The First Lackey Under The Empress

"What?"

Zhao Du'an raised his eyebrows and looked at his 'full-time driver'.

The coachman, Xiao Wang, quickly lowered his voice and explained:

"My lord doesn't recognize that person, but I have seen him before. That is Xia Jiang, the Marquis of Xia Jiang, a noble of this dynasty."

A marquis? In Zhao Du'an's mind, some memories surged.

In the Great Yu Dynasty, there were several power groups.

One of them was the 'Noble Group', formed by meritorious officials who had been granted titles throughout the dynasties.

At the beginning of his transmigration, the first broker he beat up, the Viscount of Ning'an County, strictly speaking, also belonged to the nobility.

Because they were both nobles and supported by the imperial court, the Noble Group was closer to the imperial family.

However, Zhao Du'an didn't expect them to be so close as to share a bed.

He had also heard of the name "Marquis of Xia Jiang."

His ancestor was a military meritorious marquis bestowed during the revival of the Xu Dynasty three hundred years ago.

By this generation, most of the nobles had already lost their real power, and the Marquis of Xia Jiang was no exception.

But after all, it was a family of military merit, and the foundation was still there. He himself was also a cultivator of the 'Martial Artist' path, and had no contact with Zhao Du'an.

But he didn't expect to meet him in this kind of situation today.

"His reputation precedes him..."

Zhao Du'an clicked his tongue in wonder. He had no interest in this "Marquis", but was quite surprised that he was involved with Princess Yunyang.

It wasn't surprising that the two of them slept together.

After all, Princess Yunyang's reputation was well-known. The hats she made the驸马 wear could be stacked as high as the Great Bell Tower of the Celestial Master's Mansion.

"But not even bothering to hide it, doing this on the street... isn't that a bit too much...?"

At this moment, Zhao Du'an suddenly understood why Li Lang was a纨绔.

Any young man, with such a mother who had extensive relationships, and such a forbearing father, would find it difficult to avoid psychological problems.

"Are you Zhao Du'an?"

At this time, Xia Jiang, the Marquis of Xia Jiang, who was sitting in the sedan, with a dignified appearance but with a hint of evil in his eyes, asked.

The condescending posture and almost interrogative tone made Zhao Du'an feel disgusted.

He ignored the Marquis and looked in the direction of Princess Yunyang, who was only showing her fair legs, and said indifferently:

"Why doesn't the Grand Princess show her face? Could it be that she is ashamed to face people?"

The two sides were already hostile, and he was too lazy to pretend.

The curtain of the sedan chair swayed gently in the wind, and the princess inside seemed to be angry, and the hand that was exposed suddenly clenched.

Xia Jiang also shared the same hatred, with an angry expression, and said coldly:

"Zhao Du'an, haven't you heard that this Marquis is talking to you?"

Why are you jumping out? Everyone is a male favorite, as if you are more noble than me... Zhao Du'an was unhappy.

He glanced at him and said perfunctorily:

"So it's Marquis Xia Jiang, I've heard of your great name for a long time. I wonder what important matter you have to call this official for?"

Not sure of the situation, he decided to play it safe first.

Dressed in a messy silk robe, with a fragrant and soft jade in his arms, Xia Jiang, who had a delicate beard, looked him up and down for a moment, and suddenly said:

"It's nothing, it's just that this Marquis heard that a Zhao Investigator has recently appeared in the capital, with a strong momentum and favored by the emperor. He doesn't even put the imperial family and nobles in his eyes, so I wanted to come and admire him."

Although he said "admire", the drooping corners of his eyes and the superior attitude were clearly the posture of a noble looking at a commoner.

This made Zhao Du'an inexplicably unhappy.

A damn noble, driving a luxury car, stopped him on his way to work, just to see him.

And showing an attitude as if "This Marquis is willing to grace you with a look, it is already thinking highly of you."

Zhao Du'an really wanted to drag the other party down, rub him on the ground, and then ask:

Do you know that this is very impolite?

But he ultimately chose not to do that, but said "Oh" and asked calmly:

"What did the Marquis see?"

Xia Jiang smiled and did not answer directly:

"Let me call you Little Zhao for now. This Marquis is a few years older than you, and I have been in this area of the capital for much longer than you.

This Marquis has seen more people who have gained power in one dynasty than the bridges you have crossed.

Today, I want to give you a few pointers. Be humble in life. And in officialdom, don't be too arrogant.

Even if you want to be a lone minister, you should keep your eyes open and know which people you can offend and which you can't.

Even the dogs in my Marquis's mansion know to judge people's status. In this Great Yu Dynasty, how many ministers rise and fall every year?

The ones who truly stand firm are still us nobles, not you commoners."

His tone was very sincere, and even had the meaning of advice, but that sense of condescension could not be dispelled.

Full of paternalistic flavor.

Seeing Zhao Du'an silent, he added quietly:

"This Marquis has said all that needs to be said. If you can listen to it, you should know what to do. There is no need to be grateful, just take it as this Marquis doing a good deed.

If you are stubborn, and one day your glory is no more, don't say you weren't warned."

After speaking, Xia Jiang really waved his hand, signaling the sedan bearers to lift the sedan.

The thick curtain also fell down, covering the adulterous couple in the sedan.

At the moment when the sedan curtain shook and fell, Zhao Du'an vaguely met a pair of enchanting and charming eyes.

There were no emotions in those eyes.

"Lift the sedan!"

The sedan bearers shouted in a low voice, and the strong men simultaneously carried the heavy dark red wooden poles and strode forward.

Princess Yunyang's sedan chair bypassed the carriage and went straight to the other end of Suzaku Avenue.

The onlookers also dispersed like birds and beasts.

It is conceivable that before long, the gossip of Marquis Xia Jiang admonishing Envoy Zhao on the street would spread in teahouses and taverns.

"My lord? You..."

The coachman, Xiao Wang, looked at his superior, a little uneasy.

Zhao Du'an narrowed his eyes, sat upright in the carriage, and ultimately did not draw the scabbard in his hand, and smiled:

"Are you worried I'll take action against him? Don't worry, I won't go that far."

The coachman, Little Wang, breathed a sigh of relief.

As a member of the Pear Blossom Hall, having witnessed Zhao Du'an's recklessness, he was genuinely concerned that his superior might not be able to endure Xia Jianghou's "admonishments" and would lose his temper in the street.

But then he heard Zhao Du'an say faintly:

"If he wants to provoke me and I actually fall for it, wouldn't that be playing right into his hands?"

The coachman, Little Wang, was stunned for a moment, then belatedly realized:

"Sir, are you saying that Xia Jianghou said those things on purpose?"

"Otherwise?" Zhao Du'an exhaled, his tone ambiguous, saying:

"It's true that there are fools among the imperial relatives and nobles, but it would be too much of a coincidence to encounter two at once."

Princess Yunyang's first appearance had indeed refreshed his stereotypical image of this "licentious" princess.

From beginning to end, she remained coy and reserved, always hiding behind the curtain, only pushing forward a lover as a front.

If Zhao Du'an really dared to take action, firstly, he might not necessarily be able to win against Xia Jianghou.

Secondly, he would also leave himself vulnerable.

It should be known that the laws of the Dayu Dynasty explicitly protect nobles.

Zhao Du'an had beaten Ning'an County's son, but because the other party's title was too low and he had no power or influence, he swallowed his anger and accepted it.

As for the纨绔 Li Lang, although he was the princess's son and could be considered an imperial relative from a bloodline perspective, he did not hold any noble title.

Xia Jianghou, however, was different. Although he had no real power, he held the title of "Marquis," which gave him an advantage even if he was in the wrong.

"I admit, I underestimated this woman a bit."

Zhao Du'an sighed.

Princess Yunyang's public protection of the Marquis forced Zhao Du'an to swallow this bitter pill.

Fortunately, he had managed to regain control of the Pear Blossom Hall during this period.

Therefore, he was not worried that this matter would shake his authority.

"Let's go, back to the yamen first."

Zhao Du'an said, but in his heart, he was secretly vigilant, feeling that Princess Yunyang's retaliation would definitely not be just a few verbal warnings.

… …

… …

The rest of the journey went smoothly, and by the time Zhao Du'an arrived at the Pear Blossom Hall, it was past the roll call time.

On the large pear tree in the courtyard, the unripe pears were about to ripen.

"Sir, you've arrived."

The chief secretary, Qian Kerou, holding a stack of official documents, her eyes lit up:

"This subordinate has already marked you present for roll call."

Zhao Du'an nodded in satisfaction and walked leisurely to the main seat, asking curiously:

"Why are you the only one here?"

Qian Kerou's cheeks were flushed, and she reported spiritedly:

"Old Zheng is in the back counting the case files, and Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan are out investigating clues about the rebellious party."

It is worth mentioning:

Tie Chi Guan and his companion, who were imprisoned in the imperial prison, were transferred to the Ministry of Justice's custody yesterday morning.

This case was also smoothly transferred to the Dali Temple for supervision.

The Censorate was responsible for oversight.

The "Three Law Divisions" of the Dayu Dynasty had different divisions of labor.

The Ministry of Justice was in charge of "criminal detention," which was where prisoners were held. The Dali Temple had the authority to judge cases, conduct trials, and arrest people, similar to a court.

The censors of the Censorate could intervene at any step, belonging to the type of participant who observed the whole process and only used their mouths, not their hands.

Ma Yan, in order to avoid suspicion, reluctantly transferred the case, but he still managed to pry open Tie Chi Guan's mouth and obtain some information about other rebellious parties.

And handed it over to the Pear Blossom Hall for investigation.

"What's the progress?" Zhao Du'an asked.

Having eaten his fill of big fish and meat, he had no interest in these small fries, so he handed it over to his four subordinates to handle as a training exercise.

Qian Kerou said:

"After Tie Chi Guan was arrested, the rebellious party associated with him urgently evacuated, mostly resulting in empty searches, but with the identity clues, we still followed the clues and caught two fleeing traces of the rebellious party.

Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan led people to arrest them. The former hasn't sent back any news yet.

But Shen Juan's team just sent someone back to report that they had successfully apprehended the target and also seized and sealed a batch of赃款赃物.

They are currently counting it and preparing to transport it back, asking us to send someone to meet them."

Zhao Du'an's eyes showed surprise:

"So fast, well done. Has the escort been sent out?"

Qian Kerou said:

"They are currently hitching up the carriage in the front yard, preparing to transport some stolen goods back, and are about to depart."

Zhao Du'an thought for a moment and suddenly said:

"Call a few people and come with me personally. This concerns the rebellious party, and no loss can be tolerated."

He said it this way, but what really made Zhao Du'an change his mind was Princess Yunyang's inexplicable blocking of his carriage and warning.

He had a faint premonition:

Something might happen and cause complications.

"Oh, okay!" Qian Kerou was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly and ran off to make arrangements.

… …

Soon after.

Zhao Du'an rode a fine horse, personally leading a group of Jinyi officers forward, with a cart carrying the dirty goods following behind.

Before long, a group of Jinyi swaggered through the city, arriving at a residential house in the South City amidst the terrified evasion of the common people.

This was also the hiding place of the rebellious party mentioned in the message sent back by Shen Juan.

However, when Zhao Du'an arrived, even from a distance, he saw two groups of people confronting each other at the entrance of the house and on the street.

One side, blocking the courtyard door and drawing their swords in a defensive posture, were actually several Jinyi from the Pear Blossom Hall.

And standing opposite them, outnumbering them several times and trying to force their way in, was a group of people of unknown identity.

They also drew their swords against each other.

A green-robed official at the head, with a cold expression, was sternly rebuking:

"Get out of the way for this official—"

Shen Juan, whose numbers were at a disadvantage and could only shrink back in defense, trying his best to guard the gate, had an uncertain expression on his face.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching from afar.

Shen Juan suddenly raised his head and looked over, his eyes suddenly lighting up:

"Sir is here!"

Several Jinyi cheered up and looked up.

They saw Zhao Du'an on horseback, taking the lead, the silver threads on his black official robe rippling like waves.

While still on horseback, Zhao Du'an had already casually drawn his saber, throwing it into the air, and shouted sternly:

"Who dares to be presumptuous!!"