Chapter 324: The Great Yu State Master Returns, Zhao Duan Urgently Summoned to the Palace (Two in One)
Early that morning, the hottest topic in the officialdom of Beijing in recent times, namely the arrest and conviction of the Governor Gao Lian in Beijing due to corruption in Taicang Prefecture, finally came to an end.
When the news that Wang Chusheng and Gao Lian both died suddenly in prison last night came out, as expected, it caused an uproar throughout the capital.
"Two people died suddenly at the same time? Do you think I believe it?"
"How could this happen? How could people die in prison at the same time? I can't understand it!"
"I heard that Gao Lian left a confession before his death. Maybe he committed suicide!"
For the vast majority of people, they don’t know the inside story and are simply extremely surprised.
And soon after, more "rumors" began to circulate.
Among them, the most eye-catching one is the one where Miss Mo leads the imperial guards out of the palace and into the Ministry of Justice prison late at night.
Everyone who heard it was shocked, and then kept it a secret and fell silent.
Combined with the struggles and games in the court, many people speculated that the "Li Party" silenced the witnesses and the empress killed people in return.
Just when people were getting anxious and thinking that another round of bloody storm was about to begin, the story that happened at the morning court today caught everyone off guard.
It is said that Li Yanfu spoke in court, claiming that Gao Lian had confessed his guilt in prison and was sentenced to death, and the charges against him were confirmed. Li Yinglong, as the Minister of Works, was responsible for negligence, and requested that he be dismissed and punished.
Xu Zhenguan readily agreed.
The young cabinet minister was tragically sacrificed and became the victim to quell the dispute.
After Li Yanfu came forward, the "Li Party" officials who had been cheering for Gao Lian also stopped, after all, they were all dead.
Things can only come to an abrupt and unsatisfactory end in this way.
To the outside world, it was only said that one died suddenly and the other committed suicide out of fear of punishment. As for how to appease the Jiangnan gentry and how to accept this matter, it was no longer a topic that Zhao Duan cared about.
"Your Majesty is truly amazing." Qian Kerou said with reverence in the Pear Blossom Hall.
The rest of the Jinyi nodded in agreement: Yes, yes.
Everyone thought that it was Zhenbao who killed people and forced Li Yanfu to admit defeat... Zhao Duan slumped in the "office chair", holding his chin and listening to his subordinates chattering.
No one knows that the real murderer of Gao Lian is Lord Zhao who is beside him.
However, Zhao Duan would not expose it himself. Over the next two days, the aftermath of this incident in the capital gradually spread and calmed down.
The storm has come to a temporary end.
Zhao Duan suddenly had some free time, and he pondered every day to come up with the plot of a cultivation novel so that he could use it to please Pei Niannu in his "dream".
Even after being promoted to the Divine Chapter, his spiritual power skyrocketed, and many memories of his past life became exceptionally clear, and he recalled a lot of content.
But it is still difficult to reproduce it completely. Fortunately, although Pei Niannu loves listening to books, his taste is not picky.
Zhao Duan used his memories as a blueprint, and wrote the forgotten plots himself, which was enough to satisfy this senior's appetite. However, the fixed daily updates made Zhao Duan feel the hardship of being a coder...
As for the relationship between the two, there has been no substantial breakthrough.
Ever since that day when he bestowed upon him the magic of "Spirit Flame", Senior Pei had regained his aloof attitude. Whenever Senior Pei talked too much, he would lift his skull to the ground. Only storytellers would avoid being killed.
Zhao Duan gradually figured it out:
Pei Niannu's temper is that if she likes what she hears, she will give him some benefits.
However, he did not seek more and continued to learn some magic. Instead, he decided to use the rare opportunity of "guidance and learning" to fight with Pei Niannu to improve his martial arts.
——After deliberately lowering her strength, the golden-armored sorceress finally stopped killing him instantly.
Soon, no one mentioned Gao Lian's case anymore. In addition to making up stories and practicing daily, Zhao Duan made rapid progress in the Divine Chapter Realm.
It is to arrange Lihuatang to investigate the rebel party of Kuangfu Society and find a breakthrough.
He did not forget that he had taken on the task of capturing Zhuang Xiaocheng. Seeing that it was already late autumn, he decided to make an effort in this regard.
"How can the imperial court passively accept the traitor's repeated provocations? We should take the initiative!"
Zhao Duan said this during a meeting in the hall.
I was wondering whether I could completely dismantle the Kuangfu Society's intelligence network in the capital and complete this year's KPI ahead of schedule.
…
…
“Whoosh—”
Early in the morning, on the Zhao Mansion's martial arts training ground, Zhao Duan swung a bamboo stick in his hand, splitting the air and making a sharp whistling sound.
With a puff, the ink-black bamboo stick flew out of his hand, like a sharp short spear thrown by a general on the battlefield, and pierced the target standing at the foot of the wall through and through.
"good!"
Nearby, several maids cheered and rushed forward with basins of water and towels to wipe the sweat off Zhao Duan, who had gotten up early to practice martial arts, showing their full emotional value and service.
This was what he learned from the grand ceremony of Zhenbao's cultivation in the imperial palace.
Well...it's not that he is greedy for enjoyment, but as the future emperor, he should adapt to the life in the palace in advance!
Zhao Duan opened his arms and closed his eyes, letting the morning light from the east shine on his naked upper body.
When he practiced martial arts, he wore only long pants and cloth shoes. The smooth and strong muscles on his upper body were covered with a layer of oily sheen due to the sweat, making him shine brightly.
This made the maids in the Zhao Mansion very envious. They would boldly pinch it while wiping it, thinking that it was no wonder that His Majesty was interested in their own young master. Who wouldn't be jealous?
Every time she saw this scene, the head maid Miantao would glare and turn around to scold these newly summoned servants to abide by the rules.
The phrase that Mianbo often says is:
"You've come at a good time. If you had come here a year ago and dared to be so presumptuous, the young master would have made things very difficult for you."
It can only be said that Zhao Duan’s original bad image at home has now been completely reversed.
"Okay, go down." Zhao Duan put on his coat, sent the servants away, and walked to the dining hall.
I saw my stepmother and sister waiting here, and Eugene Hua was giving instructions to the servants.
Seeing him coming, her eyes turned into a smile, and she greeted him attentively. She glanced at the thin coat her stepson was casually wearing, reached out to tighten the open collar for him, and said:
"It's so cold out, you should wear more clothes when practicing martial arts. Sweating makes you more susceptible to illness."
Perhaps due to his progress in cultivation, Zhao Duan has grown a little taller recently. He looks fashionable in a robe but it is not obvious. He still has the elegant and feminine demeanor of a young man.
But even with just a thin coat on, he actually looks a bit "burly".
This is especially evident when compared to the woman in front of him who was straightening his clothes.
Zhao Pan, sitting at the table with her waist straight, tore a persimmon with her ten fingers and said with a pout:
"Mom, my brother is no longer afraid of the cold with his current cultivation level."
Well, this is what Zhao Duan said to her last night. Now that the girl recounted it, she felt inexplicably good, as if she was sharing a little secret that her mother didn't know.
Zhao Duan smiled and took his seat. Zhao Pan had just torn off the last persimmon peel and handed it to him with his delicate hands, smiling.
"Brother, eat persimmons. They were just picked from the tree yesterday."
I missed the Mid-Autumn Festival when I went on a business trip to Taicang Prefecture. Now the leaves in the capital are falling, and the persimmon trees are full of bright red persimmons.
Like lanterns.
Zhao Duan took the persimmon, thanked him, took a bite, and tasted the sweet juice mixed with a hint of bitterness. He smiled and said:
"It's a good sign. It looks like something good is going to happen today."
…
After dinner, Zhao Duan walked out of the house and found the coachman Xiao Wang waiting outside.
On the way to the yamen, the autumn wind blew through the streets, dead leaves swirled on the ground, and the branches of the trees along the way also showed signs of withering.
For some unknown reason, he felt an inexplicable pressure on his heart.
This strange premonition reached its peak after arriving at the yamen.
"What are you all doing here? Is it time to roll in?"
When Zhao Duan entered the Lihua Hall, he saw a group of men in brocade clothes gathered at the entrance, discussing something. The atmosphere was a bit weird.
"Sir? You're here." The secretary Qian Kerou turned around. Her round face no longer had the usual smile, but instead had a hint of autumn coolness and a complicated look in her eyes.
"You should go to the Governor's Hall. The Governor has ordered that all the police officers from the various branches come there."
Zhao Duan was stunned and wanted to ask what happened, but the words rolled back into his throat when they reached his lips. He nodded and said, "Okay."
He turned around and went to the Governor's Hall. The Jinyi officers he met along the way all looked unhappy. They gathered in groups of two or three and whispered to each other, creating a depressing atmosphere in the entire yamen.
When Zhao Duan stepped into the meeting room of the Governor's Hall, he saw that there were already many people sitting in the hall, including familiar faces such as Ma Yan, Haitang, and Zhang Han.
"Governor, are you looking for me?" Zhao Duan asked.
Ma Yan's thin face had a serious expression. He gestured for him to sit down and said, "Do you understand?"
What do you know... Why have they all become riddlers... Zhao Duan shook his head.
Ma Yan pointed to a piece of paper in the middle of the table that looked like a visiting card or an invitation and said:
"This thing appeared on the gate of the yamen this morning."
Then, Haitang beside him added seriously:
"It's not just our Imperial Court. The same thing has appeared outside several important offices, including the Six Ministries, the Metropolitan Censorate, and so on. The contents inside are exactly the same."
Zhao Duan reached out, picked up the visiting card, and unfolded it with both hands. On the red card, there were four big characters written in black calligraphy:
"I'm back."
Apart from this, there is only the signature, a square seal with a black eye in the center and decorated with patterns around it.
Zhao Duan was stunned. He felt that the seal looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where it was. He put the note aside and asked in confusion, "What is this?"
"You don't know?" The dashing female supervisor with a high ponytail and a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye was stunned for a moment, then slapped her forehead and said in annoyance:
"Now I remember, you were just a nobody in the Imperial Guards before, so it's not surprising that you don't recognize the seal, but if I mention the owner of the seal, you will definitely know."
Across from him, the expressionless Zhang Han said calmly, "National Master. It's the dead demonic Taoist national master who has returned."
Zhao Duan was stunned, confused at first, and then the memories of the original owner came back to him.
National Master!
Of course he knew this name, and it was very well-known!
That was a figure from the reign of the old emperor. Zhao Duan was just a small soldier at that time. Although he worked in the palace, due to his status, he was not qualified to get in front of the nobles at all.
But we also know that a few years before the old emperor's death, he had a premonition that his life was coming to an end, so he was keen on ways to prolong his life.
He ate a lot of elixirs from the Tianshi Mansion and herbs from the Shenlong Temple.
But a person's life span is limited and it is difficult to force him to stay. The old emperor also suspected that the Tianshi Mansion and Shenlong Temple were just perfunctory and unwilling to help because they wanted to check the imperial power.
So he sent people to try to find capable alchemists in the world.
It was at that time that the Imperial Master entered the palace. He called himself an unknown sorcerer, and the deity he cultivated was a god from outside the territory of Dayu. Although he could not change fate, he could prolong people's life.
The old emperor was already ill at that time and tried all kinds of treatments, but all the sorcerers he had consulted before were helpless.
After the unknown sorcerer took action, the old emperor was rejuvenated in just one night.
The old emperor was overjoyed and immediately gave him a generous reward. He also begged him to stay in the capital and accompany him. For this, he even gave him the title of "Master of the Great Yu".
As soon as this title came out, the little-known national teacher was immediately pushed to the forefront.
Zhang Yanyi naturally didn't care about these things and was too lazy to pay attention to them at all, but some people in the Tianshi Mansion were dissatisfied. They thought that it was really arrogant for a foreign demon to dare to call himself the national master.
I don't even think that anyone can reverse their lifespan. It must be some evil method used by some demon.
But no matter how he investigated, he could not find anything wrong with the old emperor.
When Bian Ji of Shenlong Temple saw this, he also contacted him. After a conversation, Bian Ji said frankly that the national teacher was extraordinary and indeed had unique qualities.
For a time, the reputation of the National Master of Dayu soared, and he became a guest of honor among celebrities in the capital, and countless people were proud to invite the National Master as their guest.
Zhao Duan vaguely remembered that at that time, the second prince Xu Jianwen was very close to the imperial teacher and invited him to be his guest many times... Well, the second prince always liked to make friends with talented people, so it was not surprising that he cultivated the team of Kuangfu Society.
According to rumors, when the Xuanmen coup took place and the second prince broke into the palace, Master Dayu was in the deceased emperor's bedroom - he was urgently summoned to prolong the life of the late emperor.
But it is worth mentioning that although the national teacher has extraordinary means, he is notoriously not good at fighting.
So, during the Xuanmen coup, he died in the chaos... his body was shot into a hedgehog by arrows, and his head was cut off.
After the empress suppressed the rebellion, the public list of rebels included the Imperial Master of Dayu, which meant that he was also a member of the Second Prince's army at that time.
However, the imperial teacher who was favored and rewarded by the late emperor turned out to be a rebel... This was somewhat of a slap in the face to the late emperor.
In addition, the person had already died in the coup, so no one mentioned this name soon after.
As a result, three years later, the Great Yu State Master had almost disappeared from people's memory, and was only regarded as a dead "historical figure".
But today.
The dead National Master Dayu is back?
"Du Gong, is what Zhang Han said true? How is that possible?"
Zhao Duan was shocked. He was truly surprised and understood why the atmosphere in the government office had been so strange on the way here. "Just based on a single sentence and a seal?"
He now remembered that this seal pattern was the personal seal of Master Dayu.
"If you give me a carrot, I can forge this thing." Zhao Duan spread his hands, thinking it was too ridiculous.
However, Ma Yan's expression remained serious. He shook his head and said:
"It can't be forged. The demon's seal is extremely unique and requires a special verification method. After I got it, I compared it with some official documents with seals left by the demon in the government storehouse. It was indeed made by the same person. This involves the level of magic, including the handwriting is also the same.
Of course, putting the seal aside, it might indeed be forged, but the point is, we suspected from the beginning that this demon was not completely dead! The demon who died in the palace on the day of the Xuanmen coup was most likely not his real body!
Hot news!
Zhao Duan sat up straight. This information was beyond the reach of an unknown person like him.
He murmured:
"I remember, Imperial Master... Bah, after this demon Taoist died, there was indeed a rumor in the capital that he had escaped and it wasn't him who died in the palace. There were also rumors that the late emperor's death was the work of this demon Taoist..."
But these stories were just rumors circulating among the people, and they were just one of many. I always treated them as rumors."
Ma Yan shook his head and said:
"It's true that most of the rumors are fabricated. The people love to discuss palace affairs, and they're especially fond of novelty, so it's not surprising. But it's also true that this evil Taoist may not be completely extinct... This was your majesty's original judgment.
However, in the past two or three years, there has been no trace of this demon, including in the Kuangfu Society. We then thought that he was indeed dead, but..."
Speaking of this, as an eyewitness to the Xuanmen coup and a master who fought bloody battles at that time, Ma Yan stared at the visiting card on the table without saying a word.
But Zhao Duan was in his heart and had already completed the next round for him: "But he came back."
Yes.
A ghost who was supposed to have died in the palace three years ago has returned again.
Was he in disguise? Or was he truly not dead? Instead, he escaped the capital and went into hiding?
Nobody knows.
But Zhao Duan knew very well that the return of a rebel who had once stirred up trouble in the capital and was in cahoots with the second prince Xu Jianwen was definitely not good news.
Moreover, he announced it so openly, obviously trying to tell everyone that he had returned.
"Does Your Majesty know?" Zhao Duan's heart sank and he asked a meaningless question.
At the same time, I felt bitter and complained to myself, thinking that I was such a bad mouth. Fortunately, it happened...
"After I got the letter, I immediately went to the palace. On the way, I learned that other government offices had also received it and submitted it to the palace, so I returned first."
Ma Yan said calmly.
As a government office specifically responsible for dealing with rebels, the return of the imperial teacher clearly falls within the scope of the imperial government's business.
This led to this early morning meeting.
Zhao Duan also understood that their next goal was to wait for the empress's next instructions. At the same time, Ma Yan had already sent people out in advance to search for the whereabouts of the imperial teacher.
But it's obvious that this is doomed to be futile.
"Master Ma, His Majesty has ordered!" At this moment, a young eunuch hurried in from outside the hall and said, "His Majesty has summoned you to the palace for a meeting. Bring Lord Zhao with you."
It seems that things are getting serious... Zhao Duan stood up, looked at the eunuch, and said, "Your Majesty only summoned us?"
"Oh, Lord Zhao is here?" The eunuch bowed before saying:
"If anyone else were to ask, I wouldn't dare to tell them, but since Lord Zhao has spoken, I won't hide anything. His Majesty has summoned many of the emperor's party members to the palace and has also sent people to the Heavenly Master's Mansion. You two must not delay. This is urgent, so leave immediately!"
Zhao Duan and Ma Yan looked at each other, and their hearts sank at the same time.
(End of this chapter)
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