The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Chapter 442 Rescuing Qiongniang

After bathing and changing, Ruan Yuhu left the room.

The maid who had brought her here then took her back to the carriage.

Shen Tianjiao saw that Ruan Yuhu didn't say anything, but just smiled at her.

Ruan Yuhu also didn't say anything, she just smiled at Shen Tianjiao.

Both of them tacitly kept silent about what had happened that day, as if nothing had occurred.

The carriage sped along the same route back to the palace, and neither Shen Tianjiao nor Ruan Yuhu uttered a word the entire way.

After returning to the palace, Shen Tianjiao personally escorted Ruan Yuhu back.

When Shen Tianjiao left the palace today, she only took Ruan Yuhu with her; she didn't bring anyone else.

So even Ju Ruo didn't know where Shen Tianjiao had taken Ruan Yuhu.

After waiting for most of the day without seeing Shen Tianjiao and Ruan Yuhu return, Ju Ruo ran over as soon as she saw Shen Tianjiao accompanying Ruan Yuhu back.

"master."

Just by looking at Ruan Yuhu's expression, Ju Ruo knew that she must have experienced something extraordinary today.

Before Ju Ruo could ask, Shen Tianjiao stopped her.

Shen Tianjiao shook her head at Ju Ruo, indicating that she should not ask anything now. "Auntie is tired. Don't let anyone disturb her. Let Auntie get a good night's sleep."

"Yes, the servant understands."

Ju Ruo put aside her worries and took over from Shen Tianjiao to help Ruan Yuhu back to the house.

After settling Ruan Yuhu in, Shen Tianjiao had more important things to do.

"Are you all ready?"

Shen Tianjiao left the courtyard where Ruan Yuhu lived and asked Ren Dongfang, who had been waiting outside for a long time.

"Yes, it's been prepared for a long time."

Following Shen Tianjiao's instructions, Ren Dongfang had already laid a trap in the Imperial Hospital, ready to strike at any moment.

"Alright, let's go then, let's go and meet that young princess from Southern Chu."

Shen Tianjiao's gaze suddenly sharpened. These people from Southern Chu were far too disrespectful to her.

How dare they openly reach out to her at this time and harm her people? If we don't teach that girl a lesson today, she'll remember it.

Wasn't Shen Tianjiao, the Empress Regent, doing this for nothing?

When Shen Tianjiao arrived at the Imperial Hospital in a sedan chair, the hospital was unusually quiet.

The usually bustling courtyard was deserted, its emptiness making one feel uneasy.

Shen Tianjiao rode directly in the sedan chair to the door of the room where Qiongniang was temporarily staying to recuperate.

When the sedan chair stopped, Shen Tianjiao remained seated inside, showing no intention of getting off.

Go knock on the door.

Shen Tianjiao gave the order in a soft voice, and Ren Dongfang, having received Shen Tianjiao's command, immediately went forward and knocked on the door.

"who is that?"

A woman's voice came from inside, sounding very similar to Qiong Niang's voice, but upon closer listening, one could tell the difference.

The woman inside the room was merely imitating Qiong Niang's voice.

Shen Tianjiao and Qiongniang had been together for many years, and Shen Tianjiao could still recognize Qiongniang's voice.

"I was sent by the Empress from the palace to deliver something."

Ren Dongfang's eyes were filled with murderous intent, but his tone of voice remained calm.

The person inside hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "Okay, wait a moment."

The door was only opened when Ren Dongfang was getting impatient waiting outside.

Standing at the door, Qiongniang smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, I'm injured, so I was a little slow."

"It's alright." Ren Dongfang stepped aside expressionlessly, making way for them.

When the woman inside the room saw Shen Tianjiao sitting in the sedan chair, a look of fear flashed across her face, but it quickly disappeared.

She then obediently said, "This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace."

Shen Tianjiao narrowed her eyes and ordered, "Make your move and arrest them all."

Ren Dongfang did not answer Shen Tianjiao's question, but stepped forward and pinned 'Qiongniang' down.

Qiongniang looked up at Shen Tianjiao with a puzzled expression and asked, "Your Majesty, what mistake have I made? Why are you treating me like this?"

Shen Tianjiao smiled dismissively and said, "What, didn't anyone teach you that you must have a thorough understanding of your opponent before doing anything?"

"This servant does not understand what Your Majesty means by these words."

Despite being terrified, the woman in front of him pretended to be calm and composed.

"Hmph!" Shen Tianjiao snorted lightly, looked at 'Qiongniang' and said, "Duan Furong, you will soon find out what I mean by this."

Before Duan Furong, who was being addressed by her full name by Shen Tianjiao, could even react and figure out how to get away with it, Ren Dongfang, who was holding her down, reached out and ripped a human skin mask off her face.

The moment the human skin mask was torn off, what appeared before Shen Tianjiao was a face that was not stunning, and even somewhat ugly.

Duan Furong, her appearance is such a waste of her name.

That face of hers has no beauty whatsoever; she's practically an ugly monster.

Upon hearing Shen Tianjiao call her by her name, Duan Furong immediately lost all strength to resist, and her body went limp and she collapsed.

Looking at Duan Furong, who had such little courage, Shen Tianjiao couldn't understand how such a person dared to do such a thing right under her nose.

In no time at all, the guards arrived in front of Shen Tianjiao with several other people.

"Master, all the people have been captured."

"Ah."

Shen Tianjiao stared at Duan Furong, who was now terrified and collapsed to the ground, and ordered, "From this moment on, no one from the Imperial Hospital is allowed to enter or leave. Everyone inside the Imperial Hospital will be investigated one by one."

"We must find all the people with problems today and hand them over to the Censorate for severe punishment."

The guards didn't speak; they answered Shen Tianjiao with their actions, disappearing in an instant.

After everyone left, Shen Tianjiao smiled and looked at Duan Furong, saying, "Princess Fu of Nanping, will you confess voluntarily, or do I have to use torture to force you to confess?"

Curled up on the ground, Duan Furong had never seen anything like this before, and she was so frightened that she couldn't even speak.

She came to Yunli with her young imperial uncle, Duan Yongping. After arriving, Duan Yongping handed her over to his group of people who were infiltrating Yunli.

They told her to follow their instructions, complete the mission, and return to Southern Chu. She would then receive a reward from the emperor for her great contribution and be spared the fate of being sent to the Western Regions for a political marriage.

Because she needed his help, Duan Furong had no choice but to obediently listen and let Duan Yongping lead her by the nose.

So she appeared at the Imperial Hospital, disguised as Qiong Niang, awaiting further instructions.

But to her utter surprise, Empress Shen Tianjiao of Yunli would actually come here in person.

And without any warning, they discovered her true identity.

This Empress Yunli is indeed no ordinary person.

Seeing that Duan Furong remained silent, looking like a coward who had the guts to do something but not the guts to admit it.

Shen Tianjiao didn't say anything more, and simply threw a dagger at Duan Furong's feet.

He instructed Ren Dongfang, "If she refuses to obey, use this dagger to slash her face. If she still doesn't talk after that, then use this dagger to cut off pieces of her flesh one by one."

"I really want to see just how much courage the young princess of the Nanping Prince's Mansion has."

Even if the other party is a young girl, if she does something that crosses Shen Tianjiao's bottom line, Shen Tianjiao will never show her any mercy.

Moreover, Shen Tianjiao knew very well that Duan Furong absolutely did not have the courage to let Ren Dongfang slash her face and then cut off her flesh.

Sure enough, after the dagger fell to the ground and she heard Shen Tianjiao's words, Duan Furong was completely terrified.

The people of Southern Chu are known for their fierce and unruly nature, but no empress or noblewoman has ever dared to act like this.

It seems that the Empress of Yunli is not only no ordinary person, but also does extraordinary things.

Ren Dongfang was a ruthless man who didn't talk much. After receiving Shen Tianjiao's instructions, he picked up the dagger on the ground, pulled Duan Furong up from the ground, and raised the dagger to Duan Furong's face.

This scene startled Duan Furong so much that she screamed. Although the Nanping Prince's Mansion was already an empty shell when she was born, she was still pampered and raised. She had never seen or even heard of such a scene before.

"Don't scratch my face, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything."

No girl in this world is indifferent to her appearance. When Duan Furong saw Ren Dongfang really taking a knife to slash her face, she felt like dying.

Since she was even willing to die, what was there that she couldn't tell Shen Tianjiao?

Upon hearing Duan Furong's words, Ren Dongfang stopped the dagger he was about to use to slash Duan Furong's face.

Shen Tianjiao hadn't expected that Duan Furong would be so easily frightened. Before anything had even happened, she had already raised her hands in surrender and was about to tell everyone she knew.

It seems that the Southern Chu's ability to select people is truly exceptionally poor.

It's bad enough that they chose the brainless Duan Yongping to die, but now they've entrusted the task of ambushing and assassinating her to Duan Furong, someone who doesn't even have the guts.

This isn't here to cause her trouble; it's clearly here to deliver casualties and help her conquer Southern Chu as soon as possible.

I don't know who came up with this idea, but if Shen Tianjiao finds out, she'll definitely give him a big gift.

"Tell me, where did you take Qiongniang?"

The reason Shen Tianjiao discovered Duan Furong's secret of impersonating Qiongniang was ultimately because she knew Qiongniang too well.

When Shen Tianjiao first heard Ruan Yuhu say that Qiongniang was injured and had to stay in the Imperial Hospital to recuperate, and that she also had an admirer, she joked that she should prepare a dowry for Qiongniang and send her off to get married.

But when Shen Tianjiao finished dealing with Li Zhaohui's matter and calmed down, she realized something was wrong.

Based on her understanding of Qiongniang, even if she was injured, Qiongniang would not stay in the Imperial Hospital to recuperate.

Moreover, given Qiongniang's personality, even if she stayed in the Imperial Hospital to recuperate, she wouldn't completely cut off all contact with him.

Qiongniang knew about Li Zhaohui's plan to force the emperor to abdicate, so it was impossible for her not to worry about herself, ignore everything, and stay in the Imperial Hospital to recover.

Another reason that made Shen Tianjiao suspicious was naturally Qiong Niang's so-called admirer.

Qiongniang was a woman whose heart had been broken by love. Shen Tianjiao had witnessed firsthand how much she loved Li Rui back then.

However, her passionate and reckless love was ultimately met with Li Rui's heartless betrayal and abandonment.

This unforgettable pain was something Qiong Niang could never forget. Under such circumstances, how could she easily accept the advances of a complete stranger?

And she let the man harass her relentlessly, without making any response.

This is not like her at all. Wang Danyang is such a proud and aloof person.

As a woman who had been raised by her family since birth, her upbringing and the pride ingrained in her bones would absolutely not allow her to accept a man's advances so easily.

Even if uncontrollable factors led Qiong Niang to accept the suitor's advances, she would never have made such a grand display to let others see it.

The failure of Duan Furong's plan today can ultimately be attributed to these people from Southern Chu, who simply didn't understand the situation and were unaware of the true relationship between Shen Tianjiao and Qiongniang.

Based solely on their so-called understanding, they began their plans and actions.

Therefore, their failure was an inevitable and irreversible defeat from the very beginning.

"She's being kept locked up in the cellar below the pharmacy."

Duan Furong was completely limp at this moment, and she was on the verge of fainting. She was trying her best to control herself and not let herself faint.

She was afraid that if she fainted and couldn't answer Shen Tianjiao's questions, she would lose her face.

Upon hearing this, Shen Tianjiao was startled. Sure enough, her guess was right; there was indeed a problem in the Imperial Hospital.

Having learned of Qiongniang's whereabouts, Shen Tianjiao was too lazy to argue with Duan Furong any longer.

"Lock her up and interrogate her thoroughly until she tells you about everyone she knows."

"Then she was sent to Ziyun Manor and handed over to Madam Duan. How to deal with her was up to Madam Duan."

Duan Furong was completely useless to Shen Tianjiao. Since keeping her was pointless, it would be better to send her to Duan Qingning as a favor.

"Oh, and also ask Duan Yongping how things are going. If there are no problems, then take them with you."

"That way, the uncle and nephew can keep each other company and won't be lonely."