The First Lackey Under The Empress

Lü Liang woke up with a start. Squinting in the firelight, he was surprised to see a prisoner being led down the corridor.

Taiwan Novel Website → 𝚝 𝚠 𝚔 𝚊 𝚗 . 𝚌 𝚘 𝚖

The prisoner's hair was disheveled, and he wore a prison uniform. The jailer escorted him to the outside of his cell, opened the door, and shoved him in.

"Get in there!"

The prisoner didn't utter a word. With a clang, the guard left.

Lü Liang keenly noticed that these guards were extremely unfamiliar; he had never seen them before.

Moreover…

Given his status, it was already unusual for him to be imprisoned while his crime was yet to be determined.

Logically speaking, it was absolutely unheard of for a prisoner to share a cell with him.

"Who are you? What crime did you commit?" Lü Liang asked warily.

The prisoner with disheveled hair ignored him, simply raising his head. His thin face, marked by a long scar, held a terrifying gaze.

"Are you Lü Liang?"

Step, step… Lü Liang, a mere scholar, took two steps back, feigning composure.

"You…"

The next second, the prisoner suddenly lunged forward, striking with his knee and elbow. The chains on his ankles rattled loudly.

He slammed Lü Liang against the wall. His bony hand locked around Lü Liang's throat.

"Lord Vice Minister wants me to tell the Imperial Censor that you've worked for him for many years and know too much. Rather than risk you saying something you shouldn't, it's better for you to be loyal to the Pei family to the end… I was specially ordered to send you on your way."

Huff… Lü Liang's face flushed red as his throat was constricted. Hearing these words, his eyes widened in shock.

Pei Kai wanted to silence him!

He feared that I harbored resentment and would defect to Yuan Li…

That's right, that bitch Si Niang made no attempt to hide her affair with that Zhao fellow. How could she act like this without the old thief's approval?

Lü Liang struggled violently!

However, he was just a scholar; how could he break free?

Despite his desperate floundering, he only felt dizzy and his consciousness began to fade.

His opponent really intended to kill him and showed no mercy.

At the brink of death, his mind suddenly cleared. Lü Liang's wildly kicking right foot suddenly hooked onto the prisoner's "ankle chain", while his left foot and entire body braced against the wall.

He kicked hard!

"Clang!" The prisoner lost his balance and stumbled to the ground.

Lü Liang seized the opportunity to break free. Gasping for breath, he lunged towards the bars, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Zhao Du'an! Zhao Du'an! Help!"

…

At the end of the corridor, inside a small room.

The banquet was halfway through, and most of the old wine on the table was gone. The Ministry of Justice officials were tipsy, waving their hands repeatedly:

"My lord, I can't eat anymore. Any more wine, and we'll… mess things up…"

Strangely, at first, they were only reluctantly drinking a few bowls, but they didn't expect this "aged wine" to be so potent.

Pei Si Niang, wearing a bright red wedding dress and also present at the banquet, was resting her chin on her hand, her face flushed and hot:

"I can't take it anymore… Oh, it sounds like someone is calling you."

Beside the table.

Zhao Du'an's eyes were clear, and a smile played on his lips. The internal energy of a martial artist circulated, expelling the anesthetic in the wine through his pores.

If I had this skill in my previous life, wouldn't I be invincible at taking drinks for my superiors… Zhao Du'an thought, saying aloud:

"Perhaps Zhu Kui is back with the hangover soup. I'll go take a look."

…

Inside the prison.

When Zhao Du'an "hurriedly" arrived, the prisoner had already been knocked unconscious by Zhu Kui, who had arrived one step ahead.

"What's going on?" Zhao Du'an asked, feigning surprise.

Lü Liang, his blue robe disheveled and one of his boots missing, leaned weakly against the wall, coughing. His neck was red from being strangled.

"My lord, someone sent a death row inmate in here to silence him," Zhu Kui replied, knowing full well what was happening.

Having narrowly escaped death, Lü Liang's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at him, his voice hoarse:

"Pei Kai wants to kill me. You must protect me and take me away from the Ministry of Justice."

Lü Liang had no doubts, because the assassin really hadn't held back.

More importantly, this was the prison of the Ministry of Justice, Pei Kai's territory, and his old father-in-law was indeed capable of killing the donkey after it had served its purpose.

The father-in-law and son-in-law knew each other too well.

"He wants to kill you?"

Zhao Du'an paused, then sneered:

"Wouldn't that be even better? Why would I save you?"

Lü Liang's eyes turned fierce:

"I have evidence of Pei Kai interfering with the results of the imperial examinations. He thought he had done it flawlessly, but little did he know that I had secretly obtained the evidence long ago. If you take me to see Lord Yuan, you can earn a great merit. Are you not tempted?"

To save his life, Lü Liang had no other choice. He closed his eyes: You forced me to do this.

It worked… Zhao Du'an clenched his fist in his sleeve, desperately suppressing the excitement in his heart.

He had bet correctly. Lü Liang, who had long harbored rebellious intentions, how could he have really not taken any countermeasures against his father-in-law over the years?

The reason he went to such lengths to orchestrate all of this was to sow discord between the father-in-law and son-in-law, causing them to completely break ties.

Everyone thought he was just taking revenge on Lü Liang.

But little did they know that his true purpose was never this.

"Zhu Kui!"

Zhao Du'an said in a deep voice, "Take him and come with me!"

The two immediately set off. As they returned to the corridor, the delicate and charming noblewoman suddenly darted out, hooking onto Zhao Du'an, giggling:

"My lord, I'm tired…"

Behind them, the Ministry of Justice official and the other jailers also got up, alert:

"Huh? Where is my lord going? Ah, Imperial Censor Lü, what…"

Zhao Du'an was expressionless. He unleashed a palm strike with the force of a martial artist, a surging wave of energy.

Amidst the chaos, he had already taken Lü Liang and broken out of the prison.

"Something's wrong!"

The Ministry of Justice official clutched his chest, coughing violently. When he got up, he was mostly sober, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He glanced at the drunken jailers and the red-clad noblewoman sleeping soundly on the ground, vaguely realizing that they had fallen into a trap.

"Damn it!"

Not daring to delay, he staggered out to report to the Vice Minister.

…

…

Under the night sky.

The streets were deserted and quiet. Two horses galloped past.

On the lead horse, Zhao Du'an had Lü Liang bound horizontally across the horse's back and instructed Zhu Kui beside him:

"Go and get reinforcements. If anyone comes to chase us, do your best to stop them and stall them."

"Yes!"

Zhu Kui turned his horse and galloped to the side.

Zhao Du'an spurred his horse, whipping it to go as fast as possible to Yuan Li's residence. As long as he entered "Yuan Manor", this great merit would be his.

…

…

Yuan Manor, under the night sky, the imposing mansion was brightly lit.

Inside the inner hall of the rear residence.

A group of "Purist Party" officials were gathered together, secretly discussing important matters.

Sitting at the head of the table, wearing a sky-blue cloud-patterned overcoat and an official hat, the refined and handsome Yuan Li, with deep eyes, watched his nose and his heart, listening to the officials below arguing and debating, as if in deep meditation.

What everyone was discussing was the plan to behead "Pei Kai".

"Lord Yuan, please make a decision," finally, one official said.

All eyes gathered on him.

Yuan Li seemed to wake up from a nap, saying, "Make what decision?"

One person said, "Now everything is ready except for the east wind. We have also found several opportunities, but none of them are reliable. We have been arguing endlessly, and we still need you to make the final decision."

"Yes, indeed."

"Please decide, Lord Yuan!"

The Purist Party officials spoke one after another.

Yuan Li sighed softly, and from his wide sleeve, he extended a hand, picked up the several "plans" on the table, all of which were pretexts for impeaching Pei Kai.

However, the next moment, he handed the documents to the lamp, letting the flames lick and burn them, turning them into ashes.

"This…"

The officials were shocked, and they heard Yuan Li say with disappointment:

"Pei Kai is one of the pillars of the 'Li Party', and the connections behind him are intricate and complex. If there is any mistake in this beheading, it will be difficult to find such a good opportunity again. There is no room for sloppiness. Although these are barely usable, they are not enough!!

If the knife is not sharp, the head will not die, and disaster will surely result. What I want is evidence that is enough to kill with one blow."

The officials said bitterly:

"What Lord Yuan said is true, but Pei Kai has been operating for many years and has always been cautious. Where would there be any evidence left of what he has done? And it is needed in such a hurry, we are really powerless."

Yuan Li was silent, sighing in his heart.

How could he not know?

Beheading Pei Kai was another swift knife that the Empress had used on the court since her ascension to the throne. The difficulties involved were a hundred, and he had already solved ninety-nine.

But precisely, it was stuck on the only remaining "blade".

The timing to strike was fleeting and could not be delayed for too long, but the "east wind" had not yet appeared, how could he not be worried?

The room was silent and oppressive.

Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the door. It was Yuan's family servant:

"Master, Zhao Du'an requests to see you!"

…

ps: Tomorrow is Tuesday. Although the data for this book is not good enough for Sanjiang, I still ask everyone to open the update tomorrow. Maybe I can pick up a leak or something? People always have to have dreams, right?

In addition, maybe because it has been more than a month since the book was opened and it has come down from the new book list, the follow-up reading has started to decline these past two days. The author is numb, and even a little doubtful, is the content not good looking…

But everyone's voting is still quite stable… Please book friends send a chapter comment or something, let me see your beautiful faces and increase my confidence haha.

Thanks to book friend 151128154709855 for the 100-coin reward support.