Chapter 280 The Empress Summons

Li Mansion.

Compared to the bustling and noisy Arena Square, the Prime Minister's Mansion, located in the "residential area" of the powerful in the north of the city, is grand and quiet.

Because the prime minister is old, he doesn't like noise.

The servants in the mansion tried their best to walk lightly when walking, sitting or lying down.

Since there was no court session today, officials at all levels of the yamen watched the fight, and Li Yanfu did not go to the yamen either.

"Xilulu." Outside the mansion, without waiting for the coachman to stop the carriage, the "young cabinet minister" who was over forty years old and had a high nose bridge got out of the carriage and hurried into the gate.

After walking around the screen, he arrived outside the study courtyard amid the greetings of servants along the way.

Li Yinglong took a deep breath, walked lightly, and tidied his appearance before knocking on the red-painted door.

"Father, my son is back."

Li Yinglong stepped over the threshold and bowed to Li Yanfu, who was sitting behind a large desk and reading a letter.

Li Yanfu was wearing loose casual clothes today, and his bare feet were stepping on the soft carpet that was tribute from the Western Regions.

The fierce old man, with a slightly hunched back and a gray beard covering his cheeks, slowly raised his head and nodded with satisfaction:

"What was the result of the battle? Did Shenlong Temple win?"

Li Yinglong shook his head.

"Is it that the Tianshi Mansion is better?" The powerful Prime Minister Dayu was a little surprised.

Li Yinglong shook his head again. Under his father's doubtful gaze, his tone was dejected, almost gritting his teeth:

"It was Zhao Duan who won!"

Then, the young elder recounted the entire fight in detail.

The study fell into silence.

Li Yanfu was stunned for a moment. His old, cloudy eyes first showed surprise, then deep thought, and finally he nodded slowly.

"I understand. Back off."

Li Yinglong was stunned for a moment, and then he said anxiously, "I'm going to step forward.

"Father, that Zhao guy is becoming increasingly powerful. If we don't deal with him, he'll become a serious threat..."

"I told you to get out."

"……yes."

Li Yinglong's face was distorted. He stamped his feet, sighed deeply, and turned away.

After everyone left, Li Yanfu slowly stood up, walking to a corner of the room with his bare feet that had bulging veins and gray nails.

Because it was cold and rainy, the servants were brought in early to keep warm next to the damp charcoal basin.

Li Yanfu held in his hand the "letter for help" that had been sent from outside the capital not long ago, and threw it away casually.

The letter, along with the envelope, fell into the charcoal basin with a "pop" and was quickly engulfed by the flames. It burned and twisted. In the flames, only a vague glimpse of:

"Taicang", "Silver", "Prime Minister" and so on.

In the study, a faint sigh of old age could be heard:

"Troublesome times..."

…

…

The imperial prison was named Jiazi prison.

"What's the fuss?"

A jailer holding a sword followed the sound of knocking on the door, arrived outside a cell, and shouted angrily in a deep voice.

Inside the cell, Chai Keqiao, with his hands and feet bound by chains, sat cross-legged on the cold ground.

He was not wearing the usual prisoner uniform, but was still wearing the ragged linen clothes and straw sandals. His wheat-colored skin had become a little paler. He smiled and put down his hand that was knocking on the cell door, saying:

"I've decided to go out."

The old soldier who had served in the imperial court for twenty years and had seen countless important figures said, "Yoho!"

"I kicked you out before, but you refused to leave. Are you coming to your senses now? Aren't you afraid that if you get out, someone will knock you out?"

Chai Keqiao smiled shyly and said:

"I just heard the bell that signaled the end of the duel, so it's time for me to leave."

The jailer said nothing, opened the cell door, and carried Chai Keqiao out, saying:

"Be a good person when you get out. If you dare to provoke those in the government office again...especially Zhao Jisi, you won't be treated so well next time."

"I know, I know."

Chai Keqiao spoke in a humble tone with a smile on his face. He did not show any intention of challenging the court masters. Instead, he looked like a down-and-out young master.

A moment later.

When Chai Keqiao finished the "procedures", took back his axe, and was about to leave.

Just then, a Jinyi came over and talked about the important events in the fight with his colleagues in the prison.

Jinyi was quite excited, and described it with great joy. When he finished speaking, he turned around and suddenly saw a figure standing behind him, who knew where he came from.

"You said that Zhao Duan borrowed the Tai'a Sword and defeated Tianhai?" Chai Keqiao's eyes were burning.

"yes……"

There was a silence.

As if digesting this incredible news.

After a while, Chai Keqiao walked out with a dejected and disappointed expression on his face, shaking his head:

"What a loss, a huge loss..."

…

at the same time.

The crowd watching the game dispersed and left.

The stories about the fighting quickly rose to the top of the Beijing's hot topics list and became a hot topic of discussion on the streets, in restaurants and teahouses.

"Zhao Duan? Is he the legendary 'King Zhao of Hell'? He's actually a priest in the imperial city? Aren't priests eunuchs? Could it be..."

"Bah, a saint can choose eunuchs? Oh, I'm really envious. With the saint's support, it's easy to become famous."

"Haha, does Lord Zhao care about his reputation? Maybe he even wishes he were less famous."

"Who said that King Zhao only relied on power? Shen Zhang Wu Ren is truly formidable, even more formidable than the little monk from the Shenlong Temple and Zhang Tianshi's disciples..."

"No, although King Zhao is strong, he is still far inferior to the two families. He can win. Let me explain in detail..."

People were talking about it.

Before this, King Zhao Yan's reputation was mostly limited to the capital.

But this time, it will spread throughout the nine provinces and eighteen prefectures through the mouths of these people in the martial arts world.

As for the fact that she could hold the Taia Sword, it did not arouse much suspicion, and people subconsciously attributed it to "the arrangement of the Empress."

"Zhao Duan... has he already reached the Divine Chapter Realm?"

In a tavern, the actor Wu Ling, who had dressed up to look ugly on purpose, was stunned and dazed, clenching and unclenching his fists.

A few months ago, he was still a low-level mortal, but now he has become a powerful figure...

"Master Zhuang was so confused. Why didn't he kill her back then..."

Wu Ling felt sad for the umpteenth time.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man walked into the tavern and sat down at the table behind him familiarly, with the two of them sitting back to back.

He began to assist with the routine information transmission within the society. Finally, Wu Ling couldn't help but talk about Zhao Duan.

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment before he said:

"I have urgently sent the news of the duel back to the headquarters. I believe Master Zhuang will make the decision."

You said the same thing a while ago when you passed on the news that Governor Wang of the Privy Council had fallen... Wu Ling secretly complained in his heart.

In less than half a year, the pseudo-emperor not only did not lose the support of the people, but his throne became more and more stable.

Wu Ling said goodbye to her boss and walked out of the tavern silently.

On the way back to the Bafang Theater, when passing by the Shenlong Temple, he suddenly saw a team of armored imperial guards marching towards the temple.

The leader was actually the female prime minister in the palace, Mo Zhaorong.

Wu Ling was stunned for a moment and vaguely guessed the reason.

Suddenly I feel that the future of joining a club is a bit bleak.

…

The other side.

Censorate.

Yuan Li returned to the yamen by carriage. Before he could even sit down, he saw an imperial censor hurriedly asking for an audience:

"Mr. Yuan, the government has received a letter of accusation. It's a serious matter. Please review it."

Letter of accusation?

Yuan Li raised his eyebrows and did not dare to delay. The letter of accusation handed to him must be no simple matter.

The envelope was already opened. Da Qingyi pulled out the letter and stared at it.

"Taicang Silver Mine..."

After a moment, Yuan Qingyi's face became calm and he resisted the urge to enter the palace immediately.

At this time, Your Majesty must meet with Zhao Duan.

The matter at hand is not urgent yet.

"Wait a little longer..."

…

…

In a room in the palace.

“Wow!”

Zhao Duan pulled his two well-proportioned arms out of the bathtub and hit the wet edge of the tub.

He sat relaxedly in the medicinal soup, feeling the stinging pain of the wound on his chest and the itching of the granulation tissue slowly healing and growing, and couldn't help but let out a comfortable hum.

"Cool--"

The room's doors and windows were tightly closed, and the furnishings were simple. Only this large bathtub took up space, and there was a screen in front of it, with his clothes hanging on it.

After the fight ended, Zhao Duan was immediately sent to the palace.

He thought that the empress would summon him immediately, but she didn't. Instead, the imperial physician came first and examined his injuries.

He also prescribed a bunch of precious medicinal herbs for internal and external use to treat the disease.

The noise was so overwhelming that Zhao Duan once thought he was going to die...

But in fact, in a fight, the wounds caused by the "Buddha's Light" breaking the defense are not serious.

He estimated that he would be basically recovered after a week of rest.

What really made him unsteady and depressed was the draining of his Qi.

However, after meditating and absorbing the medicinal power, his dried-up qi sea was replenished. Although he was still a little weak, he was no longer in serious condition.

I am lost in thought at this moment:

"Huh, it's fun to show off, but it's a nightmare afterwards... Let's think about how to deal with the trouble that's coming."

"Well, although I'm exhausted, after this, I can sense that my somewhat frivolous state of mind has stabilized... This means my gamble was right. A true head-on fight, unflinching and reckless, is the true state of mind of a warrior..."

However, if you can avoid doing it yourself in the future, you should avoid doing it yourself... There's no need to force yourself to do it."

"After this incident, my reputation will undoubtedly increase. In the eyes of the rebels of the Kuangfu Society, and even in the eyes of my political enemies like the 'Li Party' in the court, their desire to kill me will only intensify. But it doesn't matter. Regardless of my strength, my enemies will not let me go..."

Well, the main point is that a dead pig is not afraid of boiling water.

"The attitude of the Shenlong Temple is quite interesting... unusual, and at the time, Bian Ji was clearly at odds with that old bald donkey... Tsk, is this related to the power struggle within Buddhism? I wonder how the court will deal with it...

The rebels and the Eight Princes definitely hope to start a fight, intensify the conflict, and reap the benefits...

Well, but with that old scoundrel Yuan Li here, he should have thought of this... Bah, it's already this late, and I'm still thinking about the court, think about yourself first!"

Zhao Duan sighed and looked at the Taia sword placed motionless next to the screen, and suddenly felt a headache.

"How do you explain it? I can control this thing?"

It was obvious that it would be difficult to fool her this time, so he could only reveal certain secrets in exchange for Zhenbao's trust.

However, there are risks as well as opportunities.

If we can grasp it, perhaps we can take the relationship between the monarch and his minister to the next level.

As I was thinking about all sorts of things, there was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of a palace maid:

"Lord Zhao, His Majesty wishes to see you."

What can't be avoided finally came...

Zhao Duan sighed and stepped out of the bathtub:

"Here I come."

Thanks to Li Shipu for his 500-point reward and Mercury's Masked Man for his 100-point reward.

(End of this chapter)