The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"Master, you should go to sleep. I will stay here and keep watch. I will wake you up when the time comes."

Yu Yao was used to staying up late on missions, so even if he didn't sleep all night, he wouldn't feel particularly tired.

"No, you have to go to sleep. We might not have time to rest for the next few days."

“There are guards outside, so you don’t need to worry.”

Upon hearing Shen Yiyang's words, Yu Yao knew that this task must be very difficult.

So I stopped arguing and just obediently went to sleep.

The three people inside were asleep, but countless eyes were watching them from outside.

The reason they were able to leave the courtyard smoothly last night was because their informant provided them with the route to the secret passage inside the courtyard.

They left the courtyard through a secret passage, so no one noticed.

"Did they make any moves last night?"

Boss Wan, who left yesterday, arrived at Wanchunlou early this morning, contrary to his usual behavior.

Boss Wan doesn't usually appear at Wanchunlou unless there's something important to discuss.

Because of Shen Yiyang, he arrived at Wanchun Tower early this morning.

"No, they didn't leave the yard last night. I checked myself, and all three of them were indeed there all night."

Mu Feng lowered his head and reported the situation to Boss Wan.

"You were here all night?"

Boss Wan frowned. What exactly was Shen Yiyang up to?

Shen Yiyang and his men have already arrived at his Wanchun Pavilion; it's impossible for him to remain inactive.

But his current inaction has left Boss Wan completely baffled.

"Go, send more people to keep a close watch on them and not let their every move slip by."

When Boss Wan said this, his expression became serious.

He knew that his opponent this time, Shen Yiyang, was not an easy person to deal with, and he was afraid that he would suffer if he made the slightest mistake.

"Yes, I will make arrangements now."

As Mu Feng left the room to arrange the tasks assigned to him by Boss Wan, he encountered a servant sweeping the courtyard on the way.

As Mu Feng approached the servant, he slowed his pace, bowed his head, and said a few words to him.

Then, after Mu Feng left, the servant immediately followed him away.

Because he had something on his mind, Shen Yiyang did not sleep for a full hour as he had said he would.

He slept for less than half an hour before getting up.

Hearing Shen Yiyang get up, Yu Yao, who hadn't dared to fall asleep, also got up.

Yu Yao had just gotten up and hadn't even gone to find Shen Yiyang when she heard birds chirping outside.

The southern Chu region enjoys a spring-like climate year-round, and birds that are not seen in Yunli during this season are quite common here.

However, this bird call was unusual; it was a coded message for Yu Yao to retrieve intelligence.

Yu Yao subconsciously looked around before calmly walking to a weeping willow tree outside. After surveying the surroundings, he swiftly retrieved what he wanted from a bird's nest in the tree.

Back in his room, Yu Yao handed over the intelligence he had gathered to Shen Yiyang.

"Master, this was just delivered."

Taking the note from Yu Yao, Shen Yiyang opened it and read: "Strengthen security and defenses; be extremely careful."

After reading the note, Shen Yiyang destroyed it.

"It seems we need to be even more careful with our actions today."

Bai Yunchi was a young man in his prime, so even if he stayed up all night, it wouldn't matter. However, after taking a nap, he felt even more energetic.

When Bai Yunchi came out of his room and walked into the living room, he found that Shen Yiyang and Yu Yao had already gotten up.

Seeing that Bai Yunchi had also woken up, Shen Yiyang said, "Let's make a plan now. We can't just keep going aimlessly like this."

“Achi, since you are familiar with He Chen, why don’t you consider making contact with him?”

"Let's see if we can get something useful from him."

"It is not normal for He Chen to appear in Nan Chu at this time, especially in Wanchun Tower."

"Perhaps this person is the one who will help us find a breakthrough."

Although Shen Yiyang does not yet have conclusive evidence to prove that He Chen is related to the matter they are investigating.

But his intuition told him that there must be something wrong with He Chen.

The He family's property has already been confiscated, so it's impossible for so much of their assets to have flowed out.

This Wanchun Tower is not a place that ordinary wealthy people can afford. The accommodation fee of five hundred taels of silver per day is something that even he, the eldest son of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion, cannot afford.

How could He Chen, the son of a disgraced official whose property had been confiscated, possibly afford such a thing?

Even if He Ping had saved a large sum of money before the He family's troubles, it wouldn't be enough to cover all of He Chen's expenses at Wanchunlou.

This morning, Bai Yunchi also said that He Chen was living a very carefree life here.

That means his daily expenses were more than just five hundred taels of silver.

Such a huge expense—not to mention the He family's current decline, even when the He family was at its peak, He Ping would never have allowed He Chen to squander money like this.

After all, even the prestigious He family couldn't withstand such extravagant spending.

Therefore, there is definitely something wrong with He Chen appearing at Wanchunlou at this time.

"Brother, are you suspecting that He Chen is involved in what we're trying to find out?"

Bai Yunchi has gotten so into character that he can't get out of it anymore; he now sees himself as Shen Yiyang's younger brother.

When Bai Yunchi saw He Chen last night, he didn't think much of it. He just assumed that He Chen's presence here meant that the He family had been raided and he had nowhere to go, which was why he came to Nan Chu.

After all, if He Chen stayed in Yunli now, he would be the son of a disgraced official. If he was not exiled with the He family and was discovered, it would be a capital offense.

But now that Bai Yunchi heard Shen Yiyang say this, he immediately felt that things were not so simple.

Back when he was a playboy, he was a notorious spendthrift in the capital. His father's salary wasn't high, and his family wasn't wealthy, but his mother's family was very rich.

When his mother got married, she received a large dowry, and she was also an extremely good businesswoman.

After she married her father, their family's wealth increased more than tenfold in just over a decade.

His mother only had him and his sister as her children, so she spoiled and doted on them both.

They give them almost anything they want, and they certainly don't skimp on their spending.

Each month, the expenses are only a few hundred taels of silver.

Wanchun Tower is a decadent and intoxicating place where no amount of money is enough to squander.

He Chen was just an illegitimate son of the He family. Even if his deceased father doted on him, he wouldn't have left him so much money to squander.

As powerful and influential families in the capital, with comparable wealth, there was no reason why He Chen would suddenly become so rich.

So, it seems that He Chen definitely has a problem.

"Yes, but this is just my suspicion for now. We need to find a suitable reason to approach He Chen and see if we can get any valuable information from him."

Shen Yiyang had begun to suspect He Chen, so naturally he had to find out the truth.

Bai Yunchi is familiar with He Chen, so it's likely that Bai Yunchi will be the one to handle this matter.

What they lack now is an opportunity, an opportunity to approach He Chen without attracting attention.

"This one?"

Bai Yunchi lowered his head and fell into deep thought. He knew He Chen quite well.

This person is not inherently bad; it's just that because of his poor background, he is often bullied by others, which inevitably makes him a bit irritable.

Aside from having a bad temper and being a bit of a bully, he doesn't seem to have any other major flaws.

Although he might bully others by taking advantage of his power, he never bullies the weak and innocent anymore. He simply uses the power of his father and sister to retaliate against those who have wronged him for the humiliation they have inflicted upon him.

When they were living together in the capital, they had a fairly good relationship. Bai Yunchi not only never bullied He Chen, but even helped him out of trouble out of sympathy for his plight.

Therefore, He Chen still respects Bai Yunchi very much and is willing to listen to Bai Yunchi on everything.

However, Bai Yunchi was later tricked into entering the palace by Shen Tianjiao and Bai Qishan.

Unable to go out and fool around like before, the two gradually stopped seeing each other.

When the He family's property was raided, Bai Yunchi went to check on it and discovered that He Chen was not among the exiled members of the He family.

At the time, Bai Yunchi thought that He Chen was not qualified to live in the He family because he was an illegitimate child of low status, which was why he was not implicated.

But unexpectedly, He Chen came to Nan Chu.

No matter what, Bai Yunchi had to find out why He Chen had come to Southern Chu and what had happened to He Chen during the time since he entered the palace.

If He Chen is really related to what they are investigating, then he definitely won't be lenient and let He Chen go.

But if He Chen was forced into this situation, he might consider saving the wayward youth and rescuing He Chen from his misery.

Based on his understanding of He Chen, this person was not sensible enough to voluntarily get involved in such a dangerous and life-threatening matter.

He Chen was most likely forced into it.

He was either forced into it by his father or he was set up and used by someone.

Thinking of this, Bai Yunchi immediately decided to go find He Chen and ask him for clarification.

He will decide how to deal with He Chen after he has found out the truth of the matter.

"Brother, you can rest assured and leave this matter to me. I will find a way to get close to He Chen and find out what his current situation is."

Shen Yiyang looked up at Bai Yunchi. Bai Yunchi was a very clever person with a lot of cunning. If he said he could do it, then there shouldn't be any problem.

"Alright, He Chen is in your hands now, but be careful in everything you do. This is Southern Chu, not our Yunli."

"Besides, we have no idea what the situation is like with He Chen right now."

"No matter what kind of person He Chen was before, his personality may have changed after the He family's property was confiscated and they were exiled."

"You'd better be more careful and keep your guard up; it's never a bad thing."

Bai Yunchi is Bai Qishan's only son, and Shen Yiyang has a responsibility to protect his safety.

Moreover, after spending so much time together, their feelings for each other had deepened, and Shen Yiyang naturally didn't want to see Bai Yunchi suffer a loss.

"It's alright, don't worry, brother. I know what I'm doing when it comes to dealing with He Chen."

Bai Yunchi often does things simply because he doesn't want to use his brain. If he were to use his brain, many people wouldn't be his match.

He Chen is nothing to Bai Yunchi; he's not even worth a second thought. He's not even worthy of being Bai Yunchi's opponent.

"However, brother, let's move out of Wanchun Tower as soon as possible."

"A night's lodging fee of five hundred taels of silver is really too expensive."

A place that even a playboy like Bai Yunchi finds expensive must be truly expensive.

"Besides, what can't we do with that money? Why do we have to take these people from Southern Chu?"

Thinking about how much money had all been earned by the people of Nan Chu, Bai Yunchi felt not only heartache but also resentment.

It doesn't make sense to give money to your enemy like this.

"We are moving out, but not so soon. We need to wait at least two days."

"Besides, we don't live here now, but we still need to have a place to stay."

Shen Yiyang lowered his head and thought for a while, then said to Yu Yao, "Go out and take a look around these next two days to see if there are any suitable detached houses nearby."

"It's inconvenient for us to stay in a guesthouse, and I want all of our people to come over. If there are too many people staying in a guesthouse, it will attract too much attention."

Although it's still unclear how things will develop, Shen Yiyang can foresee that they will inevitably have a life-or-death battle with both Nan Chu and Wan Chun Lou.

He made preparations in advance, sending his own people into Guchang City, just in case any conflict occurred and he had no one to rely on.

After all, this is someone else's territory, so we should always consider things carefully before doing anything.

"Yes, I understand. However, finding just a small courtyard won't work; it's too small."

"Otherwise, we could find two adjacent courtyards. This way, the people would be separated, making it less likely to attract attention, and the living space wouldn't be too crowded."

Yu Yao considered the matter more deeply. There were quite a few people with them this time, including not only the personal guards but also the secret guards sent by the Empress.

They dispersed and left in batches because they were afraid that too many people would make it difficult for everyone to move around, and also because they didn't want to attract attention.

"You can make the decision about this yourself; you don't need to interfere."

Shen Yiyang had absolute trust in Yu Yao.