The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 101: The Grandfather with Three Heads and Six Arms

The father and daughter of the Shen family were having a great time here, expressing their longing for separation and the joy of reunion.

There were countless people inside and outside the palace who were so angry that their teeth were broken because of this reunion.

"Marquis Zhenbei has entered the palace?" Li Rui looked at the secret guard in front of him with a sinister look. His heart was in a mess at this moment.

The return of Marquis Zhenbei to the capital has already foreshadowed that Li Rui will be further and further away from the center of power in the future.

In the past, Li Rui was able to hold great power without fear only because Shen Tianjiao's heart was with him. Because of Shen Tianjiao, the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion would not participate in any party struggles, but would only come out to help Li Rui resolve the crisis when it occurred.

But things are different now, because Li Rui's attempt to poison Shen Tianjiao was exposed, Shen Tianjiao changed her mind. Although she has not openly cut off ties with him, anyone with a discerning eye can see that a huge rift has appeared in the relationship between the two, and this rift will not be repaired, but will only get bigger.

To put it bluntly, without the protection of Shen Tianjiao and the support of the Zhenbei Marquisate, although Li Rui is still the emperor of Yunli, he has become a puppet without any real power.

Li Rui is now regretting his decision so much that his intestines are turning green. He shouldn't have been so soft-hearted and listened to Feng Yuanyuan whispering in his ear, which made him lose his mind and think of killing Shen Tianjiao.

This made Li Rui feel even more disgusted and resentful towards Feng Yuanyuan. If it weren't for Feng Yuanyuan interfering between him and Shen Tianjiao, how could the couple have ended up in such a state of disunity?

The more Li Rui thought about it, the angrier he became. He really wanted to kill Feng Yuanyuan right now, but it was not easy to kill the wolf cub he had raised with his own hands.

Li Rui now truly felt what it felt like to shoot himself in the foot.

"In reply to the emperor, the Marquis of Zhenbei has already entered the palace. The Empress went to the palace gate to greet him personally. Today, the Empress specially held a banquet in Yuxiu Palace to welcome the Marquis of Zhenbei." The secret guard lowered his head, and his words made Li Rui's heart sink.

"The Queen went to the palace gate to greet her in person?" Li Rui smiled bitterly. It seemed that with his help, the rift between the Marquis of Zhenbei and Shen Tianjiao, father and daughter, had completely disappeared.

"Yes, it was the Empress who personally went to the palace gate to welcome the Marquis of Zhenbei."

Li Rui waved his hand weakly, letting the secret guards retreat. He now needed to think carefully about how to repair the relationship between him and Shen Tianjiao. Even if it couldn't go back to the past, he couldn't stand still or let the situation continue to deteriorate.

What Li Rui did not expect was that his secret guard left his place and turned into Yuxiu Palace.

In Kangning Palace, Empress Dowager Liu was in an extremely depressed mood at this time.

Originally, Shen Tianjiao had already escaped her control and was able to act on her own in the court. Now that the Marquis of Zhenbei was back, and with his support, Shen Tianjiao became even more fearless.

In this way, not only will her plans and arrangements be delayed, but they will also most likely fail, leaving her with nothing in the end.

Just thinking about it now makes her bald. Everything was fine before, what went wrong?

After learning the news that Marquis Zhenbei had returned to Beijing, Li Hong naturally couldn't remain calm.

He had just discussed with Empress Dowager Liu in the palace how to deal with Shen Tianjiao, and before the plan was implemented, the Marquis of Zhenbei returned to the capital.

Regardless of whether the soldiers of Yunli Kingdom are the direct subordinates of Marquis Zhenbei or not, they all obey the orders of Marquis Zhenbei. Now he is in big trouble.

Of course, in addition to these people, those with ulterior motives in the court also had their own thoughts. In short, some were happy and some were worried about the return of Marquis Zhenbei to the capital.

In Yuxiu Palace, Shen Tianjiao prepared a sumptuous banquet for the Marquis of Zhenbei, but apart from the father and daughter, no one else was present at the banquet today.

"Dad, these are your favorites. Today, if there's no one else around, just the two of us, father and daughter, can sit together and have a good meal."

In order to prepare for today's banquet, Shen Tianjiao also put a lot of effort into it. She specially sent someone back to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion to ask about her father's taste and what he likes to eat.

Although she is not good at cooking and knows nothing about things in the kitchen, this is in the palace. Not only does she have a royal chef who cooks delicious food, but she also has a little girl named Dongyang who is proficient in food.

It is very easy to make this banquet lively, colorful, fragrant and delicious.

The Marquis of Zhenbei looked at the banquet in front of him, his heart filled with mixed emotions. Today, when he returned to Beijing, Shen Tianjiao had already given him too many surprises.

He decided to return to Beijing after receiving Shen Tianjiao's letter. He had never expected that he and Shen Tianjiao would be able to resolve their past grievances so quickly. After all, they had quarreled over Li Rui and their relationship was hurt.

But what he didn't expect was that when he came back today, Shen Tianjiao personally came to the palace gate to pick him up, and now she was so thoughtful to prepare food for him.

His heart as an old father was so moved that it almost melted.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Shen Tianjiao naturally couldn't understand the mood of Zhenbei Hou at this time. She saw Zhenbei Hou staring at the food but not moving his chopsticks, and she thought that Zhenbei Hou was not satisfied with the food prepared.

"Is it that none of this food suits Father's taste, or is there something in it that Father hates?" Shen Tianjiao looked at Zhenbei Hou and said, "If Father doesn't like it, just tell me, and I'll have them make it again."

"No, no." Marquis Zhenbei waved his hands repeatedly. He has never been picky about food and always eats whatever is available. The only dishes he likes are because they are the favorites of his late wife.

"Father likes all these foods very much. But when he sees the food in front of him and thinks that these are all prepared by Jiao'er with great care for him, he can't help but feel a little emotional. My Jiao'er has really grown up and knows how to care for him."

The Marquis of Zhenbei looked at Shen Tianjiao with red eyes and a smile, which made Shen Tianjiao feel even more guilty. Such a good father who was so easily satisfied deserved more care and love from his daughter.

"Father, I was ignorant before and didn't understand your good intentions. But I've learned from my mistakes and now I've come to my senses. I know who truly cares about me. I'll listen to you from now on."

In her previous life, Shen Tianjiao had never received any fatherly love, and she didn't know what it was like to be held in the palm of her father's hand and cared for.

Although the man in front of her is not her real father, this does not prevent her from caring for and respecting the Marquis of Zhenbei like a daughter.

"Okay, let's not talk about the past. What's in the past is in the past. What's important is the present and the future." Shen Tianjiao is like this now. The Marquis of Zhenbei is already very pleased. He doesn't expect more. He just hopes that his precious daughter can live safely and smoothly for the rest of her life and will not be bullied by others.

"Right, let's not talk about those unhappy and annoying things. Come, let's eat." Shen Tianjiao picked up a drunken crab for the Marquis of Zhenbei, "Father, please try this drunken crab. It tastes very good. This season is not the season for eating crabs. These crabs are specially raised in the palace."

"Although it's not as delicious as autumn crab, it's still pretty good. When the crab roe is fat and yellow in autumn, your daughter will cook it for you herself."

The Marquis of Zhenbei ate the drunken crabs his daughter had given him as a filial gift, and his face was full of wrinkles from smiling.

"Dad, there's also this candied pork elbow. Dongyang started making it yesterday. It's my favorite." The pork elbow was stewed until it was soft and boneless. Shen Tianjiao picked up a large piece and placed it in front of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

There are not so many requirements for dining in the families of military generals, unlike those civil officials who pay attention to refinement, sentiment and artistic conception. They are satisfied only with eating meat and drinking wine.

"Well, this candied pork elbow is really delicious. Dongyang has loved it since she was a child, and now her wish has come true." The Marquis of Zhenbei ate the pork elbow and chatted with Shen Tianjiao about family matters.

"Yes, she is a greedy girl." Thinking of Dongyang's chubby little face, Shen Tianjiao couldn't help laughing. That girl was always eating all day long no matter when she saw her.

Only Shen Tianjiao and the Zhenbei Marquis and his daughter were present at today's banquet. There were no outsiders present. Even Li Muyang was not allowed to come by Shen Tianjiao.

Li Muyang knew that today was the day his grandfather, Marquis Zhenbei, was returning to Beijing from the northern border, and his mother would hold a banquet to welcome him.

He has always been very curious about his maternal grandfather, wanting to know whether his maternal grandfather is the person with three heads and six arms who looks like a god from heaven as others say.

However, at today's welcoming banquet, his mother did not let him go to pay his respects to his grandfather, which made him quite disappointed, but he still behaved well and did not make any noise.

But children of his age are very curious. Although Shen Tianjiao did not ask him to go over and pay his respects to his grandfather, he still couldn't resist his curiosity and wanted to take a sneak peek.

Li Muyang sent away the servants around him, sneaked out of the room, and ran to the banquet hall.

He didn't dare to go in, and could only tiptoe to look inside. However, he was not only short, but also quite far away. He tried for a long time but saw nothing.

Chunchao, who was delivering food with the palace maids, saw Li Muyang's funny and comical appearance from afar. She ordered the palace maids to deliver the food, and she quietly walked behind Li Muyang and asked in a low voice, "Young Prince, what are you looking at?"

Li Muyang, who was concentrating on peeking, never expected Chunchao to appear suddenly. He was so scared that he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"Young Prince, are you okay?" Seeing Li Muyang fall, Chunchao was startled and hurried over to help him.

"Sister Chunchao, I'm fine." When Li Muyang fell, his arm hit the decorative stones of the flower bed beside him. He was in so much pain that he wanted to scream, but he had to endure it and comfort Chunchao first.

Chunchao picked up Li Muyang and checked if he was injured. "Sister Chunchao, I'm fine. I'm going back to study."

Li Muyang used his uninjured hand to gently push Chunchao away. His right arm, which was touched, hurt so much that it felt like it was broken. He wanted to go back quickly and ask Thirteen to find an imperial physician to see him, so as not to worry his mother.

"Why is it so noisy outside?" Shen Tianjiao, who was eating and chatting with Zhenbei Hou, frowned unhappily when she heard the noise outside.

"To answer your Majesty, the little prince fell down, and Sister Chunchao is comforting him." Xia He went out to inquire about the news and came back to reply to Shen Tianjiao.

"Mu'er fell down? Shouldn't he be studying at this time? Why did he run here?" When Shen Tianjiao heard that Li Muyang was coming, she looked up at Zhenbei Hou.

She did not discuss with the Marquis of Zhenbei beforehand about keeping Li Muyang by her side. She was really afraid that the Marquis of Zhenbei would blame her for acting on her own.

Li Muyang is not Shen Tianjiao's biological son, but as long as he is raised by Shen Tianjiao, he has the status of the eldest son. Shen Tianjiao did not tell this to Marquis Zhenbei just now because she was afraid that Marquis Zhenbei would care about it.

In fact, the Marquis of Zhenbei had known for a long time that Shen Tianjiao kept Li Muyang by her side. He was a very open-minded person and did not care about whether they were biological children or not, or whether they were legitimate or illegitimate children, or whether they were superior or inferior.

If Shen Tianjiao had already separated from Li Rui, then given Shen Tianjiao's personality, she would definitely not have another child with Li Rui. With Li Muyang by her side, Shen Tianjiao has someone to rely on, which can at least make up for some of the regrets of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

"Now that the child is here, let him in. It's a good opportunity for me, his grandfather, to take a good look at him." Marquis Zhenbei saw Shen Tianjiao's dilemma and took the initiative to help her out.

Seeing that the Marquis of Zhenbei was not unhappy, Shen Tianjiao finally put her mind at ease and ordered, "Go and bring the little prince in."

Soon Li Muyang was brought in. Li Muyang, who didn't cry in front of Chunchao, couldn't hold back anymore when he saw Shen Tianjiao. He threw himself into Shen Tianjiao's arms and burst into tears.

"What's wrong?" Shen Tianjiao patted Li Muyang's back gently to comfort him, "Are you hurt from the fall?"

"My arm, my arm seems to be broken." Li Muyang was crying breathlessly and could not speak clearly.

"Broken?" Shen Tianjiao suddenly panicked. When she was a child, she fell from a tree while climbing it mischievously. She knew how painful it was to break an arm.

"Hurry, hurry, what are you still standing there for? Go call the imperial physician!" Shen Tianjiao was really panicked. If Li Muyang's arm was broken like this, it would be troublesome. The child is still young and it would be bad if he got any problems if he was not taken care of properly.

"Jiao'er, don't panic." The Marquis of Zhenbei, who had been watching from the side without saying a word, said, "Don't call the imperial physician yet, let your father take a look first."

"Oh." When Shen Tianjiao heard what Zhenbei Hou said, she remembered that her father was a general who had experienced hundreds of battles and usually treated minor injuries by himself.

If Li Muyang really broke his arm today, it would not be good if it became a big fuss and everyone knew about it.