The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

However, if Shen Tianjiao does not deal with the Duke of Tang's Mansion, she will not only be charged with unfairness and favoritism.

There is also the possibility that the court officials will attack him collectively, or even more frighteningly, someone will take the opportunity to cause trouble and use this incident to change the fate of the Qian family.

Shen Tianjiao finally got the evidence of Qian Wanhe's crime this time and put him in jail to kill him.

If things change and cannot be carried out at this critical moment, then it will be extremely difficult for her to deal with Qian Wanhe in the future.

Shen Tianjiao was filled with regret at this moment. If she had known this would happen, she should not have let the Zheng family get involved.

Now that she has gotten into this kind of trouble, she is really overwhelmed.

"Go and invite the ancestor over." Whenever Shen Tianjiao was in doubt, the first person she thought of was Ruan Yuhu.

"Yes, I'll go right away." Xia He ran out immediately after hearing Shen Tianjiao's order.

Chunchao stayed and helped Shen Tianjiao change clothes and wash up.

On the way here, Ruan Yuhu had already heard what Xia He had said.

At that time, she was thinking of handing this matter over to the Zheng family. She just wanted to let the Huaiwang Mansion and the Tangguogong Mansion fight among themselves and consume the power of both sides.

How could Ruan Yuhu not know what these two families were thinking? They both wanted to rely on the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion and submit to Shen Tianjiao.

But neither of these two families is easy to deal with. One has been domineering in the capital for many years, and the other is also not easy to deal with despite relying on the protection of his ancestors.

Before the Zheng family was granted the title, they were bandits who robbed and looted and committed all kinds of evil. They were conquered by Taizu that year because he was a brave and powerful general and was needed at the right time.

Instead of taking his life, he was allowed to lead troops in battle and make achievements to forgive his crime.

So Yunli now had a capable and brave general who spared no effort to expand Yunli's territory.

After Yunli founded the country, Taizu, in recognition of his merits, granted him the title of King of Huai and enfeoffed him in Huai.

However, due to various reasons, the Zheng family stayed in Shangjing and never went to their fiefdom.

From then on, there was a new family in Shangjing City, the tyrannical and unreasonable Zheng family.

The reason why the Gong family was able to leap from being a commoner to becoming a noble family and become one of the Yunli aristocratic families was because of this.

This is because there was a very remarkable person among the ancestors of the Gong family, who was not only extremely talented but also extremely courageous.

Not only did he help Emperor Taizong of the time quell the civil strife, but he also single-handedly debated with many scholars and ensured the legitimacy of imperial power.

It laid the foundation for Yun Li's stability.

Emperor Taizong, grateful for his merits, made an exception and promoted him to a higher position, making him a marquis and appointing him as prime minister to recognize his merits.

However, in order to appease the dissatisfaction of the aristocratic families and powerful people, it was stipulated that the title of Duke of Tang could only be inherited for three generations. After three generations, if the descendants held official positions, they would be treated according to their official positions. If they did not hold official positions, they would be treated the same as ordinary people.

The ancestor was very capable, but his descendants were less capable than each other.

Especially when it came to Gong Chenghai, the Duke of Tang's Mansion was in chaos.

Gong Chenghai has five brothers, and except for himself, the other four have problems.

Since they all want to rely on the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion and be loyal to Shen Tianjiao, they must be reshuffled and changed.

All the fierceness, cruelty, cowardice, and disloyalty of the past must be completely eliminated.

Otherwise, even if you use them, you will not feel at ease.

But Ruan Yuhu really did not expect that the current situation would come about. At this moment, Ruan Yuhu was also very troubled and regretted that he should not have been so careless in handing this matter over to the Zheng family.

The three generations of the Zheng family are all stupid and do things without considering the consequences. They really only cause trouble to others.

When Ruan Yuhu arrived, Shen Tianjiao had already finished washing up and was waiting.

"Aunt." Seeing Ruan Yuhu coming, Shen Tianjiao quickly stood up and supported her.

"Well, Jiaojiao'er, it was all because of my aunt's inconsiderateness that caused the disaster today."

Ruan Yuhu was blaming herself at this moment. It was all because of her momentary carelessness that Shen Tianjiao was in trouble.

"Aunt, there's no need to blame yourself. I originally agreed to this matter. If you say I was wrong, I can't escape it."

"Now is not the time to find out who is right or wrong. The most important thing now is to find a way to save the lives of Gong's family."

"Gong Jianzhou is now my second brother's man. We can't let the Gong family be exiled to the frontier because of this incident. If that happens, my second brother will have a hard time living in the capital."

"But the crime Gong Chengyu committed this time is indeed a capital crime that will implicate the entire clan."

"If I don't punish the Gong family, I will definitely not be able to stand in the court."

"Those court officials who are always looking for trouble will definitely take this opportunity to attack me and cause trouble."

Shen Tianjiao was not afraid that the court officials would cause trouble, but the current situation was special, so it was better to avoid trouble if possible.

"Well, this is indeed a difficult problem." Ruan Yuhu nodded and said, "This is indeed a big problem."

"Jiaojiao, don't worry. Wait until Gong Chenghai comes and see what he says. Maybe we'll find a solution."

Not only did the Zheng family kill Gong Chengyu, they also hang him on the city gate tower and describe Gong Chengyu's crimes in detail.

Now I am afraid that this matter has not spread throughout the entire Shangjing City, but it has probably spread to half of the Shangjing City.

The Zheng family is really a bunch of bad teammates. They are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything.

Before Shen Tianjiao and Ruan Yuhu could come to a conclusion, Gong Chenghai arrived with Gong Jianzhou.

Shen Tianjiao looked at the father and son of the Gong family kneeling in front of her, and felt very uncomfortable with a breath of resentment in her heart.

"Gong Chenghai, do you admit your guilt?"

Gong Chenghai, who was already panicking, was completely frightened by Shen Tianjiao's question. He was trembling so much that he couldn't even open his mouth.

Gong Jianzhou looked at his useless father, sighed silently in his heart, and said, "Reporting to the Queen, my father did not manage the family strictly, which led to Gong Chengyu getting into such a disaster."

"It's too late to say anything now. We are willing to plead guilty and accept any punishment without complaint or regret."

Ruan Yuhu looked up at Gong Jianzhou who was answering on behalf of Gong Chenghai. This kid was much better than his useless father.

If it is wrong, it is wrong. Don't defend yourself or make excuses to shirk responsibility, but be willing to accept any punishment.

This kind of courage and responsibility is what a family head should have.

Looking at Gong Jianzhou, Ruan Yuhu suddenly had an idea in his mind.

An idea that could not only exonerate the Gong family but also prevent Shen Tianjiao from being attacked and troubled by those court officials.

Shen Tianjiao looked at Gong Chenghai, who was kneeling on the ground and shaking all over, and couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.

How can such a person deserve to hold a high position?

Not to mention asking him to share the country's worries, he can't even take care of his own family.

No wonder I heard people say before that Gong Chenghai was a fool, a fool, who did not do his job properly. Every day he was calculating what kind of backer he should find to keep his family's title of Duke of Tang.

Now it seems that those rumors were not groundless and there is clear evidence to support them.

Although he was such an incompetent man, he raised a pretty good son.

But if the father is immoral, even if his son is intelligent, it will be of no use.

Before Shen Tianjiao could even open her mouth, Ruan Yuhu spoke first, "Gong Jianzhou, you discovered evidence that Gong Chengyu was colluding with the Xirong people and betraying the country, so you killed him for the sake of justice."

"And then hang his body on the city gate tower, making his crimes public, right?"

When Ruan Yuhu said this, the remaining three people in the room were stunned.

But after a moment, Shen Tianjiao understood why Ruan Yuhu said that.

Whether Gong Chengyu was killed by someone else or by his own nephew who killed him for the sake of justice, the result would be different.

If the murder was committed by someone else, the Gong family would be hard to escape the blame. Gong Chenghai would not only be charged with failing to manage the family properly and failing to discipline his children, he could even be falsely accused of being an accomplice in the conspiracy.

In this way, the Gong family's guilt was set in stone, and there was no possibility of escaping the charges.

However, if Gong Chengyu's own nephews discovered evidence of his collusion with the Xirong people and his betrayal of the country, they would kill him for the sake of justice.

Then the matter is another matter. Although Gong Chenghai did not discipline his child strictly and allowed a traitor to appear in his family, his son hated evil and would not cover up for Gong Chengyu and evade his guilt just because he was his uncle.

Instead, he disregarded family ties and killed Gong Chengyu, a traitor who was despicable to everyone, to eliminate the harm to Yun Li.

Not afraid of his family being punished, he hung Gong Chengyu's body on the city gate tower, making his crimes public to serve as a warning to the world.

In this way, although the Gong family produced a traitor who was guilty, they also produced an upright and selfless person who was concerned about the country and disregarded his own family honor and disgrace and was willing to sacrifice his relatives for the sake of justice.

If the merits and demerits were to offset each other, the Duke of Tang's Mansion would be punished. However, although they would be punished, they would not be imprisoned. The entire family would be exiled to the frontier.

Shen Tianjiao, who understood Ruan Yuhu's intention, looked up at Gong Jianzhou and said, "Gong Jianzhou, did you hear what the ancestor said clearly?"

"Gong Chengyu was killed without hesitation because you discovered that he was colluding with the Xirong people and betraying his country, so you put down your own family for the sake of justice."

"In order to warn the world, and without regard for the reputation of the Duke of Tang's Mansion, they hung his body on the city gate tower and made his crimes public, right?"

Gong Jianzhou, who was still confused and didn't understand the situation, understood it instantly after being reminded by Shen Tianjiao. After all, he was not a fool and could still understand what was being said.

"Yes, I was reckless. I beg the Queen to forgive me."

"I should hand Gong Chengyu over to the Jingzhao Yin, have him investigate the facts, and then report to the higher authorities so that he can face the punishment of the state law."

"Instead of impulsively killing him out of grief, anger, and shame after discovering his crimes."

"I have committed a grave crime by killing someone without permission. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

He is indeed a smart man, a teachable boy. Ruan Yuhu looked at Gong Jianzhou and nodded with satisfaction.

He then looked at Gong Chenghai, who was still lying on the ground, and said, "Gong Chenghai, what should be said in Zhenghe Hall later? Your son understands. Do you understand?"

"You need to think clearly about what to say and what not to say. This concerns the life and death of the Gong family. You can't be careless."

"Your Majesty, your Majesty knows. You know what to say. You will never speak nonsense."

Gong Chenghai broke out in cold sweat and was almost fainting.

It was only after listening to Gong Jianzhou's words that he figured out what Ruan Yuhu had just said.

The Queen wants to save their entire family and give them a chance to survive.

As long as his family can survive, he will accept whatever he says, even if it costs him half his life, without complaint.

"Gong Jianzhou, on behalf of the Gong family of over 300 people, expresses his gratitude to the Empress and our ancestors for their great kindness."

Gong Jianzhou then kowtowed to Shen Tianjiao and Ruan Yuhu to express his gratitude.

"Alright, get up, help your father up too. You two can go to the side hall to rest for a while and wait to go to Zhenghe Hall later."

Ruan Yuhu nodded and asked Gong Jianzhou and Gong Chenghai to leave. The Gong family's affairs had been resolved, and he and Shen Tianjiao still had to clean up the mess for them.

Gong Jianzhou helped Gong Chenghai up from the ground, and the two left.

"This Zheng Guang is also a useless person. I will have him summoned to the palace later. It's time to give him some advice."

"It will also prevent him from doing things like what happened today in the future. If the disaster gets serious, there will be no one to help him deal with the aftermath."

Thinking of Zheng Guang, Ruan Yuhu became angry. He is already an old man, why is he still so unstable?

The affairs of the court were already too numerous to worry about, and he just added fuel to the fire, creating such a big trouble for no reason.

"Well, it's time to give him some advice and let him take good care of himself and Zheng Chuang."

"He has already expressed his intention to submit to my second brother. Although the power of the Huai Palace is not as great as before, it is still an existence that cannot be ignored."

"Zheng Guang's willingness to surrender is naturally a good thing."

"But we must have someone who can suppress Zheng Guang. We can't let the Huai Palace do whatever it wants without any scruples like before."

"As for what happens next, it all depends on what Zheng Guang does. As long as he behaves himself and doesn't step out of line, he'll be able to keep the splendor and wealth of the Huai Palace."

"But if he doesn't change his old ways and still acts so recklessly, then you can't blame me for being cruel."

Shen Tianjiao had weighed the pros and cons in her mind. Her foundation was unstable now. Although she was majestic in the court, she lacked authority. Most of the court officials were not convinced of her.

Therefore, she must now unite all the forces she can to consolidate her foundation. Only when her foundation is solid can Li Muyang ascend the throne smoothly in the future.