The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

When Shen Tianjiao was the only one left in the carriage, all the memories of those who had long since died and been suppressed in her heart broke through the defense line she had set and came out all at once.

In her previous life, she was Chu Qingge. She had just celebrated her twelfth birthday that year and was still a little girl raised in the deep courtyard of the Marquis' Mansion, spoiled and ignorant, knowing nothing.

One day, her father, Chu Yi, Marquis of Pingnan, and her uncle Chu Ping, who was stationed in southern Xinjiang, returned to Beijing to ask for food and fodder. Before leaving, they took Chu Qingge to southern Xinjiang, saying that her father Chu Yi had not seen his daughter for many years and missed her very much, so he asked her to go to southern Xinjiang to reunite with his family.

Chu Qingge was actually quite reluctant to go to Southern Xinjiang. Her father had been away fighting for years, and she had almost no memory of him; she didn't even know what he looked like. She had lived with her maternal grandparents since her mother died of illness when she was five years old. She knew that her father had taken a concubine while her mother was still alive.

But she was too young at the time and didn't have the right to make her own choice. After several attempts, little Chu Qingge finally got on the carriage to Southern Xinjiang.

The long and arduous journey did not bring her any pleasure or beautiful memories. Many years later, all she could remember was the discomfort and boredom caused by the bumpy ride in the carriage.

After finally arriving in southern Xinjiang, there was no beautiful picture of family reunion as I had imagined, no heartwarming scene of loving father and filial son, but only awkwardness and estrangement due to unfamiliarity.

That was the longest time she spent with her father and his family, but it was also the saddest and most painful time for her.

Her father's concubine was a smooth person. She put on a lot of effort on the surface, but she didn't have any sincerity at all.

Although her brothers and sisters were still young, their personalities and ways of doing things were exactly like their mother, so they were just acquaintances and could not be considered close at all.

Her biological father was a rough and uncouth man, not a thoughtful person, so naturally he didn't dote on her very much.

In such an environment, Chu Qingge's situation was awkward and miserable. Her biggest hope every day was that her ancestral home outside the capital would quickly send someone to take her home.

Her grandfather and uncles treated her like a treasure, and she had never suffered any injustice since she was a child.

The days passed one by one in her eager anticipation, until one day her older brother Chu Qinghang deliberately broke the hairpin her aunt had made for her, and took the opportunity to falsely accuse her of wanting to hit him. When she was scolded by her indiscriminate father, her patience finally reached its limit. In anger, she rushed out of the door, rode away on horseback, and left the Pingnan Marquis Mansion.

Although many servants came out to chase her at that time, Chu Qingge's horse riding skills were already quite powerful at that time. After all, her horse riding skills were taught by her grandfather, Anyang Hou Jinghong, so she easily shook off those people and galloped all the way on her own.

When she calmed down and pulled the reins of the horse to make it stop, she realized a very serious problem. She was lost and had no idea where she was. She was not familiar with southern Xinjiang and was lost again. Not to mention returning to the capital alone, it was difficult for her to maintain her own safety.

It is easy to imagine how scared Chu Qingge was as a twelve-year-old girl, alone in a completely unfamiliar environment.

She didn't understand the language in southern Xinjiang, but she could tell from the looks those people gave her that they had ill intentions.

The eldest daughter, who had always been too well protected, was really scared at that moment. She even thought about committing suicide.

Just when she thought she couldn't escape this disaster, she was rescued by a young man who suddenly appeared from nowhere. Until now, she can still clearly remember the young man's eyes, as clear as water, with a cold light.

The young man protected her behind him, brandished a long sword to drive back the men, and then rode away with her on horseback.

The young man didn't stop until he brought her to a safe place. Then he lectured her seriously, saying that a girl shouldn't come to such a remote place alone. She was lucky to meet him today. What would she do if she hadn't met him?

Chu Qingge, who was already feeling aggrieved, burst into tears upon hearing the young man's words. Her crying wasn't a big deal, but it frightened the young man so much that his face turned pale and he became at a loss.

The boy didn't know how to comfort Chu Qingge, so he could only stay by her side silently, watching her break down and cry, then shed tears, and finally sob.

Seeing that Chu Qingge finally stopped crying, the young man took out a pancake from his arms and handed it to her, telling her that although the beef pancake was cold, it tasted very good and he guaranteed that she would never forget it after eating it.

Indeed, from that day on, she never forgot the taste of the beef pancake. Many times when she was alone and helpless and couldn't hold on, she would think of the boy and the taste of the beef pancake. Thinking about it would give her the motivation to hold on.

After eating the beef pancakes, she learned that the boy's name was Yan Yu, the son of Yan Hui, the border town commander, who also came from the capital.

Chu Qingge had also heard of the Yan family in the capital. They were a family of military honors. The men in the family were all good at fighting and had made many remarkable achievements. But for some unknown reason, by the time of Yan Hui's generation, the Yan family had gradually declined and moved away from the capital to serve as garrison commanders at the border.

Chu Qingge's maternal grandfather Jinghong had an old relationship with the old man of the Yan family. The two were good friends, but the old man of the Yan family died early, which became a regret in Jinghong's heart and he would mention it from time to time.

Then Yan Yu's name and the person himself were imprinted in Chu Qingge's heart, becoming a mark that she would never forget in her past and present life.

After Chu Qingge refused Yan Yu's request to send her home, Yan Yu did not go home but stayed with her. He even stole a carrier pigeon from his father's military camp and asked her to write a letter and send it back to the capital.

Because Yan Yu was an unfavored illegitimate son in the family, no one cared about him on weekdays, so Chu Qingge, who was unwilling to go home, and Yan Yu, who was left unattended, became two wandering children.

During the day, Yan Yu took Chu Qingge for a stroll, helping her get to know and understand the people and customs of southern Xinjiang. At night, Yan Yu took Chu Qingge to stay in a dilapidated temple in the wilderness.

Not only did he have to find food to fill his stomach, but he also had to avoid being searched by those in the marquis's mansion and the army.

That was a life Chu Qingge had never experienced before, free, exciting, and filled with indescribable satisfaction and surprise.

After learning that Yan Yu had never attended a private school and could barely recognize a few characters, Chu Qingge took on the role of his teacher, teaching him how to read and write and some simple military tactics.

He also told Yan Yu that his greatest wish was to inherit his grandfather's wish and conquer all the foreign races that invaded Yunli.

At that time, Chu Qingge just told Yan Yu about this matter as if it was a very ordinary thing, but Yan Yu took it to heart and regarded it as his ambition. He worked hard for this goal all his life until the Yunli Kingdom was destroyed and he died tragically in the last battle to protect the country.

The happy days lasted for less than half a month, and Marquis Anyang personally led people from the capital to kill them. After a beating and scolding, Marquis Anyang took Chu Qingge and Yan Yu away.

From then on, Chu Qingge and Yan Yu lived in the Anyang Marquis Mansion, learning from Anyang Marquis Jinghong how to deploy troops and how to defend against enemies on the battlefield.

The two young boys fell in love with each other day after day, and decided to spend their lives together under the witness of Marquis Anyang.

I thought that from now on, they could depend on each other, advance and retreat together for the same aspirations, and grow old together.

But no one expected that in the year they were about to get married, an imperial decree shattered this beautiful hope.

The emperor at that time, Li Chen, was concerned about the influence of the Jing and Chu families in the court, so he issued an imperial decree requiring Chu Qingge to marry Li Heng, who was the crown prince at the time, and become Li Heng's crown princess.

Although at that time Marquis Anyang went to the palace to make a death plea, saying that he was willing to give up his title and would take his family back to the mountains and forests and never set foot in the court again.

Even Chu Qingge's father came back to Beijing to meet the emperor, saying that he was willing to hand over his military power and return to Beijing to retire and live a leisurely and wealthy life.

But even if it was like this, Li Chen still disagreed. Whether it was the Jing family or the Chu family, their roots in Yunli were too deep. Even if they were willing to give up the power in their hands, would those who followed them be willing to give up?

When the situation was at a stalemate and on the verge of a catastrophe, Li Chen summoned Chu Qingge into the palace and threatened Chu Qingge with the lives of all the people in the Anyang Marquis's Mansion and the Pingnan Marquis's Mansion, forcing her to agree to marry Li Heng.

Chu Qingge couldn't bear to see her loved ones framed for her and charged with treason, and even those who had nothing to do with her died.

Chu Qingge, who was burdened with an unshirkable responsibility, had no choice but to give up her relationship with Yan Yu and marry Li Heng to become Yun Li's Crown Princess.

From the moment Chu Qingge agreed to marry Li Heng, Yan Yu disappeared. From then on, the world lost a sunny boy named Yan Yu, but the border gained a ghost-faced general.

Even though Chu Qingge did not marry Yan Yu, Yan Yu still kept their oath and spent his whole life defending and expanding the territory for the people of Yunli. He never married until he died on the battlefield.

In her previous life, Chu Qingge was worthy of everyone, whether it was her family, her people, or even Li Heng. She did her best to serve them, but she only owed Yan Yu.

Yan Yu, Yan Yu, Yan Yu. Chu Qingge, who became Shen Tianjiao in this life, the only person she owes the most and whom she can never forget is Yan Yu.

As she was thinking about this, Shen Tianjiao actually fell asleep. In her dream, she saw Yan Yu again. He hadn't changed at all, and was still the same as when they first met. His eyebrows were curved, and when he smiled, he showed off his big white teeth.

He just stood there and reached out his hand to her. Looking at his appearance, Shen Tianjiao could no longer hold back her tears. Ever since she decided to marry Li Heng in her previous life, she had cried all her tears dry. No matter what happened in the rest of her life, she never shed a tear. She thought that she would never cry again even if she lived again.

Just as Shen Tianjiao was walking towards Yan Yu, Yan Yu suddenly stepped back slowly, gradually became blurred, and finally disappeared.

When Shen Tianjiao pounced over, Yan Yu was standing farther away and reaching out to her, but when Shen Tianjiao walked towards him, he disappeared again.

After this happened several times, Shen Tianjiao woke up from her dream in a hurry. She was sweating profusely and felt weak all over. She looked like she had just experienced a life-and-death battle.

The scene in the dream was so real that Shen Tianjiao was still frightened. She lifted the car curtain, looked up at the sky outside and said to herself, "You still won't forgive me, right?"

At this time, the three shopping group were excitedly buying things. The things in the market were not precious, but very rare and could not be seen in the palace.

In a short while, the three men's followers were almost unable to carry the bags and bags, but their enthusiasm remained unabated and they were ready to buy everything they saw.

The three of them stopped shopping until their backs and waists ached from shopping. They sat down in a roadside tea stall, ordered a pot of hot tea and started to drink it and rest their feet.

Qiong Niang was still thinking about the beef pancakes that Shen Tianjiao wanted to eat, but she saw many people selling pancakes along the way, but none of them sold beef pancakes.

After resting for a while, Qiong Niang stood up and said, "Let's go to the front and look around. The master said he wanted to eat beef pancakes, but he has been walking around for a long time and hasn't seen any. Maybe they are selling some up front."

"Beef pancake?" Chunchao frowned. She had never heard of her master eating beef pancake. Why did he suddenly want to eat this kind of thing?

"Yes, it's beef pancakes. They say it came from the Western Regions." Qiong Niang truthfully conveyed what she heard from Shen Tianjiao.

"Or did it come from the Western Regions?" Chunchao shook his head and said, "You probably can't buy it in the capital. Not only is it illegal to sell beef here, but because of the intermittent wars on the border in recent years, we have severed diplomatic ties with the Western Regions, and their merchants won't come to the capital to do business. Why do you suddenly want to eat beef pancakes? This has never happened before. Did you hear it wrongly?"

"Did I hear it wrong? How is that possible? I'm not old enough to be hard of hearing." Qiong Niang reached out and tapped Chunchao on the head. "She was quite eager when she said it. It looked like she really wanted to eat it. If she can't buy it, she will be disappointed when she goes back."

Chunchao touched his knocked head and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Instead of wandering around in the market, it's better to go back and ask the chef at home to try to make it. Our chefs are all knowledgeable and experienced, so they will definitely be able to make it without any problems."

"Yeah, that's right." Qiong Niang nodded. There was probably no one in the world whose chef could surpass the imperial chef in the palace. "Then let's go back and let the chef at home prepare it as soon as possible."