The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Seeing that Marquis Zhenbei was anxious, Shen Tianjiao shook her head helplessly. Her father would never be able to change his impatient temper in his lifetime.

"Dad, don't be so anxious. We need to think about this matter carefully."

"What do you mean by long-term planning? Jiaojiao, don't play dumb with Daddy."

"You must give Dad a clear answer today, otherwise Dad will be angry."

Marquis Zhenbei knew Shen Tianjiao's thoughts very well. He could understand his daughter's painstaking efforts, but for him, it would be more enjoyable to let him continue to fight on the battlefield rather than letting him spend his retirement doing nothing in Shangjing.

"Dad, please don't be angry. Can you just listen to me?"

Faced with her father who has become like an old child, Shen Tianjiao can only coax him to come.

"Father, it's not that I don't agree to let you go to Nanchu. You know the current situation. Once a multinational war breaks out, someone must guard Shangjing."

"Tell me, besides you, can you find another person?"

Shen Tianjiao's words made Zhenbei Hou silent. What Shen Tianjiao said was indeed the truth. His purpose of returning from the Northern Frontier was to take charge and stabilize the political situation.

If he left and was not in Shangjing, what would happen if there was chaos in Shangjing?

In the past, he could ignore the situation in Shangjing, but now he can't, because this country belongs to his grandson, and his responsibility to stay in Shangjing is to protect this country for his grandson and let him sit firmly on this country.

Seeing the lost look of Zhenbei Hou, Shen Tianjiao felt unbearable in her heart.

So she began to comfort the Marquis of Zhenbei again, "Father, everything is hard to say. Maybe when the situation changes, you can go and attack Nanchu."

"Father, even if I agree to it now, you might not be able to go. Let's just take it one step at a time."

"I promise you that if the situation allows, I will definitely fulfill your wish, okay?"

Now that things have come to this, what else can Zhenbei Hou say? He can only let go of his obsession and wait quietly.

"Father, I have something else to discuss with you."

"What's the matter? Tell me." Zhenbei Hou's emotions came and went quickly. As long as he had an understanding of something, he would put the overall situation first.

"My second brother has been back in Beijing for so long, I should at least arrange a suitable position for him."

"What the old ancestor meant was that my second brother is a man of both literary and martial talents, and it would be perfect for him to be the Imperial College's chief academic officer."

"What, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College?" Shen Tianjiao's words almost made the Marquis of Zhenbei jump up.

"The position of Imperial College Priest can be held by anyone who wants. Let alone whether the court officials agree or not, even that old fellow Jishi would agree to it."

"Ever since Taizu founded the country, this position of Imperial College Priest has been inherited by his family for generations. For over a hundred years, no one from another family has replaced him."

"Would he be willing to give the position of Imperial College Priest to your second brother instead of his own son? That's absolutely impossible."

Even if he was beaten to death, the Marquis of Zhenbei would never believe that the Jishi Society would hand over such an important position to his son, Shen Lin, for nothing.

Shen Tianjiao smiled. If it weren't for Ruan Yuhu's guarantee, she wouldn't have dared to believe such a thing.

"Father, the ancestors said that this matter is left to her. With her here, are you afraid that it won't be accomplished?"

Marquis Zhenbei was stunned. If someone else had said this, he really wouldn't have believed it. But if that person had said it, it wouldn't be true.

Back then, Ji Shi was just a bastard who was not appreciated for his talent and had no protection from his family.

His elder brother committed a crime and killed someone, but his family conspired to frame him, wanting to use him to take the blame for his elder brother's crime.

Ji Shi was powerless at the time, and faced betrayal from his family without even a backer. However, being young and hot-headed, he was unwilling to suffer injustice and ruin his future and life, so he went to strike the drum to report the incident.

It is not easy to beat the Dengwen Drum. By beating the Dengwen Drum, you can directly appeal to the emperor.

However, before beating the drum to report the incident, one must first be whipped. Only after being whipped thirty times is one qualified to beat the drum.

Thirty lashes would be too much for a frail scholar, not to mention a strong middle-aged man.

After being whipped, even if he didn't die, he would be half dead.

But even so, Ji Shi managed to survive. He struck the drum to file a complaint, and thus gained the qualification to go before the emperor and file a complaint.

This matter was brought to the attention of the late emperor, but in order to save the Ji family's face, the late emperor refused to seek justice for Ji Shi and even wanted to kill him, wanting him to die in the palace.

The late emperor himself was a legitimate son, so in his mind, the idea of ​​distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was deeply ingrained and difficult to change.

Even though he knew that Ji Shi had done nothing wrong and was just framed, he still chose to be partial and shield him.

Of course, in addition to the difficult-to-change concepts, there are also political considerations.

Since the founding of the country, the Ji family has been a role model for scholars all over the world. From the ancestors of the Ji family to the present day, the position of chief academic officer of the Imperial College has been inherited from generation to generation.

If the world knew that the Ji family, which is famous for its etiquette and laws, had done such a despicable and shameless thing, it would probably chill the hearts of scholars all over the world.

Although these scholars are usually a vulnerable group, if they start to cause trouble, the situation can be quite troublesome.

If it is not properly resolved, civil unrest will easily break out and the country will fall into endless debates and crusades.

Ruan Yuhu had already started helping the late emperor handle some government affairs at that time, so she naturally knew everything about this matter.

At first, when Ruan Yuhu heard about Ji Shi's experience, she was just sympathetic, but as she understood the situation, she saw a lot of evil in the Ji family.

As the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, he was a role model for the management and teaching of scholars all over the world. On the surface, he acted like a modest gentleman who taught and educated people, but in private, he did all kinds of dirty and sordid things.

How could Ruan Yuhu tolerate this? The students in the Imperial College were Yunli's future and hope. If he handed them over to such a person, wouldn't that destroy Yunli's national foundation?

This is something that Ruan Yuhu cannot tolerate no matter what. Her father and many family members died to protect this country.

Anyone who wants to shake the foundation of this country is her, Ruan Yuhu's enemy.

So Ruan Yuhu arranged for people to publicize this matter widely. Under the pressure of public opinion, the late emperor was forced to no longer protect the Ji family.

He had no choice but to show his attitude and ask someone to thoroughly investigate the matter again.

The result proved without a doubt that Jishi was indeed framed and wronged, and all the crimes committed by Jishi's brother were exposed one by one.

The final result is naturally that the wicked are brought to justice and receive the retribution they deserve, while the good people finally find peace after going through hardships.

The late emperor originally wanted to replace the Ji family's person and choose another person with outstanding character and knowledge to replace the Ji family's person to be the new chief academic officer of the Imperial College.

However, this proposal was rejected by Ruan Yuhu. What she meant was that the Ji family had been the chief academic officer of the Imperial College for so many years that they had turned this position into a hereditary one.

The Ji family has already occupied an unshakable position in the hearts of scholars all over the world. Those scholars may be temporarily chilled by the Ji family's evil deeds, but they will not be chilled for life.

After the events of the Ji family have passed, the status of the Ji family in the minds of those scholars will not change.

If one wants to reassure the scholars, the position of the Imperial College's chief academic officer must be held by someone from the Ji family.

After careful consideration, the late emperor finally accepted Ruan Yuhu's opinion and appointed Jishi as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College.

So for Ji Shi, Ruan Yuhu is not only his savior, but also his adopted parent. He may not listen to other people's words, but he must listen to Ruan Yuhu's words.

"Ji Shi will agree. Besides, my second brother is only temporarily replacing him as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. He will return the position after a while. There is no reason for him to refuse."

"Most of the students in the Imperial College come from aristocratic families and official families. There are many of them who are truly knowledgeable, but there are also many who rely on their family's influence and live a life of ignorance and incompetence.

Whether you have real knowledge or are just here to get by, none of this matters at the moment.

The most important thing at the moment is how to win over some of these people who can be used by them.

These people will become Li Muyang's backing in the future, helping him to gain a firm foothold in the court and making his position unshakable.

Marquis Zhenbei naturally understood this principle. If Shen Tingzhi could really take the position of the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, then many things in the future would be much easier.

"It's just that my second brother is in Ganzhou. The emperor is far away, and he's used to making his own decisions. His temperament is a bit too free and easy, and he likes to act arbitrarily. This is not good."

"This is Shangjing, not Ganzhou. There are countless rules and regulations here, restricting and controlling people everywhere."

"Be it the royal family, the aristocratic families, or even the court officials, their eyes are now fixed on me and our Zhenbei Marquis Mansion."

"They just want to find our faults and publicize them. They're bound to cause chaos in Shangjing City without a single moment of peace."

"So my daughter still wants to ask my father to talk to my second brother about the interests involved and ask him to control his temper, so as not to give others a handle and let them take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble."

No matter what, Shen Tingzhi is Shen Tianjiao's second brother. Although the two have different identities now, their relationship will not change.

So even if Shen Tianjiao knew that Shen Tingzhi had done something inappropriate, she couldn't say much because the Marquis of Zhenbei was still there.

If there is any need for discipline, I have to ask the Marquis of Zhenbei to do it. It is not the turn of Shen Tianjiao, her younger sister.

Zhenbei Hou nodded. She understood what her daughter meant. In fact, this was also his concern.

How could he not understand his own son?

Shen Tingzhi is the smartest and most capable of his three sons. He is not as naive as the eldest son, nor as foolish as the third son.

In recent years, people in Ganzhou are far away from home, and no one dares to say anything when they say he is the local emperor of Ganzhou and acts arrogantly in Ganzhou.

Therefore, Shen Tingzhi's personality is more or less averse to being restricted, and this kind of personality will indeed cause him trouble.

"Well, Dad will tell him about this later. I'll go and have him called over in a while."

"He is not in Beijing now. Let's wait until he comes back." Shen Tianjiao couldn't help but sigh when she thought of this. Her second brother loved to join in all the fun and just didn't want to stay still.

"Where has he gone again?" Although the Marquis of Zhenbei was not in the capital, he knew all of Shen Tingzhi's great achievements.

"Where else could I go? Of course I'd go join in the fun at Prime Minister Wang's house."

Thinking about going out and not knowing what will happen, Shen Tianjiao's heart was pounding.

"This kid really needs to be dealt with."

The Marquis of Zhenbei's face darkened. He finally understood why Shen Tianjiao suddenly told him to discipline Shen Tingzhi.

This kid is now like a wild horse that has broken free from its reins. If we don't put a bridle on him and let him continue to act like this, I'm afraid something really bad will happen.

"Dad, I've checked everything." Shen Yiyang had been investigating the matter of the big black bear, so he didn't know that Shen Tianjiao had come.

Shen Yiyang, who thought his father was the only one in the study, barged in without any scruples.

When he saw his sister was there, he was stunned.

It took him a long time to come back to his senses, and he stepped forward to greet Shen Tianjiao.

How could Shen Tianjiao be willing to accept his gift? She quickly stood up, supported him, and pushed him to sit on the chair.

"Brother, we're not outside. We're in front of our family, so let's not follow those etiquettes."

Shen Tianjiao felt that her elder brother was good in every way except that he was sometimes too polite. He wasn't too old, but he acted like a conservative old-fashioned.

Shen Yiyang touched his nose and smiled awkwardly. In his subconscious, Shen Tianjiao was not only his sister, but also the regent queen who was on equal footing with the emperor.

Therefore, no matter where he was, he felt it was better to follow the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects.

There's no way around it. He has been a very old-fashioned person since he was a child, unlike his second and third brothers who know how to adapt.

"Boss, what have you found out?"

What the Marquis of Zhenbei is most concerned about now is where this big black bear came from, because its sudden intrusion almost killed his precious grandson.

Although Zhenbei Houshi appeared calm in front of Li Muyang, Shen Tianjiao, and everyone else, and praised Li Muyang's performance today, he was actually still a little scared in his heart.

The big black bear was much bigger than Li Muyang. If it hadn't been stuck accidentally today, Li Muyang would have been no match for it. Not to mention hurting it, he might not even be able to hurt its hair, and he would get hurt instead.