The First Lackey Under The Empress

Yun Xi was suddenly called, and turned her head to see a woman dressed as a man walking along the corridor.

She was dressed as a scholar, with thick black hair peeking out from under her hat. Her palm-sized face had round, charming eyes and a cold temperament. A cloth bag hung from her waist, its contents heavy and vaguely showing round shapes.

It was Lin Yuebai, the Kuangfu Society member who had plotted to assassinate Zhao Du'an at the lake pavilion.

"Sister Yuebai!" Yun Xi said with a bright smile.

She and Lin Yuebai were old acquaintances. Lin Yuebai had taught her a lot before she followed Zhuang Xiaocheng.

They were as close as sisters, but unfortunately, she followed Zhuang Xiaocheng to the capital, and Lin Yuebai went to a local branch, and they separated.

This time, Yun Xi was one of the "court exchange prisoners" and successfully returned to the Kuangfu Society with Qingniao.

As Zhao Du'an had predicted, Zhuang Xiaocheng found an excuse to put her and the other prisoners under house arrest in disguise.

However, perhaps to appease people, at least on the surface, Yun Xi was no different from other members, and even had an extra halo of a lone hero.

Today is New Year's Eve, and many members gathered to celebrate the new year together.

The two were able to reunite.

"The Grand Tutor called me?"

Yun Xi tilted her head, stood up, dusted off the dust on her buttocks, and showed a puzzled look:

"What's the matter?"

Lin Yuebai smiled and naturally took the girl's hand:

"I don't know, but the Grand Tutor has already met separately with many brothers and sisters who suffered in prison and returned."

The old dog is interrogating the prisoners separately?

Yun Xi's heart moved, and she became secretly vigilant, with a look of understanding on her face.

Lin Yuebai stroked the girl's small hand full of scars, her eyes filled with pity and love, and sighed:

"You have suffered these past few days. You were captured by the imperial court's hounds, especially that traitor Zhao, and must have suffered endless torture. Fortunately, you have finally escaped from the tiger's den. The Grand Tutor must be concerned about you..."

Before Yun Xi was exchanged, she took the initiative to accept a round of torture to strengthen her disguise—if she returned fair and plump, even a fool would know she had a problem.

Seeing Lin Yuebai's self-blaming, distressed, and hateful appearance towards the imperial court's hounds, Yun Xi hesitated to speak.

She really wanted to tell the truth.

But she also remembered the "espionage training" that Zhao Du'an had given her alone before she was released from prison, that series of dense rules, including "liaison" techniques, and she didn't know where that guy got them.

In short, it was extremely dangerous to rashly develop "companions" without sufficient investigation.

"It's all over," Yun Xi squeezed out a smile.

But this expression, in Lin Yuebai's eyes, was a strong girl using a smile to hide the pain she had suffered. She gritted her teeth and said seriously:

"Yun Xi, although the assassination of that Zhao traitor failed last time, I promise you that as long as I am alive, and the brothers and sisters are still here, we will avenge you sooner or later and tear that Zhao traitor into pieces!"

No... you don't know how terrifying that guy is at all. I guarantee that you will be the ones who fail in the end... Yun Xi muttered in her heart, but her face was touched: "Sister Yuebai, let's go."

The two women walked along the corridor towards another courtyard.

This was a private manor. Grapes would be planted in the summer. The locals only thought it was the property of a wealthy gentleman, but they didn't know it was one of the rebel strongholds.

Tonight, the manor was decorated with lanterns and streamers. The brothers and sisters of the Kuangfu Society were drinking, singing, and dancing. During the New Year, the government's search for them was also relaxed, and the rebels also stopped their sabotage activities.

It was a tacit truce between the government and the rebels.

A rare time to relax.

When Yun Xi arrived at a room, she happened to see the door open and the maid Qingniao came out.

The two looked at each other. Qingniao's eyes lit up, as if she wanted to say something, but when she saw Lin Yuebai, she closed her mouth.

"Are you here to see the Grand Tutor too?" Yun Xi took the initiative to ask, which was in line with her persona.

Qingniao gave an "En" sound, stepped aside, and made a gesture of invitation.

Lin Yuebai patted the girl on the shoulder to show encouragement, and then the two left.

...

After everyone left, Yun Xi took a deep breath and pushed open the door with her scarred hands. Zhuang Xiaocheng was standing in front of the wall with his back to the door.

Hanging on the wall was a map of the Yu Kingdom, with different colored markings on it.

Zhuang Xiaocheng turned around. The old man, who had the demeanor of a national scholar, was much more tired than he had been half a year ago. Seeing the female disciple who came in, he showed a look of guilt and distress: "Yun Xi..."

"Disciple greets the teacher." Yun Xi appropriately showed a look of grievance and excitement.

Perfectly showing the entanglement of a abandoned child seeing a relative again—before being released from prison, Zhao Du'an had rehearsed this scene with her repeatedly.

"As Zhuang Xiaocheng's disciple, you will definitely be scrutinized. If your acting skills are not good enough and flaws are seen, you will be extremely dangerous!" Zhao Du'an had said with a serious face:

"Therefore, you must practice until you are flawless, otherwise, just stay in Zhao Prison and don't think about being exchanged."

And at this moment, the results of countless rehearsals were remarkable. Even with Zhuang Xiaocheng's eyesight, he couldn't see any flaws.

He hurriedly went around the desk and, with the acting skills of a seasoned politician, perfectly played the role of a remorseful and worried elder:

"You... have suffered! I only hate that I am incompetent. In the bamboo forest in the southern suburbs that day..."

"Teacher, I understand! The Earth God's magic power is limited. It was the most correct choice to take you away at that time..." Yun Xi said.

Sneering in her heart:

If she hadn't known the truth, she would have been deceived by this old dog and continued to be devoted to him.

Zhuang Xiaocheng was moved to tears, and held his disciple for a long time, asking questions with concern.

Self-blame and guilt were overflowing, and he even squeezed out two lines of tears. After two actors who were qualified to enter the Shanghai Theater Academy and the Beijing Film Academy performed a scene of deep teacher-student affection.

Yun Xi finally opened her mouth: "Teacher, do you have anything else to ask me for?"

Zhuang Xiaocheng said sternly: "To tell you the truth, I suspect that there are imperial court spies among this group of prisoners."

Yun Xi was shocked: "Are you saying that some brothers and sisters have betrayed the great cause? And defected to the false emperor?"

Seeing that the indignation on her face did not seem to be fake, Zhuang Xiaocheng's mouth turned up almost imperceptibly, and he said:

"I am not sure, so I came to you. I have absolute trust in you, so I am telling you these words alone.

I want to entrust you to secretly observe the other members for a period of time, especially those who have returned from the prisoner exchange. Alas, I don't want to do this, but the false emperor's power is great, and we are weak and can't stand the sabotage of traitors."

Old dog, you said this to everyone, right? It's both to identify them with your own eyes and to have us monitor each other... Yun Xi sneered, and nodded firmly on her face:

"This disciple will definitely do my best! For the sake of the dawn of the world, even if I sacrifice, I will have no regrets!"

Zhuang Xiaocheng was very pleased, encouraged her a few words, and sent Yun Xi away.

After the girl left, the smile on his face faded, he flicked away the tears with his fingertips, and heard the wall in the room slowly wriggling.

On the wall made of rammed earth, facial features actually appeared, and then, a man slowly walked out.

He was about thirty years old, with broad shoulders, yellowish-brown skin, wearing a robe of the same color, a square face and a flat nose, and said calmly at the moment:

"Do you think there is something wrong with her?"

Zhuang Xiaocheng shook his head and said, "Among these prisoners, the one I trust the most is her."

Ren Kun, the fourth-ranked Tiangang of the Kuangfu Society, who is actually the number three figure in the society, and whose martial power is comparable to Qi Yuchun's, the "Earth God" sorcerer, showed a mocking expression:

"Because she is stupid enough?"

At the beginning of Zhao Du'an's transmigration, Ren Kun had "divine descent" in the Earth God Temple in the southern suburbs of the capital, rescuing Zhuang Xiaocheng across thousands of miles, and was also the murderer who killed "Zhao Du'an" with one blow.

He had personally witnessed the scene in the southern suburbs, so he asked this question.

Zhuang Xiaocheng snorted coldly, staring at him with unkind eyes:

"If you hadn't been careless and didn't use your full strength, allowing that Zhao Du'an to survive, why would we be so passive today?"

Ren Kun's face was full of displeasure: "Grand Tutor, how many times do you have to mention this matter? I said, my finger was enough to kill him back then, who would have thought that this kid's protective magic weapon would be so strong?"

Zhuang Xiaocheng was too lazy to argue, and said, "Has Taoist Zishan arrived yet?"

"He arrived long ago, just waiting for you."

"Let's go."

Ren Kun stomped his right foot on the ground, and the floor under his feet suddenly became like a swamp, rippling with circles of earth-yellow ripples, enveloping the two people in the room.

Then the two sank into the ground, and used遁术 to drill out of another room in the manor.

The doors and windows in the room were tightly closed, and isolated by符箓阵法 arrangement. There was only a round table, a few chairs, and a candlestick in the room.

Two people sat beside the table.

One of them was surprisingly Qi Yuchun, the former commander of the Imperial Guard.

The other person was actually a middle-aged Taoist wearing a purple Taoist robe, with a black beard and long whiskers, and a仙风道骨 appearance.

Seeing Zhuang Xiaocheng and Ren Kun come out, the two looked over.

"Grand Tutor, Poor Taoist has been waiting for a long time, just say what you have to say." The purple-clothed Taoist said calmly, "Poor Taoist still has坤道 in the palace waiting for his favor."

Zhuang Xiaocheng ignored this guy's indecent remarks, sat down, and the senior management of匡扶社 was considered to be all gathered. He looked at Qi Yuchun: "How are the Princess and the heir apparent?"

Commander Qi Yuchun said:

"It has been arranged, and they will leave the Forbidden Mountain Villa tomorrow to hide in another stronghold."

Zhuang Xiaocheng nodded and said seriously:

"There is no need to repeat the current situation. The pseudo-emperor's authority is growing day by day. If we don't make an effective response, we will only be defeated. Now that the imperial court has exchanged prisoners, playing a trick of明谋, the old man will take the trick, enter the game himself, and lure that Zhao Du'an to come and arrest him."

This former pillar of the country showed a fierce and decisive look on his face:

"Now, the location of the Forbidden Mountain Villa should have been sent to the imperial court. With that Zhao thief's睚眦必报 habits, and the promotion of the Li Party in the imperial court, he is very likely to arrive after the new year.

At that time, as long as this person is eliminated, it will inevitably greatly damage the pseudo-emperor's regime, and our momentum will be greatly boosted."

The others looked solemn.

Qi Yuchun hesitated for a moment, but still said:

"Grand Tutor, you are different from us, you are a mortal body, why not evacuate with the heir apparent and the Princess, since this place is arranged as a trap, then we are the hunters."

Zhuang Xiaocheng shook his head and smiled self-deprecatingly:

"You must not underestimate that Zhao Du'an, if the old man is not here, he will definitely not be fooled, you don't have to persuade me.

Since the old man received the will of His Highness Jianwen, he should coexist and die with匡扶社. Since Zhao thief became a major problem because of the old man, he should also be eliminated by me to prevent future troubles."

Everyone was moved.

The purple-clothed Taoist even stroked his palms and laughed:

"Grand Tutor has such ambition, Poor Taoist can't be stingy. It must be known that a strong dragon does not suppress a local snake. Poor Taoist wants to see what waves this Zhao thief can make in this territory without the support of the pseudo-emperor."

……

……

Capital.

The Lantern Festival on New Year's Eve finally gradually dissipated.

Zhao family.

When You Jinhua and Zhao Pan, each carrying a small persimmon lantern in their hands, returned home in a carriage under the protection of servants and guards.

They were surprised to see Zhao Du'an standing in the yard building a snowman.

"Brother? You're back?"

Zhao Pan's autumn-like eyes showed surprise, and she ran over with the delicate little persimmon lantern in her hand.

Looking at the ugly snowman in front of him, the girl frowned and disliked it:

"So ugly..."

You Jinhua was not as happy as her daughter. She twisted her waist, carrying the persimmon lantern and walked over, carefully saying:

"Didn't you say you wouldn't leave the door open tonight, didn't you stay in the palace?"

Zhao Pan was unhappy when she heard it: "Mom, it's New Year's Eve, isn't it normal for brother to come home?"

Zhao Du'an clapped his hands, brushed off the snow powder on his hands, and showed a wry smile on his face.

Originally, according to his thoughts, even if the Empress wanted to act, she should have kept him in the palace for the night.

But the result was that Zhenbao said, "There will be sacrifices to ancestors in the palace early tomorrow morning", it is not appropriate for you to stay in the palace... The newly appointed Junior Preceptor of the太子, returned home alone.

But thinking about it, it's normal. Letting the group of ministers know that the night before the ancestor worship, the Empress was unclear with the Junior Preceptor of the太子 in the palace, which is almost equivalent to sending ammunition to the enemy.

"It's New Year's Eve, it's better to be at home."

Zhao Du'an said casually, drew his sword and wrote the three characters "Zhuang Xiaocheng" on the ugly snowman.

Then he beheaded with a sword, chopped off the snowman's head, and gently exhaled, almost murmuring:

"It's time to avenge you."

"Ah, avenge who?" The mother and daughter didn't understand, they just felt that the eldest son was strange.

"It's nothing."

Zhao Du'an smiled and comforted the two, then remembered something and casually threw a scroll of imperial decree in his arms to You Jinhua:

"Auntie, please keep it for me."

"Imperial decree?!"

You Jinhua was stunned, hurriedly caught it, and the small lantern in her hand fell to the ground.

When she unfolded the imperial decree in confusion, and borrowed the light of the lantern to see the words on it clearly, the mother and daughter were stunned at the same time, in disbelief.

After Zhao Du'an casually explained that he had been appointed as少保, and his treatment would be equivalent to正三品 in the future.

You Jinhua and her daughter seemed to have been subjected to a body-fixing technique, and it took a long time to recover, and then there was uncontrollable ecstasy, and then, the entire Zhao family was a sensation.

The servants and maids also couldn't hide their joy. As the saying goes, when one person attains the Tao, even his dogs and chickens rise to heaven.

Although Zhao Du'an's power was not weak before, his status was only a fourth-rank military officer. Now that he has taken another step, the entire Zhao family has officially entered the ranks of豪门.

It is conceivable that the Zhao family is destined to be sleepless tonight.

At this time, after midnight, Zhao Du'an stood in the center of the courtyard with his sword, and heard the thick New Year's bell from the clock tower of the Heavenly Master's Mansion.

"Dang——"

"Dang——"

Time has finally come to the third year of Tianfeng.

……

……

That night, the sound of firecrackers rang until the second half of the night.

The next day, on the Spring Festival, Zhao Du'an was awakened early by the endless stream of officials and nobles who came to pay New Year's greetings.

The news that he was appointed as少保 last night spread like wildfire throughout the officialdom.

It immediately caused a sensation.

For a time, all the officials and nobles hurriedly increased the New Year's gifts they had prepared to send to the Zhao Mansion.

This made the Zhao family suffer.

All day long, people came to pay New Year's greetings without stopping, and they were all big figures who had to be received in person.

The gifts they sent filled two厢房 in just one day.

Zhao Du'an's face was stiff from smiling. The next day continued, and the officials who came were one level lower, but they were also at the same level as him, and they still needed to be greeted with a smile.

When Ma Yan came to the door with New Year's gifts, the atmosphere between the two was particularly awkward.

On the one hand, Zhao Du'an's official position was still缉司, on the other hand, the ranks of the superiors and subordinates were tied.

On the third day, Zhao Du'an finally took the time to leave the reception work to his stepmother, and he pulled a large cart of gifts from others and went straight to the Heavenly Master's Mansion.

The main point is that even if he travels through time, the custom of gift distribution during the New Year cannot be changed.

In the next few days, he was still busy, with one social engagement after another.

It wasn't until after the tenth day of the first lunar month that the influence of the appointment of officials gradually faded.

And the time limit of three months for arresting Zhuang Xiaocheng promised by Zhao Du'an has been reduced by a section.

The officials in the court, led by Li Yanfu, inquired one after another, wanting to see what means Zhao Du'an had to dare to make such a guarantee.

Zhao Du'an had been socializing in the capital until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

And on the morning of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

At dawn, the South Gate of the capital was opened early, and a special "merchant team" quietly left the capital and went south to Fengcheng.

——

ps: Every time a new plot begins, I am very anxious

Thanks to剑心京都 for the 100币 reward