The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

When it comes to power, Shen Tianjiao actually doesn't have much desire at all.

The reason why she is now the queen who is in charge of the country and holds great power is just to stabilize the political situation and pave the way for Li Muyang to ascend the throne smoothly in the future.

After Li Muyang ascends the throne, Shen Tianjiao will definitely transfer the power in her hands to Li Muyang without reservation.

This is something Ruan Yuhu firmly believes in. Shen Tianjiao's ambition is not in the temple, but on the battlefield.

Instead of being a powerful empress, she returned to the battlefield, leading thousands of troops to conquer the nine provinces and six kingdoms, so that those who coveted Yunli would never dare to harass Yunli again.

Let Yun Li be undisturbed, the people be able to live and work in peace, the country be able to prosper and develop, and the emperor be able to uphold the principles of being a monarch with clarity of mind.

This is Shen Tianjiao’s biggest dream and wish.

"Master, do you want the Queen to become the first empress of our Yunli?"

Although Ruan Yuhu had never told anyone what she was thinking, as someone who had been with Ruan Yuhu for so long, how could Ju Ruo not know what Ruan Yuhu was thinking?

Looking at what Ruan Yuhu had done recently, Ju Ruo knew that her master had already made thorough plans and paved the way for the queen.

Just so that one day, the Queen can go from being the regent, from behind the scenes to the front court, and become the emperor who can truly hold power in her hands, become the master of Yunli, the support of the country, and the reliance of the people.

"Girl, you're getting smarter as you get older."

Ruan Yuhu scolded with a smile, and reached out to poke Juruo's head. She was not surprised at all that Juruo could guess what she was thinking.

Ju Ruo has been by her side ever since she entered the palace. Over the years, no matter when she was down and out and bullied, or when she was unknown and suffered injustice, or when she was prosperous and respected, Ju Ruo has always been by her side and never left her side.

If there is anyone in this world who can understand her best, that person can only be Ju Ruo.

"Am I interfering too much and being a little too greedy?"

Only when facing Ju Ruo could Ruan Yuhu speak his mind without any scruples.

"Why do you say that, Master?"

Ju Ruo looked at Ruan Yuhu in confusion, not knowing why she said all this without any context.

"I want Jiao'er to be the queen, not only because she has the ability to stabilize the country, but also because I have selfish motives."

Ruan Yuhu sighed, looked up at the distance and said, "My father's lifelong wish is to protect Yunli and make Yunli strong."

"It was for this aspiration that he sacrificed his own life, and also the lives of my entire Gu family."

"And that short-lived husband. Although he was a silly bookworm, he had a lofty ambition to serve his country. All he wanted in his life was to see Yunli become strong and no longer be harassed by foreign tribes."

"When they were alive, they didn't see Yunli, whom they were willing to protect with their lives, become powerful. So I hope that after they die, they can also see the prosperous and peaceful world they envisioned."

"Besides Jiao'er, there's probably no one else in this world who can make Yun Li stronger."

"Although Mu'er is the crown prince now, he is too young to bear this responsibility."

"Furthermore, Yunli has been at the end of his rope after the inaction of the previous emperor and Emperor Li Rui. He is now just a spent force and only has a superficial appearance."

"If we want Yunli to be strong, we need a capable and courageous emperor to restore order to this country."

"Although Mu'er is still young, his personality shows that he is not a decisive child who has the ability to deal with the current external and internal troubles."

"He is not fit to be a king who makes decisive decisions and conquers all directions. He is only fit to be a king who keeps his country stable and peaceful."

Ruan Yuhu has met countless people in her life. After spending some time with someone, she can roughly guess the person's personality and how he or she behaves.

It’s not that she was pessimistic about Li Muyang, but felt that Li Muyang was not qualified for the role of emperor.

Instead, she saw the flaws and shortcomings in Li Muyang's character.

Li Muyang's character is naturally weak, which is the biggest taboo for an emperor.

He lacks decisiveness, is always hesitant when faced with things, and cannot make the right judgment immediately.

Moreover, this child has an even more fatal weakness, which is that he relies too much on Shen Tianjiao.

Although an emperor can be cultivated, it is definitely not the time to do so now, when the political situation is unstable and foreign enemies are eyeing him covetously.

Only after Shen Tianjiao stabilized the court, shocked the four sides, and established a new height for Yun Li, could Li Muyang become a good emperor.

If there had not been this transition period with Shen Tianjiao, and the imperial power had been directly handed over to Li Muyang, then Yunli would have been in danger and the country would have been destroyed.

"Master, you are considering the overall situation and the people of Yunli. How can you be selfish?"

Ju Ruo supported Ruan Yuhu. So much time had passed and she had already forgotten Ruan Yuhu's life experience.

Time may heal many things, but the pain engraved in the bones can never be forgotten.

"The Empress is indeed a person of great talent. If she becomes the Emperor of Yunli, then our Yunli will surely become powerful."

"Our Yunli nation is now in decline, and we truly need an emperor with a strong mind, a clear head, and great determination to take power."

"Looking across the entire Yunli, only our Queen is qualified for this task."

Although Kikuro doesn't care much about state affairs on weekdays, but since you are in the palace, there are some things that you should know even if you don't care.

The shaking of the Yunli Kingdom can actually be traced back to the time of Emperor Gaozu. In the early days, Emperor Gaozu was still an emperor with great achievements.

However, as he grew older, he not only lost his former strategy and foresight, but also began to indulge in lavish banquets, expand his harem, do many foolish things, and spend most of the national treasury.

Since the father did this, the son would naturally follow suit. In the first few years after the late emperor ascended the throne, he could barely be called a good emperor, but that was only a few years.

During the reign of the previous emperor, if it were not for Ruan Yuhu's assistance and the support of some old ministers such as the Marquis of Zhenbei, Yunli would have declined long ago.

When it comes to Li Rui, there is no need to say more. Although Li Rui has a lot of thoughts, they are not serious after all.

He is good at killing people and seizing power, but he is far from good at governing a country.

He is only capable of being a treacherous villain, not an emperor.

If Shen Tianjiao had not been there all these years, regardless of whether Yunli’s country would have been destroyed or not, Li Rui would definitely not have been able to keep the throne.

Thinking about these bad things, Ruan Yuhu felt very powerless and tired.

"Master, you should stop thinking too much now. Who knows what the future will hold?"

Seeing Ruan Yuhu's worried look, Ju Ruo also began to feel uncomfortable.

"How can I not worry? I'm old now, and my health is getting worse day by day."

"Maybe if you take off your shoes and go to bed that night, you won't wake up the next day."

"If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to arrange things now, what will we do if we die and go to hell?"

Ruan Yuhu used to have no fear of death at all, and even looked forward to it a little. She believed that when she died, she could go to the underworld and reunite with her family.

But now she was indeed a little afraid of death, not for anything else, but because she was afraid that she would pass away suddenly, and what would happen to Shen Tianjiao and her two grandsons.

So she wanted to arrange everything before she died, so that she could die without any worries.

Ju Ruo sighed. She couldn't utter a word to refute or to comfort him.

Ruan Yuhu's health condition has been deteriorating for a few years now, and it is getting worse day by day.

If it weren't for the firm belief supporting me, I would have collapsed long ago.

"Okay, I'm not dead yet, why are you making such a sad face and pouting so much?"

"Don't worry, I probably won't die for a while, because I'm worried about so many people and things right now. I suddenly don't want to die."

Ruan Yuhu turned around and smiled at Ju Ruo, a smile that had never appeared on her face before.

"Master, don't worry. If the Queen really becomes the Empress in the future, the ministers won't object too much."

"Because even if the Queen becomes Yunli's Queen, the throne will still be passed to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the end. So I think those old antiques should be able to accept it for this reason."

Ju Ruo didn't want to discuss those sad things anymore, so she changed the subject.

"Humph! Does it matter whether they object or not, whether they can accept it or not?"

"Who cares about their feelings? They're either bored and looking for trouble, or they're trying to sabotage things in order to harm their own interests, or they're just rusty-headed and pedantic, only able to use those big principles to justify their actions."

Ruan Yuhu had long been fed up with the expressions of the royal relatives, aristocratic families, and court officials.

It is obvious that they have no ability, but they enjoy the credit of others, and then they make nonsense of others, and even set up conspiracies and tricks to harm others.

If those people had focused their attention on state affairs and people's livelihood, Yun Li would not have had to suffer bullying from others long ago.

What Ruan Yuhu is afraid of now is that if he passes away at this moment, there will be no one who can intimidate these treacherous villains.

At that time, they will surely rush forward to oppose and embarrass Shen Tianjiao.

But as long as I am around, even if those people are resentful, they will still do the same thing, but at least they dare not be so blatant and will always restrain themselves.

After all, whether they are royal relatives, aristocratic families, or officials in the court, most of them have leverage over him in his hands.

If Ruan Yuhu was unhappy, he would naturally make things difficult for them.

"Master, perhaps the Empress is indeed the one rumored to be the one who will replace Li Zi and become the Emperor's destined daughter."

Ju Ruo's words shocked Ruan Yuhu. Because of that rumor, the late emperor went on a killing spree and killed all the girls under the age of three in Yunli.

But when the late emperor slaughtered those girls, Shen Tianjiao was not yet born.

Shen Tianjiao was born at the end of the second year after the late emperor massacred those girls. The timing doesn't match.

Could it be that the national master made a mistake? This shouldn't be the case. The old man claimed that he could calculate everything perfectly. He wouldn't and wouldn't dare to make such a big mistake in such an important matter.

When Ju Ruo saw Ruan Yuhu frowning and thinking about something, she guessed what she was thinking.

"Master, the Queen is the daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei. It would not be easy for other families to save their daughters' lives at that time, but the Marquis of Zhenbei can do it."

"The entire defense of Shangjing was arranged by the Marquis of Zhenbei himself, and those people were all his men."

"Back then, he could have sent his wife and daughter to the capital with just any excuse."

Ju Ruo's words woke Ruan Yuhu up from his dream, which reminded him of something, which was when the previous emperor ordered the killing of those girls.

The wife of the Marquis of Zhenbei fell ill. The imperial physician said that her illness was very serious and she had to find a quiet place to recuperate.

So the Marquis of Zhenbei took leave and accompanied his wife out of the capital to recuperate outside.

The Marquis of Zhenbei returned to Shangjing two months later, when the incident of torturing and killing those girls was over.

However, the wife of the Marquis of Zhenbei did not return to the capital with him at that time. The Marquis of Zhenbei explained that his wife was weak and had not yet recovered, so she had to stay outside for a while.

About a year later, news came that the wife of the Marquis of Zhenbei had died of complications during childbirth.

At that time, Ruan Yuhu did not think that these things were related or inappropriate, but now when he thinks about it again, these things together are very strange.

It seems that it is time to meet that immortal national teacher. Perhaps the truth can only be extracted from his mouth.

If he had not said those words to the late emperor, the late emperor would not have been so murderous and tortured to death so many girls.

Now is the time for him to atone for his sins.

"Come on, it's quite cold outside, let's go back to the house."

Ruan Yuhu made up her mind and was no longer worried. She was going to bed now and would talk about it tomorrow.

When Ju Ruo helped Ruan Yuhu back to the room and saw the secret guards waiting there, Ruan Yuhu smiled and shook his head.

Just when I was thinking about going to bed, work started. Okay, I can't sleep tonight, I have to work.