The First Lackey Under The Empress

This book is first published on the entire network by 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞

In the Tangquan Palace, the moonlight is bright tonight. On the scattered bronze lamp posts, the dim yellow light shines on the misty water vapor, creating a dreamlike illusion.

Zhao Du'an suspected he was seeing things.

The Great Yu Empress, who was always dignified and graceful, possessing the presence of an emperor, seemed to have shed her "Empress" halo tonight, appearing as a fairy with ice-like skin and snowy complexion.

Because she was hidden in the pool, what was directly in front of him was a pair of snow-white and crystal-clear small feet, without stockings.

As moist as jade, as soft as satin, and like two pure white and flawless lotus flowers slowly blooming on the surface of the Heavenly Pool.

The few blue veins faintly reflected on the instep of her feet set off her ice-like skin as if it were transparent, truly a divine masterpiece.

Moving his gaze upward, a section of slender calf above her ankle disappeared into the clouds. Xu Zhenguan was ethereal and otherworldly, just like a fairy emerging from a bath, riding the wind.

On her flawless and exquisite face, her lacquer-like eyes, devoid of any worldly emotion, overlooked him, with a touch of red faintly painted between her eyebrows.

She seemed even less like a mortal emperor, and more like a transcendent being.

"Your… Your Majesty…"

Zhao Du'an was stunned for a few breaths, then raised his head to show his respect.

He wanted to get up and clasp his hands in greeting, but then realized it was inappropriate and shrank back down with a splash:

"My subject's body is unwell, making it difficult to perform the full ceremony…"

"It's fine," Xu Zhenguan's voice was clear and cold, like the tinkling of a spring.

For some reason, her demeanor and actions tonight were different from usual.

Her face had fewer expressions, like a goddess statue in a temple, as if deliberately maintaining the aloofness of a "Great Cultivator" to maintain a certain distance.

However, the slightly curled toes when she landed seemed to reveal the Empress's inner thoughts, which were far less indifferent and calm than her appearance suggested.

"High Priest Hai must have already told you," Xu Zhenguan said:

"Tonight, I will personally perform the initiation for you, to cleanse your meridians and marrow, and rebuild your martial foundation."

Zhao Du'an bowed slightly, holding his hands horizontally in an odd posture, and said:

"Your Majesty's grace in recreating me is beyond my ability to repay."

He smiled wryly:

"In fact, I am a little uneasy and overwhelmed by favor. With my meager contribution, it is truly not worth such a great reward."

As a member of the Jisi, capturing rebels was within the scope of his duties. Even if he contributed a lot, recording it in the evaluation book and rewarding him with some silver would actually be enough.

What he had hoped for before was nothing more than being able to re-enter the Royal Armory to select some good magical artifacts or pills to assist in his cultivation—after all, the pills he had obtained last time had already been exhausted.

But he never expected the Empress to be so generous.

Those medicinal materials were nothing to ordinary people, but they were nothing to the six-hundred-year-old dynasty's foundation.

But the Empress personally performing the initiation for him was a privilege that no one else in the world possessed.

Moreover, it also involved the separation of men and women…

Of course, Zhao Du'an also understood that it was his series of amazing performances that made the Empress have the idea of "increasing investment."

It was also because he had caught up with a good time.

The Empress had not been on the throne for long, and there were still few direct subordinates.

It was understandable that someone like him, who was both loyal enough and extremely capable, would receive unexpected "cultivation."

"Now that you know, work harder for me in the future, and I won't have wasted my effort," Xu Zhenguan said calmly.

Zhao Du'an was not hypocritical and courteous, and said seriously:

"Your subject will do his best."

Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly, quite satisfied with his statement.

Well… if you ignore the awkward occasion between the monarch and her subject, and the pile of clothes and pants beside her feet.

"Then… what should I do next? This initiation?"

Zhao Du'an also felt extremely awkward, trying to dilute the strange atmosphere with business.

Xu Zhenguan said lightly:

"There is a stone by the pool. Sit with your back to me and expose your upper body to the water. I will first apply acupuncture to you."

Only then did Zhao Du'an notice that the Empress was holding a small cloth bag in her sleeve.

"As you command."

Zhao Du'an was not pretentious and immediately groped to the side of the hot spring pool.

Sure enough, he found that there were raised stone steps in the water to sit on.

He turned around and pulled his upper body out of the water bit by bit.

"Splash—"

In the quiet Tangquan Palace, the sound of water waves echoed.

Accompanying Zhao Du'an breaking through the water and revealing himself was a tall and well-proportioned, healthy and masculine body.

The muscle lines were full and smooth, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His two arms, held flat and stretched out on the shore of the pool, were symmetrical and slender, chiseled like knives and axes, without any赘肉.

It was not the dead muscle trained in the gym, but the typical look of being slender when dressed, and muscular when undressed.

At this moment, water droplets slid down Zhao Du'an's back lines, and the fairy, who had been in a real person posture and aloof from the world, had a subtle and imperceptible disturbance in her breathing, and was a little distracted.

"Your Majesty?"

Zhao Du'an sat obediently, waited for a while, and seeing no movement behind him, he couldn't help but call out softly.

Xu Zhenguan then came back to her senses and said lightly, "Don't move."

I didn't move… Zhao Du'an thought stubbornly in his heart.

Because he was facing away, he couldn't perceive the movement behind him, and his eyes could only look at the water in front of him.

Well, fortunately it was night, and with a pile of medicinal materials soaking, the entire spring pool was chaotic, and the water quality was not clear.

This greatly reduced his sense of shame.

Behind him, the Empress estimated the height, and simply sat cross-legged on the shore, shaking the cloth bag casually, revealing dense silver needles inside.

She pinched one with her slender jade hand, rubbed it, and the aura entered the silver needle from her fingertips.

Then, somewhat unfamiliar and clumsy, she pierced it into the man's back, at a certain acupoint.

The silver needle was extremely thin, and Zhao Du'an only felt a slight pain, more of a sour and itchy sensation.

"Your Majesty, may I ask what exactly initiation refers to? I have heard that initiation is mostly a method for martial artists to pass on their power," he did not forget to learn.

Xu Zhenguan pinched the second silver needle, changed an acupoint and inserted it, and said:

"Listen less to the stories in the rivers and lakes. Martial artists passing on their power, although it is not completely impossible, is extremely harsh. Not only must the two of them practice the same sect's and same source's techniques, but also the martial foundation, meridians and acupoints must be highly compatible, as well as a series of harsh conditions, before it can be done.

But even if the conditions are met, passing on a lifetime of power to outsiders will also be reduced by seventy or eighty percent, and what can be obtained in the end is only two or three percent. The person passing on the power will also greatly reduce their lifespan, so it rarely happens."

So that's how it is. It seems that the route of finding someone to pass on power to me so that I can achieve great success overnight is impossible… Zhao Du'an thought.

Xu Zhenguan continued:

"Therefore, the so-called initiation is mostly when a great cultivator uses their own power to help others open up their meridians, dredge their aura, heal injuries and strengthen the foundation, and at most help people break through levels, but this is also not a good thing.

The realm promoted by others is extremely superficial. There are some family children in the rivers and lakes who only have martial arts realm in name, but in reality rely on their elders to promote them. You must not learn from them."

While speaking, the action of acupuncture did not stop.

Zhao Du'an suddenly realized, thought about it, and changed the topic again:

"Just now I saw Your Majesty walking out of the clear pool, did you also finish bathing? Ah—"

He suddenly grimaced and cried out in pain.

The Empress's hand holding the needle just trembled, and an aura was not properly contained, directly hitting his meridian.

A blood-red pinhole immediately appeared on his back.

"…" Xu Zhenguan took a deep breath, pretended to be calm and pulled out the silver needle, pressed his wound with the cotton wool attached to the cloth bag, and frowned:

"If it hurts, just bear it, don't yell."

No… this really hurts… Zhao Du'an's cheeks twitched, and he said cheekily:

"Is Your Majesty worried that the sound will spread out and be heard by the people outside?"

Outside the Tangquan Palace, a large number of palace people were guarding to prevent any ignorant people from breaking in and destroying the initiation.

On the Great Yu Empress's plain white face, her dense eyelashes, like brushes, trembled, and she said lightly:

"Why should I worry?"

Zhao Du'an said: "Spreading it out will affect Your Majesty's reputation."

The corners of Xu Zhenguan's mouth were slightly sarcastic, she threw away the cotton wool and re-applied the acupuncture:

"Reputation? When you walk outside in my name, openly and secretly, when you promote your identity as my male favorite, have you ever cared about my reputation?"

Perhaps because she was facing away and could not see her face, the "real person" posture she maintained was a bit broken, and her expression and tone became much more lively.

These words were said with a bit of gnashing teeth.

Zhao Du'an was exposed and was embarrassed, and said:

"This subject is also thinking about Your Majesty, that's why… Ah!"

His cheeks twitched for a while, and he was pricked again!

Deliberately!

This time it was definitely her deliberately!

Xu Zhenguan snorted coldly, narrowed her eyes and said:

"Stop talking nonsense, concentrate on sensing the meridians."

Zhao Du'an didn't dare to say anything, closed his mouth, and let the Empress fill his back, neck, and even the top of his head with silver needles.

Like a poor little hedgehog.

And after seeing his "masterpiece", the corners of the Empress's mouth could not help but curl up slightly, as if she found it quite interesting.

As if she had completed a major project, full of a sense of accomplishment.

"Your Majesty, how long will these needles be inserted?" Zhao Du'an didn't dare to move.

The Empress put on a straight face:

"A quarter of an hour. During this time, calm your mind and adjust your breathing, and slowly move your blood and qi to open your whole body and absorb the medicinal power."

"Oh…" Zhao Du'an responded, breathed for a while, and suddenly opened his eyes again, and asked a little uneasily:

"Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered something."

"Speak."

"It's just…" Zhao Du'an's face was a little strange:

"The time before last, when I was walking with you in the Royal Garden, Your Majesty once said that with your cultivation, your divine sense covers the entire palace, without having to look with your eyes or listen with your ears, any slight disturbance cannot escape your perception."

"Yes, what's wrong?"

Zhao Du'an hesitated and said, "Is that the case now too?"

"…"

The Great Yu Empress was silent.

Under the night breeze, her cheeks flushed slightly with shame and annoyance, and then spread out, uncontrollably.

The atmosphere between the two became strange.

Suddenly, Xu Zhenguan used two fingers to pinch a silver needle again, and threw it casually, "噗" and stabbed it on Zhao Du'an's waist at the water surface.

Zhao Du'an screamed in response.

Not far away, at the edge of the courtyard, a tulip flower standing tall in the wind was suddenly blown down by the wind.

"Your Majesty, there's no need to do this."

"Shut up! Prepare for the initiation, cleanse your meridians and marrow."

The Empress's sleeves fluttered, and the silver needles on his back and head pulled themselves out, leaving only the one on his waist unmoved.

Then, Xu Zhenguan's eyes were clear, without joy or sorrow:

"Later, I will perform the initiation for you. You must visualize the Martial God Diagram and enter cultivation."

"Okay." The listless Zhao Du'an's eyes also became serious.

Silently in his mind, he visualized the "Martial God Diagram" and gradually entered a meditative state.

After confirming that he had fallen into meditation, Xu Zhenguan bit her lip.

A pair of beautiful jade hands slowly pressed towards his thick back.

The wind rose, and in the Tangquan Palace, thirty-six spring pools were boiling, and the pressure of the Heavenly Human Realm permeated.

Thanks to Li Shipu for the 200 point coin reward~