The First Lackey Under The Empress

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The wheels rolled over the uneven official road, and the carriage shook continuously, the sound of horses' hooves coming from outside the swaying, heavy curtains.

Zhao Du'an slowly calmed his surging Qi, lowered his eyes to examine a trace of scarlet flashing across the surface of the dark red armor, as if in thought.

The day before leaving the capital, the Crimson Flame Sacred Armor had finally finished "charging".

Although it hadn't been tested in actual combat, comparing the richness of the armor's color when it was in the hands of Prince Heng and himself, Zhao Du'an judged that this sacred object of the Fire Worship Sect from six hundred years ago had returned to its peak.

"Just one full charge almost exhausted my reserves of wealth. This thing must be used sparingly. Unless it's to save my life, I absolutely won't use it."

"However, if this item is used in conjunction with the Profound Tortoise Seal, and the two deities of water and fire descend together, according to the answer given by Pei Niannu, some wonderful changes should occur."

Zhao Du'an pondered.

Yes, he had successfully pried information about the Sacred Armor from Pei Niannu—but not the golden-armored Pei Niannu within the Six Chapters Scripture.

But the silver-armored Pei Niannu within the Great Dream Scroll.

During this period, he would occasionally meditate and practice the Great Dream Scroll, using somnambulism to enter the era of six hundred years ago, the Tian Shou year at the end of the Great Qi Dynasty.

Following the last time in his dream, Zhao Du'an waited in the town for Pei Niannu to come and accept disciples. During this period, he pushed the progress bar forward a great deal.

Unsurprisingly, he became Pei Niannu's disciple in the dream, and then followed her to travel the Jianghu.

"The Pei Niannu in the dream is not yet the 'Number One Female Sorcerer of the Jianghu'. Her cultivation is only at the Worldly Realm, corresponding to the silver mask. At the same time, she in the Great Dream Scroll is somewhat similar to Old Xu in the Martial God Diagram. Her 'intelligence level' is far inferior to the one in the Six Chapters Scripture… Moreover, the memories of the two Pei Niannus do not overlap.

Well, if I were to make an analogy, it's like the same account on two game servers, the data is not interconnected… but the gameplay is similar. The content of the Great Dream Scroll is very similar to the Martial God Diagram, it is also a journey.

However, the focus of the Martial God Diagram is on cultivation. Old Xu took me from the desert, through the snowfields, to the East Sea, cultivating both the mind and martial arts along the way…

But the Great Dream Scroll focuses on experiences. Although Pei Niannu also gave me some guidance on the cultivation of sorcerers, the level is very shallow. She is more like a guide, taking me to travel to various places and see different lives…

Could it be that this is the true meaning of the name of the 'Worldly' realm?"

Zhao Du'an was lost in thought while sitting in the carriage, and when he tried his best to recall the contents of the dream, he found that the relevant memories faded quickly. He only remembered that he and Pei Niannu encountered members of the "Fire Worship Sect" in the Jianghu.

As for the follow-up… he had to wait for the next time he entered the dream.

"Step by step, haste makes waste. How many worldly cultivators are there in the world? Yet there are only four Heavenly Humans. It can be seen how difficult it is to break through."

Zhao Du'an shook his head, putting cultivation aside. At this moment, the carriage slowed down, and Lang Shishi's voice came from outside the curtain:

"Master, it's noon. Should we stop for a meal?"

"Let's stop."

Zhao Du'an straightened his clothes and hid the Crimson Flame Sacred Armor inside his robes—as long as he didn't infuse it with Qi, it wouldn't "activate" on its own.

...

...

The carriage quickly came to a stop.

Zhao Du'an lifted the curtain, his boots stepping out of the carriage and onto the muddy ground.

A breeze caressed his face, the wind carrying the fishy smell of mud and grass after the rain.

The scenery in front of him quickly became clear.

On both sides of the official road were desolate mountains and trees. It was late summer, and the view was full of green. The sparse clouds in the sky were scattered in a chaotic mess.

Zhao Du'an was in a convoy. The team was not large, with only two gray carriages in front and behind. The one in front was exclusively for Zhao Du'an, while the one behind was a bit special.

In addition, there were more than a dozen mounted guards accompanying them. These people were dressed ordinarily, not at all conspicuous, like the retainers of a wealthy family's son. But upon closer inspection, they were all familiar faces.

Led by the Grand Inner Eunuch Tang Jinzhong and Song Jinxi, there were more than a dozen court-appointed experts.

The Northern Land Saber Wielder Lang Shishi, the socially awkward female sorcerer Ji Yue, who came from the Thousand Islands of the East Sea… were all in the ranks.

The bulging luggage beside the saddles all contained murderous weapons such as knives, swords, and military crossbows.

Eunuch Hai was otherwise arranged by the Empress, and did not accompany him on this trip south. The Embroidered Uniform Guards of the Pear Blossom Hall were also not suitable for participating in such a major battle, so Zhao Du'an left them in the capital to guard the house.

However, the manpower he brought was certainly not limited to this.

Behind Zhao Du'an's convoy, the Divine Machine Camp and the Five Armies Camp, two armies of tens of thousands of people, followed slowly from a distance, vast and mighty. The soldiers' formations, plus the grain and supplies, stretched for more than ten miles.

However, Zhao Du'an felt that traveling with the army was too eye-catching. What a momentum it was for tens of thousands of troops to march?

Rather than sitting in the military camp, waiting for the scouts to send news from the outside world, he preferred to take the initiative and truly understand the situation on the front line.

"Master, please sit here."

The court-appointed Song Jinxi, who was extremely skilled in assassination, smiled and moved a small stool, placing it on a flat open space. Xiao Song was a man with discerning eyes.

"I'll take people to find firewood." The calm and indifferent Tang Jinzhong silently led people into the forest to find dry firewood, setting up a pot and making a fire on the spot.

Lang Shishi, with a stubbly beard, resembling a Gale Swordsman, grabbed fodder to feed the horses, leaned against the shaft of the cart, pulled out the stopper of the wine gourd, and drank silently, gulp after gulp.

Ji Yue, with wet, disheveled black hair, pale pupils, and resembling a ghostly female ghost, got off her horse and silently walked into a corner, but was called to stop by Zhao Du'an, who was sitting on a chair in a bold and imposing manner:

"Ji Yue, stay and dispel the moisture."

"…Okay." The deeply socially awkward Ji Yue drifted back like a ghost, plopped down on a half-section of a large tree lying on the ground, and hugged her knees.

With her as the center, sizzling water vapor rose up, and the moisture on the surrounding ground was quickly drawn away by her, becoming dry.

Ji Yue held a ball of condensed clear water, not knowing where to throw it for a moment.

Sneakily glancing at Lang Shishi, who had gone to the forest to use the outhouse, she pushed her hand, and with a "whoosh" sound, the water ball disappeared out of thin air. The wine gourd placed with its mouth open next to the shaft of the cart shook violently, and half a catty of wine was suddenly added to it.

Ji Yue hurriedly retracted her hand, hugged her knees, and let her long hair cover her face, her white pupils cautiously looking out through the gaps in her hair.

"…" Zhao Du'an pretended not to see it, watched the attendants boil water and make tea, and turned his gaze to the second carriage in the team.

A wooden scepter lifted the deep blue cloth curtain of the carriage, revealing three people inside the spacious carriage.

The Taoist nun Yu Xiu sat cross-legged on the left side, her ten fingers crossed, palms facing her lower abdomen, her two thumbs picking upwards, her light and extremely delicate eyebrows and eyes were like a painting, becoming lively and vivid little by little.

A veil covered her face, only revealing her eyes.

Her black hair was tied into a Taoist bun, the golden rope around her waist was loosely slung, her plain Taoist robe was spotless, and the cuffs of her sleeves were pure white, matched with the emerald green jade short sword at her waist, extremely beautiful.

She was out of place with the marching army, or this "outpost" team.

She should be sitting on a large rock on Qinggeng Peak beside a mountain stream, surrounded by white deer and cranes as companions. Yu Xiu was a Taoist nun with an immortal aura.

Corresponding to Yu Xiu, on the left side of Yu Xiu, at the innermost part of the carriage, a girl was sleeping soundly on her back.

Jin Jian had also changed into a plain-colored Taoist robe. Because of her petite and exquisite figure, she looked like a half-grown female Taoist child.

Her palm-sized face was crooked and twisted, wearing a pair of glasses, sleeping soundly and soundly, extremely solid. Even if the battle started immediately and the Divine Machine Camp fired its cannons, she might not be able to wake up.

"Ugh…"

Feeling the sunlight shining in from outside the curtain, the girl priest wrinkled her nose and grumbled unhappily "Don't be noisy", then turned over to face the inside, sticking out her butt, and even kicked her leg.

Zhao Du'an: "…"

He moved his gaze and looked at the last person sitting directly opposite Yu Xiu, his expression becoming somewhat helpless:

"What did I say? The roads outside are not as smooth as those in the capital. They are very bumpy. You, a mere mortal, simply can't withstand it, but you just won't listen and insist on coming."

Dressed in a plain scholar's robe, her thick black hair piled up and covered with a hat, Mo Chou, who usually had a somewhat androgynous appearance, looked listless and pale.

Clutching a wooden ruyi scepter in her hand, she bit her lip tightly, ignoring Zhao's words, and took the lead in getting up and stepping down from the carriage.

One step, two steps, three steps…

She suddenly turned her head, one hand supporting herself on the carriage, the other covering her mouth, her waist bent at a ninety-degree angle, facing the bushes:

"Ugh, ugh, ugh…"

The "Female Prime Minister" who stirred the capital, the first female official in charge of the six Shang of the palace and in command of the harem, was carsick!

Zhao Du'an grimaced in disgust, using a tree branch to stir the burning fire in the makeshift stone stove in front of him, shaking his head and sighing.

If the addition of Yu Xiu and Jin Jian could be understood, then Mo Chou's last-minute insertion to follow the army south was purely an accident.

According to Mo Chou herself:

Although His Majesty has already proposed marriage to the Zhao family, they are not yet married after all, and the identity of the royal consort exists only on paper. Moreover, with the constant "smearing" by Kuang Fu She, Zhao Du'an, outside of the capital, is still seen by many as an extremely wicked "traitorous minister."

Therefore, in order to ensure that Zhao Du'an could represent the will of the Empress, a double insurance was needed, and "Miss Mo" could represent the Empress better than Zhao Du'an in the local officialdom.

Moreover, Mo Chou had previously led the "Feng Chan team" all the way north, and had contact with local officials everywhere, so she had a better understanding of the situation.

Therefore, she volunteered to come along.

Unexpectedly, the Empress actually agreed!

…

"Mo Zhaorong, this official must remind you that we have now entered Taicang Prefecture and reached the front line.

Further ahead, we may encounter rebel troops at any time and engage in fighting. The danger you will face at that time will not just be minor things like carsickness. There is still time to return to the palace now."

Beside the fire, Zhao Du'an looked at the female official who had finished vomiting, her legs trembling, and walked over with Yu Xiu's support, giving her sincere advice.

Mo Chou, her face pale, sat on a small round stool, glared at him, and said a little weakly:

"Do you think I am a weak woman who cannot endure hardship and fears death?!"

She was able to return to the capital all the way from Luoshan, relying on more than just luck.

Zhao Du'an grinned and looked at Yu Xiu, who was sitting cross-legged by the fire:

"Divine Officer, you heard it, testify for this official in the future. I have advised her, and it's not my fault if she dies."

"Amitabha."

The female Taoist priest chanted a Buddhist prayer, her eyes looking at her nose, her nose at her heart, her heart as still as water, and closed her eyes:

"This poor Taoist is just traveling together. The life and death of the two of you have nothing to do with this poor Taoist."

How indifferent… you two won't be able to marry like this… oh, the one sleeping in the carriage will also have a hard time… Zhao Du'an took out a brand new handkerchief from his arms and handed it to Mo Chou, who was rubbing her forehead:

"Wipe it off."

The latter glanced at him in extreme surprise, her impression of him slightly changed, took the handkerchief, and said with a straight face:

"Grand Commandant Zhao is very kind."

Zhao Du'an poked the fire with a tree branch, his tone disgusted:

"You're welcome, wipe it off quickly, there's still a little bit at the corner of your mouth, it makes me sick."

Mo Chou: "…"

Zhao Du'an ignored the two women, beckoned a guard to bring a map, and spread it on the ground.

He silently calculated the journey in his heart, drawing a circle on a certain spot on the map with a tree branch wrapped in black ash, and looked up, his face solemn, looking towards the official road ahead:

"According to the latest information, the area where the imperial court and the rebel army are facing off should be ahead. Heh, I didn't expect that my return to Taicang Prefecture would be in such a situation."

A year ago, he came to Taicang Prefecture to investigate the "Taicang Silver Mine" case, met Sun Xiaozhun, the prefect, Song, a scholar and disciple of Mr. Zhengyang, and arrested Gao Lian, the provincial administration commissioner.

A year later, Taicang Prefecture became the "bridgehead" of the "Western Front".

On the map, it can be clearly seen that the entire Huai River is divided into two from south to north, with one half occupied by Prince Jing.

The other half fell into the hands of Prince Mu.

Almost the entire territory of the Huai River has fallen into the hands of the princes. Not only that, but both sides are also trying to extend their tentacles into the territory of Linfeng Road.

There are two prefectural cities in Linfeng, with Taicang Prefectural City in the west focusing on commerce and economy.

The "Linfeng Prefectural City" in the east is the seat of the Provincial Administration Commission and the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and is also closer to the military forces of Linfeng itself.

Therefore, with stronger combat power, Xue Shence initially went south to Linfeng and first went to the eastern front, leading the Three Thousand Camp to join forces with the Linfeng military forces and repel the army of Prince Jing.

He contained them within the Huai River and prevented them from entering Linfeng.

Correspondingly, the situation on the western front is not optimistic. The rebel army under Prince Mu of Yunfu invaded Linfeng and captured a small piece of territory.

If the news of the Empress's return had not been delivered in time, greatly boosting the morale of the local people, the Yunfu rebels would have changed their strategy from attack to defense, swallowing and consolidating their territory, and I am afraid that Taicang Prefecture would not have been able to be defended.

Half a month ago, Xue Shence stabilized the eastern front and led some troops to support the western front. Now, with Taicang Prefectural City as its base, he is fighting against the Yunfu rebels.

The above is the latest situation that Zhao Du'an obtained on the way.

However, communication is difficult in this era, and he is not yet clear about the latest battle situation.

…

"I have read the intelligence. The one confronting the imperial court now is a general named Su Dan from Yunfu Road, nicknamed 'Scholar General'. He is stationed in Ning'an County, and the area between Ning'an County and Taicang Prefectural City belongs to the area where the two sides are fighting."

Mo Chou wiped the vomit from her mouth. Although she felt disgusted, she still leaned over and looked at the map.

Faced with serious matters, the two tacitly put down their "personal grievances" and stopped arguing.

"Do you know anything about this Su Dan?" Zhao Du'an asked.

Military intelligence is concise and will not record too much information unrelated to the battle situation.

Mo Chou nodded and said:

"When I used to handle affairs for His Majesty, I learned something about this person's situation.

This Su Dan was born into a branch of the Qinghe Su family. He loved reading since he was a child, but his path to the imperial examinations was not smooth. He only obtained the title of Juren after three attempts and was assigned by the Ministry of Personnel to Yunfu to be a county magistrate.

At first, he didn't seem special, until a bandit disaster occurred. The county town where Su Dan was an official was the first to bear the brunt. He actually showed extremely strong military leadership skills, leading the county's soldiers and coordinating with the border army to defeat the border bandits, showing extremely brilliant performance.

However, due to some officialdom reasons, he was pushed out as a scapegoat, the person responsible for the bandit disaster, and was removed from his official position, becoming a commoner.

However, Zhao Shixiong, the commander of the Southwest Border Army, greatly appreciated him and intended to promote him, but he was intercepted and recruited by the Mu Prince's Mansion and became a retainer of the Prince's Mansion.

This time, Prince Mu sent him out as a vanguard, presumably because he didn't trust Zhao Shixiong that much, so he handed Ning'an County over to Su Dan.

By the way, although this person has outstanding military talent, especially good at defending cities and protecting the people… he likes scholars and doesn't like others calling him a general, preferring to be called 'Scholar Su', hence the nickname Scholar General."

Zhao Du'an was slightly surprised:

"You know quite a lot. What else do you know about Prince Mu's forces?"

Mo Chou was slightly proud and said:

"I know a lot more, such as the assassin intelligence organization 'Embroidered Uniform Directives' secretly trained by the Mu Prince's Mansion. Although it is not as good as the Jing Prince's Mansion's secret agents in terms of intelligence penetration, and even less than the Royal Shadow Guards, it has unique advantages in assassination…"

Zhao Du'an was listening with great interest when suddenly, his ears twitched and he raised his head.

He saw the court eunuch Tang Jinzhong running from a distance, his face serious:

"Lord, there is something unusual ahead."

…

Typesetting first, then modification