The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"Although my son is currently in poor health and cannot serve as an official outside to bring honor to the family, there is no problem for him to assist Chengjun at home."

"Besides, I have Amin by my side to help me, so don't worry."

Wu Jinglin looked back at Cui who was sitting next to him. If it weren't for his wife who took care of him and supported him over the years, he wouldn't be where he is today.

In the future, for the sake of their son and the Wu family, the couple will continue to work together as always.

These words from his eldest son brought great comfort to Wu Shide, who was grieving over the loss of his youngest son and a grandson.

"Okay, I'll leave Chengjun to you. Father has nothing to worry about."

Wu Shide looked at Wu Jinglin with a look of apology on his face, "But I'm afraid my position as Duke of Wu will have to be passed directly to Chengjun."

"It doesn't matter. As long as our Wu family can be safe and prosperous, what does it matter whether I become the Duke of Wu or not?"

Wu Jinglin knew how bad his health was, and he had never thought that he would inherit the title of Duke Wu.

If he inherited the title of Duke of Wu, it would be just a decoration and would not play any significant role at all.

However, if the position of Duke Wu was inherited by his son, the result would be very different.

"Yeah." Wu Shide nodded, then looked at his daughter-in-law Cui who was sitting beside him and said, "Amin, I'll need you to take care of the affairs of this mansion from now on."

"We must control the people at home. Things like what happened today must never happen again, otherwise our Wuguo Mansion will be in great trouble."

Cui quickly stood up and said, "Don't worry, father. I will definitely take good care of the children in the future. What happened today will never happen again."

"Let's sit down and talk." Wu Shide was very satisfied with his daughter-in-law Cui. She was born in the Qinghe Cui family. Not only was her family very powerful, but she was also well-educated and polite, and was a good housekeeper.

Wu Shide's wife died early. Since Cui came into the family, she has never made any mistakes in housekeeping in the past twenty years.

Wu Shide still trusted her very much, and was relieved to hand over the internal affairs of the Wuguo Mansion to her.

"The next thing is how to deal with Zhao and Wu Jingyuan's wives and concubines."

Thinking of these things gave Wu Shide a headache. Zhao was not a virtuous woman, and Wu Jingyuan was not a reliable and worry-free person.

This mother and son are my calamity. As long as they are around, I can't expect to live in peace.

"Father, do you have any plans on how to deal with them?"

Although Wu Jinglin felt that it was not a problem to keep those people in the mansion, after all, his younger brother was gone, and no matter how annoying those people were, they were still his younger brother's mother and widow.

It’s not like their Wuguo Mansion can’t afford to support him, but Wu Jinglin had to say these words before his old father spoke.

"If these people stay in the mansion, they will eventually become a nuisance. It's better to keep them away from the Wuguogong Mansion."

"I will give Zhao a letter of divorce, but because of Jing Yuan, I will place her in a farm in the countryside and raise her."

"Jing Yuan's wife is also a pitiful person. Let her stay in the mansion and live a peaceful life with Wu Qing."

Wu Jingyuan's wife, Gao, was the daughter of a minor official in Shangjing. She was weak in character, had no opinions of her own, and could only survive by relying on others.

She can't go back to her parents' home, and even if she could, she wouldn't have a good life there.

If she were to leave the Wuguo Mansion, she would definitely not be able to survive without anyone to rely on.

Furthermore, Gao was Wulong's biological mother. Wulong had just been forced to drink poisoned wine by Wu Shide and was already dead. Wu Shide still felt guilty about her.

He wanted Gao to stay in the mansion and raise Wu Jingyuan's other son Wu Qing to adulthood. Although Wu Qing was not Gao's biological son, he was also Wu Jingyuan's son.

Gao raised Wuqing and would be her support in the future.

Today, Gao went out to fulfill a vow and was not at home, so she did not know at this moment that a great change had taken place in her family and that her husband and son were dead.

"My daughter-in-law knows. I'll talk to my sister-in-law when she comes back."

Although Cui and Gao were sisters-in-law, there was no conflict of interest between them, so their relationship was relatively harmonious.

Today, Gao has lost her husband and son. As her sister-in-law, Cui can't help but feel pity for her.

"As for Jing Yuan's other concubines, give them some money and send them all out of the mansion."

"From now on, we must never have such a messy thing happen again in the Wuguo Mansion."

"Tell the children below, don't learn from Jing Yuan, who was so dissolute and made the house a mess. How can we still look like a century-old family?"

Wu Shide is now regretting his decision to the point of his intestines turning green. If he had intervened earlier, his son and grandson would not have ended up like this.

"Yes, father, don't worry. I will strictly discipline my children in the future and will not let this happen again."

Wu Jinglin looked at Wu Shide worriedly and said, "Father, things have come to this point. It's useless for you to be sad. There are many things at home that still need you to take care of."

"You are the backbone of our family. You can't collapse from excessive grief at this moment."

"I know." Wu Shide nodded and said, "There is something more important that we need to do right now."

"The Empress has already asked Chengjun to return to the capital, and has asked him to take over the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"This is a great blessing for our family, but it is also the beginning of hatred."

"Father, you're worried that someone might attack Chengjun on the way out of resentment."

Smart people understand things quickly. Wu Jinglin naturally knew what his father wanted to express.

"Yes, that's right." Wu Shide's expression became serious. "Chengjun must return safely and unharmed."

"Father, don't worry. I will arrange for the most powerful guards in the palace to pick up Cheng Jun right away."

"And I will send someone to deliver a letter to my brother later, asking him to send some people to help and ensure that Chengjun can return safely."

Cui has been in charge of the palace's internal affairs for many years, so this kind of matter should be arranged by her.

"Okay, go and arrange it."

Wu Shide nodded and signaled Cui that she could leave.

After Cui left, Wu Shide looked at Wu Jinglin and said, "Although your brother committed a serious crime and deserved death, he is still the blood of our Wu family. Now that he is dead, we still need to bury him and Long'er properly."

"Don't worry about this, father. I will take care of everything."

"We live in a village outside Beijing. It has picturesque scenery, a tranquil environment, and stunning views. It was originally the place I had planned for Amin and me to move to in the future."

"Let's put Jingyuan and Long'er there now. It's not far from Shangjing, and it will be convenient for us to visit and pay our respects in the future."

The place Wu Jinglin was talking about was the cemetery he had chosen for himself many years ago.

After all, for someone like him who is in poor health and has no idea how to live today, it is better for him to make plans in advance for such things, so as to avoid sudden accidents and catch his family off guard.

Wu Shide, who had his eyes closed, immediately opened his eyes after hearing Wu Jinglin's words.

He stared at Wu Jinglin for a long time before speaking: "Jinglin, your old father is still alive. You must fulfill your filial duty."

"Before I die, you must live well for me. Father is old and can no longer bear the pain of seeing his son die young. Do you understand?"

Wu Jinglin quickly stood up, saluted Wu Shide politely, and said, "Don't worry, father. I will definitely fulfill my filial duty and take care of you until the end of your life."

"Okay, this is what you said. If you can't do it and break your promise, I won't let you go."

Wu Shide now only hopes that his family can get through this special period smoothly and that nothing happens to anyone again.

He is now dying and doesn't know how much longer he can live. He has dedicated his entire life to the title of Duke Wu, but in the end all he hopes for is the safety of his children and grandchildren.

"Don't worry, father. I will do what I say."

Wu Jinglin looked at his father, who had never been so weak, and felt sad.

The father who has always protected this family like a mountain is really old.

"I'm moving back from now on."

The reason why Wu Shide moved from his home to live in a separate courtyard was simply because he didn't want to see the bad things happening at home and chose to turn a blind eye.

Now he has made up his mind to drive Zhao out of Duke Wu's Mansion, so there will be nothing in this family that can bother him. He will move back and take care of this family for the rest of his life.

"Yes, son, I know. Amin sends people to clean up your yard every day."

"The bedding and all the utensils in the room are also frequently changed and fresh."

"Son, let me accompany you back to rest. You should also take good care of yourself. Chengjun has no children yet, and you still have to watch his child being born and become a great grandfather."

Wu Jinglin helped Wu Shide up and said something to comfort him.

On this side, Wu Shide and his son were chatting about family matters and enjoying a warm moment, while on the other side, Cui was busy arranging various affairs.

Cui left the study and returned to her own courtyard, where she began to arrange people to protect her son Wu Chengjun.

She knew very well that this matter was of great importance, so without waiting for dawn, she wrote a letter and had it delivered to her brother on her mother's side.

She asked her brother, Cui Minghao, the Chief Censor, to send some people to protect Wu Chengjun, and at the same time, he also had to arrange everything on the road in advance to ensure that Wu Chengjun could return safely this time.

"Madam, it's almost dawn. You should rest for a while. You are not made of iron."

Fu Ma, Cui's dowry nanny, saw that Cui had been busy until now, with her eyes red, holding the bird's nest soup in her hand, and she felt very distressed.

"Fu Ma, now is not the time to rest. I won't be able to rest in peace until Chengjun returns safely."

At this moment, Cui felt as if she had drunk a hundred-year-old ginseng soup. She had endless energy and didn't feel tired at all.

Even though she hadn't slept all night, she was still as energetic as ever.

After hearing what Cui said, Fu Ma said nothing more and put down the bird's nest soup in her hand. "Even if you don't rest, you still need to eat something."

"This is the bird's nest soup I made all night. You should eat some to replenish your strength."

"Okay." Cui looked at Fu Ma and smiled gently. Fu Ma was the wet nurse who raised her since she was a child. In Cui's heart, the only difference between Fu Ma and her biological mother was that she did not give birth to her.

Cui, who was drinking bird's nest soup, suddenly put down the spoon in her hand, looked up at Fu Ma and asked, "How is Zhao now?"

"Well, I don't know. He must still be unconscious, otherwise he would have been making a fuss by now."

When mentioning Zhao, Fu Ma just shook her head. She was just a concubine of Duke Wu, but she relied on her status which was not presentable enough to make the whole mansion of Duke Wu in turmoil.

"Mother Fu, the Duke has already said that this time, Zhao will be expelled from the Duke's Mansion to a farm in the countryside."

"To prevent any further complications, we asked her to stay. We also wanted to prevent her from causing unrest at home and becoming a laughing stock to outsiders after she wakes up."

"So you go to her yard yourself and have someone take her to the farm in the country."

"Remember to choose a manor far away from Shangjing. Also, once you get there, be sure to send someone to keep a close eye on her."

"We must not let her cause trouble again. We have the future of the Duke of Wu and the future of Chengjun. We cannot let anything happen to her again."

Cui knew very well that Zhao was the biggest threat to the family. As long as she was taken away, everything else would be a small matter.

After all, no one can match Zhao's ability to do things that matter. It is better to be safe than sorry. Now her son and grandson are dead.

If she were to take the opportunity to run to Duke Wu and cry, and if Duke Wu softened his heart and took pity on her for having lost her son and grandson and did not let her go, that would be troublesome.

"I know, don't worry, ma'am, I'll go right away." Fu Ma also knew that getting rid of Zhao, the scourge, as soon as possible was the top priority.

She didn't hesitate and immediately turned around to go out to Zhao's yard.

"Fu Ma, wait a minute." Cui stood up and called out to Fu Ma.

"Take more people with you, and go to the palace doctor to get some sleeping pills. Have Zhao take them and let her leave the Wuguo Mansion peacefully. Don't let her disturb the Duke."

"The Duke has also suffered a setback today and needs a good rest."

"Yes, ma'am, I understand."

Fu Ma nodded and walked out of the room.