The First Lackey Under The Empress

Inside the Zhai Garden.

Grand Tutor Dong, after angrily scolding them, ignored the group and turned to Zhao Du'an, saying:

"The Shenlong Temple didn't even invite you to the inner garden? Come in with this old man."

Zhao Du'an shook his head and said:

"I appreciate the Grand Tutor's kindness, but there's no need."

He was beginning to understand that perhaps today's Dharma Assembly was not something the Shenlong Temple's higher-ups wanted to invite him to.

But rather, some enemies hiding in the shadows, trying to dig a pit to trap him, had smoothed over relations with the Buddhist community to send him an invitation.

His invitation today might have only been decided by a mid-level executive monk within the Shenlong Temple.

If that's the case, why bother relying on outsiders to force his way up?

"Today, I wanted to bring my concubine and sister to join in the fun, but I didn't expect these things to happen, and now I've lost the mood for sightseeing."

Zhao Du'an said with a lack of interest, smiling back:

"Let's go home, shall we? It's better for our family to celebrate the holiday together, isn't it?"

The mother and daughter nodded vigorously.

In the past, they were full of admiration for the literati of the capital, but today they realized that they were really meaningless.

Just as Dong Xuan had said:

A bunch of profit-seeking, sycophantic people.

Grand Tutor Dong sighed softly, ordered Dong Da to see them off.

Then, he glanced coldly at his colleague Chen Zhengru, snorted, and stepped towards the inner courtyard.

Han Zhou, Wang You, Guo Jiexuan, and other scholars also understood what had happened and coldly brushed their sleeves and left.

No one dared to stop them.

Those literati who originally wanted to curry favor also quieted down.

The atmosphere was dull. No one would have thought that the dignified Grand Tutor would publicly support Zhao Du'an, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't surprising.

After all, this matter was caused by the descendants of the Dong family, so naturally, the grandfather should step forward.

But…

"Zhao Du'an contributed a lot to the formulation of the new policies? More than the other scholars? What exactly is going on?"

Someone asked softly.

But no one answered.

The people from the Literary Cultivation Hall left, leaving behind a mess and even more mysteries.

How could Zhao Du'an, a cruel and ruthless military man, have made such great contributions? Convinced a group of talented scholars?

Even reversed the Grand Tutor's stereotype of military men?

What did he rely on? And what exactly are the new policies?

They couldn't answer, but no one would doubt Grand Tutor Dong's words.

Outsiders would flatter and fear Zhao Thief's power, but the Grand Tutor would not.

The crowd gradually dispersed, and many people left early, wanting to spread the news of what had happened here.

Chen Zhengru, along with Xu Hanlin and others who were like jumping clowns, left in disgrace.

"Teacher, aren't you going back to the inner garden?" Xu Hanlin asked in a low voice.

Chen Zhengru brushed his sleeves and left, sighing softly, his gaze cast towards the depths of the Zhai Garden, thinking:

Young Master Li, I have lost half my life's reputation today. The Grand Chancellor shouldn't blame me.

Then he thought, where exactly did this Zhao Du'an come from?

Could it be that Heaven is helping His Majesty?

Looking at the student next to him, he became increasingly displeased:

"Look at other people."

Xu Hanlin: ??

…

…

Zhao Du'an left, but the aftermath had just begun to spread.

The inner garden of the Zhai Garden.

It was a separate villa. At this moment, a large pergola was set up beside the lush and beautiful lotus pond.

Rare delicacies were neatly arranged, and monks and maids walked back and forth.

The pergola seats were arranged in order of seniority. At this moment, a group of high-ranking court officials had already taken their seats.

They were chatting casually.

In the central main seat was a monk in white robes.

He looked about thirty years old, with gentle and handsome features, a calm expression, elegant demeanor, and always a smile when he spoke.

Beneath his slightly sparse eyebrows were a pair of eyes as clear as a baby's.

It was Xuan Yin's "agent" in the world, the Dharma Master Bianji, famous for the sentence "When spring comes, the grass turns green on its own."

Beside him, on the left and right, were "Female Chancellor" Mo Zhaorong, representing the Empress, and Yuan Li, the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, in a green robe.

At this time, there was still an empty seat beside Mo Chou, naturally prepared for Dong Xuan.

"At this hour, the Grand Tutor should be arriving soon."

Mo Chou raised her head, estimated the time, and said.

The handsome and elegant Qingyi smiled and said:

"When I entered the garden, I saw many literati gathered, presumably all coming for the Grand Tutor. Haha, the Dharma Master's limelight is about to be stolen."

The monk in white smiled, not caring at all.

Although he was a commoner and sat with the court officials, he had an air of a host.

"Haha, Duke Yuan, you should wait for the Grand Tutor to arrive before saying this."

Li Yinglong, known as the "Little Grand Secretary", currently serving as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, wearing a scarlet official robe and a black gauze hat, with a feminine appearance, the son of the Grand Chancellor, laughed:

"Let's see how the Grand Tutor answers."

Li Yinglong, as Li Yanfu's "hand" to control the "Li Faction", and Yuan Li, who was in charge of the "Purist Faction", were like fire and water in the court.

But since they were in the Zhai Garden, their words naturally did not contain any gunpowder.

Yuan Li smiled, but he didn't take it seriously. He didn't think highly of Li Yinglong, and once privately commented on him with the four words "ambitious but incompetent."

Li Yinglong, as the son of the Grand Chancellor, was indeed intelligent, but most of his power still depended on Li Yanfu.

"Speaking of which, this time His Majesty is in seclusion and has not come, but I didn't expect the Grand Chancellor to not come either," Yuan Li casually said.

One sentence, seemingly ordinary, contained hidden meaning.

It compared Li Yanfu with the Emperor, belittling him, and the implicit meaning was:

Could it be that your father, Li Yanfu, wants to be on par with the Emperor? Learning from the Emperor's absence? The Emperor sent Mo Chou to replace him, are you learning to replace your father…

He also said it to the Buddhist monk Bianji, the implication being:

His Majesty values the Shenlong Temple, but this year he happened to be in seclusion and could not attend. But this old dog Li Yanfu is also too arrogant not to come, obviously not giving face to Grand Master Xuan Yin…

If Zhao Du'an were here, he would definitely understand in seconds and secretly scold Yuan Li as an old schemer, with dense pits in every sentence.

But Li Yinglong reacted half a beat slower and subconsciously said:

"My father has been feeling unwell these past two days, so…"

Halfway through, he reacted, looked at the white-robed monk smiling like a spring breeze, and the expressionless "big ice lump", and had to say:

"So I am attending on his behalf."

This response had already fallen into a disadvantage.

The Minister of Justice and Minister Wang of the Ministry of Rites, who were in the same seat, shook their heads slightly, thinking that the "Little Grand Secretary" was too tender after all, and was not at the same level as the old thief Yuan Li.

If Li Yanfu were here, he would never have done this.

Suddenly, a monk ran in from the entrance of the villa and whispered something to a reception monk of the Shenlong Temple, looking anxious.

The reception monk's face changed slightly, and he glanced vaguely towards the pergola, whispering a few words.

"Go ask what happened," Bianji said.

Bianji, being a worldly sorcerer, could not ignore such a disturbance, and immediately summoned a young novice to instruct.

The young novice went and returned shortly, saying in a low voice:

"Reporting to the host, there is trouble outside. It seems that Zhao Du'an clashed with the young master of the Dong family, attracting the attention of the literati."

His voice was not loud, but the officials present were close and heard bits and pieces.

"Zhao Du'an? He's here too?"

Mo Chou was stunned. Although she was in the Literary Cultivation Hall, she didn't know about this, and couldn't help but look at the monk Bianji.

Thinking:

Doesn't the Buddhist community emphasize temperament and stay away from the "Yamas" of the imperial court?

The monk Bianji, dressed in white and acting like a spring breeze, frowned slightly. With his status, he was naturally not responsible for invitations.

But he was no stranger to the name "Zhao Du'an".

"Clashed with the Dong family? Literati watching?"

Yuan Li narrowed his eyes, the cunning fox keenly smelling an unusual scent.

But Li Yinglong, the "Little Grand Secretary", who had just lost face, revealed joy in his eyes, but he concealed it well, also feigning surprise.

Today's layout against Zhao Du'an was naturally his doing.

The method was very crude, but often the cruder the plan, the more effective it is.

Now, it's clearly a done deal… With Zhao thief's temper and style, being provoked will inevitably lead to retaliation.

When that time comes, Chen Zhengru, who has been "ambushed" long ago and belongs to Li's faction, will launch an attack.

It just so happens that the scholars in the capital have been verbally attacking Zhao thief for a long time, and after brewing for many days, all it takes is a spark to ignite a prairie fire.

At that time, Zhao thief will simultaneously offend the Dong family, the Divine Dragon Temple, and even the Xiuwen Pavilion, which represents the scholars.

And once the old thief Dong Xuan confronts Zhao Du'an, when the Empress emerges from seclusion, she will inevitably face a choice, leaning towards which side.

This choice is not difficult to make.

And the most brilliant thing is that no matter what the Empress does, it will alienate at least one side, and if she hesitates, both sides will have rifts.

Li Yinglong was quite pleased with his plan.

"Please, everyone, sit for a while, I'll go take a look." Mo Chou hesitated for a moment, but still spoke.

Although she understood that Zhao Du'an and Dong Xuan had already eased their relationship, it would still be inappropriate for a gap to arise because of a descendant.

Yuan Li pondered for a moment, and also said, "Why not go together?"

The rest of the court officials were a little surprised, and seeing this, they also made gestures to get up, preparing to go and take a look together.

The monk Bianji also got up, as the host, it was necessary to appear.

However, just as everyone was preparing to leave the garden, suddenly, a group of people walked straight in from outside the courtyard, and it was actually the Xiuwen Pavilion party.

"Grand Tutor?" Mo Chou asked in surprise, urgently:

"Just now, we heard that Zhao Du'an outside is with…"

Among the crowd, Li Yinglong saw Grand Tutor Dong's face was gloomy, and he was overjoyed, thinking that Heaven was helping him, it seemed that he had just happened to run into it.

This was even better than the script he had envisioned.

However, Dong Xuan only nodded, then shook his head, and said:

"A misunderstanding, it's all over."

After a slight pause, the old man's eyes coldly looked at the Little Grand Secretary, and said quietly:

"I don't know who it was who incited my naughty grandson to go and find trouble with Scholar Zhao, fortunately, we arrived in time."

Li Yinglong's smile instantly froze on his face.

Then, there was a deep sense of confusion.

What Scholar Zhao? Wasn't he looking for Zhao Du'an?

In the Hanlin Academy, is there anyone named Zhao? Could it be that they found the wrong person?

Mo Chou silently exhaled a breath and smiled:

"It's good that everything is fine."

She vaguely guessed that what happened outside must have been very exciting, but it was not convenient to ask in detail at this moment, she turned her head to look at the white-robed monk, and said:

"Master…"

The white-robed monk named Bianji listened quietly just now, and a different color also appeared in his eyes.

It seemed that he had a little curiosity about the name Zhao Du'an.

Hearing this, just as he was about to answer, the young monk with a serene expression and eyes like a baby suddenly raised his head and looked towards the direction of the imperial palace, a 卍 symbol appeared between his eyebrows.

It flashed and disappeared.

"She has emerged from seclusion…" he suddenly said.

What? Mo Chou and other officials were puzzled, but in the next second, they all understood what the monk Bianji meant.

Imperial Palace, deep within the armory.

On the fifth floor of the pavilion left by the Taizu, the old door was suddenly pushed open, and the Great Yu Empress Xu Zhenguan stepped out, letting the sunlight shine on her stunning face.

Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, she stretched her waist lazily, ending her seclusion of nearly half a month.

She was faintly one step closer to the true realm of Heaven and Man.

At this moment, her divine sense spread out, and her eyes reflected the gods of heaven and earth, she murmured with emotion:

"There are no years in the pavilion, it is already the Zhongyuan Festival."

With a thought, Xu Zhenguan moved her lotus steps lightly, only taking a light step forward.

In the next second, her figure had disappeared, leaving only the Hai Eunuch in the simple courtyard of the armory, bowing and saluting:

"Welcome Your Majesty to emerge from seclusion."

…

Zhai Garden, within the courtyard.

Everyone looked towards the direction of the imperial city.

In an instant, they saw a golden light approaching like a shooting star, the space was slightly distorted, and the Great Yu Empress stepped out in one step, and had already arrived here.

The monk Bianji put his hands together and respectfully saluted:

"Little monk pays respects to Your Majesty, welcome Your Majesty's arrival."

Mo Chou's eyes lit up, and she also hurriedly saluted: "Welcome Your Majesty to emerge from seclusion."

Yuan Li followed closely behind, smiling: "Your subject welcomes Your Majesty…"

Dong Xuan, the ministers of various departments, the scholars such as Han Zhou, and even the stunned Li Yinglong, all bowed and saluted, calling out their welcome.

Xu Zhenguan accepted it with pleasure, landed slowly, just like a fairy descending to the mortal world, and said with a smile:

"You may all rise, today happens to be the Zhongyuan Festival, how could I miss the Divine Dragon Dharma Assembly? How has Grand Master Xuanyin been recently?"

This sentence is a dialogue between imperial power and Buddhism.

It represents an attitude.

The monk Bianji respectfully thanked her:

"The abbot is doing well, he is in seclusion, worshiping Buddha, compiling scriptures, thank you for Your Majesty's concern."

Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly.

Similar to Zhang Yan, Xuanyin, the abbot of the Divine Dragon Temple, also rarely appears and is in seclusion to break through to the "Human Immortal Realm".

However, unlike the Taoist headquarters Tianshi Mansion, which unifies the Central Plains, the Divine Dragon Temple is a branch of the Western Regions' main sect, and the result of taking root in Great Yu.

After a brief greeting, Xu Zhenguan then asked strangely:

"Were you all about to go out just now?"

She was a little strange, the time for the Dharma lecture was far from arriving.

"This…"

Everyone looked at each other, and finally, they all looked at Grand Tutor Dong.

Grand Tutor Dong also did not expect that the Empress would emerge from seclusion today… Presumably, it was also in order not to miss the Ullambana Festival and maintain the relationship between imperial power and Buddhism.

Immediately, he said: "Your subject has something to report to Your Majesty, which concerns both the New Deal and Zhao Du'an."

Him?

What connection does he have with the New Deal?

Xu Zhenguan frowned slightly, a little worried, could it be that in the few days of her seclusion, that little forbidden army had caused trouble again and offended Grand Tutor Dong?

If the Grand Tutor complains to her, it would be troublesome…

Thinking of this, the Empress nodded lightly and said to the monk Bianji:

"Master, please feel free."

Then, with a wave of her sleeve, in an instant, she used her martial arts cultivation, which was almost like magic, and took Dong Xuan, appearing out of thin air in a quiet meditation room in the Zhai Garden courtyard.

"What does the Grand Tutor want to report? It's only been more than ten days, has there been a mistake in the New Deal?" Xu Zhenguan asked worriedly.

The old man calmed his mind before slowly saying:

"Your Majesty, do not misunderstand, not only is there no mistake in the New Deal, but it has already been formulated, and the final draft is now in the Xiuwen Pavilion, ready for Your Majesty to review at any time."

Xu Zhenguan frowned and said:

"Was Han Zhou's ten policies used?"

She was still somewhat dissatisfied with those ten policies after all.

The old man shook his head and said calmly:

"What we used was Zhao's Golden Three Policies."

Zhao's?

Xu Zhenguan was stunned.

…

On the other side, on the streets of the capital.

Rejecting Dong Da's kindness of personally seeing them off, Zhao Du'an took his family's women and returned to his home in a carriage.

Compared to the anticipation when they went, the atmosphere was even more enthusiastic when they returned.

Especially Jin Hua and Zhao Pan, their eyes were wide open, looking at Zhao Du'an as if he were a rare treasure, as if they didn't recognize him anymore.

Their eyes were full of admiration and worship:

"So, Da Lang (big brother), you really became a scholar?"

"To be precise, it's a temporary worker, well, an outside staff with a nominal title." Zhao Du'an corrected.

It was impossible for him to actually enter the Xiuwen Pavilion and handle documents and memorials all day long, and he didn't expect that this incident would gain the approval of the scholars.

Compared to the identity of a scholar, what he cared about more was always…

"Huh?" Suddenly, Zhao Du'an raised his head and looked towards the direction of the imperial palace.

"What's wrong?" the two women asked.

Zhao Du'an shook his head and said in confusion:

"It seems like I'm seeing things, I just saw a light flash by."

"Where is there any light…"

"Big brother is lying again… Just like before, hiding his identity as a scholar."

"…" Zhao Du'an shrugged, if they didn't believe it, then so be it, perhaps…

Indeed it was him…

He saw wrong.

He leaned on the soft pillow in the carriage and said lazily:

"Go home."