The First Lackey Under The Empress

"Invite me to apologize?" Zhao Du'an's expression was strange, a half-smile on his face. "What, do you know you were wrong?"

He had almost forgotten about this.

That day, after the You family left, he also sent people to monitor them for a while. Later, after learning that they were looking for other ways, all of which were blocked by him, they quieted down.

He thought they would give up, but he didn't expect them to shamelessly come to his door again.

You Jinhua looked embarrassed and said:

"The invitation says that they don't want to ask you to do anything, they just want to apologize sincerely and ask for your forgiveness for what happened before."

Not asking me to do anything?

Zhao Du'an was finally a little surprised. He thought that You Zhan De had realized the situation and wanted to cling to him again.

But the other party made it clear that they just wanted to apologize, which was a bit interesting.

Hmm... there is another explanation. They indeed don't need his help, but they hope that he will no longer "set up obstacles" and prevent them from finding other ways...

"Heh, if it's just for this, Auntie can refuse for me."

Zhao Du'an said casually:

"Just say, let them leave the capital and return to Xiping. I won't make things difficult for them."

It was impossible for the You family to handle things smoothly. Master Zhao also had a temper.

His stepmother hesitated and said:

"Their intention is that they are already preparing to return to Xiping, and they will no longer try to do the imperial merchant business. They just want to invite you to a meal to apologize before leaving the capital, otherwise, they won't feel at ease."

Preparing to leave?

Zhao Du'an was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it carefully, he suddenly laughed:

"They're probably worried that they won't be able to leave the capital, right? Afraid that once they leave the capital, I will arrange for someone to cause trouble?"

This was the most reasonable explanation he could think of.

After experiencing setbacks during this period, the You family deeply realized his power and also knew his petty character of "holding grudges."

Therefore, they were worried that once they left the capital, Zhao Du'an would send someone to intercept and retaliate on the way... Well, this fits Zhao Du'an's persona.

Therefore, they requested to apologize in person. The purpose was nothing more than to seek peace of mind and make sure that Zhao Du'an would not take action to intercept them.

You Jinhua bit her lip, lowered her head, and silently ate her rice:

"If Big Brother is not convenient, Auntie will refuse for you. Anyway, it has nothing to do with them anymore."

Zhao Du'an pondered for a moment, weighed the pros and cons, and said:

"Forget it, where is the time and place? I'm feeling bored recently, so I'll just treat it as a way to relieve boredom."

He didn't want to pay attention to them, but since the other party was sensible, he thought about warning them in person to completely cut off their thoughts of clinging to his stepmother.

Once and for all.

To put an end to this matter.

You Jinhua was both ashamed and moved, knowing that it was all for her sake, and said:

"Tomorrow at noon, Zuì Yuè Lou in the south of the city."

Not familiar... It should be a small restaurant... As expected of people from a small place, they are not generous when treating guests... Zhao Du'an curled his lips and noted it down, then turned his head and instructed:

"Tomorrow, I'll go there myself. You all should stay at home these days and don't go out, in case you are targeted by the rebel party."

The main reason why Zhao Du'an bought a new house was not to save "commuting" time, but to protect his family.

The current house is not far from the Zhao Yamen, and can be taken care of by the patrol soldiers in the inner city.

In the past few days, he also deliberately used his authority to ask the Imperial Guards to take care of his house.

To prevent Qianmian Shenjun from taking advantage of the loopholes.

After the discussion, Zhao Du'an returned to his room to cultivate.

Nothing happened overnight. The next morning, he went to the yamen as usual and learned that there was still no breakthrough in the search for Qianmian Shenjun.

At noon, Zhao Du'an rode a white horse straight to the south of the city.

...

...

Zuì Yuè Residence is a small but elegant restaurant.

Yesterday, a wealthy man with a Xiping accent booked the entire restaurant for today, saying that it was to entertain a distinguished guest.

Early in the morning, the other party arrived at the restaurant to wait, accompanied by a young man and a maid.

On the second floor of Zuì Yuè Residence, Qianmian Shenjun, who was walking outside under the identity of "Lü Baifeng", stood gracefully by the railing, listening to a geisha playing music in the hall on the first floor.

Her slender fingers tapped lightly on the railing, moving with the rhythm.

"Young Master Lü, it's still early, please sit down and rest."

Behind him, You Zhan De walked upstairs, followed by the You family mother and son.

At this time, the Xiping merchant said with a smile:

"I have to ask you to come forward personally for my matter, it's really..."

Qianmian Shenjun turned around, a smile on his handsome face:

"Where are you going, Master You? I should be the one saying sorry. I wanted to help you dredge up the relationship, but I didn't expect that Zhao Du'an is indeed not easy to mess with."

A few days ago, You Zhan De came to the door and asked Lü Baifeng to help him find a way, and the latter readily agreed.

You Zhan De waited in the inn for a few days, but finally waited for a good news and a bad news.

The bad news is:

Zhao Du'an's power in the capital is indeed terrifying, even if the Lü family takes action, it is difficult to handle.

The good news is:

Young Master Lü agreed to come forward and personally intercede with Zhao Du'an on behalf of the Lü family to discuss the imperial merchant business.

But the premise is that he hopes You Zhan De will come forward and host a banquet to invite people over.

You Zhan De had no choice but to seize the last hope and send the invitation.

Hoping that Zhao Du'an could show mercy on the face of Young Master Lü.

"Where are you going, Young Master Lü? You can come forward to mediate, it's already giving face to Old You, but... you didn't let me reveal that you are also here in advance. I can't figure out the tricks in this."

Qianmian Shenjun smiled and said:

"If you say that I invited you to meet, then today is a matter between my Lü family and his Zhao family, what does it have to do with you? When Master Zhao comes later, I will talk to him myself."

"Oh oh... good."

You Zhan De vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Turning back to look at his wife You Shi, and his youngest son You Lu'er, he instructed with a straight face:

“When they arrive, both of you better behave and apologize sincerely.”

Madam You had long lost her arrogant attitude, now humble and submissive:

“We’ll listen to whatever you say, Master.”

The obese young man had been repeatedly instructed by his parents, and now he was also listless, appearing obedient.

They waited for a while longer, and as the agreed time approached, the dishes and wine were all placed on the table.

On the stairs, the beautiful maidservant finally carried that heavy, dark umbrella and walked up:

“Young Master, the person is almost here.”

Thousand-Faced Divine Lord's eyes lit up, and he asked:

“How many people are coming?”

Qing Niao replied: “Only him, he came on horseback.”

“Good.” Thousand-Faced Divine Lord snapped his folding fan shut, his eyes flashing with a light that seemed to devour people.

Like an old hunter who had set a trap, waiting for his prey to be caught.

Turning his head to look at You Zhan De, who seemed a little dazed, he smiled and said:

“Patriarch You, aren't you going to greet him personally?”

… …

“Da da da…”

The sound of hooves gradually slowed.

Zhao Du'an pulled on the reins, slowly reducing the horse's speed, and saw the elegant "Drunken Moon Pavilion" ahead.

The ancient and fragrant roof ridges were surrounded by verdant bamboo, and the calligraphy of the shop's name on the signboard was also very exquisite, as if written by a master calligrapher.

“Hmm. Not very famous, but the environment is not bad.”

Zhao Du'an felt a little better. Arriving at the front door, he found that You Zhan De was already waiting there, bowing.

Zhao Du'an dismounted and casually tossed the reins. The inn's porter at the bottom of the building stepped forward considerately:

“Esteemed guest, this humble one will take your steed to the stable.”

He was basically a valet.

“Lord Zhao! You've finally arrived.”

The stout You Zhan De, with a hint of a martial artist's robustness, bowed and smiled obsequiously, completely lacking his arrogance from that day.

Today, he didn't seem like a family head, but more like a humble merchant.

He immediately launched into a string of apologies.

Nothing more than clichés like “Having eyes but failing to recognize Mount Tai” and “Many offenses committed.”

Zhao Du'an didn't care whether he was sincere or not. Anyway, he had come today only to settle this matter.

So he nodded slightly in agreement.

After being led into the restaurant by You Zhan De, he asked curiously:

“Why are there so few people?”

You Zhan De smiled obsequiously:

“Today, for entertaining you, Old You specially booked the entire building, so as not to have outsiders present and make a mess. My wife is upstairs, I dare not let her come down and offend you.”

Tsk… he's really spending a lot of money. I misunderstood you… Zhao Du'an was slightly surprised, nodded, and said generously:

“It was all a misunderstanding.”

“Yes, yes, yes, it was all a misunderstanding,” You Zhan De's smile widened as he led him upstairs:

“Please, there is also a distinguished guest here today, specially invited to accompany you.”

Distinguished guest? Accompany me?

Zhao Du'an was stunned. These days, busy with hunting down the Kuang Fu Society members, he hadn't wasted manpower on monitoring the You family, so he didn't quite know who they had invited.

In confusion, the two of them ascended to the second floor amidst the sound of music.

Upon entering, he first saw Madam You and the obese young man, who were waiting at the staircase with their heads lowered and humble expressions.

The two of them greeted him, their demeanor respectful.

Then, Zhao Du'an saw the young master, who was sitting beside a large table of banquet, looking quite refined with a folding fan in his hand.

He met the other party's eyes, which carried a cold smile.

Only at this moment did Zhao Du'an's martial artist's premonition suddenly activate, and a strong sense of danger surged into his heart.

At this time, the maidservant beside the young master had already opened the heavy, dark umbrella in her hand.

As soon as the black umbrella, which was more than half a person tall, was opened.

Bloody handprints emerged on the umbrella's surface, mixed with strange and twisted blood-colored runes.

With the umbrella's surface as the center, circles of faint yellowish-brown ripples spread in all directions, covering the entire Drunken Moon Pavilion.

Outside the building.

The sunlight was faintly distorted, as if the entire building was confined by a mysterious force field.

Second floor.

Zhao Du'an suddenly felt dizzy, his body weakened, his head spun, he felt nasal congestion, a dry and itchy throat, his eyes teared up, and his skin was burning hot and flushed…

The qi that was subconsciously activated suddenly weakened.

It was like having a severe cold in his previous life, his whole body exhausted, accompanied by a strong feeling of nausea.

“I've been poisoned!”

Zhao Du'an staggered, grabbing the railing with one hand to avoid falling.

The dragon soul slumbering in his Qi Sea had a slight movement, but did not wake up.

It just quietly sped up the action of exhaling and inhaling qi, constantly purifying the qi that had been dyed yellowish-brown.

But it could not immediately relieve the symptoms of poisoning.

“Thump!”

“Thump!”

… …

In the sound of heavy objects falling, the You Zhan De family, as well as the singers, shopkeepers, and waiters downstairs, were all poisoned and fell straight to the ground.

The weaker ones fainted directly.

The stronger ones, like You Zhan De, were still conscious, but their whole body was weak, and they looked at “Lü Bai Feng” in astonishment, as if realizing something:

“You… you are not…”

The maidservant named Qing Niao carried the huge, blood-colored rune-covered black umbrella, constantly rotating the umbrella's surface, her expression arrogant and indifferent.

The noble young master beside her got up, ignored You Zhan De completely, and looked at Zhao Du'an with a smile, saying:

“How does it feel to be a prey, Lord Zhao?”

Zhao Du'an supported his body, blinked hard to restore clarity to his blurred vision.

His face was extremely ugly as he spat out a name:

“You are… Thousand-Faced Divine Lord!?”

… …

Imperial Palace.

Inside the Royal Garden, beside a pavilion, the midday sunlight shimmered.

The Great Yu Empress Xu Zhenguan stood by the pond, scattering a portion of bait into the water, attracting the goldfish to swarm and fight for it.

“Big Ice Cube” Mo Chou stood aside, looked towards the south of the city, and said:

“Your Majesty, aren't you worried?”