The First Lackey Under The Empress

Taking a breath of the slightly cool air, Zhao Du'an walked into the dining hall with a cheerful mood.

The dining hall of the Zhao family's new residence was quite large and even more impressive. Upon arriving, he saw that the bowls on the table were all placed upside down, using larger bowls to cover them.

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After all, the weather was turning cooler, and the heat couldn't be allowed to dissipate.

His plump and beautiful stepmother, along with his delicate and refined stepsister, were sitting quietly at the table waiting.

Perhaps it was because good fortune made one feel refreshed.

These days, not only him, but even the women in the family had increasingly rosy cheeks and excellent complexions.

Seeing him arrive, especially noticing the official robes he was wearing, their eyes lit up at the same time, revealing bright smiles:

"Da Lang is here."

"Brother, come and sit down quickly. Today you are going to the yamen, so Mother specially instructed the cook to prepare this for you."

"Mm," Zhao Du'an nodded casually, habitually sitting in the main seat in a boisterous manner, raising his hand to flip over the bowl in front of him.

Then he frowned: "It's shark fin soup again..."

His expression was somewhat troubled, and he only felt a mouthful of shark fin flavor regurgitating in his throat.

Because of his promotion, a considerable portion of the gifts sent were all kinds of precious foods, especially bird's nest and shark fin.

Considering that they would spoil if left for too long, and also because he had to host banquets.

Zhao Du'an had been eating bird's nest and shark fin every meal these days, and he was getting a little sick of it.

You Jinhua's eyes were gentle, and her attire was becoming more and more like that of a noble lady from the capital, but her nature remained the same.

Seeing that he didn't like it, she quickly stood up, personally walked over, took the bowl away, and replaced it with another bowl, saying:

"If Da Lang doesn't find it palatable, then eat something else."

Zhao Du'an lifted the lid of this bowl, and his brow furrowed again:

"Why is it ginseng soup again? Didn't I just have it last night?"

"Last night was only ninety years old. This morning's is one hundred and fifty years old," Zhao Pan explained softly from the side.

Zhao Du'an shook his head and handed it to his younger sister:

"You drink it."

Then he lifted another bowl:

Sea cucumber soup.

Lifted another bowl:

Deer antler water

Once again:

Goji berries...

One more time.

Okay, this time it's ginseng and deer antler stewed with goji berries...

Zhao Du'an frowned, lifting the lids of the densely packed soup bowls on the table one by one, when suddenly his movements stopped, and he was stunned:

"This is..."

You Jinhua's cheeks flushed red, and she quickly took it away, saying:

"I'm sorry, this is Consort's angelica blood-nourishing soup."

Angelica regulates blood, and is a medicine for women, with the meaning of longing for a husband, hence the name Angelica...

No... people usually drink this to have children or treat irregular menstruation... Zhao Du'an was expressionless:

"Is Consort not feeling well recently?"

You Jinhua looked embarrassed, ashamed to discuss such topics with her stepson.

Zhao Pan was on the side, calmly drinking ginseng soup while watching her little finger, and said indifferently:

"There are too many tonics sent as gifts. Mother said that she was afraid they would spoil if left there, so she instructed the cook to boil them and drink them, it's always good to replenish. Well, Mother thinks that you, Big Brother, should also replenish your energy this time you go to the military camp, so as not to be exhausted."

"Are there many tonics sent as gifts?"

Zhao Du'an was stunned for a moment, he didn't pay attention to these trivial matters.

He handed over the task of counting the gifts to his stepmother.

However, why are these officials vying to send tonics, and each one is more nourishing than the last... I don't need it...

Zhao Du'an met the two women's strange gazes and suddenly fell silent.

So, everyone thinks that I, as the Emperor's male favorite, am very weak?

Zhao Du'an was speechless and choked.

Heaven have mercy, I've only touched Zhen Bao's hand twice...

He got up and left.

"Da Lang, aren't you going to eat anymore?" Stepmother tried to persuade him.

"I'm not eating!" Zhao Du'an walked out with a dark face.

Others are too weak to accept supplements, but he is supplemented too much, and has no place to vent.

...

...

Walking out of the residence, he happened to see a carriage slowly approaching.

Today, the driver was not the coachman Xiao Wang, but Hou Renmeng, one of the four chief investigators of Lihua Hall.

At this moment, Old Hou, with a rebellious look on his face, held the horsewhip and grabbed the reins, calling out "Your Excellency."

Inside the carriage, Qian Kerou, the confidential secretary, also poked out her apple-like round face, which was smiling at the moment:

"Your Excellency!"

"Mm." Zhao Du'an got into the carriage and gave an address.

"Eh, aren't we going directly to the Shenji Camp?" Qian Kerou looked curious.

Today was the day for their lord to take up his post in the Jing Camp. Zhao Du'an, considering that they were unfamiliar with the place, transferred the two of them over for temporary use.

He left Shen Juan and Zheng Lao Jiu to look after the house. Anyway, Lihua Hall's annual KPI had been completed, and they were idle.

Qian Kerou and the other two were also quite curious about the Shenji Camp, which also belonged to the Imperial Guards.

"No, we still have an acquaintance," Zhao Du'an smiled.

...

When the carriage arrived at the agreed location, and after waiting for a while, a familiar carriage arrived late.

Zhao Du'an went directly into the new carriage, letting Hou Renmeng follow behind, and the two carriages then headed towards the Nancheng Jing Camp.

"Mo Zhaorong, it's you sending me to my post again."

Zhao Du'an smiled, sitting down extremely familiarly, and talking to the big ice cube opposite the carriage.

The "Female Prime Minister", wearing a wingless black gauze hat and dressed with neutral beauty, originally had her eyes closed, but now opened her eyes and rolled them:

"If you want to change someone, I would be more than happy to."

Zhao Du'an smiled and said:

"How could that be? Having the number one female official send me to my post is something that officials all over the world can't ask for. Besides, I've just replenished a stomach full of energy and blood, and I'm just looking for an ice cube to cool down."

Nonsense... Mo Chou frowned, not understanding what this guy was talking about.

But in any case, it was definitely not good words... She sighed softly.

After so much competition, she had never gained the slightest advantage in her confrontation with this thief.

Although she found Zhao Du'an unpleasant in every way because of "love rival" reasons, she had to admit that this dog thief was a reliable colleague.

Too lazy to argue with him, Mo Chou handed him the information in her hand and said:

"Logically speaking, I'm not so free that I come to send you off every time.

This time, it's still His Majesty's intention. The Jing Camp is different from others...

Don't think that just because you used to be a guard in the Imperial Palace and then entered the Zhao Yamen, you understand the military officer group.

In fact, the real military is different from the Imperial Palace guards, and even more different from the Zhao Yamen officials."

Zhao Du'an took the information, and his expression also became serious:

"I would like to hear the details."

Mo Chou didn't speak directly, but said:

"How much do you know about the Shenji Camp you are going to?"

Zhao Du'an said frankly:

"Only the broad ones, the Jing Camp is a garrison stationed outside the city to protect the capital, and is jointly managed by the Privy Council and the Ministry of War.

Well, is it considered Xue Shence's territory?

The Shenji Camp is one of the three major camps. The leader is a commander named Shi Meng. I'm going to take up a post as his deputy, trying to find clues to the internal traitor colluding with Jing Wangfu."

Mo Chou nodded, then shook her head and said:

"What you said is not wrong, but you may not understand another force in the Shenji Camp besides Shi Meng, or to be precise, another person."

"Who? What rank official?" Zhao Du'an asked curiously.

Mo Chou shook her head and said:

"His rank is very low, only a mid- to low-level military officer. Your previous enemy, Zhang Changji, was his subordinate. However, the truly troublesome thing about this person is his identity."

Zhao Du'an's expression was strange:

"It can't be another纨绔子弟, can it?"

Mo Chou shook her head:

"Not a纨绔, on the contrary, he is a talent, skilled in both military affairs and martial arts. He has a high reputation among the mid- to low-level military officers, and is likely to become a general who can stand alone in the future...

However, this is not important. What I want to remind you is that his father is Tang Daren, the current Duke of Zhenguo, and also the first commander of the border army stationed at the gateway to the Western Regions, a great general similar to Zhao Shi Xiong. So this person is..."

Zhao Du'an lowered his eyes, looking at the name on the information in his hand, with Mo Chou's voice in his ear:

"Young Duke, Tang Ping!"