The First Lackey Under The Empress

“Cough… cough, cough…”

The dark brocade river embankment, the river滩 covered with weeds.

Xu Mingyuan coughed heavily, feeling the foot on his chest pressing down each time, his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were all spitting out water.

Dizzy, the Hanlin Academician who had taken a trip to the underworld frantically and greedily absorbed oxygen.

As fresh air gradually filled his alveoli, he finally slowly regained a bit of reason and clarity.

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First thought: Am I dead? Or am I not dead?

Then he vaguely remembered that before he completely lost consciousness in the dark water, he seemed to see a dark shadow diving underwater.

“Awake?” A leisurely voice slowly entered his ear.

Then came a grinning voice:

“My lord, I think this guy is an idiot, should we just throw him back down?”

No—

Xu Mingyuan shuddered, and a strong desire to survive made him stagger to his feet, and the chaotic scene in front of him gradually became clear.

It was still the bright red lantern, like the rising sun from the sea.

All around, in the darkness, stood a number of government servants.

Hou Renmeng was soaking wet, sticking his saber into the mud, taking off his coat and wringing it out with his hands.

Beside the lantern, Zhao Du'an, wearing a bamboo hat, sat leisurely in his chair, the fishing rod in front of him still in the same position as before.

It was as if everything just now was an illusion.

But Xu Mingyuan's soaking wet clothes, the hemp rope still tied around his waist, the end of which had been cut off by a dagger, and the broken burlap sack beside him, all silently told that he had indeed almost died.

“I…”

Xu Mingyuan stammered this one word, and then, like a stray dog, he scrambled to Zhao Du'an's side, stuttering:

“My lord, I’ll listen, I’ll listen! Don’t kill me, don’t kill me…”

He was scared out of his wits.

Just now, he was absolutely certain that he was only a little bit away from dying.

Only after experiencing the great fear between life and death did he know how precious it was to be alive.

“Oh? You don’t want to think about it again? Perhaps, this official doesn’t dare to kill you? For example, just now when I threw you down, even if you didn’t beg for mercy, I would have saved you.” Zhao Du'an said lightly, his tone extremely gentle.

“No, this humble one knows his mistake, this humble one was just confused, please be merciful, my lord.” Xu Mingyuan didn't hesitate, begging for mercy incessantly.

Scare tactics?

Heh, gamble with your life?

Use his precious life to gamble on whether the other party would really kill him?

Xu Mingyuan didn't dare to gamble, and didn't want to experience that kind of despair in the darkness again.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that he had misunderstood some things.

He thought that Zhao Du'an followed the rules, and that Zhao Du'an had always dealt with those people according to the rules of the court.

But the problem is, who were the people Zhao Du'an had dealt with in the past?

Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Marquis, Eldest Princess…

And what was he, Xu Hanlin?

Zhao Du'an wouldn't use violence to directly deal with those people, because the cost was too great and it would backfire.

But even if he really drowned himself in the river, then what?

Who would know how he died?

Even if someone knew, would there be evidence?

Without evidence, who would go to great lengths to find trouble with Zhao Du'an for the sake of a mere little Hanlin who was not valued by the Li faction and disliked by His Majesty?

The cleverness of scholars lies in their flexible bottom line.

“My lord, I am willing to rely on you, that’s right, the things I said to slander you before were all done by the Little Grand Secretary… bah, all done by Li Yinglong, that bastard!

As a result, this humble one took the blame for their Li family, but didn’t receive any care at all. When I went to call on them, I was turned away… Li Yinglong, that kind of person, deserves to die!”

Xu Mingyuan cursed the Little Grand Secretary to show his loyalty, and then said:

“What do you want me to do, my lord? To testify? To accuse him?”

Zhao Du'an sat in his chair, gently holding the fishing rod, and upon hearing this, he “shushed” and said:

“Keep your voice down, don’t startle my fish.”

Xu Mingyuan immediately stopped talking, covered his mouth, and cooperated extremely well.

If there were outsiders present at this moment, they would definitely be shocked.

Who would have thought that Xu Hanlin, who had always called himself “proud,” would be so不堪.

Zhao Du'an nodded, waited for a while, and then slowly said:

“Very good. There is an old saying in the Great Yu Dynasty that those who understand the times are outstanding… Although this official has a bad reputation outside, I treat my own people the best. I am very pleased that you can find your way back.”

Xu Mingyuan flattered and smiled: “Yes, yes, yes.”

Zhao Du'an continued:

“As for what I want you to do, ha… don’t worry, I don’t want you to be a witness or bite anyone. I won’t make things too difficult for you.

You just need to go back for now, stay the same, how you were in the past, how you will be in the future, and when I need you to do something, I will tell you.”

How could there be stupid people who could become Hanlin?

Xu Mingyuan was willing to be used before, just wanting to fight for a good position.

At this moment, understanding the hidden meaning, he immediately understood, his eyes flickering:

“My lord means, let me hide in the Li faction and be a mole?”

“Heh, don’t say it so harshly,” Zhao Du'an smiled:

“This official is working for the Sage, and since you have relied on this official, you are also under the Sage’s patronage. The Zhao Yamen has the responsibility to supervise the misconduct of all officials, so how can you be considered a mole?”

Xu Mingyuan repeatedly agreed, saying that he didn't know how to speak, but a glimmer of hope welled up in his heart.

He knew that Feng Ju had worked for Zhao Du'an in the past and was later appreciated by the Empress.

Then, if he did his best, could he also seek a step up?

“My lord is right, then if there is nothing else, this humble one will go… back first?” Xu Mingyuan probed.

Zhao Du'an didn't say anything.

Beside him, Zheng Laojiu, an old clerk from Lihua Hall, chuckled in a low voice:

“You Hanlin is ignorant. If you don’t leave something as collateral, what if you betray us after you go back?”

Saying that, he smiled and carried over a box and opened it.

Inside was a complete set of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones:

"Scholar Xu, please," Zheng Laojiu said. "I'll read, and you write."

"…" Xu Mingyuan sighed, not resisting. He obediently knelt on the ground, using the lamplight to guide his brush.

"Please speak."

Zheng Laojiu chuckled, pulled out several sheets of paper, and first gave a warning:

"Don't try any tricks, like changing to a handwriting you don't often use. We already have some official documents you wrote in the Hanlin Academy. We have references for your handwriting. If it doesn't match, you know the consequences."

Xu Mingyuan completely abandoned his last shred of hope. Using his true handwriting, he carefully began to copy.

He was stunned after hearing only half of it.

The words Zheng Laojiu was reciting were sentences communicating with rebellious traitors.

In other words, as long as he wrote this down, Zhao Du'an could accuse him of treason based on the handwriting if he had any disloyal thoughts.

"Write!" The guard sneered fiercely. "Why have you stopped writing?"

Xu Mingyuan dared not hesitate any longer and lowered his head to copy.

He wrote several letters in a row, and finally even wrote a 'pledge of allegiance' to the rebels, pressing his fingerprint in the ink.

Once Zheng Laojiu had put everything away, Zhao Du'an said slowly:

"Alright, it's late. Scholar Xu, you should go back and rest. Oh, right. You're soaking wet…"

Xu Mingyuan said, dejectedly:

"I was drunk and accidentally fell into the river while walking at night. I wasn't at Jinjiang Dike tonight."

"Sensible."

Zhao Du'an waved his hand, ordering him to leave. At the same time, the fishing line tightened.

A fish was on!

Zhao Du'an flicked his wrist, and a tired green carp broke the surface of the water and landed in his hand.

"A fine green carp."

Several Jinyi guards around him said with smiles:

"Sir, you have great skill. Even on such a dark night, fish take the bait."

Zhao Du'an casually threw the fish into the bamboo basket.

"Take it back to the yamen and keep it in a water tank. We'll roast it and eat it in a couple of days."

Qian Kerou, holding the fish basket, said regretfully:

"This fish hasn't grown up yet. Shouldn't we raise it a bit longer?"

Zhao Du'an dropped the fishing rod, stood up, patted his hands with waning interest, and said:

"Wild fish can't be tamed."

After saying that, without waiting for his subordinates to react, he turned and said:

"It's late, everyone go home."

He had originally wanted to visit the Baima Supervisory Office tonight and try to push the next step of the plan forward.

But then he remembered that Old Supervisor Si had repeatedly told him not to disturb his sleep at night.

Then…

He'd go see the old man tomorrow.

Catching fish requires patience.

…

…

Li Manor.

Li Yinglong returned to his manor tonight, feeling quite tired.

These days, the tug-of-war over the New Policies in the imperial court had become intense.

Li Yinglong had to run around, forming alliances, discussing and appeasing his own officials, and uniting with many aristocratic forces, leaving him with no energy to pay attention to other things.

"Master, there's good news today," the old nanny came over, her face full of smiles.

"What good news?" Li Yinglong asked lazily, letting the maidservant wash his feet.

"Today, the Sixth Madam went to Shenlong Temple to worship Buddha and offer incense. After returning, she was clearly much easier to talk to, probably having figured things out."

The old nanny kept trying to take credit for herself:

"This old woman has been coaxing and persuading her all this time, and finally convinced the Sixth Madam to change her mind. This time, going to offer incense helped her get over that hurdle in her heart. Women always have to rely on men. Now that she's alone in the capital, how can she not rely on the master?"

Li Yinglong's spirits lifted upon hearing this, and he asked in surprise:

"Is this really true?"

"This old woman wouldn't dare deceive the master," the old nanny said.

Li Yinglong was overjoyed, didn't even wash his feet, kicked the maidservant away, hastily put on his shoes, and said excitedly:

"I'll go see the madam."

…

Shortly after.

Li Yinglong came to the outside of the side room and knocked on the door. As expected, he found that Madam Lin was not as resistant today.

Although she was still a bit cold, it was vastly different from her appearance in the past few days.

Li Yinglong was overjoyed, assuming it was the credit of the old nanny's persuasion. He happily entered the room, talked with Madam Lin for a while, and coaxed her again.

Finally, half-pushed, half-willing, they once again ascended to the bed.

Compared to the initial situation where he used violence to force himself on the Sixth Madam, the situation was now vastly different.

Afterwards.

Li Yinglong felt refreshed, lying on his back on the bed, feeling that even the pressure of his busy days had been lessened.

Madam Lin lay beside him, her arms wrapped around her body, her expression sorrowful.

"Madam, is there something on your mind?" Li Yinglong asked with concern.

Madam Lin frowned, her expression pitiful:

"Do you only see me as your former lover?"

Li Yinglong exclaimed in surprise and quickly explained, saying that the events of the past were over. Madam Lin took the opportunity to throw a tantrum, wanting him to explain clearly.

Li Yinglong didn't think much of it, assuming it was a woman's heart, like a needle in the sea, and said some things that didn't reveal Yuan Ru's identity.

Madam Lin was still worried:

"I come from a humble background. These days when you're not in the manor, your wives and concubines look at me with displeasure, and even the servants don't take me seriously…"

Li Yinglong was furious: "Which servant? I'll have them beaten to death to vent your anger."

Then, he made another series of guarantees and sweet words.

Madam Lin only said that she had no one to rely on and would be bullied in the manor. Finally, she coaxed Li Yinglong into giving her his personal jade pendant to prove his love, and she finally revealed a smile.

After thinking for a moment, she said: "There's one more thing…"

"Madam, please say it all at once."

"I went to Shenlong Temple today and made a wish to the gods and Buddhas. Now that I'm living with you, I should go back to fulfill my vow in a couple of days."

"I thought it was something else, I'll agree to anything, anything."

Li Yinglong didn't suspect anything and leaned over.

But he didn't see that, in the darkness, Madam Lin's eyes were as cold as knives, without joy or sorrow.