The First Lackey Under The Empress

That morning, Zhao Du'an was awakened by the clamor within the residence.

The official document promoting him to Chief Constable had arrived two days prior. Upon learning that their eldest son was being promoted, the entire Zhao family was overjoyed, immersed in a festive atmosphere.

You Jinhua, as the matriarch, believed that an official promotion was a major event that must be treated with utmost seriousness.

According to Great Yu tradition, on the day a new official took office, the family should sweep the courtyard, washing away dust and dirt, to bring good luck for 'daily renewal'.

Therefore, the Zhao family servants rose early to begin a thorough cleaning.

Breakfast was lavish.

While eating, the beautiful woman said happily:

"Your official robes have been ironed with a 'fire dou'. The servants are clumsy and rough, so later, your aunt will personally help you put them on."

"Is Eldest Son coming home for lunch on his first day at the yamen? Aunt will stew a soup and have servants deliver it to you, alright?"

"Eldest Son is new to the official bureau, he will surely need to socialize and drink with his colleagues. If you come home, Aunt will prepare early..."

Zhao Du'an felt extremely awkward being called "Eldest Son" repeatedly by his beautiful stepmother.

Suddenly, with a "smack", he slammed his chopsticks heavily on the table and said faintly:

"Aunt is exceptionally talkative today."

The gentle You Jinhua was startled, recalling the fear of being dominated by her stepson in the past.

Immediately, she squeezed out a flattering smile timidly:

"Aunt is talkative, making you annoyed. I won't speak, I won't speak."

Beside them, Zhao Pan, who was silently devouring her rice, remained silent, accustomed to her mother's warm face being met with a cold shoulder.

The beautiful young girl had repeatedly advised her to change, knowing that her traditional mother believed in the principle of 'following her son after her husband's death'.

She, however, regarded the Empress as her idol.

...

After the meal.

You Jinhua personally held the brand-new "Chief Constable" official robe and helped Zhao Du'an, who was standing in front of the mirror with his arms outstretched, to put it on.

The official robe, with a black base and embroidered brocade, and silver trim on the cuffs, was majestic and a perfect match for Zhao Du'an's appearance.

After he was fully dressed, You Jinhua looked at her tall stepson in the mirror, momentarily lost in thought, then revealed a maternal smile:

"Eldest Son is so handsome, he is destined to be a high-ranking official."

The Empress's father, the late Emperor who had passed away, was fond of appearances. During the imperial examinations, he would often change the ranking of the top scholar based on looks.

As a result, the connection between appearance and career had deeply penetrated the hearts of the people.

Zhao Du'an rationally disagreed with this bizarre logic.

But as the biggest beneficiary, he lacked the confidence to refute it, and vaguely agreed.

...

...

Leaving the house, Zhao Du'an walked two streets and boarded a plain-looking, luxuriously understated carriage on the corner.

As soon as he sat down, another figure in the carriage smiled:

"This humble official is a step late, keeping Lady Mo Zhaorong waiting."

The female official, dressed as a woman official, wearing a wingless black gauze hat, with a cold and aloof temperament, full of 'androgynous beauty', and a plum blossom decoration on her brow, was the "female prime minister" who was resting with her eyes closed.

At this moment, she opened her eyes and said in a cold tone:

"I am here on His Majesty's orders to escort you to your post today. If you have anything to ask, speak directly."

As if she was a ruthless machine, only intent on completing the task as quickly as possible.

As she spoke, the wheels turned, and the carriage headed towards the Imperial Prison.

So cold, she doesn't even take up the conversation... Zhao Du'an muttered inwardly, knowing that the female official in front of him had a very deep-rooted stereotype of him.

Even though he had repeatedly rendered meritorious service, in Mo Chou's eyes, Zhao Du'an had only advanced from a "good-for-nothing" to a "scheming villain."

Or rather, what Mo Chou despised from beginning to end was his bad character.

And she believed that the reason Zhao Du'an had gained the appreciation of the Empress and Duke Yuan, including Sun Lianying, was because he was hypocritical, good at flattering, and skilled at faking his persona.

Zhao Du'an knew that once prejudice was deeply rooted, it would not be overturned overnight.

So he simply dealt with the matter officially:

"This official is rushing to take office and indeed has some doubts. I would like to understand the situation of the Pear Blossom Hall and why there is no Chief Constable there?"

After learning that the Empress had sent Mo Chou to oversee things, Zhao Du'an sensed something was wrong.

If it was just a simple assumption of duty, even if the people below were somewhat unconvinced, the Empress could simply instruct Ma Yan to take care of him. There was no reason to send the female prime minister.

He suspected there was a trap here.

Mo Chou's eyes showed a hint of schadenfreude when she heard this:

"Does Lord Zhao not know?"

Call me Chief Constable... Oh, I haven't officially taken office yet, then it's nothing... Zhao Du'an said seriously:

"Please enlighten me, Lady Mo Zhaorong."

Mo Chou said faintly:

"The Imperial Prison has a total of nine halls, which are both colleagues and competitors.

Since Director Ma took charge of the Imperial Prison, he has repeatedly adjusted the officials in the halls in the past two years. The Pear Blossom Hall you are about to take over is ranked ninth.

The previous Chief Constable was corrupt and committed a crime. He was deposed, and the original team was disbanded... It once became an empty shell.

Later, Ma Yan prepared to rebuild the Pear Blossom Hall, so he transferred some 'elites' from the other eight halls to fill it..."

Zhao Du'an vaguely sensed something was wrong: "Elites?"

Mo Chou "En" a sound, for example:

"Either they are capable but ostracized mavericks who don't fit in.

Either they are inefficient and lazy people who muddle through their days, but are difficult to kick out of the Imperial Prison.

Or newcomers without qualifications or background... Of course, the most are powerful and well-connected children of officials who are unruly."

Zhao Du'an's expression gradually stiffened:

"Children of officials? As far as I know, most of the officials in the Imperial Prison are soldiers selected from the local guardhouses."

The Imperial Prison is responsible for monitoring and arresting officials. To ensure the integrity of the team, it has a unique selection mechanism.

This is to reduce its connections with the power of officialdom - this is the impression of the original owner and most people.

Mo Chou "He" a sound, a look of "It seems you really don't know":

"The Imperial Prison was indeed like this at first, but Great Yu has been established for six hundred years, and even if it has been replaced round after round, it is inevitable that malpractices will accumulate over time.

Nowadays, although there are still quite a few officials who are selected from the guardhouses, there are also many who have inherited the Jinyi Guards, and even more who have been stuffed in by various immortals over a long period of time...

In short, the complexity of the composition far exceeds the expectations of ordinary people."

Systemic problem... Zhao Du'an sighed.

Any organization can always maintain its purity at the beginning, and then gradually decay.

It seems that the Imperial Prison is no exception. After Ma Yan took power, he frequently changed blood and made personnel adjustments, presumably under the instructions of the Empress, to eliminate malpractices.

To grind away the rust on the knife of the Imperial Prison and restore its bright sharpness.

However, because the accumulation of malpractices has been too long, it is ultimately impossible to completely solve it.

Therefore, Ma Yan simply took the name of "filling" to throw all the "bad apples" in the other eight halls, those who were not easy to "dismiss" but would cause drag and obstruction to the yamen, into the "Pear Blossom Hall".

Zhao Du'an's face was not very good:

"So, the Pear Blossom Hall has not set up a chief official, Chief Constable, because of this?"

"That's right," Mo Chou said faintly:

"No one in the Imperial Prison is willing to take over this mess, and those who are willing to take over have impure motives, so they simply put it aside."

After a pause, she seemed to smile at the corner of her mouth:

"This time, presumably Duke Yuan values your ability, so he ordered you to take on this important task."

Schadenfreude!

Absolutely schadenfreude!

A herd of alpacas galloped through Zhao Du'an's heart, thinking that the old boy Yuan Li was not holding back a good fart when he said he would give him a great gift.

The result is a pit.

No wonder the Empress sent her confidant to oversee things, I'm afraid the mavericks in the Pear Blossom Hall have extraordinary backgrounds that Ma Yan is unwilling to provoke.

However, on the other hand, everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

The higher the difficulty, the greater the reward.

The Pear Blossom Hall is indeed tricky, but if he can really gain a foothold and bring those mavericks with background and ability under his command.

Then Zhao Du'an, the Chief Constable, will have far more power than the other eight halls, and may even become the first person under the Director.

In a trance, Zhao Du'an seemed to see Xu Zhenguan's smiling face, and the Empress seemed to say to him:

"Dare you accept this challenge?"

Inside the carriage.

Mo Chou looked at the handsome "Pear Blossom Chief Constable" in front of her with schadenfreude, thinking of the Empress's instructions, and said:

"His Majesty is worried that you will not be able to gain a foothold, so he ordered me to come along. I will personally send you in later. With His Majesty's face, you can always..."

"No!"

Zhao Du'an suddenly opened his mouth, his eyes clear and bright, with a smile on the corner of his mouth:

"Lady Mo Zhaorong might as well wait outside the yamen for the time being. I want to meet this dragon's pool and tiger's den myself. If necessary, please ask Zhaorong to show up and support the situation, how about that?"

...

ps: Tomorrow is Tuesday, the last attempt to rush for recommendations. Although the chances are slim, I still ask everyone to click on tomorrow's update.

Thank you: lemonJelly for the 500 points reward, and Mo Mo o for the 100 points reward support!