The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 187 Taking You Home

Shen Tianjiao's words shocked Shen Tingzhi. Since he came back, there have been endless "surprises" like this.

"What's wrong? Are you scared?" Shen Tianjiao looked at Shen Tingzhi and asked with a smile.

"Yeah, a little." Shen Tingzhi looked up at Shen Tianjiao and said, "Jiaojiao, could you tell me about this kind of thing in advance? It always catches me off guard."

"I haven't had time to tell you yet."

Shen Tingzhi had only been back for two days, and there had been a lot of things going on during those two days, so Shen Tianjiao really had no time to discuss this kind of thing with him.

"Indeed, the experiences of the past two days are almost like a major war."

Shen Tingzhi was indeed very tired these two days. He had been working non-stop since he came back and had no time to rest.

"Second brother, you've worked hard." Looking at the dark blue color under Shen Tingzhi's eyes, Shen Tianjiao would be lying if she said she didn't feel sorry for him, but the current situation did not allow them to stop and rest.

"Nothing. I've been busy all these years, and I'm used to it."

It is not easy to be a high-ranking official. As the guardian of a region, he needs to do many things personally.

"Brother, is there anything else? If not, let's set off for the West Mountain Camp now."

Shen Tianjiao was in the palace at this time, but her heart had already flown to the Xishan camp.

"Okay, let's go now." Looking at his anxious sister, Shen Tingzhi smiled helplessly and shook his head.

The brother and sister did not delay. After Shen Tianjiao changed her clothes, they hurried out of the palace.

The Xishan Camp is quite some distance away from the imperial palace. After leaving the palace, you have to leave the imperial city. After leaving the imperial city, you have to leave Ping'an Gate. After leaving Ping'an Gate, you have left the capital city. Finally, you have to walk dozens of miles to reach the Xishan Camp.

When leaving Shangjing City, Shen Tianjiao and Shen Tingzhi took a horse-drawn carriage. When they arrived outside Shangjing City, the brother and sister got off the carriage and rode horses instead.

Shen Tianjiao hadn't ridden a horse for a long time, and it felt great to be back on horseback again.

Before Shen Tianjiao could fully enjoy the thrill of riding on horseback, they had already arrived at the Xishan camp.

Seeing that it was the second young master of their family, the guards immediately made way and let Shen Tingzhi and the people he brought in.

"Second Young Master, is there something important that brings you here so late?"

The person in charge of Xishan Camp now is General Wang Zongyuan, a direct descendant of Marquis Zhenbei. When he saw that Shen Tingzhi came suddenly without any prior notice, he couldn't help but think too much.

"Oh, Uncle Wang, it's okay, we are here to pick Fengming up." Shen Tingzhi looked at Shen Tianjiao beside him.

Wang Zongyuan looked over there curiously following Shen Tingzhi's gaze. It was not a big deal, but it almost scared him.

Isn’t the person next to Shen Tingzhi the eldest daughter of their Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, the current Queen Shen Tianjiao?

Oh my God, it’s such an honor for the Queen to come in person. Wang Zongyuan’s legs went weak and he almost knelt down.

Shen Tingzhi quickly supported Wang Zongyuan and whispered, "Uncle Wang, stay calm, keep a low profile, and don't show off."

"General Wang, thank you for your hard work." Before Wang Zongyuan could react, Shen Tianjiao nodded and smiled at him, then walked away.

"Uncle Wang, are you okay?" Sensing Wang Zongyuan's panic, Shen Tingzhi asked.

"I said it's okay, do you believe me, Second Young Master?" Shen Tingzhi and Wang Zongyuan have been together for a long time, and Wang Zongyuan once served as a deputy general under Shen Tingzhi, so the relationship between the two is relatively harmonious and not so unfamiliar, so they speak more casually.

"Second Young Master, you should have informed me before you came so that I could be prepared. You came so suddenly that I was caught off guard. What's going on?"

Wang Zongyuan could talk freely to Shen Tingzhi, but he didn't have the courage to talk to Shen Tianjiao.

The eldest daughter of the Zhenbei Marquisate, now the Empress, now has a high prestige in the army and is on the verge of becoming equal to her father.

The reason was simple: Shen Tianjiao turned the tide, eliminated all obstacles, let Yan Mingde lead the troops to quell the rebellion, and transferred Bai Qishan to Ganzhou to focus on training new soldiers.

The Queen did this in order to accumulate strength so that she could conquer all the countries in one fell swoop in the future, and make those restless people who always wanted to divide up the Yunli Kingdom no longer dare to covet it, and make them completely submit to Yunli.

No one can understand and appreciate the significance of Shen Tianjiao's action better than these soldiers who have been guarding the border for many years.

Generals die in a hundred battles, and strong men return in ten years.

These soldiers who defended the territory of Yunli have suffered countless deaths and injuries over the years in order to resist the invaders and prevent them from entering Yunli's territory. The bones buried along the border are so high that no one knows how high they are.

Although what Shen Tianjiao and Bai Qishan did was secret, it had already spread in the army and was a secret that could not be made public.

Thanks to the rapid spread of this secret, Shen Tianjiao, the Queen of Yunli Kingdom, now has a reputation that cannot be higher.

However, Shen Tianjiao, the person involved, knew nothing about this.

"Oh, Uncle Wang, it's really okay. Jiaojiao, no, the Queen, is just here to take Fengming back."

Shen Tingzhi was used to calling Shen Tianjiao by her nickname at home, and he couldn't stop when he was in public.

"We can't be so hasty." Wang Zongyuan couldn't tell what he was feeling at the moment, he just felt very panicked and didn't know what to do.

Shen Tingzhi sighed silently in his heart. His beloved sister was a man of few thoughts. If she said she wanted to come, he wouldn't dare to stop her.

But this kind of words must not be said to Wang Zongyuan, "Uncle Wang, the Queen's status is special and cannot attract other people's attention. Just pretend you didn't see it."

After saying this, Shen Tingzhi didn't care about Wang Zongyuan's reaction. He stretched out his long legs and chased after his sister who was about to disappear.

Shen Tianjiao was not familiar with the Xishan Camp, but her original body was. When she was a child, she was brought here many times by her brothers.

So much so that in the original body's memory, there was no place in the Xishan Camp that she didn't know or had not been to.

Thanks to the memory of her original body, Shen Tianjiao easily found the place where Fengming was temporarily living.

Fengming is full of female generals, so it is impossible for them to live together with the men outside. So they can only have one place to live, which is the most secluded place in the Xishan camp, the waste equipment storage area.

Shen Tianjiao was walking very fast in front, and Shen Tingzhi was chasing behind.

When they arrived at the waste equipment storage area, Shen Tianjiao suddenly stopped. She was a little afraid to go in.

Although she was not the one who abandoned Fengming, she is now occupying the original body, so she must bear the consequences and responsibilities.

She had led troops and fought in wars, so she knew best how painful it was for a group of loyal people to be abandoned.

In her previous life, when the Yunli Kingdom was destroyed, Shen Tianjiao was attacked from both sides and watched helplessly as she and her soldiers were abandoned by their own people and died tragically in front of the enemy.

This pain is still engraved in Shen Tianjiao's memory and has never been forgotten.

So she could empathize with these loyal girls and feel how painful and hurt they were when they were abandoned by their original bodies.

This was also the reason why she stopped and hesitated to move forward.

When Shen Tingzhi caught up with Shen Tianjiao, what he saw was his sister, who was at a loss and hesitant and didn't dare to go in.

Shen Tingzhi didn't say anything to comfort Shen Tianjiao, because he knew how Shen Tianjiao felt right now, and any words of comfort would be useless to Shen Tianjiao.

Since comfort is useless, the only thing she can do is to take practical action to wash away the guilt in Shen Tianjiao's heart.

Shen Tingzhi silently walked forward and opened the door. It was time for dinner.

When the door was pushed open, the girls who were having dinner looked up and were all stunned when they saw who was standing outside.

Standing before them was their master, the eldest daughter of the Zhenbei Marquisate and the Queen of the Yunli Kingdom.

The two sides just stood there and stared at each other silently, and no one spoke to break the heavy atmosphere.

"Your Majesty, please come in." In the end, it was Fengming's commander Yu Po who broke the deadlock. He put down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands, walked up to Shen Tianjiao and bowed respectfully to greet her.

Shen Tianjiao felt extremely ashamed when she was called Empress. She looked up at Yupo and said, "There is no Empress here. There is only Shen Tianjiao, the eldest daughter of the Zhenbei Marquisate."

This ordinary sentence silenced everyone present. No one except these girls could understand the meaning of this sentence.

The Queen of Yunli Kingdom is responsible for considering the overall situation. She is high above everyone else and is the decision-maker who represents the majesty of the royal family.

The eldest daughter of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, Shen Tianjiao, is the master they must be loyal to and the master who will never abandon them.

"Girls, I was wrong. I did something unforgivable and foolish. Now I ask you to forgive my mistakes."

Shen Tianjiao had a hard time saying these words. The difficulty was not because she felt embarrassed to apologize to these girls, but because of the hurt she had caused these girls.

"Master, you are not wrong. We all saw the situation at that time. You asked us to leave in order to save our lives."

Yu Po was the first one to lose her composure in the face of Shen Tianjiao's apology. Shen Tianjiao had indeed had her own unspeakable reasons for abandoning them.

Although they were said to be abandoned, they were not really abandoned. Didn’t they let the eldest and second sons take them to Ganzhou?

"No matter what the reasons were before, they can't be the reason for me to give up on you."

Shen Tianjiao looked up at the girls standing in front of her and said sincerely, "I, Shen Tianjiao, ask you to forgive me."

"Master, you will always be the master of these servants, and that will never change."

"We servants feel resentment and pain in our hearts, but we have no resentment. Master, as long as you need us, we are willing to follow you and fight together."

Yu Po's words made Shen Tianjiao feel even more ashamed. Such good girls should not be let down.

"Okay." Shen Tianjiao looked at the group of girls kneeling in front of her and said, "I, Shen Tianjiao, swear to heaven that I will never make the same mistake again and keep you away from me as long as I live."

"We, the slaves, swear allegiance until death." The girls in the yard gave a deafening shout.

This instantly made Shen Tianjiao's eyes red. Such loyalty and trust should not be betrayed.

"Get up, girls. I'll take you home, back to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion."

Shen Tianjiao's words about taking them home made everyone cry. They had waited for this day for too long.

So the girls got up and quickly packed their luggage, ready to follow Shen Tianjiao back to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion.

"Jiaojiao, we can't ride horses anymore. We have to go back in a carriage. I have already informed the patrol camp." Shen Tingzhi looked at the girls in front of him, feeling a lot of emotions in his heart.

"I know. Then take the carriage back."

There was a regulation in the imperial court that the number of guards accompanying a military officer entering the capital could not exceed one hundred.

Fengming has exactly one hundred people, no more, no less.

If all these people followed Shen Tianjiao and Shen Tingzhi into the capital, it would definitely cause considerable unrest.

Moreover, the fact that Shen Tianjiao left the palace secretly must not be known to others. Once it is known, it will not only be dangerous, but there will be more terrifying public opinion, and these public opinions will become sharp swords to attack Shen Tianjiao.

While preparing the carriage, Wang Zongyuan, who had calmed down, came to pay a visit to Shen Tianjiao.

Although Shen Tianjiao didn't want to reveal her identity, Wang Zongyuan had to understand the rules and pretend that he knew nothing. He still had to follow the rules.

"General Wang Zongyuan has come to pay his respects to the Empress."

"General Wang, please stand up. There are no outsiders here, so there's no need to be so formal."

The original body had seen Wang Zongyuan several times. Although he was not as good at fighting as Bai Qishan and Yan Mingde, he was also a fierce general.

Shen Tianjiao holds an almost pious friendly attitude towards all soldiers who are loyal to the country.

"Thank you, Queen, for your grace."

Although Shen Tianjiao said that there was no need to be so formal, Wang Zongyuan was not a fool. He did not dare to take Shen Tianjiao's words seriously. People with different status should be respected and ordered.

Shen Tianjiao looked at Wang Zongyuan who was nervous beside her, smiled, and deliberately found some light-hearted topics to ease Wang Zongyuan's nervousness.

"General Wang, how many people are there in the Xishan camp now?"

"In reply to the Queen, there are only about 50,000 people in the West Mountain Camp right now."

According to convention, the number of troops stationed in the Xishan Camp cannot be less than 100,000 and no more than 200,000. This is because there is a fear that someone may suddenly launch a coup and endanger the safety of the imperial city.

The biggest responsibility of the garrison at Xishan Camp is to maintain the safety of the imperial city and protect the emperor.