The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 135 The Ling Family Establishes Its Authority

When Shen Tianjiao returned to the hot spring villa, she saw her third brother Shen Xinghao and her son Li Muyang riding horses.

Looking at Li Muyang riding on Shen Xinghao's neck and happily fiddling with the windmill, Shen Tianjiao suddenly felt sad.

This is probably the first time that Li Muyang has felt the love of a father from his uncle since he was a child.

It seems that Li Rui is a real failure. As a husband, he cannot love his wife, and as a father, he cannot love his children.

This kind of person deserves to end up with a tragic death. He doesn't deserve to be a human being.

The uncle and nephew who were playing not far away had the same expression when they saw Shen Tianjiao, and their eyes were squinting with laughter.

"Jiaojiao, you're back." "Mother." The two people, one big and one small, ran towards Shen Tianjiao.

"Yeah." Shen Tianjiao pinched Li Muyang's chubby face and asked, "Are you feeling energetic now?"

"Yes, mother, I ate a lot of delicious food today, and I am very strong now." Li Muyang raised his arms to show Shen Tianjiao his head strength.

Shen Tianjiao looked at the little brat in front of her, smiled dotingly, and coaxed: "Well, our Mu'er is the best."

"Mu'er, go play by yourself for a while. Your mother has something to say to your third uncle."

"Oh." Li Muyang, who had been smiling brightly just now, immediately changed his expression to look unhappy after hearing Shen Tianjiao's words.

Shen Xinghao took him down from his neck, patted his head, and comforted him, saying, "Go play first. Third uncle will come back to accompany you after he finishes talking to your mother."

"Okay." Li Muyang answered listlessly. He took two steps, turned back to look at Shen Tianjiao and said, "Mother, can you have dinner with me?"

"Well, sure, go and have fun." Shen Tianjiao nodded at Li Muyang.

After Li Muyang left, Shen Xinghao looked at his sister and said, "Jiaojiao, what's wrong? What happened?"

"That was done by Feng Dafu and Li Hong." Shen Tianjiao looked at Shen Xinghao solemnly and said, "Third brother, how many soldiers can be mobilized from the Xishan camp?"

"West Mountain Camp?" Shen Xinghao thought for a moment and said, "Well, not many, probably around 5,000 people."

"Five thousand?" Shen Tianjiao frowned. It seemed that replenishing the troops was urgent.

"Jiaojiao, is the situation serious? Do you want me to send a pigeon message to my eldest brother, asking him to transfer troops from the northern border?" Seeing Shen Tianjiao frowning, Shen Xinghao realized the seriousness of the problem.

Shen Tianjiao shook her head and said, "It's probably too late to mobilize troops now. If Li Hong really wants to rebel now, the capital will be in chaos."

"Miss, Third Young Master." When the brother and sister were hesitating, Shen Qing ran over in a hurry.

"What are you yelling about?" Shen Xinghao, who was worried, couldn't help but scold when he saw Shen Qing running over.

Shen Qing quickly stopped and lowered his head to reply, "In reply to the Third Young Master, they confessed and said that they were instructed by Ling Hai to do it."

"Ling Hai?" Shen Xinghao's temper suddenly flared up when he heard this person's name.

"Is the Ling family planning a rebellion? Jiaojiao, we can't just let this go."

This time, Shen Tianjiao did not stop Shen Xinghao. Ling Hai dared to send people to assassinate Li Muyang, which showed that he was already Li Hong's man. Keeping such a person would be a disaster, so it would be better to send him away as soon as possible.

"It seems that since my father has been away from the capital for a long time, these people in the capital think that the Marquis of Zhenbei has lost his former prestige and want to take advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos."

"Now is the time to restore the prestige of the Zhenbei Marquisate."

Shen Tianjiao called Chunchao over and ordered, "Go back to the palace and tell the old ancestor to lock up He Wanying. Then go inform Wang Yunzhi and tell him to keep the Minister of Works, He Ping, under surveillance and not let him leave the Shangshu Mansion."

"Yes, I'll go right away." Chunchao didn't dare to delay and took action immediately.

"Jiaojiao, what do you want?" Shen Xinghao looked at Shen Tianjiao in confusion and asked.

"He Ping, the Minister of Works, is Ling Hai's brother-in-law. The Ling family has been able to gain a foothold in the capital over the years thanks to He Ping. The Ling family can even be used by Li Hong. How can He Ping still be innocent?"

Shen Tianjiao sighed again in her heart. The major reshuffle of the court had to be put on the agenda. If she didn't take action now, these parasites would destroy Yun Li.

"Okay, what should we do now?" Shen Xinghao would do whatever Shen Tianjiao ordered and never asked for reasons.

"Third brother, come with me to the Ling family. Since Ling Hai dared to send someone to kill my son and dared to go against the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, he will definitely pay a price."

Shen Tianjiao wants to use this incident to establish her authority. The cruel reality makes her understand that she can't just live under the male-dominated imperial power. She must step forward and tell the world that she, Shen Tianjiao, is by no means a weak person.

"Okay, Jiaojiao, just do whatever you want, Third Brother will protect you."

Shen Xinghao didn't ask Shen Tianjiao what she was doing at the Ling family. He just followed Shen Tianjiao and made sure she wasn't bullied.

"Jiaojiao, since we're going to target the Ling family, what should we do with Ling Xifeng? Should we get him out of the Ministry of Punishment and bring him to the Ling family, or should we just let him die there?"

Shen Xinghao has always adhered to the principle of not being merciful to his enemies.

Shen Tianjiao shook her head and said, "Let Ling Xifeng live for now. He still has great use for me."

"Although He Ping is not to be feared, he still has the entire He family behind him. The He family can be considered a prominent family. Although they are only at the bottom of the hierarchy, the complex connections between the prominent families are very troublesome to deal with."

"I want to keep Ling Xifeng. Maybe he will be the key to bringing down the entire He family."

"Okay, then I'll listen to you." Shen Tianjiao has her own sense of propriety in doing things, and Shen Xinghao will not interfere at all.

The brother and sister left without delay. Shen Tianjiao took a carriage and Shen Xinghao rode a horse, followed by a large group of guards.

When Shen Tianjiao and Shen Xinghao arrived at the Ling family's house, the door was open and there was not even a gatekeeper at the door.

Shen Xinghao looked at the open door of the Ling family's house, and doubts arose in his heart, "Jiaojiao, are we still going in?"

"Go in, why not go in?" Shen Tianjiao snorted coldly. Ling Hai was a smart man. He knew that he would die if the truth was revealed, so he simply stopped hiding it and laid the matter out in the open. This way, at least he could look good in front of her.

Shen Tianjiao stepped into Ling Mansion, and Shen Xinghao followed closely behind her. Some of the personal guards followed in, while others spread out to guard around.

It was just as Shen Tianjiao had guessed. After what happened yesterday, Ling Hai knew that he was doomed this time.

So he sent his family out of the capital overnight, dismissed most of the servants in his home, and stayed behind to face the storm.

When Shen Tianjiao walked to the main courtyard, she saw Ling Hai kneeling in the courtyard, and it seemed that he was waiting for her.

"Empress, I am a sinner Ling Hai. I beg Your Majesty to punish me." Hearing the footsteps, Ling Hai fell to the ground and apologized to her.

"Hmph! Lord Ling is truly a man who knows how to adapt to changing times." Shen Tianjiao looked up at Ling Hai, who was lying on the ground, without concealing her contempt.

"Although I was coerced and had no choice but to do this, I cannot escape the blame. I dare not ask for forgiveness or pardon from the Empress, but I beg the Empress to reduce my punishment."

Ling Hai is indeed a man who knows how to adapt to the changing times. He did this today just to take all the blame and let Shen Tianjiao let his family go.

Unfortunately, Shen Tianjiao knew what he was thinking. "Ling Hai, you don't think I'm only going to hold you accountable for the evil you've done, do you?"

"You don't think that if you send your family away, they will be safe, right?"

Shen Tianjiao's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Ling Hai. Shen Tianjiao was tantamount to sentencing him and everyone in the Ling family to death.

"Empress, you have always been a kind-hearted person. Ling Hai deserves death for the mistake he made today, but I beg you to forgive the rest of the Ling family."

"As long as you spare the rest of the Ling family, Ling Hai is willing to go through fire and water to serve you."

"Hmph!" Shen Tianjiao snorted disdainfully. "Oh, now you're already a prisoner, what else can you do for me? What use is there for me keeping you around?"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to tell you everything I know about Prince Qing."

Now this is Ling Hai's only trump card. He knows that he will not survive no matter what. Even if Shen Tianjiao lets him go, Li Hong will not let him go. He now only wants to use the trump card in his hand to buy a glimmer of hope for his family.

"Okay, but I need to know first if what you offer is valuable. Once I know that, I can decide if it's worth letting your family go."

Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. Originally, Shen Tianjiao had no intention of killing other people from the Ling family. She has always been clear about love and hate. Whoever's fault it is, it's their fault. She will never implicate innocent people.

Now that we can exchange these for valuable intelligence, why not do it?

"The things in my hand will definitely help the Queen." Ling Hai took out the things he had prepared long ago from his arms and handed them to Shen Tianjiao.

Shen Tianjiao took it, took a quick look at it, and handed it to Shen Xinghao. Shen Xinghao's eyes lit up when he saw these things.

"Okay, I promise you that I will let your family go, and I will also grant you a favor and send your family to a safe place, away from all the disputes."

"But if they are unwilling to live a peaceful and law-abiding life, then I cannot guarantee that they will be safe."

"Thank you, Queen, for your grace." For Ling Hai, nothing else matters now. The most important thing is that his family is safe.

"Your Majesty, I have a humble request, and I hope you can grant it."

Shen Tianjiao guessed that Ling Hai's unreasonable request must be related to Ling Xifeng, and this person was not within the scope of Shen Tianjiao's forgiveness.

"Do you want to plead for Ling Xifeng?"

Ling Hai lowered his head and replied, "Yes, Queen, I know my rebellious son has committed countless evil deeds and deserves death, but as a father, I cannot bear to see him die at such a young age."

"I hope Your Majesty can understand my deep love for my son. If I can spare his life, it will also fulfill our father-son bond in this life."

Shen Tianjiao thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I promise you that I will spare his life if possible. But as I said before, if he brings trouble upon himself, then he will die and you can't blame me."

Giving Ling Hai some comfort if possible would not be a big loss for Shen Tianjiao, so she was willing to do this favor.

This does not mean that Shen Tianjiao really intends to let Ling Xifeng go, but Shen Tianjiao knows very well that Ling Xifeng is a restless person by nature. Even if she wants to let Ling Xifeng go, Ling Xifeng will not appreciate her kindness.

In the end, Ling Xifeng will definitely suffer the consequences of his own actions, and it is not Shen Tianjiao's fault. After all, Shen Tianjiao has already made it clear.

"On behalf of that unworthy and rebellious son, I, the guilty minister, thank the Empress for her grace."

Now that his worries were gone, Ling Hai had no regrets.

Ling Hai looked at Shen Tianjiao and said, "Empress, I cannot escape death today. If possible, I am willing to die at your hands. Is that okay?"

If he died at the hands of Shen Tianjiao, he could have died a quick death. But if he fell into the hands of Li Hong, it would have been difficult for Ling Hai to die a quick death.

"Okay, I'll give you a quick death." Shen Tianjiao fulfilled Ling Hai's request without hesitation.

Shen Tianjiao came to the Ling family today to establish her authority. She had no intention of letting Ling Hai die at the hands of others.

If Ling Hai died at the hands of someone else, Shen Tianjiao's visit to the Ling family today would have been in vain.

Shen Tianjiao stood up and grabbed Shen Xinghao, who was about to kill Ling Hai, and whispered, "Third brother, you don't have to do it yourself. Just let the guards come."

Shen Xinghao originally planned to kill Ling Hai with his own hands to vent his anger for his nephew, but Shen Tianjiao did not allow it, so he had to give up.

Shen Tianjiao was in front, followed by Shen Xinghao. The brother and sister left the main courtyard of the Ling family one after another.

The guards waited until Shen Tianjiao left before they drew their swords and chopped off Ling Hai's head.

"Jiaojiao, what should we do next?" The combative gene flowing in Shen Xinghao's blood made him vaguely excited.

The men of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion are born to fight, although Shen Xinghao has experienced countless wars of varying sizes at the border.

However, these wars were either commanded by Marquis Zhenbei or Shen Yiyang, and it was never Shen Xinghao's turn.

If Li Hong launches a coup this time, Shen Xinghao can complete the war alone without relying on his children, father and brothers to command.

Looking at her excited third brother, Shen Tianjiao shook her head and smiled helplessly. Shen Xinghao was a childish person and she was afraid that he would never be able to change in his lifetime.

"Go back first, deploy the troops, and make all preparations for the battle."