The First Lackey Under The Empress

"If I didn't come in, were you going to beat him to death?"

The female official, known for her prime ministerial abilities, said coldly.

Hey, Iceberg, do you think of me as a petty person who is vindictive and doesn't know what's important? You don't understand me..." Zhao Du'an was saddened.

At this moment, with Li Lang shouting "Mo Zhaorong," the Jinyi guards present suddenly realized who had come.

They all lowered their heads and saluted, not daring to breathe loudly.

Mo Chou lived in the palace and often visited the residences of important figures when she went out, so most people had only heard of her name but never seen her.

They never expected the "First Female Official" by the Empress's side to appear here.

And witness their new superior officer beat up the Saint's younger brother...

Oh no... Qian Kerou's face changed, and she sweated for Zhao Du'an, thinking, "Won't the new Jinyi official be dismissed as soon as he takes office?"

Many people had similar thoughts.

In this world, there is something called the "Emperor's Golden Hoe," an information gap.

That is, low-level officials cannot understand the complex interpersonal relationships between the upper echelons throughout their lives.

They only think stereotypically that the emperor's younger brother, even if he takes the surname of the驸马, should not be bullied by a gigolo.

Just as a concubine, no matter how favored, would not dare to offend the main family's relatives, this is the strict hierarchy under the legal system.

But there are also some people, like Old Zheng, who are experienced and keenly aware of something wrong.

Mo Zhaorong is busy with official duties, how could she appear so coincidentally?

Even if she happened to be here to see Supervisor, she should be at the "Supervisor's Hall."

Why would she come to Pear Blossom Hall?

The conversation with the new Jinyi official was also quite strange, as the Jinyi official didn't seem surprised at all.

In the brief exchange, the two seemed to be on equal footing.

As for the "royal relative" kneeling on the ground and being punished, he was the one being ignored.

"Mo Zhaorong! I am Li Lang!"

At this time, the ignored young master wailed again:

"The one surnamed Zhao has no regard for the law and used private torture to break my legs!"

Tsk tsk, not bad, you finally know to put a hat on me, why weren't you so smart just now, did your IQ go online? Long reflex arc... I wonder if your mother has long legs...

Zhao Du'an啧啧 marvelled, but smiled without saying a word, too lazy to explain.

Mo Chou glanced at Li Lang, who was sniveling and weeping, with a look of disgust in her eyes.

She equally hated all纨绔子弟.

The same goes for Zhao Du'an and the princess's children.

If she had to make a comparison, she even "appreciated" Zhao Du'an more, at least he was a capable villain with methods.

Unlike the one on the ground, who was purely trash.

"Jinyi Zhao, aren't you going to say something?" she asked.

"He disrespected and insulted his superior, I'm punishing my subordinate, is there a problem?" Zhao Du'an asked with a smile.

Li Lang was exasperated:

"See, he is so arrogant, Mo Zhaorong, please report to the Saint, I want him dead! Confiscated! Exiled! And these officials, who don't listen to me, watched this dog thief commit the crime of insubordination and didn't stop him, I want them all to be sent to Zhao Prison!"

The young master spoke incoherently, with a ferocious expression, still not realizing the seriousness of the problem.

The faces of the Jinyi guards inside and outside the hall changed.

When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer, and they were all silent.

The thorny Hou Ren narrowed his eyes and gripped the hilt of his knife, while the lying-flat second generation glanced at him:

What are you doing?

Qian Kerou was stunned. The newbie female official was the one with the least background among them. Although she usually disliked Li Lang's behavior, she tolerated it.

Unexpectedly, the other party wanted to throw everyone into Zhao Prison just because of this. A burst of anger surged up, and she said loudly:

"It was clearly you who said before that you wanted to give the new superior a hard time, so you dragged everyone to the back to play cards... Hey, Old Zheng, why are you pulling me?"

Zhao Du'an glanced at her and smiled.

That's right, this is the courage a warrior should have.

So, this seemingly well-behaved newbie is actually a thorn in her bones, only covered up by a group of old thorns.

He turned to Mo Chou, but saw that the androgynous female official's face was frosty, and the contempt in her eyes towards Li Lang was undisguised.

纨绔 is fine, but also brainless, hopeless.

Mo Zhaorong withdrew her gaze and said calmly:

"Since it is Jinyi Zhao's 'family affair', he should punish him himself, there is no problem."

Huh?

Li Lang's scolding stopped abruptly, as if he had heard wrong.

The other Jinyi guards were also stunned, which was very different from the script they had imagined.

Next, an even more bewildering scene appeared, as Mo Zhaorong slowly scanned everyone present with a majestic voice:

"Jinyi Zhao is the chief officer of Pear Blossom Hall appointed by His Majesty. You are under his command, under his jurisdiction, and should obey him and do your best to share the burden for His Majesty."

After saying this inexplicable sentence, she looked at Zhao Du'an and said:

"Jinyi Zhao, then I won't disturb you in your work. When you're done, come out and talk."

Zhao Du'an smiled and said:

"Okay. But I have a request."

"...Say."

Zhao Du'an kicked the bewildered Li Lang on the ground and said:

"According to the law, this person disrespects his superiors and scolds the court, he should be severely punished, but I just arrived and don't know everyone, ha, please trouble a few fellow Imperial Guards to take this person to Zhao Prison, okay?"

Mo Zhaorong took a deep breath and said to the left and right:

"Go."

Several accompanying guards responded and stepped forward to drag Li Lang, who was like a dead dog, towards Zhao Prison.

Until this moment, the young master came back to his senses, his eyes widened in disbelief.

He kept shouting and cursing, but no one cared anymore.

Everyone present also realized that this "female prime minister" appeared abruptly, not to rescue Li Lang, but... specifically for Zhao Du'an.

The words just now repeatedly mentioned His Majesty, the implication being:

She is a human loudspeaker today, conveying the meaning of the Empress.

The Empress personally sent a female official to support her superior.

Thinking of this, the officials of Pear Blossom Hall were collectively silent.

Realizing that their leisurely days may be over.

......

......

Li Lang's shouts disappeared, and Mo Chou also left.

Zhao Du'an waved his hand, dispersing the onlookers from the lower-level runners, and strode back to the head of the "conference table" with the blood-stained iron-hooped wooden stick.

He placed the stick back on the dusty weapon rack, sat down, clasped his hands together, and smiled, saying:

"Does anyone else want to leave?"

The remaining four investigators sat upright, their eyes fixed straight ahead.

Zhao Du'an nodded in satisfaction and smiled:

"Very good. I don't like long speeches, so I'll just say a few words. Don't interrupt."

"First, I came to the Imperial Hunt Bureau to do only three things: achieve merit, achieve merit, and still more damn merit.

So, tomorrow morning, I want to see all the files and documents that should be there on my desk. Old Zheng, you're the veteran in charge of paperwork, so you're responsible for this."

"Second, I don't mistreat my own people, but the prerequisite is 'my own people'. If anyone disobeys, don't blame me for being heartless.

I can pretend that today's events never happened, but from now on, I want all of you to be present at the daily roll call, unless there are special circumstances."

"Third, I'm very busy and won't be sitting in the office all day. The Pear Blossom Hall has been too lax for too long, and there needs to be someone in charge.

Qian Kerou? From now on, you will represent me when I'm not here, understand? Well, from now on, you will be my 'confidential secretary'."

When he said the word "secretary," Zhao Du'an's tone carried a hint of mischievousness.

In his previous life, he had worked tirelessly as someone else's secretary; today, it was time for him to enjoy the experience.

The female runner looked bewildered and hesitantly raised her hand, pointing to herself:

"Me? I can't do it, I'm a newcomer."

"What's wrong with being a newcomer? I'm a newcomer too," Zhao Du'an said, his face darkening. "Or are you saying you want to disobey orders?"

Qian Kerou immediately fell silent.

"Alright, convey these words to the lower-level clerks. I'll come again tomorrow morning, and I hope to see a revitalized hall."

Zhao Du'an lifted his buttocks and walked out.

He said he would give a short speech, and he really only said a few words.

After he left, only the four of them remained in the hall, looking at each other.

"Old Zheng, you're good at judging people. What kind of person is our new Lord?"

Shen Juan yawned, rubbed his dark circles, and said with a playful smile:

"Is he here to burn three fires upon taking office, or is he really here to do business? Oh dear, if we get a madman like the Crimson Peony Hall's investigator, we really won't be able to handle it. It's too tiring. Isn't it enough to just muddle through?"

Beside him, Hou Ren, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and an arrogant expression, grinned:

"I think it's a bit interesting. Softies are boring. I'm getting moldy from being idle in the Pear Blossom Hall. It's good to have something to do."

Old Zheng held his large tea mug, blew on it, and said faintly:

"Young people are always so impatient. You have to take your time when judging people, be careful. But I think he's quite different from the rumors. He's overbearing, but he has a brain. He might not be here just to get gilded."

Qian Kerou joined the discussion with a mournful face:

"No, can't you guys give me an idea?"

The three of them looked at each other and said in unison:

"Confidential secretary, that's amazing."

Qian Kerou: … …

… …

… …

"Director! The person has arrived."

In the Chief Controller's Hall, Zhou Cang had just returned and reported.

Ma Yan, wearing a black flying fish robe, thin and burly, with a cold face and messy white eyebrows, grunted and sat behind his "office" desk, asking, "How is it?"

"Not good. Those troublemakers are very uncooperative."

Zhou Cang said worriedly, recounting the incident of everyone playing cards.

Ma Yan was not surprised and snorted coldly:

"If they were cooperative, they wouldn't be the Pear Blossom Hall."

Zhou Cang asked doubtfully:

"Director, given Investigator Zhao's personality, I'm afraid he'll cause trouble if he goes over there rashly. Are you really not going to make a trip?"

He didn't understand.

Logically speaking, since he was an official personally appointed by the Empress, Ma Yan should personally come forward, both in terms of reason and sentiment.

But he only made excuses that he was busy and sent him to deliver the message, which was somewhat inappropriate.

The Grand Eunuch said faintly:

"Why do you think Her Majesty inserted him into the Pear Blossom Hall? If she wanted to reward him, there were plenty of other good places to go. Or do you think Her Majesty and Lord Yuan don't know that Zhao Du'an will cause trouble when he goes there?"

Zhou Cang was stunned: "Director, are you saying…"

Ma Yan smiled on his cold, thin face, saying meaningfully:

"Since ancient times, it's been difficult for an honest official to settle family affairs. Our Majesty thinks I'm being too soft, so she's handing me a knife to cut away the rotten flesh."

Zhou Cang seemed to understand.

Ma Yan quietly sipped tea and sighed:

"I'm not avoiding him, but I want to delay it. When Zhao Du'an clashes with Li Lang and his group and things get out of hand, then I'll go to mediate."

Someone who could sit in the position of Chief Controller of the Imperial Hunt Bureau would not be a pure brute.

Those close to him knew that the Grand Eunuch, known as "King Yama," was actually meticulous and thoughtful.

However, if he knew that the Empress had secretly sent Mo Chou to deliver the message, he would probably change his approach.

According to Ma Yan's idea, Zhao Du'an was a smart person and would likely not offend Li Lang, either picking on the weak to establish his authority or remaining still for the time being.

But the conflict would break out sooner or later, and then it would be time for him to come forward. If he personally supported him from the beginning,

he would really be letting down Her Majesty's good intentions.

However, he was too lazy to tell Zhou Cang all this, only saying:

"Go and keep an eye on the movements of the Pear Blossom Hall. If things get out of hand, report back."

Zhou Cang obeyed and left, and Ma Yan returned to his desk to handle official documents.

A moment later, Zhou Cang hurriedly returned, his face anxious:

"Sir, something happened!"

So fast… Ma Yan frowned:

"Are they fighting at the Pear Blossom Hall? What's the current situation? Is that Zhao fellow suffering any losses?"

He was well aware of Li Lang's arrogance and tyranny, and he was afraid that Zhao Du'an would be timid and truly be made to lose face by Li Lang.

If a hall official lost face on his first day in office, it would be difficult to establish his authority.

However, upon hearing this, Zhou Cang's expression became strange. He said with a wry smile:

"No… Sir, you should take a look, Li Lang has been thrown into the Imperial Prison!"

Ma Yan's expression suddenly froze: "You said… what?!"

Thank you to Yi Qi Jue Cheng for the 300-coin reward, and Li Shipu for the 200-coin reward support!