The First Lackey Under The Empress

While Zhao Du'an and Pei Si Niang reached a cooperation and completed the first step of their plan.

The Imperial Palace.

Inside the Imperial Study, a conversation was also taking place.

"...The above is the trend and movement of various departments after this morning's court session."

Dressed in a female official's robe, wearing a wingless black gauze hat, and possessing a rather androgynous beauty, the "female prime minister" Mo Zhaorong closed the booklet in her hand.

She raised her head and looked towards the fairy-like figure standing by the window, facing away from her.

Her eyes made no secret of her admiration for the Empress's beauty, as a fellow woman.

The Great Yu Empress gently rested her hands on the windowsill, looking at a distant lake, her white clothes surpassing the snow, her eyes reflecting the lake and mountains.

Without turning her head, she lightly parted her red lips:

"How is the Privy Council?"

"Everyone there is in a state of anxiety, fearing that such a grand momentum will make it even more difficult to catch the internal spy."

In the past two days, the Empress had made a big fuss about the firearms craftsman case, and the court was full of unease.

Not only the Privy Council, but all the civil and military officials in the court were acting cautiously, keeping their tails between their legs, for fear of angering the Empress at this juncture.

Xu Zhenguan shook her head and sighed:

"When those people from the Jing Prince's Mansion were caught, the internal spies in the court had already withdrawn their hands and feet, hiding beneath the surface. I never expected to catch them."

Just like that day, when the Empress and Yuan Li were playing chess in the garden, that was what they discussed.

In the current situation, Xu Zhenguan advocated "defense" rather than "attack." It was not easy to grab a thread and pull out a large group of internal thieves.

Moreover, was this crude method really the best solution?

Not necessarily!

As an emperor, one must not only be intolerant of sand in one's eyes but also learn to turn a blind eye...

This was the principle she learned from reading the Taizu's records of daily life.

Wanting all officials to be loyal was unrealistic.

The correct way to control them was to allow the people below to harbor ulterior motives.

Occasionally killing a chicken to warn the monkeys was just a tacit understanding between the monarch and his subjects.

Therefore, when all the civil and military officials thought that Xu Zhenguan was fully screening and searching for moths.

They did not know that the Empress's real purpose was only to deter the officials, so that those "internal spies" would completely hibernate and quiet down for a period of time.

And the great net of annihilation that she and Yuan Li jointly weaved was quietly spreading under the cover of this monstrous storm.

Openly repair the plank road, secretly cross Chencang.

Mo Chou smiled and said: "Your Majesty's move will surely exceed many people's expectations."

Xu Zhenguan was not optimistic:

"Has Lord Yuan sent any news? How is the progress?"

Mo Chou hesitated:

"Not yet. Vice Minister Pei has deep roots in the court. Even with Lord Yuan's ability, it is not easy to move him, but after preparing for so long, he must only lack a 'opportunity.'"

Opportunity... Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes flashed with helplessness.

Vice Minister Pei was a pillar of the "Li Party" and had been in business for many years. Where would it be so easy to find a breakthrough?

If her power was stable, she could rely on the throne of the emperor to kill him forcefully in the name of "perhaps," but she was not stable yet...

Even a Celestial Realm cultivator could not do anything in the face of the court situation. This was not a game that could be played with violence.

Xu Zhenguan suddenly had a whim:

"What do you say, if that Zhao Du'an came to bite, could he bite out a gap?"

Mo Chou said helplessly:

"Your Majesty, you may be overestimating this person! How can a small fight like the Zhang brothers compare to the bloody storm of a temple game?"

She felt that the Empress had been bewitched again, and her impression of Zhao Du'an was getting worse and worse.

"I'm just saying it casually." Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes were smiling:

"I just think you always have a bad impression of him, so I'm just teasing you. How can I not know that this little ant has no ability to participate in such a big event?"

Although Zhao Du'an's performance twice in a row made the Empress look at him with admiration.

But in the final analysis, they were all small cleverness that could not be brought to the table.

Taking advantage of the tiger's power, deceiving a small director, pleasing her... and dealing with the Zhang brothers were just "anecdotes."

The implication of the "Jing Prince's Mansion" case was purely accidental.

Of course, she would not be dizzy and think that Zhao Du'an, who had some cleverness, really had the ability to participate in the great storm of strangling Vice Minister Pei.

Yuan Li would not tell the Empress about a casual move that was unintentionally inserted.

"This servant is just objectively evaluating," Mo Chou breathed a sigh of relief, her expression cold:

"He is definitely not a good person. Your Majesty, don't be deceived by his appearance."

Xu Zhenguan smiled.

At this moment, a breeze came in from the window, and three thousand blue silks fluttered. The Empress narrowed her eyes:

"Is the wind rising?"

......

Baima Prison, Zhao Du'an's duty room.

"He's not here?"

The old eunuch with gray sideburns and sunken eye sockets suddenly visited, alarming the white servants who stayed behind.

A servant: "My envoy went out this morning."

Sun Lianying frowned: "Where did you go?"

Although the envoy of Baima Prison was not a sitting official, he was more flexible when going out.

But he can't skip work at will, and the whereabouts must be recorded for the record.

The servant trembled and presented a blank record book:

"The envoy has never liked to write these."

"Hum," Sun Lianying was slightly displeased and asked: "Then what did he say he was going to do this morning, or who did he meet?"

The servant said: "This morning, the envoy's friend Qin Qiu came to visit..."

What followed was a detailed description.

And Sun Lianying's face became more and more ugly as he listened.

In the end, he left with a flick of his sleeves without saying a word.

The old eunuch had learned that Zhao Du'an had made meritorious service, and his impression of him had become more and more changed.

Thinking that after the "Zhuang Xiaocheng" case, he had become completely enlightened and turned back.

Therefore, he came in a good mood, wanting to give him a few pointers.

Lest Zhao Du'an was young and did not understand some of the unspoken rules of officialdom, so he stepped into the pit.

But after learning that he was once again messing around with Qin Qiu and other dudes he looked down on, even hooking up his shoulders and calling him brothers, and even skipping work to go out and have fun.

The impression that had been reversed was once again terrible.

On Sun Lianying's old face, there was disappointment hidden in a pair of old eyes.

"Turn back? Is it just a flash in the pan?"

"Or is there another reason?"

Uncertain... then take another look.

He shook his head and walked back to the back office, as if he had never been here today.

......

......

In the next few days, the weather was calm.

Zhao Du'an occasionally mingled with Qin Qiu, and the purpose was also to paralyze the people who might be peeping at him in secret.

The dude persona cannot collapse, it must be maintained.

Only in this way can people be sure that a villain like him with stains on his body is absolutely impossible to join forces with Yuan Li to work for the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

There was no news from Pei Si Niang, and she did not appear in the theater again.

On the road of cultivation, he has also been trekking in the desert, which is boring and tasteless.

Until another morning.

Zhao Du'an opened the door of his bedroom, only to feel refreshed by the damp and cold wind blowing from the window.

Last night, dark clouds came, and today it was drizzling, and it was raining lightly in Beijing again.

You Jinhua hurried through the courtyard in the rain. The charming and still beautiful woman held an oiled paper umbrella and had changed into a skirt made of Shu brocade, making her even more beautiful.

Because the wind blew the umbrella surface, half of her body was slightly wet.

"Why is Auntie here?"

Zhao Du'an raised his eyebrows, raised his hand and put on his inner garment, slowly buttoning it up one by one.

You Jinhua stopped outside the door, turned sideways to avoid looking at her stepson, and took out a dry letter from her arms with one hand:

"Someone knocked on the door just now and handed over this letter, asking you to open it yourself. Auntie was worried that it was an important matter, and the servants delayed it, so..."

"I see."

Zhao Du'an took it, tore it open and glanced at it, a flash of light flashed in his eyes, and said to You Jinhua, who was waiting under the porch:

"I won't eat breakfast at home, pack me a few meat buns, I'm going out immediately."

The letter was sent by Pei Si Niang.

Saying that her father, Vice Minister Pei, had agreed to meet him.

But he asked him to go alone in a low-key manner, and gave him the time and place, which was this morning.

"Rainy days are good for fishing..."

Zhao Du'an took a deep breath and clenched his fists:

"After waiting for so many days, the big fish has finally taken the bait."