The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Gong Jianzhou got up as soon as the sun rose.

Xia He, who stayed at the Changyuan Earl's house last night, has also gotten up at this time.

Her mission was completed, and she had to hurry back to the palace to report.

"Maid, are we leaving now?"

As soon as Gong Jianzhou entered the yard, he saw Xia He was already there.

"Yes, now that it's done, I'm going back to report to the ancestors."

Xia He bowed to Gong Jianzhou and said, "I'll have to trouble Earl Changyuan for future matters."

"The ancestor has instructed that if you need anything in the future, just send someone to the palace to find me."

"Okay, maid, take care."

Gong Jianzhou would not say polite words to keep Xia He, because he knew very well that Xia He should go back.

After bidding farewell to Gong Jianzhou, Xia He got on the carriage and hurried back to the palace.

Because of what happened last night, Liu and Hui were also awake all night, so they came over as soon as the sun rose.

Seeing the two of them coming, Gong Jianzhou hurried over and asked, "Second Mother, Third Mother, why are you up so early?"

"Of course it's because I'm worried. Such a big thing happened at home. Your second mother and I didn't sleep last night."

Huishi had dark circles under his eyes and looked listless.

"Ah, Sanniang, there's no need to be so nervous. Just don't let outsiders enter or leave my yard at will, and then just act like usual."

Gong Jianzhou never expected that Liu and Hui would not sleep all night because of this matter.

In Gong Jianzhou's impression, Liu and Hui were not the kind of people who could not withstand hardships. In the past, the Duke of Tang's Mansion was in chaos every day, but the two of them could still eat and sleep without being affected by anything.

How come he has become so irresponsible now?

"How could you, kid, act like it's normal for such a big thing to happen?"

Liu looked at Gong Jianzhou, sighed, and said, "Didn't you say that the girl was very frightened and is still in a coma?"

"Now that they have come to our home, we must take good care of them."

"Besides, didn't you say yesterday that this girl was asked by a nobleman to help take care of her? If anything goes wrong, we won't be able to explain it."

Liu lowered her voice and spoke carefully for fear that the people in the room would hear her.

"So I discussed it with your mother-in-law. From today on, I will stay in your yard and help take care of this girl until she wakes up and fully recovers."

"Although there aren't many people in our house right now, we can't prevent the servants from gossiping."

"You should have your own people in this yard to take care of it."

Liu and Hui really worried about Gong Jianzhou, even their own mothers could do no more than this.

Gong Jianzhou looked at Liu and Hui, and suddenly his nose felt sore for no reason. He said, "Thank you for the trouble, Second Mother and Third Mother."

"You silly child, what are you talking about? We are a family, not outsiders."

Liu went forward and straightened Gong Jianzhou's clothes. "Go and take care of your own business. You don't need to worry about the affairs at home. Just do your job well and don't let the Empress down."

"Well, I see."

Gong Jianzhou nodded heavily. With Liu and Hui as his backers, what else could he be afraid of?

Liu looked at Gong Jianzhou standing in front of her and couldn't help but sigh in her heart that time passed so quickly.

When she entered the Duke of Tang's Mansion, Gong Jianzhou was just a babbling child, but in the blink of an eye he had grown up.

It would be more accurate to say that Gong Jianzhou was raised by Liu and Hui rather than by them.

Gong Jianzhou's biological mother was a frail and sickly beauty. After giving birth to Gong Jianzhou and his brother, her health deteriorated day by day.

Therefore, the Gong Jianzhou brothers have been with Liu and Hui almost since they were young.

So even though they are restricted by their status, it does not affect the mother-son relationship between them.

"Okay, breakfast is ready for you, go eat before you leave."

"Also, your laundry is ready. Change it when you leave. From now on, you must tidy up neatly and energetically every day."

"After all, you are now a noble, so you have to be careful about your reputation when you go out. You can't let others look down on you. You are not only representing yourself now, but also our Changyuan Marquis' Mansion."

"We should stand up straight and not let others look down on us."

Although the Gong family is now in decline and is not as good as before, no matter how much Liu has wronged others, she will never wrong Gong Jianzhou.

Gong Jianzhou is now the head of the family and the face of their Changyuan Mansion.

Anyone in this family can suffer injustice, but Gong Jianzhou is the only one who cannot suffer injustice.

"okay, I get it."

Gong Jianzhou nodded at Liu. He did have a lot of things on hand right now and couldn't afford to waste time at home.

After seeing Gong Jianzhou off, Liu stayed in his yard to help take care of the unconscious Anping, while Hui went out.

She wanted to look for business opportunities, expand and strengthen the industries of the Changyuan Marquis' Mansion, and make the Changyuan Marquis' Mansion the richest in Shangjing.

Just as Hui was about to get on the carriage, Rongniang got on before her.

Looking at Rongniang sitting steadily in the carriage, Hui glared at her unhappily and said, "You silly girl, get off right now."

"I'm warning you, get down here right now and stay home, or I'll break your legs!"

Faced with Hui's threats, Rong Niang acted as if she didn't hear them and sat in the carriage without moving.

"Are you deaf, or do you really want to go against me?"

Seeing Rongniang sitting there motionless, Huishi couldn't help but get angry and yelled at Rongniang.

"No, I want to go with you. I said I want to learn business from Sanniang."

Rong Niang was not afraid of Hui's roar and just sat there steadily.

Although this girl is young, she is very opinionated. Once she makes up her mind to do something, no one can stop her.

"You're really going to piss me off to death, girl."

Huishi was so angry that she felt like a stone was pressing on her chest, and the pain made her unable to breathe.

"Look at any unmarried girl, showing off everywhere and learning how to do business with others?"

"Who among you isn't staying at home obediently? We just hired a teacher for you and Yu Niang to teach you how to read and write. Why don't you just study with the teacher and go out and make trouble?"

"Let's not even talk about how much money it would cost to have Madam come home and teach you. Don't you know how rare the opportunity to study is?"

"When we were at the Duke of Tang's mansion, our family conditions were much better than they are now, but your father didn't hire a teacher to come to the mansion to teach you."

"Do you know how much effort your elder brother put into hiring a teacher for you?"

"If you don't study hard, how can you be worthy of your elder brother?"

Hui Shi became angrier and angrier as she spoke, and she almost pulled Rong Niang out of the carriage herself.

"Sanniang, don't be angry. I know it's not easy for my elder brother. I will study hard after I come back and won't waste my time."

Seeing that Huishi was really angry, Rongniang changed her nonchalant attitude and softened her tone.

"Why can't you understand what I'm saying, girl?"

Hui Shi looked at Rong Niang, who was lowering her head and looking submissive, and she couldn't describe the feeling in her heart.

"Rong'er, you are still young and don't understand how difficult it is to be a woman in this world."

"Although our Changyuan Marquis's Mansion is not a large family, it still has a title."

"As a young lady from an earl's mansion, you will be criticized if you follow me and do business in public."

"How will you discuss marriage and get married then?"

"Which family with a little bit of status would marry a woman who is out in the public all day and has to interact with many men?"

Hui looked at Rong Niang and sighed helplessly in her heart. This world is extremely tolerant of men. Whatever men do is right anyway. But it is extremely harsh to women. Women are bound by all kinds of rules and dogmas.

In this era, if women are not careful in their actions, they will be accused of all kinds of things, become the target of public criticism, and be attacked and talked about.

It wasn't that Hui Shi didn't want Rong Niang to go out with her to see the world and gain some experience, but the world today didn't allow a girl to show up in public and gain some experience.

"Then I won't get married. Who says women have to get married?"

"I won't marry, and I won't depend on men. As long as I have a skill that can make money, I can still live a good life."

Rong Niang grew up watching the experiences of Liu and Hui. She didn't want to be trapped in a house for the rest of her life because of a man.

Having to look at other people's faces, abide by various rules, serve one husband with many women, and spend your life in a daze.

She didn't know anything else, she only knew that people can only live once, and when they die, there is nothing left.

Therefore, she must live a good life in this life and not ruin herself for that person, especially a man.

"Oh my dear, don't ever say such outrageous words again!"

Hui Shi felt that all the blood in her body rushed to her head. She didn't know where this rebellious idea came from.

As someone who has been assimilated into this era, Hui Shi would never allow, let alone accept, Rong Niang's idea.

Huishi took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She knew that it was useless to be angry with this girl and she had to coax her.

Because this girl has always been a person who responds to soft words and not to tough ones since she was a child. The tougher you are with her, the tougher she will become.

"Be good, be obedient, get off the carriage, and go back to study hard."

"Sanniang is back from outside and brought you and your sister some delicious cakes."

Rong Niang didn't want any cakes at all. She just wanted to go with Hui Shi and see the wider world outside.

When she was in the Duke of Tang's Mansion, she was bound by various rules every day. She couldn't do this or that. She was like a bird in a cage, with nowhere to go except that small world.

Now, with great difficulty, they had finally moved out of the Duke of Tang's Mansion. There were no more rules in the Marquis of Changyuan's Mansion. She and her sister could finally break free from the constraints of those rules and gain the freedom they had longed for.

The eldest brother even specially invited a teacher to come to their home to teach her and her younger sister, which was something they had never even thought about before.

When Gong Chenghai was still the Duke of Tang, he never paid much attention to his two daughters, and could almost be described as turning a blind eye to them.

Not to mention letting his two daughters go to school, it is even a problem whether he can remember that he has two daughters.

"Why don't you get off? Do you really want me to pull you off the carriage?"

Hui looked at Rong Niang and couldn't help but sigh. This girl was born stubborn, and she didn't know who she took that from.

It is obvious that her mother, Liu, is a gentle person to the core, and even her good-for-nothing father is not a stubborn person.

How come the daughter born to these two people is such a stubborn person?

"Sanniang, I'll go with you today, just today, okay?"

"I promise, I really promise, just for today, okay, Sanniang."

Rong Niang watched Hui Shi acting coquettishly. She knew that her San Niang was the most soft-hearted. As long as she begged for a while longer, San Niang would definitely soften her heart and agree to her.

It has to be said that this little girl Rong Niang really figured out Hui Shi's weakness. Seeing Rong Niang's pitiful look at this moment, Hui Shi really couldn't bear it.

However, Huishi did not immediately agree to Rongniang's request. She had her own considerations and concerns.

If she took Rong Niang out with her today, she would probably have no intention of staying at home to study hard and be a well-behaved girl after seeing the prosperous world outside.

But at the same time, she also knew very clearly that if she didn't take Rong Niang with her today, with this girl's bold personality, she would definitely cause trouble.

Wyeth was caught in a dilemma. She thought for a long time and finally decided to choose the lesser of two evils.

Instead of worrying about getting into trouble if he didn't let Rong Niang follow him, it would be better to let her follow him.

If she stays by his side, at least he can keep an eye on her. Even if she wants to cause trouble, she will have to think twice and restrain herself.

If Rong Niang follows him out this time, and even if she can't control her mind after she comes back, the worst that can happen is that he can lock her up and beat her up. If she doesn't obey after one beating, he will keep beating her until she obeys.

That’s right, Wyeth is such a simple and rough person.

Having made up her mind and thought it through, Huishi looked at Rongniang and said, "You're right, just this once. If you dare to pester me again about going out, or go out without permission, I will break both of your legs."

"You will become a cripple from now on, and you will never be able to walk again in your life."