The First Lackey Under The Empress

The Li Residence.

In contrast to the lively, bustling arena square, the Chancellor's residence, located in the "residential area" for dignitaries in the north of the city, was grand and quiet.

Because the Chancellor was old and disliked noise.

The servants within the residence walked, sat, and rested, all trying their best to lighten their footsteps.

Today, because there was no court session and officials of all ranks from the yamen were watching the martial arts competition, Li Yanfu also did not go to the yamen.

"Hui lululu."

Outside the residence gate, before the coachman could stop the carriage, the forty-odd-year-old "Young Grand Secretary" with a high nose bridge jumped out of the carriage and hurried into the gate.

Bypassing the screen, amid the greetings of the servants along the way, he arrived outside the courtyard of the study.

Li Yinglong took a deep breath, lightened his footsteps, and after tidying his appearance, knocked on the vermilion-painted door.

"Father, your son has returned."

Li Yinglong stepped over the threshold and bowed towards Li Yanfu, who was sitting upright behind a wide desk, examining a letter.

Li Yanfu was wearing loose casual clothes today, his bare feet stepping on a soft carpet from the Western Regions.

His back was slightly hunched, and he slowly raised his head, the fierce old man with a graying beard covering his cheeks nodded in satisfaction:

"What was the result of the competition? Did the Shenlong Temple win?"

Li Yinglong shook his head.

"The Heavenly Masters' Mansion was even better?" The highly powerful Grand Chancellor of the Great Yu Dynasty looked slightly surprised.

Li Yinglong shook his head again, and in his father's puzzled gaze, his tone was dejected, almost gnashing his teeth:

"Zhao Doan won!"

Then, the Young Grand Secretary recounted the course of the competition in detail.

The study fell into silence.

Li Yanfu was stunned for a moment, the old and cloudy eyeballs first showing surprise, then contemplation, and finally he nodded slowly:

"I understand, you may leave."

Li Yinglong was taken aback, his tone urgent, and he made to step forward:

"Father, that Zhao is becoming more and more influential, if we don't deal with him, he will become a great threat..."

"I told you to leave."

"...Yes."

Li Yinglong's face twisted, he stamped his foot, sighed deeply, and turned to leave.

After he left, Li Yanfu slowly stood up, his bare feet with bulging blue veins and grayish nails, pacing to a corner of the room.

Beside the newly lit charcoal basin, which had been sent in early to warm the room due to the cold and rain.

Li Yanfu held the "letter for help" that had been sent into the capital from outside the capital not long ago, and threw it away casually.

The letter and envelope fell into the charcoal basin with a "plop", and were quickly swallowed by a burst of flames, burning and twisting, in the flames, only vaguely glimpsing:

"Taicang", "silver", "Chancellor"... and other words.

In the study, there was a faint, aged sigh:

"Troubled times..."

...

...

The Imperial Prison, Cell 甲子.

"What's all the noise about?"

A prison guard, carrying a saber, followed the sound of knocking on the door and arrived outside a cell, sternly rebuking.

Inside the cell, Chai Keqiao, his hands and feet bound by chains, sat cross-legged on the cold ground.

He was not wearing the prison clothes of ordinary prisoners, but still wearing his tattered linen clothes, straw sandals on his feet, and his wheat-colored skin was a little paler, smilingly putting down his hand that was hitting the prison door, and said:

"I've decided to go out."

The old soldier, who had served in the Imperial Prison for twenty years and was used to seeing countless important figures, said with a "yo ho" sound:

"Before, when we wanted to kick you out, you wouldn't leave, now you've figured it out? Aren't you afraid of being ambushed outside?"

Chai Keqiao's smile was a little shy, and he said:

"I just heard the bell ringing for the end of the competition, so it's time for me to go out."

The prison guard didn't say anything, twisted open the cell door, and dragged Chai Keqiao out, saying:

"After you go out, be a good person, if you dare to provoke people in the yamen again... especially Inspector Zhao, you won't get such good treatment next time."

"I know, I know."

Chai Keqiao lowered his voice, with a smile on his face, not showing the slightest bit of the aura of a master who had challenged the court, but rather like a down-and-out young master.

Shortly.

When Chai Keqiao finished the "procedures" and retrieved his axe, he was about to go out.

It happened that a brocade-clad guard came over and was talking to his colleagues in the prison about the big events of the competition.

The brocade-clad guard was quite excited, describing it with great enthusiasm, and when he finished speaking, he turned around, and suddenly saw a figure standing behind him, not knowing when.

"You said, Zhao Doan borrowed the Tai'a Sword and defeated Tianhai?" Chai Keqiao's eyes were burning.

"That's right..."

A moment of silence.

As if digesting this unbelievable news.

After a while, Chai Keqiao had a look of dejection, a look of great disappointment, and walked out with a lost soul, shaking his head:

"Loss, a big loss..."

...

At the same time.

With the crowds of onlookers dispersing, leaving.

News about the competition also quickly rose to the top of the capital's trending topics, becoming a hot topic of discussion among people on the streets and in taverns.

"Zhao Doan? Is that the legendary 'King Yama Zhao'? He's actually a court供奉? Aren't供奉 eunuchs? Could it be..."

"Bah, would the Sage choose eunuchs for that? Alas, truly envious, with the Sage backing him, he can easily become famous throughout the world."

"Hehe, does Master Zhao care about fame? Maybe he even wishes his fame was smaller."

"Who was it who said that King Yama Zhao only relied on his power? A Divine Chapter martial artist, that's amazing, even more powerful than the little monk from the Shenlong Temple, and the disciple of the Heavenly Master..."

"Not so, King Yama Zhao is strong, but he is still far inferior to the two families, he was able to win, let me tell you in detail..."

People were talking.

If, before this, King Yama Zhao's reputation was mostly limited to the vicinity of the capital.

But this time, it will spread throughout the Nine Provinces and Eighteen Prefectures through the mouths of these Jianghu people.

As for his ability to wield the Tai'a Sword, it did not cause too much suspicion, and people subconsciously attributed it to "the Empress's arrangement".

"Zhao Doan... is already at the Divine Chapter Realm..."

In a tavern, the actor Wu Ling, deliberately disguised and dressed up, was stunned and lost in thought, his fist clenched and then released.

A few months ago, the other party was still a low-grade mortal, and now he has become so powerful...

"Grand Tutor Zhuang is confused, why didn't he strike a fatal blow in the beginning..."

Wu Ling felt regret in his heart for the countless time.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man stepped into the tavern and sat familiarly at the table behind him, the two of them back to back.

They began to carry out the routine news transmission within the society, and at the end, Wu Ling couldn't help but mention Zhao Doan's matter.

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment before saying:

"I have already sent the news of the competition back to the headquarters urgently, I believe Grand Tutor Zhuang will make a decision."

The last time you sent back the news of the downfall of Wang, the secretary of the Privy Council, you said the same thing... Wu Ling slandered in his heart.

In less than half a year, the pseudo-emperor has not only not lost the hearts of the people, but instead, her throne is becoming more and more stable.

Wu Ling said goodbye to his superior and silently walked out of the tavern.

On the way back to the Bafang Theater, when passing near the Shenlong Temple, he suddenly saw a team of armored imperial guards marching towards the temple in a mighty manner.

The leader was actually the female chancellor of the palace, Mo Zhaorong.

Wu Ling was stunned for a moment and vaguely guessed the reason.

Suddenly felt that the path of joining a gang was a bit bleak.

...

On the other side.

The Court of Oversight.

Yuan Li returned to the yamen by car, and before his butt could warm the seat, he saw an official hurriedly seeking an audience:

"Lord Yuan, the yamen has received a letter of accusation, which is of great importance, please take a look."

A letter of accusation?

Yuan Li raised his eyebrows, not daring to delay, the letter of accusation that could be handed to him must be extraordinary.

The envelope had already been opened, and Da Qingyi took out the letter, his eyes narrowing:

"Taicang Silver Mine..."

After a moment, Yuan Qingyi's face was grave, and he resisted the urge to immediately enter the palace.

At this time, His Majesty must be meeting with Zhao Doan.

The matter in his hand was not urgent.

"Wait a little longer..."

...

...

The Imperial Palace, inside a certain room.

"Splash!"

Zhao Doan drew his two muscular arms, with their well-defined lines, out of the tub, slapping them on the wet edge of the wooden barrel.

He relaxed and slumped in the medicinal soup, feeling the stinging pain of the wound on his chest, and the itching sensation of the flesh slowly healing and growing, he couldn't help but let out a comfortable groan.

"Ah——"

The doors and windows of the room were tightly closed, the furnishings were simple, only this large bathtub took up space, and there was a screen in front of it, with his clothes and pants hanging on it.

After the competition, Zhao Doan was immediately sent into the palace.

He thought that the Empress would summon him immediately, but she did not, but instead, a physician rushed over to examine his injuries.

And prescribed a pile of precious medicinal materials, both for internal and external use, to treat him.

The grand scale once made Zhao Doan think he was going to die...

But in fact, the wound caused by the "Buddha's light" breaking through his defense in the competition was not serious.

He estimated that he would basically recover in a week.

What really made him unsteady and mentally listless was the exhaustion of his energy.

However, after meditating and absorbing the medicinal power, his dry Qi Sea had been replenished, and although he was still a little weak, he was no longer in serious trouble.

At this moment, he fell into thought:

"Hoo, acting cool for a moment, cremation ground afterwards... Think about how to deal with the next troubles."

"Well, although I'm exhausted, after this, I can sense that my somewhat superficial state of mind has suddenly stabilized... This shows that I bet right, truly fighting head-on with someone, not dodging or avoiding, is in line with the martial artist's state of mind...

However, in the future, if I can avoid doing it myself, I should still avoid going on myself... There's no need to suffer unnecessarily."

"After this incident, my reputation will definitely expand, in the eyes of the Kuangfu Society rebels, and even in the eyes of political enemies like the 'Li Party' in the court, the desire to kill me will be even stronger, but it doesn't matter, anyway, whether I'm strong or not, the enemies won't let me go..."

Well, just be a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.

"The attitude of the Shenlong Temple is a bit interesting... abnormal, and at that time, Bianji clearly had conflicts with that old bald donkey... Tsk, is it related to the internal power struggle of Buddhism? I wonder how the court will deal with it..."

The rebels, and the Eight Kings, definitely want to fight, intensify the conflict, and reap the benefits..."

Well, but that old Yin Bi Yuan Li is present, he should have thought of this level... Bah, it's already this time, I'm still thinking for the court, let me think about myself first!"

Zhao Doan sighed and looked at the Tai'a Sword placed next to the screen, motionless, and suddenly felt a headache.

"How to explain? Can I control this thing?"

Obviously, this time it's not easy to fool, he can only reveal some secrets to gain Zhenbao's trust.

However, it is both a risk and an opportunity.

If he can grasp it, maybe he can push the relationship between the monarch and the minister a step further.

Turning his chaotic thoughts, there was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of a palace maid:

"Master Zhao, His Majesty wants to see you."

The unavoidable has finally come...

Zhao Doan sighed and stepped out of the bathtub:

"Coming."

Thank you Li Shipu for the 500 coin reward, and Mercury's Masked Man for the 100 reward support.