The First Lackey Under The Empress

Inside the Fengtian Hall, the entire banquet hall fell into a tense atmosphere as the Empress spoke.

Xu Zhenguan extended his hand, and Mo Chou, understanding his intention, handed a memorial to the Empress.

Then, the female Emperor on the throne overlooked the people below, pinching the edge of the memorial with her fingers, and said:

"This is the memorial that Feng Ju, the Chief of Huting, sent back to the capital by express a few days ago. It details the silver acquired by the court through the new market in the past few months before and after the opening of the market, which is quite considerable, and this is just the beginning.

According to the amount submitted by Feng Ju, the first batch of silver converted from Huting, at the latest by the beginning of spring, will be at least one million taels. And after the beginning of spring, with the expansion of trade with the Western Regions, this number will increase."

Hiss…

Upon hearing this, except for the Minister and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and a few insiders like Dong Xuan, the rest of the officials all showed surprised expressions.

Including Li Yanfu, whose breathing became slightly rapid.

This speed of making money was much higher than the court's previous guesses and estimates.

Of course, the most important thing is that this means that the "opening market" strategy was a great success. After the court's fiscal deficit crisis, it finally found hope to escape the quagmire and get rid of its predicament.

"This one," the Empress picked up the second memorial, without even unfolding it, and said:

"This is the initial effect after the Ministry of Personnel changed to using the performance appraisal method. Just removing redundant officials and saving on salaries has already resulted in an astonishing figure."

After increasing revenue, it was time to reduce expenditure.

Li Yanfu, as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was most aware of this and was not surprised.

The Empress did not stop, but picked up the remaining memorials in her hand one after another, all of which were positive signals related to the new policies.

Zhao Du'an was very surprised, only to realize that Feng Ju was not the only local official who rushed to send good news to the Empress as a gift for the New Year.

After the Empress finished speaking about each item one by one.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites took the lead and suddenly cupped his hands and shouted:

"Your Majesty is wise, may the heavens bless Yu Country!"

The rest of the officials woke up as if from a dream and congratulated her with flattery.

Obviously, the memorials in the Empress's hands greatly boosted the "morale" of the officials.

In the past two or three years, the entire court was turbulent, with endless bad things and few good things.

Now, finally, the hard times were over. The empty treasury was filled, the court had an endless money-making machine, the officialdom was thoroughly cleaned up, and the vacant official positions gave the eager scholars and local officials a way to advance.

If you add the news that Cao Mao had resigned and returned to his hometown a few days ago, and that the Duke of Tang had joined the team, it can be said that Yu Country is thriving, with the meaning of spring bringing a new look to everything.

The officials in the hall could not hide their emotions. If they had previously been officials in the court and were still unsure whether the Empress could sit firmly on the throne for a few years, filled with pessimism,

Now, they have changed their attitude and are truly supporting and recognizing this female Emperor's rule.

Xu Zhenguan threw the memorials on the table and slowly said after the officials finished congratulating her:

"The court can have so many changes, but it is not entirely my credit, but the result of the concerted efforts of the entire court, and among all the officials, if I were to say which one surprised me the most, it would undoubtedly be Zhao Qing."

Swish—

In an instant, rays of sight, like spotlights, shone on Zhao Du'an, who looked bewildered.

No, what are you trying to do? Shouldn't you give a heads-up for company annual meeting praise… I haven't even prepared an acceptance speech… Zhao Du'an slandered in his heart, but still got up and cupped his hands, wanting to say something.

"Zhao Qing doesn't need to speak,"

The Empress glanced at him and blocked him back again, and continued with emotion:

"Zhao Qing's contribution lies in the new policies, first offering suggestions in the Institute of Literary Studies, and then successively through the Taicang Silver Mine case and the Huting market opening, for which he was assassinated and seriously injured…

Zhao Qing's contribution also lies in eliminating rebellious parties, completely eradicating the rebellious thieves in the capital, and ferreting out the ghosts in the Zhao Yamen, successively arresting the Tiangang rebellious thieves of the Kuangfu Society…

Zhao Qing's contribution also lies in promoting our national prestige, debating Confucianism in Zhengyang, debating scriptures in the Western Regions, promoting the heavenly power of our Yu Country, and deterring the surrounding barbarians…"

Tsk, it's becoming more and more like an annual meeting report. If you use a projector to play a promotional short film with music at this time, it would be even more appropriate… So, is it time to present the award next…

Zhao Du'an was lost in thought and finally realized that Zhenbao had prepared a surprise for him.

Sure enough, after the Empress finished speaking, she paused before announcing:

"These many achievements are not enough to convince the public without rewards. Therefore, I now bestow upon Zhao Du'an, the Vice Commander of the Divine Machine Camp, the title of 'Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince'. Does any official have any objections?"

Bestowing the title of Junior Guardian!

Even though the officials had been mentally prepared, they were still shocked when they heard this reward.

Zhao Du'an was also stunned.

Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince!?

Of course, he knew about this official position, which was not a real power official, but a more honorary title, enjoying the same treatment as officials of the same rank.

In past dynasties, meritorious ministers would be awarded the title of "Three Teachers" and "Three Juniors".

Zhuang Xiaocheng's Grand Tutor… belonged to the "Three Teachers of the Crown Prince" ranks, which was extremely respected, and was from the second rank.

After the Empress ascended the throne, Dong Xuan was promoted to Imperial Teacher, which was the first rank.

The "Three Juniors of the Crown Prince", namely, Junior Preceptor, Junior Tutor, and Junior Guardian… were the "assistants" of the Three Teachers, and Yu Country was set at the third rank.

In other words, Zhao Du'an was directly promoted from a nominal fourth-rank military officer to the third rank.

Although it seems that he only crossed two levels, it was like a chasm.

As for why he was awarded the title of "Junior Guardian", it was also easy to understand. According to the rules, the Junior Preceptor and Junior Tutor must be powerful ministers with real power.

Only the Junior Guardian had a more relaxed threshold, which was suitable for him.

However…

Compared to the matter of being awarded the third rank, the point that truly confused the officials in the court, including Zhao Du'an, was:

"Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince… But now Yu Country doesn't have a Crown Prince…"

After the old Emperor passed away, the original Crown Prince died. After the Empress ascended the throne, the Eastern Palace was vacant.

Not to mention sons, the Empress doesn't even have a formal Emperor Consort… Where did the Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince come from?

"No… I'm very happy with the treatment of the third rank, but, just saying, the Crown Prince is nowhere to be seen, who am I 'guarding'…"

Zhao Du'an was full of complaints.

Immediately, he suddenly realized something: Did Zhenbao have other meanings when she awarded him the title of Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince at this time?

For example…

Official announcement?

You know, his male favorite status has never been publicly acknowledged…

"Zhao Qing? What are you still doing standing there? Aren't you going to receive the decree?" Xu Zhenguan suddenly looked at him with a smile, raising the golden imperial decree in her hand.

Zhao Du'an was shocked and stepped forward, walking to the front under the gaze of everyone:

"This subject receives the decree and thanks His Majesty!"

He raised his hands, but did not receive the imperial decree, but touched a smooth and slender hand.

"Grant him a seat." The Empress said, pulling Zhao Du'an to sit beside her amidst Mo Chou's extremely resentful gaze.

The throne was large, and it was very spacious for two people to sit together.

And this scene, falling into the eyes of the officials, even the most obtuse realized the message that the Empress was conveying.

Official announcement!

Official announcement of the Imperial Husband!

This move undoubtedly showed the identities of the two to the entire court and even the world.

No longer a contemptible male favorite like a "male pet" who was completely invisible, without any status, and could be abandoned at any time.

But a step further, gaining the status of a reserve Imperial Husband.

Even if the Empress did not explicitly mention the words "Imperial Husband", the act of "sharing the throne" had already exceeded the specifications that a male pet should have.

This also meant that after today, Zhao Du'an's status would be raised again, becoming a pillar-level member of the "Imperial Party".

The officials were shocked, and there was a slight commotion in the Fengtian Hall.

Dong Xuan, Ma Yan, and other officials of the Imperial Party showed smiles, not surprised by this. After the past six months, no one questioned whether Zhao Du'an had this qualification.

Yuan Li and other Qingliu faction officials showed emotion, knowing that if the Empress truly secured the throne in the future, and no accidents occurred in the middle, and gave birth to a real Crown Prince in the future… the Zhao family would inevitably advance to the top閥 of the empire.

Of course—the premise was that the Empress could win in the game with the Eight Kings and secure the throne, otherwise everything would be illusory.

As for Li Yanfu, who was left aside, the beard on his face trembled slightly, and he already understood the Empress's intention.

The Empress was using actions to respond to his impeachment just now.

"Prime Minister," Xu Zhenguan finally looked at Li Yanfu, who was standing in the hall, after the commotion in the hall subsided, and said calmly: "Are you satisfied with my answer?"

Li Yanfu said nothing.

He looked bitter and was about to sit down.

Since the Empress had already clearly stated that she wanted to protect him, it was meaningless to keep holding on.

Moreover, Li Yanfu also knew that even without this crowning scene, with Zhao Du'an's current status, a charge of letting Zhuang Xiaocheng go could not break him.

"Your Majesty," but at this time, Zhao Du'an suddenly spoke.

He smiled, shook his head gently, and gently patted the Empress's smooth and delicate back of her hand under the table.

Then, under Xu Zhenguan's confused gaze, he stood up and said to Li Yanfu:

"I admit what the Prime Minister impeached earlier. In fact, I originally planned to settle this matter before the end of the year, but I was seriously injured by the monk Da Jing by accident, and I was sick for two months. Your Majesty is kind and generous, and extended my deadline to after the New Year… Now that my injuries are almost healed, it is just right that everyone is here today."

He stretched out three fingers, the corners of his mouth raised, and said firmly:

"Within three months, I will capture Zhuang Xiaocheng and bring him to justice. If I fail to do so by then, I am willing to take responsibility and be punished!"

Li Yanfu suddenly raised his head, his expression shocked.

Xu Zhenguan was also stunned, looking at him with complicated beautiful eyes.

The officials in the hall were moved. For a time, they were both shocked by Zhao Du'an's boldness and confused, not understanding why he had to make a military pledge.

"Good. With Zhao Shaobao's words here, we will wait and see." Li Yanfu took the opportunity to agree, and the two made an agreement.

Seeing this, Xu Zhenguan didn't say anything.

Zhao Du'an, however, acted as if nothing had happened, smiling lightly as he looked at the musicians and dancers in the hall, easing the atmosphere:

"Why are you all standing there dumbfounded? It's New Year's Eve tonight! Let's not go home until we're drunk! Continue the music, continue the dancing!"

The assembled officials snapped out of their daze, and smilingly cooperated.

The music and dance resumed, and the grand banquet continued.

… … … …

The grand banquet continued for another half an hour before finally coming to an end.

The night was already deep. There was no curfew in the city tonight, and the lantern festival would last until the early hours of the morning. The officials left the palace one after another to reunite with their families.

The Empress, however, took Zhao Du'an and walked alone with him to the Meridian Gate, near the imperial city.

Walking along the steps, they reached the crenellations of the imperial city. Standing on the high city wall, the giant lantern, like a huge object fallen to earth, resembled a scarlet moon.

The female relatives of the powerful and wealthy gathered near the giant lantern to play. Beyond the giant lantern, south along the city gate, was the wide, straight Vermilion Bird Avenue.

On both sides of the street, the lights were like a sea, and the tourists were like a weaving tapestry. Fireworks and firecrackers rose from all directions of the capital, painting the dark, cloudless, star-studded night sky with oil-painting-like colors.

Zhao Du'an stood with his hands clasped behind his back on the city wall. Beside him was the Great Yu Empress, who had removed her dragon robe and crown and returned to her white clothes and black hair.

The two stood side by side, and the nearby guards tacitly moved away.

"Why did you agree with Li Yanfu on a three-month deadline?" Xu Zhenguan asked softly, looking at the distant sea of lights.

Tonight, the celestial masters of the Celestial Master's Mansion performed their rituals, and there was not a trace of cold wind or dark clouds in the entire capital.

The moonlight shone on her face, and her face, like the bright moon, surpassed the bright moon in the sky.

"It is not easy to establish prestige, but it is easy to destroy it. Your Majesty has just used the Cao Mao case to establish the image of a wise monarch. At this juncture, if I were to forcibly protect this notorious and infamous sycophant, it would be easy to make a big deal out of it, and the image that was so hard to reverse would be ruined again."

Zhao Du'an also looked at the fiery lantern market in the city and said softly.

Xu Zhenguan was stunned. She turned her head and looked at Zhao Shaobao's resolute profile in a daze.

In the darkness, her eyes were bright, and there were unspeakable and unclear emotions hidden inside:

"How confident are you?"

Zhao Du'an turned his head back, smiled slightly, and said: "Is Your Majesty worried about your subject?"

Xu Zhenguan turned her head away, avoiding his hot gaze:

"I'm just worried that you'll bite off more than you can chew. In the end, I'll have to clean up your mess."

Zhao Du'an smiled and said, "How could I be the kind of person who acts rashly without any confidence?"

Xu Zhenguan turned her head back and looked at him in surprise: "You have an idea?"

"Yes," Zhao Du'an became serious and said:

"I have long wanted to settle the feud between me and Zhuang Xiaocheng personally. I originally planned to do it after the New Year. I had already arranged for people to exchange prisoners with the Kuangfu Society, and it has been many days since those prisoners returned to the Kuangfu Society.

And even earlier, the spy named Wu Ling, who was sent back by me first, also sent back a key piece of information a few days ago. Combining the information from other Shadow Guards, I have locked down the approximate location of the Kuangfu Society's headquarters, and Zhuang Xiaocheng should be sitting there."

"Where is it?"

"Bin Hai Dao, Fengcheng. Not far from the border with Linfeng Dao, under the jurisdiction of one of the two prefectures of Binhai Dao."

The Empress was stunned and raised her eyebrows:

"Zhuang Xiaocheng is hiding in Bin Hai Dao?"

This was beyond her expectations. For the past two years, the Shadow Guards had investigated in many ways, but had never been able to locate the headquarters of the Kuangfu Society.

Zhao Du'an said:

"I plan to wait until this New Year is over, and then prepare people to arrest this thief. As long as the leader Zhuang Xiaocheng is arrested, the entire Kuangfu Society will inevitably fall apart. Even if we can't catch them all at once, without the central leadership, they will only be a group of insignificant bandits."

Xu Zhenguan's breathing quickened slightly and said: "How many soldiers and horses do you need?"

Zhao Du'an shook his head and said:

"This matter should not be publicized, lest we startle the snake. It would be good for me to arrive quietly with some experts. I only ask Your Majesty for a military order, so that I can mobilize the military government officers and soldiers of Bin Hai Dao to cooperate when I get there."

"Granted!"

Xu Zhenguan did not hesitate, paused, and suddenly turned her palm over, and there was a piece of soft armor in her palm:

"The Six Talisman Treasure Armor was damaged by Da Jing last time, and it has now been repaired and is about to be returned to you."

Zhao Du'an quickly took it and put it into the space scroll. This treasure armor saved half of his life back then, so it is really useful.

Xu Zhenguan's fair palm turned over again and handed over an earth-yellow gem:

"There are not many teleportation jade pendants in the palace. This teleportation treasure pearl is for you. Although it cannot return to the capital, if you encounter danger that you cannot resist, crushing it can randomly escape more than a thousand miles and save your life."

Good stuff… Zhao Du'an's eyes lit up, and his confidence in saving his life was strengthened again.

Combined with the Xuanwu Seal and Buddhist Qinglian and other strange things in his hand, as well as Pei Niannu, who can be called out to cheat in extreme situations… In terms of methods alone, he is extremely difficult to kill.

However, it is too difficult for him to capture Zhuang Xiaocheng by himself. In addition to mobilizing troops, he must also summon several masters of the World Realm.

But this time he doesn't plan to ask Grandpa Hai again, but has other goals.

This is also one of the reasons why he still needs to wait in the capital for a while.

"Your Majesty?"

In the silent atmosphere on the city wall, after a moment of silence between the monarch and his minister, Zhao Du'an spoke again.

"Yes?"

"Speaking of which, we two…"

"Don't think wildly! Why don't you go back and be with your family?"

"I told my family not to leave the door open for me tonight…" Zhao Du'an said with a playful smile, and suddenly sensed something, turned his head and looked towards the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Xu Zhenguan took the lead and looked at the Celestial Master's Mansion.

… …

… …

Celestial Master's Mansion.

It was also lively tonight. Old Celestial Master Zhang Yiyi rarely showed up and gathered with many priests.

However, neither of this generation's two Zhu Dian boys were present.

As the banquet was nearing its end, Zhang Yiyi, who was sitting in the main seat, was tall and had narrow eyes, suddenly raised his eyebrows and smiled:

"Double happiness is coming to our door."

Beside him, Zhong Pan, the "Little Celestial Master", who had a naturally fierce appearance, drank a large bowl of wine, and his eyes lit up when he heard the words, and he said in surprise:

"Master, could it be the two junior brothers and sisters…"

Zhang Yiyi nodded slightly.

A few priests in attendance also noticed.

After a while, two people walked in together outside the hall, namely the petite and mysterious girl Jin Jian, and the short, fat and sloppy Gongshu Tianyuan.

The two were radiant, and a mysterious aura flowed from their bodies as they walked. Behind the two, there were faintly visible illusory gods floating.

"Disciple pays homage to Master," Gongshu Tianyuan and Jin Jian bowed in unison, "Disciple has entered the World Realm."

A group of priests were greatly surprised. They all knew that the two were sprinting to break through the realm, but they did not expect that they would be promoted at the same time tonight.

"Congratulations to the Celestial Master's Mansion for adding another World Realm cultivator."

One priest after another stood up to congratulate.

Zhang Yiyi smiled and sighed with emotion, and said:

"Now that you have entered the World Realm, you should plan to travel and practice after the New Year. Do you have any ideas?"

Senior Brother Zhong Pan smiled and said: "If you don't know where to go, you can travel with me."

Jin Jian and Gongshu Tianyuan looked at each other and shook their heads in unison:

"Disciple already has a place to go."

… …

The same New Year's Eve.

Jiancheng Dao, in the Jingwang Mansion.

A family banquet had just ended, and the Prince of Jing came to the study alone, fed himself a pill to sober up, and closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them again, he looked at the head of the secret service waiting in the room: "Speak."

The secret agent of the Wang Mansion said:

"It has been confirmed that the governor of the canal transport has written a letter, and the court will gradually appoint new officials to take office after the New Year to replace the vacancies in order to promote the new policy."

The Prince of Jing sneered:

"My niece is getting more and more courageous. She was lucky enough to succeed in opening the market at Huting and solved the urgent needs of the national treasury, so she can't wait to make drastic moves and extend her hand to my territory."

The secret agent hesitated and said: "Prince, all the families are very dissatisfied with the new decree. Can we use their hands to put the newly appointed officials in the air?"

The Prince of Jing shook his head, pondered for a moment, and said:

"That's not appropriate. Officials and people are ultimately different. Wasn't that canal transport governor just an empty shell at first? How is it now? I'll think about this matter again. Perhaps we can try to 'borrow a corpse to revive the soul'. Humph, my niece wants to promote new officials to check and balance me, but what if the officials she promotes are also my people?"

That's what he said, but it still takes careful planning to make it happen.

After a pause, he wrote a note and handed it to the latter: "Go."

"Yes."

The latter took his leave.

After the person left, footsteps came from outside the door, and the study door was pushed open, revealing Princess Jing Lu Yan'er's gentle face.

"Why are you here?" The Prince of Jing asked in surprise.

Princess Jing looked as usual, spread out her hand to ask for healing pills, indicating that she had finished the previous ones.

The Prince of Jing did not suspect anything else.

A moment later, the Princess turned and left. She walked in the Wang Mansion, listening to the sound of firecrackers in the distance, holding the porcelain bottle of pills in her hand, thinking about what she had overheard just now.

"Wait a little longer, and after figuring out the trend, report it to Lord Zhao."

… …

Bin Hai Dao, an area under the jurisdiction of Fengcheng.

In a manor, the members of the Kuangfu Society also rarely gathered together.

Under a certain eaves, Yun Xi hugged her knees, sat on the cold steps, and looked at the moon in the sky.

Suddenly hearing footsteps behind her:

"Yun Xi? The Grand Tutor asked you to go over."

… …

Misspelled words will be corrected later.

Thank you Jian Xin for your reward of a hundred coins for the Kyoto fire.