The First Lackey Under The Empress

"Zhao Du'an? Is that the pretty boy the Empress Dowager keeps?" a divine official asked, surprised.

Jin Jian thought for a moment, then gently nodded: "It is him."

The divine officials exchanged glances, surprised that their pure-minded Senior Sister Jin Jian, who was usually indifferent to worldly affairs, would suddenly mention this person.

"This person... has a terrible reputation, shameful to mention," one divine official frowned. "Why is Senior Sister paying attention to him?"

Another said:

"I did hear that this person has recently gotten into trouble, something to do with the rebels wanted by the imperial court, causing quite a stir."

"Oh, I heard about it too, but didn't pay much attention."

The divine officials of the Celestial Master's Mansion are all devoted to cultivation and indifferent to the turmoil in the imperial court. The academic atmosphere is strong.

However, everyone loves to hear gossip, especially when it involves "palace secrets" and "harem scandals." Even Taoists can hardly resist its allure.

Therefore, Zhao Du'an's attention in cultivation circles is greater than that of important national officials such as the Prime Minister and the Censor-in-chief.

Of course, his reputation is still very bad, and he is collectively despised.

At this time, a group of Taoists chattered, exchanging information they had on Zhao Du'an's scandals and gossip, chatting happily.

When they remembered Jin Jian again, they were stunned to find that their senior sister had already left at some point.

...

The stars and moon were hazy.

Jin Jian floated like a ghost between the buildings of the Celestial Master's Mansion, her black robe making her body appear translucent. The divine officials she passed were oblivious to her presence.

Deep within the Celestial Master's Mansion, there was a special courtyard.

A large banyan tree grew in the courtyard, its dense leaves evergreen all year round, emitting a fluorescent glow at night, and cicadas chirping in the summer.

Jin Jian passed through the courtyard gate and saw a rocking chair under the banyan tree, with an old man leisurely lying on it.

He was tall and straight, with a long beard and eyebrows, narrow eyes, and a gentle face. His black divine official robe hung softly.

Seemingly ordinary, his background was actually terrifying. He was Zhang Yanyi, the current Old Celestial Master of the Celestial Master's Mansion, one of the four "Heavenly Humans."

"Why are you free to visit your teacher tonight?" Zhang Yanyi didn't move, but his voice carried out.

Jin Jian, the Maiden Child among this generation of Celestial Master's Mansion's "Vermilion Dot Children" and the Old Celestial Master's personal disciple, thought for a moment and said:

"Disciple has something she can't figure out."

"Oh? What is it?"

"How can a mortal realm cultivator withstand the full blow of a worldly Taoist and keep his soul intact?"

"They can't."

"Are there no exceptions?" Jin Jian frowned.

Zhang Yanyi paused, then chuckled:

"Heavenly evolution is forty-nine, and man escapes one. Everything in the world is not absolute."

Jin Jian's brow relaxed and she said:

"Disciple still doesn't understand how it can be done."

"Then go ponder and research it, like doing scholarship," the Old Celestial Master said lazily.

Jin Jian felt that he made sense, and cupped her fist in a proper manner:

"Thank you, Master, for your guidance."

"Go," the Old Celestial Master waved his hand. The girl retreated a hundred feet, the sound of cicadas continued, and the banyan tree suddenly swayed, revealing a hazy and mysterious giant face that obscured the courtyard.

The face looked confusedly in the direction the girl disappeared, and said slowly:

"Has she encountered something?"

Zhang Yanyi lay on the rocking chair, turned over, and didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, grumbling:

"Strange things are happening."

...

...

That same night, at the Zhang residence.

Zhang Changshuo, sporting a mustache, dressed as a scholar in a green robe, sent the physician away, closed the door, and looked at his brother sitting on the sickbed, asking:

"How do you feel?"

Zhang Changji was naked from the waist up, with one arm wrapped in gauze. His complexion was weak, but his spirits were still good. He stubbornly said:

"Brother, with my physique, I'll be fine after taking some pills for two days. What do I need a physician for? Today, it was just that the guy named Zhao ambushed me. I wasn't prepared, otherwise..."

"Shut up!" Zhang Changshuo scolded:

"Do you think you haven't caused enough trouble? Who told you to break into his residence?"

Zhang Changji said listlessly:

"Wasn't I just trying to vent your anger, brother..."

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking!" Zhang Changshuo was well aware of his own brother's character.

Vent his anger?

Perhaps that was one reason.

But more than that, it was to avenge a personal grudge and because he was a good-for-nothing.

He said in exasperation:

"I've told you so many times, think thrice before acting. Recklessness and impulsiveness are the way to death."

Wasn't it you, brother, who said with certainty that the guy named Zhao was definitely done for, that I dared to act...? Zhang Changji muttered to himself, but didn't dare to talk back.

After thinking about it, he said indignantly:

"But can we just let this go? It's a small matter that I got beaten, but the big matter is that you, brother, are disliked by His Majesty."

Zhang Changshuo's face was expressionless, and he squeezed the folding fan in his hand tightly, narrowing his eyes and saying:

"Of course we won't just let it go. Let Zhao Du'an be smug for a while. Hmph, this time he seems to have escaped a disaster, but he has completely offended the Prime Minister. As long as we find an opportunity to fuel the flames, we can use a borrowed knife to kill him and avenge this..."

As for now, let's lie low for a while. I don't think he dares to cause us any trouble."

After returning, after many inquiries, he had learned about Feng Ju's report and understood Zhao Du'an's operation.

Of course, he didn't think that Zhao Du'an would have such wisdom and means, and was certain that the Empress Dowager had secretly instructed him.

Zhang Changshuo felt that he was just careless and hadn't dodged. If he was careful next time, he could definitely kill the Zhao dog with one blow.

Little did he know that Zhao Du'an had already put him on the hit list.

"Okay, I'll listen to you," Zhang Changji was reckless, but he still listened on important matters. After thinking about it, he suddenly said:

"By the way, the people from the South contacted me before, still about the firearms. Should I stall them? Or should everything remain the same?"

Zhang Changshuo said coldly:

"Suspend contact! At this critical juncture, your every move is easily watched. Stalling them is good. You're injured anyway, so use that as an excuse to recuperate."

"Oh, I understand."

Zhang Changji didn't think so in his heart, feeling that his brother's scholarly habits were too heavy, and he was too cautious in doing things.

Who could be watching him?

Could it be that Zhao Du'an?

...

...

The night passed without incident.

The next day, several events occurred that caught the attention of the entire officialdom in the capital.

Empress Dowager Xu Zhenguan was furious at the early morning court, using the case revealed by Feng Ju as a reason to demand a thorough investigation of corruption in the officialdom.

The spearhead was directed at the "Li Party" led by Li Yanfu.

Censor-in-chief Yuan Li echoed, and the conversion of rice paddies to mulberry fields was handed over to the "Purist Party" by the Empress Dowager as a matter of course.

Although Feng Ju had blemishes, he had corrected himself in time and was rewarded and promoted by the Empress Dowager. Ning'an County Viscount Wang Xian was implicated and arrested at home.

It was said that Li Yanfu's face was ashen when he left the court, and the officials dared not approach him.

The impeachment of Zhao Du'an temporarily subsided.

At the same time, rumors that Zhao Du'an was likely to be granted the title of "Imperial Servant" spread like wildfire.

For a time, countless people who were expecting to see him fall were greatly disappointed. There were many scholars in the city who sarcastically criticized the昏君 for being licentious and Zhao dog for ruining the country.

Zhao Du'an pretended not to hear it. Anyway, his reputation was already rotten, so it didn't matter this time either.

Another two days passed like this, and the aftermath of the public opinion gradually subsided.

People's attention was diverted by the large-scale "anti-corruption" campaign in the court.

...

This day, early in the morning.

When Zhao Du'an walked out of his house and got into the carriage waiting outside.

Unsurprisingly, he picked up a stack of information placed in the carriage.

"Is this all?" He raised his eyebrows, flipping through it as he asked.

Zhu Kui had a flattering smile on his face:

"Time was a bit tight. You needed it urgently, so this humble servant only found this much for the time being. Speaking of which, you suddenly wanted to investigate Zhang Changji. Could it be that..."

Zhao Du'an, dressed in brocade and with a handsome appearance, leaned lazily in the carriage, glanced at him through the curtain, and suddenly smiled:

"If I said I wanted to kill him, would you... believe me?"

...

ps: My manuscript is running out, I'm panicking.