The First Lackey Under The Empress

Those who die a good death are all like me.

In the Imperial Garden.

When Xu Zhenguan heard these words, her face, with its ice-like skin and jade-like bones, a natural beauty, first showed a dazed expression, followed by a complex look.

Then, she looked at the "Little Imperial Guard" before her with a slightly softer gaze.

Yes, as the Emperor, she could easily say why she was so slick.

But as a subject, he inevitably faced the Emperor's might and felt apprehensive.

Just now, she had issued an edict, a few casual words that wiped out a physician and his entire family behind him.

Although the "culprit" was right in front of her, he would inevitably feel uneasy, right?

It was human nature.

Instead of questioning him, it would be better to ask why the great dyeing vat of the court could taint a "simple" soldier so quickly.

Especially the line "The Third Princess reads history books at night," which inexplicably made Xu Zhenguan feel a strange sense of closeness to him.

Very strange.

Before this, her conversations with Zhao Du'an were all about official matters.

This was the first time they had chatted like this.

It is said that the reason humans invented "chatting" was to promote intimacy with each other.

The reason why Zhao Du'an took the risk to say this was also an attempt to dilute the seriousness of the topic.

At this moment, noticing the subtle changes in the Empress's expression, he quickly apologized:

"Your subject spoke without thinking…"

Xu Zhenguan shook her head, interrupting him, and said, "It doesn't matter."

After a pause, the Empress turned her head again, continued walking forward, and said:

"But I don't want to talk about Prince Jing."

The length of her strides visibly slowed down.

"As you command."

Zhao Du'an did not provoke her, but from the Empress's momentary emotional outpouring, he couldn't help but imagine:

In those years when the Empress was lurking in the palace, after witnessing the cruel struggles of her brothers and relatives, she must have felt sad and grieved.

That's why she reacted so strongly to the actions of Prince Jing, this relative.

"Tell me about the details of your handling of the case," Xu Zhenguan asked, revealing her doubts, "I want to hear it."

Zhao Du'an's previous account was too brief, and he had expected the Empress to ask.

Immediately, he explained the process in detail.

When she heard that Zhang Erlang had forced his way into the Zhao residence, intending to take advantage of You Jinhua and her daughter, Zhao Du'an decided to make trouble for the other party.

The Empress was not annoyed, but nodded slightly, thinking:

In the end, he still has the blood of a man, not too cold and slick, and not overwhelmed by anger, making unwise moves, first punishing with force, and then following the rules to strike.

This way of handling things was what she admired and approved of.

When she heard that Zhao Du'an traced back to "Green Lotus Abode" and obtained information from Xiao Ya, the Empress's delicate eyebrows, like distant mountains, raised slightly:

"So, you visited a prostitute at night?"

Zhao Du'an said righteously:

"After questioning her, your subject reported to Supervisor Sun, and did not dare to linger for even a moment!"

When it comes to this kind of topic, the statement must be fast, accurate, and ruthless!

The Empress smiled noncommittally, thinking that she didn't think you had the guts to sleep with her.

Although the "scandal" between the two was fake, at least so far, Xu Zhenguan had never really thought about having anything happen with this Little Imperial Guard.

Logically speaking, she shouldn't have questioned Zhao Du'an's sleeping with prostitutes.

But for some reason, seeing his sincere statement, her irritable mood improved a bit.

"Continue speaking."

"Yes." Zhao Du'an silently exhaled and continued to narrate, except for the section about "Xiao Ya cosplaying the Empress," he made almost no concealment.

After hearing all the details, Xu Zhenguan's impression of him changed slightly again.

If the last time he used his influence to coerce Feng Ju to bite the Prime Minister, giving her a knife, might have been an accidental stroke of genius.

This time, Zhao Du'an's series of micro-operations could not be explained by chance alone.

In particular, he cleverly used his own persona of a "纨绔草包 (good-for-nothing playboy)" to complete a psychological deception of Zhang Changshuo, who was cautious by nature.

Even from Xu Zhenguan's perspective, it was quite remarkable.

The person she tried to promote performed much better than expected… Although there were moths like the Zhang family in the court, there were also outstanding talents joining her command… The Empress's mood eased slightly again.

"So, the sorcerer's strength exceeded expectations, and fortunately, the accompanying was the Golden Slip Divine Official?"

Zhao Du'an sighed and nodded:

"Yes, it can be said that your subject was lucky."

With a thought in his heart, he added:

"It's just that the Golden Slip Divine Official's personality seems…"

"That girl is indeed a bit aloof, doesn't like to show off, and rarely gets close to outsiders," Xu Zhenguan was not surprised, "But her character is very good."

Zhao Du'an was curious: "Does Your Majesty know her well?"

He wanted to inquire and get some information.

Speaking of which, Jin Jian left a sentence "Come back to find you" last night, but she was nowhere to be seen until dawn.

Zhao Du'an even suspected whether the other party was "invisible" and was uncomfortable even when going to the toilet.

Xu Zhenguan nodded and said:

"I also lived in the Heavenly Master's Mansion for a while in my early years and asked Zhang Tianshi for advice.

The Heavenly Master has accepted a total of six disciples so far. The first four have already 'graduated'. The current two Vermilion Dot Boys are the newest ones. Jin Jian is the youngest, ranked last, and the most favored."

Learned something… Zhao Du'an listened carefully and struck while the iron was hot:

"Your subject has heard of Zhang Tianshi's great name since childhood, but has never had the chance to see his true face. I wonder what kind of immortal figure he is?"

Each generation of Heavenly Masters has a long lifespan. When Zhang Yan was active, Zhao Du'an was not yet born.

He belongs to the "legendary" figure, and because of his transcendent status, even the powerful officials in the court have to lower their eyebrows and bend their waists, and very few people have witnessed his image.

Xu Zhenguan said with emotion:

"Zhang Tianshi, ah… His appearance is not very outstanding, he is an unfathomable person. Your cultivation is too shallow, even if the person stands in front of you, you won't see anything special."

That's not right… You haven't even seen it, and you conclude that I can't see it? Zhao Du'an was a little unconvinced.

Just as he was about to ask in detail, he saw Xu Zhenguan stop her lotus steps and look at him:

"Alright, let's stop here today. You have made meritorious service this time, which pleases me greatly. What reward do you want?"

The topic is about to end.

Happy times are always short… Zhao Du'an was reluctant, but upon hearing the word "reward," he immediately perked up:

"During the process of fighting with that sorcerer, the saber I borrowed from the Jinyi Guard of the Imperial Prison could not withstand the force and shattered instantly. Your subject believes that in the future, when sharing Your Majesty's worries, it is inevitable to encounter powerful enemies. Therefore, I would like to ask for a magical weapon."

Asking for a magical weapon!

This was what he had planned for a long time. Compared to worldly possessions like money, saving his life was the top priority.

Having power and money also requires having a life to enjoy it. This encounter taught him a deep lesson.

"A magical weapon?" The Empress nodded happily:

"I grant you permission to take one from the armory. Don't think I'm stingy. The treasures in the imperial armory are not comparable to those outside. Each one is not worth a city, but it far exceeds yellow and white objects (gold and silver)."

Zhao Du'an still had a concept of the preciousness of magical weapons.

He knew that they were extremely expensive. Low-level magical weapons were okay, but the higher the "grade" of the magical weapon, the more valuable and unavailable they were. It was impossible to buy them.

In the martial world, stories of countless warriors fighting to the death for a magical weapon for decades were common.

And the divine weapons displayed in the imperial armory were all of this kind.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhao Du'an was overjoyed.

The corners of Xu Zhenguan's mouth curled up slightly. After pondering for a moment, she suddenly said:

"In addition to this, the women in your family were frightened, which can be said to be due to my ineffective rule… Someone, come here."

Not far away, the attendant who was always serving hurried forward with small steps.

Xu Zhenguan instructed:

"Take two hundred bolts of Shu brocade from the palace and send them to Zhao Shi Jun's house for the women in his family to make clothes."

"Yes!"

The palace attendant obeyed and left.

Shu brocade from the palace… the best silk tribute of the Great Yu Dynasty… priceless… Zhao Du'an did not expect that there would be unexpected joy, thinking:

Now, his stepmother and younger sister can have new clothes to wear. They should be very happy.

…

Something has come up at home, so updates may not be on time these few days.

Thank you to Bu Yanci Gui for the 100-coin reward.