Chapter 262 Flirting with Xu Junling
On the long street, the drizzle that had briefly stopped began to fall again.
Zhao Duan's triumphant laughter echoed wildly in the air, clearly falling into the ears of every spectator.
At this moment, on both sides of the street, whether it was the guests in the teahouse or the people hiding under the eaves watching, there was a deep awe on their faces.
They didn't know who the person who attacked was, but based on some reasonable speculation, they concluded that it was Zhao Duan's bodyguard.
After all...which high-ranking official, or dandy young man, doesn't have beautiful maids and guards around him?
Stereotypes are.
"No wonder... King Zhao is so confident and fearless. This is what a big shot is."
Many people had similar thoughts and felt envious.
Lu Qingfeng was choked, and the expression on his slightly pale old face changed, but he swallowed the name on the tip of his tongue and said respectfully:
"Thank you, Senior... and Lord Zhao, for raising your hands."
Zhao Duan's smile faded and he said sarcastically:
"Who said I raised my hand? Do you really think that fighting with soldiers in the capital city is enough? Come, lock up this man and these lawless people and take them to the Imperial Prison."
Lu Qingfeng's face suddenly changed. He didn't expect that Zhao Yanwang would insist on arresting people after beating them up.
Now, a group of imperial guards were ready to fight, and came over again with iron chains, looking like they were relying on the power of others.
"Wait a minute!"
At this moment, a cold female voice finally couldn't bear it any longer and had to speak up to stop them.
Finally it’s out... Zhao Duan’s mouth curled up slowly, and he looked towards the half-destroyed teahouse opposite.
I saw a young woman with the temperament of a lady from a noble family slowly leaning out from the half-open window.
Her face is smooth and her skin is as delicate as a baby's. She has the grace of a Jiangnan girl. Just standing gracefully by the window, she exudes an elegant and poetic air.
"Ah—what a pretty lady..."
"Who is this?"
"Shh, keep your voice down, don't comment on me."
The crowd first started to talk, and then some people became alert and shut up, fearing that their words would offend someone they shouldn't.
Zhao Duan's eyes lit up, and he looked across the dilapidated street at the other side, grinning playfully:
"It's really strange today. One after another comes. What's going on? Does this girl also want to go to the imperial court?"
"How dare you! You..."
By the window, the maid Lu Shui was furious.
But she was forced to retreat by Xu Junling's eyes. This talented young lady from the royal palace was graceful and graceful. Facing this scene, she just smiled faintly and raised her voice slightly, saying:
"I wonder if Lord Zhao would be so kind as to discuss this in detail?"
Zhao Duan didn't say anything, just raised his hand and made a "waiting for you" gesture.
He asked me to go there in person... Xu Junling's eyelashes trembled, and he turned around and went straight downstairs.
Soon, she led her maid out of the first floor of the teahouse. Under the gaze of the people, the maid held up an oil-paper umbrella to shelter them from the rain.
The two women, both of whom had quite good looks and temperament, crossed the wet and cold street and walked towards the opposite side.
"……Miss."
When passing by Lu Qingfeng, the palace guard who had spoken so arrogantly not long ago looked ashamed.
Xu Junling just shook his head and indicated that it was okay.
Lu Qingfeng's lips moved, and a voice was passed into her ears:
"That old man in the building is probably the legendary, the most skilled master in the Imperial Palace, Hai Gongfeng."
Xu Junling paused slightly and his eyes narrowed slightly.
Then, he walked into the teahouse opposite without changing his expression, and walked up the wooden stairs under the watchful eyes of the waiters and tea drinkers on the first floor.
…
On the second floor, after Zhao Duan revealed his identity, the other tea drinkers had already fled in a swarm, fearing that they would be implicated.
At this moment, only Zhao Duan and Hai Gongfeng were sitting at the table, watching the two women coming up the stairs.
"Xu Junling, daughter of the King of Huai'an, greets the Sea Lord, the Zhao Envoy."
The gentle and elegant princess bowed gently and took the initiative to speak.
The white-haired eunuch Hai smiled and waved his hand, saying:
"My princess has embarrassed our family."
Generally speaking, the status of women in the royal family is not high, they are just more noble in title. But Xu Junling is different from other princesses, she represents half of the King of Huai'an.
Secondly, since she has not married, she is ultimately considered a descendant of the Xu royal family. No matter how high Hai Gongfeng's status is, he is still a royal servant in name.
So the tone is still polite.
"Ah, I didn't know the princess was coming. I didn't recognize you, so I was very rude just now. I hope the princess will not blame me."
Zhao Duan was "horrified" and stood up, as if he just knew the other party's identity at this moment.
"..." Xu Junling's smile froze, and he thought to himself, can you act more fake?
But she smiled sweetly: "You're welcome, Master Zhao."
Eunuch Hai glanced at the two of them, suddenly smiled, and stood up and said:
"Let's go out and digest our food, you guys can chat."
As he spoke, without waiting for anyone to react, he leaped lightly and flew out of the building like a wisp of green smoke, disappearing without a trace.
No...Old Haini...Zhao Duan's eyelids twitched.
Xu Junling's expression remained unchanged. He walked straight to Eunuch Hai's seat and sat opposite Zhao Duan.
The maid holding the oil-paper umbrella did not go far away, nor did she come closer. She stood at the stairs with her hands hanging down.
"It is really unexpected that Lord Zhao and Hai are enshrined here." Xu Junling said calmly.
"Haha, I didn't expect that the princess would come to a place like this to watch the fun." Zhao Duan laughed and pretended to be puzzled.
"The guy surnamed Lu downstairs..."
"I am the guard of the palace," Xu Junling said, sitting in a dignified and elegant manner.
"The Buddhist and Taoist grand event is approaching, and I decided to join in the fun. I just witnessed a conflict down below while on guard, and I'm worried that if a fight breaks out, you soldiers will suffer.
Especially if the news spreads, it will inevitably bring bad reputation to the court. Therefore, I acted rashly. My original intention was to quell the incident and I had no ill intentions. But I have made Lord Zhao laugh."
There was no concealment, but a straightforward fabrication, well... it seemed like he was talking about a small misunderstanding.
Zhao Duan's eyes flashed, and he laughed and said:
"I see. I was wondering when such a great master appeared in the capital. If I had known earlier that he was the princess's subordinate, this misunderstanding would not have occurred.
To be honest, it was those two traitors below who were despicable. Not only did they scorn the laws of the court, but they also almost caused a conflict between me and the princess. How despicable...
I'm afraid he calculated it right, knowing the princess is here, and deliberately provoking her. His intentions are worthy of death..."
Xu Junling could only force a smile and said carefully:
"People in the Jianghu are crude, but they don't necessarily have complicated thoughts. At this moment, it is better to have fewer disputes in the city."
Zhao Duan let out a long "Oh" with a smile in his eyes:
"Is that what the princess thinks?"
After a pause, before Xu Junling pursed his lips and was about to speak again, he waved his hand and said with a smile:
"I'm probably overthinking it. Since it's just the actions of a reckless man, and the princess has spoken, let's just let it go."
Lift it high and put it down gently...
In a word, he forced the other person to do him a favor.
He was so aggressive just now and arrested people repeatedly, just to force out the real person behind the scenes.
Now that the princess came up to the tower in person, she was giving him face, and Zhao Duan also needed to return the favor.
During the conversation, he was also observing this famous princess.
Consider the other party's intentions.
As far as he knew, Prince Huai'an was the more wavering of the "Eight Princes".
Unlike Prince Jing, who was suspected of having troops in private, Prince Huai'an was in the "Huai River Road", which was prosperous, commercially developed, and full of aristocratic families.
The palace has many businesses and shops under its control, and many of the ships traveling on the Grand Canal have the shadow of Prince Huai'an behind them.
Those ships were earning copper coins from King Huai'an's pocket every moment.
Therefore, this prince inevitably has the talent of a businessman and is accustomed to "betting on many parties."
When the empress first ascended the throne, Prince Huai'an was the first to send a congratulatory message.
"Among the eight princes, Prince Huai'an has the least desire for the throne and is also the one most worthy of winning over."
This is the conclusion Zhao Duan came to after consulting the information.
Because of his merchant nature, Prince Huai'an was in a dilemma. In order to protect his interests, he did not want to betray the alliance of the "Eight Kings" headed by Prince Jing.
He also didn't want to offend the Dead Empress for fear of being purged.
Even towards the Kuangfu Society, he maintained a neutral attitude.
They place bets on many parties and are not completely loyal to any one of them. However, because they have large sums of money, they can, to a certain extent, determine the weight of the balance of power among various parties.
"Heh, not long after the new policy was promulgated, the news of the court reopening was announced. Before the other princes made any overt reactions, Prince Huai'an was already impatient and sent his daughter over..."
"After arriving in Beijing, he was busy managing relationships with various parties. I'm afraid he was still doing intelligence gathering...
This talented princess is like the eyes and ears of the Prince of Huai'an. She comes to observe the changes in the court with her own eyes, judge the situation, and assess the chances of the empress securing her throne..."
"Well... If that's the case, then it's no surprise that they found me. They wanted to see me with their own eyes and understand my background..."
Zhao Duan laughed out loud.
Many thoughts flashed through my mind at the same time.
…
So easy to talk to?
Xu Junling glanced at him with a hint of surprise in her beautiful eyes. Meeting his half-smile, she lowered her eyes and said,
"Your Excellency is so magnanimous and tolerant, truly worthy of being a capable minister valued by the Imperial Sister."
The first half of the sentence is a thank you, and the second half is a compliment, but at the same time, it seems to contain a subtle sense of sarcasm.
Just as Zhao Duan guessed, Xu Junling came here today with the purpose of weighing the character of this popular favorite in the capital.
What kind of personality and behavior style does a person have?
As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without defeat. In the chess game of the world, if you want to make accurate moves, you must keep your eyes open.
But how to meet and make contact and test each other is another big problem.
It was only because of his understanding over the past few days that Xu Junling was certain that Zhao Duan and the "Li Party" were complete political enemies.
However, the "Huaishui Road" is the base camp of the "Li Party" officials.
Under Li Yanfu were a series of officials, most of whom were scholars from Jiangnan and had the support of many Jiangnan gentry.
The King of Huai'an has always maintained good relations with those noble families.
This led to Xu Junling being naturally close to the "Li Party" from the perspective of his family.
She came into contact with Zhao Duan, and her every move and attitude were evident.
They will all be seen by the "Li Party" officials, the empress, and even the other seven princes including Prince Jing.
Any signal released may trigger an unpredictable chain reaction.
Therefore, Xu Junling thought about it carefully before directing today's drama.
As expected, Lu Qingfeng would take action at a critical moment, intervening in the challenge and guiding the two sides to meet.
This can not only test Zhao Duan's character, cultivation, and style of doing things in one breath...but also avoid the displeasure of the "Li Party" and prevent misunderstandings from the seven kings.
It wouldn't really offend the Empress...
As a result, something went wrong.
Eunuch Hai's unexpected move completely disrupted her plan.
At this moment, the two of them exchanged pleasantries for a while, and all they said to each other were compliments and meaningless gossip.
After a while, Zhao Duan opened an upside-down cup, poured tea himself, handed it over, and said with emotion:
"Since the princess has arrived early, why don't you meet with me?"
Xu Junling smiled, took it with his green jade fingers, and said with a smile:
"Lord Zhao has a close relationship with the Imperial Sister. As her younger sister, I must avoid suspicion."
This is another test.
She took a sip of tea with her red lips and stared at Zhao Duan's expression, trying to judge what his relationship with the empress was like.
Zhao Duan did not respond directly, but said casually:
"My lady, do you think this tea is to your liking?"
Changing the subject... Xu Junling smiled faintly and said, "It's quite sweet."
Zhao Duan stared at her sweet face with great interest, and suddenly smiled frivolously and charmingly:
"I wonder which is sweeter, the princess's saliva or this coarse tea."
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(End of this chapter)
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