The First Lackey Under The Empress

“He who steps out of this door shall die.”

Inside Pear Blossom Hall, Zhao Du'an's voice was not loud.

However, because the room was so silent that even a pin dropping could be heard, it was clearly transmitted to everyone's ears.

His expression remained as usual, and even his seated posture had not changed, as if the golden knife that suddenly flew out and the explosion just now had nothing to do with him.

In the courtyard, the lush pear tree swayed in the wind, making a rustling sound.

The breeze blew on Li Lang's body, causing dense cold sweat to seep out, and his back felt cold.

It was as if he was standing in front of the Gates of Hell, and the slightest mistake would lead to eternal damnation.

“You…” The playboy prince's Adam's apple bobbed, and his body was about to lean forward.

He only felt the blade against his brow pierce a little more, so he quickly retracted his suspended leg, but still stood firm, not daring to act rashly.

“Ah—”

Only then did the other four wake up in shock.

The newbie female constable, Qian Kerou, let out a short exclamation, stunned in place, at a loss.

Beneath the clothes of the troublemaker, Hou Renmeng, his muscles were already tense and bulging, his right hand holding the hilt of his saber, staring intently at the trembling 'Golden Crow Flying Knife'.

The martial artist's instinctive sense of crisis made him take precautions, but his heart was a little cold.

He knew that if this knife had been aimed at him just now, even if his head was not cut off, he would have been seriously injured.

No other reason, it was too fast!

In the world of martial arts, speed is the only thing that matters.

The Golden Crow Flying Knife was already light, and after Zhao Du'an obtained it, he played with it in his hands every day.

Now, not to mention using it as easily as an arm, but silently launching the knife was no longer a problem.

“This flying knife…”

Shen Juan, the lazy young man with dark circles under his eyes, squinted, staring intently at this top-grade magical artifact, as if he could see something.

Even Old Zheng, who was holding a large ceramic tea mug and examining the gazette, put away his casual posture.

He looked at Li Lang, then at Zhao Du'an.

Suddenly realizing that his group's judgment of the new Jisi might have been a bit off.

Sucking up to superiors and bullying subordinates?

No… Perhaps, it was lawlessness.

“Zhao… Zhao Du'an, what do you want to do?!”

After retracting his right leg, feeling that the flying knife was no longer approaching, the playboy prince Li Lang's three souls and seven spirits returned, and he finally realized what had happened.

A surge of anger suddenly burst out.

More than that, it was the anger and disbelief of being defied by a subordinate.

In his eyes, the pretty boy raised by the Empress was undoubtedly a running dog of the royal family.

Then, as a descendant of the royal family, he was naturally half a master.

In the world, how could there be a running dog who dared to bark at its master?

This was his confidence in daring to confront Zhao Du'an.

As for the reason for his hostility, it was not entirely based on his tyrannical personality.

More than that, Zhao Du'an's relationship with the Empress reminded him of those wild men of his birth mother, Princess Yunyang.

As the son of a princess, he should have been of noble status.

But if his mother was promiscuous and his father dared not speak out, over time, he would inevitably become somewhat extreme.

In addition, a running dog had unexpectedly parachuted in as his immediate superior, wanting him to welcome him… His heart was dissatisfied, so he gave him a hard time.

But he did not expect that the other party's reaction was far more violent than he had expected.

“Remember your identity,” Zhao Du'an said calmly:

“Here, you are a subordinate, and I am the Jisi. You must listen to what I say.

Otherwise, it is contempt for superiors and defiance of subordinates. As far as I know, military officers are most taboo about defying superiors, and the Zhao Yamen is also an imperial guard. According to military law, how should it be dealt with?”

This skilled trick of putting a big hat on him immediately made Li Lang feel as uncomfortable as if he had eaten a fly.

But after calming down, he was also certain that Zhao Du'an would not dare to really hurt him, and immediately said angrily:

“You running dog, you are the one defying superiors!”

His eyes glanced at the half of the birdcage in his hand, where the expensive bird had already died without a complete corpse, and his eyes instantly turned red:

“You dare to kill my bird! Selling your whole family wouldn't be enough to compensate!”

Under the agitation of his emotions, he shouted loudly: “Someone, take down this Zhao!”

However, none of the four Jinyi moved, only watching coldly from the sidelines.

The few of them were just colleagues working together, of course, there was no affection.

They were unwilling to offend Zhao Du'an at this critical moment.

Li Lang was furious, and named names:

“Hou Renmeng! Didn't you boast that you dared to chop off the dog heads of high officials? What are you still standing there for? Kill him! I'll bear the blame if His Majesty blames us!”

Holding his arms, the thick-browed and big-eyed troublemaker was too lazy to pay attention to him, but instead watched the show with interest.

“Qian Kerou! Go call Ma Yan over, if I get hurt, see how he explains it to my mother!”

Li Lang changed to an easier target.

The clear and foolish female constable was at a loss, with a crying face, not daring to offend Li Lang, but also afraid of being knifed.

“Alright, stop screaming, this official will put the words here, today, if I don't retract my knife, whoever dares to take a step, don't blame this official for being merciless.”

Zhao Du'an said faintly: “As for you…”

After a pause, he slowly stood up, and said with a sneer:

“This official is standing behind you, if you have the guts, then turn around.”

Li Lang's face flushed red, and he was about to twist his body.

But as soon as his head moved, he felt the blade draw a bloody cut.

He tried to retreat, but the Golden Crow Flying Knife was like a maggot attached to the bone, always pressing tightly against his brow, making him dare not move rashly.

“Look, you're in a hurry again.”

Zhao Du'an sighed softly, with a caring tone:

“I told you to move, but you don't dare to move, I didn't let you go, but you insist on going.”

The playboy prince's face turned green, and he roared:

“If you have the ability, move this broken knife away, don't hide behind people, and have an honorable fight with your Lord Lang.”

Zhao Du'an's face was strange, as if he was looking at a fool:

“I have the advantage, why should I fight you honorably? Are you worthy?”

Li Lang was speechless, and cursed:

“Despicable villain! If you dare to hurt me, when I report to His Majesty, I will definitely make you…”

Zhao Du'an shook his head, his eyes becoming more and more disappointed:

“I thought that at least you were raised by the princess, even if you were stupid, there would be a limit, but you have disappointed me greatly.”

Among the children of the powerful, most are not simple.

Their wrist skills, vision, martial arts, and intelligence are far superior to those from small families.

But there are always exceptions, such as Li Lang, who is clearly a spoiled waste.

No wonder he was thrown into Pear Blossom Hall, probably besides his identity and background, there was nothing else he could show… Zhao Du'an shook his head.

Turning around and raising his hand, he suddenly picked up the wooden stick with iron hoops on both ends from the weapon rack.

It seemed to be quite old, a "disciplinary ruler" used for punishment.

But it hadn't been used in a long time, covered in a light layer of dust.

Zhao Du'an casually held the stick in one hand, slowly walking to Li Lang's side, looking at the pear tree in the courtyard, and said:

"You still haven't answered me about what I just said. How should one be punished according to military law for disrespecting a superior?"

Li Lang continued to curse loudly, without answering.

Zhao Du'an said to himself:

"It seems you're just a good-for-nothing, not even remembering the military regulations. Then I, your superior, will tell you. According to the 'Legal Commentary,' disrespecting and insulting a superior in the military will, depending on the circumstances, result in one hundred strokes of the rod for minor offenses, and exile for serious offenses."

After a pause, he said:

"Of course, I am magnanimous and won't hold it against you too much. Let's forgo the exile and just give you the punishment of the rod. Are you willing?"

The four Jinyi were dumbfounded, astonished by Zhao Du'an's shameless face.

Li Lang was even more stunned, a strong sense of unease rising in his heart:

"Zhao Du'an, you dare..."

"Snap!"

A crisp sound suddenly echoed in everyone's ears.

Immediately, Qian Kerou and the others were shocked to discover that the stick in Zhao Du'an's hand had struck Li Lang's right leg behind the knee.

A slight sound of bone cracking.

This pampered young master, who had never suffered hardship since childhood, immediately turned pale, and with a "thump," knelt on one knee!

Then he let out a pig-slaughtering scream:

"Ah!!!"

"Shut up, or you'll be charged with disturbing the court and slapped one hundred times," Zhao Du'an said calmly, adding:

"This is just the first stroke, there are still ninety-nine more, don't rush."

As he spoke, the second stick struck out like lightning.

"Thump!"

His left leg also knelt.

Li Lang actually stopped shouting.

It wasn't because of strong willpower, but because Zhao Du'an had struck his meridian points this time, causing his whole body to go numb and temporarily lose his voice.

Zhao Du'an weighed the stick, turned around, and stood directly in front of him, as if receiving obeisance, looking down condescendingly:

"A new official has to light three fires. Why did you insist on bringing the fire upon yourself? Is being a descendant of the princess so great? If you're so capable, change your surname to Xu."

He pressed the stick on the other's right shoulder, disdainfully saying:

"You're just an outsider, what are you pretending to be a member of the imperial family for?"

...

...

Outside the Zhaoya gate, in the carriage.

Mo Chou had been resting with her eyes closed for a long time, but there was still no movement, and she couldn't help but feel suspicious.

According to her estimation, Zhao Du'an should have already entered Pear Blossom Hall by now.

And the troublemakers, led by "Li Lang," would most likely give the new superior a hard time.

If the two sides clashed, apart from the others, with Li Lang's background, Zhao Du'an, that kind of sycophantic villain, would definitely be wary.

"Could it be that the Zhao fellow has really mixed in with Li Lang? Birds of a feather? Integrated into their group? That's why he doesn't need me."

"But if that's the case, wouldn't his role as the arresting director be nominal? What's the point?"

Mo Chou's expression changed, feeling uneasy. After a little thought, she said:

"Go to the main entrance of Pear Blossom Hall."

The nine halls have side doors connecting them internally, but they also have separate external entrances.

The guard driving the carriage responded.

Soon, the carriage arrived at the wall of Pear Blossom Hall. Before reaching the gate, Mo Chou faintly heard a shrill scream.

"Did you hear any movement?" the female prime minister asked the guard.

The guard said: "It's coming from the courtyard, it sounds like someone is being tortured and wailing."

Pear Blossom Hall is far from the Zhaoyu, and it's not a torture hall, so how could... Mo Chou was surprised, and suddenly her expression changed drastically, thinking of a possibility:

"Stop the car!"

...

"Snap!"

The third stick fell, and Li Lang let out an even louder, heart-wrenching scream, his whole body almost crawling on the ground.

The Golden Crow Flying Knife circled Zhao Du'an twice before he retracted it into his sleeve.

At this time, even the four people who were watching the show twitched their mouths and secretly gasped.

Qian Kerou even turned her head away, unable to look directly, and muttered to herself:

I can't see it, I can't see it...

Shen Juan grinned and shrank his neck.

Old Zheng swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Only Hou Renmeng's eyes were shining, faintly excited.

In front of Pear Blossom Hall, those "attendant officials" belonging to the Jinyi School also ran out of the duty room upon hearing the sound and gathered together.

They were also carefully selected "elites" from the other eight halls. Although they didn't have much background, they were all troublemakers.

Yesterday, after learning that the new arresting director was the female emperor's gigolo, they felt contempt and disdain in their hearts.

Now, seeing this brutal scene, they were all shocked.

The gazes towards Zhao Du'an were all wrong, and they put away their contempt.

This was also Zhao Du'an's purpose.

If you want to gain a foothold in an unfamiliar place, the most effective way is to find the biggest troublemaker here and use him to establish your authority.

And feeling the gazes cast from outside, Li Lang, who was kneeling on the ground and wailing, blushed, feeling extremely humiliated.

At this moment, the pain of the whipping on his body was not as hurtful as the humiliation.

The words of begging for mercy that were about to come out were swallowed back.

"Oh, your mouth is quite hard. It seems you're not convinced," Zhao Du'an exclaimed, the stick in his hand already resting on the former's left shoulder:

"There are still ninety-seven strokes left."

Li Lang was so frightened that he almost fainted!

At this moment, a commotion came from outside the crowd, and then parted like a tide.

A "female prime minister" in a female official's robe, wearing a wingless black gauze hat, with plum blossom decorations on her brow, led several guards and hurriedly walked over.

Li Lang was as if he had seen a savior, and was immediately excited, almost bursting into tears:

"Mo Zhaorong! Save me! Quickly kill this dog thief who is defying his superior!"

Mo Chou paused, stunned for a full three breaths.

Then, with a blank expression, she walked to the front of the hall and looked at the perpetrator with strange eyes.

Zhao Du'an raised his eyebrows: "How did you get in here?"

...

ps: I originally planned to write a shelf testimonial, but I was delayed by something temporary. This book is also the first one I've written in my career that I put on the shelf without writing a testimonial, and it's also the first one that didn't have an explosion of updates when it was put on the shelf... I didn't save any manuscripts, so I temporarily coded out a chapter. There will be more updates during the day.

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