The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 479 Before Departure: Explanations

"Okay, take care of yourself and Mrs. Duan as well."

Shen Tianjiao straightened Chaoyun's clothes and said, "Let's go, I'll be waiting for your good news."

The next person to walk up to Shen Tianjiao was Yu Po.

This is the person Shen Tianjiao is most reluctant to part with.

Shen Tianjiao held Yu Po in her arms and said, "I've said everything I needed to say. I'll say it again: take care of yourself and don't be reckless."

"Yes, I know."

Yu Po was also pretending to be fine. She and Shen Tianjiao had been separated for so many years and had only just reunited. Who would have thought they would be separated again so soon?

"Now you have a new task: take good care of your fourth son for me."

Originally, Shen Tianjiao sent Li Ziyan to Nan Chu for two reasons: first, to let him train himself, and second, to let him protect Yu Po.

Who knew that his own father had just recognized Li Ziyan as his godson, and the situation immediately took a dramatic turn.

Now it's time to use Jade Soul to protect Li Ziyan.

If something happens to this kid in Southern Chu, Yu Po will have a hard time explaining it to Marquis Zhenbei when he returns.

"Fourth Young Master? When did we get a Fourth Young Master in our household?"

Yu Po looked at Shen Tianjiao in confusion. How come she didn't know when, when, another young master had joined the manor?

"The person your lord just recognized, and whom you also know, is Li Ziyan, who will be accompanying you to Southern Chu this time."

Shen Tianjiao smiled at Yu Po, "This boy is a precious young master, so I'll trouble you to take good care of him this time."

"Oh, I know."

Although Yu Po verbally agreed, she was secretly wondering why Li Ziyan, instead of being a proper young master, insisted on going to Nan Chu to join in the fun.

Going to Southern Chu is a dangerous thing, not something children can play around with.

I wonder what the master and the marquis were thinking, why they agreed to let this young master go to Southern Chu to cause trouble?

Protecting Madam Duan and Chaoyun was already enough of a headache for her, and now she has to add an old man to the mix. Sigh, she's exhausted!

"Alright, don't worry. He has many guards with him. You just need to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't run around."

Having discerned Yu Po's thoughts, Shen Tianjiao immediately dispelled her concerns.

Yu Po, whose thoughts had been seen through by Shen Tianjiao, was not annoyed. She looked at Shen Tianjiao with a smile and asked, "This young master is not going to Nan Chu just to have fun, is he?"

"Of course not. The Marquis sent him along to train him. You just need to keep an eye on him."

Shen Tianjiao suddenly stepped forward and said in a low voice, "There's one more thing. After we arrive in Nan Chu, try to prevent Bai Yunchi and Chao Yun from meeting."

"We must make sure Bai Yunchi comes back with the eldest young master. If he refuses to obey, knock him unconscious and tie him up and bring him back."

The situation is complicated now, and this is definitely not the time to talk about personal feelings.

Regardless of what the future holds, these two people cannot be together right now.

Regardless of whether Bai Yunchi has romantic feelings for Chaoyun, even if he does, Bai Yunchi is a very rational person.

Don't let his stingy nature fool you; he's actually quite sensible and knows what he should and shouldn't do.

But Chaoyun is different; she is more emotional than rational.

If she were to meet Bai Yunchi, who knows what earth-shattering things she might do under the influence of her emotions.

Therefore, the best course of action now is to prevent the two of them from meeting, and deal with other matters later.

Yu Po was stunned for a moment. She had returned late, so she naturally didn't know what had happened between Bai Yunchi and Chao Yun.

But what did Shen Tianjiao just say that she didn't understand?

"Yes, I understand."

"The eldest son is also a stubborn person, so it won't be easy to get him to give up this mission."

“If he is unwilling to come back no matter what, then we should take strong measures, ask Chaoyun for some things, pack him up and send him back.”

Shen Tianjiao knew what kind of person her older brother was; he would never obediently come back so easily.

If Shen Yiyang refuses to come back, then Shen Tianjiao won't mind using unconventional methods to bring him back.

Yu Po's body trembled involuntarily. Her master was becoming more and more domineering, even resorting to such methods.

She couldn't afford to offend the eldest young master, but fortunately she had powerful backers. Even if she used extreme measures against Shen Yiyang, he probably wouldn't blame her, since she was just following orders.

"Yes, I understand,"

After the two finished talking, the Marquis of Zhenbei took out his wine bowl again. Although Yu Po was a woman, her alcohol tolerance was no less than that of a man.

"Girl, come, drink this farewell wine, and you will go safely and come back safely."

Yu Po was not a pretentious person. She took the wine bowl from the Marquis of Zhenbei, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

This fully demonstrates her heroic spirit as a woman among heroes.

The Marquis of Zhenbei couldn't help but laugh as he watched Yu Po drink. This girl was becoming more and more like a tomboy.

"Alright, alright, girl." The Marquis of Zhenbei turned around and pulled Li Ziyan out from behind him. "I'm entrusting this boy to you. You must keep a close eye on him for me."

"If he doesn't listen to you, you can discipline him by hitting or scolding him as you please."

Yu Po had met Li Ziyan before and knew that he was a frail scholar.

Although the Marquis of Zhenbei said that, Yu Po dared not touch this little master. This little master was now considered half her master, and she dared not disrespect him.

"I dare not, my lord, rest assured, I will definitely protect the Fourth Young Master."

Marquis Zhenbei smiled and said nothing more. He picked up another bowl of wine, turned to Li Ziyan and said, "Come, drink a bowl too. After you finish this wine, we'll be setting off."

Li Ziyan doesn't usually drink alcohol, but today's situation is special, so he accepted the wine bowl without thinking.

However, Li Ziyan wasn't so bold and unrestrained when he drank; he held the bowl and drank in small sips.

Such strong liquor was something he simply couldn't handle.

He only took two sips before he could no longer swallow and choked, coughing violently.

While patting Li Ziyan's back, Shen Tingzhi took the wine bowl from his hand and drank the rest of the wine himself.

Such fine wine, it would be a waste not to drink it.

It took Li Ziyan a long time to stop coughing and return to normal.

The Marquis of Zhenbei looked at Li Ziyan and said, "Go, and remember what I told you."

"Yes, Ziyan is gone. Father, brother, and sister, please take good care of yourselves. Ziyan will definitely come back safely."

At this moment, Li Ziyan was already feeling a little dizzy.

He wasn't a good drinker to begin with, and the wine he had just drunk was aged liquor, so naturally he couldn't handle it.

"Well, let's go."

At the order of the Marquis of Zhenbei, Yu Po boarded the carriage first, while Li Ziyan was helped into the carriage by others.

Once Yu Po and Li Ziyan boarded the carriage, the caravan slowly set off.

This morning, Shen Tianjiao, the Marquis of Zhenbei, and Shen Tingzhi had already experienced this scene twice.

It's just that my feelings were different on both occasions.

"Let's go back, it's really cold today."

Marquis Zhenbei turned and left first, followed closely by Shen Tianjiao and Shen Tingzhi.

Today is a sunny day, but it's unusually cold, with temperatures comparable to the dead of winter.

"It's already this cold at this time of year, so there's a good chance this year's snowfall will be heavier than usual. We need to take precautions against snow disasters."

Shen Tingzhi looked up at the rising sun, but his heart was filled with worry.

If a snow disaster occurs, then big trouble is coming.

"Go, send someone back to the capital to inform the Imperial Observatory to predict celestial phenomena and make timely preparations."

Whether or not a snow disaster will occur is a matter of life and death for the people, and it cannot be taken lightly or carelessly.

Shen Tianjiao also sensed that the weather this year was indeed a bit abnormal. It was only September, but the weather was already as cold as deep winter.

This situation is indeed not to be ignored and must be taken seriously.

"Yes. This servant will go right away."

Chun Chao was so busy he barely had time to breathe. He had just finished other things and hadn't even caught his breath when he had to get to do the things Shen Tianjiao had asked him to do.

Shen Tianjiao hadn't even reached her own courtyard when she heard her two young children crying.

"What's wrong? What's going on?"

Hearing her two young children crying, Shen Tianjiao panicked. She couldn't care less about the etiquette of an empress at this moment and ran into the courtyard.

When Shen Tianjiao appeared in the house, her two children immediately stopped crying upon seeing her.

One ran over and hugged her, while the other struggled in the wet nurse's arms, also wanting to be in her embrace.

So Shen Tianjiao embraced her son and held her daughter, comforting the two children.

The two children quickly calmed down, and Shen Tianjiao finally had a chance to ask, "What happened?"

"Your Majesty, when His Highness the Crown Prince and the Princess woke up, they didn't see you and assumed you had returned to the palace, which is why they were crying."

One of the wet nurses who served Li Muyan stepped forward to report, and all of them who served the young masters breathed a sigh of relief the moment they saw Shen Tianjiao appear.

No one knows how much trouble these two young masters cause when they can't see the Empress.

Putting everything else aside, just last time, when Shen Tianjiao left, she didn't explain things clearly to the two children.

After their high fever subsided and they woke up, it's no exaggeration to say they cried their hearts out.

In the end, it took the Marquis of Zhenbei a lot of effort to appease them.

This has already caused psychological trauma to those who serve them.

If Shen Tianjiao doesn't come back, who knows how long they'll cry this time?

Hearing the wet nurse's words, Shen Tianjiao felt a pang of sadness. Her two children had truly suffered under her care.

"Okay, you go down."

"Bring over some hot water, and also some hot milk."

Seeing Li Muyan sobbing, Shen Tianjiao felt both heartache and self-blame.

Soon hot water and milk arrived. Shen Tianjiao personally washed the two children's faces, applied face oil, gave Li Muyang a bowl of milk, and fed the rest to Li Muyan.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two children clung to Shen Tianjiao, following her closely, afraid that she would disappear again if they let go.

Left with no other choice, Shen Tianjiao had to postpone her trip and decide to stay at Ziyun Villa for a couple more days to spend more time with her two children.

Because it was particularly cold today, Yu Po sat inside the carriage.

A stove had been lit inside the carriage, making it much warmer than outside. Moreover, Yu Po had just drunk some wine, so she felt extremely hot.

With guards outside, Yu Po didn't need to worry about defense at all.

The rest of the trip will likely be spent in these boring days.

Feeling bored and uncomfortably hot, Yu Po was about to take off her outer clothes and take a nap, since she had been tormented all night and hadn't slept at all.

Now, taking a nap whenever you have free time is perfectly normal.

Before Yu Po could even take off her outer coat, someone knocked on the car door and said, "Boss, go take a look. It seems like something's wrong with Young Master Li."

The person outside, with just one sentence, startled Yu Po awake.

Yu Po quickly fastened her loosened belt again and strode out.

"what happened?"

The cold wind outside made Yu Po shiver, and her somewhat groggy mind instantly cleared up.

They've only been gone for less than half an hour. If something happens to Li Ziyan, the trouble will be enormous.

"Boss, Young Master Li doesn't know what happened inside the carriage."

“We heard a strange noise coming from his carriage.”

"It's just that it's not convenient for us to go up and ask, so we came to report to you."

The guards who came were brought out of the palace by Yu Po, and they all knew that Li Ziyan had a special identity.

That's why he immediately ran to tell Yu Po when he heard that something was wrong in his carriage.

"I'll go over and take a look."

Yu Po leaped off the carriage and then quickly arrived at Li Ziyan's carriage.

The coachman, upon seeing Yu Po, asked, "Miss, would you like me to stop the carriage?"

"No need, I'll go up and check on the young master's condition."

After saying this, Yu Po jumped onto the carriage. Without asking the people inside, she pushed open the carriage door and went inside.

The moment the car door was pushed open, Yu Po saw Li Ziyan vomiting uncontrollably, and his personal servant was taking care of him.

"What, what's going on?"

Seeing Li Ziyan almost vomiting his own bile, Yu Po was completely dumbfounded.

They came from Ziyun Manor, so it's impossible for anyone to poison Li Ziyan.

But now he was vomiting like this again, and he didn't know why. Yu Po was very anxious.