The First Lackey Under The Empress

What exactly is the relationship between our eldest son and the Empress?

This is a sensitive topic in the Zhao family. No matter how prevalent the rumors are, they are still just unconfirmed 'gossip'.

Moreover, being family, they naturally understand Zhao Du'an a bit more. You Jinhua and Zhao Pan privately lean towards believing that this matter isn't reliable.

It's likely just exaggeration.

But today, Xu Zhenguan personally came to the Zhao family under the cover of night, and even sat down to invite them to dinner with an air of formality.

The meaning conveyed by this action already slightly exceeds the boundaries of ruler and subject.

Well, it would be different if the Empress went to places like the Grand Tutor's residence and had a family banquet with ministers like Dong Xuan.

But Zhao Du'an's public identity is, at most, only a fourth-rank military officer.

"Lord Zhao's family dinner is quite lavish."

Xu Zhenguan acted calmly. At this moment, she picked up her chopsticks and looked at the table full of dishes with slight surprise.

Zhao Du'an smiled and explained, "Today is a celebration, so we made it a bit more abundant."

Xu Zhenguan smiled and said, "In that case, it seems I've come at just the right time."

"Haha... yes... no..."

You Jinhua was at a loss for words, completely lacking the demeanor of a mistress of the house.

Zhao Pan, who used to be fearless like a newborn calf, was also overshadowed by Xu Zhenguan and became surprisingly well-behaved.

She just secretly stared at the female emperor and her elder brother in a daze. In a trance, she had a concrete understanding of the words 'divine couple'.

She used to think that she was also very beautiful. Because she saw Zhao Du'an so often, she didn't think he was that handsome anymore.

The little girl secretly thought that when she grew up a bit more, she might not be less beautiful than the rumored 'sister-in-law'.

But today, after seeing the real person, Zhao Pan realized the gulf-like difference between them.

It's not just about the appearance itself.

When beauty reaches a certain level, the superiority or inferiority actually lies not in the appearance, but in the temperament.

The Empress's temperament is rare in the world.

This leads to the fact that even if you strip away the 'Emperor' layer, just a great beauty standing in front of you is enough to make everyone nervous and timid, and even give rise to feelings of inferiority.

Just as people are afraid of encountering wild beasts, and high-ranking officials in the officialdom have their own aura, a woman's appearance also has a similar awe-inspiring effect.

Zhao Pan even felt that no one in the world was worthy of 'sister-in-law', including her elder brother, who was far behind.

A little bit of competitive thoughts had long disappeared.

"Is there something on my face?"

Xu Zhenguan looked at Zhao Pan with a smile. With her level of experience, she could see through the girl's thoughts with just a glance.

"Ah... no..."

Zhao Pan panicked, feeling nervous and at a loss, with a sense of being a fan meeting an idol.

"Your Majesty is teasing you," Zhao Du'an said with a smile to relieve her.

Xu Zhenguan seemed to be in a good mood today and had a very approachable temperament. She immediately smiled and echoed to ease the atmosphere, saying things like:

Lord Zhao mentioned to me how the women in his family are... After seeing them today, they are indeed outstanding... and so on.

You Jinhua then came back to her senses and kept being modest.

In addition, Zhao Du'an interjected with jokes and adjusted the atmosphere. Soon, the atmosphere in the hall visibly eased and became much more relaxed.

Xu Zhenguan was also very surprised by several novel dishes on the table.

When she learned from You Jinhua that these were all new dishes 'invented' by Zhao Du'an in his spare time, her eyes changed again, and she said quietly:

"Lord Zhao can also create new dishes? The surprises you give me are really endless."

These words were a bit suggestive.

"It's just a small effort, not comparable to Your Majesty governing a great country as easily as cooking a small fish," Zhao Du'an smoothly offered flattery... no, dragon farts.

When had You Jinhua and her daughter ever dined with the Emperor?

After reluctantly eating a few bites, You Jinhua got up and found an excuse that she was full, and pulled her daughter away from the table in advance.

Zhao Pan was still reluctant, but she was still pulled by her mother to leave the inner hall and go to the courtyard.

Leaving the two rulers and ministers alone to be together.

...

When only the two of them were left in the hall, Zhao Du'an served the Empress a bowl of borscht and put it down before saying:

"Your Majesty's arrival is really unexpected for this subject."

Xu Zhenguan didn't really come to eat. After tasting a few dishes on the table, she put down her chopsticks, her eyes full of complex and surprised emotions. She said softly:

"I should be saying that to you. I heard Mo Chou talk about those things that happened in Mei Garden. Can you tell me about them in detail?"

"Your Majesty, please listen,"

Zhao Du'an immediately recounted the events in an unhurried manner, starting from when he saw the Zhengyang Doctrine in the Xiuwen Hall and discovered loopholes, to how he conveyed the message and lured people to Bailu Academy.

Then, he recounted the course of the two-day conversation in detail.

During the process, Xu Zhenguan listened quietly without interrupting.

"...This subject didn't expect that Zhengyang would suddenly make a move to admit defeat, and even publicly exposed this subject," Zhao Du'an said helplessly, "This old thief's heart is punishable."

You're even aggrieved... Xu Zhenguan didn't say anything, but her lips tightened a bit.

Even though she had already heard Zhengyang's version, after Zhao Du'an retold it from his own perspective, it still stirred up layers of waves in her mind.

Her inherent impression of this man, who always had a cheeky smile in front of her, but was actually full of tricks and schemes, was once again elevated.

She was a little dazed. How many times has this been?

In just over half a year, how much more is this guy hiding that hasn't been exposed?

You know poetry and writing, you understand governance.

Now, even the theory of Confucianism has caused such a big commotion.

"Where exactly did you get the so-called 'Xinxue' from?"

Xu Zhenguan stared at Zhao Du'an and asked very seriously:

"This shouldn't be a truth that can be realized by self-study and reading, or that you shouldn't be able to do at your age."

Would you believe me if I said a celestial being taught me in a dream... Zhao Du'an muttered, but he had already prepared his explanation. He said seriously:

"Actually, this subject is just putting forward an idea, not as complete a theory as Your Majesty imagines. If there were really such good things, why would this subject first test Zhengyang?"

Xu Zhenguan was stunned and hesitated, "Do you mean..."

"Actually, this subject's theory of Xinxue was originally taken from Zhengyang's books. This subject saw only a few words when flipping through his works that day, and those words revealed a faint, budding trend of establishing another theory.

This subject remembered it. At first, this subject had no confidence at all. This subject just wanted to be a vanguard, secretly testing Zhengyang, so that he could know himself and the enemy, and explore more of the enemy's reality for the Grand Tutor..."

"But I didn't expect that it would inspire the other party. Rather than saying that this subject defeated Zhengyang, it is better to say that he was defeated by himself. Heh... Sometimes, a person's epiphany may just be a layer of membrane away.

Zhengyang couldn't see clearly in the game. Dong Taishi, Han Zhou, and other scholars also couldn't jump out of the established way of thinking because they had learned the orthodox theory since childhood. On the contrary, military people like this subject could see clearly. With this subject's guidance, the other party naturally realized it."

Zhao Du'an talked eloquently.

According to his statement, Zhengyang was only one step away from understanding Xinxue.

Zhao Du'an saw clearly from the outside, so he picked out those contradictory places from Zhengyang's own theories and works, and when the bullet was fired, it immediately opened up Zhengyang's mind...

This explanation is undoubtedly much more reliable than a military man in his twenties who hasn't read much could come up with a Confucian theory.

The former is too outrageous, so much so that it is too fake.

So Zhao Du'an had already made up a reason before taking action.

Once this statement is made, it can barely be explained. Although it is still a bit outrageous, at least it sounds like something is going on.

"Your Majesty, this subject even suspects that this Zhengyang is deliberate."

Zhao Du'an continued to add fuel, with a mysterious look on his face:

"Maybe, he originally wanted to come up with Xinxue, but he knew that once it was made public, it would attract attacks from many Confucian scholars and offend Prince Mu... So this old thief played tricks, deliberately came to the capital to take a walk, and threw this pot to this subject.

This way, he can also have an explanation when he goes back... This subject sees that this person has a treacherous face, and his heart is black when opened. This subject has suffered an unwarranted disaster this time, it is really..."

Xu Zhenguan was still listening carefully at first, thinking along with his thoughts, but the more she listened, the more outrageous it became.

In the end, her face turned black and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

"You are so thick-skinned. The previous guesses were still somewhat reasonable, but what are the conspiracies and thoughts behind them? Would that Zhengyang give up the opportunity to be remembered in history and give you the title of founder of a school?"

Zhao Du'an spread his hands, looking innocent:

"Who knows, there are so many bad things about scholars, how can they be as simple-minded and loyal to Your Majesty as military people like this subject?"

"..."

Xu Zhenguan was too lazy to pay attention to him.

As for the explanation given by Zhao Du'an, she still had doubts in her heart, and her intuition always told her that this matter was not as this guy said.

But how could the Empress not guess now that Zhao Du'an has some secrets? Or special things?

The Dragon Soul of Emperor Taizu could choose him, which in itself explained many things.

She just didn't want to delve into it.

"You better say the same when facing other people's questions," Xu Zhenguan said indifferently.

Zhao Du'an looked sincere: "What this subject said is true."

"Hehe..." Xu Zhenguan sneered, the more this guy was like this, the less she believed it.

Just as she was about to say something, suddenly the two rulers and ministers simultaneously turned their heads to look in the direction of the main gate of the Zhao family courtyard.

...

"Mother, Your Majesty's aura is so strong."

In the courtyard, Zhao Pan felt that the heavy pressure on her body had dissipated by more than half after leaving the inner hall.

She breathed a sigh of relief: "The palms of my hands are sweaty."

"How can this mother not be?" You Jinhua was also almost exhausted. She sat on the stone bench in the courtyard, ignoring the coldness of her buttocks. She turned her head and looked back at the brightly lit inner hall, worriedly saying:

"As the saying goes, accompanying the king is like accompanying a tiger. Darlang is really not easy."

"..." Zhao Pan couldn't help but say, "Elder Brother and Your Majesty may not be that kind of accompaniment, right?"

You Jinhua looked at her daughter strangely: "What kind do you think it is?"

Zhao Pan stammered for a moment, realizing that she was thinking too much. Just as she was about to explain, suddenly the voice of the Empress's guard came from outside the courtyard gate:

"Who is it?"

Then, the mother and daughter only heard a faint muffled groan.

Then, in the night, they saw a beautiful female Bodhisattva with snow-white and plump skin, scattered black hair, and only wearing a thin monk's robe in the cold late autumn, approaching from afar.

Bodhisattva Prajna nodded to the mother and daughter with a smile, and recited a sentence:

"Amitabha, this poor nun has come to look for Lord Zhao."

After speaking, she raised her almost transparent eyes and looked at the dining hall in front, with a strange smile:

"It seems that this poor nun has come at an inopportune time."

...

The next chapter will be at dawn.