The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"It'll be soon, it'll be soon. Your maternal grandfather will be able to take you and your siblings back soon."

Looking at her son, who had grown taller and stronger in recent days, Shen Tianjiao felt a sense of relief.

"Have you been studying diligently with your second uncle lately?"

Because of the complicated situation at Ziyun Manor, Cui Yi did not come along this time. Shen Tianjiao knew that Li Muyang had been studying with Shen Tingzhi all this time.

"Yes, I have been studying hard with my second uncle."

Li Muyang really liked his second uncle, Shen Tingzhi. Studying with Shen Tingzhi was much more interesting and fun than studying with that old Master Cui.

He longed to continue studying with his second uncle, but Li Muyang knew in his heart that his second uncle couldn't stay by his side forever.

My second uncle has many more things to do than helping me with my studies.

Before the mother and son inside the carriage could finish their conversation, Shen Tingzhi outside also boarded the carriage.

Seeing that Shen Tingzhi had obviously lost a lot of weight, Shen Tianjiao felt a little worried.

Because of her dream of a powerful nation, everyone in her family is paying the price.

"I'm fine, I'm perfectly healthy."

Looking at Shen Tianjiao's gaze, Shen Tingzhi understood what she was thinking.

"No matter how busy you are, you must take care of your health. You still have a long way to go with Mu'er."

"If your health collapses, how will you accompany Mu'er on that journey?"

Shen Tianjiao looked at Shen Tingzhi and sighed silently, feeling even more guilty towards her brothers.

She had long ago made up her mind to find wives for her brothers, but due to one thing or another, it was delayed time and time again.

It was all her fault, after she ended things with the Western Rong and Southern Chu.

This is a very important matter that needs to be put on the agenda and treated as a top priority.

Once you get married, you'll have someone to take care of you, and things will be different from now.

"I'm really fine, I'm perfectly healthy. Do you think I've been practicing martial arts for nothing all these years?"

Shen Tingzhi looked at the worried Shen Tianjiao and tried to comfort her in a relaxed manner.

It's hard to be an official, and it's even harder to be a good one.

Shen Tingzhi abandoned martial arts for literature in order to revitalize the court of Yunli and thereby restore Yunli.

Everything comes at a price. Although he is much busier and more tired than before, Shen Tingzhi is very happy.

Shen Tianjiao looked at Shen Tingzhi and didn't say anything more, because she knew that no matter how much she said, it would be useless, and Shen Tingzhi wouldn't listen.

Once he gets married, someone will naturally take care of him, and he won't be able to disobey anymore.

When Ruan Yuhu returns, Shen Tianjiao will work with her to find some girls of similar age, with respectable family backgrounds and good personalities to be introduced to her brothers.

It's time for the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion to flourish again.

During the rest of the journey, besides asking her son about his homework, Shen Tianjiao listened to Li Muyang tell her about the interesting things that had happened at Ziyun Manor these past few days.

Ziyun Villa is ridiculously large; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's comparable to a royal palace.

Besides the clusters of buildings, there is also a back mountain to visit. Unlike Fusheng Rumeng, Ziyun Mountain Villa is relatively safer.

The people in Ziyun Manor are all servants of the Li family. Except in special circumstances, they are not allowed to leave the manor on their own.

Anyone found leaving the villa without permission will be beaten to death.

Under these circumstances, with its own people unable to leave and the chances of outsiders entering, Ziyun Manor is naturally much safer.

Marquis Zhenbei was not an unreasonable person who would keep his child by his side and prevent him from going anywhere.

On the contrary, the Marquis of Zhenbei hoped that Li Muyang could travel more while studying, and that he should read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles.

It's never a bad thing for people to go out and broaden their horizons.

Especially for an emperor, if he cannot sympathize with the suffering of the people and does not have enough knowledge, then he is destined not to be a good emperor.

Although the Marquis of Zhenbei now understands that his daughter is the reincarnation of the Ziwei Empress, who was prophesied to replace the Li Dynasty and become the empress.

However, this did not affect his upbringing of Li Muyang. Even if his daughter became empress, she still needed an heir to inherit the future throne.

Even if his daughter becomes empress, Li Muyang will still be the crown prince, and the future of Yunli's empire will still belong to Li Muyang.

Shen Tianjiao's mission is to be the restorer of Yunli, to lead the entire city to prosperity. Once she has completed her mission, it will naturally be up to her successors to inherit this glory and govern Yunli well.

And the person who will inherit this glory is none other than Li Muyang.

Marquis Zhenbei was not worried that his daughter would be reluctant to give up the throne after becoming empress; on the contrary, he was worried about whether his daughter would agree to become empress.

Marquis Zhenbei knew his daughter's temperament all too well.

If Shen Tianjiao has the ambition to become empress, who in Yunli today can stop her?

Now that Li Rui is dead, Shen Tianjiao is the Empress Regent, holding the Imperial Seal of the State in her hands.

If she had ambitions at this moment and wanted to ascend the throne, she only needed to find a suitable reason for Li Rui to make his death seem legitimate.

Then he would take out the Imperial Seal and, citing the fact that the Crown Prince was still too young, declare that he would become emperor. There would be some opposition among the ministers, but most of them would agree and would not object.

After all, besides the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion serving as Shen Tianjiao's backer, Shen Tianjiao's own strength was also undeniable.

Anyone with a brain wouldn't refuse a powerful person who could make Yunli the strongest nation among the six kingdoms of the Nine Provinces, to be the emperor of Yunli.

Even if the emperor were a woman, they would accept it without hesitation.

However, his own daughter was a person without greed or lust for power.

All she wanted was to make Yunli prosperous. Everything she was doing now was just to clear the way for Li Muyang to ascend the throne in the future.

So what the Marquis of Zhenbei is worried about now is not how Shen Tianjiao and Li Muyang, mother and son, will turn against each other for power and draw their swords against each other.

What troubles him now is how to persuade his daughter to accept her fate and follow the will of heaven to become the first empress of Yunli.

The carriage arrived at its destination quickly. Just like last time, the carriage entered the estate directly through a side passage.

When Shen Tianjiao's carriage stopped in the courtyard, the Marquis of Zhenbei was already there with Li Muyan, who had just woken up and was still drowsy, and Li Ziyan, waiting for her.

As soon as Shen Tianjiao stepped down from the carriage, Li Muyan, who had been listless and lying in the arms of the Marquis of Zhenbei because she had just woken up, suddenly perked up.

The little girl looked up, her eyes bright, at her mother whom she hadn't seen for many days. She stretched out her two little arms and waved them vigorously, trying to reach her mother.

Shen Tianjiao smiled and took her youngest daughter from the arms of the Marquis of Zhenbei, holding her in her arms.

This girl is not only incredibly cute, but she also smells like milk all over. It's no wonder she's so lovable.

Just moments ago, Li Muyan was incredibly excited, but once she was in her mother's arms, she immediately quieted down. The little girl hugged Shen Tianjiao's neck tightly, burying her head in Shen Tianjiao's neck, and didn't move at all.

This made Shen Tianjiao, who was originally happy to see her daughter, feel a pang of sadness.

My precious daughter, although she can't speak much yet, is an extremely intelligent child. She understands everything she should at such a young age.

She's been separated from me for so long, she must miss me.

Before Shen Tianjiao could even speak, Li Muyan, who had buried her head in Shen Tianjiao's neck, surprisingly spoke first.

"Mother, take An'an home with her brother."

The little girl's voice was soft and sweet, with a hint of grievance in it, making people's hearts melt.

"Okay, Mother will take An'an and her brother home."

These past few days, Li Muyan has become increasingly fluent in her speech. She can now speak in complete sentences and clearly express what she wants to say.

Shen Tianjiao patted Li Muyan's head and said, "On the way here, your mother asked Chunchao to catch a rabbit for An'an and her brother. We'll have someone bring it over for you to play with later, okay?"

"Ah."

Li Muyan still held on tightly, refusing to let go of Shen Tianjiao's neck, as if Shen Tianjiao would disappear again if she let go.

The Marquis of Zhenbei stood aside, watching the scene before him, and felt a warmth in his heart.

He used to worry that his daughter would be childless and lonely for the rest of her life.

But now that Li Muyang and Li Muyan are here, the Marquis of Zhenbei has nothing to worry about.

"Alright, let's go inside and rest. You must be tired after the long carriage ride."

The Marquis of Zhenbei looked at Shen Tianjiao with eyes full of affection. "Knowing that you were coming today, your second brother took some men to the mountains yesterday to hunt two deer, a wild boar, and some other game, saying that he would roast them for you since you were coming."

"Go inside and rest for a while. I'll have your second brother go and grill something for you right away."

Shen Tingzhi had just stepped off the carriage when he received instructions from his elderly father.

"Okay, those things have been marinated overnight, and they're flavorful now. They're perfect for grilling."

Shen Tingzhi truly dotes on Shen Tianjiao. Upon receiving news yesterday that Shen Tianjiao was coming today, he immediately took his men to the mountains to hunt.

Because of the time constraints, they only managed to hunt two deer and a large wild boar; the rest were just some insignificant little creatures.

"Second brother, we really are on the same wavelength! How did you know I wanted to eat wild game?"

Shen Tianjiao looked at Shen Tingzhi and said with a smile, "On the way here today, when we were resting by the roadside, we saw wild rabbits there."

"So on a whim, I hunted a few, and a few pheasants as well."

"At the time, I thought, what a pity, it's a low mountain area, so we can only find some wild rabbits and pheasants. It would be great if we could hunt a deer."

"Now it's great, we can have venison. I haven't had venison in so long."

Shen Tingzhi looked at Shen Tianjiao with a smug expression and said, "Of course, you are my own sister. How could I not know what you like to eat?"

"Go inside and rest. The venison will be roasted soon."

Shen Tianjiao carried Li Muyan, held Li Muyang's hand, and went inside to rest with the Marquis of Zhenbei.

Shen Tingzhi then took Li Ziyan with him, and the two of them went to roast venison together.

Once inside, Shen Tianjiao handed Li Muyan, whom she was holding, to Chun Chao and then went to wash up.

Li Muyang obediently followed Chun Chao. Back in the palace, Chun Chao had taken care of him the most, so his relationship with Chun Chao was deeper than with others.

"Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress specially brought you some milk pastry and some fresh chestnuts that were roasted in the carriage just now. Would you like some?"

Looking at Li Muyang, who had become much stronger, Chun Chao was very happy.

This Ziyun Manor is truly a nurturing place. The palace has all sorts of good things, but no matter how carefully the young prince was cared for while he was in the palace, he didn't seem to grow any taller and remained thin and weak.

After coming to Ziyun Manor, he not only grew taller, but also gained some weight and looked more energetic.

Even the little princess she was holding had changed a lot. Not only had she grown taller and fatter, but she was also now articulate and could speak.

Seeing the changes in Li Muyang and Li Muyan, Chunchao was genuinely happy.

"Yes, I want to eat."

Li Muyang wasn't hungry at all. He had already eaten quite a few snacks in the carriage when he went to pick up Shen Tianjiao.

However, since Shen Tianjiao had brought those things for him specifically, he still wanted to eat some even though he wasn't hungry.

“Alright, then this servant will take His Highness the Crown Prince to fetch it.”

Chun Chao then picked up Li Muyan and pulled Li Muyang out together.

This milk pastry is hard to come by; it requires a lot of milk to make even a small amount, and the process is very complicated, time-consuming, and labor-intensive.

Even in the palace, this milk pastry was a very precious thing, and it wasn't something that could be eaten often. Even Shen Tianjiao usually couldn't bear to eat it.

The shortbread pastries that Shen Tianjiao brought today were specially made for her two children before she decided to come to Ziyun Manor.

The shortbread pastry is something that both Li Muyang and Li Muyan love to eat.

Chun Chao led Li Muyang and Li Muyan to the carriage and took down the milk pastry and roasted chestnuts.

Although Li Muyan was small, she had an exceptionally keen sense of smell. The servants around her hadn't even opened the box yet.

She couldn't wait any longer and pointed at the box, saying, "I want to eat it, I want to eat it."