The First Lackey Under The Empress

“Mo Hua, you may leave. I need to have a word with Envoy Zhao.”

As their eyes met, the capital's noble lady, wearing a cross-collared floral dress, her hair styled in a married woman's bun, and her face as round as the moon, gave a faint instruction.

“Madam… this…” The maid named Mo Hua, who had come as part of her dowry, was worried.

“Leave.” Her tone was slightly cold.

The maid did not dare to say more and hurried out with small steps, thoughtfully closing the door.

Inside the luxurious and elegant private room, only the solitary man and woman remained.

Pei Si Niang straightened her waist, her bearing graceful, and walked closer, her eyes glancing around.

On the outer side of the private room, stood a row of red lacquered railings.

Inside, the double carved windows were open, and from this vantage point, the stage in the main hall could be seen in its entirety.

Not only was the view excellent, but it was also ingeniously designed to block the view with pillars.

Whether it was the casual guests in the hall or the guests in other private rooms, none could catch a glimpse of the noble's face inside "Yun Shui Jian."

“I am not called Madam Lu, call me Pei Si Niangzi.”

The noble lady gracefully sat down and earnestly corrected him.

Her tone and demeanor were neither the dignified and poised manner of a formal occasion, nor the lazy and relaxed air of a boudoir.

It was somewhere in between.

Zhao Du'an's face showed just the right amount of apology:

“It is my first time meeting you, I was unaware of Si Niang's preference. I hope you will not be offended.”

Si Niang… Pei Si Niang's eyes flickered, and she did not resist this slightly ambiguous address, a smile appearing at the corner of her lips:

“What if I insist on blaming you?”

It wasn't an accusatory or fault-finding tone, but a playful and teasing one.

A stark contrast to her reprimand of Zhu Kui.

Zhao Du'an smiled and said:

“I happen to have some news here that I can give to Si Niang, perhaps as a small apology.”

“What is it?”

Pei Si Niang asked, her natural curiosity piqued.

Zhao Du'an did not immediately answer, but first picked up the jade teapot and poured tea for both of them.

The fragrance of tea wafted through the air, and the melody from outside lingered, with famous actors performing and the hall packed.

This was a grand event that countless opera fans in the capital yearned for, and the reason why wealthy merchants flocked to it.

However, the two people in the best private room did not cast even a single glance at the stage.

…

A moment later.

“Does Si Niang know that Imperial Censor Lu is not honest outside?”

Zhao Du'an feigned a sigh, “By chance, I learned that Imperial Censor Lu recently met with a strange woman, and their intimate behavior was scandalous.”

This statement was purely fabricated.

Apart from the one case provided by Yun Xi, Zhao Du'an did not know if Lu Liang had ever cheated outside.

But did the truth matter?

As long as the words he fabricated matched Pei Si Niang's "perception" of her husband, that was enough.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the noble lady, who had been curious, suddenly turned gloomy.

But there was no "surprise" or "anger."

More of it was disgust and annoyance at losing face.

Yun Xi's information was indeed true… Zhao Du'an's heart stirred slightly.

Through probing, he had completed the verification of the information.

“Envoy Zhao, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!”

Pei Si Niang's face was frosty, and she had to maintain her dignity with a tough stance.

Even if she already believed the news to be ninety-nine percent true.

But after all, she was a woman from a high-ranking family.

Even if she wasn't particularly clever, the instincts she had cultivated from childhood were enough to prevent her from making major mistakes in her response.

“I know this is not pleasant to hear, but if Si Niang wants evidence, I can provide it…” Zhao Du'an said with sympathy.

“Enough!”

Pei Si Niang's chest rose and fell, interrupting him. This well-known "shrew" in the capital stared at him with cold eyes and said:

“I know exactly what you're thinking. If you invited me here just to say these nonsense words, then get out of here as soon as possible and don't delay my enjoyment of the opera.”

She was breaking down…

Zhao Du'an was firing shots in the dark, and Pei Si Niang fell to the ground.

Being told to one's face by an outsider that her husband was cheating was tantamount to rubbing her face on the ground.

Her cunning was indeed shallow… Zhao Du'an smiled and said:

“Si Niang knows what I'm thinking?”

Pei Si Niang looked at him with an expression of having seen through him and mocked:

“You have a feud with Lu Liang, which everyone in the capital knows. Not long ago, he even tried to snatch a wanted criminal from your hands, but he failed because Duke Yuan saw him.

You want to retaliate against him, so you came to me, trying to use this news, which is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, to anger me and ask my father to teach him a lesson, right or wrong?”

The noble beauty raised her head like a proud female peacock.

She met his gaze.

Feeling that she had already seen through Zhao Du'an's bad intentions.

No… you only saw the first layer, while I am on the fifth layer…

Speaking of which, does she know that Duke Yuan was with me that day? Heh, Lu Liang really had no face to tell the truth…

Zhao Du'an wanted to laugh a little.

In the end, she was just an unseasoned, pampered “eldest princess”. Even if her knowledge and wisdom were much higher than ordinary women due to subtle influences.

But in the eyes of an old fox like Zhao Du'an, she was really too naive and full of flaws.

A pampered, delicate vase—this was his assessment of Pei Si Niang.

“Not talking anymore? Speechless?”

Seeing Zhao Du'an silent, Pei Si Niang smiled, as if she had regained face.

She got up angrily, intending to leave.

A despicable villain with an excellent appearance—this was her assessment of Zhao Du'an.

“Alas.”

However, as soon as she took two steps, she heard a magnetic sigh full of pity behind her:

“Being under the same roof with someone you don't love, but unable to separate, and even unable to confide in outsiders, not even family members understand… you must be very lonely.”

Pei Si Niang's body suddenly stiffened!

In this feudal dynasty where men were superior to women (except for the Empress), almost no man would say such considerate words.

Any cheesy love quote that Zhao Du'an casually copied from the internet in his previous life had extraordinary lethality in this world.

Zhao Du'an had forgotten where he had read the saying in his previous life:

Being understood is a basic human need.

At this moment, his simple words, coupled with a tone of pity and affection rather than ridicule, were like a sharp knife, ruthlessly dissecting the lonely noble lady's heart.

“You… what nonsense are you talking about?”

Pei Si Niang turned around, looking at him with complicated eyes.

Outside the window.

The soft singing on the stage penetrated into the room, just as a piece of music climbed to its climax, and her emotions were also drawn in.

Amidst countless gazes.

On the stage, the "young man" and "female lead" wearing costumes stood on the stage, facing each other from afar.

Zhao Du'an sat by the window, his gaze deep, as if to cover and penetrate her:

“Madam, you don't want to spend your whole life with someone like Lu Liang, do you.”

“You deserve a better match and marriage.”

“You shouldn't sacrifice your own happiness for those dirty court interests.”

“That's right, I do have a feud with Lu Liang, but are you really willing to endure in silence to maintain the face and career of this unfaithful man who betrayed you?”

“In fact, you and I can join forces to deal with our common enemy.”

Join forces… a common enemy…

Pei Si Niang didn't know how she had sat back down opposite Zhao Du'an.

But she knew that every word of this man behind the Empress had successfully struck her heart.

Pei Si Niang clasped her fingers tightly, biting her lip, her eyes watery:

“What… what do you want to do?”

…