The First Lackey Under The Empress

Saliva……

In the empty two-story teahouse, when Zhao Douan uttered this frivolous sentence, Xu Junling was stunned.

The noble princess's smile froze on her face.

The hand holding the teacup also paused, as if she hadn't heard clearly, or couldn't believe it.

But the maid, standing at the staircase as the only "third party" here, after a moment of stunned silence, cried out in disbelief:

"How dare you! You dare to be so disrespectful…"

The maid shouted halfway, remembered something, and suddenly lowered her voice.

Afraid that the shout would spread, this action caused her momentum to disappear completely.

Xu Junling was awakened by this sentence, and a touch of crimson suddenly flew onto the thin cheeks of the Jiangnan water town girl.

Her red lips subconsciously pursed, and she dropped the teacup on the table.

Then, only then did anger belatedly rise, her face turned cold, and disbelief remained in her eyes:

"Master Zhao, what did you say just now?"

Heh… Sure enough, the best way to make a dignified lady lose her composure in a second is always so simple and crude…

Zhao Douan smiled, his eyes fell on the teeth between her red lips, staring at the few strands of saliva, and said:

"The princess's saliva…"

"Shut up!" Xu Junling's expression changed slightly, staring at him:

"Master Zhao, aren't you afraid that my imperial sister will find out if you say such things?"

Zhao Douan recklessly raised his hand and drew a circle in the second floor, not caring at all:

"Here, only you, your servant, and I are present. How would His Majesty know? Or is the princess going to report to His Majesty? Does the princess think His Majesty would believe it?"

Xu Junling was stunned for a moment.

Would the Empress believe it? It's not a question of whether she believes it or not, it's that she can't possibly tell outsiders.

It's not because of her reputation, but because of her position.

The Prince of Huai'an is not only one of the "Eight Princes" but also has close ties with the aristocratic groups behind the "Li Party."

Occupying this position, Xu Junling absolutely cannot "slander" Zhao Douan to the Empress, nor can she spread it to outsiders.

Because this would be interpreted as discord, and a very low-level one.

Or rumors spread by the rebel party.

Therefore, this is the reason why the other party is unscrupulously teasing her…

He is sure that there is no risk, and even if he says it everywhere, no one will believe it…

"Master Zhao, do you find this very interesting?" Xu Junling calmed down and quickly adjusted her emotions.

Zhao Douan smiled and continued to pour tea for her:

"With the princess's knowledge and status, she should also know that as a 'younger sister,' it is extremely impolite to tease 'older sister' about her relationship with a man."

"…" Xu Junling was speechless, thinking:

Rumors are indeed true, the Zhao fellow is really petty and vindictive, she only probed slightly and was counter-teased.

"Master Zhao is overthinking it, I have no intention of recklessly discussing Her Majesty."

Xu Junling took a light breath and got up to bid farewell:

"However, it is indeed inappropriate for a single man and a single woman to be alone together. Green Water, let's go."

She's leaving already? No more probing?

Zhao Douan narrowed his eyes, watching Xu Junling turn around and call her maid to go downstairs.

He sneered and teased:

"By the way, a reminder. The clothing style in the capital is much more open than in Huaishui, the princess doesn't need to work so hard to wrap her chest with silk ribbons for the sake of ladylike demeanor, which causes her to have little energy when speaking, it's really not refreshing enough.

Why hide such a beautiful scenery? Why be so secretive? Think wearing clothes will look bad? Wrong, magnificent landscapes are the most moving."

Xu Junling's breathing and footsteps faltered.

The maid beside her was furious, but the latter raised her hand to stop her.

The wealthiest princess in the world took a deep breath, did not turn around, and sarcastically said:

"Master Zhao, instead of having time to comment on others, you should think carefully about how to prevent chaos in the capital. As far as I know, Chai Keqiao of Wudi City is heading to the Imperial Prison."

After dropping this sentence, she stepped downstairs and disappeared outside.

Leaving Zhao Douan with a startled expression.

The frivolous appearance he had faked disappeared without a trace, where was there any trace of a libertine's frivolity?

……

……

Under Zhao Douan's instructions, the conflict on the long street came to an end, and Lu Qingfeng left with the princess.

The big man and the female knight were also released and disappeared into the crowd.

Leaving only this episode, spread by people's mouths, becoming a topic of conversation destined to be full of mystery.

Beside a quiet street.

Inside a luxurious carriage.

Xu Junling waited quietly for a while, and when she saw the maid Green Water come in, she whispered:

How is Master Lu?

The maid replied: "The injury is not serious, but he needs to recuperate for a while."

Xu Junling nodded lightly, relieved, and took out a porcelain bottle:

"Send this pill to Master Lu."

The maid Green Water took it and said, "How should we arrange things on their side?"

The "they" in her mouth referred to the big man and the female knight who were also the princess's guards.

Xu Junling sighed softly, helplessly:

"Let them come back directly, there's no need to pretend not to know each other, Zhao Douan saw through it long ago."

Green Water was shocked: "He saw through it long ago? Then…"

Xu Junling's eyes were serious, and she said with emotion:

"This person clearly forced me to come out on purpose. The crude frivolity just now, the dirty and unclean words, I'm afraid it was also a means of gaining control of the conversation.

He was able to figure out my style in just a quarter of an hour of talking with me, know my many concerns, and use verbal teasing to break and shift the topic, disrupting the opponent's conversation rhythm…

It seems that my imperial sister has indeed raised a formidable figure."

Here it comes again…

Green Water was accustomed to her princess's habit of brain supplementation and analysis, and said:

"So, did we lose this round?"

Xu Junling smiled, looking proud:

"Of course not, at most he just took some verbal advantage. At least I have a rough understanding of this person's character.

The goal has been achieved.

Besides, he must be rushing back anxiously now, heh, let's see if he can still be arrogant after he loses face."

Green Water seemed to understand but didn't understand, and muttered "Oh" in a muffled voice.

Xu Junling picked up the book, listening to the rain and reading.

But somehow, Zhao's last sentence always echoed in her ears.

Her eyes couldn't help but fall on her chest.

Recalling the scene a few days ago, when she spent the night in the Empress's bedroom and met her imperial sister in the bath, she was immediately distracted.

Magnificent landscapes are the most moving… It seems, that it's not wrong.

……

……

"Da da…"

On the other side, after sending the princess away, Zhao Douan saw that Eunuch Hai had not returned, so he left a note.

Then, he went downstairs alone, rode his horse against the wind and rain, and quickly returned to the yamen.

"Xu Junling, ah Xu Junling… If you dare to deceive me, I will remember this…"

Zhao Douan was riding his horse, constantly using his internal energy to shake off the rain that fell on his body.

He muttered in his heart.

He wasn't sure how much truth there was in Xu Junling's last sentence.

However, since the other party accurately said the name "Chai Keqiao," it was worth a trip.

Soon, when Zhao Douan arrived at the main gate of the Imperial Prison, jumped off his horse, and asked the gatekeeper:

"Has anything happened in the yamen? Has any outsider come?"

The gatekeeper trembled when he heard the words, as if he had seen the backbone:

"Imperial Inspector Zhao, you're finally back, please go in and take a look."

Zhao Douan's heart sank.

Without wasting words with him, he threw the reins to him and strode into the yamen.

His ears twitched, and following the direction of the noisiest voices, he quickly arrived at the Grand Supervisor's Hall.

He saw that the usually deserted courtyard of the hall was now crowded with people, all the Embroidered Uniform Guards from various halls.

He saw his Pear Blossom Hall's subordinates at a glance, and said in a deep voice:

"Everyone, make way! What's going on, crowding here?"

With a low shout, everyone looked over, and then made a chaotic shout of "Imperial Inspector Zhao."

Little Secretary Qian Kerou was also here, her eyes lit up, and she ran over and said quickly:

"Sir, you're finally back. Not long ago, a strange-looking martial artist came outside the yamen, calling himself Chai Keqiao. After entering the door, he claimed that he wanted to challenge the court's experts.

The first person to receive him was Imperial Inspector Hai.

After that, he challenged the Imperial Inspectors from the eight halls in one go.

When he came to our Pear Blossom Hall, he left when he saw that you were not here."

Another challenge?

Is this endless?!

Zhao Douan's heart inexplicably surged with anger, and he asked:

"Where is the Grand Supervisor? Isn't the Grand Supervisor here?"

Qian Kerou shook her head and said:

"The Grand Supervisor went out to do errands this morning and hasn't returned yet."

Zhao Douan took a deep breath, stepped forward and walked towards the Grand Supervisor's Hall with a straight face.

The black mass of Embroidered Uniform Guards in the courtyard parted to both sides like a tide.

When he walked into the Grand Supervisor's Hall, he saw the Imperial Inspectors from various halls slumped on the chairs next to the large table where everyone usually held meetings.

Everyone's face was pale, without blood, and their breath was weak.

They looked like they were adjusting their breath and recuperating.

Many people had some minor injuries on their bodies.

Seeing him enter the door, they all looked over, unable to hide their shame.

"How bad are the injuries?" Zhao Douan asked urgently.

Zhang Han, the poker-faced number one of the Nine Halls, moved his lips and shook his head:

"It's not a big deal, we're just slightly injured, but… cough cough, our qi sea is shaken, and we're a little exhausted."

The tiger's mouths of his hands were cracked, and he had already bandaged them with ointment and bandages.

Zhao Douan silently breathed a sigh of relief, his face was ugly:

"Is it the Martial Immortal Kui's personal disciple? Chai Keqiao did it? You all lost?"

Haitang was also exhausted, slumped in her chair, looking weak, and habitually retorted him:

Non… nonsense, do you think we look like we won… This person is indeed powerful. Zhang Han didn't even… fight him for a few rounds… I said this in the morning… This person is not stable… You still don't… cough cough…"

Zhao Douan walked over, raised his hand and pressed it on her shoulder, using his internal energy to help her adjust her breath, and frowned:

"Stop talking, you need to rest."

An Imperial Inspector spoke indignantly:

"Imperial Inspector Zhao, go find the Grand Supervisor, this matter can't be settled like this. The face of the court, all… cough cough."

Next to him, the old acquaintance Zhou Baihu explained with a bitter face:

"We've already sent someone to find him, but the Grand Supervisor can't come back for a while, and it's not good to…"

"I know," Zhao Douan waved his hand, looked around at everyone, his eyes cold:

"Where is that Chai Keqiao?!"