The First Lackey Under The Empress

Chapter 194: Your Highness, this servant has something to report…

Zhao Douan walked out of the Baima Prison when the sun had already passed its zenith.

The carriage was waiting outside, the coachman Xiao Wang had his hat pulled down over his face to block the light, and was dozing off.

Hearing the movement, he jumped up: "Sir, you're out.

Where are we going next?"

Zhao Douan said, "Back to the yamen."

Xiao Wang asked curiously, "And then?"

As the leader's driver, he had learned a little about Zhao Douan's style of doing things after this period of testing.

Although he didn't know the specifics, he vaguely knew that his master was recently targeting someone and making some arrangements.

"Wait," Zhao Douan said calmly, leaning back on the soft cushion.

In his previous life, after the drama 'Raging Tide' became popular, he curiously bought a copy of Sun Tzu's Art of War, and after reading it, he only came to two conclusions.

First, war is about using more against less, concentrating superior forces, and pressing forward in a big way, not giving the enemy a chance to breathe.

Second, maintain invincibility and patiently wait for the enemy to make mistakes.

Just like martial arts grandmasters, when both sides take their fighting stances, the one who strikes first is often the one who can't hold back, the first to reveal a flaw.

However, people often lack patience, unable to bear "inaction," and insist on "moving around" to alleviate anxiety.

The scheme against Little Grand Secretary doesn't count as war, but the principle is the same.

Everything he is doing now is to prepare as much as possible, concentrate superior forces, and induce the other party to reveal flaws.

"Everything that needs to be done has been done.

Next, all that's needed is to wait," Zhao Douan closed his eyes.

Waiting and hope—all human wisdom lies in this.

…

…

In the next few days, everything was calm.

Zhao Douan spent his days leisurely, enjoying a rare period of relaxation and leisure after his transmigration.

The few gazes that paid attention to him gradually shifted away, attracted by the immortals fighting in the imperial court.

Almost everyone thought that he had learned to be good, wanting to be low-key in this storm and protect himself wisely.

And the struggles in the court were changing every day.

The Xiuwen Hall was brightly lit all night, in stark contrast to Zhao, who went to bed early and went to work on time.

Until this day.

In the imperial palace, the Directorate of Palace Attendants.

A chief eunuch stepped over the threshold and entered this place, which was responsible for many miscellaneous matters in the palace.

"Greetings, Eunuch," a group of young eunuchs stood up and saluted.

During the reign of the late emperor, the Directorate of Palace Attendants had considerable power.

At that time, the great eunuch Wang Zhen was the leader here.

After the Empress ascended the throne, she mostly used female officials by her side, but Xu Zhenguan also worried that if she only employed female officials, it would be no different from employing eunuchs.

Therefore, she deliberately allowed the two groups of eunuchs and female officials to coexist, so that the power of the two would not be too disparate.

Therefore, many things in the harem are still the responsibility of the Directorate of Palace Attendants, and are not under the management of the Six Bureaus.

"Mm."

The chief eunuch nodded, slowly came to his work station, first asked about a few affairs, and then casually said:

"It's past the middle of the year, have the imperial concubines been planning to leave the palace to visit their families recently?"

A young eunuch came forward with a booklet in his hands:

"Please take a look, Eunuch."

The imperial concubines need to apply in advance to leave the palace, and then the Directorate of Palace Attendants will approve it.

Following the old practice, many applications will be made far in advance for flexible adjustments.

The chief eunuch flipped through it for a while, his eyes fell on the name "Consort Yuan," and he ticked and changed the schedule.

After arranging everything properly, he said:

"Submit it to the chief of the Six Bureaus for approval."

Some decisions of the Directorate of Palace Attendants are reviewed by the Six Bureaus.

Correspondingly, the decisions of the Six Bureaus will also be supervised by the Directorate of Palace Attendants.

…

…

Mo Chou, as the "Chief of the Six Bureaus," has been very tired recently.

Because of the immortals fighting in the imperial court, the Empress is not in a good position to express her opinion and can only indirectly communicate with the imperial party through her.

She is almost always in the Xiuwen Hall or outside the palace, and spends much less time in the Six Bureaus.

Therefore, when the female official below handed over the note from the Directorate of Palace Attendants, Mo Chou simply glanced at it.

Seeing that it was only the schedule for the imperial concubines to visit their families, which was not very important and there were no abnormalities, she said:

"Okay.

Arrange it according to this schedule."

After a pause, she frowned again:

"You can deliberate and handle such miscellaneous matters, there is no need to give them to me to look at."

The imperial concubine leaves the palace.

This was indeed an important matter during the late emperor's reign, involving many aspects, and belonged to a higher-level matter that needed to be treated with caution by the主管officials.

But now…it's really nothing.

It can almost be said that as long as the imperial concubines don't cause any scandals and humiliate the imperial family's face, everything else is easy to talk about.

The female official responded and left.

Mo Chou breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, pushed the door open, and returned to the Xiuwen Hall.

As soon as she entered the room, there was a burst of discussion, and the atmosphere was heavy.

She raised her eyes and saw the Great Yu Empress sitting quietly in the main seat, listening to the scholars arguing, occasionally saying a word, mostly in contemplation.

Yes, recently, the Empress has also appeared in the Xiuwen Hall and participated in "meetings" much more often.

Mo Chou stepped back to the Empress's side, Xu Zhenguan's jet-black eyes turned to her, casting an inquiring look.

Mo Chou said in a low voice:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it's nothing important, just some trivial matters from the Six Bureaus Palace, which have been arranged properly."

"Mm." Xu Zhenguan heard this and stopped paying attention, refocusing her attention on the meeting.

Mo Zhaorong sat next to her, seeing that the Empress's fair and spotless face, between her eyebrows, was filled with a faint sorrow, she couldn't help but feel a little distressed.

But she was also powerless.

The resistance to the new policy was too great.

After this period of effort, the imperial party has already gained the support of one-third of the officials in the court, which is not easy.

After all, the members of the imperial party are also gentry and noble families behind them.

In other words, promoting the new policy is like taking a knife and cutting yourself.

And if you want to smoothly and thoroughly implement the "Golden Three Strategies," you must at least win over the defection of one-third of the officials.

In this way, using the majority to suppress the minority, things can be considered stable.

But this is easy to say, but doing it…how easy is it?

During these days, although Your Majesty seems to be sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, in fact, the anxiety, worry, and sorrow in her heart…Mo Chou has seen it all.

Oppressive government is fiercer than a tiger.

For the gentry and official families of the world, the new policy is a fierce tiger released by the Empress.

How can they not be afraid?

In the end, they are too incompetent to share the worries of Your Majesty.

…

…

The news that Consort Yuan was about to leave the palace to visit her family spread in the palace that day.

After that, a eunuch went to inform Consort Yuan's parents' family to prepare for the reception.

Fortunately, the Yuan family is in the capital, and the round trip is not far.

Soon after, the news also spread from some secret channels to Lihua Hall.

Zhao Douan sat lazily in the main seat of the inner hall, flipping through a few things in his hand.

The first thing was a handwritten document, relayed by Lin Niangzi during her visit to Shenlong Temple, which was obtained from Li Yinglong's mouth, some past stories of his relationship with Yuan Ru.

In addition to this, there was also a waist jade that Li Yinglong had worn for many years, and now occasionally took out to wear.

The second thing was secretly sent by Xu Hanlin, which was a clue about the mistakes made by his teacher, Grand Scholar Chen Zhengru, and a group of familiar scholars in the past.

Each one was thoughtfully annotated, indicating who to look for to verify and obtain evidence.

How should I put it…

Zhao Douan suddenly thought of himself back then.

It is difficult for the enemy to find your weakness, but it is too easy for your accomplices to sell you out…

However, he is not prepared to move these things for the time being, so as not to startle the snake.

The third thing was sent by Baima Prison, about the arrangements for Consort Yuan's visit to her family.

"Everything is ready."

Zhao Douan threw the things on the table, raised his eyes, and looked at the four capable subordinates standing directly in front of the hall.

"Sir, is it time to take action?"

Hou Renmeng, with a rebellious look, grinned, already eager to try.

"Sir, should we prepare some more to ensure stability?"

Shen Juan, who is no longer lying flat, but still has obvious dark circles under his eyes, said.

Zhao Douan said lightly, "The night is long and full of dreams, let's not wait."

Lin Niangzi may be found abnormal at any time, and Consort Yuan cannot stay outside the palace for too long.

Preparation is for victory, not for "completeness."

Zhao Douan said calmly:

"Old Jiu, you always bragged to me before that your ability to imitate handwriting is unmatched in the Zhaoyu Yamen.

Now it's time to use you.

Copy these words, imitating Li Yinglong's handwriting, and write a letter.

Can you do it?"

Zheng Lao Jiu, who was once famous in the Zhaoyu Yamen decades ago, and now looks harmless on the outside, drinking tea and reading newspapers all day long, stepped forward with a smile and took it.

His slightly hunched waist straightened up a bit, and a certain pride flashed on his face:

"Sir, just watch."

Zhao Douan said:

"Shen Juan, you pride yourself on being unique in stealth, disguise, and counter-tracking in the yamen.

I'll leave it to you to find Consort Yuan.

Can you do it?"

Shen Juan stepped forward with a smile, picked up the jade pendant, and said casually:

"If I don't complete it, you can sink me into the river."

Zhao Douan looked at Hou Renmeng:

"I'll only ask you one question, is your courage sufficient?"

Hou Renmeng stroked the hilt of his knife, raising his eyebrows high:

"I'm a lone wolf, with no ties.

Sir, you just need to say who to chop, and that's it."

Next to him, Qian Kerou, who had a round face, clear and foolish eyes, but was actually very proper in handling affairs, and had grown rapidly recently, puffed up her cheeks:

"Sir, what about me?"

Zhao Douan smiled and said:

"Kerou, your task is the most arduous.

Well, I want to invite a few distinguished guests to have a drink, you go arrange the banquet, can you do it?"

Qian Kerou opened her mouth, feeling that she was being underestimated, pouted her mouth, and said helplessly:

"Okay…"

Zhao Douan laughed, like a general issuing orders:

"Success or failure depends on this one move."

…

…

Another day.

The palace gate opened, and a gorgeous carriage carried Consort Yuan out of the palace, heading straight back to her parents' home in the capital.

Another day.

When Consort Yuan's personal maid went out to buy items, she suddenly met a handsome and elegant young man.

Yuan Residence.

In a certain boudoir, in front of the dressing mirror, Consort Yuan had a graceful figure, sitting in front of the mirror, looking at her face, which had gradually aged and was a few points inferior to her youth.

She seemed to be lost in thought.

In the mirror, there was an oval face that was quite similar to Lin Niangzi, but on closer inspection, the temperament and demeanor were very different.

Consort Yuan has been in the palace for nearly ten years, and is now only in her thirties.

Because of proper maintenance, her appearance is still good.

It's just that the look of depression and lack of moisture between her eyebrows makes her lose a lot of color.

"Knock knock."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Consort Yuan came back to her senses and said indifferently, "Come in."

Then the door opened, and the maid came in cautiously, with a complicated expression:

"Your Highness, this servant has something to report."