The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Many people did not sleep last night, and everyone is waiting for dawn.

At daybreak, the emperor and empress led all the officials out of the city to the Taimiao to pray for blessings and offer sacrifices to heaven.

Watching the Emperor and Empress' carriages leave the Imperial City, Lu Yan turned back and ordered, "Go, tell Li Zhaohui that the Emperor and Empress have left the city with all the officials."

The guards around him responded and left.

Lu Yan turned around and said to everyone, "We are ready to take action."

"After the emperor and empress have left the city with all the officials, we will send people to close the city gates. This time we are going to close the gates and beat the dog."

"The actions must be not only steady, accurate and ruthless, but also swift. We must try our best not to disrupt the order in Shangjing and cause panic among the people."

"Yes, my lord."

In Yuxiu Palace, Shen Tianjiao had also gotten up early. Today she dressed up in a rare formal outfit, a departure from her usual plain and quiet appearance.

Yan Yu also changed his clothes, put on his mask, and was ready to go.

"Master, they have already set off."

"Lord Lu sent someone to say that he has made all the necessary preparations. After all the officials leave the city, he will close the city gates and begin the operation immediately."

The palace seemed exceptionally solemn and quiet today. Even Xia He, who came to report the news, became much more steady.

"Yeah." Shen Tianjiao opened her eyes. It was finally about to begin. After waiting for so long, success or failure depended on this one move.

"You don't need to go with me today. Just stay with the old ancestor in the palace."

Compared with Qiu Tong and Chun Chao, Xia He is just a weak woman, and today's bloody scene is really not suitable for her.

If she went with him, Shen Tianjiao would still worry about her, so it would be better for her to stay in the palace honestly from the beginning.

Xia He opened her mouth, but finally swallowed the words that it was okay and she could go with them.

Although she really wanted to go, she was aware of her own abilities and was afraid that if she went, she would not only be of no use, but would even make things worse.

"Yes, the servant knows."

"Go and get that sword. Oh, and bring me my gold-threaded soft armor as well."

Although the possibility of encountering danger today is not high, Shen Tianjiao still needs to make full preparations. Even if the chance of encountering danger is only very small, she must take precautions in advance to avoid it.

Xia He quickly brought the sword and the golden soft armor. Shen Tianjiao waved her hand, signaling her to leave.

After Xia He left, Shen Tianjiao took out the sword that Zhenbei Hou had made for her, handed it to Yan Yu, and said, "A sword worthy of a hero. From today on, it's yours."

The moment Yan Yu took the sword and pulled it out of the scabbard, he knew that this was a rare and outstanding sword in the world.

"It will be yours from now on. Let it accompany you on your expeditions."

"This sword was made for me personally by the Marquis of Zhenbei, my father."

"It is made of rare black iron and is unique in the world."

Shen Tianjiao likes the Marquis of Zhenbei very much. If it were someone else, Shen Tianjiao would really be reluctant to give the sword he made for her.

But if this person is Yan Yu, Shen Tianjiao would be willing to give up anything.

"This is a gift from the Marquis of Zhenbei. I can't take away someone else's love."

With the sword in front of him, how could Yan Yu not like it?

But he knew that Shen Tianjiao must also like this sword very much. He could take the sword from anyone else, but he could not and would not take it from Shen Tianjiao.

Shen Tianjiao smiled. She had known that she would encounter this situation. In her previous life, Yan Yu had given her everything all his life. All the good things belonged to her. This had become something engraved in Yan Yu's bones and could not be erased.

"You can take it. It is just a sword left with me, an object of admiration."

"But when it arrives with you, it becomes different. Only when it stays with you can it play its greatest role and value."

"As a truly exceptional sword, its destiny is to serve on the battlefield, not to be stored in an expensive box and become a lifeless object."

Shen Tianjiao put the sword that Yan Yu handed over back into Yan Yu's hand.

"Just listen to me and take it. I'll feel more at ease having it with you."

"It doesn't have a name yet, so why not just call it Wuyou? It will live a peaceful and worry-free life from now on."

Having experienced the pain of separation, the pain of war, and the pain of losing their country in their previous lives, no one can understand the meaning and weight of the four words "safe and worry-free" better than Shen Tianjiao and Yan Yu.

In their previous lives, they spent their entire lives fighting on the battlefield, all for these four words.

The regrets that were not fulfilled in the previous life must be made up in this life, and regrets must not be allowed to happen again.

After giving away the sword, Shen Tianjiao took out the golden silk soft armor.

Although this piece of gold-thread soft armor belongs to Shen Tianjiao, it is not tailor-made for her.

"Come on, try this on and see if it fits you."

Yan Yu looked at the golden silk soft armor in Shen Tianjiao's hand and said, "I'll keep Wuyou, you can wear this one yourself."

"Although I will stay by your side tomorrow, there may be times when I can't be there, so I'm leaving this for you to wear just to be on the safe side."

Yan Yu was absolutely confident that he would not need this golden soft armor. He was only worried about whether Shen Tianjiao would be in danger tomorrow.

"Be good and put on this golden armor. I'll have your protection tomorrow. What could possibly happen?"

"If something happens to me with you by my side, then you shouldn't be a general anymore."

Yan Yu was confident that he would not get hurt, so Shen Tianjiao was also confident that because Yan Yu was there, she would not get hurt at all.

"Don't just stand there, put on this golden soft armor quickly."

"This piece of gold-threaded soft armor is different from other gold-threaded soft armor. It was a trophy captured by Bai Qishan from the Uighur royal court."

"It was made by the Left Wise King of the Uighurs. He was to give it to the then Uighur King as a birthday gift."

"It's more than twice as light as ordinary gold silk soft armor. Wearing it is like wearing a slightly thicker piece of underwear."

“It’s not too heavy to restrict your movements.”

"But before he could present this golden soft armor to the Uighur king, the Uighur royal court was attacked by Bai Qishan and his troops."

"So this piece of golden silk soft armor also returned to Yunli with Bai Qishan, becoming a trophy presented to the late emperor by Jin."

"When my original self married Li Rui, this golden silk soft armor was sent to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion as a betrothal gift."

"The Marquis of Zhenbei loved his daughter dearly, and he included this golden soft armor in the original body's dowry, asking the original body to bring it into the palace for self-defense."

"Giving it to you is the same as giving Wuyou to you. Yan Yu, you must live well in this life. If anything happens to you, I will never live alone. Do you remember?"

Shen Tianjiao's words were not meant to scare Yan Yu. They were all true. She could accept losing everything, but she could never accept losing Yan Yu.

After she and Yan Yu separated in her previous life, although they never met again, they still cared about each other.

In her previous life, after she was poisoned by Li Heng, Yan Yu would sneak into the ancestral temple every year on her death anniversary to pay tribute to her.

Yan Yu would tell her about the pain in his heart, his longing for her, and some trivial things that happened to him in his daily life.

Although Shen Tianjiao was dead at that time, her soul was trapped in her own portrait, so she could feel Yan Yu's pain and despair.

In her previous life, Yan Yu protected her all his life, so in this life, it is her turn to protect Yan Yu all his life.

Yan Yu looked at Shen Tianjiao and said nothing more. He obediently took off his coat and put on the gold-thread soft armor.

This piece of gold-thread soft armor was indeed as light as Shen Tianjiao said. Wearing it was no different from not wearing it, and it did not hinder Yan Yu's movements at all.

"I have taken the sword and put on the golden soft armor. Is there anything else you want to ask, young lady?"

When the two were together in their previous life, Yan Yu would often jokingly call Shen Tianjiao "Miss".

Hearing this familiar name from Yan Yu's mouth, Shen Tianjiao really felt like they had returned to their previous life.

"Miss, there's nothing else you want to tell General Yan. Let's go to the tower of the Imperial City and wait for Li Zhaohui to arrive."

Although Li Chaohui's original plan was to enter the palace at night, things are unpredictable. No one can predict whether Li Chaohui will advance his plan.

After all, there is no logic or reason in talking to an insane madman.

So they have to make preparations in advance to avoid being caught off guard.

"I will follow the young lady's instructions."

After Yan Yu said this, he and Shen Tianjiao looked at each other and smiled.

Like now, two people have the opportunity to fight side by side and stand together. This feeling is very wonderful for both of them.

Although they grew up together in their previous life, they had never fought side by side.

So this is the first time in their lives that they both have the opportunity to fight side by side.

This made them both excited but also a little nervous.

While the two people in the room were still reminiscing about the opportunity to fight side by side, Ruan Yuhu came outside.

The battle is about to begin, and at this moment when the outcome is about to be decided, it is impossible for Ruan Yuhu not to come and cheer Shen Tianjiao up.

When Xia He saw Ruan Yuhu coming, she hurried to greet him and said loudly, "Grandfather, you are here. Xia He greets you."

Ruan Yuhu, who had never heard Xia He speak so loudly, suddenly felt that his ears could not bear it. This was not a greeting to her, it was clearly making noise.

"What's wrong with you today?" Ruan Yuhu covered his ears and looked at Xia He and said, "You are usually so steady, why are you so irritable today?"

"If you speak any louder, I'll really go deaf."

Xia He lowered her head and secretly stuck out her tongue. She was not being unstable at all. She was just reminding Shen Tianjiao in the room.

"Forgive me, Grandfather. My throat has been uncomfortable these past few days, and I was worried that you wouldn't be able to hear me clearly, so I spoke a little louder."

Now Xia He could only make excuses and make random prevarications. She was not afraid of being scolded or punished. She just hoped that Shen Tianjiao in the room could hear what she said.

Although Xia He trusted her master's character very much and she was definitely not the kind of person who would do something indiscriminate, there was an unknown man in the house after all, and if others saw her, they would inevitably misunderstand.

Shen Tianjiao and Yan Yu in the room had already heard Xia He's reminder. Yan Yu said nothing and went back to the next room.

He also didn't want to cause trouble for Shen Tianjiao or let others misunderstand Shen Tianjiao.

After Yan Yu entered the next room, Shen Tianjiao also walked over and opened the door.

"Grandfather, why are you here?"

Shen Tianjiao stepped forward and took Ruan Yuhu's arm. She winked at Xia He, indicating that Xia He should prepare refreshments.

After receiving the order, Xia He immediately walked away and disappeared.

"Girl, how can I not come at such an important moment today?"

Seeing Shen Tianjiao coming out, Ruan Yuhu forgot what happened just now. She now had more important things to do.

"Girl, I'll accompany you to the battle later. Today, we'll just wait for Li Zhaohui to come and finish this scene."

Although Ruan Yuhu had been in charge of Yunli for many years and was a powerful figure, that was only in the palace and the court, where he fought with wisdom, tactics and ruthlessness.

She had never really participated in or experienced a real-life scene like today, so she was actually very nervous at the moment.

Shen Tianjiao looked at Ruan Yuhu and smiled, then said, "Aunt, you don't have to accompany me. You can stay in the harem."

"If the former dynasty is in chaos, the harem will not be at peace either."

"Those concubines in the palace who seem to be obedient and well-behaved on weekdays, who doesn't have someone backing them?"

"If their backers are restless, how can we expect them to be content?"

"So this harem needs someone like you, someone who can scare off those demons and monsters who want to cause trouble, so that they dare not and cannot make waves in the harem."

The former dynasty is important, and the harem is also important. What Shen Tianjiao wants now is that the affairs of the former dynasty can be resolved smoothly and there must be no chaos in the harem.

"Okay, I'll stay in the harem to guard it, and you can go do your own thing without worry. I promise that the harem will be the same as usual and there will be no chaos."

"But you always need to have someone reliable by your side."

Ruan Yuhu knew that the stability of the harem was also very important at this time. Now, apart from her, there was indeed no one who could control the women in the harem.

But the former dynasty is also very important. If Shen Tianjiao is not stable there, she will not be able to feel at ease in the harem.

"Auntie, don't worry, I have reliable people by my side."

"The harem seems peaceful now, but as long as the front court starts fighting, someone in the harem will definitely jump out and cause trouble. Auntie must be very careful."

The situation in the harem is no better than that of the previous dynasty. If this woman starts to act like a demon, she will be much more powerful than those court officials.