The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 459 Going to Ziyun Manor

"Master, is everything ready? Shall we set off immediately?"

Chun Chao came in from outside and walked up to Shen Tianjiao, who was resting with her eyes closed. He spoke in a very soft voice.

"Okay, let's go right away."

Shen Tianjiao opened her eyes, adjusted herself, and immediately got up.

She's going to Ziyun Villa today to see Su Wenhao off and to negotiate with Duan Qingning.

If her conversation with Duan Qingning goes smoothly today, she will send Duan Qingning and Chaoyun and their son back to Southern Chu as quickly as possible.

Shen Tianjiao was really worried about her simple-minded older brother, fearing that something might happen to him in Nan Chu.

Now that everyone's fate has changed, Shen Tianjiao will not allow any of them to suffer any more misfortune.

Moreover, her elder brother, Shen Yiyang, as the future heir of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion, is crucial to the stability and future of the mansion.

Of course, it also relates to Yunli's stability and future.

As long as the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion exists, those who want to covet Yun Li and make a move on him should first consider whether they have the strength to back it up.

Shen Tianjiao got into the carriage and left the palace, heading towards Ziyun Manor.

Originally, Ruan Yuhu would have been the most suitable person to negotiate with Duan Qingning, but since Ruan Yuhu was at Huguo Temple and not in the palace, Shen Tianjiao had to take the initiative herself.

Once seated in the carriage, Shen Tianjiao remained silent, her eyes closed as she pondered her thoughts.

Whether it's sending Su Wenhao to Xirong with Ayinurjing and her nephew, or persuading Duan Qingning to take Chaoyun back to Nanchu.

Neither of these two matters is easy; both require utmost caution. The slightest mistake could lead to a devastating disaster for Yunli.

Although they are all dangerous things, they are things that must be done.

The saying goes that fortune favors the bold. Similarly, although both of these things are very risky, if successful, they will be entirely beneficial to Yun Li.

Among the six kingdoms of the Nine Provinces, the Western Rong and the Southern Chu posed the most direct and significant threat to Yunli.

The Western Rong people are a people who grow up on horseback. Their men are all fierce and fearless in battle. Even their women are stronger than the women in Yunli.

The situation in Southern Chu was even more complicated. Not everyone in Southern Chu knew how to use poison, but most people in Southern Chu did.

Furthermore, the royal family of Southern Chu had many members who specialized in the research of various poisons; these people were specially trained by the Southern Chu royal family.

The purpose was so that when Southern Chu encountered danger, they could use the poison they had developed to deal with their enemies.

Compared to the fierceness of the Western Rong people, the poison in the hands of the Southern Chu people was the most terrifying.

Once someone is poisoned by them, the consequences and the extent of injury or death are simply incalculable.

Therefore, as the biggest hidden dangers to Yunli, both Xirong and Nanchu must be eliminated as soon as possible to ensure that Shen Tianjiao's plan to wage war against the six kingdoms of the Nine Provinces proceeds smoothly.

Whether or not we can win over Nan Chu this time depends on how well Shen Tianjiao and Duan Qingning's conversation goes today.

In order to resolve the issue of Southern Chu smoothly, Shen Tianjiao did not mind increasing the stakes and offering Duan Qingning more benefits to keep him at ease.

This would allow her to return to Southern Chu with peace of mind and thoroughly stir up trouble there, giving me an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and deal with Southern Chu.

Even if we can't bring down Southern Chu this time, we must at least ensure that Southern Chu can't recover for at least ten years.

Once Shen Tianjiao has finished dealing with the six kingdoms of the Nine Provinces, she can then turn her attention to dealing with Southern Chu.

As for the Western Rong, although their strength is still not to be underestimated, since the death of their old emperor...

They lost the opportunity to unite as one, work together without regard for anything else, and stand united against external threats.

The current young emperor is not very talented, has limited abilities, and is not very capable, but he is able to rise to power simply because his father is the emperor.

So after his father, the emperor, died, he naturally ascended the throne and became the current emperor of the Western Rong.

Unlike the Yunli people, the Western Rong people were influenced by the Central Plains culture from childhood. They valued the succession of the throne from father to son and the stability of imperial power. If the emperor's father died, his son would naturally continue to be emperor.

The Western Rong people believe in the principle of "might makes right," and whoever is the strongest is qualified to be the king of the Western Rong.

This is also one of the important factors contributing to the current instability of the Western Rong.

Those who wield power greater than the emperor are naturally unwilling to stoop to the level of a mere youth.

Driven by the belief that might makes right, these people were all waiting for an opportunity to kill the current young emperor of the Western Rong and take his place as emperor.

If Su Wenhao's trip to Xirong this time stirs up enough trouble and creates enough chaos, then the day when Xirong truly descends into chaos is not far off.

If the Western Rong begin to fall into chaos, then no matter how powerful they once were, they will be nothing more than a disorganized mess and nothing to be afraid of.

Shen Tianjiao frowned, secretly planning to take a few more strategists with her to Xirong, since what they were going to do there was extremely important.

She feared that if Su Wenhao were alone, he would be overwhelmed and unable to cope.

Bring several advisors with you; they can discuss things together if anything happens.

The most frightening thing is that these learned scholars are the ones who are punished by others.

Although there are many talented people in the Western Rong region, they are far less capable of stirring up trouble than the scholars in Yunli.

Don't ask Shen Tianjiao how she knows; the answer is that she experienced too much in her past life.

The carriage had already left the city. It was late autumn, and although the temperature outside was low and chilly, the scenery was still quite nice.

Besides the chrysanthemums blooming all over the mountains, there are also leaves that have turned yellow and are falling in the wind, painted by the approaching winter.

Even more beautiful are the red maple trees, their leaves now a vibrant red, exuding a unique charm of this season.

Looking out the car window at the striking contrast of red and yellow hues, Shen Tianjiao's restless heart gradually calmed down.

In her past life, she was trapped in the harem and on the battlefield, and never had the leisure to relax and appreciate such beautiful scenery as she does now.

Looking out the car window at the breathtakingly beautiful scenery that defies description, Shen Tianjiao's resolve to protect Yun Li was strengthened.

"Master, it's windy outside, should we close the window?"

The scenery outside is beautiful, but the wind is a bit too strong. It's easy to catch a cold or get sick in this season.

Taking good care of Shen Tianjiao was Chun Chao's duty, even though he knew that it would be a mood killer to suggest closing the car window at this time.

However, for the sake of Shen Tianjiao's health, Chun Chao had no choice but to do it, despite the spoilsport.

"It's fine, keep it open. I'm not in a draft where I'm sitting."

The carriage that Shen Tianjiao was riding in was large enough, almost the size of a small room, and now there was a charcoal fire burning inside, with hot tea being brewed, so it was quite warm.

The wind blowing in from outside did not affect the temperature inside the carriage at all; on the contrary, it brought a touch of coolness to the hot and dry interior.

Hearing Shen Tianjiao say that she shouldn't close the car window, Chun Chao stopped talking and got up to pour Shen Tianjiao a cup of hot tea.

Holding the hot teacup in her hand, Shen Tianjiao took a small sip. She looked up at the chestnuts roasting on the stove and couldn't help but think of her two young children.

It has been some time since she last left Ziyun Manor.

When she left, she had already told Li Muyang that she would pick him and Li Muyan up in a few days to go back together, but she was busy with various matters and broke her promise.

Now that I've calmed down and thought about it, I realize that I really owe my two children a lot. When they were in the palace, I was always incredibly busy.

Although we live together, I rarely have time to spend with my two children.

She didn't quite understand before why, even between mothers and sons in the palace, the relationship was so stiff, unlike the deep affection between mothers and sons among commoners.

However, she now understands a bit more: how can feelings develop if you don't spend time together?

Even between biological mothers and children, estrangement can occur if there is no affection between them.

Everything she's doing now is for Li Muyang's future, but she doesn't know if Li Muyang will understand what she's doing now in the future.

At this moment, Shen Tianjiao was filled with emotion and finally understood the true meaning of the saying "The hearts of parents are full of love and concern for their children."

Thinking of the boundless love and concern of parents, she thought of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

The original owner of this body broke his heart, but the Marquis of Zhenbei still cared for his daughter as always.

I planned everything for her, and I couldn't bear to let her suffer any grievances.

No matter how many things the original owner had done that hurt the Marquis of Zhenbei, he would still not care about anything as long as she needed him.

Forget about the unpleasant and sad things of the past, and rush out to help her immediately.

Perhaps only parents in this world are willing to always be the weaker party in front of their children.

Setting down her teacup, Shen Tianjiao looked out the window at the scenery rushing by, her thoughts drifting back to the northern frontier.

Yan Yu has been gone for several days now. Judging from his itinerary, even if he hasn't reached the northern border region, he should be close to it.

At this time, the northern border region was already covered in heavy snow and frozen for thousands of miles.

The heavy snow will hinder Yan Yu's journey back to the northern border and make his trip more dangerous. It is unknown whether Yan Yu will be able to reach the northern border safely and smoothly.

Although Shen Tianjiao knew that traveling in heavy snow was difficult and dangerous, it was not a big deal for Yan Yu.

But Shen Tianjiao couldn't suppress her worry.

She was usually so busy with court affairs and daily chores that she had no time to think about these things.

But now that she has some free time, these things have unconsciously taken over her mind.

It seems she's destined to be busy. She finally has a chance to rest, but she still has to worry about this and that, never letting her mind have a moment's peace.

While Shen Tianjiao was lost in thought, she heard Chun Chao say, "Master, we've been traveling for so long, shouldn't we stop and rest for a bit?"

Seeing that Shen Tianjiao was not speaking and was just sitting there in a daze, Chun Chao was afraid that something was bothering her, so he thought of stopping the carriage and accompanying Shen Tianjiao to get out and clear her mind.

"Alright, let the carriage stop and rest for a while."

After sitting in the carriage for so long, Shen Tianjiao was a little tired, and getting off would be a good way to loosen up her muscles.

The carriage soon stopped at a place with excellent scenery, with mountains, water, trees, and a bridge.

Chun Chao helped Shen Tianjiao down from the carriage. Looking at the scenery before her, Shen Tianjiao felt much more relaxed.

Such scenery is simply unseen in the palace. Although the imperial gardens and courtyards in the palace are meticulously man-made, they are not only magnificent but also very elegant.

However, those meticulously crafted gardens are far inferior to the breathtaking beauty created by nature's artistry.

Shen Tianjiao stretched, but before she could even loosen up her muscles, she heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes beside her.

Chun Chao, alert, stepped forward to pull Shen Tianjiao away, but Shen Tianjiao pushed him away.

This is the perfect season for hunting, and it's perfectly normal to see small animals like rabbits and pheasants by the roadside.

In her past life, Shen Tianjiao did a lot of hunting on the battlefield to fill her stomach.

Looking at the bushes ahead, Shen Tianjiao suddenly became interested; she hadn't experienced the joy of hunting for many years.

Today, such an opportunity was rare, which made Shen Tianjiao eager to try it out and see if she could still have the courage she had back then, since she hadn't hunted for many years.

"Spring Tide, is there a bow and arrow on the carriage?"

Shen Tianjiao stared at the bushes and whispered to Chun Chao beside her.

Chun Chao was stunned for a moment, then realized what Shen Tianjiao wanted to do.

"Master, we don't have any bows and arrows on our carriage."

Shen Tianjiao always had bodyguards accompanying her when she went out, so it was impossible for her carriage to have anything like bows and arrows.

Chun Chao looked at Shen Tianjiao, feeling troubled. His master had finally been in the mood to stretch his muscles and hunt some wild game, but now he had to disappoint her because of a lack of tools.

"Chun Chao, go ask them who brought a bow and arrow, or a hidden blade, or even a dagger if all else fails."

Although she didn't bring a bow and arrows, that didn't matter; it still couldn't dampen Shen Tianjiao's enthusiasm for hunting.

"Yes, this servant will go and ask right away."

Seeing Shen Tianjiao so excited, like a child, Chun Chao was also infected by her excitement, and she hurriedly turned around to find the guards.