The First Lackey Under The Empress

Inside the Heavenly Master's Mansion, deep within the capital.

The lush green branches of the banyan tree swayed gently in the wind as Zhang Yan held the Jade Tablet of Heavenly Secrets, performing deductions again and again.

"The Dao of Heaven" is difficult to accurately glimpse the future, but the "past" that has already happened is different.

When the latest divination hexagram was reflected in the eyes of the Old Heavenly Master, all the divine officials of the Heavenly Master's Mansion heard a mournful cry.

"What happened?"

"What was that sound? It came from the direction of the Imperial Palace."

This book is first published on 𝕥 𝕨 𝕜 𝕒 𝕟 . 𝕔 𝕠 𝕞.

Divine officials emerged from their respective buildings, looking towards the Imperial Palace in surprise.

In the sky above the Imperial Palace, or more precisely, in the direction of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, illusory dragon shadows coiled and then slowly dissipated.

"The dragon energy of the Yu Kingdom is declining, the nation's fate is shaking, and her Feng Chan ceremony has failed," Zhang Yan sighed with a complex expression.

The banyan tree swayed, its wind-like voice echoing: "Something happened to Xu Zhenguan?"

"She's not dead yet, but she's at least seriously injured."

The Old Heavenly Master frowned, looking towards the direction of the Divine Dragon Temple with a puzzled expression. He was certain that Xuan Yin had not left recently.

Could it be Martial Immortal Kui? Is he that powerful? Or are there some hidden existences outside of the Yu Kingdom?

Zhang Yan敏锐地觉察出其中存在猫腻，但“封禅”一战涉及三位天人，他亦难以仅凭卦象，得知究竟是谁参与其中。(Zhang Yan keenly sensed that there was something fishy about it, but the "Feng Chan" battle involved three Celestial Beings, and it was difficult for him to know who was involved based on the hexagrams alone.)

Zhang Yan suddenly raised his hand and grabbed, and letters of paper floated in the air, with words appearing on their own.

He was writing letters quickly, the recipients being the Little Heavenly Master and six other disciples who were traveling outside the capital.

Each letter contained only one order:

"Find Zhao Du'an and bring him back."

The Old Heavenly Master had realized that with the Empress's "fall," the Eight Kings would inevitably rebel, and Zhao Du'an's life was in danger. He would not participate in the Yu Kingdom's imperial power struggle, only save Zhao Du'an alone, which would not be a breach of contract.

From the canopy of the banyan tree, six white birds suddenly flew out, each grabbing a letter with its red claws, flapping their wings and flying beyond the nine heavens, quickly transforming into cranes.

"Pass down the order," the Old Heavenly Master said, looking at the divine official who knocked on the door and entered the small courtyard, "Close the Heavenly Master's Mansion from today onwards."

Not participating in the struggle for imperial power is the foundation of the Taoist headquarters.

… …

Just as Xu Zhenguan was ambushed and fell into the sea of clouds, failing the Feng Chan ceremony.

The "Eight Kings," scattered throughout the nine provinces and eighteen prefectures of the Yu Kingdom, learned the results of the Battle of Luo Mountain through the imperial bloodline's perception of the dragon energy.

Huaishui Province, Huaian Prefecture.

The wealthy and well-known "fence-sitter" Prince of Huaian, with his plump figure, had an extremely ugly expression on his face. He turned his head to look at his son and daughter beside him.

"Father, what's happening…" The refined and gentle Princess Xu Junling asked softly.

The Prince of Huaian shook his head and said, "I'm afraid the assassination attempt on Her Majesty has already succeeded."

As the "traitor" among the Eight Kings who had vaguely helped the imperial court in the Lake Pavilion Market, the Prince of Huaian did not participate in this assassination.

However, with his intelligence capabilities, it was not difficult for him to know that the other princes were conspiring and making arrangements.

Her Imperial Sister is dead? Or seriously injured? No, that's not the key point. The key point is that the world is about to be in chaos… Xu Junling's face was pale:

"Father, what should we do?"

The Prince of Huaian said with extreme calmness:

"Order to shrink our forces. We don't have soldiers in our hands, so we won't participate in this chaotic war. Don't stop anyone who wants to borrow a path from the Huaishui River. Wait for the situation to develop."

At the beginning of the uprising, the "Seven Kings" had a common goal: to capture the imperial court and rush to the capital to ascend the throne first.

At this time, no one would attack the Prince of Huaian, so they were temporarily safe. It would be time for "settlement" when the world was settled.

"Father, Sister, what are you talking about? Why can't I understand?"

The heir Xu Qian looked confused, with clarity and stupidity in his eyes.

The Prince of Huaian and the princess ignored him.

… …

Tieguan Province.

The Prince of Yanshan stood with his hands behind his back on a section of the northern city wall. Even in summer, it was still not warm here.

Tieguan was not wealthy, and the Prince of Yanshan's troops were not many, but they were of high quality.

"Pass down the order, prepare to go south," the Prince of Yanshan said calmly.

The staff officer behind him hesitated and said:

"Your Highness, although we are close to the capital, we can't avoid Jubei City if we want to go south. Now, the northern border army is all controlled by Luo Kedi. I'm afraid…"

Luo Kedi… The Prince of Yanshan's eyes contained haze and anger. If Duke Cao hadn't been captured at the end of last year, how could he be so passive now?

"Go south. Luo Kedi? Heh, I want to see if he is still loyal when he learns that his master is gone."

… …

Qingzhou.

In a wealthy mansion, the Prince of Heng's laughter attracted the attention of everyone in the mansion.

When the heir Xu Zudi hurriedly ran to the back house, he couldn't help but say:

"Why is Father laughing so loudly?"

The Prince of Heng, with his fair complexion, was overjoyed and hurried his pace:

"The Feng Chan ceremony was a great defeat, and your imperial sister is probably in a bad situation. Quickly order the troops to rise up. The Prince of Yanshan is blocked by Jubei City, the Prince of Hejian is restrained by Tang Daren, the Princes of Mu and Jing are far away, and the Princes of Chen and Lingnan have no ambition…"

"Calculating, my Qingzhou soldiers are the closest to the capital and have a smooth journey. Perhaps we can be the first to 'serve the king' and enter the capital! As long as we rush to the throne first, you will be the crown prince in the future!"

Ah? I'm going to be the crown prince?

Xu Zudi's heart suddenly became hot, and he hurried out excitedly. After running a few steps, he suddenly remembered something and said:

"Father, now that the imperial court is in danger, that Xiao widow was perfunctory before…"

"Humph, she doesn't know what's important. The most important thing now is to enter the capital!" The Prince of Heng was very dissatisfied. "The Xiao family still has some value for the time being. After we win the country, we can exterminate their clan."

Xu Zudi patted his forehead, nodded in agreement, and his eyes were venomous:

"That slut Xiao Dong'er, colluding with that Zhao bastard, played with this heir. After everything is settled, we will settle the accounts one by one."

… …

Xiping Province.

The Prince of Hejian convened a family meeting to formulate a strategy for advancing eastward.

However, when everyone looked at the border army led by Duke Tang, they felt heavy in their hearts.

Over the years, because of Duke Tang, the Prince of Hejian's mansion has been suppressed severely. He has gathered a lot of Jianghu forces, but once he advances eastward, Duke Tang's cavalry will soon catch up.

"Hmph, this king doesn't believe it anymore, is he so loyal?"

The Prince of Hejian waved his hand, his eyes firm:

"Go and tell him that this king wants to talk to Duke Tang!"

He knew that if he wanted to seize power, he would have very little chance if he could not get Duke Tang's support.

… …

Binhai Province.

On a large river, several large ships were practicing.

The thin Prince of Chen stood silently in front of the deck, looking at the "dragon energy" slowly piercing into his flesh, and sighed.

"Husband, why are you sighing?" The princess walked out of the cabin and asked with concern.

The Prince of Chen frowned and said:

"This king has never intended to compete for the world. Fighting against the imperial court is just for self-preservation. Now that the Princes of Jing and others have succeeded, my Binhai Province has also boarded a pirate ship. What should we do?"

The wise princess thought for a while and said:

"Our Binhai navy is only good at naval warfare. If we want to compete for the world, we must have infantry and cavalry. Therefore, if we defend this corner, it will be difficult for foreign enemies to invade. If we attack, we will definitely fail."

"For now, we can only defend this corner. When everything is settled, it will not be too late to negotiate for a stable life."

The Prince of Chen took the princess's hand and nodded repeatedly, greatly agreeing, and said to the family minister behind him:

"Pass down the order, seal off the Binhai Province waterway from today onwards. If the Princes of Jing and Mu want to go to the capital, let them go, as long as they don't invade my Binhai."

"Yes, sir!"

… …

The most remote, the most barren, with only lychees and "exiled" prisoners as specialties, Lingnan Province.

The Prince of Lingnan, as dark and thin as an old farmer, stood in a lychee garden, carelessly directing a group of servants to pick lychees.

Suddenly, he was stunned, pushed the straw hat on his head, and looked south.

"Your Highness, what are you looking at?" An official brought a large bowl of tea under the scorching sun.

The Prince of Lingnan then regained his senses and muttered:

"The world is going to be in chaos. But what does it have to do with this king? Anyway, I can't beat anyone. Whoever becomes the emperor in this broken place is too lazy to come and rob it. Fight, fight, it just saves me from having to pay tribute to lychees this year."

He muttered for a while, took the large bowl of tea and drank a few sips, leisurely lying in the shade of the tree and continued to sleep.

… …

… …

And just when the world was in chaos and the princes were raising troops.

Hundreds of miles west of Luo Mountain, in a remote bamboo forest.

A group of crows were circling on the ground to snatch food, suddenly flapping their wings in terror and making a "caw caw" sound.

The air twisted, and two figures appeared out of thin air, falling heavily in the forest covered with rotten leaves.

"Humph."

Zhao Du'an grunted, subconsciously holding the Empress in his arms before falling, landing on his back.

He fell on a rock with extremely bad luck, and winced slightly in pain.

Before he could complain, Zhao Du'an turned over and got up, calling out to the woman in his arms nervously:

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty? Wake up!"

But no matter how he called, the Empress, who had fallen into a coma, did not respond.

In Zhao Du'an's eyes, Xu Zhenguan was quite miserable at the moment. The dragon robe on her body was stained red with a large amount of blood, and the crown on her head was lost when she fell off the cliff, and her black hair was scattered in a mess.

Her face was as pale as paper, her eyes tightly closed, her silver teeth clenched, and her breathing extremely weak.

Wisps of light blue "qi" flowed across her face, making her peerless beauty seem to be covered with a layer of death.

Yet, she still gripped the Tai'a Sword tightly in her hand, never letting go even in her unconscious state.

"Your Majesty!?"

Zhao Dou'an's expression was grim as he quickly felt for the Empress's pulse on her neck, then forcibly pried open her eyelids to look at her pupils.

Only when he sensed that although the Empress seemed to be on her last breath, her heart was still strong, did he breathe a sigh of relief, his expression shifting uncertainly:

"Fortunately… it seems that although she is severely injured, it is far from life-threatening… That's right, Zhenbao is, after all, a Celestial-Human powerhouse, even if she fought two opponents alone, she wouldn't be killed…"

"I don't even know where I am right now. This teleportation jade is completely random, and I'm not familiar with the terrain here… I can't judge at all!"

"But from here, I can't see Luo Mountain… which means the distance we escaped is still sufficient. I just don't know if the 'Law God' and other enemies can catch up…"

Zhao Dou'an's thoughts flashed, and he took a deep breath, forcing himself to think calmly.

The top priority is to heal the Empress, not to continue fleeing aimlessly. Once he chooses the wrong direction, he will be courting death.

As for the chain reaction caused by the failure of the Fengchan ceremony and the Empress's disappearance… he could only force himself not to think about it for now.

Zhao Dou'an carefully picked up the unconscious Empress, looked around in the bamboo forest, and vaguely glimpsed what appeared to be houses in the distance.

He immediately carried the Empress and ran towards the front.

Before long, the scenery in front of him gradually became clear. Zhao Dou'an suddenly stopped, stunned, a sense of absurd irony appearing on his face.

He saw that a dilapidated Earth God Temple, which had been abandoned for who knows how long, stood in the bamboo forest. It was practically falling apart.

This was certainly not the southern outskirts of the capital. What he saw before him was not the Earth God Temple he had first seen after transmigrating to this world.

It was just a coincidence.

It was just that after the great upheaval, seeing the temple in the bamboo forest again, how could he not feel a sense of destiny in his heart?

A year ago, he appeared outside the Earth God Temple in the bamboo forest on the outskirts of the capital, finding his life hanging by a thread, surrounded by enemies.

A year later, he appeared outside the Earth God Temple in the bamboo forest again, his life threatened once more, with the whole world as his enemy.

Shaking his head, Zhao Dou'an stopped thinking and strode forward, kicking open the door and entering the Earth God Temple.

The temple was small and could be seen at a glance. Perhaps because hunters occasionally used it as a place to stay when they entered the mountains, the inside wasn't too dirty or messy.

Inside the temple, a tattered Earth God statue hung with cobwebs, half of its body, including its head, had collapsed.

However, the stone platform in front where offerings were placed was still intact. Zhao Dou'an blew away the dust and laid the Empress horizontally on the stone platform.

Then, from the Taixu Painting Scroll, he took out a large pile of bottles and jars, all kinds of pills he had brought with him before this trip.

Mainly for healing, restoring qi, mana, and detoxification.

At this moment, he didn't care about anything else, pouring out all the pills he thought might be useful, prying open the Empress's red lips, and stuffing them all in.

"Your Majesty? Time for medicine."

Seeing that she couldn't swallow, Zhao Dou'an took out the water pouch from his body, gently lifted her up, and gently patted her back, using his qi to help her swallow the pills.

After doing all this, Zhao Dou'an noticed that blood was dripping from the edge of the stone platform.

His expression changed, realizing that Zhenbao's main injury was on her back.

Zhao Dou'an climbed onto the stone platform and carefully turned the unconscious Empress over, letting her lie on her stomach. Then, his eyelids twitched wildly, finding that the entire dragon robe on her back was soaked in blood.

"Your Majesty, I apologize for the offense!"

In an emergency, Zhao Dou'an said in a low voice, then inserted his fingers into the collar of the Empress's dragon robe, gently peeling off the blood-stained dragon robe bit by bit.

Under the dragon robe was a slightly deformed golden soft armor woven from gold thread.

"Armor?"

Zhao Dou'an was not surprised. It was only natural for Zhenbao to wear protective magical artifacts during the Fengchan ceremony, and this golden armor must be extremely extraordinary.

But at this moment, a clear handprint was imprinted on the golden armor, almost caved in, and the gold thread was stained red with seeping blood.

Zhao Dou'an carefully removed the golden armor and placed it aside, leaving only the white undergarment.

When he slowly and gently peeled off the last layer of undergarment from Xu Zhenguan's body like peeling an onion, the Yuguo Empress's fair jade body entered the man's eyes for the first time, defenseless.

Below her slender swan neck, her delicate and white skin was like lamb's, emitting a shimmering light.

Her skin was plump and her bones were delicate, her skin was as white as snow, adding a bit would be too much, subtracting a bit would be too little, and her dark hair fell down in disarray, making the beauty's jade back almost dazzling.

However, Zhao Dou'an had no mood to appreciate it at this moment. After peeling off the undergarment, a bloody palm print was faintly visible on the Empress's back.

What a fierce palm that was!

It had almost cracked the flesh, and her perfect snow-white skin seemed to have been crushed, a bloody mess, almost sticking to the clothes.

"Law God! Xuan Yin!"

Zhao Dou'an stared at the palm print, and with the help of the 'Green Lotus' in his sea of consciousness, he could vaguely sense the aura of Buddhism that had not dissipated from the wound.

A surge of anger burned fiercely in his heart, scorching his reason.

Zhao Dou'an took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, his eyes had returned to calmness, only the coldness between his brows was solidified as if it were real.

Without hesitation, he flipped his wrist and took out the Xuan Turtle Seal, throwing it into the air.

The Xuan Turtle Seal slowly rotated, and a clear stream of water shot down, washing away the dirty blood on the Empress's jade back. Zhao Dou'an then flipped his hand and took out the Golden Crow Flying Knife.

After a little contemplation, he took out a candle, lit it, and fixed it on the stone platform with wax, carefully burning the Golden Crow Flying Knife with the flame, and then carefully used the scalding blade to treat the bruised and blood-filled wound.

"A half-step Celestial-Human Realm should be able to withstand the defense break, right… but there's no need to take risks."

The Earth God Temple was very quiet, with only the sound of the wind and the crows cawing in the bamboo forest.

After a long time, Zhao Dou'an finally finished treating the wound, and then rubbed the pills open in his palm, slowly pressing them on the Empress's wound.

"Hmm…"

Even in her unconscious state, Xu Zhenguan seemed to feel the pain, instinctively groaning, her beautiful eyebrows furrowing slightly.

On her back, the fine, almost invisible body hair also stood up one by one, seeming to resist the touch of a strange man to its owner.

"Your Majesty, I apologize for the offense."

Zhao Dou'an said in a low voice, covering the wound with his large hand, slowly rubbing the medicinal power in.

He pretended not to hear the Empress's painful moans.

After applying the medicine.

He hesitated for a moment, took off his coat, and used the flying knife to cut a piece of the new pajamas he had changed into today for the Fengchan ceremony, cutting it into strips of cloth and making a simple bandage, trying to avoid looking at places he shouldn't during the process.

After doing all this, he finally breathed a long sigh of relief and took out a spare set of long robes from the limited space of the Taixu Painting Scroll.

He helped the unconscious Empress change into it—the bloodstained dragon robe was not the key issue, the problem was that it was too conspicuous.

After the Empress put on his clothes, her whole person transformed from a dignified emperor into a soft and weak woman.

"Well, the clothes are a bit big, just wear them for now."

Zhao Dou'an looked down at Zhenbao, who seemed a bit smaller after changing into his clothes, and twitched the corner of his mouth, explaining:

"My painting scroll space is limited, and I don't have women's clothes."

"Hmm…" The Empress in her unconscious state slightly relaxed her brows, not knowing if she had heard him or not.

Zhao Dou'an didn't expect her to hear him at all when he said these words. He laid the unconscious Empress on her back on the stone platform and put the bloodstained dragon robe into the space.

As for the Tai'a Sword, he held it directly in his hand for self-defense.

This divine weapon, which outsiders could not hold, was unusually well-behaved in Zhao Dou'an's hand, trembling slightly, with a hint of intimacy.

"Heh, now you are no longer a national treasure, and only the three of us are left here." Zhao Dou'an stroked the hilt of the sword, finding joy in the midst of suffering.

He took a deep breath, cheered himself up, walked out of the Earth God Temple, and looked up at the sky.

The Fengchan ceremony was at noon, and it was still afternoon, but a dark cloud was slowly drifting from the distance in the sky, covering the sky and the sun.

"It's going to rain…"

——

ps: A friendly recommendation for a new book. "The Greatest Romantic".

This book is still in its new book period, please help to boost the follow-up reading, interested readers can take a look.