The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

When he was in the northern border, Shen Tingzhi saw that although the guards around him were all martial arts masters, most of them had never been to school.

This often results in situations where they are asked to do things but they never get them done clearly.

Shen Tingzhi had obsessive-compulsive disorder, so he gathered all the guards together and taught them how to read and write so that they would not fail to do their job well.

But he forgot that as the captain of Shen Tianjiao's guard team, Yu Po had been with Shen Tianjiao since childhood, and she was well-educated and could read and write.

But Yu Po never mentioned it and just followed everyone to learn the things that she already knew.

"Alright, stop talking nonsense and hurry down to get ready. Jiaojiao's safety is entirely in your hands."

Shen Tingzhi waved his hand and started to drive people away again.

"Yes, my subordinate will go right away."

This time Yu Po said nothing and went out immediately.

Shen Tianjiao arrived much earlier than expected, because she did not come in a carriage, she came on horseback.

Riding a horse is much faster than taking a carriage to cover the same distance.

Fortunately, in her previous life, Shen Tianjiao fought many battles and traveled everywhere on horseback, otherwise she really couldn't stand the bumps.

When Yu Po received Shen Tianjiao and learned that she had come on horseback, he was really shocked.

What on earth had my master experienced during these years when I went to Northern Frontier that he could do something so well that I was not good at and even hated before?

Although she knew that the current Shen Tianjiao was no longer the Shen Tianjiao of the past, Yu Po still felt very distressed. She could now understand what the Second Young Master had felt just now.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Shen Tianjiao looked at Yu Po in confusion. She felt that this girl was different from usual.

"No, I just wanted to see my master so happy." Yu Po sniffed his sour nose and lowered his head to cover up his gaffe.

The reason why Yu Po calls herself a "slave" in front of Shen Tianjiao, instead of a subordinate like she did in front of Shen Tingzhi, is because in her cognition, only Shen Tianjiao is her master, and she will always be her slave, different from others.

"Silly girl." Shen Tianjiao handed the reins to the guard beside her and instructed, "This horse has been running all the way and must have worked hard. Take it down and feed it some grass so it can have a good rest."

The horse Shen Tianjiao rode today was no ordinary horse. It was a Ferghana horse that the Marquis of Zhenbei brought back from the northern border.

This Arabian horse is not only tall, but also has excellent endurance and is faster than Yun Li's native horse.

The purpose of Zuo Beichen and Qiu Tong's business trip to the frontier this time was not only to exchange a large amount of money and set up their own intelligence network, but also to have a more important mission, which was to exchange a large number of war horses for Yun Li.

The best warriors should be equipped with the best war horses to achieve the best results.

"Where is my second brother?" Shen Tianjiao felt a little confused when she didn't see Shen Tingzhi.

"We all thought that you, Master, would come by carriage, and certainly not so early, so the Second Young Master is still setting up defenses."

The meaning of Yu Po's words was very clear, that is, Shen Tingzhi was still worried about ensuring Shen Tianjiao's safety.

Shen Tianjiao smiled and asked, "How is Wang Yunzhi?"

"Prime Minister Wang woke up this morning and is in good spirits."

"Mrs. Wang just woke up. Although she's still very weak, the female doctor said her life is no longer in danger."

Yu Po reached out to support Shen Tianjiao. The mountain road to the back door of Huguo Temple was not easy to walk on.

Hearing that Wang Yunzhi and his wife were safe and sound and nothing serious was wrong, Shen Tianjiao breathed a sigh of relief.

If Wang Yunzhi and his wife lost their lives because of her plan, Shen Tianjiao would be unable to get over it.

"Is everything still normal here?"

What Shen Tianjiao is most worried about now is that these Western Rong people in the temple will take the opportunity to cause trouble.

"Everything is normal at the moment. Mrs. Jin has been staying in the yard all day and hasn't come out."

"Our people have been closely monitoring their every move. They must not be prepared yet, so they are so quiet."

"It's just, it's just." Yu Po looked troubled. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "General Wang Zongyuan should have joined them by now. He hasn't returned yet."

Shen Tianjiao breathed a sigh of relief, because Yu Po's words brought it up again.

As expected, when people stay with someone for a long time, they will become more and more alike. Shen Tingzhi is enough to give Shen Tianjiao a headache, and now there is Wang Zongyuan.

There is really no peace of mind for either of them. These two can't be together in the future, otherwise the sky will be riddled with holes made by them.

"No news yet?"

Yu Po shook his head and said, "No, there are many of their spies there, and our people can only guard the periphery."

"But it shouldn't have been discovered. If it had been discovered, there would definitely be movement inside."

Shen Tianjiao sighed. There was really nothing that made her worry-free.

"Jiaojiao, you're here?" Shen Tingzhi hurried over after receiving the news. Although the brother and sister are now in the same city in Beijing, they rarely see each other on weekdays.

"Yeah." Shen Tianjiao looked up at Shen Tingzhi's thin face and swallowed back the words of blame that were about to come out of her mouth.

Although her second brother was a troublesome person, everything he did was for himself, for his son, and for Yun Li's country.

Thinking of this, Shen Tianjiao couldn't bring herself to blame him no matter what.

"Then let's go. I've asked them to prepare food. You've been traveling all the way here and it must be really tiring. After dinner, you can take a rest."

Shen Tingzhi was naturally very happy to see Shen Tianjiao.

"Okay, let's go."

Perhaps it was because she hadn't ridden a horse for a long time, the bumpy ride made Shen Tianjiao's stomach churn and feel uncomfortable. She didn't want to eat at first, but considering Shen Tingzhi, she forced herself to eat something.

Although the dishes on the table were all vegetarian, they were all Shen Tianjiao's favorites.

It was rare for the brother and sister to sit down and have a meal together, so they only talked about good things that made them happy.

When Shen Tingzhi heard that Li Muyang dared to fight a big black bear, he was so shocked that his mouth couldn't close for a long time.

In his impression, his little nephew was a weak little boy.

No matter what happens, his voice is always gentle, as if he never gets angry.

If Shen Tianjiao hadn't told the story of Li Muyang fighting with the big black bear herself, Shen Tingzhi would never have believed it.

It seems that his father is still strong and powerful even in his old age.

Thinking back to the past, his father simply didn't treat him and his brothers as human beings.

The high-intensity training every day made the brothers almost question their lives.

If it weren't for his elder brother Shen Yiyang's personal testimony, who saw him being born from his mother's womb, Shen Tingzhi would have suspected that he was not his biological son, but was picked up from outside.

When he thinks back on that time now, he still feels miserable and can hardly look back.

I didn't expect that it would be my little nephew's turn so soon.

Shen Tingzhi had no objection to letting Li Muyang go through more training. After all, his little nephew was too weak.

Although Li Muyang will become the emperor in the future and will not have to go to the battlefield to kill enemies, he cannot be so weak.

Dealing with state affairs is more tiring than fighting enemies on the battlefield. Don’t ask why. This is Shen Tingzhi’s experience.

Back then, Shen Tingzhi fought on the battlefield for days and nights without feeling tired. But after he gave up his military career and became a civil official, he was exhausted every time he reviewed those documents.

"It's true that when you're away for three days, you'll be amazed. The child who was just a few days ago acting like a spoiled brat in my arms, now, in just a few days, he's brave enough to fight a black bear."

"Well, this child is truly teachable. Okay, okay, okay. I was originally worried that Mu'er might have a weak constitution and be too gentle."

"When you ascend the throne as emperor in the future, people will always be able to manipulate you with your personality."

"But looking at the situation now, it seems that my worries are unnecessary."

Shen Tingzhi poured a bowl of soup for Shen Tianjiao, placed it in front of her, and said, "Without saying anything else, our father is quite good at teaching children how to be powerful."

"Back then, my eldest brother, the youngest brother, and I trained with Dad every day. Those days are truly unbearable to look back on. To be honest, I even wanted to die at that time."

"It's true that grandparents are more affectionate than grandchildren. Father is too kind to his grandson."

Shen Tianjiao shook her head after hearing what Shen Tingzhi said. It was true that if they were not from the same family, they would not marry.

Her second brother is now becoming more and more like his father. She can now foresee the fate of her future nephews.

Thinking of the lively and bustling scene, Shen Tianjiao couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth. The Zhenbei Marquis Mansion had been deserted for so many years, it was time for it to become lively again.

"By the way, Jiaojiao, there is something very strange."

Shen Tingzhi was so depressed about Yin Shuang that he was almost going to die. Apart from telling Shen Tianjiao, he had no one else to talk to.

"What's the matter?" Shen Tianjiao stopped drinking soup, looked up at Shen Tingzhi and waited for him to continue.

It is human nature to listen to gossip, and even the queen is no exception.

"After Madam Wang was injured and brought back, there was no female doctor in the Huguo Temple, so there was no way to treat her."

"The situation was urgent at the time, and it was too late to go to the palace to get a female doctor for her."

"A young novice monk with the abbot said that Madam Jin had a female doctor, so I followed the abbot to see Madam Jin and asked her to send the female doctor to treat Madam Wang."

"I already know all this. Let's get to the point!" Shen Tianjiao interrupted Shen Tingzhi's retelling. She always felt that her second brother was acting strangely at this moment.

"But here's the problem. When Yupo went to look for Wang Zongyuan today, she ran into that female doctor outside Madam Jin's yard."

"According to Yupo, the female doctor was quite hostile to her, and she even asked her to come back and tell me that her name was Yinshuang, and she seemed very familiar to me."

"But I racked my brains and couldn't recall when I'd ever met a woman with Yin Shuang."

"Don't you think this is strange?"

Shen Tingzhi told all his troubles to his sister Shen Tianjiao. It was not that he expected Shen Tianjiao to do anything for him, but he just wanted to talk to Shen Tianjiao so that he wouldn't have to worry so much.

When Shen Tianjiao heard the name Yin Shuang, she suddenly felt a headache and a dusty memory was opened.

"Second brother, you do know this Yin Shuang."

"Jiaojiao, what are you talking about?" Shen Tingzhi scratched his head, not understanding what Shen Tianjiao meant.

"You do know her. Do you remember when I was about six or seven years old, Xirong was defeated by my father?"

"At that time, their Right Wise King, Alupo Taikang, came with his little daughter and a group of envoys to offer tribute."

"His little daughter is called Yinshuang, Alupo Yiyinshuang."

After hearing what Shen Tianjiao said, Shen Tingzhi also remembered that this was indeed the case more than ten years ago.

At that time, Alupo Taikang had indeed come to Shangjing with his people to ask for peace from the late emperor because of his defeat in the war.

Because Marquis Zhenbei and Shen Yiyang were still handling follow-up affairs in the northern border, the late emperor asked Shen Tingzhi, who was still a teenager at the time, to attend the reception banquet on behalf of Marquis Zhenbei.

Alupoyi is the second most common surname among the Xirong people and the most honorable surname after the imperial surname Ainuer.

At that time, Alupo Yitaikang was indeed accompanied by a little girl who was slightly older than Shen Tianjiao.

Memories were like a flood, opening the valve and bringing Shen Tingzhi back to the past.

Shen Tingzhi remembered Yin Shuang, but he had no impression of her at all. After all, who would care about this little girl?

The only thing that Shen Tingzhi remembered was that the little girl was willful and had a bad temper, and she almost hurt Shen Tianjiao who was with Shen Tingzhi at the time.

If it weren't for the overall interests of the two countries, Shen Tingzhi almost beat her up.

However, in the subsequent hunting competition, Shen Tingzhi did save Yin Shuang's life.

Although Yin Shuang was young at that time, she had been spoiled and became lawless, not knowing her place.

Relying on the many guards around her, she provoked a mature male deer in estrus in order to win.

Although deer are usually docile, they become extremely aggressive during the mating season.

Under Yin Shuang's constant teasing, the estrus deer became even more manic.

The frenzied stag was extremely powerful. In an instant, it knocked over the guards around Yin Shuang, and then rushed towards Yin Shuang with red eyes.

At that time, everyone outside was stunned, and no one came to help for a while. However, Shen Tingzhi reacted quickly, rushed over on horseback, and carried Yin Shuang onto the horse.

At this time, everyone reacted and started to fight back against the deer together. Finally, they subdued the deer without causing too many casualties.