The First Lackey Under The Empress

Xu Zhenguan felt like she was having a dream.

In the dream, she seemed to return to her childhood, walking alone in the empty imperial palace.

She walked and walked, calling out "Father Emperor" and her brothers' names everywhere, but no one answered.

Until dark, the little Third Princess finally sat wearily on a step, hugging her knees and falling asleep, vaguely hearing someone calling "Your Majesty."

However, the heavy weariness prevented her from responding, and she struggled to open her eyelids, like a drowning person struggling in the deep sea…

Finally…

Xu Zhenguan broke through the surface of the water, and suddenly opened her eyelids, and the scenery in front of her suddenly became clear.

She saw a dark temple ceiling full of cobwebs, and she seemed to be lying in a cold place, with a bloody smell lingering in her nose, and she could vaguely hear the rustling of the wind.

"Where… am I…"

Her consciousness was chaotic, and it took her a lot of effort to piece together her memories from the messy sea of consciousness.

Fengchan Grand Ceremony… Wu Xiankui prematurely initiated the battle… The leader of the Fashin Sect launched a sneak attack… She fell into the sea of clouds…

Then the memory was cut off, and she seemed to have fallen into a coma.

"Not good…" Xu Zhenguan suddenly panicked, she suddenly sat up, and reached for the Tai'a Sword, but grabbed nothing.

The movement was too large, which tugged at the wound, causing her to tighten her eyebrows, and her sharp eyes swept around, only to see the surrounding situation clearly.

She was actually in a dilapidated Earth God Temple. The temple had been in disrepair for a long time, but the windows and doors were blocked with bamboo, leaving only a crack in the door, allowing a beam of dim light to come in.

Xu Zhenguan lowered her head and found that the dragon robe on her body was gone.

Instead, it was a set of loose men's gowns, and her heart suddenly tightened. She tore open the neckline and glanced at it, and when she saw the simple bandage on her body, it turned into a strong doubt.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the temple, Xu Zhenguan vigilantly pinched the sword art, and then saw the half-covered temple door being pushed open, and a familiar figure walked in.

Zhao Du'an was carrying a bundle of dry branches on his back, holding two wild rabbits and three sparrows in his left hand, and the Tai'a Sword in his right hand.

Stepping into the broken temple, their eyes met, and a joyful light lit up in Zhao Du'an's eyes. He threw the firewood and game on the ground, rushed forward a few steps, and said with concern:

"Your Majesty, you are awake?"

"Zhao Qing?" The vigilance in Xu Zhenguan's eyes quickly dissipated, and her tense delicate body also relaxed.

After confirming that only Zhao Du'an was nearby, she said weakly:

"Where… is We, where are the others?"

Zhao Du'an was silent for a while, wanting to speak, when suddenly there was a crackling sound outside the temple, and large raindrops fell, hitting the bamboo forest. At first it was small, but after a few breaths, it became a dense sheet.

The remaining light also dimmed further, Zhao Du'an dropped a sentence: "Your Majesty, wait a moment."

He turned around and closed the temple door tightly.

During this time, he cut some bamboo and filled in the light-transmitting places in the temple. In addition to this rain, it could ensure that even if a fire was lit, the firelight would be blocked.

The sound of rain suddenly became smaller, Zhao Du'an took out a flint and simply lit a bonfire. When the orange-yellow firelight illuminated the entire broken temple, Xu Zhenguan, who was sitting on the offering table, felt warmth in her cold body.

"Your Majesty, I am not sure of the specific location here, as for Eunuch Hai and others, we cannot contact them now."

Zhao Du'an looked at the Empress. At this moment, the Yu Kingdom Empress sitting on the offering table was like a goddess.

An unprecedentedly weak, fallen-to-earth female deity.

He briefly explained how he heard Pei Niannu's words at the Fengchan Grand Ceremony, had a bold association, and then ventured up the mountain, and happened to see the Empress falling, thus starting the teleportation process.

Finally, he pleaded guilty:

"At that time, the situation was critical. I could not ensure that Your Majesty would not be injured if you fell off the cliff, and I was worried that the enemy would chase after you. Therefore, I took this measure. Seeing that Your Majesty's injury was serious, I boldly treated Your Majesty's injury. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Sitting on the offering table, the Empress, like a goddess in the mortal world, was stunned, as if digesting Zhao Du'an's words.

Perhaps the matter was too important, so she temporarily ignored the details of "healing."

"Fashin… Xuan Yin…"

In Xu Zhenguan's mind, recalling when she was attacked, she glanced back in a hurry and saw the huge Buddhist dharma image rising from the top of Mount Luo, and disbelief welled up in her eyes.

She did not doubt Zhao Du'an's guess, because she was absolutely sure that the "Fashin" who attacked her at that time, at least at that moment, did have the power of "Heaven and Man."

"Xuan Yin is Fashin? Or is that another clone of him outside?"

"He is actually using a clone to cultivate the 'Way of Heaven'? What does he want to do?"

"No wonder, Xuan Yin has been in seclusion at Shenlong Temple for many years, not because he is not out, but because he is wandering outside, quietly controlling the Fashin Sect…"

"No wonder… When I banned Buddhism that day, Xuan Yin retreated blindly. Could it be that at that time, he had joined forces with the Eight Kings? That's why he didn't want to conflict? Just for today?"

"No wonder…"

Xu Zhenguan sat on the offering table, her face uncertain, like covered with frost, all kinds of emotions, finally turned into a chilling killing intent: "Xuan Yin… Shenlong Temple… I finally miscalculated you."

The palms of her hands under her sleeves clenched into fists, and the emotions in her eyes quickly turned into worry after the initial anger.

Being attacked was certainly angry, but as the Empress who ruled a dynasty, she knew better that anger could not solve the problem.

Almost subconsciously, she began to analyze the consequences of the failure of Fengchan and her disappearance.

And just a little thought, the result in her mind made her face slightly pale:

"King Jing…"

Zhao Du'an, who was beside the fire, calmly said: "I'm afraid, he has already rebelled."

During the time waiting for the Empress to wake up, Zhao Du'an also performed deductions in his mind. At this moment, he appeared unusually calm and clear-headed:

"Not only King Jing, but I suspect that the Eight Kings have already rebelled.

The Fengchan Grand Ceremony has been in preparation for a long time. It is conceivable that this assassination must be the product of a long-term conspiracy. How can a single King Jing have the bargaining chips to complete this matter?

Now that Your Majesty's Fengchan has failed and her strength has been damaged, I am afraid it is the best time for them to cause chaos."

After a pause, he stared into the Empress's eyes and asked:

"May I ask Your Majesty, were there two Celestial Beings on the mountain at that time?"

Xu Zhenguan restrained her thoughts and nodded heavily, biting her teeth:

"The other one is Wu Xiankui…"

Two heads are better than one, she did not hide it, and told him everything that happened on the top of the mountain.

Wu Xiankui of Qingshan made a move? Yes… Xuan Yin's clone alone is not enough to succeed… At that time, Duan Shuiliu and King Jing's father and son were involved together, and I suspected that there was a problem with Qingshan…

Advance the martial arts competition, what a martial arts peak, I didn't want to be a hypocritical person… Zhao Du'an's thoughts fluctuated, and his blood pressure soared.

He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"In this case, the possibility of the Eight Kings raising troops has reached 90%! Wu Xiankui, plus Xuan Yin, and the God of Loss that Your Majesty mentioned… Such a large capital is definitely not just to destroy the Fengchan Grand Ceremony, but to put Your Majesty to death!

In this situation, even if the Eight Kings do not all rebel, some who are eager to move will inevitably cause chaos!

At this moment, he felt a strong sense of luck. If Pei Niannu hadn't mentioned it at the time, and he had chosen to go up the mountain and decisively crushed the "Teleportation Treasure Jade" and escaped in time.

Even if any link in the middle was missing, the Empress, including himself and others, would have died tragically on Mount Luo.

And even if they were lucky enough to escape, the situation was still extremely bad.

Without the Empress's suppression, the dragons would have no leader, and surrounded by powerful enemies, Zhao Du'an had no doubt that King Jing would take down the entire Jiancheng Dao in a short time.

In addition to the other vassal kings, the Yu Kingdom, which has been peaceful for a long time, will inevitably fall into a turmoil that has not been seen for hundreds of years!

You must know that the Xuanmen coup three years ago was just a "palace coup"!

There was no war that affected the entire dynasty, but this time, it was very different.

Heroes compete, and the flames of war are everywhere. I originally hoped that the threat of the Eight Kings could be resolved peacefully by relying on the "New Deal", but I did not expect that I would eventually come to the worst step.

Just one step away from total defeat!

But who could have imagined that a variable like the 'Law God' would exist?

In the Earth God Temple, the firelight flickered, and the sound of rain pattered through the bamboo forest. The monarch and her subject both fell into a brief silence.

… …

After a long while.

Xu Zhenguan suddenly bit her silver teeth, her beautiful eyes reflecting the dancing bonfire, and made to get up:

“If the deduction is correct, I must leave immediately to take charge of the overall situation… Ah… …

Sitting down, she hadn't noticed, but the moment she placed her slender jade legs on the ground, attempting to stand, her body weakened, and she fell to the ground!

“Your Majesty, be careful!”

Zhao Dou'an strode forward, supporting the Empress, then using his arms to gently place her back on the cold stone altar, his eyes filled with concern:

“Your Majesty's injuries…”

Xu Zhenguan was first taken aback, then a look of panic appeared on her face. She quickly closed her eyes, examining her inner condition.

A moment later, her already weakened face visibly paled again!

She knew her injuries were severe, but after introspection, she realized the seriousness of her condition!

If she had only endured Xuan Yin's two palms alone, the injuries wouldn't have been too severe. However, the key was that she had gone all out to fight with the Martial Immortal Kui at that time.

When attacked, she hastily retracted her strength, causing the energy within her body to flow in reverse. In addition, Xuan Yin had been accumulating power for a long time, and his sneak attack was perfectly timed with those two palms.

And the failure of the 'Feng Chan', leading to the collapse of the dragon energy… Many factors combined, resulting in her injuries being far worse than expected!

Not only were the meridians throughout her body almost severed, and her Qi Sea damaged, but more importantly, there was still a lingering trace of Xuan Yin's Yin-cold 'palm force' within her body.

Like a venomous snake, constantly roaming, destroying her organs.

Aside from the dragon energy, she was ultimately not a 'Celestial Body'!

At this moment, the Empress tried to mobilize her Qi to attack that 'palm force', but not only did she fail, it caused her Qi and blood to surge, and she suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood!

How could she, in the Mortal Realm, deal with the power of the Celestial Realm?

“Your Majesty?!”

Seeing the Empress spit out blood, Zhao Dou'an's expression changed drastically. He quickly grabbed her slender hand, trying to transmit Qi to help stabilize the chaotic energy.

“It’s… nothing…”

Xu Zhenguan opened her eyes, swaying slightly, and subconsciously wanted to take out healing pills from an ancient jade bracelet on her wrist.

This jade bracelet was her storage artifact, but she failed.

Xu Zhenguan was stunned, then smiled bitterly. She had forgotten that the jade bracelet on her body was a royal treasure, with many restrictions placed on it, and only she could open it. But in her current state, she couldn't even open the jade bracelet.

She was so severely injured!

Zhao Dou'an's face was anxious, but the elixirs on his body were almost used up before, and his own Divine Chapter Realm Qi was also difficult to contain the chaotic power within Zhenbao's body.

At a crucial moment, he suddenly remembered that the two of them had once tried to cultivate with 'Dragon Soul' in the palace hall.

Immediately, he flipped over and jumped onto the stone altar, earnestly saying: “Your Majesty, my cultivation is not enough, I can only try to borrow the power of the Dragon Soul.”

Both of them cultivated the 'Martial God' path, and their Qi had the same origin.

Xu Zhenguan's breath was weak, and when she heard his words, she understood his meaning and nodded: “Okay…”

Zhao Dou'an immediately recalled how the Empress had transmitted Qi to him in the first place. He imitated her, placing Zhenbao in a cross-legged posture.

He also sat cross-legged behind her, imitating the posture of transmitting power in martial arts novels, placing his palms on her jade back, and tried it… but failed.

“As expected, I am too weak? It doesn't work even through the clothes…” Zhao Dou'an took a deep breath, his eyes firm.

Xu Zhenguan, who was trying her best to endure the pain in her meridians, suddenly widened her eyes, feeling a pair of hands reaching into her loose robe.

“You… how can you…”

Only after saying these words did she belatedly realize a crucial thing:

Since there were only the monarch and her subject here, then the wounds and bandages on her body…

“Your Majesty, don't look back. I am… acting according to the circumstances.”

A warm current flowed from her back, pouring into her meridians. Zhao Dou'an's Qi, after being exhaled through the Dragon Soul, seemed to have returned home.

When Xu Zhenguan also subconsciously adjusted her breathing, exhaling and inhaling, matching Zhao Dou'an's rhythm, the chaotic Qi in her body gradually calmed down, and the pain receded like a tide.

… …

Breathing…

Breathing…

Outside the temple, the rain pattered.

After a long while, Xu Zhenguan's pale, almost bloodless face finally regained some rosiness, but Zhao Dou'an still didn't stop.

Without healing medicine, using the Dragon Soul to breathe and cultivate was the best medicine.

It was a pity that even though the Empress had fallen, the two were still separated by a great realm, and their use of the Dragon Soul was only superficial, completely unable to exert its true power.

“I have now fallen into the top rank of the mortal realm, and with my serious injuries, I am not even as good as a mortal cultivator.” Xu Zhenguan suddenly mocked herself.

In this situation, talking about going out to 'take charge of the overall situation' had become a joke.

Without the ability to protect herself, appearing rashly would only lead to death.

While transmitting Qi, Zhao Dou'an said calmly:

“Your Majesty, if the Eight Kings have rebelled, I'm afraid it won't be long before Prince Jing's troops begin a full-scale search for us.

Although I don't know the exact location, the teleportation pearl has its limits. I have a feeling that we are still within the Jiancheng Road, and it is possible that the rebels are already on the road to hunt us down.

The situation of Eunuch Hai and the Feng Chan team is also unknown. Whether they are also facing danger…”

Xu Zhenguan analyzed calmly:

“Hai Chunlin leads the entire palace's experts, plus the strongmen in the army, it won't be easy for something to happen.

Although that Martial Immortal Kui is hypocritical, even if he wants to cause trouble for me, he has to use the name of an early competition. Even for the sake of Green Mountain's reputation, he won't attack the Feng Chan team, which is far weaker than him. As for the 'Law God'…

Heh, let's call him the 'Law God' for now. Although I was ambushed by him, I also saw in a hurry that he is not a true 'Celestial Being'.

It should be that Xuan Yin used a secret method to use this clone of the 'Law God' to briefly enter the Celestial Realm… But a half-step Celestial Being is still not one!

Forcibly intervening in the battle between me and Martial Immortal Kui, and repeatedly attacking… he must suffer backlash! Even if this clone is not destroyed, the injuries will definitely not be light!”

Zhao Dou'an was thoughtful:

“In that case, Eunuch Hai and the others are still safe.”

Xu Zhenguan continued:

“But I can't reunite with them. They are probably anxiously looking for my whereabouts at this moment. With Prince Jing's intentions, I'm afraid he will deliberately indulge them, staring at them.

Once they lure me out, they will attack and assassinate me again. Although there are many palace guards, if Prince Jing is determined to get rid of me, a large army will besiege and kill me, and they will be difficult to resist.”

That is to say, we can't go to find Eunuch Hai… because we would be walking into a trap… Zhao Dou'an nodded, agreeing with this judgment:

“Similarly, we can't rashly contact local officials, or even military government offices, because they may have been infiltrated by the princes.”

Xu Zhenguan nodded weakly, but her thinking was extremely clear:

“We can only rest here for one night at most. Tomorrow, we must set off and avoid everyone, returning to the capital as quickly as possible.”

Return to the capital!

Yes, in the current situation, returning to the capital is the wisest decision.

As long as Zhenbao returns to the capital, relying on her status as the Emperor, she can use the richest dragon energy in the capital to restore some strength. At that time, occupying the throne and stabilizing the people's hearts will give her hope of turning the tables…

Zhao Dou'an's heart moved, and he said in a deep voice:

“Your Majesty can think of this, the Eight Kings will definitely be able to think of it too.”

Xu Zhenguan nodded, turned her head to look in the direction of the capital, her face in the firelight, like warm jade:

“Yes, the road back to the capital will not be peaceful.”

… …

Set a flag to force myself to update more words tomorrow.