The First Lackey Under The Empress

"Huh?" Xu Zhenguan suddenly snapped back to reality, a momentary look of panic flashing across her face. She subconsciously straightened her posture slightly:

"Are you finished?"

Zhao Douan stared strangely at the Empress reclining on the couch, catching the subtle change in her expression. He nodded honestly:

"Your subject is finished."

He even suspected that Zhenbao hadn't been listening carefully at all… Suddenly, he felt a sense of frustration, like he had nervously reported his work, only for the leader to not have listened at all…

"Alright, what you said makes some sense. This one time, We'll believe you." Xu Zhenguan coughed lightly, putting on a serious face to mask her panic.

Zhao Douan was stunned. He thought, are girls really this easy to coax?

He had thought it would be difficult, with a cold war and all… As expected, Zhenbao is completely different from those ordinary women. A smart woman wouldn't be foolish when it comes to important matters.

Xu Zhenguan suppressed the complex emotions swirling in her heart and proactively moved on from the topic, saying seriously:

"Although you won today's debate and even gained a great opportunity, I'm afraid they won't let it go so easily."

I want to talk about the great opportunity in detail… Zhao Douan muttered, but he temporarily suppressed his curiosity about the "World Honored One's baptism" and said:

"Does Your Majesty mean that the Eastern and Western Buddhist sects will retaliate? Struggle? Cause trouble?"

Xu Zhenguan pondered for a moment, then said:

"The Shenlong Temple side is still alright. Not to mention that a few days ago, We already warned Xuan Yin, and there's also the Great Purity Monk on the run. Just you supporting Prajna today is enough to give Xuan Yin a headache for a while.

Your Buddhist theories are also similar to the sudden enlightenment advocated by Prajna. Shenlong Temple can later promote the doctrine of sudden enlightenment and portray the debate as their victory… The key is the Western Regions."

Zhao Douan frowned: "That holy monk from the Western Regions didn't seem to have any hostility towards me today."

Xu Zhenguan thought for a moment and said:

"Perhaps they are wary because this is Yu Country, and they don't dare to be too presumptuous. Moreover, that Red Sect Guru in the Western Regions isn't someone who is obsessed with the merging of East and West…

In short, be low-key these few days. In the capital, they probably won't dare to do anything out of line.

What We are worried about is that if the Western Regions monks fail in the debate, they will interfere with the trade between the court and the Western Regions next year, affecting the New Deal market."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Douan also became serious.

The Dharma King is supreme in the Western Regions, far above the almost puppet-like power holders like Princess Wenzhu.

If the Western Regions Buddhist sect speaks out and interferes with trade, it would indeed be troublesome.

At this moment, footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, accompanied by a palace maid reporting:

"Your Majesty, Princess Wenzhu requests an audience."

Inside the room, the monarch and her subject exchanged a glance.

Xu Zhenguan pondered slightly, glanced at the time, and said: "Invite her to the dining hall to have lunch with Us."

"Yes."

The palace maid outside the door retreated.

Xu Zhenguan looked at Zhao Douan and said:

"This aunt of Ours has entered the palace at this moment, she must be coming for you. You should come with Us as well. Remember, later in front of Princess Wenzhu, you must act in accordance with your status."

Zhao Douan was stunned for a moment, and said uncertainly:

"Act in accordance with my status?"

The Empress glared at him unhappily:

"To the outside world, you are Our male favorite, have you forgotten? Now that you have won the debate, We can only make the best of a bad situation. Later, you and I, monarch and subject, will be a little closer, putting on a show for Wenzhu to see."

Putting on a show… Zhenbao, you want to let your aunt know that you support my debate, to express a tough attitude, so that your aunt thinks that this debate is the intention of the court…

To show the strength of Yu Country, to avoid the Western Regions being pressured by the Red Sect Guru and causing trouble in trade…

In Zhao Douan's mind, he quickly sorted out his thoughts and nodded:

"Your subject understands."

…

When Princess Wenzhu, who was over forty years old and had a gentle temperament, arrived at the Empress's bedroom for lunch under the guidance of a palace maid.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw the white-clothed Empress standing smiling under the corridor to greet her. Beside her stood a handsome and upright man with an extraordinary appearance.

It was none other than Zhao Douan himself.

"Aunt, you've come at the right time. The imperial kitchen has just prepared lunch, let's eat together." Xu Zhenguan said with a smile.

Having returned from the Jin Feng Pavilion and offered a superficial consolation to the defeated Western Regions monks, Princess Wenzhu, who had rushed back to the palace, squeezed out a smile and first responded, then shifted her gaze to Zhao Douan.

After that, she was obviously amazed.

What a handsome man!

At the debate, due to the distance, she could only barely see Zhao Douan's figure, but she couldn't see his appearance clearly.

Only at this moment did she see the full appearance of this male favorite.

As expected, it matched the rumors. That treacherous official who caused chaos in the court and sought fame had a hypocritical and decent appearance.

Yes, and also a good eloquence…

Princess Wenzhu's mood was very complicated. Recalling the debate in the morning, the more she thought about it, the more she felt it was "fake."

In her opinion, there was no reason for this subject, Zhao Douan, to suddenly jump out and cause trouble, and even succeed.

Therefore, she still rationally believed that the Empress was behind the scenes, and the content of the so-called debate was probably not something this Zhao Douan could say.

This was not the first time something similar had happened. Wenzhu even suspected that the Empress had secretly allied with Bodhisattva Prajna.

Prajna provided the theory, which Zhao Douan recited, thereby borrowing a knife to kill someone and striving to improve his power within Shenlong Temple…

This was obviously more reasonable.

As for the astonishment of ministers such as Yuan Li, some of them may have been kept in the dark, while others, such as Yuan Li and other important ministers, may have been cooperating in the performance.

Who were they performing for? Naturally, herself…

Thinking about it this way, everything became reasonable. As for the biggest bug, the World Honored One's baptism… she still couldn't figure it out.

Therefore, she was eager to enter the palace to confirm her suspicions.

At this moment, suppressing her doubts, she exchanged a few polite greetings with a smile and followed the monarch and her subject into the house. The round table in the room was filled with sumptuous dishes, and the three of them took their seats as host and guests.

It's worth mentioning that the Empress and the Princess Wen Zhu sat facing each other, while Zhao Du'an, the "male concubine," naturally sat on the side next to the Empress.

"Today's debate… Marquis Zhao, you truly opened my eyes."

Princess Wen Zhu looked at Zhao Du'an, praising on the surface but subtly mocking:

"At such a young age, having never studied Buddhism, yet possessing such profound attainments in Buddhist studies, it is truly astonishing."

Zhao Du'an, feeling strange, looked at his aunt, who had tried to win him over not long ago, and smiled:

"Your Highness, Princess, you flatter me. These are just some shallow views, unexpectedly gaining the World Honored One's honor."

Heh heh… acting quite natural, truly shameless and brazen… Wen Zhu felt displeased. No matter how beautiful the facade, as long as she thought of the rumors circulating, she couldn't help but feel disgusted.

"Ahem," the Empress coughed lightly at the right time, reminding him to pay attention to his status.

Zhao Du'an smiled naturally, and began to skillfully serve the Empress, personally ladling soup and feeding it to her, chatting with Wen Zhu while publicly displaying their affection.

The Empress also cooperated very well, acting like an emperor accustomed to being served by a male concubine.

Even when soup spilled at the corner of her mouth, she allowed Zhao Du'an to take out a handkerchief and carefully wipe it for her… Although shameful, she inexplicably felt happy.

Although Princess Wen Zhu was an "experienced person," watching the two young people feeding each other made her feel uncomfortable all over. She thought to herself that the treacherous Zhao must have gained favor through shameless flattery and licking.

She couldn't help but frown slightly, feeling more and more disgusted.

Xu Zhenguan noticed her aunt's unusual expression and was momentarily puzzled, unsure if they were acting unnaturally, allowing her experienced aunt to see through their act.

This made her a little anxious. However, the Empress had never kept a male concubine, and didn't know what was normal.

She could only recall the scenes of her father and the concubines in the harem eating.

Hmm… she was always being served, so it seemed she wasn't showing her favor to the male concubine… Thinking of this, the Empress picked up her chopsticks and began to serve Zhao Du'an, urging him:

"Don't be so busy, eat more and replenish your body."

Hiss… her niece was indeed deceived by this treacherous villain! A dignified emperor, treating a male concubine like this… and not even hiding it from others… If she's this intimate in front of me, what will it be like normally?

Princess Wen Zhu frowned even deeper.

The Empress was stunned, wondering if she had overdone it?

Unable to help feeling anxious, she simply transmitted her voice directly into Zhao Du'an's sea of consciousness:

"Not enough, aunt seems to have noticed something is wrong, act even more convincingly!"

"…" Zhao Du'an was speechless, thinking, how could he act this out? His face showed no change. After thinking for a moment, an idea came to him.

He simply took advantage of the action of serving food, and seemingly casually put an arm around the Empress's slender waist, bringing the two closer together.

!!

Xu Zhenguan was caught off guard by a large hand climbing onto her soft waist, and her body suddenly stiffened, her eyes widening slightly:

How dare this guy…

"Not here!" Her voice sounded urgently in Zhao Du'an's sea of consciousness.

Zhao was innocent, if not here, then… lower?

Then, just as his hand slid down, he felt the Empress's body tense, and a sense of danger surged into his heart…

He sheepishly retracted his hand.

"Your Majesty…" Princess Wen Zhu, sitting opposite, finally couldn't bear it anymore. Even though she was older, her husband in the Western Regions was only a "formal" husband, and had died early. How could she bear to see young people whispering sweet nothings?

After enduring it again and again, she interrupted:

"Did you find that Young Master Lin that I recommended last time?"

It must be admitted that Wen Zhu's words had a hint of meanness.

Her deliberately mentioning Young Master Lin at this time was undoubtedly intended for Zhao Du'an to hear.

Xu Zhenguan's face changed slightly, and she put down her chopsticks heavily, saying in a cold voice:

"Aunt is very concerned about that Young Master Lin. When we find him, we might as well send him to Aunt to take back to the Western Regions. Such a talent assisting you in governing the Western Regions will surely make the best use of his abilities."

As she spoke, her eyes subconsciously looked at Zhao Du'an.

She herself didn't realize that she had a moment of panic, fearing that Zhao Du'an would misunderstand that she had some relationship with that "Young Master Lin."

However, Zhao Du'an's face showed no suspicion or surprise, only a smile.

Princess Wen Zhu didn't expect her niece to react so strongly.

Just as she was about to make amends, she suddenly heard the voice of a eunuch from outside:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Zhao Yamen's Supervisor Ma has sent someone to see you, saying that the identity of the Go player who defeated the foreign monks has been ascertained."

The three people in the room were all stunned.

Xu Zhenguan didn't expect this matter to be so coincidental. After thinking for a moment, she simply said, "Bring them in."

After a while, a Jinyi Guard from Zhao Yamen appeared at the door, respectfully handing over a memorial:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the results of the investigation of that Go player are all written on the memorial."

Xu Zhenguan raised her hand, and the memorial was lifted by a breeze and landed in her hand. The Empress smiled and said:

"Since Aunt is so concerned about this person, and it just so happens that we've found out, I'll let you know."

As she spoke, the Empress opened the memorial, glanced at it, and then… she visibly fell silent.

There seemed to be surprise, unexpectedness, and also a hint of… as expected.

After a moment, she handed the memorial to Princess Wen Zhu.

Princess Wen Zhu felt a faint sense of unease in her heart, but she still took the memorial and slowly opened it, somewhat anticipating which family that Lin Ke was from.

However, when she saw the black characters on white paper, her whole body froze, her pupils suddenly narrowed, and she stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly looked up.

Staring fixedly at the Empress's male concubine opposite her.

Zhao Du'an smiled slightly: "We meet again, Your Highness, Princess."