The First Lackey Under The Empress

#217 - Draw out the snake

A loud roar shattered the solemn and oppressive atmosphere in the courtyard.

Zhao Du'an stopped and looked up, seeing a group of people, both men and women, burst through the hanging flower gate.

The leader was a burly man whose appearance was quite similar to the deceased.

At that moment, he was holding an iron rod in his hand, rushing in fiercely with red eyes, followed by a weeping woman trying to stop him.

"Who is it?!"

Before they could react, the Jinyi guards in the courtyard swarmed forward, working together to control him and pin him to the ground.

One of the guards with brocade clothes, with a stern face, delivered a heavy elbow strike.

"Bang!"

The strong man knelt on one knee, the iron rod falling into the dirt, still staring at Zhao Du'an, cursing loudly.

Ma Yan frowned, and Haitang looked at Zhao.

Zhao Du'an shook his head, indicating that he didn't know what was going on:

"What's happening?"

Beside him, a Qingpao official from the government office looked embarrassed and explained in a low voice:

"This is the brother of the deceased low-ranking officer. In his grief, he has offended you, sir. Please disregard him."

Zhao Du'an walked in front of the man and said indifferently:

"It was the rebel party who assassinated your brother. Why should I pay with my life?"

The man, being held down and kneeling on one knee, glared with his bull-like eyes, bloodshot like a spider web:

"My brother never had any dealings with the rebel party. If you hadn't made enemies with them because of your feud with the rebels and this so-called new policy, how could this unwarranted assassination have occurred? You say it has nothing to do with you?! Why wasn't it you who died?"

Zhao Du'an almost laughed out of anger. He had to admit, from a certain perspective, the logic held.

The Qingpao official's face changed drastically, and he scolded:

"Nonsense! Guards, take this man away…"

Zhao Du'an waved his hand and said:

"Release him. This kind of foolish coward is like a dog on a leash, barking loudly but not daring to bite."

The man seemed insulted: "You…"

Zhao Du'an stood with his hands behind his back, a mocking expression on his face:

"What about me? Let's not even mention that anyone with a normal brain can see that the rebel party is trying to stir up conflict. Even according to your logic, if I hadn't angered the rebel party, they wouldn't have come to kill…

The blood letter also had His Majesty's name on it. Why don't you go to the Golden Luan Hall and cause trouble for His Majesty?

You don't dare to blame His Majesty, but you dare to blame me… It seems that even in your rage, you still know who you can offend and who you can't… But…"

He sighed softly, his eyes filled with pity:

"Why do you think I'm the one you can offend?"

The man was speechless and couldn't retort for a moment.

Zhao Du'an ignored him and followed Ma Yan and Haitang, walking out.

After the three left, the remaining Jinyi guards sneered, kicking the man in the heart and spitting:

"There are fools every year, but this year there are especially many… Lock him up and take him away to reflect, lest he annoy the adults."

Zhao Du'an could downplay the situation, saying to release him and not bother with such a small person.

But the guards wouldn't actually do that.

The Qingpao official shook his head and sighed.

…

Outside the gate.

Zhao Du'an, having resolved the small interlude, was not in a good mood.

The Grand Eunuch Ma Yan looked at him, his long, thin face expressionless:

"What do you think?"

He would ask Haitang about investigation, but Ma Yan would ask Zhao Du'an's opinion on how to deal with more complex events.

Zhao Du'an sighed softly, his expression complicated:

"The good news is that the rebel party is finally getting desperate. The bad news is that they are getting desperate.

The fact that they chose to assassinate a low-ranking officer subtly reveals that they are mostly sending a signal, not really killing. Otherwise, their first move would have targeted a major figure in the Imperial faction.

Now, only killing minor officials won't really make all the officials in the court hate the Kuangfu Society, but it will make the lower-level officials panic… And the new policy just happens to need the lower-level officials to implement…"

He "heh"ed and said:

"On the surface, the assassination seems like a foolish act, but the way they're doing it will actually have an effect.

Important figures in the Imperial faction either have treasures for protection, or have skilled guards, or their high status is already a protective charm… But the court can hardly protect the lower-level officials.

For now, we can only catch the leader as soon as possible to serve as a warning.

After all… Although there is no shortage of simple-minded fools in the Kuangfu Society who consider themselves righteous, those who really have the ability to threaten and carry out assassinations will still have to weigh whether it's worth risking their lives to kill some insignificant officials…

Moreover, we can also use this point. If they dare to kill, we dare to publicize it widely, not to the officials, but to the people…

Heh, haven't these rebel thieves always been slandering and vilifying His Majesty?

Now that they've handed us a handle, we can also turn around and vilify them… When the Kuangfu Society realizes that the benefits gained from the assassination are not worth the infamy it brings, they will naturally stop."

Ma Yan and Haitang's eyes lit up slightly.

They thought that this kid was indeed good at playing tricks.

Director Ma nodded, approving of the plan, but added:

"But the most urgent task right now is to solve the next assassination, that is, to catch Qianmian Shenjun."

Investigation expert Haitang said bitterly:

"How easy is that? Qianmian Shenjun is extremely good at disguise. Unless it's someone very familiar with him, even if he's standing in front of you, you might not recognize him. There are millions of people in the capital, like a vast ocean. He's hiding among them, like a drop of water… Unless…"

The female investigator suddenly looked at Zhao Du'an.

Ma Yan also frowned, looking at his junior brother, his expression meaningful.

"…" Zhao Du'an was watched until he felt goosebumps, and said helplessly:

"Don't think about using me as bait. Would the other party be so stupid? Last time, Han Shuangjian dealt with me and was killed instead. How could this Qianmian Shenjun not be prepared? Wouldn't he think that I might be using myself as bait?"

After a pause, he picked up the blood letter and shook his head:

"Moreover, you see that this time the other party put my name next to His Majesty's, it's clearly intentional."

Ma Yan frowned: "Are you saying, 'borrowing a knife to kill someone'?"

After saying that, he shook his head and denied: "A futile effort."

Zhao Du'an narrowed his eyes and mocked himself:

"Is it really a useless effort? Just now in the courtyard, didn't that dead man's brother take the bait?"

"Don't underestimate the stupidity of some people, or rather, when a loved one is killed, in the heat of anger, a person's rationality will drop sharply... leading them to do some incredible things."

"This paper says that I, this traitor, must be eradicated. Guess, with my terrible reputation, what will happen when it spreads?

Heh, there's no need for the rebels to even promote it. Those in the capital who have grudges against me, those who are hostile to me, will take the initiative to spread the word, guiding the rebel assassination towards me... completing the transfer of conflict."

He sighed softly, as if seeing the "future" that was about to come:

"Compared to the terror of the rebels, who are like ghosts, hidden in the dark, ready to strike and kill at any moment, wouldn't it be easier to bully me, this treacherous official out in the open?"

Ma Yan shook his head and said:

"But it's useless, a few words can't hurt you."

Because my reputation is already bad, so it doesn't matter if it gets worse, right... Zhao Du'an complained, shaking his head:

"Don't underestimate public opinion. This Thousand-Faced Lord is very clever. He knows that once an assassination is carried out, the officials will panic, or be angry, and this emotion needs an outlet. The officials don't dare to be angry with His Majesty, so they will only hate the rebels..."

"But now, the rebels have added my name, and people's anger will turn towards me..."

"See? It's a simple, but very practical way to shift hatred."

"Public opinion can't kill me, but it will make me very uncomfortable, and as long as I'm at the front, bearing the brunt, even if they carry out assassinations, people won't completely hate them, but will hate me."

"Believing that I caused all of this."

"It's like robbers coming to a village to kill people. The villagers will hate the robbers, but if the robbers say when they come to kill that it's because someone in the village offended them, that's why they've come to kill..."

"The villagers will hate that person."

Haitang couldn't help but say:

"How could that be? Perhaps a few people think that way, but most people wouldn't be that stupid, would they? Not hating the enemy, but hating their own compatriots?"

Zhao Du'an glanced at her and suddenly said:

"Don't overestimate human nature."

Seeing the atmosphere was serious and depressing, he took the initiative to smile, easing the atmosphere:

"Alright, the situation isn't that bad yet. At least my reputation is also very bad, those people, even if they hate me, can only curse me to death in secret, but they don't dare to really look for trouble with this 'Little Yama'."

"So, since the rebels need me to be at the front, sharing their hatred, they won't come to kill me... Using me as bait probably won't catch anyone."

Ma Yan sighed, only feeling it was thorny.

As a martial artist, he was never afraid of opponents in the open, but he hated this kind of secret, sneaky behavior the most.

He hadn't realized it before, but after Zhao Du'an's in-depth analysis, he was shocked to realize that this seemingly reckless "assassination" by the Thousand-Faced Lord had so many calculations behind it.

Unfortunately, with Zhao Du'an's wisdom, he couldn't think of a countermeasure for the time being.

"Let's go, report to the Emperor first."

Ma Yan made a decision, and the three rode away quickly.

...

Noon that day.

An imperial edict from the palace was delivered to the desks of the major government offices in the capital.

After careful consideration, the Empress did not choose to suppress the case and pretend that nothing had happened, but decided to make it public.

The general idea was that the rebels who supported the restoration were insane, assassinating court officials and wanting to destroy Great Yu.

Her Majesty the Empress had ordered the Capital Garrison, along with the troops of the entire Jingying, to strengthen patrols, and the capital entered a third-level state of alert.

She ordered the officials, especially those below the fifth rank, to be more vigilant.

The imperial party was to move to the yamen to reside as much as possible, and send the imperial guards to guard them.

At the same time, she ordered the nine major halls of the yamen to fully search for the "Thousand-Faced Lord", and even invited some practitioners from the Tianshi Mansion and the Shenlong Temple to cooperate.

It was a pity that the "high-level" members of the two major cultivation forces adhered to the principle of not participating in power struggles, and the warlocks they sent were only at the Divine Chapter realm at most.

As soon as the news came out.

The officialdom in the capital was solemn.

Because it was already August, the slight coolness of autumn in the city suddenly became stronger.

For a time, the court officials were furious, and the low-level officials were all in danger.

And that very night.

Another minor official of the imperial party was taken to a secluded place by the Thousand-Faced Lord, disguised as a "coachman", and tortured to death.

It is said that the death was miserable, and part of the skin was peeled off.

On the scene, on the wall, similar sentences were written again in blood, claiming that the killing was for the sake of the people of the world, demanding that the pseudo-emperor withdraw the "evil policies" and severely punish the traitor Zhao.

Then, there was the third case.

The fourth case...

For a time, people were panic-stricken.

And as Zhao Du'an had expected, gradually, some people in the capital began to be hostile to him.

The voice that it was he who angered the rebels and caused the killings began to appear.

However, due to the skills Zhao Du'an had shown in the past few months, these voices only remained in private discussions.

And on the change in the attitude of many officials towards Zhao Du'an.

But no one really impeached him.

"A bunch of cowardly sheep!"

Zhao Du'an sneered, Li Yanfu's metaphor was just right.

...

This day.