The First Lackey Under The Empress

A stretch of silence.

The sharp spring breeze bypassed Zhao Du'an's official robe from outside the gate, blowing directly onto the faces of the assembled ministers in the hall.

The expressions on everyone's faces seemed to freeze, and some even raised their hands to shield their eyes, as if blocking the strong light pouring in from outside.

Zhao Du'an... Zhao Du'an... Wasn't he already dead? Why would he appear here?

Resurrected from the dead?

The moment this absurd thought arose in the minds of many ministers, they cut it off and realized the truth:

"Feigned death!"

Grand Censor Yuan Li's lips moved, uttering these two words, his face first turning slightly red, a look of excitement rising.

Then, a look of "sudden realization" appeared in his wise eyes, and he turned his head to glance at Luan Cheng, seeing that the governor was indeed calm, further confirming his judgment.

That's right... He had previously felt that Zhao Du'an's death was abrupt. Although anything could happen in an external power struggle, perhaps Zhao Du'an's impression on people in the past year was too profound, Yuan Li found it difficult to accept that he had died just like that.

However, during this period, neither His Majesty's reaction nor the Zhao family's grief made him notice anything strange.

Now it seems that the truth has been concealed from everyone in the capital...

Feigned death... Feigned death... In Li Yanfu's deep eye sockets, his pupils suddenly shrank into a small dot, and he subconsciously took two steps back, his hands trembling in his sleeves, and the good mood of this period was instantly buried.

Realizing that he had been deceived.

Not only him, but the officials led by the Li faction in the entire Golden Luan Hall, who had been celebrating their impending promotions in recent days, felt their bodies gradually chilling, and their moods plummeted to the bottom.

"Young Guardian Zhao... You're still alive?"

"This... Could it be that there was an error in the transmission?"

"Your Majesty, may I ask what exactly is going on...?"

The ministers were in an uproar, vying to speak.

Zhao Du'an strode forward, walking straight to the front of the hall under the gaze of the officials on both sides, like a sharp knife cutting through the tide.

At this time, the ministers also noticed that there were two people following behind him.

It was unexpectedly Hall Master Haitang of the Zhao Yamen's Water Immortal Hall, and Hall Master Zhang Han of the Peony Hall.

As for the senior brothers and sisters of the Celestial Master's Mansion, as well as Ji Yue, Yun Xi, and others, they were not suitable to appear here, so they did not follow.

Haitang and Zhang Han, one on the left and one on the right, carried that heavy large box—the three of them had entered the palace early and pulled Zhuang Xiaocheng over from Eunuch Hai's hands to complete this public ceremony.

"Silence, everyone."

The Great Yu Empress smiled and looked down at the commotion among the ministers. After waiting for a while, she spoke softly.

The eunuch beside her raised his whip and struck the mirror-like marble floor hard, making a crisp sound.

After the ministers closed their mouths, Xu Zhenguan said with a smile:

"I know that you, my beloved ministers, are puzzled as to why Young Guardian Zhao is safe and sound? Let Zhao Qing himself tell you about this matter."

Zhao Du'an cupped his hands: "Your subject obeys."

After speaking, he raised his head, not in a hurry to explain, but slowly stepped forward, turned around, and walked to the large box placed on the ground, smiling:

"Before I begin, there is an old 'friend' that needs to be brought out to meet with my colleagues."

After speaking, without waiting for everyone to react, he grabbed the pull ring and with a "bang," he opened the heavy coffin-like box!

Exposing the Old Tutor inside the box, with a talisman pasted on his forehead, in a state of unconsciousness.

"Zhuang... Zhuang Xiaocheng! It's Zhuang Xiaocheng! The leader of the rebel party!"

A censor nearby was shocked and shouted.

The ministers, who had finally calmed down, started another commotion.

And this time, the momentum was even greater than before!

"Zhuang Xiaocheng!"

Who would be unfamiliar with this name? As the leader of the rebel party, he was clearly the court's most troublesome enemy after the "Profound Sect Coup."

They had sent people to arrest him countless times, but all had been declared failures.

This was also the reason why Zhao Du'an's "letting go" of Zhuang Xiaocheng caused such a big stir—his identity was too special.

And at this moment, Zhuang Xiaocheng, who had been "missing" for three years, appeared in the hall again. How could the officials not be moved?

"That's right, as you all can see, this thief is the leader of the rebel party, the former Tutor Zhuang Xiaocheng," Zhao Du'an said loudly.

He put his hands behind his back and looked at Li Yanfu in the crowd, the corners of his mouth raised:

"Three months ago, on New Year's Eve, the Prime Minister brought up the old matter again. At that time, I said that within three months, I would bring back the traitor I had let go. Now, fortunately, I haven't broken my promise."

Li Yanfu stared at him intently, without saying a word, only his beard trembling slightly.

Li Yinglong, the "Little Grand Secretary" who was also in the hall, took a step forward and supported his father to prevent him from losing his composure.

"Heh heh," Zhao Du'an did not pursue the attack, but smiled faintly and said:

"The reason why I discussed with Governor Luan to send out the news of my death was to safely escort this thief back to the capital..."

Then, he spoke eloquently, narrating the entire experience of the capture.

And explained why he did so.

After everything was narrated, the officials finally understood everything.

Realizing what had happened, they realized that Zhao Du'an had probably returned to the capital in advance, waiting specifically to slap Li Yanfu's face in the hall today.

"Wait a minute..." Someone suddenly recalled the Empress's suppression of the Li faction during this period, and their expressions suddenly became wonderful.

If the Empress had known that Zhao Du'an was not dead, wouldn't those suppressions have been intentional? Had the Li faction suffered in silence?

Thinking of this, Yuan Li and other members of the Qingliu faction immediately cast "sympathetic" glances at a group of their mortal enemies.

"Good... Good move..."

Li Yanfu took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and opened them again, staring gloomily at the high-spirited Zhao:

"What a feigned death, what a scheme."

Zhao Du'an smiled and met his gaze:

"Prime Minister, you praise me too much. Speaking of which, I still have to thank the Prime Minister for urging me, otherwise I might not have been able to arrest this thief so quickly and bring him to justice."

Li Yanfu was silent.

Haitang and Zhang Han found it interesting, rarely seeing the Prime Minister being embarrassed in public.

"As Young Guardian Zhao said, Young Guardian Zhao and his subordinates have contributed a lot to bringing the leader of the rebel party to justice today, and the Prime Minister has also made a great contribution."

Xu Zhenguan said with a chuckle. These words, which were more of a mockery than praise, landed on Li Yanfu's face like a slap.

However, the purpose of today was not to target Li Yanfu after all.

The Empress stopped in moderation and began to list Zhuang Xiaocheng's crimes, and publicly rewarded Haitang and others who participated in the battle and made contributions.

Only Zhao Du'an was excluded—because in name, his contribution this time was to "atone for his sins."

As for whether there was any compensation in private, the ministers did not know.

Finally, the Empress publicly announced that Zhuang Xiaocheng and other members of the rebel party would be publicly tried, and after the case procedures were completed, they would all be beheaded at the execution grounds.

The officials shouted long live, and no one raised any objections.

......

After the court session ended.

Zhuang Xiaocheng continued to be escorted away by the palace guards to ensure that he would live until the day of his beheading without any accidents.

Zhao Du'an walked in the crowd, leaving the Meridian Gate together.

Unknowingly, the ministers tacitly separated, leaving him and Li Yanfu behind.

One was too young, and the other was too old.

The two officials of the old and new dynasties walked down the white jade steps little by little, and the sunlight cast their shadows on the ground.

"Prime Minister, do you still remember the scene when you and I first met at the Meridian Gate?" Zhao Du'an asked softly, his hands in his sleeves, walking down the long steps, looking straight ahead.

Li Yanfu remained silent.

Zhao Du'an said to himself:

"It was the time when Pei Kaizhi was stripped of his official position. At that time, I was standing at the Meridian Gate. I didn't have the qualifications to attend court yet, so I watched the ministers walk down after the court session. At that time, the Prime Minister didn't pay much attention to me.

I said a joke to Pei Kaizhi, and he was so angry that he vomited blood. Only then did the Prime Minister turn his head and glance at me."

Li Yanfu did not say a word.

Zhao Du'an continued:

"However, before that, my deepest impression of the Prime Minister was on the afternoon of the day I 'let go' of Zhuang Xiaocheng. I entered the palace to plead guilty to His Majesty. At that time, the Prime Minister was in the study discussing state affairs with His Majesty.

At that time, you walked out of the study, and I was standing in the corridor with a group of female officials, and I called out to you. You didn't even look at me at the time."

Li Yanfu walked to the last step and took a deep breath.

Zhao Du'an stopped, facing the sun with his hands clasped, looking up slightly, revealing a bright smile:

"From you ignoring me, to looking back at me, to you regarding me as a thorn in your side in the Golden Luan Hall just now... It took me nearly a year to complete these changes."

He turned his head, looked down at Li Yanfu walking down the steps and walking straight ahead, the corners of his mouth raised, and said sarcastically:

"How many decades did it take for the Prime Minister to reach this position?"

Li Yanfu's footsteps stopped, his slightly hunched body trembled slightly, as if trying to suppress his anger, and his gray hair fluttered in the spring breeze.

"Don't be proud for too long!"

He spat out these words, stepped towards the distance, and disappeared outside the palace gate.

Zhao Du'an put his hands in his sleeves, stood on the steps, with a look of disappointment on his face.

Unfortunately, this old thief is far less brittle than Pei Kaizhi.

"Then... let's wait and see."

......

......

After Zhao Du'an left the court, he and his two "alive" colleagues went straight to the Zhao Yamen.

Unsurprisingly, it caused a sensation.

The Jinyi of the Pear Blossom Hall went from sadness to sluggishness to ecstasy. In a short half hour, they experienced great ups and downs.

Fortunately, the same explanation had been given several times, and they were familiar with explaining the situation. The group of thorns, who were originally leaderless and listless, immediately glowed with vigor.

Zhao Du'an waved his hand and spent hundreds of taels of silver in his personal name, ordering Qian Kerou to prepare a banquet to celebrate with his colleagues later.

As for the "bonuses" for the Jinyi, they were allocated from the account, and the entire hall was filled with joy for a time.

......

"How are the prisoners who were escorted back?"

In the General Overseer's Hall, after Zhao Du'an arrived, he asked Ma Yan for inquiries.

As the sharpest blade in the hand of the Empress, Ma Yan, although not attending court today, had already learned the information that Zhao Du'an was not dead.

And last night, according to Zhao Du'an's arrangement, he had already sent Yun Xi into the imperial prison.

— This time it was not imprisonment, but persuasion.

"According to the list you provided, those prisoners who are incorrigibly depraved have been sent to be tortured, extracting information as much as possible. As for those who have the hope of being transformed into spies, they have been imprisoned separately, but I heard that those people are quite stubborn, and separate persuasion may not be very effective."

Ma Yan sat in the hall, holding a teacup, and replied.

Zhao Du'an pondered for a moment and said:

"I'll go see for myself."

… …

… …

Lin Yuebai was awakened from a nightmare.

She opened her eyes, suddenly sat up, and shouted, "Qi Chi!?"

In the next cell, the young Kou Qichi, staring at his messy, bird's nest-like hair, rushed to the railing:

"Sister, I'm here!"

Lin Yuebai gasped for breath. In the dim dungeon, a look of fear appeared on her face. She raised her wrists, which were chained, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, and shook her head, saying:

"It's nothing, just had a dream."

In the dream, Kou Qichi was dragged out by the jailers and thrown onto the execution platform to be skinned alive, his screams echoing throughout the dungeon.

Lin Yuebai shook her head, trying to clear her drowsy mind. The Confucian robe she wore to disguise herself as a man was gone, replaced by tattered, foul-smelling prison clothes.

Several people were imprisoned in the entire cell. At this moment, the others were awakened, and one by one looked at her, either indifferently or with concern.

No one spoke.

Everyone was waiting for the approach of torture.

From the moment they were imprisoned last night, they were imprisoned in a "disorderly" manner. They didn't know what happened to their other companions, but they could hear the shrill screams that lasted all night.

And what truly demoralized this group of people was not the fear of torture, but more of a sense of confusion.

On the way, they learned the news that Grand Tutor and Zhao the Traitor had perished together.

Zhao the Traitor's death was certainly gratifying, but the Grand Tutor's death caused this group of people to lose their "guiding light" and be at a loss.

Lin Yuebai could only constantly comfort the others:

The Princess Consort Wen is still here, the Heir is still here, and Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun and other core members are still here.

The brothers and sisters of the Kuangfu Society are still fighting in various places.

"Clang!"

Suddenly, the sound of the cell door opening came from the corridor, accompanied by footsteps. Several jailers walked in and scanned the crowd: "Lin Yuebai, come out for a while."

"Sister!" The young man next door shouted heart-rendingly.

But he couldn't stop Lin Yuebai from being dragged out roughly by the jailers.

When this female warlock looked blank and prepared to be abused, she found that the jailers did not take her to the torture chamber.

Instead, they came to a quieter area.

In the dungeon corridor, lit by braziers, Lin Yuebai saw Wu Ling and Qing Niao, who were guarding outside an interrogation room like door gods, one on the left and one on the right.

"It's you! Traitors! Lackeys of the court!" Lin Yuebai glared angrily and cursed at the two traitors.

Wu Ling was too lazy to say anything, Qing Niao looked pityingly, with a sneer on her lips:

"I hope you'll be the same as you are now when you come out later."

Lin Yuebai was pushed into the interrogation room in a somewhat dazed manner.

… …

In the room, there was only a table and a few chairs.

At this moment, sitting in the position of the interrogator was a man and a woman. One of them was Yun Xi, Lin Yuebai's former friend.

The other one… with his feet on the table, leaning back in the chair, flipping through the information in his hand, his eyes contemptuous and with a sense of superiority.

"Zhao! Zhao the Traitor?!"

Lin Yuebai was struck by lightning, her eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the smiling traitor Zhao Du'an.

She had secretly seen Zhao Du'an's appearance in the crowd, and she was no stranger to him.

"Lin Yuebai, right? The information says that you are in charge of a small branch within the society, and you also participated in the assassination attempt on me at Huting? Hehe, interesting… During the Battle of Fengcheng, when threatened by Qing Niao, you had conflicts with the other members within the society, killing each other… Tsk tsk, even more interesting…"

Zhao Du'an casually threw the booklet in his hand on the table, crossed his hands, and stared at her with interest:

"Are you interested in turning over a new leaf and starting over? For Yun Xi's sake, as long as you abandon the darkness and embrace the light, this official can forgive your assassination attempt."

Yun Xi glanced at him: So direct?

"You… aren't you dead?!" Lin Yuebai was at a loss, leaning against the iron door, as if she had seen a ghost.

Yun Xi was expressionless and quickly explained the matter simply.

After listening, Lin Yuebai's eyes suddenly lit up: "So, the Grand Tutor is still alive?"

"Not far from death," Zhao Du'an said lazily:

"In a few days, he will be beheaded at the vegetable market. As long as you publicly identify Zhuang Xiaocheng's crimes, this official will…"

"Bah! You dog official! I will never yield!"

Zhao Du'an was not surprised at all. Looking at this familiar reaction, he seemed to see Yun Xi, whom he had personally trained, again.

He sighed softly and took out a recording scroll from his sleeve:

"After seeing this, I hope you can still curse."

Then, a beam of light emerged from the scroll, especially clear in the dark dungeon.

It was the scene of the Empress and Zhao Du'an interrogating Zhuang Xiaocheng in the Zhao family study.

"What the Grand Tutor is concerned about is how to oppose Us all day long, how to fabricate history, how to throw dirty water on Us, whitewash Xu Jianwen's treasonous acts, and bewitch people's hearts?"

"We are the fish on the chopping board…"

The conversation at the time also echoed in the interrogation room.

Throughout the conversation, although Zhuang Xiaocheng didn't say much, and looked like he wanted to die, he also didn't retort to the Empress and Zhao Du'an's questioning.

It was an attitude of default.

And many times, default itself represents a lot.

Lin Yuebai was stunned. After the scene in the scroll was played, she still couldn't believe it: "This is…"

Yun Xi sighed softly and sneered:

"Otherwise, why do you think I turned to the court? Do you think I am weak? Or forced by lewd power? No, it is because I recognized the true face of the old thief Zhuang and tore through the lies…"

Then, she recounted her experience of how she had a great epiphany, and showed her a lot of materials prepared on the table that could prove Zhuang Xiaocheng's hypocritical face and constructed lies.

In the end, Zhao Du'an looked at her with pity:

"You should have realized it too, right? Too many people in the Kuangfu Society don't adhere to the idea of supporting the country, and too many people have long known that Zhuang Xiaocheng is lying, but they just tacitly maintain this lie."

He stood up and walked out:

"You are a smart person, think about it carefully, I hope you make the right choice."

Zhao Du'an walked out of the interrogation room and stared at the dust floating in the light by the window at the end of the corridor. He suddenly touched his pocket and regretted that a cigarette would be appropriate at this time.

About two quarters of an hour later, the door of the interrogation room opened. Zhao Du'an didn't turn his head, continuing to look at the light coming in through the bars on the wall.

"How is it?"

Behind him, Yun Xi walked over and said calmly:

"She was persuaded by me and promised to go back to the prison to help instigate more people to stand up and expose the old thief's hypocrisy."

Zhao Du'an was not surprised: "Just continue doing it according to the method I demonstrated."

He sneered:

"In fact, these people are not stupid, so they must have been thinking about the taste in their hearts during this period of time, understanding that they were used as abandoned sons by Zhuang Xiaocheng. They are just stubbornly holding on, whether they don't want their beliefs to collapse or because of the views of their surrounding companions."

"Facing this group of people, no punishment is needed, as long as you attack their hearts and give them a legitimate reason to defect to the court and become 'traitors', they will naturally change their position…"

One of the purposes of Zhao Du'an's division of prisoners into two groups was to artificially create division.

And use a whole night of screams to instill fear into the hearts of Lin Yuebai and others.

"People are afraid of death, not many people are not afraid, but they are just trapped by some illusory moral shackles and can't get down."

"Just like when foreign races attack the city, even if they don't want to be criticized, they have to hold on. But if the foreign race holds up a puppet emperor of their own, the defending soldiers along the way can feel at ease and surrender."

Zhao Du'an said without emotion, he was as cold as an ice-cold machine.

He had seen too many similar things in history books.

Yun Xi was thoughtful: "What they lack is just a legitimate reason to change their position?"

"Otherwise?" Zhao Du'an turned around and pinched the girl's cheek casually:

"Do you really think that those rebels are as stupid as you, thinking about dying for righteousness all day long?"

Um… Yun Xi glared angrily, but was too cowardly to say anything.

Zhao Du'an laughed and walked past her towards the outside of the imperial prison:

"I'll leave the rest to you. Those who have been persuaded can also be transformed into spies. I'll leave them to you and Wu Ling to lead. We still have to continue to clear out the remnants of the rebels to atone for your sins. Heh, thinking that you can just betray once and wash away your great sins is too beautiful."

Thanks to book friends 2022…6910, and Sword Heart Kyoto Fire for the hundred rewards.