The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 469 The Secret of the Marquis of Zhenbei

Everyone who had finished their work had gone to sleep, but there was still one person in Ziyun Manor who hadn't gone to sleep.

The person who is still awake is the Marquis of Zhenbei.

The reason why the Marquis of Zhenbei is still awake is not only because he is worried about the two groups of people who will set off at the same time tomorrow, but also because he is worried about his daughter's future.

Sitting in his study, the Marquis of Zhenbei couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Ever since Li Xian told the Marquis of Zhenbei that Shen Tianjiao was destined to ascend the throne and become the first empress of Yunli.

The Marquis of Zhenbei never had a moment of peace in his heart.

For over a century, the Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion has guarded the frontier, protected the country, and remained loyal to the emperor and loved the people.

But who could have imagined that their family would produce an empress who would replace the Li dynasty?

This is truly a cruel twist of fate.

However, compared to the disappointing descendants of the Li family, his daughter was far more outstanding and more qualified to govern the world of Yunli.

Moreover, his daughter was destined to become empress; it was the will of Heaven, and the Marquis of Zhenbei would naturally not go against Heaven's will.

Marquis Zhenbei never doubted what Li Xian said; he knew perfectly well how capable Li Xian was.

His only worry now is that Shen Tianjiao's path to the throne will be difficult, and she will have to endure a lot of suffering and hardship.

Although it is said that those who are entrusted with great responsibilities must undergo trials and tribulations, I still feel sorry for my own daughter.

Looking at the candlelight before him, the Marquis of Zhenbei recalled the prophecy that had prompted the late emperor to slaughter everyone, including all the little girls under the age of three in Yunli.

When Shen Tianjiao was born, it was precisely at the time when the late emperor ordered the secret killing of those little girls.

The Marquis of Zhenbei naturally wanted to protect his daughter's safety. At that time, his wife had gone to the Hot Spring Villa to rest and prepare for childbirth because of some urgent matters at home.

Shen Tianjiao was born in the Hot Spring Villa, and it was fortunate that she was born there. If she had been born in the Zhenbei Marquis's Mansion in the capital, she would have been different.

Even if the Marquis of Zhenbei had extraordinary abilities at the time, he probably wouldn't have been able to save Shen Tianjiao.

At that time, no one outside knew that the Lady of Zhenbei was pregnant; only a few trusted confidants who served her closely in the mansion knew.

So when Shen Tianjiao was born, it happened right when the massacre began, but because it happened in her family's hot spring villa, the news of her birth was well kept secret.

After receiving a secret report that the late emperor intended to massacre all girls under the age of three within Yunli territory, the Marquis of Zhenbei rushed back from the northern frontier. Upon his return, he did not go back to the Marquis of Zhenbei's residence in Shangjing, but went directly to the Hot Spring Villa.

However, when the Marquis of Zhenbei arrived at the Hot Spring Villa, his wife had already died from postpartum hemorrhage after giving birth to their daughter, Shen Tianjiao, due to premature labor.

The couple didn't even get to see each other one last time.

To save his daughter's life, the Marquis of Zhenbei sealed off the entire hot spring villa, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving.

Of course, he also kept quiet about his wife's postpartum hemorrhage and the birth of his daughter.

This news was kept secret by the Marquis of Zhenbei for a whole year, until the killing finally stopped and subsided a year later.

Only then did the Marquis of Zhenbei announce the news of his wife's death and the birth of his daughter.

Therefore, both the death of Lady Zhenbei and the birth of Shen Tianjiao occurred a year later than they actually were.

When Shen Tianjiao returned to the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion in Shangjing, she was already about one year old. In order to prevent others from discovering this secret and bringing disaster upon Shen Tianjiao.

The Marquis of Zhenbei kept Shen Tianjiao locked up in his mansion, forbidding her from going out and forbidding anyone from entering or leaving the inner quarters of the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion.

Because Shen Tianjiao was born prematurely, she was always physically weak and didn't grow very tall. At the age of two, she looked even thinner than a normal one-year-old child.

So even later, when Shen Tianjiao was allowed to appear in some public places, no one doubted her real age.

The Marquis of Zhenbei has kept this matter a secret until now, and even his three sons are unaware of it.

At that time, Shen Yiyang had already been taken to the northern frontier by the Marquis of Zhenbei, and naturally the Marquis of Zhenbei would not take him with him when he returned to the capital.

Shen Tingzhi was still young at the time and was studying at the Imperial Academy. The Marquis of Zhenbei arranged for someone to take care of his life and told him that his mother was suffering from a serious illness and needed to rest quietly for a period of time without being disturbed by others.

Using this reason, Shen Tingzhi stayed at the Imperial Academy for two whole years.

When he returned home from the Imperial Academy, he received news of his mother's death.

As for Shen Xinghao, he was just a clueless kid back then, so he was easy to fool.

That's why the secret of Shen Tianjiao's birth has been kept hidden until now.

The Marquis of Zhenbei never investigated those events in depth; everything he did was simply to protect his daughter.

But looking back now, Xu Ziwu's prediction back then wasn't just a baseless fabrication.

The fact that his daughter was able to survive in such a dangerous environment back then was due not only to his protection but also, undeniably, a stroke of luck.

Shen Tianjiao is the chosen one, so she will naturally be blessed with good fortune.

Although the Marquis of Zhenbei already knew that his daughter was the chosen one, the future empress of Yunli.

However, he also knew that his daughter's future path would not be easy.

Before the previous dynasty was destroyed, there were not just one, but three empresses.

These three empresses each had their own merits and demerits, and it is difficult to judge their merits and demerits. They made extraordinary contributions to their dynasties, but also brought disasters to their dynasties because of their own selfish desires.

There is still considerable controversy surrounding them even now.

Since the founding of the country, Yunli has never had an empress. Although the trend of Li Zhaohui wanting to be empress caused a great stir in Yunli and had a great influence on many people, people were not so opposed to the idea of ​​a woman ascending the throne.

However, Shen Tianjiao's situation is different from Li Zhaohui's.

Li Zhaohui was the biological daughter of Emperor Gaozu, and the blood of the Li family flowed in her veins. The reason why those court officials and aristocratic families supported her was because she was Emperor Gaozu's daughter.

But Shen Tianjiao is different; she is not the daughter of the Li family, but the daughter-in-law of the Li family.

Although they are both members of the Li family, there is a big difference between a daughter and a daughter-in-law. A daughter is a blood relative, while a daughter-in-law is an outsider.

For those people, the throne is completely different when it is passed to a daughter versus when it is passed to a daughter-in-law.

Even if the daughter ascends the throne, the status, power, and interests of those powerful families and imperial relatives will not change.

If the daughter-in-law were to do it, the outcome for these people would be different.

Therefore, in order to protect their own interests, those people will definitely do their utmost to oppose Shen Tianjiao's ascension to the throne.

The dangers of the future are even more terrifying than the Marquis of Zhenbei imagined.

The more the Marquis of Zhenbei thought about it, the greater his worries became. He had never had such anxieties and troubles before. All he wanted was for his daughter to live an ordinary life.

But now, his previous wishes have been completely shattered. He must pull himself together and be a strong support for his daughter.

After finishing his work, Shen Tingzhi went to the courtyard of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

Recently, Shen Tingzhi noticed that the Marquis of Zhenbei often stayed alone in his study at night, sometimes until dawn.

Even a fool could see that the Marquis of Zhenbei had something on his mind, let alone Shen Tingzhi.

Shen Tingzhi had asked the Marquis of Zhenbei several times in recent days if something had happened to him, but the Marquis of Zhenbei always changed the subject and didn't want Shen Tingzhi to continue asking.

Shen Tianjiao happened to be here today, so Shen Tingzhi decided to ask the Marquis of Zhenbei again if his father still refused to say anything.

Then he could only ask his sister to help. The Marquis of Zhenbei might not take other people's words to heart, but he would listen to his daughter, Shen Tianjiao.

Shen Tingzhi stepped forward and knocked on the door, waking the Marquis of Zhenbei from his reverie.

Marquis Zhenbei frowned. At this time, there was probably no one else but Shen Tingzhi who would dare to barge in and disturb him without permission.

This kid is such a clingy person, he never lets anyone have a moment's peace.

"come in."

The Marquis of Zhenbei's voice was full of helplessness. This brat wouldn't let it go until he found out exactly what had happened.

What troubled the Marquis of Zhenbei was whether or not he could tell Shen Tingzhi about this matter now.

He knew that if he told Shen Tingzhi, Shen Tingzhi would keep it a secret and would not mention it to anyone.

Shen Tingzhi's doting on Shen Tianjiao was comparable to that of the Marquis of Zhenbei, after all, he had personally raised this younger sister.

Marquis Zhenbei is not afraid that Shen Tingzhi will make this matter public; what he fears is that Shen Tingzhi will not be able to bear the consequences if he finds out.

After all, Shen Tingzhi, like himself, only hoped that Shen Tianjiao could live a peaceful and safe life.

As for the hardships and setbacks they faced in becoming an empress, they never even considered it.

It's really difficult for Shen Tingzhi to accept this result all at once.

Shen Tingzhi pushed open the door and saw that the Marquis of Zhenbei looked exhausted. He said directly, "Father, is there something on your mind that you can't tell your son?"

“We have always been honest with each other, so what happened this time that you are unwilling to tell your son?”

"No matter what happens, your son will stand with you, Father."

“If you don’t want to tell your son, then I will go and call Jiaojiao over first thing tomorrow morning.”

"Let her ask Father what happened. Surely Father wouldn't keep it from Jiaojiao as well?"

The Marquis of Zhenbei glared at Shen Tingzhi. This little brat really knew how to handle him.

If he really did call Jiaojiao over, then he would be unable to keep this a secret any longer.

The time is not yet right to tell Shen Tianjiao about this.

The Marquis of Zhenbei looked at Shen Tingzhi and sighed heavily, knowing in his heart that he had to confront Shen Tingzhi today.

Otherwise, this kid might actually dare to go and call Jiaojiao over to teach him a lesson.

Things will be much more difficult then.

"You brat, what are you yelling about in the middle of the night?"

Marquis Zhenbei got up and walked to the side, sitting down at the tea table.

Without waiting for the Marquis of Zhenbei's instructions, Shen Tingzhi followed closely behind and sat down at the tea table.

Shen Tingzhi, who had just sat down at the tea table, served the already brewed tea to the Marquis of Zhenbei before he could give any instructions.

"Father, please have some tea, and we can talk slowly."

Marquis Zhenbei picked up his teacup, took a sip of hot tea, and then said, "You little brat, this matter is of utmost importance. Have you thought it through? Do you really need to know?"

"Yes, I must know. Even if something terrible happens, I'm willing to stand with you, Father."

Shen Tingzhi involuntarily sat up straight, looking at the Marquis of Zhenbei with a solemn expression.

Ever since he discovered that the Marquis of Zhenbei had been spending his evenings alone in his study until very late, he had considered all the potential crises that the Marquis of Zhenbei might face.

However, after his reasoning, all those so-called crises were overturned.

His younger sister, Shen Tianjiao, is now the Empress Regent, which adds another layer of glory and prestige to the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion, which was already untouchable.

Anyone with a brain would never choose to target the Marquis of Zhenbei's mansion at this time.

So Shen Tingzhi thought and thought, but he really couldn't find any problem that could be troubling his father.

He'll really go crazy if we don't ask him clearly and find out the truth.

Marquis Zhenbei sighed, thinking that he would have to tell Shen Tingzhi and his brothers about this in the end anyway, so there was no need to hide it now.

When Shen Tianjiao ascends the throne as empress, her brothers will undoubtedly pave the way for her.

"Before your grandfather Li Xian passed away, he told your father that your sister Shen Tianjiao would one day replace the Li dynasty and become the first empress of Yunli."

Shen Tingzhi stared blankly at the Marquis of Zhenbei, unable to process what his father meant for a long time.

Seeing Shen Tingzhi's expression, Marquis Zhenbei said nothing and simply waited quietly for Shen Tingzhi to come to his senses.

Shen Tingzhi patted his face to make sure he wasn't dreaming and that he was fully conscious.

Moreover, there was nothing wrong with his ears, and his father was a man who never lied, so what he just heard was undoubtedly true.

His sister, Shen Tianjiao, will one day replace the Li dynasty and become the first empress of Yunli.

Although it was only a few short sentences, the amount of information contained was enormous.

The sheer size of it made it difficult for Shen Tingzhi to process.