The First Lackey Under The Empress

The night was still and quiet, the entire capital shrouded in a veil of darkness, but the imperial palace in the north of the city was brightly lit.

Outside the Empress's bedroom, in a room used to meet with foreign officials.

Xu Zhenguan listened to the reports from his ministers, his face expressionless.

Not long ago, Yuan Li, along with the Minister of Justice and the newly appointed Minister of the Supreme Court, had entered the palace to seek an audience with the Empress.

Xu Zhenguan had been about to retire for the night, but rose again to receive them.

"Your Majesty, the death of Wang Chusheng is due to the Ministry of Justice's inadequate protection. As the Minister, I should take full responsibility!" The Minister of Justice was the first to speak, without evasion, taking full responsibility for the crime.

Hearing this, the remaining two were unwilling to be outdone and hurriedly stepped forward to accept the blame.

In the room, the columnar lampshades standing in the brightly lit hall emitted a clear light.

Xu Zhenguan expressionlessly scrutinized the three people bowing before her to accept their punishment. After a long silence, she said emotionlessly, "Yuan Li, stay behind."

Then, to the other two, she said, "You may wait outside."

The Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Supreme Court breathed a sigh of relief, not daring to utter a word, and immediately retreated quietly.

Once the door was closed, only Xu Zhenguan and Yuan Li remained in the room.

"Your Majesty, this matter is my dereliction of duty. I did not expect those people to be so insane as to do such a thing in the capital," Yuan Li said in a deep voice, his face weary.

Xu Zhenguan raised her jade hand and gently waved it, surprisingly calm:

"The person was in the Ministry of Justice's prison, not the Metropolitan Procuratorate's prison. Duke Yuan need not be so. If there was a miscalculation, it was mine. I thought that by removing Pei Kai and Zhou Cheng, the three judicial divisions would no longer hinder each other…"

"However, those two had been operating for many years. After only a few months of their downfall, how could the yamen truly be clean?"

"Your Majesty…" Yuan Li opened his mouth.

Xu Zhenguan had already stood up and was slowly pacing the hall:

"Minister Yuan, who do you think killed him? Li Yanfu? Or the Shen family? Or the Society for Assisting the Righteous?"

Yuan Li pondered for a moment and shook his head, "The incident happened hastily, and I am unable to determine at this time."

Unable to determine… Xu Zhenguan glanced at him and said:

"Does Minister Yuan believe it was not Prime Minister Li?"

Yuan Li took a deep breath, "The Prime Minister Li in my eyes would not be so foolish."

Xu Zhenguan's expression was calm, seemingly not surprised by this answer:

"Continue."

Yuan Li suddenly became serious:

"I believe that whoever the mastermind is can be investigated later. The most urgent matter is the aftermath of this case. Or rather, who killed Wang Chusheng is not important. What is important is how the people of the world will view the court and what they will think once this matter is revealed."

Xu Zhenguan was silent for a moment, then sighed softly:

"Minister Yuan is right. Then what do you think should be done?"

Yuan Li hesitated for a moment, then said:

"I fear that those people will make a big fuss about the death next. I believe that a swift decision should be made. Although the person is dead, the testimony remains. As long as we withstand the pressure and convict him, we can defend the court's dignity."

A swift decision… Xu Zhenguan seemed to be lost in thought. After a long while, she said noncommittally:

"Minister Yuan has worked hard, return to rest first. I will consider this matter."

Yuan Li was stunned, seemingly not expecting such an answer, and his eyes dimmed.

In the end, His Majesty is still too apprehensive, constrained and unwilling to give the rebellious party an excuse, caring about reputation?

Or is she using checks and balances, unwilling to deal too harshly with the "Li Faction", lest his "Purist Faction" become too powerful, fearing an imbalance in the court?

Shaking his head, Yuan Li responded and retreated.

Inside the hall, only Xu Zhenguan remained standing in front of the columnar lampshade, her emotions unreadable, her eyelashes seemingly holding onto the light.

Shortly after.

The door to the room was pushed open again, and Mo Chou respectfully walked in:

"Your Majesty, the three lords have left the palace."

"Mm." Xu Zhenguan then came back to her senses and said, "You already know what happened, right?"

Mo Chou nodded, her expression serious: "Your Majesty, they are anxious."

"Yes, anxious. It seems that I have finally pushed them too far. But the more those with property and expensive shoes are, the more timid and tolerant they are.

Only those who are barefoot will bite when pushed too far. But they are not. This little bit of coercion is not enough to make these people so bold,"

Xu Zhenguan's voice was cold and clear. After a pause, she said quietly:

"Unless they believe they have found a new master."

"Your Majesty is saying the Shen family…" Mo Chou raised her head.

Xu Zhenguan turned around. The robe she wore, though white, was thick and densely embroidered with dragon patterns. It loosely trailed in a half-circle on the mirror-like floor.

Xu Zhenguan's dark eyes coldly stared at her and said:

"Take a trip out of the palace and send Gao Lian on his way."

You want me to take action against the Li family? In your eyes, am I that foolish?

Mo Chou's breath tightened, and a hint of fierceness appeared between her brows: "This servant obeys."

She turned and walked out of the hall.

… …

… …

The Zhao Family.

After seeing Chen Hong off, Zhao Du'an stood at the entrance of the courtyard for a while before turning around and returning to the yard.

He was met by his younger sister, Zhao Pan, who was hurrying over. The girl was wearing a coat, seemingly having heard the noise and came out to see what was happening.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, something happened." Zhao Du'an said perfunctorily, and then, for some reason, perhaps feeling troubled and wanting to confide in someone, he added:

"The magistrate I brought back was killed."

"Ah!" Zhao Pan was startled, her limpid eyes widening, "Is it related to that Gao Lian?"

These days, there has been much discussion about this case in the city. The Zhao family can now be considered to have entered the official circles of the capital.

Zhao Pan has also established some connections with some wealthy young ladies. Usually, when a group of official ladies chat together, they also touch on court topics.

"Why do you think so?" Zhao Du'an asked with a smile.

Zhao Pan puffed out her snow-white cheeks:

"Brother, don't think I don't understand. Wasn't that Wang Chusheng the biggest threat to Gao Lian? Now that he's dead, who else could be the most suspicious?"

Hehe, I really envy your simple thinking… Zhao Du'an smiled and said nothing.

He has too little information, but he intuitively sensed that the entire case, from Taicang Prefecture to the present, has been driven by a hand hidden in the dark.

"Ah, does that mean that Gao Lian can't be convicted?" Zhao Pan's eyebrows furrowed into a frown.

Zhao Du'an smiled and said, "Do you want him to be convicted?"

"Of course, I've heard that this man has many lives on his hands, and he has also defiled innocent women and framed their families. Such a person doesn't deserve to die ten times over. If he can still enjoy his old age, wouldn't that mean that bad people have no retribution?"

Zhao Pan's eyes sparkled as she looked at him:

"Brother brought him back, surely you don't want him to escape punishment, right?"

Zhao Du'an was silent for a moment, then said noncommittally:

"It would be good if everyone in the world thought like you. Alright, go back, it's cold at night, be careful of catching a cold."

"Brother, aren't you going back?"

"I'm at the Divine Manifestation Realm, I'm not afraid of the cold, go back quickly."

"Oh."

After the person left.

Zhao Du'an sat alone in the courtyard, looking at the stars in the sky, deducing the follow-up.

Strictly speaking, this matter has little to do with him, there is no need to get involved.

As for justice… there is no need for him, the villain, to care.

However…

"If you really get your case overturned, and even incite public opinion to confirm that Wang Chusheng was framing you, wouldn't that mean that I was also deceived?"

"Even more so, would people really think that I was retaliating because I failed to solicit a bribe?"

"Of course, I have so many bad names, I don't care about a few more, but…"

Zhao Du'an habitually reached into the "pocket" on his chest, wanting to touch a cigarette, but touched emptiness, then reluctantly lowered his hand and muttered softly:

"I brought you back from thousands of miles away. If I can't convict you, then wouldn't this official have arrested you for nothing… It's not cool."

In Zhao Du'an's hand, he unknowingly pinched a yellow incense stick that was mostly burned.

With a flick of his finger, the tip of the incense suddenly lit up with a scarlet glow, burning a hole in the dark night, and then, wisps of green smoke rose into the clouds.

Shortly after.

A circle of ripples rippled through the cool air.

In the ripples, a corner of a divine official's robe embroidered with gold thread slowly outlined.

Like a dark night elf, the long-unseen ethereal divine official slowly descended into Zhao's family's courtyard, looking surprisingly at a certain Zhao who was holding a yellow incense stick in a strange posture between his fingers.

"You're back?" The small face of the golden slip, the size of a palm, was full of surprise.

No… I've been back for several days, haven't you heard?… Zhao Du'an took a deep breath, extinguished the "incense stick", and said coolly:

"Take me to a place."

"… Where?"

"The Ministry of Justice's prison!"