The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

"In the future, I can also become Liu Lei's best and most powerful assistant, and help him carry forward the Liu family's glory."

"Although Liu Lei is not a very good person, he still has some genuine feelings for his first wife."

"Despite being pressured by his parents, he was never willing to be the kind of person who would abandon his wife and children."

"But ultimately, he couldn't fight city hall, and he eventually succumbed to his parents' coercion."

"But he made one condition: that his first wife bring their children back from Xuzhou."

“Make them a separate courtyard in the mansion so they can live in the capital. Otherwise, he will cripple himself and give up his position as head of the family.”

"Liu Lei's father had no choice but to agree to his request at the time."

"Have someone bring Liu Lei, his wife and children who were left in Xuzhou, back to the capital."

"But his first wife's status became awkward. She should have been the legal wife, but now she was neither one nor the other, neither the legal wife nor the concubine."

"Later, Liu Lei followed his family's arrangement and married Miss Ma from the Jingyuan Earl's Mansion."

"This marriage, which seemed like a perfect match to others, was actually not a happy one."

"Liu Lei only has his first wife, Dong, in his heart. He neither likes nor cares about his new wife, Ma."

"As a young lady of the Jingyuan Marquis's mansion, Madam Ma naturally did not want to suffer such cold treatment and grievances."

"Moreover, she was well aware that as long as Madam Dong did not die, her position as the lady of the house would not only be awkward, but also precarious."

"When Liu Lei's parents were alive, perhaps Liu Lei would still respect himself."

"But once Liu Lei's parents pass away and Liu Lei himself becomes the head of the family, whether she can hold onto her position as the wife will be another matter."

"So in order to extricate myself from this awkward relationship and to secure my position as Mrs. Liu."

"So Madam Ma murdered Madam Dong and sent Liu Pengfei and his sister to another residence."

"Although Madam Ma managed to keep her position as Lady Liu by doing this, she also completely lost touch with her husband."

"Liu Lei took several concubines in succession, and they had several children, leaving his legal wife, Ma, out of the picture."

"Later, in order to secure her position, Ma had no choice but to bring Liu Pengfei and his sister out of the villa."

"They returned to the Liu family and registered under their own names. However, this Madam Ma is a kind-faced but vicious woman. On the surface, she treats Liu Pengfei and his sister well, but in reality, she has tormented them a lot behind their backs."

"Later, Ma used some tricks to get pregnant and give birth to a son. The ones who came to the palace to cause trouble today are Ma's own son, the two children of Liu's fourth son."

Xia He recounted all the information she had just gathered in one breath.

She was so tired and her mouth was dry that Chun Chao brought her some tea.

"Humph!"

Shen Tianjiao sneered. It seemed there was going to be some drama at the Liu family's place.

How could Liu Pengfei survive under the hands of his vicious adoptive mother and now sit in the position of head of the Liu family?

This shows that Liu Pengfei is no ordinary person.

Now we just have to wait and see how Liu Pengfei deals with the Liu family.

"Go and call Xing Jun over. I have something to tell him to do."

"Yes, slave, go right away."

Chun Chao was the one who went this time. She left Xia He behind to rest and went to call Xing Jun herself.

Xing Jun was summoned very quickly.

"Please do not hesitate to give your orders, Miss."

Even though Shen Tianjiao is now the Empress Regent, people from the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion still habitually call her Miss.

Xing Jun was also an impatient person. He knew that Shen Tianjiao must have sent someone to call him over because she had a task for him to complete.

"Go to the Liu family tonight and talk to Liu Pengfei. I want him to be my tool."

"The condition is that I will let bygones be bygones this time and spare the Liu family again."

"Also, find a way to swindle a large sum of money from Liu Pengfei. As for how to do it, that's up to you."

"Most of the Liu family's wealth came from exploiting the people, running gambling dens, and lending money at exorbitant interest rates."

"It wasn't exactly a legitimate source of the money anyway. Rather than letting that wealth remain in the Liu family and be squandered by them, it's better to use it to do something beneficial for the country and its people."

Shen Tianjiao is now richer than ever, both in her previous life and compared to the original owner of this body.

However, even though she is now extremely wealthy, she still needs to make long-term plans.

War is the most expensive thing. If she were to wage war against the six kingdoms of Kyushu at the same time, it would be impossible to know how much money it would cost.

Besides, when it comes to money, the more the better, no matter what.

No one in this world dislikes having too much money. Not only does war require a lot of money, but building up people's livelihoods also requires a lot of money.

In short, all the money, once it reached Shen Tianjiao's hands, had its own uses.

"Yes, I understand."

Others might think that it was perfectly reasonable for Shen Tianjiao to have Xing Jun talk to Liu Pengfei and make him the tool in her hands.

After all, everything comes at a price. The Liu family has committed such a serious offense today, and they cannot simply let it pass without paying any price.

However, the idea of ​​sending Xing Jun to swindle money from the Liu family is probably not so easy to understand.

As the regent empress, it would be somewhat undignified for her to have her subordinates do such a thing.

However, Xing Jun did not find anything wrong with this matter.

All he knew was that this was Shen Tianjiao's order, and he just had to obey it.

After Xing Jun left, Ren Dongfang arrived shortly after.

"Your Majesty, the matter has been investigated and clarified."

"Those two people from the Liu family were able to enter the palace because they were brought in by Fu Shou, the eunuch who used to be on duty in Kangning Palace."

"All those involved have now been apprehended and are awaiting your judgment."

Ren Dongfang's efficiency in handling affairs is getting faster and faster, which is increasingly satisfying to Shen Tianjiao.

"From now on, you don't need to ask me about punishments anymore. Just handle it yourself."

"However, this incident has also served as a reminder to us that the palace's defenses must be strengthened in the future, and must be built into an impregnable fortress."

If you can't even ensure the safety of the territory you govern, what kind of situation is that?

Shen Tianjiao disliked the feeling of being constantly worried and unable to feel completely at ease, even in her own home.

"Yes, I understand. I will definitely reorganize and manage my subordinates well."

"What happened today will not happen again."

Ren Dongfang is also a ruthless person, and Shen Tianjiao knows his abilities.

"Alright, you don't need to take this to heart. It's inevitable that people will make mistakes. Just be more careful in the future."

"You've been busy with palace affairs these past few days, you must be tired. Go and rest."

"Once this matter is resolved, you can take a few days off and go home to visit your family."

With everything resolved, Shen Tianjiao could finally sit down and catch her breath.

"Yes."

Ren Dongfang lowered his head and silently withdrew.

Shen Tianjiao closed her eyes to rest for a while, then said to Chun Chao, "I'm going to rest for a bit. Don't let anyone disturb me."

"Yes."

Chun Chao helped Shen Tianjiao up and helped her to rest.

Liu Pengfei took Liu Zhenzhen and Liu Yitong back to the Liu family home.

Upon returning to the Liu family home, Liu Pengfei immediately gathered all the family members in the ancestral hall.

Even Madam Ma, who now stays indoors all day, was summoned out.

When everyone arrived at the ancestral hall, they saw Liu Pengfei sitting in the head of the family seat with a dark face.

Kneeling beside them, bound tightly, were Liu Zhenzhen and Liu Yitong.

When Liu Zhenzhen and Liu Yitong's mother, Huang, came in from outside and saw her children tied up, she ran over crying.

"Zhenzhen, Tong'er, what happened to you? Who had the audacity to tie you up?"

This Huang family also came from a prominent family. Although she was only an illegitimate daughter, she had the support of her maternal family and had been very powerful since marrying into the Liu family.

Huang then looked up at Liu Pengfei and angrily shouted, "Uncle, what are you doing?"

"If you have any problems, come at me directly. Why make things difficult for my two children?"

"What do you mean by tying them up?"

Huang Shi never thought highly of Liu Pengfei's background, and she knew that her mother-in-law was not legitimately married because she was overshadowed by Liu Pengfei's birth mother.

Furthermore, the fact that her husband lost to Liu Pengfei in the selection of the family head made her even more resentful and disgusted with Liu Pengfei.

Now that she sees her own children tied up here, how could she not be angry?

Faced with Huang's questioning, Liu Pengfei was not afraid at all. He had already figured it out on the way back from the palace.

The reason why the Empress entrusted me with handling the matter of Liu Zhenzhen and Liu Yitong breaking into the palace today is because...

That means he can do whatever he wants to the Liu family, no matter how outrageous things he does to them today.

The Empress wouldn't hold it against him; in fact, it could be said that having him cleanse the Liu family was what the Empress wanted him to do.

Since the Empress has tacitly approved of his actions against the Liu family, she is now his backer. With the Empress as his backer, what is there for him to fear?

In short, today's motto is simple: just get it done!

"Why would I have those two unfilial sons tied up? Don't you know the answer in your heart?"

Liu Pengfei remained expressionless and looked directly at Huang Shi as he asked.

This stunned Huang and everyone else in the room.

Normally, Liu Pengfei would never have been subservient to Huang Shi, but he would never have confronted her so directly as he did today.

For a moment, not a single person in the room dared to speak up for Huang.

After a long while, Liu Jingyu, the fourth son of the Liu family, finally spoke up: "Big brother, no matter what these two children did wrong today, they are still immature children after all."

“If they did something wrong, you can punish them, but you don’t have to tie them up like this and bring them to this ancestral hall.”

"Should we call everyone in the family over?"

"Isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?"

As Ma's biological son, Liu Jingyu was naturally spoiled as he grew up.

His mother, Madam Ma, harbored considerable hostility towards Liu Pengfei, and naturally, he couldn't escape this influence.

The reason he could speak to Liu Pengfei like this was not only because Liu Pengfei was now the head of the Liu family, but also because the current situation made it impossible for him to judge what his two brats had done.

That's why he spoke to Liu Pengfei in such a polite manner; he was testing Liu Pengfei.

"Yes, they are just two children, even if they have committed a terrible crime."

“You, as their uncle, shouldn’t treat them like this.”

"Hmph, he's only just taken the position of head of the Liu family, and he already thinks he's who he is and doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth."

"You have no ability yourself, but you take it out on your two children. What kind of ability is that?"

"If the head of the family is so immoral, then he should step down quickly."

"This will also prevent our Liu family from suffering great misfortune because of your lack of virtue."

Madam Ma, who had remained silent since entering, saw her own son speak up.

Feeling sorry for her two grandsons, she immediately chimed in and started criticizing Liu Pengfei.

Originally, Madam Ma thought that after so many years of hard work, she could pave a smooth path for her own son to become the future head of the family.

But to her surprise, Liu Pengfei still managed to snatch it away in the end. Madam Ma was so angry that she wished she could tear Liu Pengfei to pieces.

Given the current situation, Madam Ma no longer had time to maintain her previous image as a loving mother.

Not only did they reveal their true colors to others, but they also expressed their true inner thoughts.

Faced with the difficulties posed by the Ma mother and son, Liu Pengfei simply smiled and looked up at the people in front of him.

At this moment, not only were his past worries and concerns gone, but even the hatred that had been ingrained in his bones and had long been a part of his life had disappeared.

Now Liu Pengfei just wants to see how Ma, Liu Jingyu, and Huang will react when they find out what terrible things Liu Zhenzhen and Liu Yitong have done.

Will they continue to cherish and protect them both, or will they abandon these two children whom they are currently so actively protecting and cherishing, in order to protect themselves?

Of course, besides wanting to see the reaction of this family of three, Liu Pengfei also wanted to see how the rest of the Liu family would react to this matter.