Chapter 66 The Empress is worried, the Minister extends an invitation

When Zhao Duan and Pei Siniang reached a cooperation and completed the first step of the plan.

Imperial Palace.

A conversation was also going on in the imperial study.

"...The above is the trend and movement of the various government offices after today's morning court session."

Wearing a female official robe and a wingless black gauze on her head, the "female prime minister" Mo Zhaorong, who has a rather androgynous beauty, closed the book in her hand.

She raised her head and looked at the fairy-like figure standing by the window with her back to her.

There was no concealment in her eyes; as a woman herself, she admired the Empress's beauty.

The Queen of Dayu placed her hands lightly on the windowsill, gazing at a lake in the distance. Her white clothes were as white as snow, and the scenery of the lake and mountains was reflected in her eyes.

Without looking back, she only opened her red lips:

"How is the Privy Council?"

"Everyone is already feeling insecure. I'm afraid that with such a large-scale incident, it will be even more difficult to catch the traitor."

In the past two days, the empress has made a big fuss about the firearms craftsman case, causing panic in the court.

Not only the Privy Council, but all the civil and military officials in the court kept a low profile and kept their heads down, for fear of angering the empress at this juncture.

Xu Zhenguan shook his head and sighed:

"When those people from Prince Jing's Mansion were apprehended, the traitors within the court had already withdrawn their hands and feet and hidden themselves beneath the surface. I had no hope of catching them."

Just as the Empress and Yuan Li discussed that day when they were playing chess in the garden.

In the current situation, Xu Zhenguan focuses on "defense" rather than "attack". It is not easy to grab a thread and pull out a large number of internal traitors.

Besides, is such a brutal method really the best solution?

not necessarily!

As an emperor, one must be very careful and cautious, but also learn to turn a blind eye...

This is the lesson she learned from reading Taizu's daily records.

It is unrealistic to expect all officials to be loyal.

The correct way to manage a leader is to allow those under you to have different intentions.

Killing a chicken to scare the monkey from time to time is just a kind of unspoken understanding between the monarch and his subjects.

So, when all the civil and military officials in the court thought that Xu Zhenguan was making every effort to screen and find the termites.

However, they did not know that the empress's real purpose was just to intimidate the ministers and make those "traitors" completely dormant and quiet down for a period of time.

She joined forces with Yuan Li to weave a strangling net, which was quietly spread out under the cover of this huge storm.

Repairing the plank road in public and attacking Chencang in secret.

Mo Chou smiled and said, "Your Majesty's move will surely far exceed many people's expectations."

Xu Zhenguan was not optimistic:

"Has Lord Yuan sent any news? How is the progress?"

Mo Chou hesitated and said:

"No. Minister Pei has deep roots in the court. Even with Lord Yuan's ability, it would not be easy to move him. But after planning for so long, I believe the only thing missing is an 'opportunity'."

Opportunity...helplessness flashed across Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes.

Minister Pei is the mainstay of the "Li Party" and has been operating for many years. How could it be so easy to find a breakthrough?

If her power was stable, she could use her position as emperor to forcibly kill him on the pretext of "false accusation", but unfortunately, her position was not stable...

Even a cultivator at the Heavenly Man Realm is powerless in the face of the political situation. This is not a game that can be played with violence.

Xu Zhenguan suddenly had an idea:

"Tell me, if Zhao Duan comes to bite, can he bite a hole?"

Mo Chou said helplessly:

"Your Majesty, you may not think too highly of this man! How can such petty quarrels with the Zhang brothers compare to the bloody battles in the imperial court?"

She felt that the empress had been bewitched again, and her impression of Zhao Duan became worse.

"I was just saying it casually." Xu Zhenguan smiled in his beautiful eyes.

"I just thought you had a bad impression of him, so I teased you. I know that he's just a little ant, and he's incapable of participating in such a big event."

Although Zhao Duan performed well twice in a row, he impressed the empress.

But in the final analysis, they are all just clever tricks that are not up to standard.

The fox took advantage of the tiger's power to deceive a small boss and please her... and dealt with the two brothers of the Zhang family, these were just "funny stories".

The involvement of the "Prince Jing's Mansion" case was purely accidental.

Of course, she would not be so foolish as to think that Zhao Duan, who was a little clever, was really capable of participating in the storm to strangle Minister Pei.

Yuan Li would not tell the empress about her unintentional move.

"I am just giving an objective evaluation," Mochou breathed a sigh of relief, her expression cold:

"He is definitely not a good person. Your Majesty, please don't be fooled by his appearance."

Xu Zhenguan smiled.

At this moment, a gentle breeze blew outside the window, and the three thousand black hairs fluttered in the wind. The empress narrowed her eyes:

"Is the wind blowing?"

…

Baima Prison is Zhao Duan’s duty station.

"He's not in now?"

The sudden visit of the old eunuch with gray hair and sunken eye sockets startled the white servants who stayed behind.

A servant said: "My envoy left this morning."

Sun Lianying frowned: "Where did you go?"

Although the White Horse Supervisor is not an official position that requires him to sit on duty, he is more flexible in his work when he is out.

But you cannot skip work at will, and your whereabouts must be recorded when you go out.

The servant trembled and held out a blank record book:

"Your Excellency never likes to write about these things."

"Hmph," Sun Lianying said, looking slightly displeased. "Did he mention anything he was going to do this morning, or who he was going to meet?"

The servant said, "The envoy's good friend Qin Qu came to visit this morning..."

A detailed description follows.

Sun Lianying's expression became uglier as she listened.

In the end, he just walked away without saying a word.

The old eunuch had originally learned that Zhao Duan had made great contributions, and his impression of him changed.

It was thought that after the "Zhuang Xiaocheng" case, he had gained enlightenment and turned over a new leaf.

Therefore, I came here in a good mood and wanted to give him some advice.

This is to prevent Zhao Duan, who is still young, from not understanding the unspoken rules of officialdom and falling into traps.

But after learning that he was once again hanging out with Qin Qu, a playboy whom he despised, and that they were even arm in arm, calling each other brothers, and that he was openly skipping work to go out and have fun.

The impression that had been reversed turned bad again.

There was disappointment hidden in Sun Lianying's weathered face and old eyes.

"The Prodigal Son Returns? Is it just a flash in the pan?"

"Or is there another reason?"

Not sure... Well, let's wait and see.

He shook his head and walked back to the back court, pretending that he had not been there that day.

…

…

The next few days were calm.

Zhao Duan occasionally hangs out with Qin Qu in order to paralyze those who might be secretly spying on him.

The dandy persona cannot be destroyed and must be maintained.

Only in this way can people be sure that a villain with a tainted body like him would never join hands with Yuan Li to work for the Censorate.

There was no news from Pei Si Niang for a long time, and she did not appear in the theater again.

In terms of spiritual practice, I have been trekking in the desert, which is boring and tedious.

Until another morning.

Zhao Duan pushed open the bedroom door and felt refreshed by the cold and damp wind outside the window.

Dark clouds came last night, and today it is drizzling, and it is raining again in Beijing.

Eugene Hua hurried across the courtyard in the rain, holding an oil-paper umbrella and wearing a dress made of Shu brocade.

Because the wind blew on the umbrella, half of my body was slightly wet.

"Why is Auntie here?"

Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows, raised his hand to put on his inner garment, and slowly buttoned it one by one.

Eugene stopped outside the door, turned sideways to avoid looking at her stepson, and took out a dry letter from her bosom with one hand:

"Someone just knocked on the door and handed me this letter, asking you to open it yourself. My aunt is worried that it's something important, and the servants have been delayed, so..."

"knew."

Zhao Duan took it, tore it open and glanced at it. A gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and he said to Eugene Hua who was waiting on the porch:

"I won't be eating breakfast at home. Pack me a few meat buns. I'm going out right away."

The letter was sent by Pei Si Niang.

He said his father, Minister Pei, had agreed to meet with him.

But he was asked to go alone and in a low-key manner, and was given a time and place, which was this morning.

“Rainy days are good for fishing…”

Zhao Duan took a deep breath and clenched his fists:

"After waiting for so many days, the big fish finally took the bait."

(End of this chapter)