Chapter 103: I have fulfilled my mission and captured the ghost in the imperial court before noon.
Zhao Duan's words sounded high-sounding, but he understood that this was also Ma Yan's intention.
The reason why the other party sent a message saying that he wanted to sit in the imperial court was that he did not want to compete with him for credit.
Since this was the case, he readily agreed, gave a few instructions, arranged the follow-up matters, and sent someone to the Baima Prison alone to report the follow-up to the old supervisor.
He mounted his horse and headed straight for the imperial city.
"I calculated that today is my seventh day in office, and I've completed the hidden mission within a week... Oh my god, I'm a speedrunner too."
Zhao Duan was in high spirits and used complaints to dilute the sadness in his heart.
Suddenly I had a feeling of defeating monsters and getting equipment, and then returning to the main city to find an NPC to hand in a task.
…
Imperial Palace.
Because the quarrels in the court had come to a temporary end, Xu Zhenguan was lazy today and did not attend court.
He slept until the sun was high in the sky, which was a rare event, and then completed his daily practice without fail.
I figured I wouldn't be able to handle many things, so I started lunch early.
The lunch was very sumptuous.
There was a dish made with fresh fish slices cut into a white and greasy soup. The empress stirred the soup with her bare hands and ate it with a spoon. She was in a very good mood.
"His Majesty."
At this time, Mo Chou, who had been busy all morning, came over, still looking serious and upright.
The White-robed Empress smiled and said:
"You've come just in time. The imperial kitchen has improved some new dishes today. This fish and meat soup is quite good. You should try it too."
Mo Chou hurriedly refused, explaining that there was a difference in status between the ruler and his subjects, and between the master and his servant.
Xu Zhenguan shook his head helplessly and said while eating the fish soup:
"You're not as relaxed as you were when you were with me. It's easier to get along with me now."
Mo Chou said seriously:
"Your Majesty is no longer a princess, and I am no longer just a maid."
Xu Zhenguan sighed softly:
"Yeah, we've all changed."
After a pause, she seemed unwilling to dwell on this and changed the subject:
"Are you here to report something? Just say it directly."
Mo Chou said "Yes" and said:
“It’s not an urgent matter. I learned that His Majesty was resting this morning, so I didn’t rush to tell him.
Yes, it's about the Imperial Court and the White Horse Prison. I've received word that the Imperial Court has issued a curfew today, with the exception of Pear Blossom Hall. It seems this is related to the arrest of a group of rebels...
In the White Horse Prison, Supervisor Sun Lianying used his authority to request the release of Monk Bianji from the Shenlong Temple, but he has yet to submit a detailed document to the palace.
Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment, and the movement of pinching the white jade spoon slowed down.
The expression is a little strange:
"House arrest? Even Monk Bian Ji has been invited to come?"
If the two things are viewed separately, they will not be connected.
After all, they do not belong to the same yamen, but if "Zhao Duan" is added, it will be different.
The sudden unusual action of the imperial court and Sun Lianying's request for experts had a "precedent" not long ago.
That time, the two yamen joined forces to capture the secret spy from Prince Jing's Mansion in Jiancheng Dao.
But this time the scale is obviously bigger.
What happened?
"Your Majesty, I suspect these two incidents are related to Zhao Duan," Mo Chou said calmly, "He has been acting a bit too out of line lately."
Xu Zhenguan said "oh" and asked with a smile:
"If it's really to arrest the rebels, it wouldn't be considered out of line."
Mo Chou shook her head and said:
"I'm afraid Zhao Jisi is deliberately using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, using the excuse of working for Your Majesty to show off his own power."
The first female officer analyzed:
"This is not the first time he has done this. We saw the clues when he forced Feng Jupan to bite Li Yanfu.
Now that he has been promoted, he is becoming more and more outspoken. It is understandable that he wanted to establish his authority in Lihuatang, but the subsequent arrest of 58 officials was obviously deliberate.
He has more gentle ways to deal with those things.
But he chose the most impressive method, seemingly getting the job done, but in reality, he was deliberately showing off his favor to everyone in order to intimidate the court."
What he said was indeed correct, Zhao Duan did hold this idea.
From this perspective, Mo Chou actually sees his thoughts more clearly than many people.
Seeing that the empress remained silent, Mo Chou tried to persuade her:
"I know that Your Majesty appreciates this man's abilities, and I don't deny that, but is Your Majesty being too indulgent towards him?
When he took office, you sent servants to support him. You also stood up for him in the incident involving the fifty-eight people, even going so far as to antagonize Princess Yunyang. But what was the result? How did he act?
Instead of being considerate of Your Majesty and making Your Majesty worry-free, he became even more arrogant. In order to gain credit and avoid being snatched away by others, he even made up a pretext and forced the eight halls to be under house arrest.
He even took advantage of his position to frequently ask for protection from the Tianshi Mansion and Shenlong Temple...
The last time the golden tablet was fine, after all, he came voluntarily, but this time asking for the monk Bian Ji... is really..."
Xu Zhenguan put down his spoon, interrupted her, and said:
"Mo Chou, your prejudice against him is too deep, and it has affected your judgment."
After a pause, she said:
"Let's take a step back. Even if, as you say, he is indeed arrogant, will Ma Yan and Sun Lianying be so afraid of him that they will blindly follow his lead?"
Mo Chou was scolded and argued anxiously:
"That's not what I meant. I suspect that both Ma Dugong and Sun Sijian were deceived by Zhao Duan's fabricated story, such as his Lihua Hall's plan to arrest the rebels today.
But he had just taken office. Even if he got some clues from the other eight halls, how much could he gain?
Is it necessary to mobilize so many troops here?
As for asking for the protection of Monk Banjin? Is there a rebel group in the capital with such strong military force?
I'm afraid even the traitors hiding inside the imperial court wouldn't do this."
She finished speaking in one breath, and when she saw that the empress remained silent, she suddenly realized what was happening and knelt down to confess her crime:
"This servant lost her composure for a moment. Your Majesty, please punish me!"
Outsiders only know that there is a "first female official" in the palace.
But in fact, Mochou is still the "maid" following the third princess.
Therefore, she always called herself "slave" instead of "minister".
Therefore, even though she is smart, her style of doing things is still very different from those old foxes in the court.
She is more like a "maid" following the "young lady" rather than an official.
"Get up, I won't punish you for this."
Xu Zhenguan sighed softly.
Although, she did not agree with the judgment of the personal maid that Zhao Duan had been lying.
But she really couldn't explain the purpose of Zhao Duan's behavior.
Just as Mo Chou said, is there any "rebel party" in the Kuangfu Society in the capital that is enough to alarm the monk Bian Ji?
As for catching the traitor, she made a bet with Yuan Li in the Imperial Garden yesterday, and she only dared to say that the result would be known in a month.
So, when she wanted to explain Zhao Duan's behavior in order to change the prejudice of her personal "maid", she could not find a reasonable excuse.
Of course, as an emperor, she didn't need to explain to a maid.
But the empress is a person who cherishes old times after all.
From this perspective, she is indeed not a qualified emperor who is good at power politics and cold-blooded.
"Forget it. I will have someone inquire about this matter later."
Xu Zhenguan waved his hand gently, and an invisible force lifted Mo Chou up, and said.
However, at this moment, the hurried footsteps of the young eunuch were heard outside:
"Your Majesty, I have summoned the Imperial Court, and the White Horse Supervisor's envoy, Zhao Duan, requests an audience."
Speak of someone and he will appear.
The two women in the room were stunned for a moment. Xu Zhenguan smiled and looked at his personal female official:
"Well, just ask him in person."
Mo Chou didn't say anything, but she was also looking forward to it, thinking to herself, let's see how you explain it later.
…
A moment later.
Zhao Duan, who had been waiting outside the Yangxin Palace for a long time, was led by a young eunuch through the straight corridor and arrived outside the dining hall.
I saw a group of people from the imperial kitchen taking away the leftovers.
No... I came here just at mealtime, but you had already finished eating. That's okay... I'm still hungry... Zhao Duan opened his mouth, feeling disappointed.
The hope of having lunch with the Empress was tragically dashed.
Wait until the palace servants disperse.
Zhao Duan finally saw that the empress, whom he had not seen for several days, was sitting at the round table in the room.
Next to him was the big ice ball, who was extremely hostile to him. He was standing aside and fanning the empress.
Why is this annoying guy here? I hate light bulbs the most... Zhao Duan muttered in his heart, but saluted solemnly on the surface:
"Your Majesty, I present myself to you."
"No need to be so polite." The Empress of Dayu, who had eaten and drunk her fill, looked a little lazy.
His white uniform hung limply, and his long black hair looked listless.
In the past, after lunch, she would take off her shoes, sit sideways on the bed in the bedroom and read a book to rest.
After all, today we are meeting with "foreign officials", so we have to be more formal.
Now she wanted to ask, so she pretended to be dignified and asked with a stern face:
"I was just about to send someone to summon you to the palace, but you came here on your own."
Call me a kidney... Ugh, damn input method...
What did you call me for? Zhao Duan was curious: "Your Majesty, do you have any instructions?"
Xu Zhenguan had a stern face, but he wasn't really angry, so he didn't look dignified.
"I heard today that you made quite a commotion in the Imperial Court, and even alarmed the monk Bian Ji from the Shenlong Temple. Is this true?"
Monk Bian Ji?
Is that the Buddhist name of the white-robed monk? It sounds familiar... Zhao Duan said:
"It is true. I was about to report this to Your Majesty when I entered the palace."
After a pause, he said:
"Yesterday, I held a secret meeting with Governor Ma and asked Supervisor Sun to bring in strong guards... This morning, I led the Lihua Hall to arrest the rebels."
He first explained what he had done, and the empress listened quietly, waiting for what to say next.
Mo Chou, holding the palace fan, pricked up her ears, expecting him to explain his actions with eloquence.
Immediately, Zhao Duan said calmly:
"This mission was a resounding success. I, leading the Pear Blossom Hall, have joined forces with the Governor and have successfully uncovered the rebels lurking within the Imperial Court, namely the Pomegranate Hall and the Peach Blossom Hall... They have now been imprisoned and await interrogation by Your Majesty."
Hmm...Xu Zhenguan listened and nodded slightly to show his satisfaction.
Then, I realized belatedly that I had caught the key words from Zhao Duan's overly bland and uneventful narration.
Inside the imperial court, two rebels...
Xu Zhenguan's lazy face showed a momentary expression of shock:
"Wait, the rebels you just mentioned are..."
Zhao Duan smiled and nodded:
"I have fulfilled my mission. The traitor hidden in the imperial court has been found."
The Queen of Dayu suddenly woke up, and all her sleepiness disappeared in an instant. "The traitor has been found," "The traitor has been found" kept echoing in her mind...
“Bang!”
Next to her, the palace fan in Mo Zhaorong's hand accidentally slipped and fell to the ground with a noise.
It was like a slap in the face, crisp and loud.
(End of this chapter)
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