The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

So to be on the safe side, Xia He had to help Su Wenhao up.

Su Wenhao hesitated for a moment. Now it seemed that he had no choice but to let Xia He help him up.

At this moment, Su Wenhao couldn't help but feel like slapping himself twice.

My current behavior is really shameful. If this gets out, I will be too embarrassed to face anyone.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, aunt." Su Wenhao blushed and stretched out his arm.

Compared to Su Wenhao's shyness, Xia He was much more confident and confident. She walked over, held Su Wenhao's arm, and helped him up.

"Master Su, I see you're in this state. I'm afraid you won't be able to walk steadily if you go out. How about you sit here for a while? I'll have someone bring in a sedan chair and take you back."

Seeing Su Wenhao's appearance at the moment, Xia He guessed that even if he went out, he might not be able to walk, so she suggested that he take a sedan chair out of the palace.

Unexpectedly, Xia He's proposal was strongly rejected by Su Wenhao. "No, no, I have nothing to do. I just want to rest here for a while and then I can leave."

His current behavior is already embarrassing enough. If he still wants to leave the palace in a sedan chair, then he, Su Wenhao, will never have to face anyone in his life.

Seeing that Su Wenhao disagreed with her proposal, Xia He stopped talking and just waited quietly by the side.

After resting for a while, Su Wenhao felt that he had regained some strength, so he stood up and said goodbye.

"I can go now. Thank you, auntie."

"Nothing, please come in, Master Su."

Xia He went over to open the door first, then led Su Wenhao out.

Shen Tianjiao, who had just solved a troublesome problem, received a letter from Yan Yu before she could sit down and have a good rest.

Shen Tianjiao held the letter in her hand, and the irritability in her heart disappeared all of a sudden.

She unfolded the letter and quickly read the contents. Yan Yu wanted to replace Li Chaohui's people with his own people. Although this idea was a bit risky, it was not impossible.

When fighting against others, the key is to take the enemy by surprise. Yan Yu had fought for decades in his previous life. How could he possibly use the smallest casualties to exchange for the greatest benefits? He is the best at it.

Shen Tianjiao folded the letter she had read and put it back into the envelope. She turned around and told the secret guard who had delivered the letter, "Go back and tell General Yan that I have no objection to what he said, and that he can do whatever he thinks is best."

"Yes, I will go back and report right away."

The secret guard lowered his head and asked, "Master, do you have anything else to tell General Yan?"

"Tell him to be careful and not get hurt."

All Shen Tianjiao hopes for now is that Yan Yu can return safely.

"Understood. I'll take my leave." The secret guard turned and left. He wanted to return to Yan Yu and convey Shen Tianjiao's words to Yan Yu.

Shen Tianjiao walked to the window and opened it with a bamboo prop. The cold and sharp wind from outside blew in her face, making it difficult for Shen Tianjiao to open her eyes.

Perhaps this body has been pampered for too long and is no longer as strong as it used to be. In the past, Shen Tianjiao was not afraid of winds that were much stronger than this one.

But now, just some cold wind made her feel very uncomfortable.

I don’t know if I can hold on on the battlefield with a body like this.

Shen Tianjiao stared out the window in a daze, but in the blink of an eye, it was already late autumn.

She is so busy now that she doesn't even have time to pay attention to the changing seasons.

Looking at the desolate scene outside the window, Shen Tianjiao couldn't help feeling sad and melancholy.

When Xia He came in from outside, she felt a chill. She looked up and saw Shen Tianjiao standing alone in front of the open window, wondering what she was thinking.

Shen Tianjiao doesn't like to be surrounded by a lot of people, so the only people who can serve her closely are Chunchao and Xiahe.

Seeing that the weather was so cold, Shen Tianjiao actually opened the window to let in the cold wind, which scared Xia He to death. If her master was exposed to the cold wind and caught a cold, it would be a serious problem.

Xia He hurried over, removed the bamboo support and closed the window.

Shen Tianjiao, who was enjoying the cool breeze, lost all interest after being disturbed by Xia He, but she was helpless.

"Master, the wind outside is very cold today. It would be bad if you caught a cold from the cold wind."

"I'll ask the maid to make you a bowl of ginger soup to drive away the cold, okay?"

How could Xia He understand Shen Tianjiao's feelings at the moment? She only knew that she had to serve her master with all her heart and soul.

"No, I'm not that squeamish."

Shen Tianjiao was unhappy but couldn't vent her feelings, so she could only sigh helplessly, turned away from the windowsill, and sat back on the chair.

Looking at Shen Tianjiao's expression, Xia He was confused and didn't know what had happened.

"Master, the old ancestor has invited the heads of all the major families to the palace."

Xia He poured Shen Tianjiao a cup of hot water and brought it to her. "Master, drink some hot tea to warm yourself up."

"You said that Auntie invited all the patriarchs of the noble families in Shangjing to the palace?"

Shen Tianjiao took a breath. What else was there about Ruan Yuhu that she didn't know?

Every time when she thought she knew Ruan Yuhu well enough, Ruan Yuhu would give her an unexpected surprise.

My goodness, those are the heads of all the aristocratic families in Shangjing. Not to mention myself, even Li Rui probably can't invite them all at once.

But Ruan Yuhu did it. Not only did she do it, but she did it overnight.

It’s no wonder that Shen Tianjiao was surprised. The last time Ruan Yuhu invited these family heads to the palace, only some of them came, not all of them.

But this time, not only did they all come, but they also came late at night. This was too incredible.

This sudden incident instantly diverted Shen Tianjiao's attention and made her forget the unhappiness in her heart.

"Yes, they are all in the palace now."

Xia He had just heard what the young palace maid sent by Ruan Yuhu said before she came in.

Before Shen Tianjiao could recover from her shock, the ball of fur came running from somewhere and jumped into her arms. Then it found a comfortable angle, made a snoring sound, closed its eyes and prepared to sleep.

Looking at the uninvited little guy in her arms, Shen Tianjiao couldn't help but reach out and stroke its body.

Not to mention the shiny and sleek fur, it's quite comfortable to touch.

Because Maoqiu is particularly close to people, Shen Tianjiao is not so afraid of cats now.

"Where are they now?"

With so many people coming, there must be a place to accommodate them. Although Shen Tianjiao knew that Ruan Yuhu was very successful in his work, she still couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Now has come the final and most important moment of the showdown with Li Chaohui, but the heads of various families all appeared in the palace overnight.

No matter how carefully this matter is handled, it is inevitable that the news will leak out. It is better to be safe than sorry. We have to be cautious at times like this.

"They are all in Showa-in now, and it is heavily guarded."

Xia He didn't know what was going on over there. What she said was just what she heard from the little palace maid who came to report the news.

When Shen Tianjiao heard Xia He say that those people were in Showa-in and that it was heavily guarded, she was no longer worried.

Who is Ruan Yuhu? She is the woman who has been in charge of the court and handled government affairs for decades for the late emperor.

She has seen all kinds of storms. Since she was able to bring people into the palace and sent soldiers to guard them, it can only mean one thing, that this matter is completely under Ruan Yuhu's control.

There will definitely not be any leak of information, and no one will dare to cause trouble at this time.

Without the heads of these aristocratic families jumping out to interfere, things would go much more smoothly.

"Tell the imperial kitchen to make some more soft and easy-to-digest snacks."

Shen Tianjiao instructed Xia He that these old men would probably have to stay in the palace for a few days this time.

As long as they stay quiet and honest and don't cause any trouble, Shen Tianjiao will naturally treat them well.

"Also, if they make any requests that are not excessive, we should try our best to satisfy them."

"Yes, slave, go and prepare now."

Xia He came and left in a hurry, and turned around in a hurry to go out to do what Shen Tianjiao asked her to do.

Shen Tianjiao glanced down at the cat that had fallen asleep in her arms and said to herself, "Tomorrow, the prelude to this battle will begin."

In Ziyun Villa, Li Muyang and his sister, whose fever had subsided and their strength had been restored, were flying kites in the yard with the servants.

Although this is a game that children from ordinary families often play, it is very rare for Li Muyang and his sister.

Li Muyang has been unpopular since he was a child. He lives alone in a side hall. Not to mention flying a kite, even leaving the yard where he lives requires him to be very careful and not be discovered.

Not to mention Li Muyan, she was still a child. Although she has grown a lot taller now, she still can't walk steadily. She has never even seen a kite, let alone fly a kite.

It was an ordinary game, but the two children had so much fun playing it that they didn't want to leave.

The two children in the yard were having fun, looking happy and unaware of the sadness.

The inside of the house was completely different from the outside. There was no noise of laughter or playing, but instead there was the sound of decisive and strategic planning.

The Marquis of Zhenbei stared at the palace layout map in front of him with a serious expression, without saying a word, as if he wanted to stare through the map.

Shen Tingzhi, who usually talks a lot and feels uncomfortable without talking, was now quietly thinking about things.

Even the hot-tempered Wang Zongyuan was very obedient at this time, keeping his mouth shut and standing aside without saying a word.

"Father, aren't we hiding here just to wait for the moment to deal with Li Zhaohui?"

"But now, it's finally time to deal with Li Zhaohui, but Jiaojiao told us to stay here and not get involved. What do you think is going on?"

Shen Tingzhi could not understand why his sister would stop his family from coming forward and participating in the matter of dealing with Li Chaohui this time.

He was so angry that he was about to lose his mind, let alone be able to calm down and analyze why Shen Tianjiao made such a decision.

"Yes, what does this mean, Miss? Are you disgusted by my age and inability to hold a knife and fight?"

Wang Zongyuan was also very angry. After hearing what Shen Tingzhi said, he could no longer bear it.

As the commander of the Xishan camp, it was his job to suppress the rebellion and kill the rebels. But now, not to mention Zhenbei Hou and Shen Tingzhi, the two of them could not participate, even he himself was excluded.

How could Wang Zongyuan swallow this? If it weren't for the Marquis of Zhenbei, he would have rushed back to Shangjing to ask Shen Tianjiao in person what her purpose was in doing this.

It is my duty to guard the imperial city, so why do I leave myself out?

Wang Zongyuan got angry when he thought of this. He really couldn't bear it for a moment and wanted to go back to Beijing to ask Shen Tianjiao for an explanation.

The Marquis of Zhenbei didn't say anything for a long time. How could he feel good about it?

He also wanted to join the army to attack Li Chaohui and have a good fight with Li Chaohui.

Although there is no family feud between the two, there is national hatred. Li Chaohui has never been at peace over the years. Even when she was imprisoned in Anguo Temple, her subordinates often came out to create chaos.

They tried to rescue her from Anguo Temple and complete their unfinished business.

Moreover, the Marquis of Zhenbei remembered that Li Chaohui had coerced his daughter Shen Tianjiao to release her from Anguo Temple and had constantly created trouble to discredit Shen Tianjiao.

As the Marquis of Zhenbei who protects Yunli, he can ignore any personal gains and losses, but as a father, he absolutely cannot tolerate watching his daughter being bullied.

He must avenge this grudge.

But now Shen Tianjiao asked him to stay put and not get involved in this matter. Even if he was angry, he had to endure it.

The Marquis of Zhenbei knew why Shen Tianjiao didn't let herself, her family, or even her confidants get involved.

"Okay, both of you, don't be angry. Jiaojiao did this for her own good intentions."

"Since ancient times, it has been a taboo for relatives of the emperor to interfere in government affairs. Jiaojiao didn't let us get involved because she was concerned about the century-old reputation of the Zhenbei Marquisate."

"Jiaojiao had already announced to the outside world that day that due to the urgent war situation in Northern Xinjiang, I had returned to defend it."

"As a garrison commander, you cannot leave your territory without permission."

"From the Northern Frontier to Shangjing, even if we ride as fast as we can without taking a break, it will take about seven days to get back to Shangjing."