The First Lackey Under The Empress

The commotion in the corner of the outer garden pavilion attracted the attention of more and more guests.

Therefore, when Zhao Du'an calmly said these words, murmurs arose from the periphery of the crowd, especially among the gathered scholars, their expressions varying.

Remember the original website domain name 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞

You Jinhua and her daughter's pretty faces changed drastically, realizing that what's done cannot be undone.

And the leader of the "Four Young Masters," who had been arrogant and domineering just now, was taken aback, but his eyes revealed joy instead of anger.

Zhao Du'an took in all the changes in his expression and said:

"In fact, I know your intentions. You are simply using this clumsy method to try to anger me, using verbal provocations to provoke me into acting out of line.

Especially in this place, on the occasion of the Shenlong Temple's high monks inviting celebrities from Kyoto to gather today."

The arrogant-looking playboy with a birthmark on the side of his face was stunned for a moment, his expression changing slightly:

"What nonsense are you talking about..."

Zhao Du'an ignored him and continued calmly:

"You and I had a conflict in the past, which many people know. So your provocation can be explained as revenge, which fits your 'persona,' or rather, your image in the eyes of outsiders.

But you are still too crude. After so long, if you wanted to cause trouble for me, why didn't you come before? Why choose today of all days?"

Dong San opened his mouth: "Because..."

"Because you happened to run into me? Because the Dong family has been gaining momentum recently, giving you confidence?"

Zhao Du'an bluntly exposed his lies, looked directly into the eyes of this number one playboy, and shook his head:

"No, neither of those are the reason. At most, that's just an excuse for outsiders to see. Although your brain isn't the sharpest, you shouldn't be stupid to this extent.

Let me think... is it to please Dong Xuan? To please your great-master grandfather... that's the only reason that barely makes sense."

Zhao Du'an said lightly:

"Dong Xuan is quite displeased with me, and even sought the Emperor to advise him to keep me, this petty person, at a distance... this is no secret in Kyoto.

Especially recently, it's been widely rumored that this is also the reason why so many scholars dare to offend me and attack me..."

"Heh, among the scholars, there are indeed some with unwavering integrity who dare to speak frankly, but more of them are still those who are only concerned with their own petty gains.

It would be one thing if they were just criticizing me in the past, but I recently deposed one of the Nine Ministers... aren't they afraid of incurring my revenge?"

Around him, some scholars' faces changed slightly, as if their secrets had been exposed, and they wanted to speak:

"Of cour..."

"Of course they're afraid," Zhao Du'an said:

"But they still dare to do it, both because of the principle that 'the law does not punish the multitude' and because there are rumors in the market that Grand Preceptor Dong is displeased with me.

And you, as a third-generation descendant of the Dong family, are also disliked by Dong Xuan due to a lack of discipline.

So it makes sense for you to jump out and deal with me, trying to provoke me to take action in the Shenlong Temple's Zhai Garden, in order to please Dong Xuan.

Therefore, from beginning to end, you have only been verbally unclean, and even from start to finish, you have only targeted my Zhao family, without involving anyone else in the slightest.

You only stopped at verbal provocations, so even if you are scolded and punished, it wouldn't be a big deal after all.

Heh... and if I were to take action today, here, I would offend the Shenlong Temple and make the officials of the court feel ashamed, and perhaps even be accused of damaging the relationship between the court and the Shenlong Temple..."

"In this way, you would give those scholars behind you something to talk about... ultimately achieving the goal of making His Majesty, under pressure, distance himself from me, this petty person."

Zhao Du'an sighed softly.

He glanced at the playboy, whose face had completely changed, and said:

"I'm a little curious now, who gave you this lousy idea? You're being used as a pawn, and you're still so proud?

It seems that Dong Xuan is indeed getting old and doesn't have the energy to teach you third-generation descendants.

You should know that the last person whose children were纨绔, which caused trouble for the family, was Pei Kai Zhi... don't you learn from that? Oh, you probably don't even know about that..."

As he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the venue underwent a subtle change.

Young Master Dong San no longer had the arrogant and domineering energy, only feeling a chill.

Everything was right on the mark!

His thoughts were all spoken by Zhao Du'an!

At this time, feeling the complex gazes of the surrounding crowd, a surge of anger rose in his heart.

However, he knew that the plan could no longer be implemented, and he was immediately in a dilemma.

Since the other party had already said it so clearly, how could he fall for it?

However, the next second, Zhao Du'an seemed to see through his thoughts and suddenly smiled:

"A very clumsy provocation, but if successful, a very effective calculation."

Indeed, false power struggles are high-level confrontations, with layers of calculations, subtle clues, and long-term plans.

Real power struggles are ambushes with axemen at the Hongmen Banquet, or brainless pawns charging recklessly.

"But..."

Just when everyone thought the excitement was about to end, Zhao Du'an suddenly said with a smile:

"But I really fall for this."

What?

Before Dong San could recover, he saw dense frost spreading and expanding on the table in front of Zhao Du'an, it was the aura of turning into ice that was boiling and spreading.

Zhao Du'an slowly stood up, and the golden crow flying knife in his sleeve suddenly extended, turning into a simple short sword covered in cold air.

He stepped forward and walked towards the other party.

Exclamations rang out around him, and the crowd scattered in terror.

Dong San was even more stunned in place, feeling a real killing intent.

He didn't understand why Zhao Du'an would still take action even after seeing through it? Moreover, he was drawing his sword right away?

Who gave him the confidence? Was he really not afraid of his grandfather's wrath?

"D郎..." You Jinhua and her daughter also looked terrified, but they didn't dare to pull him back.

At this moment, a reprimand suddenly came from the periphery of the crowd:

"What are you doing?!"

The crowd made way for a path, and Dong Da, who had returned from the outhouse, was looking over here with a livid face.

Young Master Dong San's body trembled, and when he turned around, he was like a mouse seeing a cat:

"Brother..."

Zhao Du'an's expression became strange.

The others also couldn't hide their surprise.

Brother? The one who could make Young Master Dong San so submissive and call him brother could probably only be one person...

"I'm asking you! What are you... doing here?"

Dong Da walked over with a sullen face, only then did he see Zhao Du'an standing in front of the two women with a sword.

At this time, because it was too hot, the cold mist just now had dissipated, and Zhao Du'an had also suppressed his aura. What Dong Da saw in his eyes was only that he was carrying an ordinary sword.

"Is he your brother?" Zhao Du'an asked with a strange expression.

Dong Da bowed in shame:

"Brother Zhao, my younger brother lacks discipline, I don't know what this is..."

Zhao Du'an "Oh"ed and said calmly:

"I offended him before, and he came over and insulted my aunt and younger sister's reputation."

Dong Da's face changed drastically, and he looked at his younger brother in disbelief.

Instantly, he imagined the whole plot:

His mischievous younger brother must have come to cause trouble, taken a liking to their beauty, and Brother Zhao was unable to stop him, so he was forced to draw his sword to resist.

And when he saw Dong San's guilty expression, he knew that what Zhao Du'an said was true.

Immediately, his eyes widened in anger, a surge of blood rushed to his head, and the veins on his forehead bulged, his anger attacking his heart:

"You... incorrigible, incorrigible!"

"Brother... I..."

"Shut up!"

With a loud reprimand, Dong San really lowered his head and kept silent.

Dong Da suppressed his anger and bowed to You Jinhua and her daughter with a look of shame.

Then he turned his head, picked up a wooden stick from who knows where, and looked at his younger brother with disappointment:

"Kneel down!"

"Brother, I..."

"I told you to kneel down!"

"Bang!"

A stick hit his back, and the number one playboy in Kyoto, who was famous and no one dared to provoke, actually knelt down in full view of the public.

Clearly, his figure was far more robust than the scholarly-looking Dong Da, and he also practiced martial arts, but he didn't dare to fight back.

Dong Da looked at him with a face full of disappointment:

"What did you say to me last time? You said you would turn over a new leaf and make Grandpa look at you with new eyes. Is this how you make him look at you with new eyes?"

At this moment, Dong Shusheng was extremely disappointed.

Publicly reprimanding his younger brother like this would undoubtedly have a terrible impact on the Dong family's reputation, but he still did it.

It was evident that he was utterly disappointed, willing to let outsiders laugh at him, just to give his third brother an unforgettable lesson.

The纨绔公子 kneeling on the ground wanted to explain, but seeing his elder brother's expression, he couldn't bring himself to speak.

Seeing this, Zhao Douan put the Golden Crow Flying Knife back into his sleeve, as it seemed he wouldn't need it.

"Young Master Dong, please calm down!"

Suddenly, a person walked out from the crowd and said loudly:

"Although the Third Young Master was somewhat reckless, his actions had a reason. Why must the Eldest Young Master humiliate his own family member like this?"

The person who spoke was a scholar of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with extraordinary manners and conversation.

"Hanlin Xu is right. Don't let outsiders hurt the feelings between your own brothers," another scholar echoed.

"Eldest Young Master, you should ask for the reason before getting angry. The Third Young Master's words may not have been pleasant, but this Zhao Jishi of ours showed no mercy either. He showed no respect to the Grand Tutor, even calling him by his name and drawing his sword to strike at the Third Young Master..."

More scholars stepped forward, ostensibly to dissuade, but in reality, they were creating trouble.

Seeing this, how could Zhao Douan not realize that something was amiss?

He looked at that Hanlin Xu. Yes, this person was the vanguard who had been attacking him these days, a member of the "Li Faction"?

So, they finally jumped out... He remained calm, quietly watching this group perform.

"What? Zhao Jishi?"

Dong Da was stunned and, from the crowd's clamoring, understood what had happened. He couldn't help but stare at Zhao Douan in astonishment:

"Brother Zhao, you are..."

Zhao Douan nodded lightly and smiled, "It's me."

Dong Da was dumbfounded.

A thousand thoughts ran through his mind. He wanted to ask why he would go to prostitute Xiaoya...

But considering the inappropriate occasion, he held back.

Then, he belatedly remembered that he had discussed the criticisms against Zhao Douan in front of him not long ago, and he felt extremely embarrassed, and his anger subsided somewhat.

After that, he belatedly realized that the Brother Zhao in his memory was vastly different from the cruel official in the rumors, who was even more ugly than his third brother...

"So, the Eldest Young Master didn't know his identity?"

That Hanlin Xu was greatly alarmed, turned his spearhead, and sneered:

"What a Zhao official, hiding his identity and approaching the Dong family's young master. Who knows what intentions he had? Fortunately, the Third Young Master exposed him today, otherwise, wouldn't you have succeeded? Wouldn't that be detrimental to the Dong family? Detrimental to the Grand Tutor?"

What a convenient accusation... Zhao Douan even wanted to applaud his quick wit.

He guessed that the "Li Faction" scholars were behind Dong San's trouble-making.

They had been "ambushing" nearby, waiting for him to retaliate, so they could jump out, but they didn't expect this unexpected turn of events.

Now that Dong Da had appeared, they had no choice but to temporarily change their reasoning.

"It's not..." Dong Da wanted to explain, as the matter was a bit complicated...

However, the scholars around him, who had been itching to attack, didn't give him a chance and immediately began to rebuke Zhao Douan:

"What were you trying to do when you drew your sword? Do you really think that the Shenlong Temple's vegetarian garden is a place where you can run wild? Where do you place Shenlong Temple? Where do you place the faces of the gentlemen in the back garden?"

"Who ordered you to do this? Whose orders are you following?"

"You even falsely accused the Third Young Master in public... saying that he deliberately provoked you. It's really shameful..."

The crowd was indignant.

Scholars are skilled with their tongues. At this moment, the scholars, led by Hanlin Xu, began to denounce the Zhao thief.

Zhao Douan didn't say a word, only coldly watching them.

"Grand Scholar Chen is here!"

Suddenly, someone shouted. They saw an old man dressed as a pedantic scholar approaching from a distance, seemingly attracted by the noise.

It was Chen Zhengru, one of the academicians of the Hanlin Academy.

Zhao Douan wasn't familiar with this name. He had only heard it from Dong Da not long ago.

Chen Zhengru approached, first frowning and shouting:

"Silence! Shouting in the vegetarian garden is outrageous! What happened?"

Hanlin Xu was "overjoyed" and quickly said:

"Teacher, you've finally arrived..."

Then, he quickly described what had happened, lightly glossing over Dong San's misdeeds, describing it as "saying a few strange words."

Zhao Douan's actions, however, were severely criticized.

As if he had committed heinous crimes.

"So, that's what happened," Chen Zhengru said angrily, looking up at Zhao Douan and saying coldly:

"I've long heard that a capable official has emerged in the capital. Seeing you today, the rumors are true. On the day of the Zhongyuan Festival, in this pure and quiet Buddhist retreat, you recklessly wielded weapons. Just because of a few words, you wanted to kill someone. You even dared to insult the current Grand Tutor and deceive the Dong family's young master..."

"What a capable official, what a Zhao envoy. This old man has truly opened his eyes today. There is actually a madman like you in the capital..."

"I previously heard that someone compared you to Han Banshan. This old man thought you were someone of importance, but now it seems that comparing the two of you is an insult to Han Zhou, an insult to the young scholars of the Xiuwen Pavilion, and even more of an insult to the Grand Tutor's dignity."

Zhao Douan drooped his eyelids:

"Are you finished?"

Chen Zhengru saw his indifferent attitude and said with a sullen face:

"This child is incorrigible. What do you have to say?"

Zhao Douan was about to speak and end this farce.

Suddenly, outside the crowd, from the direction of the vegetarian garden's entrance, there was a commotion. Someone was shouting the names of the "Xiuwen Pavilion Scholars."

Gradually, it became clearer.

People learned that the scholars of the Xiuwen Pavilion had arrived.

In an instant, many people watching the excitement shifted their gaze, stretching their necks and curiously sizing up this group of newly appointed officials.

Chen Zhengru, Xu Hanlin, and others showed joy on their faces, thinking that their arrival was perfect, and they could confirm the matter.

They were not afraid of making a big scene, they were only afraid of not making a big scene.

"Grandpa and the others are here?"

Dong Da's expression changed slightly, and for a moment, he didn't know how to end the situation.

The Third Young Master, who was kneeling on the ground, quietly got up and stealthily moved outwards. Today's matter had become too big, exceeding his expectations.

"Han Banshan! I've admired you for a long time..."

"Guo Jiejuan, do you still remember me?"

"Young Master Wang... How is your father doing lately?"

Many people flocked over, smiling and greeting them.

The liveliness there formed a stark contrast to the tension between Zhao Douan and the others.

At this time, a group of Xiuwen Pavilion scholars, who had just finished the new policy and came to attend the gathering, were also attracted by the crowd gathered here.

They couldn't help but walk over curiously, wanting to find out what was going on.

Chen Zhengru smiled slightly and gave his student Xu Hanlin a look. The latter understood and smiled, taking the initiative to step forward:

"Brother Banshan..."

Han Zhou walked over in a daze. When he saw Grand Scholar Chen Zhengru and his colleague Xu Hanlin, he frowned slightly.

Then, his gaze fell on someone in the pavilion, and a kind smile bloomed on his face.

He walked straight over.

Outsiders only thought that Han Zhou and Xu Hanlin had a close friendship, and they couldn't help but feel envious.

Xu Hanlin was a little surprised. His relationship with Han Zhou was only average. Why was he so enthusiastic...

However, the next second, he knew the reason.

He saw Han Zhou walk straight past him, not even looking at him.

Instead, he came to Zhao Douan, cupped his hands, and smiled:

"Scholar Zhao, we were just wondering where you might be. We didn't expect to find you as soon as we entered."