Chapter 11 The Second Straw
Imperial Court!
Zhao Duan suddenly felt enlightened:
"If we remove me as the 'accidental factor', what will happen?"
"Three days ago, an informant at the Imperial Court received a tip that they suspected they had found traces of the rebels. Around the same time, Zhuang Xiaocheng began destroying all traces of his intelligence communications in preparation for his evacuation."
"After receiving the intelligence, the imperial court did not rush to arrest him in order to lure him in. Instead, they chose to wait, and Zhuang Xiaocheng did not rush to escape."
"If I hadn't interfered, the next scenario would have been for the imperial court to wait until the time was right and arrest him.
Zhuang Xiaocheng, well prepared, will escape early, luring the imperial court's pursuers into the southern suburbs' bamboo forest, and using his sorcerer accomplices to perform a so-called 'divine descent' to severely injure the leader of the pursuers!
"In order to capture such a prominent figure, the chief sent by the Imperial Court must be no small figure. It is very likely that he is the Empress's trusted confidant, the eunuch Ma Yan, who is also known as 'Ma Yanwang' and is in charge of the Imperial Court's work."
"That makes sense now!"
Zhao Duan suddenly understood.
The identity of the supervisor of the imperial yamen was enough for the rebels to take risks.
Perhaps, Zhuang Xiaocheng's purpose of sneaking into the capital this time was to use himself as bait to lure out Ma Yan and eliminate him.
The address coordinates were also revealed by Mr. Zhuang.
In order to ensure the success of the plan, it is very likely that there is an insider of the "Kuangfu Society" hidden in the imperial court, and his official position is not low.
But it's a good thing.
An accident happened in the middle of the process, and the original owner, a young and inexperienced person, intervened and disrupted the other party's plan.
"This explains why Zhuang Xiaocheng evacuated urgently after learning that the Imperial Guards were approaching, but did not leave behind any valuable intelligence..."
"And because the imperial court also sent people to compete with me for the man, Zhuang Xiaocheng still hoped that Yi could complete his plan. That's why he went to the bamboo forest in the southern suburbs and waited patiently."
"In the end, I exploited the daytime curfew and used my privilege to stop the imperial court... I got there first, so Zhuang Xiaocheng only said those words after he saw me... I guess he was furious at the time."
"They had no choice but to kill me... That blow indeed annihilated the original owner's soul."
Zhao Duan's face kept changing, and he felt sick as if he had been screwed.
So, it was I who warded off disaster for the imperial court?
Of course, all of the above are just his speculations. There is no substantial evidence and it can only be said to be suspicion.
Moreover, it came from the confession of a "rebel", the truth or falsity of which is unknown.
Therefore, it was impossible for him to go to the empress to explain the situation or to the supervisor Ma Yan based on this imagination alone.
"But it's not without gain," Zhao Duan sorted out his thoughts:
"At least I'm certain there might be a rebellious faction within the Imperial Court... Well, I'll suppress this clue for now. If, in the end, I can't achieve any meritorious service and the Empress truly wants to execute me, then I'll make this information public as the final straw..."
Very good, as of now, he finally has some capital to save himself.
Zhao Duan finished his thoughts and looked at the girl in prison clothes, her eyes tightly closed, her eyelashes trembling nervously, her chest heaving, and smiled:
"Very good, today's hearing ends here."
Yunxi opened her eyes, extremely surprised:
Is this the end?
She immediately became nervous again. Based on her understanding of the treacherous people in the court, after talking about the business, wouldn't it be time to do the business?
If this bastard wants to defile me, how can I resist?
Should he seek an opportunity to commit suicide, or should he pretend to be submissive and flattering, but actually seek an opportunity to die together with him?
While Yun Xi was frantically imagining things, Zhao Duan had already turned around, walked out of the cell, and called out to the jailer waiting in the distance, saying in a deep voice:
"This rebel group is still very useful. You must keep a close watch on them and don't let anyone get close to them. If even a hair is missing and the important matter of His Majesty is delayed, you know the consequences."
The jailer was sweating profusely: "Don't worry, sir!"
Is it really over?
Yunxi was stunned. This was different from the tragic experience she had expected.
Immediately, Zhao Duan turned around, looked at her meaningfully, and said:
"Think carefully, is a teacher who keeps secrets from you truly worthy of your loyalty? If he truly cared about you, why would he abandon you?"
Yunxi subconsciously argued:
"It takes a lot of mana for a warlock to rescue someone from thousands of miles away. He should save the teacher first."
Zhao Duan chuckled and said,
"But Zhuang Xiaocheng refused to tell you that reinforcements were coming. It seems he didn't believe you would be willing to stay behind to cover your retreat..."
Yunxi was speechless.
Zhao Duan turned and left. After walking a dozen steps, he heard the girl behind him cursing non-stop.
…
…
Outside the government prison.
Zhao Duan went back into the carriage and suddenly asked:
"Zhu Kui, what do you think of this female thief?"
The ugly old official who was willing to be a rickshaw driver sneered and commented:
"A fool who claims to be righteous but actually has no idea what he is doing."
"..." Zhao Duan was silent for a moment and said:
"Old Zhu, do you know why I like to keep you by my side?"
Zhu Kui was startled, and a smile appeared on his ugly, dark old face, covered with flesh.
"Have I done my job effectively? Do I understand your thoughts and concerns?"
He believed that based on his understanding of the envoy, the comment just now definitely hit the nail on the head for Zhao Duan, and this was called catering to the emperor's wishes.
"No," Zhao Duan said faintly:
"It's mainly because you look so uncouth. Having you by my side makes me look even more handsome."
Zhu Kui: “…”
"Just a joke," Zhao Duan laughed, exhaled, and said lazily:
"I've been tired all day. Please take me to the nearest inn. I won't be returning home tonight. You should also go back and rest. Don't forget the important things I told you to do."
"Yes, sir!"
…
On the second floor of the inn.
After watching Zhu Kui leave, Zhao Duan closed the window, took off his clothes, and threw himself into the bathtub. The warm water seeped into his pores, and he felt extremely exhausted.
He leaned against the wall of the barrel, feeling the real difference of this body, and stared at the lampshade on the table in a daze.
He was on edge throughout the entire journey, with one thing after another happening.
Until this moment, I finally got a brief respite.
"He's become another person now? That's unscientific... I hadn't even finished writing the report I was working on when he suddenly died. I need it for the leadership meeting tomorrow..."
"Oh, this is the fate of a social animal. At this time, I'm still thinking about reporting... Damn, I haven't paid off my mortgage yet, and my provident fund can't cover it now..."
"I don't know if it counts as a work-related injury, and how many months the compensation will last... Never mind. After all these years of worrying about others, it's time to live for myself... After I die, who cares about the floods?"
Zhao Duan's mind was full of thoughts, as if countless comments were floating past, and he just felt noisy.
“Bang!”
He punched the water, looked at the handsome face reflected in the rippling and broken water, and took a deep breath.
“Think of the bright side!”
In my previous life, I worked at a desk for a long time and had many minor ailments. I suffered from rheumatism at a young age and was in severe sub-health. Now this body is very different.
He had been practicing martial arts since childhood and had laid a solid foundation. Although the original owner's martial arts level was only at the "entry level", he barely entered the ranks of practitioners.
But in his previous life, Master Ma had no pressure in defeating an entire platoon with one hand.
With the subtle "qi" in his dantian qi sea and his good looks, he might be the next kung fu superstar.
"Unfortunately, in this world, I am just a little Karami. Any warlock can beat me to death from a thousand miles away."
In this world, there are two groups of practitioners: warriors and sorcerers. The former are pure, while the latter are diverse.
The original owner's family background could only support him to enter the "mortal" realm of warriors, which was the lowest "inferior grade", probably comparable to the level of passers-by in Jin Yong's martial arts novels.
If you want to get promoted, you will be quite demanding in terms of money and qualifications.
The key is that there is no way to get promoted!
Even if you have money, you may not be able to buy it!
In the original owner's memory, all knowledge about cultivation was highly closed and almost taboo.
Only by stepping into that circle can you be qualified to know something.
Although the original owner was the "Empress's Concubine" and had no scruples in official circles, he still had only a superficial understanding of spiritual practice.
I also tried to contact people from the Tianshi Mansion.
But perhaps because his reputation was too bad, people who practiced cultivation did not want to have anything to do with him at all.
However, he had vaguely heard that the Dayu royal family possessed an extremely powerful and domineering cultivation tradition. The original owner even fantasized about climbing onto the empress's bed and trying to claim it.
"Heh, you're still thinking about practicing... Just save your life first."
Zhao Duan laughed at himself, then fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, it was already dawn.
After a night, my whole body was covered in blisters and my fingertips were wrinkled.
Zhao Duan put on his robe and was about to go downstairs to find the waiter for some food when he heard the sound of hurried footsteps.
"Sir, I have something important to report!" Zhu Kui's voice came from outside the door.
Zhao Duan cheered up: "Come in and talk."
Zhu Kui pushed open the door, exhausted from a sleepless night, and said excitedly:
"Sir, the people you sent out to follow Ning'an County Master Wang Xian have returned with news!"
(End of this chapter)
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