The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Shen Tianjiao's leisurely days had only lasted two days when troubles came knocking on her door one after another.

The Emperor went to the royal hunting grounds for hunting, and the Empress was recuperating in the palace due to illness.

At this moment, both the former dynasty and the harem had lost their backbone and everything was in chaos.

If a family is without a leader, it will not work, let alone a country. So Prime Minister Wang came at this time.

"Master, the Prime Minister has been waiting outside for a long time. Do you want to see him or not?" Chunchao looked at Shen Tianjiao who was deciphering the endgame and said in an almost inaudible voice.

Shen Tianjiao frowned. What was coming finally came. It seemed her peaceful days were coming to an end. She threw the chess piece in her hand back into the chess box, stood up and said, "Let's go. It's not good to keep the Prime Minister waiting for too long."

From a distance, Shen Tianjiao saw Wang Yunzhi, the Prime Minister of Yunli Kingdom, who was sitting quietly waiting for her. She stopped and hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she could recruit this man who controlled the power in the court and use him for her own benefit.

In Shen Tianjiao's impression, Wang Yunzhi is an unpredictable person. If you say he is a powerful official, he does not like to form cliques for personal gain. If you say he is an upright person, he is good at abusing power and likes to win people's hearts.

Not long after Shen Tianjiao died in his previous life, Lord Wang resigned from his official position and retired, and has disappeared since then.

Such people are really hard to guess what they are thinking, and people whose minds are hard to guess are the most terrifying.

Shen Tianjiao walked over slowly, and when she noticed the movement behind her, Wang Yunzhi immediately stood up and kowtowed respectfully.

"May the Queen be well and safe."

"Prime Minister Wang, please stand up." Shen Tianjiao walked to her seat and sat down, motioning Chunchao, "Go, make Prime Minister Wang a cup of Yuncui Bingpo."

"Your Majesty, thank you for your reward."

This Yuncui Bingpo grows in an extremely high and cold place. It is a rare and top-quality product. Due to its extremely small production, it is offered as a tribute. In the entire imperial palace, it cannot be found anywhere except Shen Tianjiao. Not even Li Rui has it. It is an honor that belongs exclusively to Shen Tianjiao.

Wang Yunzhi has no other hobbies in his daily life, except tasting tea and collecting various kinds of tea.

"I wonder why the Prime Minister came to the palace today?" Shen Tianjiao pretended to be confused and did not directly point out Wang Yunzhi's purpose.

"Empress, I am here today to ask you to put the overall situation first and come out to take charge of the court." Wang Yunzhi prostrated himself on the ground and saluted Shen Tianjiao deeply.

"Putting the greater good first and presiding over the court? Humph!" Shen Tianjiao sneered, staring at the prostrate Wang Yunzhi and saying, "Prime Minister Wang won't tell me. You didn't know that Li Rui wanted to poison me, but unfortunately he didn't succeed, did you?"

Shen Tianjiao was too lazy to talk nonsense with Wang Yunzhi and went straight to the point.

"Empress?" Wang Yunzhi raised his head and looked at Shen Tianjiao in astonishment. Such a vague matter was said so clearly by Shen Tianjiao, which made Wang Yunzhi, an old fox who had been in the court for a long time and knew a lot, not know how to respond for a moment.

"Why, wasn't it Li Rui's idea that the Prime Minister come here today?" Shen Tianjiao lowered her head and fiddled with her nails. She said in a cold and calm tone, "We are all sensible people. Why should we pretend to be confused when we know the truth?"

"Since Li Rui has already shown no tolerance for me and is planning to attack me and the Shen family, Prime Minister Wang, do you think I will still let bygones be bygones and pretend nothing ever happened, devoting myself to Li Rui and the Li Dynasty until my death?"

"I, Shen Tianjiao, am not a fool. I will not risk my life and the lives of the Shen family to help others."

"Thank you for your visit today, Prime Minister. I am not well yet and need to go to bed. I will not keep you here for tea."

"Oh, by the way, please ask Prime Minister Wang to report to your emperor that I am not up to the task and ask him to find someone else."

Wang Yunzhi, who had recovered from his shock, recalled what Shen Tianjiao had just said. She did not call him "Emperor" or "Your Majesty", but called him by his name. It seemed that the Empress was determined to sever ties with the Emperor this time.

"Your Majesty, please stay." Wang Yunzhi quickly stood up and stopped Shen Tianjiao who was about to leave.

"I still have something to say to Your Majesty. Could you please give me a favor and listen to my words?"

Shen Tianjiao stopped and stared at Wang Yunzhi for a while before she spoke: "Prime Minister Wang, please feel free to speak. I am all ears."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." After receiving Shen Tianjiao's permission, Wang Yunzhi continued to kneel on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor's actions are indeed despised by a gentleman, but Your Majesty, the people of Yunli Country are innocent."

"Your Majesty knows the current situation in the court better than anyone else. The Northern Di, Western Rong, and Southern Zhao are restless and ready to make a move. Internally, the vassal kings are waiting for an opportunity, ready to stir up civil strife and establish themselves as kings."

"The Zhenbei Marquisate is full of loyal and brave people. Since the founding of Yunli Nation over a hundred years ago, they have been diligent in their duties and have never slacked off, ensuring the safety of the people of this country."

"Your Majesty, you are the daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei. You are born with a natural sense of responsibility and mission. Are you willing to watch the country that your ancestors, fathers, and brothers risked their lives to protect fall apart due to external and internal troubles, leaving the people displaced and without protection, reduced to slavery and treated at will?"

"Since Your Majesty is so frank in front of me today, I am willing to be honest with you and tell you a truth from the heart. In my heart, I have always believed that you are more talented in governing the country than the emperor and are more suitable to be a decision maker."

Shen Tianjiao was shocked and looked at Wang Yunzhi with an ambiguous expression. What was his intention in saying this to her at this time?

"Your Excellency, you are exaggerating. I am merely a concubine in the harem. It is already difficult for me to protect the harem and fulfill my duties. How can I possibly manage the former court? The harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. This is the ancestral precept. I dare not risk the wrath of the world and become the target of public criticism, disrupting the government."

"Your Majesty is too modest. The common people don't know this, but the civil and military officials in this court are all clear-headed. They all know that since the Emperor ascended the throne, the various benevolent policies that have benefited the country and the people are not just the Emperor's actions. Behind all this is the Empress's promotion and handiwork."

"The people of Yunli Kingdom are very lucky to have a queen. To prevent the people of Yunli Kingdom from being displaced by war, I, this old minister, beg the queen to find a way for them to survive."

Wang Yunzhi bowed deeply to Shen Tianjiao three times, then prostrated himself on the ground and refused to get up.

Shen Tianjiao looked at Wang Yunzhi who was lying on the ground. Because of what he had just said, she felt mixed emotions and didn't know what to do.