To him, Shu Yao was nothing more than a rather pretty maid. But his household was never short of beauties, and there were plenty of people in the court who fawned over him, and the beauties sent to him were all stunningly beautiful. But only now did he begin to see Shu Yao's beauty in a different light.
While she trusted him and wanted to be close to him, she also harbored suspicion and wariness, and even more so, fear, which was truly intriguing.
He released her chin, straightened up, and issued a command from his superior position.
"Go pack your things and move back to your original room. You don't need to be in the kitchen starting tomorrow. Come back and continue serving."
These words startled You Shuyao.
He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you hear what I said?"
"Yes, ma'am, I obey." You Shuyao quickly lowered her head in response, then stood up, bowed, and left the study.
She didn't look back as she left, but only after she was out of the study did she quietly glance back at it.
She never expected that after this turn of events, Huo Jingsha would transfer her back to his side. Although she was extremely unwilling, she dared not disobey his orders.
From now on, we can only proceed cautiously and slowly look for opportunities.
*** ***
The Embroidered Uniform Guard, also known as the "Military and Political Intelligence Bureau," was a military agency personally overseen by the emperor. Its main functions were to protect the emperor, patrol, and arrest those suspected of disloyalty to the emperor or the court. Because they reported directly to the emperor, they could arrest anyone, including imperial relatives, and conduct secret interrogations. All court officials feared them, and even the emperor's own brothers or the crown prince would give way. To become the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was to be one of the emperor's closest and most trusted military officers.
It can be said that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the sharpest blade in the Emperor's hand, and Huo Jingsha, as the sharpest blade, offended countless people, so it was normal for her to bring about her own death.
You Shuyao noticed that since Huo Jingsha transferred her back to serve him, he had her stay by his side more often.
Huo Jingsha's personal maids weren't just her; there were also Mingxia and Minghui. The three of them took care of all of Huo Jingsha's daily needs, such as arranging meals, bathing and changing clothes, serving tea and water, ensuring she slept at night, and other daily chores.
Huo Jingsha usually goes to the office to handle cases during the day and doesn't return home until the hour of You (5-7 PM). After dinner, she usually goes to the study to continue discussing matters with her subordinates. In the past, the three maids would take turns going in to serve her, but now Huo Jingsha always requests that she go in whenever she goes to the study. Therefore, when You Shuyao goes to the study with her, she also has the opportunity to hear some secrets of the court.
It was less of a discussion and more of a scheme to set traps for people to fall into, or to use some ruthless methods to capture the suspected individuals.
"My lord, our spies have received news that Lord Zhao has already drafted a memorial, intending to submit it to the Emperor tomorrow at court, accusing you of abusing your power, murdering innocent people, embezzling public funds, and extracting confessions under torture. He has even prepared witnesses and physical evidence." The speaker was Yue Ping, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a fifth-rank official, and a confidant of Huo Jingsha.
"That guy is really audacious, daring to forge evidence and oppose our Embroidered Uniform Guard?" Another confidant named Xu Chang, who held the same position as Yue Ping, followed Huo Jingsha and obeyed his every command. Whether it was a pursuit, a raid, or an interrogation, these two could always be seen by his side.
If Huo Jingsha was the emperor's henchman, then they were Huo Jingsha's two loyal dogs.
The two men spoke of Lord Zhao with disdain and sarcasm. Lord Zhao was one of the few in the court who dared to oppose the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which was why he had become a thorn in their side!
Huo Jingsha didn't seem to care at all; instead, she listened with great interest, as if she wasn't worried about being impeached the next day.
Lord Zhao dared to submit a memorial because he had powerful backers, and these backers were undoubtedly the various vassal kings who already had fiefdoms. These vassal kings always took the opportunity to cause trouble, and every year when they failed to gain any advantage from the emperor, they harbored resentment. The emperor had long harbored grudges against them.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards were the emperor's henchmen, so they were naturally disliked by these vassal kings. If an investigation led to a vassal king, they wouldn't dare to do anything openly, so they could only sabotage him behind his back.
Huo Jingsha said slowly and deliberately, "Don't interfere. Let him submit his memorial. He has nothing to fear if he is upright. If he wants to challenge me, then I'll play along."
To rise to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, besides his exceptional abilities, he possessed an innate talent for investigation, arrest, and interrogation, along with inexhaustible energy. The more difficult the case, the more cunning the enemy, the less likely he was to give up, and he would relentlessly negotiate with them.
You Shuyao stood quietly in the corner, her eyes lowered, ignoring everything they said, like any lifeless decoration in the room.
A few days later, You Shuyao heard some news.
Cuiwei, imprisoned in the Zhao Prison, could not withstand the torture and eventually confessed to the mastermind, which implicated Lord Zhao. Huo Jingsha led a hundred Imperial Guards to search Lord Zhao's mansion overnight, causing chaos and unrest throughout the Zhao household.
Upon hearing this, You Shuyao was horrified. She instinctively felt that this was a trap set by Huo Jingsha. The other party used false evidence to frame him and try to bring him down, so he used the same trick against him, digging a pit for the other party to fall into. The other party thought that the evidence would surely kill him, but he didn't expect to be outmaneuvered by him.
*** ***
That day, as usual, You Shuyao followed Huo Jingsha into the study to serve him. He sat behind the desk, intently looking at several books. She noticed that the tea had stopped steaming, so she turned around and went out to brew a new cup. When she entered the room, she saw that Huo Jingsha seemed to be tired from reading and was resting with his head propped up on one elbow, his eyes closed.
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