The First Lackey Under The Empress

After entering autumn, the temperature in the capital cooled down.

Perhaps to retaliate against the scorching sun of midsummer, the notice posted by the Department of Astronomy stated that there would be frequent rainfall for the next half month.

Zhao Du'an was awakened by the pattering autumn rain.

He lazily washed up and dressed, pushing open the door and walking along the corridor through the new residence's imposing courtyard.

Zhao Du'an's pupils reflected the wet, paved bluestone bricks, and the bamboo swayed uncertainly under the fine rain.

Strings of glistening water droplets clung to and rolled down the black tiled eaves above.

"Aunt, sister, what are we having for breakfast this morning?"

Zhao Du'an stepped into the dining hall, the drowsiness on his face gradually fading.

As the saying goes, spring drowsiness, autumn fatigue, summer naps, and sleepless winter months... one of the most profound truths he had summarized in both his past and present lives was that rainy days are best for sleeping.

Inside the dining hall, which was much more luxuriously decorated than the old house.

You Jinhua got up, smiling, and personally held a white towel, lifting the lids off each dish and bowl of soup.

As the weather turned cooler, the amount of fabric consumed by his stepmother's dresses increased sharply, yet they still seemed slightly tight.

Her small belly was visible, and she looked rounder overall.

Presumably, her living conditions had improved, and she was putting on autumn fat, her cheeks were even rosy, and she said with a smile:

"Big Lang, come and try it quickly. Your aunt has been watching the cook, redoing the 'Drunken Crab' according to your recipe. See if it suits your taste this time."

Next to her.

A delicate and pretty girl, casually wrapped in a home-style Ru skirt with her hair casually tied behind her head, was sitting on a round stool.

A colorful rope was tied around her fair wrist, and her two feet were gently massaging the back of a white-haired, short-legged, broad-faced, and large-eyed Pekingese dog.

Yes, Zhao Pan had gotten a dog.

The Zhao family originally kept several guard dogs, but they were all fierce, large dogs, taken care of by the gatekeeper's servants.

As the Zhao family's status gradually rose, even though the mother and daughter were from humble backgrounds, they were inevitably pulled along, integrating into the upper-class life of the capital.

Wealthy young ladies in the capital had recently become fond of raising small Pekingese.

Someone had given Zhao Du'an one, but he was too lazy to walk the dog, so he simply gave it to Zhao Pan, leaving it for her to keep her feet warm in winter.

At this moment, she bashfully and deliberately quickly tucked her pair of slender feet under her skirt, turned around, and said with a smile:

"Big brother can always come up with new foods, so amazing."

Eating crab in autumn was also a common practice among officials in the Great Yu Dynasty.

A few days ago, Zhao Du'an, relying on his memory, wrote down a recipe for drunken crab and asked the cook at home to try it.

Unfortunately, the first attempt was not very satisfactory, and today was the improved version.

"Well, since Aunt is personally supervising, it must be much better than last time."

Zhao Du'an casually joked.

After sitting down, he took the crab, which was larger than his hand, from the soup pot, and the family of three silently tasted the crab.

"Mm! It's indeed much better."

With the crab roe in his mouth, Zhao Du'an nodded in praise.

Although due to the scarcity of seasonings, it couldn't compare to the familiar taste, it made up for it with the superior quality of the ingredients, supplementing the texture.

You Jinhua's willow-leaf-like eyebrows curved into a smile.

She didn't care much about eating, as long as her stepson and daughter thought it was delicious, she would be happy.

Hearing this, she said:

"It's a pity, the cook is from the capital. I heard that when it comes to making crab, the best cooks are still from the Huai River area. The green crabs produced there are also excellent. When it comes to eating crab, it is said that Prince Huai'an claims to be the best, and no one claims to be second."

Zhao Pan ate the crab in small bites, blowing on her little mouth from time to time, and raising her little pinky finger.

She was mainly imitating the refined behavior of a proper young lady.

Blinking her eyes, she asked curiously:

"Prince Huai'an? That 'Foodie Prince'? I heard that the princess who recently came to the city is the daughter of Prince Huai'an's mansion. Does big brother know about this?"

Zhao Du'an looked natural, and while breaking open a crab claw, he said indifferently:

"That is indeed the case."

With his status, of course he knew about the arrival of that princess.

As far as he knew, that princess claimed to be here to observe the Buddhist and Taoist competition.

After entering the city, she went straight to the palace, and the Empress personally received this "cousin".

In the following days, this princess was not idle either, and began to visit the big figures in the capital one by one.

Li Yanfu, Yuan Li, Dong Xuan... even the Heavenly Master's Mansion and the Shenlong Temple were not missed.

She mainly aimed to please everyone.

Afterwards, taking Han Zhou as a breakthrough, she claimed to admire the style of the figures in the capital and cut into the literary circle of the capital.

She participated in an autumn literary gathering and shone brightly.

Before long, she had become a figure stirring up the situation in the capital.

It was just that Zhao Du'an had not met her yet, but he had repeatedly read the information about the Huai'an Prince's family several times.

"A skillful socialite."

This was his comment on this princess after observing her coldly for several days.

Or, to describe it with a more vivid term, she was clearly a "social butterfly"-like figure.

"I heard that this princess is a great talented woman, her poetry and talent even made Han Banshan sigh with admiration."

Zhao Pan pinched the crab leg, and said in a soft voice:

"She didn't visit big brother?"

Zhao Du'an smiled and said:

"I am just a mere fourth-rank military general. I am a high-ranking official outside, but in the capital, I am not even on the list. How could a royal princess come to visit me?"

Zhao Pan snorted, and said disapprovingly:

"Big brother is not an ordinary military officer. I heard that the Huai River area is the territory of the Chancellor's faction in the court. I guess that Prince Huai'an is also in cahoots with that 'Li Party', so he deliberately slighted big brother."

You Jinhua suddenly looked worried, her eyes filled with concern:

"Big Lang, is that really the case? Then don't provoke that princess, she is, after all, surnamed Xu."

Zhao Du'an couldn't help but smile, flicked the girl's forehead, and scolded with a smile:

"Little girl, you're even analyzing the court situation? What? Do you want to be a strategist for big brother? Then first check your recent studies?"

Zhao Pan's face instantly collapsed, she didn't say a word, and silently stepped on the Pekingese under her skirt.

She stepped on the canine aristocrat, nicknamed the "sleeve dog", causing it to howl miserably, feeling wronged, with tears in its eyes.

It didn't know how it had offended its female owner.

After Zhao Du'an finished eating and left, You Jinhua looked at her daughter, hesitated, and tentatively asked:

"Your studies..."

"Mom!"

Zhao Pan turned her head away, picked up the dog who looked confused, and said seriously:

"I heard people say that a woman's nagging is a sign of aging."

After saying that, she hugged the dog who hadn't tasted a bite of crab and returned to her room.

Aging... You Jinhua was struck hard, rubbed her chubby belly, and frowned with a worried face.

...

...

Zhaoya, Pear Blossom Hall.

When Zhao Du'an arrived at the yamen, the rain had almost stopped, but the sky was still gloomy.

He originally wanted to clock in as usual, and slip away after handling some simple official business.

But unexpectedly, the little secretary held him down:

"Sir, the Director-General has summoned the chief officers of the nine halls to discuss matters."

Having a meeting early in the morning... Zhao Du'an cursed and raised his butt to go to the Director-General's Hall.

A group of people were drowsy, listening to Ma Yan's half-hour-long morning meeting.

The core spirit of the meeting was this:

The Buddhist and Taoist competition is approaching, and many practitioners from other places have recently appeared in the capital, especially martial artists.

The Great Yu established the country through martial arts. Although the court officials are highly regarded, the folk customs still have a spirit of martial arts.

The Empress has a broad mind and provides convenience for the Jianghu people who come to watch the competition.

However, with more Jianghu people, conflicts are inevitable.

Therefore, the pressure of maintaining law and order has fallen on the entire Imperial Guards.

As one of the Imperial Guards and responsible for investigating rebellious factions, the Zhaoyu Office bore a particularly heavy burden.

Ma Yan urged the nine divisions to increase patrols and tighten their nerves.

He warned them not to allow any disturbances in the city during this period and to be especially vigilant against the Kuangfu Society taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

“The Director-General is overthinking things. The Kuangfu Society daring to slap the faces of both Buddhism and Taoism is just courting death,” Haitang grumbled, her arms crossed and wearing the disgruntled expression of a working stiff, after the meeting ended.

“We must also suppress the other Jianghu people. If any trouble arises, it will damage His Majesty's prestige,” Zhang Han, the workaholic, said earnestly.

Zhao Du'an strolled lazily through the crowd, suddenly grinning maliciously:

“Isn't it just making those bumpkins from out of town behave themselves? Anyway, if we see anyone who doesn't know their place, we'll just arrest them. This is the capital; are we, the local snakes, going to let outsiders bully us? No matter what kind of royalty or nobility, people with great backgrounds have to coil like dragons and lie low like tigers.”

The other Jisi officers looked at him, their expressions strange.

They thought to themselves, 'Typical of you,' but couldn't explain why they felt a strange sense of satisfaction from hearing those words…

Haitang crossed her arms, a peculiar smile of watching a familiar person show off on her face, and teased:

“Officer Zhao is implying something, isn't he? Oh, right, let me remind you that there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the city these days. My Water Lily Division's informant reported seeing someone suspected to be a direct disciple of Martial Emperor City in the city. If you accidentally bump into them, you might capsize your boat.”

Zhao Du'an glanced at her and said indifferently:

“That Chai Keqiao? It's not like only your Water Lily Division has sharp ears and eyes.”

Zhang Han and the other six Jisi officers silently watched the two bickering. This had become a unique scene within the Zhaoyu Office.

“Hmph!”

In the end, the two who couldn't decide who had won the argument parted on bad terms.

Zhao Du'an strode out.

“The Director-General just asked you to be serious, and you're already skipping work?” Haitang caught him by the collar.

Zhao Du'an ignored her completely:

“Do you even know what 'cultivating under imperial decree' means?”

… …

Maintaining law and order didn't need him.

Zhao Du'an kept in mind that his task these days was to follow Eunuch Hai and learn how to quickly enter the Divine Chapter Realm.

He walked out of the Zhaoyu Office.

Zhao Du'an rode his horse alone, estimated the time, and cut through the autumn wind to arrive at a certain "Tea House Street" in the city.

This area had many tea houses, gathering famous teas from all over the world.

It was quite famous in the capital, a cluster of industries, so to speak.

However, Zhao Du'an came here not for drinking tea, but because Eunuch Hai was waiting for him here.

“You are a quarter of an hour late today.”

By the window on the second floor, at the table closest to the street with the best view,

Eunuch Hai, disguised as an ordinary wealthy man, said blandly.

He wore a melon-shaped cap, a jade thumb ring on his finger, fine wrinkles, a face like a baby, and a slightly hunched figure.

At first glance, no one would associate such a tea-drinking old man with the number one expert in the imperial palace.

Zhao Du'an walked over with a grin and handed over the paper bag he was carrying:

“Mr. Hai, I specially brought apricot cakes to apologize for being late this morning at the office meeting.”

The old eunuch, referred to as "Mr. Hai" outside the palace, glanced at him and smiled:

“You little devil, how did you find out that this old man likes this?”

Zhao Du'an smiled obsequiously, didn't respond, and sat down opposite the old eunuch, saying:

“Sir, you've been bringing me here to watch the show for three days in a row. When will we start cultivating and learning how to break through to the Divine Chapter Realm?”

Eunuch Hai put down his blue and white porcelain cup, his wrinkled hand peeled open the paper bag, picked up a piece of apricot jerky, and put it in his mouth.

Feeling the sweetness on his tongue, he smiled:

“Cultivation? It has already begun.”

… …

… …

Just as Zhao Du'an was talking to Eunuch Hai.

Across the street from the tea house where the two were, the door of another tea house's private room was pushed open.

A maid named "Green Water" walked in and reported:

“Princess, that Zhao Du'an has arrived.”

Inside the room, two figures were sitting at the table.

One was Xu Junling, the "social butterfly" who had been constantly visiting various mansions and talented individuals in the capital these days.

The other was the plain-clothed old man who was ordered by the Prince of Huai'an to protect the princess's safety.

The tea house was also next to the street, but the windows were half-open, allowing a view of the bustling street and crowds from inside.

However, from the outside, it was almost impossible to see the people inside.

“He's a quarter of an hour later than the information said. I thought he wasn't coming today,”

Xu Junling, who looked sweet and elegant, glanced at the hourglass on the table, her fingers turning the delicate tea bowl made of white porcelain, steeped with a hint of green, and said calmly:

“Has he noticed anything?”

The maid said:

“As you ordered, we didn't do any investigation, just watched from afar.”

“Well, very good.” Xu Junling nodded slightly.

Her gaze fell on the thick stack of information on the table, which she had been constantly collecting and supplementing through various channels since entering the capital, about Zhao Du'an.

Frankly speaking, the more she looked, the more shocked she became.

After all, the Prince of Huai'an was thousands of miles away, and his intelligence system was far inferior to that of the Prince of Jing.

Therefore, the information she had obtained before was relatively rough and often contained errors and omissions.

These days, Xu Junling had been talking to different people in the capital, learning more about the true information about this person in her conversations.

The more she looked, the more interested she became in this favored subject of the Imperial Sister, and the more…

…wary.

At the same time, she also had the idea of contacting and testing him.

And the latest intelligence showed that Zhao Du'an had been arriving at the tea house across the street at the same time every day for three consecutive days, drinking tea with an unidentified old man.

He only went back at night, and so on and so forth.

Xu Junling didn't investigate the old man's identity, but based on the information she had already mastered, there was no big figure in the capital that matched him.

So she was no longer so vigilant.

“Since that's the case, then give the order,” Xu Junling said calmly.

The maid took the order and left.

The plain-clothed old man across from her pondered:

“Does the princess really want to do this?”

Xu Junling smiled and shook her head, not explaining, just saying:

“Master Lü only needs to protect me.”

The plain-clothed old man stroked his beard and smiled faintly, his words full of confidence:

“That's natural. On this long street, there is no one who can be placed in this old man's eyes.”

… …

“It has already begun?!”

Zhao Du'an was stunned.

Across from him, Eunuch Hai, disguised as a wealthy man and forgotten by the Jianghu for decades, nodded with a smile. He pointed out the window:

“What is outside?”

Zhao Du'an turned his head and looked outside the tea house. On the long street, it wasn't the daily scene of the common people.

Instead, there was a cleared area, surrounded by heavily armed Imperial Guards, holding weapons and standing guard.

Sharp gazes swept around.

The people of the capital, as well as the spectators from out of town, gathered around the perimeter of the cleared area, looking like they were watching a show.

And in the center of the street, in the cleared area that was separated, two Jianghu martial artists were fighting.

… …

Misspelled words will be corrected later.

Thank you to my wife, Xu Zhenguan, for the 500 coins reward~~ This name… is amazing.