The First Lackey Under The Empress

The temperature in the capital entered the hottest period of summer.

Zhao Du'an was certain of this because he was practically roasted awake.

That morning, he forced his eyelids open and touched the bedding, realizing his entire back was soaked.

“So this is what they call a double whammy of ice and fire.” Zhao Du'an sat up cross-legged, his eyes still blurry with sleep, and groaned.

Last night, during his meditative practice, the Great Ancestor of the Great Yu Dynasty led him away from the scorching desert and into the frigid snowfields.

Zhao Du'an's soul shivered from the cold, while his body was sweating from the heat, making for a truly exhilarating experience.

“If only I had an air conditioner that didn't need electricity, I'd even be willing to eat plain rice and drink water, or even serve as a bed warmer for the Empress…”

Zhao Du'an raised his finger, solemnly making a wish to the "Heavenly Lord" of this world.

But it was all in vain.

Getting out of bed, getting dressed, and after a simple wash, Master Zhao strode towards the dining hall, ready to enjoy his stepmother's loving breakfast.

This morning, however, a beautiful and refined young woman was missing from the table.

“Where’s Zhao Pan?”

Zhao Du'an sat upright in the main seat, asking in confusion.

You Jinhua gently stood up, personally holding a wooden spoon to serve him a bowl of white rice porridge, and replied:

“Pan’er has a bloated stomach and couldn't eat this morning.”

Hopefully, it's not because I angered her… Zhao Du'an silently shed a tear of sympathy for the girl in his heart and happily started eating.

Perhaps it was because the weather was truly hot.

You Jinhua wasn't wearing her beloved dark green dress, but instead, a light and breathable long dress.

Paired with a married woman's hairstyle and her plump figure, Zhao Du'an was reminded of the palace ladies in Tang Dynasty paintings.

The clothing style of the Great Yu Dynasty was open, especially after the Empress ascended the throne, the women of the capital became even bolder in their attire.

The one You Jinhua was wearing was roughly similar to the "low-cut dress" of the Tang Dynasty in TV dramas.

Well, the uncensored version.

It was quite popular these days, giving Zhao Du'an the experience of strolling near a university town in the summer as he walked down the street, feasting his eyes on the sights.

“The weather has been hot these past few days, let’s buy some ice to cool down the house.”

Zhao Du'an glanced at his stepmother's sweat-soaked collar and said.

You Jinhua hesitated and said:

“Ice is not cheap in the capital, and you are mostly in the yamen, Da Lang. Even if we buy ice, it won’t last long.”

At this time of year, ice was stored in cellars during the winter and sold when it was hot.

There were many nobles, high officials, wealthy gentry, and rich merchants in the capital, so ice was always in short supply.

“Is it very expensive? If there isn't enough stored ice, we can use saltpeter to make do, right?” Zhao Du'an asked, surprised.

“Saltpeter?” You Jinhua looked blank.

She didn't seem to understand how saltpeter was related to ice.

“Saltpeter ice-making, haven't you heard of it, Aunt?” Zhao Du'an asked in surprise.

As far as he knew, this ancient method of ice-making had already appeared in the late Tang and early Song dynasties.

Although the Great Yu Dynasty couldn't be directly compared to the historical periods he was familiar with, its handicraft industry was considered developed.

He subconsciously thought that similar methods had already spread.

Not to mention, it was a cliché in time-travel novels.

You Jinhua shook her head, feeling ashamed, and said:

“I am just a woman, not as knowledgeable as Da Lang.”

This isn't a question of knowledge, it's a business opportunity…

Zhao Du'an didn't expect that he would have the chance to fill a historical gap, and immediately said happily:

“Aunt, come closer!”

You Jinhua twisted her round hips and leaned over, but her eyes darted towards the servants and maids sweeping and working outside the hall, a little shy and nervous.

After a while, his stepmother blinked her big eyes curiously:

“Like this… is it really feasible?”

Zhao Du'an smiled and said:

“Aunt can just order someone to buy saltpeter and try it at home.”

He hadn't verified it himself, only read about the method in books.

If it really worked, he could make a fortune during the hottest days of summer.

Although the fastest way to make money was through corruption, Zhao Du'an had offended too many people recently.

He also wanted to avoid the limelight, as it would be troublesome if someone caught him with a handle on corruption.

You Jinhua was dubious, but still bit her lip and said "Okay."

After all, Da Lang was the master of the house.

… …

After the meal.

Zhao Du'an walked out of the house and saw a carriage already parked under the big willow tree outside the courtyard.

The driver was a young man in his early twenties, a subordinate clerk of the Pear Blossom Hall, with a proper appearance and efficient work style.

He was Zhao Du'an's "full-time driver," surnamed Wang, whom Zhao Du'an habitually called "Little Wang."

“Sir!”

The coachman, Little Wang, respectfully saluted, then placed a small stool under the carriage and opened half of the carriage curtain.

Zhao Du'an got into the carriage contentedly and said lazily:

“Let’s go, to the yamen.”

Two days had passed since the capture of the mole.

After saying goodbye to Zhang Yan that day, Zhao Du'an went to the Imperial Prison in the afternoon to take care of the aftermath.

He learned that the remaining six investigators had been released from confinement and had returned to lead their respective Jin Yi, using the two moles as a breakthrough point, striving to expand the results in one fell swoop.

However, Zhao Du'an knew the principle of knowing when to stop and not hogging all the credit.

He had already taken the biggest credit, so he didn't bother fighting for the remaining scraps.

As a result, Zhang Han, Haitang, and others were surprised and seemed to owe him a favor.

In addition, Zhao Du'an also had a private chat with Ma Yan to properly handle Zhu Kui's funeral, extracting him from the rebel party incident and declaring him a martyr in the line of duty.

As for more follow-up, because the case was transferred to the "Three Laws Division," what Ma Yan could do was only to try his best to dig out more information from the mouths of Tie Chi and Guan Er before handing over the prisoners.

Zhao Du'an didn't interfere.

After the news of the case spread, it caused a small sensation in the capital's officialdom.

Although Zhao Du'an tried his best to attribute the credit to Ma Yan.

Trying to hide behind the scenes and maintain his incompetent persona.

But smart people had already noticed the extraordinariness of this "Pear Blossom Investigator."

“Alas, it will be difficult to continue deceiving people with my persona in the future.”

Zhao Du'an sighed, feeling quite regretful.

As the carriage moved, it soon entered the bustling Zhuque Avenue.

Zhao Du'an closed his eyes and concentrated, but noticed that the carriage suddenly slowed down.

He forced his eyelids open and asked through the shaking carriage curtain:

“What’s going on? Is the road difficult to travel?”

He complained in his heart: I’ve already time-traveled, but I still can’t avoid rush hour traffic jams in the capital…

The coachman, Little Wang's voice came:

“Sir, there is a sedan chair blocking us on the opposite side, it seems intentional.”

Translated: Their car was blocked.

Zhao Du'an raised his eyebrows, not careless.

He immediately sat up straight, gently lifted the car window with his right hand, stuck out half of his head and looked over.

He saw that on the bustling and prosperous avenue, wide enough for three ordinary carriages to run side by side, a six-bearer sedan chair was blocking their carriage.

Coming head-on.

The sedan chair was quite large, painted with dragons and phoenixes, and the top was draped with red silk curtains, a style that ordinary families would not dare to use.

At this moment, six strong porters were carrying the sedan chair steadily on their shoulders.

It is worth mentioning that as early as before the founding of the Great Yu Dynasty, sedan chairs, which were carried by human power and were far more comfortable and stable than carriages, were already popular.

Officials of the previous dynasty even had a sedan chair per person, and they would ride in a sedan chair even if they walked only a few dozen steps.

When the Great Yu Dynasty was founded, the Taizu Emperor summarized the lessons of the previous dynasty and promulgated laws, requiring that in order to avoid breeding a heart of enjoyment and not being enterprising.

Any official of the Great Yu Dynasty was prohibited from riding in a sedan chair.

Only in very few special ceremonies was it allowed to ride in a sedan chair for a short time.

Although six hundred years have passed, many places are not strictly controlled, but in the capital under the Emperor's feet, the officials still follow the ancient training.

Therefore, it is the wealthy gentry who ride in sedan chairs more often.

But even then, it is mostly two people carrying, and four carrying is already a minority.

Like this six-bearer one, it has violated the etiquette system, not to mention the car body decoration, which vaguely indicates that the owner of the sedan chair is of noble status.

“Let them make way and see.” Zhao Du'an said calmly.

“Yes!”

The coachman, Little Wang, adjusted the reins and tried to make way to the side, letting the other party go first.

However, the sedan chair seemed to be deliberately making trouble for them.

No matter which way they went, it also moved in sync, steadily blocking the front.

Forcing the carriage to be difficult to move forward.

Zhao Du'an narrowed his eyes, already sure that the other party was not coming with good intentions. After thinking for a moment, he withdrew his gaze and said:

“Stop the car. Identify ourselves to the other party and ask about their origins.”

The coachman, Little Wang, responded, and when the carriage stopped, the sedan chair also landed steadily.

“This is the carriage of Lord Zhao, the Investigator of the Imperial Prison, may I ask who is in the sedan chair opposite?” Little Wang opened his mouth.

There was no immediate answer from inside the sedan chair, but there were faint vibrations, accompanied by gasps, as if there was more than one person inside.

Zhao Du'an, who was sharp-eyed and keen-eared, suddenly had a strange expression on his face.

Immediately, after waiting for a few breaths, he heard a porter from the other side say:

“This is the sedan chair of the Grand Princess Yunyang, please Lord Zhao come out and speak.”

According to the customs of the Great Yu Dynasty, the Emperor's daughter is called "Princess", sisters are called "Grand Princess", and aunts are called "Grandest Princess".

Princess Yunyang?

Inside the carriage, Zhao Du'an's eyes narrowed, and he secretly said:

Sure enough!

In the capital, it was not an official, and dared to ride in a six-bearer sedan chair, and had a feud with him.

Thinking about it, there was only the Empress's aunt, the wife of the驸马 Li Shuping, the Princess Yunyang, who was quite "promiscuous" in reputation.

Previously, after Li Lang was taken out of the Imperial Prison, Zhao Du'an was busy catching the mole, so he didn't pay attention to it anymore.

He thought that, for the sake of the Empress, this matter would be revealed, but the other party was obviously not prepared to swallow their anger.

“Sir? What do you think…”

The coachman, Little Wang, asked for instructions through the carriage curtain.

Zhao Du'an thought for a moment, raised his hand to hold the saber in the carriage, and gently lifted the carriage curtain with the scabbard.

But he did not get out of the car, but sat cross-legged in the carriage, looked towards the opposite side, and said loudly:

“This official is Zhao Du'an, what can the Grandest Princess instruct?”

At this moment, the surrounding area had also attracted onlookers, but seeing this posture, they knew that both sides were by no means simple figures.

Without needing to drive them away, they consciously watched from afar.

One car and one sedan chair, the surrounding area suddenly cleared out a large area.

Inside the wide sedan chair, there were a few more vibrations, and the sound of men and women talking could be faintly heard.

Immediately, a man's hand suddenly stretched out from the thick sedan curtain.

Grabbing a corner of the curtain, slowly lifted half of it.

Zhao Du'an's eyelids twitched, even with his composure, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Only because the man in the sedan chair was not the驸马 Li Shuping.

But a man about thirty or forty years old, with a delicate beard and a dignified appearance.

At this moment, his upper body was casually wrapped in a robe, revealing the silk pajamas inside, leaning back lazily, and the wide carriage was also covered with thick silk bedding.

At this moment, the other arm of this strange man seemed to be hugging a woman.

But because only half of the curtain was lifted, it was impossible to see the whole picture.

Zhao Du'an could only vaguely see a woman's fair and delicate hand, clutching a light and breathable blanket, covering the man's body.

Under the lifted curtain hem, a pair of women's white python-like long legs could be vaguely seen, sitting cross-legged.

What daytime Xuan…

Zhao Du'an's eyes twitched, and before he could spit out an old slot, he heard the coachman, Little Wang, beside him say in surprise:

“Marquis Xiajiang!”

… …

The new plot begins, a bit of writer's block, the update is late

Thank you reader 20178054 for the reward of one hundred coins