The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"Empress." Seeing Shen Tianjiao coming out, Chunchao hurried over to support her.

"Well, let's go back." Shen Tianjiao let out a long sigh, as if she wanted to spit out all the depression in her heart.

Looking up, she saw Qingye standing quietly beside her with his head lowered. Shen Tianjiao instructed, "Take good care of Concubine Chun. If she needs anything, go to Yuxiu Palace and let her know."

"The servant understands."

On the way back, Shen Tianjiao said nothing. Chunchao secretly glanced at his master's face but didn't dare to ask.

"Humph! What's wrong with stealing your things? You are lucky that this prince likes your things. Not only your things, but you yourself will be my slave in the future. My mother said that I want to be the emperor in the future, and the whole world will belong to me."

"You're just a lowly bastard. What do you have to fight me with?"

"Just because you're fostered under the Queen's name? Humph! She herself is not favored by the Emperor. How can she protect you if she can't even protect herself?"

"I tell you, she's going to die soon. As soon as she dies, my mother will become the queen."

"If you know what's good for you, beg for mercy and lie on the ground for me to ride like a dog. Then maybe I'll relent and spare your life."

These unreasonable and arrogant words cheered up the depressed Shen Tianjiao.

Li Rui had few children, only two sons and one daughter. In the harem, there was probably no one else who dared to speak so rudely and look down on him, except for the second prince Li Minghua born to Feng Yuanyuan.

"No!" Before Shen Tianjiao could react, another slightly childish and weak voice sounded first.

"What can't you do?" The second prince Li Minghua asked in confusion, looking at his half-brother who had the same father but looked much younger than him.

"The Queen will not die. She is a good person and will live a long and healthy life."

Shen Tianjiao stopped moving forward, her heart was shaken like never before.

The child who protected her was Li Rui's eldest son, the eldest prince Li Muyang, who was fostered under her name.

Li Muyang's biological mother was of humble origin and was a low-ranking palace maid beside the Empress Dowager. She gave birth to Li Muyang because of Li Rui's ridiculous behavior after being drunk.

Women of humble origins had no status in the harem, so even though Li Muyang was Li Rui's first son, he did not receive much preferential treatment.

The people in the harem have always treated people differently based on their status. Because they were not favored, the mother and son had a very difficult life.

Later, Li Muyang's biological mother fell ill. Li Muyang, who was less than four years old at the time, was inspired by someone and ran to Yuxiu Palace to ask Shen Tianjiao to save his mother.

Shen Tianjiao sent people to treat Li Muyang's biological mother, but her illness at the time was incurable and she ultimately died.

When Li Muyang's biological mother died, she was still a palace maid with no official rank.

Shen Tianjiao sympathized with Li Muyang's situation, so she went to ask the empress dowager to give Li Muyang's biological mother the title of Rongpin.

Later, because Shen Tianjiao and Li Rui had been married for many years without having children, the Empress Dowager sent Li Muyang to be fostered under Shen Tianjiao's name.

Unfortunately, in her previous life, Shen Tianjiao was always caught up in the love affair with Li Rui, and she did not pay much attention to the child. Instead of raising the child by her side, she gave the child to the governess in the palace.

After her death, the child naturally could not escape a tragic fate and was poisoned to death by Feng Yuanyuan at a young age.

Seeing Li Muyang defending her like this today, Shen Tianjiao suddenly felt guilty. He was a good child, but he lost his life in vain just because she did not fulfill her responsibilities and obligations.

Being entangled in love and indulging in love between men and women is indeed harmful, not only to oneself but also to others.

It is better to be sober and independent, and not give away your feelings casually. It is better to be a ruthless woman who does not depend on men.

"Second Prince, you are so arrogant! I am still alive and well, yet you want me to die. Unfortunately, I am destined not to fulfill your wish."

Shen Tianjiao's sudden appearance made everyone present change their expressions.

In an instant, everyone knelt down, and Li Minghua, who had been arrogant and domineering just now, was now panicked.

Shen Tianjiao walked up to Li Muyang and pulled him up. Looking at the child who was obviously malnourished and too thin, her heart ached and her eyes became wet.

She gently stroked the wound on Li Muyang's face and asked, "Tell mother, who beat you?"

Li Muyang looked at Shen Tianjiao timidly, shook his head and replied: "No, no one, I did it accidentally."

"Did you do it by accident?" Shen Tianjiao frowned. "Then you're quite willing to do it. You can be so cruel to yourself."

"Mother, the wound on your face was not caused by you. Someone else must have hit you on purpose."

"Second Prince, is what I said true or false?"

"Empress, he said he did it himself. What does it have to do with me!" Although Li Minghua was frightened when he saw Shen Tianjiao, his spoiled and domineering nature would not allow him to admit his mistake so easily.

"Is this how Concubine Feng taught you the rules? You don't call yourself a son or a minister in front of your stepmother, you don't kneel and pay your respects, and you even call yourself a prince?"

"You don't even take me, your legitimate mother, seriously, how can you take your own brother seriously?"

Shen Tianjiao stood up, shook Li Muyang's hand, and said with a disdainful glance at the kneeling person in front of her: "Feng Guifei is still in her own palace reflecting on her mistakes. As the Empress of the Central Palace, I have the right and responsibility to discipline her son on her behalf."

"Chunchao, first kill all the servants and maids who serve the eldest prince. As servants, they do not serve their masters wholeheartedly, and they even dare to collude with outsiders to abuse the empress's son. Such disloyalty and unrighteousness must be punished like this, as a warning to others."

"Those around the Second Prince will also be beaten and killed. A servant should behave like a servant. If they do not serve their master wholeheartedly and instead encourage their master to do evil, they should be killed."

"And send the Second Prince to the Reformatory. If Concubine Feng can't teach him, then let someone else teach him some proper manners. As a son, he's being disrespectful to his mother. As a younger brother, he's not only disrespectful to his older brother, but he even dares to bully him. Is this a plan to cause chaos?"

"Not only would a prince do such a thing, even an ordinary, well-educated child wouldn't dare to do it. If we don't discipline him properly now, he won't be able to serve the country in the future, and it would be a blessing for the country if he doesn't cause trouble."