The First Lackey Under The Empress

How to do it?

In the desolate courtyard of autumn, on the second floor of an old building that has stood firm through six hundred years of wind and rain.

Zhao Du'an and Xu Zhenguan stood facing each other, barely a step apart.

A beam of sunlight from a crack in the clouds shone directly between them.

Along the central axis of the armory, the open double wooden doors crossed the threshold, dividing the stone tablet inside into two equal halves.

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“Your Majesty… calm your anger.”

Zhao Du'an felt the weight of the sword blade lightly pressing on his shoulder, his eyes sincere and earnest, neither dodging nor avoiding, but open and selfless.

At this distance, with a flick of Xu Zhenguan's wrist, the sharp Tai'a sword could behead him.

Perhaps, when his head fell to the ground, the sword would not be stained with a single drop of blood.

But…

As the "Pseudo Celestial" realm empress, if she really wanted to take his head, why bother with the trouble of using a sword?

At this moment, Zhao Du'an channeled his inner actor.

First, he met the Empress's gaze and respectfully spoke these words, and then, unhurriedly, he delivered the prepared speech:

“Without Your Majesty's permission, this subject rashly moved the divine artifact… this is crime number one.”

“As a royal family retainer, I trespassed on the arena, intending to emulate the late Emperor's era, but instead caused the Heavenly Master to intervene… this is crime number two.”

“This subject has committed the offense of deceiving the Emperor, obtained the dynasty's treasure, and failed to report it in a timely manner… this is crime number three.”

Zhao Du'an spoke each word clearly. Before the Empress could question him, he proactively took responsibility for his mistakes.

Then, he slowly raised his hand and gently pinched the blade pressed against his shoulder with two fingers, but instead of pushing it away, he brought the blade even closer to his neck, saying bitterly:

“This subject knows that I have committed a great error. This subject will not complain about whatever punishment Your Majesty deems fit.

If not for Your Majesty's grace in the past, this head of mine would have been lost long ago when Zhuang Xiaocheng escaped. This subject's current glory is all thanks to Your Majesty's benevolence. Now that Your Majesty wishes to take it away, this subject will naturally offer it up.”

As he spoke, he closed his eyes, appearing ready to be executed, bravely facing death.

“……”

Xu Zhenguan's hand holding the sword did not move. Her frost-like face, feigning majesty, faintly revealed a trace of helpless annoyance. How could she really cut him down?

After a moment of silence, Zhao Du'an, who was waiting to die with his eyes closed, suddenly felt the pressure on his shoulder lighten, accompanied by the Empress's voice, as if she was amused by his words:

“So, you are ready to die. Do you see me as a foolish ruler who unjustly kills meritorious officials?!”

Huff… The first hurdle is over…

Zhao Du'an silently exhaled in his heart, giving himself a thumbs up for his performance. He quickly opened his eyes.

He saw the Empress turn sideways, facing the distant, layered armory buildings, leaving him with a cold and aloof profile.

That priceless royal artifact was casually thrust into the ground half an inch, like scrap metal.

“This subject dare not!”

Zhao Du'an bowed deeply.

The image of officials sliding and prostrating themselves in TV dramas flashed through his mind, but since the Great Yu Dynasty had no kneeling rules, he decided to abandon the idea.

“Dare not? I see that you are very ‘daring’.”

Xu Zhenguan's eyes were unkind, and a cold smile hung on her lips:

“I just asked you a question, and you dared not answer. You even forced me with death. I am curious, who taught you that? Could it be Sun Lianying? Or Yuan Li?”

The two people who were inexplicably blamed suddenly shuddered in an unknown corner…

Zhao Du'an was humble and submissive:

“This subject just answered Your Majesty's question.”

Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment, and frowned:

“Where… are you saying, deceiving the Emperor? Obtaining a treasure but not presenting it?”

Only then did she remember the third item on the list of crimes that the detestable fellow had just confessed to.

“Your Majesty is wise.” Zhao Du'an responded:

“Before today, this subject had never touched the Tai'a sword, let alone ‘summoned it at will’? This subject was able to do this entirely because of a treasure.”

Treasure?

How could I not know what could… Xu Zhenguan's heart was filled with doubts:

“What treasure? Where is it?”

“It’s inside this subject’s body.” Zhao Du'an pointed to his lower abdomen.

“Nonsense…”

Xu Zhenguan's eyes glanced at his waist, and a moment of shame flashed across her pale face. Immediately, she realized that she had misunderstood and said with uncertain surprise:

“Are you talking about the Dantian Qi Sea?”

“Exactly!” Zhao Du'an didn't play coy and said:

“I implore Your Majesty to use your great cultivation to set up an isolation barrier, to prevent outsiders from spying on the movements here. This subject will present the treasure to Your Majesty for a look, and once Your Majesty sees it, everything will be clear.”

“...Granted.”

Although Xu Zhenguan felt that these words sounded strange, she couldn't resist her curiosity.

With a wave of her fair hand, a small seal flew to the top of the building.

As it slowly rotated, it cast an invisible barrier, isolating the entire courtyard.

Ensuring that no matter how loud the commotion here, the outside would not be able to hear it.

Seeing that the groundwork was sufficient, Zhao Du'an immediately slapped his Dantian and exhaled deeply!

Boom!

At that moment, golden light suddenly appeared in his Qi Sea. In the "sea" of condensed liquid true energy, the sleeping Dragon Soul awakened, forcing it out of his mouth.

Once the half-foot-long, illusory dragon-shaped "god" appeared, dark clouds gathered in the small courtyard, accompanied by lightning and thunder.

The illusory golden dragon let out a majestic dragon roar and suddenly leaped up, circling in the air along the building!

In an instant, a strong wind rose, and the surfaces of the five stone walls on all five floors of the building faintly glowed, as if in response.

For the first time, a shocked and discomposed expression appeared on Xu Zhenguan's majestic and dignified face!

She could no longer maintain her imperial majesty, and with both hands on the railing, she raised her slender white neck, her phoenix eyes widened, staring intently at the illusory dragon-shaped Qi circling in the air.

She exclaimed, “Dragon Soul?!”

The Dragon Soul that the founding Emperor cultivated throughout his life, and that remained after his death, according to legend!

It was also the Dragon Soul that every emperor of the Great Yu royal family had sought after!

It was the Dragon Soul that she had turned the palace upside down to find, repeatedly sensing its aura, but never able to locate!

There was no need to discern; with her cultivation, she only needed a glance, relying on a faint sense, to guess the origin of this thing.

“This… this is the treasure you spoke of?!”

Xu Zhenguan stood in the wind, suddenly turning her head, staring at Zhao Du'an in disbelief.

Zhao, that certain someone, wore an innocent look:

“Your Majesty, I wasn't very clear about what this thing was originally, but I suppose it勉强 counts as a treasure.”

勉强? Heh heh!

Xu Zhenguan almost laughed out of anger. This Dragon Soul itself couldn't be considered powerful. Even for people outside the Xu Imperial Dynasty, it might not be that precious.

But for the royal family, how could the word "treasure" even begin to describe it?

In her opinion, this was a relic of the Great Ancestor that was far more important than the Tai'a Sword.

At this moment, she was extremely grateful that she had set up a strong barrier just now. Otherwise, the birth of the Dragon Soul would inevitably attract the attention of Zhang Yan and the Xuan Yin Abbot.

But even so, she still urged:

“Put it away!”

Zhao Du'an was stunned for a moment, then said seriously:

“This subject dares not. It should be returned to its original owner. Your Majesty should put it away.”

Xu Zhenguan wore a stern face, her eyes dangerous:

“I told you to put it away. Say another word.”

The female emperor felt as if a little person was roaring in her heart.

How could she not have tried? But just now, she secretly made several attempts, but none of them could make the Dragon Soul look at her.

“Oh oh…”

Zhao Du'an nodded obediently, opened his mouth, and made a swallowing motion. The dancing Dragon Soul instantly turned into golden light, drilled into his mouth, and re-nested in his Qi Sea.

At the same time, Zhao Du'an's face turned pale.

Because with such an appearance, the recovered Qi in his Dantian was swallowed by the Dragon Soul by 90%. Only then did it reluctantly re-coil and fall into a deep sleep.

This was not a killer weapon that his little Divine Seal could casually use.

Zhao Du'an suspected that even if he was fully prepared to summon this thing to help in battle, he wouldn't last more than ten seconds before he was sucked dry.

This further strengthened his idea of offering it to the female emperor.

— It was both because he had to give a reasonable explanation today, and also because, after advancing to the Divine Seal realm, he clearly sensed that this thing was good, but it also had hidden dangers.

It wasn't that the Dragon Soul was harmful to him, but that this thing was a "gold-devouring beast" that he couldn't control at his current level.

On the contrary, it might bring trouble.

That day in the Tranquility Illumination Temple, the snow-white Bodhisattva seemed to have seen something.

Therefore, after repeated weighing, he decided to offer the Dragon Soul in exchange for the female emperor's greater trust.

As the Dragon Soul fell asleep, the dark clouds on the roof also dissipated.

The surroundings returned to silence, as if everything just now was just an illusion, only the barrier remained.

“Your Majesty?”

At this time, Zhao Du'an noticed that the female emperor's gaze at him was a little scary.

He couldn't help but take a step back, feeling a sense of crisis like a virtuous girl being targeted by a young master.

The fairy-like female emperor took a deep breath, as if to calm her agitated mood.

After a long time, Xu Zhenguan calmed down and stared deeply at the treacherous minister in front of her who was deceiving the emperor, and said:

“I need an explanation.”

Zhao Du'an immediately began to explain.

In his explanation, as he gradually deepened his cultivation of the Martial God Diagram, the Great Ancestor Emperor in the painting became more and more vivid.

Especially after spending a night with the female emperor in the ancestral temple in the palace last time, when he woke up, he noticed the difference.

But at that time, he thought it was a change in his cultivation progress, so he didn't think much about it.

It wasn't until a few days ago when he was in seclusion that the Great Ancestor Emperor spoke to him in the "Town under the Green Mountain", showed him the Dragon Soul, and said he would give him the Tai'a Sword and teach him "Heaven Opening."

After waking up, he had already stepped into the Divine Seal realm, and at the same time, there was this thing in his Qi Sea…

Well, this statement was half true and half false, hiding the matter of the secret passage under the ancestral temple.

The main reason was that this matter couldn't be said. If he opened his mouth, it would mean that Zhao Du'an had hidden the Dragon Soul and not handed it over, and he would really be deceiving the emperor.

“So, the Great Ancestor Emperor spoke those words to you at the end of the Martial God Scroll? Took out the Tai'a?”

Xu Zhenguan asked calmly after listening quietly.

“Yes,” Zhao Du'an nodded, then hurriedly explained:

“However, this subject sternly refused at the time. The Tai'a Sword is a treasure of the royal family. How can this subject, an outsider, get involved?”

Xu Zhenguan stared straight at him and suddenly asked:

“When you first cultivated the Martial God Diagram, how far were you from the mountain peak? Eunuch Hai said you weren't far from the foot of the mountain. You lied at the time, didn't you?”

Zhao Du'an felt immense pressure from her stare and said with a stiff scalp:

“This subject… did indeed hide a lot from Eunuch Hai.”

Well, he said he was hiding it from the old eunuch, not from the female emperor.

Xu Zhenguan was not surprised and continued:

“I knew that you could have such good fortune because you must have extraordinary talent. Then how far were you from the mountain peak that day? Did you reach the mountainside?”

The closer the starting point is to the mountain top when entering the Martial God Diagram, the higher the match with the "Martial God" path.

The female emperor's appearance on the mountainside that year was already amazing and brilliant.

Zhao Du'an hesitated for a moment and said honestly: “Almost.”

Xu Zhenguan said unhappily: “Almost is how much? I want to hear the truth!”

Zhao Du'an looked embarrassed: “A little higher than the mountainside.”

Xu Zhenguan clenched her pink fist in her sleeve, feeling a sense of unwillingness to be surpassed. Fortunately, this guy was still on par with her:

“How much higher?”

“A section higher.”

“How high is a section?”

“Probably… on the top of the mountain.”

“…”

“…”

In the distance.

In the courtyard of the Martial Repository gate, the python-robed old eunuch sat in a rocking chair, glanced at the depths, and felt the almost invisible barrier.

He murmured softly:

“Young people, why are you hiding anything from others?”

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