Chapter 186: The Imperial Court and the Forgotten Zhao Duan
As the night deepened, Zhao Duan returned home and found that all the lights were on.
"Da Lang is back!"
The old steward opened the door, a look of joy appeared on his tired and worried face, and he loudly announced the good news.
After a while, the stepmother and sister, who had not yet fallen asleep, came in together.
Obviously, Zhao Duan's sudden departure caused concern among his family, especially since the conflict happened in the daytime.
"Nothing, just some official business at the government office. I went to take care of it." Zhao Duan lied casually.
Eugene Hua breathed a sigh of relief, regained her smile, and said with concern:
"Are you hungry? Auntie left some food for you."
What kind of food...what to eat and drink?
... Zhao Duan was a little tired and no longer in the mood to joke, so he said:
"Let the servant take me to my room."
After a day of hard work, even with his abundant energy as a warrior, he felt a little tired.
…
In the bedroom.
Zhao Duan ate everything in no time, filled his stomach, and regained some of his spirit. He touched his belly and stared blankly.
After repeated tests, he confirmed that the dragon soul in the sea of qi had fallen into a deep sleep. In addition to being of great benefit to cultivation, it had no other drawbacks.
"It's okay, I thought it also needed to eat or something..." Zhao Duan complained silently.
Shaking his head and putting the matter behind him for the moment, he stood up and took off his coat.
He took off his inner clothes which were wet from being soaked in the river water and threw himself on the bed.
His strong body was exposed to the air, his hands resting behind his head, and he began to recall the content of his conversation with the empress.
"The one who attacked me this time was Li Yanfu's son...that young cabinet minister. Phew...As my battle record improved, I eventually ran into the top brass of the Li Clan."
"Zhen Bao said that he hopes I will leave Xiuwen Hall next. He is worried that I will be affected by the subsequent impact... It is right to hide a little, but hiding blindly is a strategic escape."
"This time, she vented her anger for me and taught a group of scholars a lesson. It was satisfying, but the hatred between her and that young cabinet minister will only deepen.
Well, next, the Li Party’s main concern should be blocking the new policy, so they have no time to bother me for the time being, but as long as they have time, they will come to me sooner or later..."
"If you don't kill the snake, you'll end up hurting yourself... But with my mere sixth-rank status, I'm not strong enough to defeat the other party... But who says that if you can't defeat him, you can't do anything?
Zhenbao dealt with the Li Clan by repeatedly striking them down and gradually weakening them... I can also adopt this approach, not seeking to crush them all at once, but to gain ground day by day..."
"Young Lord, huh, Li Yinglong...it's impolite not to reciprocate. Do you really think that you can let it go by tricking me once?"
Zhao Duan was thinking about the plan, his eyelids were drooping, fatigue came over him like a tide, and he fell into a deep sleep.
…
…
The same night.
In front of the Li Mansion, a sedan chair slowly descended.
Li Yinglong, who was nearly forty years old, with feminine features, a high nose bridge and deep eye sockets, walked out of the sedan chair and, surrounded by servants, walked into his own house.
As a "Little Cabinet Minister" and a minister, his house is naturally grand and luxurious.
Every stone in the yard is a rare stone that has been transported from outside Beijing at great expense of manpower and thousands of miles.
Li Yinglong's daily life was also full of luxury, as evidenced by his love for riding in a sedan chair.
If not for this, he would not have become the "number one playboy in the capital" when he was young.
Even though he is nearly forty years old now, his extravagant lifestyle has not diminished. All the old foxes in the capital's officialdom know that the young cabinet minister loves women the most.
In addition to the wife, the number of concubines exceeded five fingers - this was still limited by the "Yu Law", with only six vacancies, but they were often changed.
Not only that, there are many rare ways to play.
There were a large number of female servants in the mansion. Every winter, the strong ones would be selected to stand in a circle around Li Yinglong and use their bodies to shield him from the cold wind.
It's called "Meat Screen."
When close guests arrived, a banquet was held in the mansion to entertain them. There were no tables or chairs. All the food plates were held by beautiful concubines, who knelt and served the guests.
It is euphemistically called "a feast for the eyes".
In other words, morality must be taken into consideration. Otherwise, Zhao Duan had no doubt that Li Yinglong would come up with the female body sushi...
At this time, maids and concubines came out to greet us and said in unison:
"master."
Li Yinglong looked gloomy and in a bad mood.
Seeing these women, he couldn't help but become more irritated and waved his hand:
"roll."
The concubines were silent as a mouse, not knowing why the master was angry, and they scattered like birds and beasts in fright.
Li Yinglong sat in the hall, sipped the tea served by the servants, and his anger gradually subsided. "Is the Sixth Madam asleep?"
Next to them, the maid in the mansion said, "The lights are still on in the room. Master, are you going to sleep there?"
The Sixth Madam was a new concubine that Li Yinglong had forced upon him not long ago.
It is said that one day, the young cabinet minister went out for a drink and accidentally caught a glimpse of a young and beautiful woman. He was attracted by her and fell in love with her.
After sending someone to investigate, they learned that the woman was originally a geisha from Jiangnan, and was later married to a businessman named Hu. This time she came to Beijing with her husband to sell goods.
Doing business these days inevitably involves some shady practices.
After Li Yinglong learned about it, he sent people to investigate again and caught the businessman surnamed Hu making mistakes. He then used some tricks to involve him in a case, turning a small matter into a big one.
He was deported to his hometown and thrown into prison, and the businessman's wife was also taken into his room by him using his power.
In order to make room for the vacancy, the original "Sixth Madam" was cruelly abandoned.
The whole process is reasonable and legal. Low-level playboys only tease decent women, while high-level playboys do things flawlessly.
However, after the new Sixth Lady entered the mansion, she cried all day long. She was an unyielding person. Beneath her elegant appearance, she was a wild horse that was difficult to tame.
Li Yinglong has not yet surrendered.
"Well, let's go and take a look." Li Yinglong stood up and, accompanied by the nanny, arrived at the wing room in the courtyard where Madam Liu was.
Sure enough, I saw the reflection of a woman on the window paper.
As if hearing a noise, the Sixth Madam in the room was startled, she stood up suddenly and said coldly:
"who?!"
Li Yinglong smiled now, as if forgetting the unpleasantness Zhao Duan had caused him, and said softly:
"Mrs. Lin, it's me..."
"roll!"
Inside the house, a woman with a strong temper spoke in a cold voice, which frightened the old nanny, but she saw that the master next to her was not angry at all.
Li Yinglong advised kindly:
"Madam Lin, as the saying goes, a husband and wife for a day are bound by a hundred days of grace. You are already my concubine, living in a wealthy family in the capital. Isn't that a hundred times better than being married to a mere merchant?"
Inside the house, the woman's shoulders trembled and she shouted hoarsely:
"If you dare to come in again, I will fight with my life..."
"Ah! What are you talking about!" Li Yinglong said unhappily:
"If you don't want to go in, then don't go in. Am I really that unbearable in your eyes, Master?"
Having said that, he actually walked away in anger, with a hint of anger on his face.
The old lady next to him said:
"Master, calm down. The Sixth Madam has only been married for a short time, and she still can't resist that hurdle. I have been trying to persuade her these past few days. I believe that in a couple of days, she will accept the reality and won't be like this anymore."
Li Yinglong nodded:
"I hope so, but don't push it too hard."
As he spoke, the young cabinet minister, who had failed to sleep with a woman, suddenly thought of the culprit who had caused him all the misfortunes today.
"Zhao Duan..."
Li Yinglong's eyes were gloomy. Thinking of his father's instructions, he could only suppress his anger.
In the next period of time, he and the prime minister need to do their utmost to fight against the new policy and avoid any unnecessary complications for the time being.
"Let me let you jump around for a while."
In the wing room.
She is beautiful and elegant, with an oval face and long eyebrows. Although she is a geisha, she has a scholarly temperament.
Mrs. Lin, whose appearance was no less than that of a lady from a wealthy family, had tears in her eyes. She nervously grasped a pair of scissors in her hands and pointed them at the door of the room.
Until the footsteps outside the door faded away, she was sure that Li Yinglong would not "visit" her tonight.
The scissors in Mrs. Lin's hand fell to the ground with a clang. She was wearing a light gauze dress and fell on the table, looking towards the south of the Yangtze River, tears streaming down her face.
Who can save her?
perhaps……
All I can do is accept my fate.
…
No words were spoken that night.
The next morning, all the ministers entered the Meridian Gate early.
Inside the palace, the gate of the Yuanzu Temple burst open, and the empress walked out slowly. She looked at the group of female officials who were waiting outside the door with their heads bowed, and her eyes fell on Mo Zhaorong, who was in the lead.
On the tray in Da Bingtuozi's hand were the crown and dragon robe for attending court.
"Your Majesty, the Grand Tutor and a group of court officials are already outside the Meridian Gate."
Xu Zhenguan said "yes", his beautiful eyes sharp:
"Go to court."
She knew that today was the day when the new policy would be officially launched.
At that time, what will greet her is the resistance of countless aristocratic gentry in the entire Dayu Dynasty, as well as the officials and scholars from their respective families.
…
On this day, a piece of news spread quickly in the capital.
It is said that at the morning court session, Grand Tutor Dong Xuan presented three new policies for the empress after she ascended the throne, which shocked all officials.
A large number of officials opposed the proposal on the spot, pointing out the various drawbacks of the three policies.
Furthermore, many censors from the Six Departments and the Metropolitan Censorate criticized the plan, saying that the planners were guilty of empty talk and that if implemented, the country would be in tatters.
This piece of news was like a bomb, booming and attracting countless people's attention.
As a result, no one paid any attention to the commotion in Zhai Garden yesterday.
As for Zhao Duan, at this critical moment, he handed back the badge of the external scholar, decisively withdrew himself and avoided the storm.
And the next few days.
Things turned out just as Xu Zhenguan said. The whole court was almost turned into a vegetable market.
The empress looked down from a high position, overlooking the struggle between various forces. This struggle, which concerned the division of interests of the entire Dayu Dynasty, was like a raging fire.
As the dog days of summer gradually pass, the situation becomes more and more severe.
Anyone who dares to approach will have their intestines burned to pieces.
However, Zhao Duan, who was originally the focus of many people, suddenly disappeared and was gradually "forgotten" by people.
…
"Netizens are always forgetful... The best way to cool down an incident is to create a bigger hotspot."
Baima Prison, in the small courtyard at the back of the government office.
Zhao Duan, who was slightly drunk, talked nonsense.
Across from him, the old eunuch Sun Lianying, wearing a baggy official robe and with white hair on his temples, said drunkenly:
"What did the brat say? I didn't hear it clearly."
"Nothing," Zhao Duan muttered, holding the wine jar and looking away from the corner of the eaves, that is, the direction of the palace.
"Your Majesty, are you just going to let all parties argue to their full potential? No, I don't think even Grand Tutor Dong can handle it."
Sun Lianying narrowed his eyes, and the experienced eunuch sighed:
"Your Majesty cannot immediately step down from this major event. You must, and can only, sit on the throne and watch, allowing the imperial party headed by Dong Xuan to charge forward. Then, based on the momentum, you can decide when to make the final decision. If you directly issue an order, you can force it through, but that would leave no room for maneuver. It would be far better to let them fight it out first..."
What's more, these three strategies of yours have affected too many officials. How can they not give it a try?
But you, with just a few words, caused such a big commotion, but you just ran away, idling around all day and drinking at our house, as if the temple had nothing to do with you."
Zhao Duan put down the wine jar, stood up and left:
"What does the court dispute have to do with a mere sixth-rank minor police officer like me?"
"Hey, where are you going?"
"I have something to do."
(End of this chapter)
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