Chapter 272: Admission (ask for guaranteed monthly ticket at the beginning of the month)
Dalang is out of seclusion!
This news was like a whirlwind, sweeping through the entire Zhao family, and the female members who had been worried for many days were shocked and ran towards the family with joy.
Zhao Duan did not mention a word about what he gained from his retreat, only saying that he had made some progress.
Eugene Hua and her daughter didn't understand cultivation, nor did they delve into it. After a quick meal, the family got into a carriage and headed straight for the "battle of magic."
"Auntie, I've missed the excitement these past few days. Tell me about your current situation."
The wheels rolled over the wet street, rolling up fallen leaves.
Zhao Duan was riding with the mother and daughter. Feeling the damp and cold air blowing in through the gap in the curtain, he asked with a smile.
Although the mother and daughter did not see it with their own eyes, they heard a lot of news and immediately started chattering and sharing it with him.
It's nothing more than how grand the ceremony is, how many important figures there are, how many high-ranking officials and nobles are watching, as well as the various mysteries of the "battle of gods", and all kinds of messy gossip.
Zhao Duan listened with a smile, not minding the nagging.
A duel is not just about fighting, it is also a stage for the two factions to show their strength to the world.
Therefore, on the first day, the focus is on showing off muscles.
For example, the alchemist in Tianshi Mansion refines a furnace of elixir in public, the monk in Shenlong Temple chants scriptures and shows strange visions, and so on. Your performance is fancy.
The battle of magic started on the second day, but it was also a "round-based" one.
One party sets the questions and the other party solves them, which is obscure and difficult to understand.
Today is the third day, and it is the real fight and the biggest highlight.
Each side sends out a qualified warlock to fight, and the winner will be decided in one battle.
In other words, the first two days are equivalent to a "show match", and the last day is the real battle.
Zhao Duan also learned from his stepmother the information about the young monk "Tianhai" sent by Shenlong Temple.
"I heard that the little monk has a vertical eye between his eyebrows, which is quite scary."
Eugene Hua looked both scared and excited as she shared the information she had.
The young girl Zhao Pan hummed:
"Mom, you haven't seen it, how do you know it's scary?"
Eugene was a dignified mistress at home, but now she was arrogant and started arguing with her daughter:
"It's so strange, just think about it, won't you understand? If you don't believe me, wait and see for yourself."
Zhao Pan rolled his eyes, and glanced pitifully at his elder brother with his autumn-water eyes:
"As long as Big Brother is by my side, I'm not afraid."
Eugene Hua felt inexplicably jealous and retorted:
"Your elder brother is certainly very powerful, but he is only a mortal. That monk is a god, so there is a gap between them."
Zhao Pan said quietly:
"Mom, you weren't like this before."
“…”
Zhao Duan was given a headache. He raised his hand to open the curtains, letting the cold wind blow in. He squinted his eyes and saw the bustling crowd in the distance.
…
The place for the fight is on an open space outside the Tianshi Mansion.
When the Zhao family arrived by car, they could hear noisy sounds from afar, as well as a long sea of people and a crowd of heads ahead.
There are also many open oil-paper umbrellas in the crowd, almost connected into one piece.
There are thousands of people in this corner alone. You can imagine how terrifying the number of people gathered around the entire fighting venue is.
The three of them lifted the curtain of the carriage and were surprised to see several "giant paintings" hanging high in the sky at the end of the crowd.
In Zhao Duan’s eyes, it was a magical light curtain similar to a “big screen”.
At this moment, all the light screens showed an empty and deserted arena.
It seems that the battle has not yet begun.
And it’s broadcasted... Zhao Duan’s mouth twitched slightly.
"Wow... so many old people," the old steward driving the car was horrified and said with a headache, "We can't get in."
Zhao Duan casually pointed to a passage in the distance that was separated by the Imperial Guards:
"Leave someone to watch the car, we'll go in from there."
Wait until Zhao Duan leads his family to the "VIP channel".
Before he could show his badge, the guard's eyes lit up, and he smiled and gestured "please":
"General Zhao, this way!"
"Do you recognize me?" Zhao Duan looked at the strange soldier in surprise.
The latter said respectfully:
"I have the honor of seeing the general's true appearance."
So... Zhao Duan patted the young soldier's shoulder without any psychological burden, and said inexplicably:
"Good job, young comrade. Keep up the good work."
Then he took a step forward and walked along the passage where the spears intersected.
Doubt slowly emerged on the excited face of the young soldier.
I didn't quite understand what he said, but then I glanced at his shoulder and thought:
I have to frame this dress when I get home, and tell everyone I meet that it was taken by "Lord Zhao".
…
"Da Lang is really amazing. He came in without even needing a badge."
In order to watch the fun, the stepmother hurriedly dressed up as a lady and smiled like a flower.
At home, she heard again and again that her stepson had a good status and was doing well in officialdom.
But what you hear is not as true as what you see. No matter how strong the rumor is, it is not as real as this little scene just now.
Zhao Pan also looked at him with admiration.
"Isn't there a special area in front for the wives of high-ranking officials? I'll find someone to take you there later."
Zhao Duan said with a smile.
Given his current status, since he is present, he must sit at the same table with the powerful officials of the court.
As they were talking, they arrived at the end of the passage and suddenly saw the light.
Looking up, there is a huge circular arena in the center.
Several temporary stands were built around the arena. The three most prominent ones belonged to Buddhism, Taoism, and the Dayu court respectively.
On the court side, the royal nobles, civil officials and military generals were all in order.
"Master Zhao? Are you here?"
As soon as he entered, the officials nearby immediately recognized him. They were surprised at first, and then they flattered him.
Zhao Duan nodded slightly and ordered someone to take Eugene Hua and her daughter to the seat for the ladies.
He turned around and walked towards the table of the powerful official.
…
The stands for the court officials of Dayu were made up of tables and chairs.
There were also delicious fruits and delicacies on the table, and there were special people to serve.
A group of distinguished figures gathered together and chatted with each other.
Zhao Duan glanced around and spotted a group of familiar faces:
Among the crowd of civil officials, Yuan Li, the Imperial Censor of the Censorate, stood out in a blue robe. A faint smile graced his handsome and weathered face, and he was talking happily with the Minister of Rites beside him.
On the side of the generals, the "Great Yu Divine General" Xue Shence, who was serious, sat upright and had a handsome appearance, and did not move in any direction. No strangers were allowed to enter.
Beside him were several high-ranking military officials, including Governor Ma Yan.
Among the civil and military officials, the most honorable position belonged to Mo Zhaorong, who came on behalf of the empress. Her official robe was ironed and neat, and the plum blossom makeup on her eyebrows was more exquisite than before.
Beside Mo Chou, there were two other familiar faces. One of them was the daughter of Prince Huai'an, whom she had met once before, and a prominent figure in the capital recently, Princess Xu Junling.
The other one was Eunuch Hai, the first minister of the palace, who was dressed in a dragon robe and had accompanied three generations of emperors.
At this moment, as Zhao Duan approached, a number of high-ranking officials in the stands also noticed him one after another and showed surprised expressions.
Some even stood up to show respect:
"Lord Zhao?"
"Envoy, it's been a long time since we last met."
"Zhao Chenshi? Haha, you're finally here. I thought you were going to miss this excitement."
The high-ranking officials in the capital who were originally chatting in groups of two or three turned their eyes to Mr. Zhao and started chatting with him with a smile.
In the distance, the people who saw this scene were greatly surprised and talked about it:
"Who is this important person coming? He is so grand and impressive."
"It's too far away to see clearly. Maybe it's some powerful young man."
"Pah, who among those people in the stands isn't a powerful figure? How could they be so respectful to a young master?"
…
Inside the stands.
The sweet-looking and smooth-skinned little princess also glanced sideways, surprised at the weight of this guy in the officialdom of the capital.
"I heard that Lord Zhao is not popular, but after meeting him today, I know that the rumors are not entirely true." Xu Junling sighed softly.
Big Ice Ball Mochou turned his head and looked at her, his eyes full of an expression of "Are you serious?"
It was obvious that those who had a bad relationship with him were all brought down by him, and the rest did not dare to provoke him openly.
She always felt that His Majesty's cousin looked like a sweet southern girl, but was actually full of ulterior motives.
The words he said were also sarcastic. After thinking for a while, he said meaningfully:
"In my opinion, the princess and Mr. Zhao also have similarities."
"Oh? Is it beauty?" Xu Junling looked innocent.
No... they are not good people at all... Mo Chou secretly complained.
beside.
Zhao Duan laughed heartily and exchanged greetings with a group of ministers for a moment. He casually said, "I have been in seclusion in recent days and not taking care of external affairs," and explained why he had not appeared in public for several days.
Then he bowed to Ma Yan:
"Master Du, I didn't have time to report to you in person about what happened before..."
What he meant was to dispatch troops to capture Chai Keqiao.
Ma Yan sat upright in the stands and waved his hand, indicating that the matter was over. His slightly dim eyes stared at him:
"You're out so soon?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "It's not good to miss such a big event."
Ma Yan looked at him again, nodded, and said nothing.
Zhao Duan casually asked, "Your Majesty is not coming today?"
Ma Yan said calmly:
"Just because your majesty is not here doesn't mean he's not watching over here. Even the slightest movement here cannot be hidden from your majesty's eyes."
Implications:
Although the Empress was not present, she was watching the fight from a distance.
Zhang Tianshi and Abbot Xuanyin must be the same.
He added, "As for Grand Tutor Dong, Prime Minister Li, and the others, they are either too old to bear the strain, or they are too busy with official duties, so they only sent people here to make up the numbers."
Zhao Duan nodded. He just saw that behind the stands were the "Little Cabinet Minister" Li Yinglong representing Li Yanfu, and the grandson of the Grand Tutor and old acquaintance Dong Da.
The former had a blank expression on his face and pretended not to see him, while the latter bowed to him but did not come closer.
"You should sit in the middle so you can see more clearly." Ma Yan suddenly said.
Zhao Duan nodded, walked through the seats and arrived at the center of the stands.
He first smiled at Mochou, who turned away with a stern face and ignored him.
"Princess, we meet again." Zhao Duan looked at Xu Junling again.
Xu Junling smiled back, as if she was not the one who was being teased a few days ago.
Tsk tsk... You're thicker-skinned than I thought. I'll let you down when I have time... Zhao Duan muttered in his heart.
Finally, he walked to the side of the old eunuch in the dragon robe, picked up a chair and sat down.
——Strictly speaking, with his fourth-rank official position, he is not worthy of being here.
But no one said anything, so we just took it as a tacit agreement.
"Father-in-law, I'm here." Zhao Duan said softly while sitting in the chair.
The old eunuch in the python robe showed no obvious expression when he came over. His eyes were also cast towards the arena in front of him, without looking at him, but he said lightly:
"You came here on time?"
Zhao Duan smiled, looked towards the arena in front of him, and said:
"I crossed the threshold the night before last, but it took another day to solidify and settle."
The old eunuch smiled slowly and uttered only two words:
"good."
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(End of this chapter)
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