

How could he make a wrong judgment for the sake of some private soldiers at this time, causing himself and the Zhao family to lose this hard-earned honor and favor?

"Well, Mr. Zhao, don't worry. As long as the Zhao family doesn't harbor any ulterior motives, they will continue to support the Emperor and Empress, and will be able to assist the Crown Prince and serve as his right-hand man."

"Not only does your Zhao family have a place among Yunli's aristocratic families, but your Zhao family will also have a place in Yunli's court."

Ruan Yuhu had a deeper intention in winning over the Zhao family, besides helping Shen Tianjiao out of trouble.

Now Shen Tianjiao has become the regent and is handling state affairs, and Li Rui is dead. In the near future, Shen Tianjiao will assist her son Li Muyang to ascend the throne and become emperor.

Li Muyang is still young and has no way to rule the country. He still needs his mother, Queen Shen Tianjiao, to take charge of state affairs on his behalf.