The First Lackey Under The Empress

Zhao Du'an?

Inside the room, upon hearing this name, Yuan Li was stunned, then frowned:

"That envoy from the White Horse Bureau?"

With outsiders present, Yuan Li deliberately pretended to be unfamiliar.

"Yes. He says he's acting on His Majesty's orders, has urgent business, and requests to see Lord Yuan," the family servant echoed.

That Empress's pretty boy seeks an audience? And claims to be acting on orders?

The officials present were astonished and extremely surprised.

Yuan Li also frowned deeply, pondered for a moment, and said, "Bring him to the flower hall."

Then he stood up and said to the crowd, "I'll be right back."

The officials hurriedly responded, and after he left, they discussed curiously.

With Lord Yuan's status, he shouldn't bother with a notorious gigolo.

The reason he's personally going to see him must be because of 'His Majesty,' which isn't surprising.

...

"What did he say he's here for?"

In the corridor, Yuan Li's robe swayed as he asked.

The messenger, who was also the servant who invited Zhao Du'an into the carriage outside the Imperial City gate that day, said:

"I don't know. He came alone on horseback, and he even tied someone up on the horse, but their head was covered with clothes, their mouth was gagged, and their outer clothes were stripped off. I don't know who it is."

What he said earlier about 'acting on imperial orders' was just a casual fabrication, an excuse to fool the officials in the room.

Yuan Li was taken aback, thinking to himself, could this idle move really have stirred up something?

He was slightly surprised, but not to the point of being excited.

After all, the entire Qingliu Party had been working for a long time, and none of the pieces of evidence they had presented had satisfied him.

Zhao Du'an was young and weak, and only a few days had passed, so the time was too short.

Even if there was some progress, it would most likely be minor dirt on the edges, or even not obtained at all, just some clues, and he came to claim credit.

"In the end, he's still too young and eager for success."

Yuan Li shook his head, not thinking that Zhao Du'an had made any major gains.

This judgment was based on reason, but he still decided to meet him and praise him in order to see future results.

Inside the flower hall.

Zhao Du'an had been sitting for a while when he saw a familiar figure appear outside the door, and he immediately stood up:

"This humble official greets Lord Yuan."

Yuan Li smiled like a spring breeze and joked:

"Coming to my door at night, you don't want me to get a good night's sleep."

Zhao Du'an said solemnly:

"Who doesn't know that Lord Yuan works tirelessly for the Great Yu, day and night? This humble official is also learning from the virtuous."

Yuan Li waved his hand with a smile and scolded, "Stop being glib, tell me, what brings you here tonight?"

After the host and guest were seated, they entered the topic.

Zhao Du'an said solemnly:

"This humble official was once favored by Lord Yuan and had the honor of participating in the 'Overthrow Pei' case. Now, several days have passed, and I have heard that the court is turbulent, so I boldly ask if there has been any breakthrough?"

This was slightly presumptuous, but Yuan Li used people without suspicion and did not hide anything:

"Only the east wind is lacking."

"Lord Yuan has not yet found strong evidence of guilt?"

"Pei Kai's golden body is solid. Unless he is beheaded by force, he is difficult to deal with," he replied cryptically.

You guys aren't good enough... Zhao Du'an muttered.

But he was clear in his heart that it wasn't that the Qingliu Party wasn't good enough, they had already cleared the most difficult part, and he was purely inheriting the original owner's纨绔 "legacy", taking advantage and acting cute:

"Can't he be beheaded by force?"

Because he had watched too many historical dramas, Zhao Du'an had the impression that emperors executed ministers with a wave of their hand, easily and freely, and no one dared to disobey.

Yuan Li couldn't help but laugh, "If His Majesty has been on the throne for thirty years, yes. But now it's only been less than three years."

If she had been on the throne for thirty years, I'm afraid I would be powerless and unable to stand up... Zhao Du'an complained and said:

"This humble official has fortunately obtained a piece of evidence of guilt, which may be usable."

Yuan Li was not surprised and pretended to be surprised:

"So quickly, you have gained something? Not bad, young people are indeed swift and decisive."

A qualified superior must know how to give subordinates positive feedback. This is the way to control people, and the Grand Censor is proficient in this way.

Can you be any more fake? If you don't believe I can come up with good stuff, just say it... Zhao Du'an slandered, but his expression remained normal:

"It's just luck, and the evidence of guilt obtained by this humble official is definitely not as good as that of the adults under Lord Yuan. I present it with trepidation, fearing that Lord Yuan will laugh at me."

Yuan Li smiled faintly, thinking that this kid had a lot of pretty words, giving himself a way out in advance.

He raised his hand to pick up the teacup and said casually:

"Just say it."

He didn't mind listening, even if it was useless or overlapped with existing evidence.

However, the next second, he heard Zhao Du'an say calmly:

"What this humble official has obtained is Pei Kai's crime of using his power for personal gain, interfering with the imperial examination, and cheating on the exam papers!"

Interfering with the imperial examination... the crime of cheating...

Yuan Li's hand holding the teacup suddenly stopped. After a moment of silence, the blue-robed Grand Censor slowly raised his head, and his deep eyes showed a hint of confusion:

"What?"

Zhao Du'an was helpless and repeated it once.

He didn't hear wrong... Yuan Li's face visibly became serious, and the knuckles of his fingers holding the porcelain cup unconsciously exerted force:

"Do you know what you are saying? Such a major matter must have solid evidence to be valid. Mere suspicion and conjecture do not count."

Zhao Du'an said:

"This humble official has brought the witness, Lü Liang, to the mansion. Censor Lü is willing to testify in person that his imperial examination was interfered with by his father-in-law's power. In addition, he also has evidence in his hand and is willing to present it to Lord Yuan."

Lü Liang is in the mansion?

The person he kidnapped was Lü Liang?

Yuan Li was stunned, his expression suddenly changed, and he said in a deep voice:

"Do you know that confessions obtained through coercion and intimidation are not reliable!"

His tone was stern.

In his opinion, Zhao Du'an was very likely to have kidnapped Lü Liang by force and threatened him to testify, which was in line with the character of the Empress's pretty boy.

But what use was this kind of identification?

Reckless! Stupid!

He doubted his judgment of people for the first time, but amidst the churning anger, the leader of the Qingliu Party suddenly calmed down, stared at Zhao Du'an's calm face, and asked suspiciously:

"Not coercion?"

"Of course not," Zhao Du'an smiled, "It's discord."

Yuan Li's eyes lit up slightly, and he leaned forward: "Explain clearly!"

"Yes!"

Zhao Du'an calmly recounted how he obtained clues, formulated a plan, used Pei Si Niang as a breakthrough, and obtained the opportunity to talk with Pei Kai.

And through Pei Wu Lang, he narrated the process of manipulating and forcing Pei Kai to abandon his son-in-law.

"This humble official knows that with Pei Kai's cunning and ruthlessness, he will either feign compliance, demote the official first, and then retrieve Lü Liang.

Or, he will cut the grass and eliminate the roots... Lü Liang and his father-in-law have long had gaps and distrust each other. This humble official used this point, using Pei Si Niang to set up a trap, sending death row assassins, creating the illusion of extermination...

After this incident, Lü Liang knew that there was no way back. If he wanted to live, he could only rely on Lord Yuan.

Zhao Du'an smiled and said:

"Even if he comes back to his senses later and guesses that he has been tricked, from the moment I took him out of the Ministry of Justice and into Lord Yuan's mansion, Lü Liang has completely lost the trust of the 'Li Party' and cannot turn back...

This is turning conspiracy into open strategy. One wrong step leads to many wrong steps. He has no way back and can only join forces with us to bite his old father-in-law to death."

Silence.

The flower hall was silent for a while, and Yuan Li was silent for a long time.

Looking at Zhao Du'an's eyes, it was like looking at a little fox with good looks and smooth fur.

He suddenly praised: "The world has misunderstood you for a long time."

...

...

Pei Mansion.

In the study, the lights were bright.

Pei Kai, whose beard and hair were turning white and who was already old, was sleepless tonight.

Even after taking the calming pills from Yaozhitang, his eyelids were still twitching wildly, and he always felt that something was going to happen.

"Someone!" Pei Kai paced back and forth in the room for a long time and summoned a servant:

"Go to the Ministry of Justice prison and see why no one has reported back yet."

"Yes!" The brown-clothed servant responded and left without daring to delay at all.

However, before he could leave the mansion, he saw the chief of the Ministry of Justice rushing over, covered in sweat:

"Quick! Take me to see the Vice Minister!"

A moment later, Pei Kai, wearing only a single garment, met the panting chief in the study. The old man's eyes were gloomy, and he already felt ominous:

"What happened?"

The chief of the Ministry of Justice wailed:

"Something bad has happened! That Zhao Du'an gave us sleeping pills, took the opportunity to hijack Censor Lü, and I'm afraid he has ulterior motives!"

Pei Kai only felt a "buzz" and his heart suddenly sank to the bottom of the river:

"We've been tricked..."

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