The First Lackey Under The Empress

About a quarter of an hour later.

Having washed his body clean, put on his clothes, and tidied himself up, Zhao Du'an, carrying the "Tai'a Sword", walked through the midday corridor under the guidance of a palace lady, and arrived at the "Dining Hall" of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

This was not Zhao Du'an's first arrival.

Several months ago, on the third day of his transmigration, he had entered here and undergone a life-or-death interrogation.

That was also his first time dining with the Empress.

Months later, on a midday autumn day, he came to this door again, about to face another major interrogation.

His emotions were uncontrollably tense.

Zhao Du'an tried his best to dispel the complicated thoughts, putting himself into the alert state of "Great Secret".

He knew that if this conversation between monarch and subject went wrong, it was very likely that everything he had accumulated in recent days would have to start all over again.

"Lord Zhao, Her Majesty is ahead, please."

The unfamiliar female official stopped, her skirt not even swaying.

She gestured a "please" while turning her body.

On a midday autumn day, the dark clouds in the sky above the palace gradually dispersed, the sunlight shone down, and the air was still humid and slightly cold.

Birds flew from the direction of the Imperial Garden, passing over the palaces, and every ten meters or so along the long corridor stood a palace attendant.

But at this moment, they were all expressionless and unusually quiet.

""...Thank you."

Zhao Du'an took a deep breath, revealing an impeccable smile, and strode forward, once again, entering the role of a loyal minister in seven steps.

After seven steps, he arrived outside the door, already bowing with his head lowered:

"Your subject, Zhao Du'an, pays respects to Her Majesty."

After about two breaths of delay, a familiar, cold voice came:

"Sit down and have a meal."

"Yes."

Zhao Du'an didn't play the refusing game, in the officialdom, understanding unspoken meanings was a basic skill.

What he heard was not the content of the words themselves, but the tone and the context, in order to figure out the true meaning of the Emperor.

Zhao Du'an had heard a saying in his previous life:

Language is an imperfect carrier of thought, humans invented language and writing to express meaning.

But from the moment the words leave the lips and teeth, most of their true meaning has already diminished, becoming incomplete.

Therefore, in the long process of evolution, people have learned to combine context, tone, expression... to understand the true intention of a sentence.

Even, language and writing account for only a very small part of the meaning expressed.

Thus, there is room for misunderstanding in words and language.

Just like at this moment, what the Empress said about having a meal really just meant having a meal, and had no other meaning.

So Zhao Du'an stepped into the room, came to the table, sat down on the prepared round stool, picked up the chopsticks... and only raised his head after completing these smooth and flowing movements.

The round table was full of delicacies.

Sitting directly opposite was the elegant and dignified Xu Zhenguan.

She was no different from usual, wearing a white casual dress, her head of black hair casually draped behind her, without any ornaments on her body, so that the person became the main focus.

Her skin was as white as jade, her features were almost unadorned, naturally perfect, her eyelashes were thick, her nose was straight and delicate, and her lips were full...

The curve of her jaw was soft, flowing downwards, drawing a pink neck, which suddenly constricted at the neckline below.

The noble ladies in the capital dressed boldly, but the Empress, as the ruler of a country, was unusually "conservative" in her clothing.

While Zhao Du'an was secretly sizing up the Empress, Xu Zhenguan was also examining him.

In those slightly slender phoenix eyes, no emotion could be seen, only those two ink-black pupils were purely frightening.

The eyes of the monarch and subject collided.

"Let's eat," Xu Zhenguan said casually, and immediately began to eat first.

On the surface, she seemed to be chewing slowly and gracefully, but the speed at which she ate was strangely fast, and in the blink of an eye, she had devoured two meatballs.

There was no interrogation.

There wasn't even a single "question", but it made Zhao Du'an feel even more pressured.

"Your subject obeys," he squeezed out these words, and simply lowered his head and began to eat heartily.

The Martial God lineage had a large appetite, and after his advancement, he had fought with all his might, his stomach was already roaring with hunger, fortunately, the Empress seemed to have ordered the Imperial Kitchen to increase the amount of food today.

The plates that the two had eaten were immediately removed by the palace maids and replaced with new dishes.

In the room, for a time, only the monarch and subject were left, two gluttons devouring the food like a whirlwind.

After a long time, when Zhao Du'an felt full and his eating speed slowed down, the Empress also put down her chopsticks, wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, and said, "Take it away."

"Yes."

One by one, the palace maids stepped forward, began to clean up the battlefield, and presented after-dinner tea.

Zhao Du'an, with a heart as if going to his death, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and took the initiative to confess:

"Your Majesty, your subject is actually..."

He felt that at this time, as a man, he should take the initiative and not wait for others to ask him everything.

However...

Xu Zhenguan raised her hand, interrupting his speech, her pure white skirt fluttered, she had already stood up and walked out, leaving behind a sentence:

"Follow me."

......

......

Interrupted from casting his spell, Zhao Du'an had no choice but to follow, walking side by side with the Empress, one step behind—so as not to let the Empress's shapely and full buttocks enter his field of vision.

The two passed through the long corridor, exited the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and in the afternoon of autumn, crossed the huge square in front of the Meridian Gate of the Imperial City, large enough to accommodate thousands of people in battle formation.

They arrived outside the "Armory" where the Imperial City's enshrined guards were stationed.

"Your Majesty."

Eunuch Hai, wearing a python robe, had been waiting here for a long time, and bowed when he saw the two arrive.

Xu Zhenguan looked majestic, lightly "En" a sound, said:

"Unless there is an important matter, forbid anyone from disturbing me."

"Yes."

Xu Zhenguan stepped over the threshold and entered this group of buildings that displayed many palace treasures.

...When Zhao Du'an passed by Old Hai, he winked at him frantically, meaning to ask:

What's the meaning of this?

But Eunuch Hai pretended not to see anything, pretending to be transparent, making him depressed and even more uneasy.

Inside the silent armory, the monarch and subject, one in front and one behind, walked along the central axis, passing through one red wooden door after another inlaid with brass door nails.

They arrived at the deepest part, in the small courtyard overgrown with weeds.

In the autumn atmosphere, the ancient pavilion in front of them was particularly desolate and bleak.

"Go upstairs."

Xu Zhenguan said softly, stepping up the stairs.

Zhao Du'an crossed the stone wall on the first floor that was engraved with the "Martial God Diagram", and followed the Empress, climbing up to the second floor.

With a "creak", the door was pushed open, the second floor was almost the same layout as the first floor, the only difference was.

The stone walls in the room were much narrower and taller, and rather than saying they were "walls", they were more like "steles".

The natural light was not bright, and the room seemed a bit dim.

The surface of the second stone wall was gray and dusty, and no patterns could be seen.

The monarch and subject stood side by side in front of the door, letting the dim light behind them cast into the room.

"Your Majesty...Your subject is actually..."

Zhao Du'an spoke for the second time.

"Sword," the Empress still interrupted him, her vermilion lips uttering this word.

"...Oh oh!"

Zhao Du'an was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly untied the Tai'a Sword from his waist, offering it with both hands:

"Your subject dares to borrow the sword, it is truly a heinous crime, unforgivable, extremely sinful..."

Xu Zhenguan glanced at him condescendingly, ignoring his nonsense, her white wrist reached out, and her slender fingers casually grasped the hilt of the sword.

The divine weapon, which originally only Xu Zhenguan could hold in the world, was as well-behaved as a cat.

The surface rippled with a water-like luster.

Faintly emitting a soft, joyful sword cry.

In the cry, it seemed to faintly carry a hint of...pleasing.

Zhao Du'an's expression was strange, and he inexplicably felt that he and this sword were a good match, facing the peerless beauty in front of him, both were licking dog images...

Misery loves company...

"Do you know how long it took me to enter the Divine Chapter from the Mortal Body?" the beauty asked softly, stroking the sword.

Zhao Du'an shook his head frankly, not showing off his cleverness inappropriately at this time.

"Half a year," Xu Zhenguan gave the answer.

Zhao Du'an admired:

"Your Majesty's talent is extraordinary, truly a great talent unmatched in the world."

Crossing a realm in half a year was indeed extremely fast, although Zhao Du'an was also very fast, but considering that he had already been accumulating in the low ranks of the Mortal Body for a long time before the transmigration, the total time had reached several years.

Well, if calculated from the beginning of practicing the Martial God Diagram after transmigration, it would not even be half a year...

Xu Zhenguan shook her head and said:

"This kind of talent is nothing, the path of cultivation becomes more and more difficult as you go further, and besides, what takes time in the Mortal Body realm is nothing more than tempering and accumulating... Therefore, in the royal family, what is truly valued is how much inheritance and recognition can be obtained from the Great Ancestor Emperor."

She was silent for a moment, and said meaningfully:

"Just like this Tai'a Sword, many enshrined guards in the palace, princes and grandsons of past dynasties, there are very few who can truly cultivate to the point where they can hold this sword and gain its recognition..."

"Heh, this is a secret within the royal family, even my uncles and princes are not clear about the key to holding this sword.

They only think that one needs to have a high enough cultivation base, or be permitted by past emperors..."

Sweat beads oozed from Zhao Du'an's forehead, feeling a little flustered.

Xu Zhenguan stared at him with her beautiful eyes, her tone unhurried and slow, and said:

"Do you know when I gained the recognition of this sword?"

"...I don't know."

"That was long after I advanced to the Worldly Realm, and even before I ascended the throne, even during the coup, I could only barely hold it, but I couldn't summon this sword at will."

Xu Zhenguan recalled wistfully.

Then, with a gentle twist of her wrist, she placed the Tai'a Sword on Zhao Du'an's shoulder.

The Empress's jade face was frosted, her beautiful eyes contained a murderous aura, staring at him, exhaling like orchids:

"You, how did you do it?"

......

Misspelled words will be corrected later.