The First Lackey Under The Empress

In the blink of an eye, it was the Ghost Festival.

Early in the morning, Zhao Pan'er was dragged out of bed by You Jinhua and made to wash and dress.

As for the stepson... You Jinhua never bothered to push open his door and drag him out.

Therefore, when Zhao Du'an, wearing his pajamas, yawned and pushed open his door, he heard the laughter of the mother and daughter.

"Tsk... so excited... it's just attending a Dharma assembly."

That's right, according to the invitation from Shenlong Temple, each invited person could bring family and friends.

Zhao Du'an naturally brought his stepmother and stepsister along.

"We... can we really go?" Upon hearing the news, the two beauties, one big and one small, widened their eyes in disbelief.

Zhao Du'an's answer was very much in line with his persona:

"Heh, wouldn't it be a loss of face to go alone?"

According to the "unspoken rules" of the Dayu Dynasty, those invited to important events often had to bring a female companion.

You Jinhua understood perfectly, and dragged her daughter early in the morning to wash and dress, vowing to dress them both as beautiful vases, so as not to lose face for Dalang.

When Zhao Du'an finished washing and dressing, he saw the mother and daughter coming together, and his eyes lit up.

The two women were meticulously dressed today. Their natural beauty was already outstanding, and now, draped in the imperial brocade and adorned with heavy jeweled hairpins on their cloud-like buns,

and with a touch of the finest rouge and powder, their appearance and temperament had risen to a new level.

Zhao Pan'er's hair was carefully braided behind her head today, and she wore light makeup, like a lotus emerging from clear water, with a sparkle of intelligence in her autumn-like eyes.

You Jinhua, on the other hand, wore heavy makeup, but it was not gaudy. Her dark green dress and noblewoman-style hair bun,

paired with heavy gold jewelry and a plump figure, highlighted her noble aura.

The two stood together, looking almost like sisters.

"Big Brother..."

Zhao Pan'er called out softly, turning her slightly thin face to avoid the direct gaze.

"D郎, is that all you're wearing? Let auntie dress you up."

The beautiful stepmother walked straight over, stood on tiptoe, and was about to adjust his hair crown.

Compared to the two women, who were dressed quite grandly, Zhao Du'an's attire could be described as sloppy.

He wasn't wearing an official robe, just a thin silk outer robe, with a piece of jade hanging from his waist.

It dragged down his already handsome appearance a bit.

"Auntie, please be respectful..." Zhao Du'an took half a step back and said lightly:

"There's no need, it's just a Dharma assembly. I heard it's just eating and drinking."

He would only dress carefully when he met the Empress.

As for today, in his imagination, it was just a matter of finding a lively place to celebrate the festival and taking a peek at the mysterious veil of Shenlong Temple.

At his insistence, You Jinhua's attempt failed.

The family tidied up for a while, and when it was almost time, they took a carriage towards Shenlong Temple.

...

...

"So many people."

On the streets, as they approached Shenlong Temple, the crowd in the streets and alleys became visibly denser.

Because of the sultry heat, the curtains of the carriage were lifted, allowing the two women to look around, chattering and discussing excitedly.

Zhao Du'an also looked curiously, seeing many vendors on the street selling various styles of colorful sacrificial utensils.

In the distance, a temple of similar scale to the Tianshi Mansion was flourishing with incense.

At this moment, the wide square in front of the temple was crowded with people.

Several long lines were formed to buy fruits and pastries.

"What is this for?" Outside the carriage, a foreigner asked.

Zhao Du'an heard someone next to him explain:

"This is a ritual of passing offerings. The fruits, incense, and candles are placed in a basin and passed from the hands of monks and lay disciples, all the way to the Buddha statue covered with flowers, so that they can be blessed by the World Honored One of Buddhism..."

"Well, don't watch. You have to spend money to queue up, we can't afford the qualification."

Zhao Du'an: "..."

Alright, he was even more certain that these monks were indeed very good at doing business.

The carriage passed by the periphery of Shenlong Temple, but did not approach it, instead heading in the opposite direction.

Ahead, a small garden appeared.

This was the "Zhai Garden", also a gathering place for dignitaries in the capital, with gray-robed warrior monks separating the crowd on the periphery.

The people also tacitly did not approach this side.

When Zhao Du'an arrived, he saw many carriages already parked outside the Zhai Garden.

Fortunately, there were plenty of "parking spaces", and it didn't take much effort to find a place to stop.

As he got out of the car, he heard a servant in the distance bossing around, demanding that another car give way.

The two sides seemed to have clashed, and he vaguely heard the name "Third Master Dong".

So, the latter swallowed his anger and sought another place.

"Third Master Dong?"

Zhao Pan'er, holding the carriage, stepped on the ground with her lotus feet and looked curiously:

"Is that the one that brother once mentioned, the leader of the four young masters of the capital, the third young master of the Dong family?"

Next to her.

You Jinhua also got out with the help of a servant, but her face showed fear as she looked worriedly at her stepson.

"Third Master Dong?"

Zhao Du'an was stunned for a moment, and some memories surfaced in his mind.

He then remembered the person's identity.

Back then, under the guidance of Qin Qiu, 'he' plunged into the circle of playboys in the capital and learned about the "Four Young Masters", that is, the names of the four playboys.

One of them was Wang You, whom he had only met for the first time not long ago in the Xiuwen Hall.

Another, vaguely crowned as the number one young master, was the grandson of Grand Tutor Dong.

The second son of the eldest branch, respectfully called "Little Third Master" or "Young Master Dong the Third" in the circle.

Above him was an elder sister who had already married out, and an elder brother, Dong Dashao, who was quite low-key and mysterious, and rarely showed up.

The reason why Young Master Dong the Third was able to surpass Wang You and become the number one playboy was not because of his superior abilities.

But because the other three "young masters" were more disciplined in comparison.

For example, Wang You, the son of the Minister of Rites, also looked down on people and had the airs of a noble young master.

But he wasn't stupid and knew his limits.

His so-called arrogance and domineering were more of a habit of being high above.

But Young Master Dong the Third was different.

Perhaps because he was young, impulsive, or because he practiced martial arts, he acted flamboyantly and recklessly, and was stained with "jianghu spirit".

He had the rebellious spirit of a young martial artist.

In addition, he was young and had gathered a group of playboys around him, who held him up with the title of "Third Master", making him flutter.

Relying on the power of the Grand Tutor, he had often clashed with others in the past.

Even if his father repeatedly admonished him, he couldn't suppress him.

But this number one playboy in the capital only listened to the words of his unknown brother, "Dong Da".

It was also a wonder.

Zhao Du'an had initially clashed with him due to a mere dispute over seats, and even exchanged blows.

Later, on the one hand, it was the old Si Jian Sun Lianying who came forward to mediate the matter.

On the other hand, it was also because this matter was known to the Dong family, and he was grounded for a period of time by his father, who was the son of Grand Tutor Dong.

"Dalang..." You Jinhua's eyes showed worry.

Zhao Du'an just smiled:

"Let's go, let's go into the garden."

If it was at the beginning of his transmigration, he might have been a little apprehensive.

But now... especially since he had cleared the Xiuwen Hall dungeon, he really looked down on a third-generation young playboy of the Dong family who had some grudges with "him" in the past...

Besides, he had many enemies, and he really didn't care about the so-called "number one young master" in a playboy circle.

...

The three ordered their servants to guard the carriage and were allowed into the Zhai Garden after showing their invitations.

Walking through corridors and courtyards, they saw that the garden was decorated with buildings surrounding a lotus pond in the center.

Surrounding it were artificial mountains and pavilions, with excellent scenery.

At this moment, there were already many people in the garden.

At a glance, most of them were the family members of invited celebrities, or scholars.

Gathering in groups of twos and threes around open-air tables prepared by Shenlong Temple and filled with fruits and vegetarian dishes,

they chatted and talked, the atmosphere was relaxed.

There was no solemnity or sacredness of the "Dharma Assembly" as imagined.

Zhao Du'an and his party entered, and did not attract too much attention.

In fact, although his reputation was great, there were actually not many people who really knew him.

In addition, he didn't dress carefully today, while the other guests, more or less, both men and women were dressed in fancy clothes, vying for beauty, so his appearance was not so prominent.

In contrast, You Jinhua and her daughter attracted a lot of attention.

"Dalang, where are we going like this? Why haven't I seen those high officials and the Bianji Master?"

You Jinhua had been married into the Zhao family for many years and had developed the vision of a small family woman.

Although she had a good foundation, she couldn't hide her nervousness when she suddenly came to such a big scene, her body was tense, and she didn't feel comfortable walking.

Zhao Pan'er was not much better than her mother, but she was better at being a newborn calf not afraid of tigers, and walked with a straight face.

Facing the gazes of some young masters, she completely ignored them, as if she couldn't see them.

"I'm also here for the first time..." Zhao Du'an also didn't understand.

Just as he was thinking about asking a monk, he suddenly heard a surprised voice from across the way:

"Brother Zhao?"

Looking over, he saw a young man with an ordinary appearance, nothing outstanding, and even a little bookish, standing up in a pavilion.

He was waving at him in surprise.

"Dong Shusheng?"

Zhao Du'an was also stunned for a moment.

He remembered that the other party was the scholar whom he had met once when he went to the "Qinglian Xiaozhu" Xiaoya girl's clubhouse to find clues in order to get rid of Zhang Changji.

"Why are you here?"

Zhao Du'an led the two women over, and they said in unison.

Then they laughed at the same time.

Dong Shusheng cupped his hands and said:

"I am here today to follow my elders, and I didn't expect to meet Brother Zhao here."

Saying that, he looked at You Jinhua and her daughter, hesitating:

"These two... are Brother Zhao's wives and concubines?"

You Jinhua and Zhao Pan'er blushed at once.

The latter was okay, after all, her age could barely be justified.

Women in Dayu were considered adults at the age of fifteen and could get married.

But You Jinhua couldn't hold back anymore...

She was ashamed and annoyed, thinking, what kind of eyes does this scholar have?

How could I be at this age...

"...Hehe, Brother Dong is joking,"

Zhao Du'an couldn't help but laugh and introduce:

"This is my auntie, and this is my younger sister."

"Ah!"

The eldest grandson of the Grand Tutor of the dynasty, Dong Dashao, who rarely showed up, was extremely embarrassed, and hurriedly cupped his hands to apologize to the two women.

It's not that this young master doesn't have eyes, it's just that the auntie is too young...

Zhao Du'an waved his hand, indicating that it was a misunderstanding.

Seeing that there was no one else in this pavilion, it was quite quiet, and the stone table was full of fruits and other food, he simply pulled his female relatives to sit down together.

Then he smiled and said:

"Since we parted that day, I didn't expect Brother Dong's elders to also be celebrities in the capital. I wonder which one it is?"