The First Lackey Under The Empress

Damn it—

Inside the soup and pancake shop in the early morning, people came and went, and the aroma of thick soup lingered, but Zhao Du'an just wanted to curse.

People scaring people can scare people to death. Seeing this "loose official of the Celestial Master's Mansion" again without any preparation, he was subconsciously shocked.

"Why is it you again?" Zhao Du'an couldn't help but complain, but he was surprised by the other party's methods.

He had just been reborn, and his six senses were very sensitive. Logically speaking, he should have noticed the familiar person he had met before, especially a warlock, when he stepped into the soup and pancake shop.

But the truth was that he didn't realize it sluggishly until he sat opposite Zhang Yan.

This old codger is a master… Zhao Du'an became more and more certain of this judgment.

The old Celestial Master, with a ruddy face and narrow eyes, looked down kindly, still dressed as an old man. In front of him was a half-eaten mutton offal soup and pancake. He smiled and said:

"Because little friend is destined to be with my Celestial Master's Mansion."

"…" Zhao Du'an was speechless and asked in confusion:

"Old sir, as far as I know, this place is still a long way from the Celestial Master's Mansion. Don't tell me you ran all this way early in the morning just to eat pancakes from this place."

He didn't quite believe it.

He highly suspected that the other party must have learned that he was staying in the palace, so he came to block him early in the morning.

It was not difficult for a "loose official" of the Celestial Master's Mansion to know this little thing.

The old Celestial Master with long eyebrows and long beard smiled:

"As far as I know, this place is also a long way from little friend Zhao's home. Are you coming out of the palace?"

You old sly fox, you even found out where my house is… Zhao Du'an slandered in his heart, and said unhappily:

"That's right, this official made a contribution yesterday and was rewarded by the Holy One. I stayed in the palace overnight and came out after a night of hard work."

A clever lie is one in which every word is true, but when put together, it is false.

Hearing this sentence in the ears of outsiders, it was obvious that he was serving the empress.

Zhao Du'an said this, firstly to vaguely show that his relationship with the empress was very deep, and that the old man should not waste his efforts.

It is impossible to jump ship. Only by eating soft rice can I maintain my life.

Secondly, it was to imply that he was the empress's favorite minister and was not afraid of your loose official.

Zhang Yan smiled and didn't fall for it. He looked him up and down and said:

"Yi Jing marrow washing, reborn… It seems that Your Majesty is really cultivating you."

"Heh, old sir, you have good eyesight," Zhao Du'an said with a smile:

"So, don't waste your energy. I'm really not interested in joining the Celestial Master's Mansion."

At this time, the owner of the soup and pancake shop presented a large bowl of hot soup and five soft, steaming baked pancakes.

Zhao Du'an took a sip of the soup and a bite of the pancake. The hot food made him feel better and better.

Well, it's a pity that this soup has no seasoning. Making seasoning to improve the diet is imminent.

Zhang Yan shook his head and said:

"Cultivation emphasizes fate. Since little friend is unwilling, I will not force it. I came here today for two things."

"You say," Zhao Du'an said vaguely, concentrating on eating the pancake.

"The first thing is that I like the little friend's oral description of the Dao of Heaven last time. It is subtle and profound. After I went back, I copied it for my juniors to watch. I came here to tell the little friend."

Only then did Zhao Du'an remember that he had drunkenly fabricated a few sentences from the original text of the Tao Te Ching last time.

I didn't expect this old man to like it. He didn't care much, after all, he was just a porter between the two worlds. The key is that the Dayu Dynasty doesn't have copyright law.

He can't collect royalties either. He can't do anything if people copy it.

No wonder the opening background introductions of the online novels I read in my previous life all said that the protagonist traveled to a different world with perfect copyright laws…

However, this old man is also not honest. He plagiarized the sentences I transported without bringing any gifts… Zhao Du'an didn't say anything and waited for the next sentence.

"The second thing is that I have some research on deducing celestial phenomena and divination. Yesterday, I had a whim and divined that little friend will have a bloody disaster recently, so I came to remind you," the old Celestial Master said again.

"Pfft!"

Zhao Du'an almost choked on a mouthful of mutton offal soup. He raised his head in astonishment, his eyes full of the words "You're cursing me."

Immediately, he thought that this world is not his previous life. Since there are gods in this world, and the other party is a Taoist from the Celestial Master's Mansion.

It was not surprising to be able to calculate, so he immediately became serious and put down the soup bowl:

"Old sir, don't deceive people."

Zhang Yan couldn't help but laugh and gently stroked his beard:

"How could I do this? If little friend doesn't believe it, you can treat me as a Jianghu swindler."

Zhao Du'an's expression became solemn and he cupped his hands:

"This junior has offended you just now. I hope you can explain in detail."

Zhang Yan smiled and shook his head:

"The secrets of heaven are unpredictable, and there is no absolute in the world. Heaven and earth are benevolent, but the blessings and misfortunes they give are not constant. How can I explain it in detail?"

Heh, if you want to talk about this, I want to talk to you about quantum physics… Zhao Du'an frowned.

He didn't think that a powerful figure from the Celestial Master's Mansion would be bored and come to scare him.

And a bloody disaster… means that he may encounter danger recently, which is also logical.

The capture of the two iron ruler pass members means that the espionage network of the Kuangfu Society in the capital has been greatly shaken.

Ordinary people may not know the key role Zhao Du'an played in this case.

But the rebellious party definitely knows.

Then it is logical to retaliate against him.

Of course, the potential enemies are not only the rebellious party, but also the "Li Party" that he has repeatedly offended, including the Huai Shui Pei Clan, the Jing Prince Mansion, and Princess Yunyang…

"Heh, I have indeed become stronger, but my enemies have also become more, and they are increasing exponentially," Zhao Du'an mocked in his heart.

Maybe some narrow-minded enemy will come to assassinate him and then frame the rebellious party.

"Thank you for the reminder, old sir," Zhao Du'an sighed, "I will pay attention."

That's what he said, but he couldn't think of a good way to protect himself.

He can't just shrink back in the palace all day, or seek the protection of the strong in the Zhaoya General Manager's Hall.

Or every time he goes out, he has to have the entire Pear Blossom Hall fully armed to protect him, right?

As for asking Lao Sijian to find a bodyguard, it is not realistic either.

It is possible to hire someone temporarily for handling a case, but it is impossible to send a master to protect him closely all year round without any blind spots.

Zhao Du'an's identity is not qualified for this, even if he can, he is not willing to, being watched all day long and having no privacy.

In the end… to forge iron, one must be strong oneself. Zhao Du'an felt the majestic energy surging in his meridians after the "rebirth", and the "Golden Crow Flying Knife" in his sleeve.

Coupled with the "Bodyguard Xia Guang" and the "Galaxy Hanging Upside Down", one offensive and one defensive royal martial arts.

A sense of eagerness rose in his heart.

He suddenly realized that this might be the so-called "spirit, energy, and spirit" of a martial artist in the mouth of Emperor Taizu.

However, with his character, although he is not afraid of assassins, and he also has the courage to fight to the death.

But if he can steadily disable the enemy without having to do it himself, he must be out of his mind to do it himself.

Young Master Zhao is a noble porcelain, how can he collide with a lowly earthenware jar?

"Although I can't tell you the specifics, I also have something to give you."

Hearing this, Zhang Yan suddenly shook out a silver talisman from his sleeve.

Pressing it with his finger, he pushed it across the table.

Zhao Du'an looked at the talisman in surprise. The silver talisman had the emblem of the "Celestial Master's Mansion" on the front.

In the center, cyan cinnabar outlined the Taoist decree in a dragon-flying and phoenix-dancing manner.

Looking closely, the cyan cinnabar seemed to be non-solid, but a stream of clear air was slowly flowing.

"Imperial God Talisman!" He was startled and recognized the origin of this object.

In the capital, the signs of the Celestial Master's Mansion and the Shenlong Temple are different.

Shenlong Temple is good at pharmacology. The wound medicine it sells is a must. The medicine packs used by warriors to temper their bodies are also the best produced by Shenlong Temple.

It sells well throughout the Dayu territory. In every major city, there are medicine shops under the Shenlong Temple.

The Celestial Master's Mansion is good at alchemy and talisman, with a small output.

But every furnace of pills and every talisman is worth astonishingly, and only wealthy families, high-ranking officials, and nobles can afford it.

The silver Imperial God Talisman can summon a god to help in battle when torn apart.

The origin and strength of the gods are determined by the quality of the talisman.

It is a good thing that is priceless but unavailable. At critical moments, it can save lives.

"Old sir, this thing is precious, I can't accept it," Zhao Du'an put his hand on the talisman with a serious face.

"…" Zhang Yan looked at his tightly clenched hand, which showed no sign of loosening, and had a new understanding of the thickness of this young man's skin.

"Haha, take it, this thing will be the reward for my unauthorized copying of little friend's insights on the Dao of Heaven," the old Celestial Master said lightly, with the demeanor of a master.

Zhao Du'an's eyes lit up, and he thought that the Tao Te Ching was so valuable. He pondered for a while and said:

"I actually have many more insights…"

Zhang Yan smiled and said: "Little friend didn't say that last time. You said you only realized those few sentences."

The problem is, you only gave me a bowl of sobering soup last time… Zhao Du'an said seriously:

"Oh, it's a new understanding I had in the past two days."

"…" Zhang Yan smiled and said nonchalantly:

"Oh? Then tell me and listen?"

With his realm, he wouldn't really not understand the meaning of those other-world words.

But for the same reason, whether he can use enough condensed and precise sentences to explain it is another matter.

The Celestial Master's Mansion has been studying the Book of Heaven for thousands of years. Zhang Yan thought it was perfect and no word could be added or subtracted.

But what Zhao Du'an said casually was even more refined than the words pondered by the great monks of the past in the Book of Heaven, and pointed directly to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

However, just as poetry is born from nature, and it is obtained by chance, Zhang Yan suspects that what Zhao Du'an said before is already the best.

Even if the subsequent dog tail is good, it is not enough to supersede the words on the Book of Heaven, right?

On the other side, Zhao Du'an was also thinking about which sentence was more valuable. After thinking about it, he said:

"Just now, old sir said that heaven and earth are benevolent and give enlightenment. I have a different view."

"Oh?"

Zhao Du'an talked eloquently:

"Heaven and earth are not benevolent, and regard all things as straw dogs; saints are not benevolent, and regard the people as straw dogs. Between heaven and earth, is it not like a bellows? It is empty but unyielding, and the more it moves, the more it produces. Too much knowledge leads to exhaustion, it is better to stick to the center."

After a pause, he said: "This is the unbenevolence of heaven and earth."

Under the awning of the soup and pancake shop, Zhang Yan was stunned.

Thank you Zhizhu for the 500 coin reward, and Wuwu Wuyu for the 150 coin reward support.