The First Lackey Under The Empress

What's it like when a problem you just solved leads you to discover that the big shots of the Imperial Faction are having a serious discussion about it?

Zhao Du'an found the feeling quite peculiar.

Inside the side hall, the atmosphere was heavy and tense.

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Everyone here was a pivotal member of the Great Yu Dynasty's warship.

At this moment, their expressions were imbued with fatigue from the recent battles of immortals.

"...In short, the situation is now extremely urgent. Blame this old minister for not being perceptive enough to notice that the other side was gathering forces within the Hanlin Academy right under our noses.

If a student hadn't found out and revealed this, and instead, the scholars had risen up to attack and smear the new policies, even attacking His Majesty's virtue, I fear it would have been very difficult to handle."

Grand Tutor Dong sighed wearily, his tired face full of self-reproach.

On the dragon throne, Xu Zhenguan shook her head upon hearing this, saying:

"Grand Tutor, there's no need to be like this. I know that you are dedicated and focused all your energy on the Institute of Literary Studies. At your age, it's impossible to take care of so much, which gave certain people an opportunity."

The refined and handsome Grand Secretary also chimed in agreement:

"The question now is how to counter this."

The Minister of Justice frowned, saying:

"I'm afraid it will be difficult. Scholars discussing politics has been common since ancient times. Now, many scholars in the capital have families behind them. How could they be willing to be captured without resistance? In my opinion, we should divide and conquer, find the leaders among the students and offer them benefits. That is the right way."

An official said:

"That makes sense, but is there enough time? Moreover, the one who initiated this is Chen Zhengru, and Li Yanfu must be supporting him behind the scenes. The 'backbones' he has chosen are probably difficult to bribe."

For a time, the officials expressed their opinions, but they were all rejected.

Zhao Du'an listened curiously, realizing that this small court meeting was truly a "closed-door" affair, as everyone discussed matters without reservation.

They didn't beat around the bush. For example, they openly talked about bribing the "leader" of the students, and no one felt that there was anything wrong with it.

If such words were made public, they would be condemned to death by the scholars and become a model of a treacherous official.

He seemed to understand that the so-called "one of us" was essentially a group of people doing shady things together and saying shady things.

Only in this way could they trust each other.

In his previous life, he had been puzzled as to why, even though times had progressed and those powerful figures who enjoyed abundant material resources could reasonably satisfy their needs, they were still occasionally exposed for collectively participating in perverted acts.

Each exposure was shocking.

One explanation was that wealthy people had a high threshold and were looking for stimulation, or to criticize the ugliness of human nature.

But there was also another explanation:

Even if times had progressed, the most effective way for people to quickly establish trust with each other was still to do something bad together.

… …

"What does Military Affairs Commissioner Xue think?"

In the midst of the discussion, someone suddenly asked.

The target was the source of the oppressive gaze that Zhao Du'an had felt when he entered the hall.

Military Affairs Commissioner? Xue? Zhao Du'an suddenly understood the other party's identity—Xue Shence!

The highest military agency of the Great Yu Dynasty was the "Military Affairs Commission."

Similar to the "Grand Council of State," it was responsible for mobilizing and commanding troops in combat.

Together with the Ministry of War, which was responsible for "logistics," they jointly controlled millions of soldiers stationed throughout the eighteen prefectures of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Currently, the highest-ranking official of the Military Affairs Commission, the "Military Affairs Commissioner," was the famous "God of War" of the Great Yu Dynasty, Xue Shence.

He had already been in this position during the late Emperor's reign, not only with outstanding military achievements but also with unfathomable personal martial arts cultivation.

Back then, Zhao Du'an had accidentally uncovered the "firearm artisan case" and learned that there were rebellious factions hidden within the Military Affairs Commission.

That was his first "contact" with this Military Affairs Commissioner.

But it was not until today that he finally saw the real person.

Wearing a vermilion robe of the second rank for military officers, with a square "lion" pattern embroidered on his chest, fair complexion, and a short beard under his jaw.

Appearing to be in his forties or fifties, one could vaguely see the heroic and handsome appearance of the Great Yu's "God of War" in his youth. From beginning to end, he rarely spoke.

Seeing everyone looking at him at this moment, he calmly said:

"Xue is just a military man who only knows how to arrange troops and play with spears and sticks. In my opinion, while the other side has not yet launched their attack, we should first find a pretext to capture the ringleaders. The so-called 'catch the thief, first catch the king.' This will have immediate results."

Good heavens… Great minds think alike…

Zhao Du'an marveled in his heart, thinking that this was exactly what he had just done.

All that effort was to capture "Li Yanfu," the king.

The officials looked at each other, and the Minister of Justice said euphemistically:

"General Xue's method is not without reason, but it is too crude and may provoke the scholars, which would be bad. If there is really no good way, it is advisable to consider it."

He cursed inwardly, anyone could arrest people, but the problem was that it was not a good strategy.

If you dared to arrest people today, the entire capital would be in an uproar tomorrow, and a group of passionate young scholars would stand up to protest.

Xue Shence calmly closed his eyes and resumed his nap:

"Then Xue has no solution."

The officials sighed.

For a time, the meeting fell into a stalemate.

Each of the several countermeasures had its drawbacks, making it really difficult to choose.

The atmosphere in the hall was like the weather outside, shrouded in dark clouds, dull and abnormal.

On the main seat.

Seeing this, Xu Zhenguan sighed softly, knowing that she could only make the decision herself in the end. When her beautiful eyes swept over the officials, her gaze suddenly stopped on the little transparent figure at the end.

She sensed that the little Imperial Guard who had sneaked in halfway looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Past experiences had made the Empress no longer dare to underestimate this guy.

Moreover, the new policies were proposed by him in the first place.

Before, ordering Mo Chou to bring him in was not without the idea of hearing his opinion.

"Officer Zhao, do you have something to say?"

As the Empress spoke, the officials in the hall were first stunned, and then surprised gazes simultaneously converged on a certain person.

Zhao Du'an seemed to be enjoying the spotlight, but he didn't seem embarrassed at all. He cupped his hands and said:

"This minister has been listening to the discussions of the adults and has roughly understood the current situation, but… in this minister's opinion, this topic may no longer be necessary, because the so-called stalemate has already been resolved by this minister. Well… this minister came here today to report this matter to Your Majesty."

His voice was very calm, as if he was talking about an ordinary little thing.

However, when it fell into the ears of the big shots of the Imperial Faction, it was like a thunderbolt.

Dong Xuan suddenly raised his head, unable to hide his shock.

Yuan Li's eyes lit up, curious and expectant.

The Minister of Justice was stunned, inexplicably associating it with the scene of the joint trial of the three divisions back then.

Mo Zhaorong, who was acting as the recorder and holding the pen, raised her head, her eyes widening, and a familiar feeling suddenly surged in her heart… Here it comes, here he comes again…

Even Xue Shence, who had been napping with his eyes closed, opened his eyes.

He had already solved the predicament that he and others were facing?

If someone else had said this, these people would have sneered at it, but if it was this Zhao Du'an, it made people wonder for a moment.

Swish—

In an instant, many people turned their heads and looked at the Empress on the dragon throne, casting inquiring glances.

They speculated:

Could it be that Your Majesty had other arrangements?

Xu Zhenguan's expression was calm, and there was no major change in her ice-like skin and snow-like complexion.

However, only those who were extremely close to her, such as Mo Chou, noticed that the Empress's subtle body movements revealed that she was equally surprised inside.

"Officer Zhao, come with me."

Xu Zhenguan slowly got up and left a sentence:

"The rest of you, please rest here for a while."

After saying that, she turned and walked straight out. When she passed the door, she lowered her voice without looking sideways:

"Keep up."

… …

The setting sun slanted to the west.

In the corridors of the palace, Xu Zhenguan, dressed in white, walked gracefully, with pillars of red lacquer wood flashing past.

Zhao Du'an followed closely behind, attracting the unexpected attention of many palace servants outside, who quickly lowered their eyes.

Xu Zhenguan stepped into a quiet, empty room.

Turning around, her expression instantly changed from a majestic deity to a charming fairy.

She no longer maintained the majesty of a monarch, staring at him with somewhat strange eyes, her tone urgent:

"What have you done behind my back again?"

What do you mean behind your back… It sounds like I'm stealing someone… Zhao Du'an was too weak to complain.

He wanted to put on airs for a while, but seeing that she was really anxious.

Even with Xu Zhenguan's cultivation level, her eyebrows were knitted with an inseparable tiredness, and even her near-perfect cheeks seemed to have thinned a little.

So he gave up his playful thoughts and said seriously:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, as this minister said just now, Chen Zhengru's planned actions will not happen. Not only that, but if there are no accidents, the officials of the Li Faction will lay down their arms in the early morning court tomorrow."

The more Xu Zhenguan listened, the more incredible she felt, and she said quietly:

"Do you know that talking nonsense is a crime of deceiving the Emperor?"

Zhao Du'an said sternly:

"Before this minister reports, I want to ask Your Majesty to forgive this minister's slight offense. If Your Majesty does not forgive me, I dare not speak."

Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't expect this little Imperial Guard to bargain with her, his courage growing…

In her heart, it was more curiosity than anger.

She pondered for a moment and said:

"As long as it's not excessive, I can forgive you."

You have no sincerity. Whether it's excessive or not is up to you… Zhao Du'an complained.

Seeing that the Empress was about to urge him, he had to say:

"This matter is a long story, and it has to start with Li Yinglong…"

Then, Zhao Du'an unhurriedly told how he investigated Li Yinglong, learned about Lin Niangzi's case, followed the clues, and learned about the royal family's explosive news.

And he tried to set up a trap, played a "honey trap," and grabbed Li Yinglong's handle.

Then, using him as a bargaining chip, he forced Li Yanfu to nod to a series of operations, telling the story from beginning to end.

At the same time, he took out the many evidences he had collected during this period from the storage scroll and presented them together.

Finally, he bowed his head and saluted:

"…This minister was afraid that things would change if he delayed, and he also had no confidence in his heart, so he met with Li Yanfu privately without Your Majesty's permission and finalized this transaction. Among them, this minister also boldly decided on many details without authorization, which is really a crime of transgression.

However, what this minister has done is to share Your Majesty's worries. In urgent matters, I acted expediently, with a loyal heart that can be seen by the sun and the moon… Now that things have come to this point, I beg Your Majesty to make a decision, and even if I am punished, I will have no complaints!"

He held up the "contract" drafted with Li Yanfu with both hands and said loudly.

And the woman standing opposite him, with her fairy-like appearance, jade-like face, and cold and peerless demeanor, the Empress, was already stunned in place.

Looking down at the respectful little Imperial Guard in front of her, she was in a trance, speechless for a long time.

He… actually, in a place where no one knew, for her… did such a big thing…

Thank you dodess - moon for the 1500 reward, and Zuoke Nanshan for the 500 points reward support.