The First Lackey Under The Empress

Accidents always happen unexpectedly. After parting with the Red Sect Lama, Zhao Du'an still felt like it wasn't real.

Although suddenly having a fanatical follower and lackey was indeed abrupt, regardless of whether it was sincere or not, being able to bring the leader of the Western Regions Red Sect into his fold was still of great significance.

Even if this Buddhist cultivator, who was also at the "Worldly" realm, was not as good as his enemy Da Jing in terms of fighting and killing.

But as one of the leaders of the "Five Directions Sangha," the connections and strength he could mobilize were probably even subtly above Princess Wenzhu.

After the secret meeting with him, in the following days, the subsequent impact of the Buddhist debate gradually stabilized.

Shenlong Temple and the Western Regions Sangha tacitly kept silent, not arguing or quarreling, which greatly disappointed many people in the city who were looking for fun.

GOOGLE search TWKAN

At the same time, Princess Wenzhu also successfully reached a trade agreement with the Empress regarding the details for next year. Everything went smoothly, without any further setbacks.

Afterward, the Western Regions Sangha and Princess Wenzhu, one after the other, bid farewell to the Empress and left the capital to return.

"I thought this princess would stay in the capital for the New Year or something."

West Gate of the Capital.

Zhao Du'an, wearing an official robe, stood in the middle of a group of officials who had come to see the princess off. He looked at the distant convoy on the official road and exhaled a puff of white mist in the cold wind, sighing.

Beside him were the Female Investigator Haitang and the workaholic Zhang Han, two colleagues who glanced at him. The former curled her lips and said:

"You seem quite reluctant to part? Why don't you chase after her and go to the Western Regions?"

Zhao Du'an cupped his fist and bowed, looking like a loyal and righteous subject:

"This official is wholeheartedly loyal to His Majesty. Officer Hai, please don't speak nonsense!"

"Heh heh," Haitang crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, too lazy to expose him.

Lin Gongzi's true identity was discovered by Haitang and her people, so she was one of the few who knew about Zhao's friendship with Princess Wenzhu.

"Alright, alright, it's finally come to an end. Let's go, I'll treat you to sauerkraut hot pot."

Zhao Du'an grinned, waved his hand, and quickly led his colleagues from the Imperial Court towards the city's restaurant.

They ordered a large table of copper pot sauerkraut, paired with freshly sliced meat, and feasted to their heart's content.

Enjoying the rare tranquility, a group of Embroidered Uniform Guards sat together, inevitably chatting about the various events in the city at the end of the year.

As military officers, the topic naturally turned to the year-end duty reports of generals from various places returning to the capital.

"This time, there are probably quite a few military officials returning to the capital, but the three most important ones are still those two dukes and one general," the emotionless workaholic Zhang Han said with emotion.

Zhao Du'an was no longer a political novice and interjected:

"Duke Tang of the State of Tang, Duke Cao of the State of Cao, and Zhao Shixiong?"

Duke Tang Daren, Duke of the State of Tang, was stationed in Xiping Road, guarding the entrance to the Western Regions, with extremely old qualifications… It's just that his name really made him complain.

Duke Cao Mao, Duke of the State of An, was stationed in Tieguan Road north of the capital, or more precisely, in Jubei City.

His military strength was much weaker than the former.

It is said that the northern border army was initially established to defend against the alien races living in the Mubei Forest, who called themselves the "Snow Country."

However, because the north was sparsely populated, the alien races of the Snow Country rarely approached the territory of Yu State. There had been no wars for many years, so the soldiers and horses of Tieguan Road were relatively few, but each of them was valiant.

Zhao Shixiong was in the southwest border army of Yunfu Road, constantly suppressing bandits and defending against the Liren tribe in the mountains. He was good at fighting and warfare.

He was once praised as a famous general who could compete with Xue Shence, who commanded the Jingying army of the Privy Council.

"Yes, speaking of which, how exactly are you planning to deal with Duke Tang? I heard that this Duke's family is protective of their own. You really made that young duke suffer back then," Haitang said, picking up her wooden chopsticks, eating a thick slice of meat, curious and gossiping.

Zhang Han frowned and said:

"Duke Tang is a reasonable person. It'll be fine as long as you explain it clearly. Besides, hasn't the young duke returned to the Shenji Camp?"

Haitang gave a "tsk" sound, disbelieving:

"I don't believe that those powerful nobles are easy to get along with, just like Duke Cao in the north, who is said to rely on his qualifications…"

Zhao Du'an didn't say anything, too lazy to participate in the discussion. As far as he was concerned, if the other party spoke nicely, he would treat them politely. If they didn't make sense…

"Da da da…"

Suddenly, on the street outside the restaurant, dusty cavalrymen galloped past, attracting Zhao Du'an's attention.

"Where are they from? Looking at the style of their military uniforms, they seem to be from Zhao Shixiong's unit in the southwest border army," a colleague at the table said.

Zhao Du'an pursed his lips. After finishing the meal, everyone returned to the yamen.

In the afternoon, Zhao Du'an received a piece of news:

The commander of the southwest border army, Zhao Shixiong, said that he was unable to return to the capital at the end of the year due to the unrest of the alien races in Yunfu Road.

It is said that the Empress was silent for a long time and sent a letter back to the southwest, expressing her condolences to Zhao Shixiong.

… …

Xiping Road.

At the pass leading to the Western Regions, there was a city with an overall color scheme of yellow and gray.

"Hiss!"

Outside the city gate, a team of cavalrymen reined in their horses. On top of a mixed-blood steed at the head of the team, sat a female general!

The female general was heroic and valiant, around thirty years old, and looked somewhat similar to Young Duke Tang Ping.

Wearing soft armor, carrying a longbow on her back, and holding a horse lance in her hand while on horseback, the tip of the lance gleamed with cold light. Her skin was dark red due to years of sun exposure, and her expression was as unruly as a wild horse from the frontier. Tang Zhao reined in her horse with one hand and shouted at the guards on the city gate:

"Open the gate! ?"

The guards hurriedly waved the command flag, and the city gate opened wide with a creak. Accompanied by cheers of "Welcome General Tang back to the city," the female general holding the lance led her troops into the city in a mighty manner.

Then, she left the cavalry behind and rode straight to the "Xiping Capital Military Prefecture" in the city.

She dismounted in front of the imposing gate of the prefecture, threw the heavy horse lance to the soldiers who came to greet her, and rushed inside.

Inside the Capital Military Prefecture, the front was a solemn yamen, while the back was a courtyard with pavilions and towers imitating the style of Jiangnan.

Although it was winter and everything was withered, clusters of cold-resistant green trees that had been transplanted still added a bright color to this mansion.

"Second Miss is back!"

The backyard of the Capital Military Prefecture was the residence of Duke Tang Daren, Duke of the State of Tang. The servants of the Tang mansion were busy tidying things up. When they saw Tang Zhao coming back, they all bowed to greet her.

As the daughter of a duke and having practiced martial arts since childhood, Tang Zhao came to Xiping Road with her father a long time ago and now serves as a deputy general in the city.

At this moment, she rushed through the pavilions and towers, casually asked where her father was, and then passed through the corridor and pushed open a door.

Inside the spacious room, there were several bookshelves, which, in addition to books, also displayed long swords and armor. On the large desk, the pens, ink, paper, and inkstones were all extraordinary.

At this moment, an elderly man in gorgeous clothes was wielding a brush in front of the desk. His appearance was weathered, but his eyes were stern and energetic. Although he was standing, it could be seen that one of his legs was in an awkward posture. He was actually a cripple.

"Hehe, you're back? Was this tour successful?"

Duke Tang put down his thick brush and asked his daughter, who had barged into the door in a carefree manner, with a smile.

Tang Zhao had no regard for the etiquette of noble families. She first picked up the teapot on the table and drank it all in one gulp, then wiped the corner of her mouth, leaving a rough red mark on her cheek with the rouge on her lips.

"I met a few dishonest ones, beat them up, nothing else," Tang Zhao said casually and indifferently, and then said:

"I saw people in the mansion tidying up something when I came in?"

Duke Tang didn't care about his daughter's rudeness at all, and said with a smile:

"You're back just in time. The military affairs here have been arranged, and I'm preparing to return to the capital for the New Year."

Tang Zhao's eyes lit up, and then she said faintly:

"I hadn't even come back yet, and you started packing things up. Old man, do you want to abandon me and go home by yourself?"

"Haha, how is that possible," Duke Tang said with a guilty conscience.

Tang Zhao was too lazy to pay attention to her old man, who clearly didn't have much knowledge but liked to pretend to be a cultured person, and said:

"I can finally go back to the capital. I'm going to be suffocated by wandering around this place all day. I wonder if my younger brother's martial arts have improved this year. I have to try him when I get back. By the way, has the family sent any letters these days?"

Duke Tang knew what she was asking and said leisurely:

"They wrote a letter, but they didn't write anything important."

Tang Zhao was stunned for a moment and said:

"Still didn't write about that Zhao Du'an thing?"

"Didn't say," Duke Tang said calmly:

"You also know your brother's personality. He always makes his own decisions when he encounters something and doesn't want to say it in the letter, probably because he's afraid of others criticizing him, saying that he borrowed his old man's glory."

The father and daughter were at the Xiping border pass and could only learn about the situation at home in the capital through letters. A few months ago, they heard that a Zhao Yama had appeared in the capital and was extremely favored by the Empress.

In a few months, he was promoted several levels to the fourth rank, and he clashed with the young duke when he went to the Shenji Camp, completely ruining the young duke and driving him out of the barracks. Later, it seemed that the young duke went back somehow.

The specific details were unknown.

In the few letters sent by the family, Tang Ping also never mentioned what he had encountered, which instead deepened the suspicion of the father and daughter. Duke Tang was fine, as he always held the attitude that children should be tempered. Since nothing major had happened, he was not in a hurry to investigate.

Tang Zhao, however, was a little restless. Upon hearing this, she slammed the table, her face frosty:

"My younger brother cares about face and doesn't want to talk to the family when he encounters something. But I can't pretend I don't know!

Where did this pretty boy come from? He's getting promoted faster than a middle-aged man's sex life after being favored? He must be using the emperor's support to show off in the military camp. Otherwise, with my younger brother's personality, how could he be enemies with him? Old man, what do you think should be done about this?"

Duke Tang, who was lame and had a beard, looked around and said:

"Although our family of generals doesn't care about red tape, women should also pay attention to their words. What tiger and wolf words…"

Tang Zhao snorted, "If you don't say it, then I'll solve this matter myself. Don't ask me to swallow my anger because you're afraid of the emperor's thoughts."

Duke Tang, who seemed amiable but had already restrained his sharpness, smiled and didn't say anything, but he acquiesced.

It seemed that in his opinion, even if it would displease the emperor and even arouse suspicion because of dealing with the Empress's favorite minister, it was not important.

"I'm going to pack my things," Tang Zhao said and turned to leave.

Duke Tang looked at her leaving back, then looked down at the line "A few lines return to the frontier, thinking of you alone" in the Ming Dynasty poem "Returning to the Frontier Song" written on the paper, and muttered softly:

"Zhao Du'an…"

… …

Tieguan Road, Jubei City.

Today, the city gate was wide open, and a large number of officers and soldiers lined up on both sides of the road to respectfully send off Duke Cao Mao, Duke of the State of An, as he returned to the capital.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the mighty team left this lonely northern city behind. In front of the team, Cao Mao, wearing armor and riding a horse, with white hair at his temples, was expressionless.

Suddenly, a light cavalryman galloped from the rear of the team.

… …

The next chapter will probably be updated at midnight.