Chapter 390: Offense as Defense
This winter, the Western Regions delegation entered the city under the attention of the public.
For the people in Beijing, this is clearly a major event worthy of attention in the cold winter. Winter entertainment activities are already scarce, and for people of this era, outsiders with exotic customs from thousands of miles away are always worthy of attention.
What's more, there is a princess returning to her parents' home?
…
early morning.
Zhao family.
“Crash!”
Zhao Duan stood by the sink in the room, scooped up a handful of warm water and poured it on his face, washing it reluctantly.
"Getting up early in the winter is simply inhumane!"
Complaining in his mind, he looked at his wet face in the mirror and the remaining sleepiness dissipated.
Zhao Duan wiped his hair hastily and put on his coat. Then he looked at the splashes of water on the ground that he accidentally spilled while washing his face. He raised his hand and a small seal was floating in his palm.
Then, the water stains on the ground dried up little by little, evaporated into water vapor, and condensed into water droplets again and mixed into the copper basin for washing face.
"I'm becoming more and more proficient in my work!"
Zhao Duan stroked the black tortoise seal, looking somewhat excited.
During this period, he secretly took out the Black Turtle Seal to practice whenever he had time, constantly improving his ability to control this amulet.
Just like a sword, you can't unleash its full power just by picking it up. Talismans also need to be fine-tuned and mastered, not to mention an ancient magical tool of the level of the Black Turtle Seal.
"I can already control water to a basic level, even..."
Zhao Duan pushed open the door, and the cold wind from outside rushed in. The charcoal brazier on the bedroom floor suddenly became bright, and the temperature in the barely warm house dropped rapidly.
Zhao Duan looked outside and saw that the garden of the house was covered in silver and scattered with snow, not to mention the ice and snow accumulated on the roof and parapets.
The sky finally cleared up today, and the sun shone through the clouds, shining the whole yard with a dazzling white color.
"Snow is also condensed from water. Since the Black Turtle Seal is a creation of the 'Water God', it can also control snow to a certain extent... but it is obviously much more difficult than controlling water. Why?
Is it related to the state of water, or is it because in this world, people perceive water and snow differently? So, the Water God doesn't fully master the magic related to snow?
Zhao Duan fell into deep thought.
A moment later.
He shook his head, put away the Black Turtle Seal, and laughed at himself:
"Eat your meal one bite at a time, don't be too greedy."
…
As Zhao Duan walked towards the dining room, the servants in the mansion were sweeping the snow in their cotton coats and saluted him one after another.
In the dining room.
The stepmother was already waiting, but Zhao Pancai yawned and walked in reluctantly.
The girl was wrapped in cotton clothes and had not dressed up, expressing her protest against the bad practice of getting up early to eat in winter.
"Woof!"
The Pekingese dog that Zhao Pan raised also shivered and ran into the room from the girl's feet. Then Eugene Hua waved a broom and chased it out.
"How dirty is the snow?"
The Pekingese dog curled up into a ball in grievance, wagging its tail and begging for mercy.
"Next time, just wipe its feet before you come in."
Zhao Duan smiled, sat down at the dinner table and casually suggested.
Stepmother Eugene sighed softly and said with some emotion:
"I've heard before that a poor person in winter is worse than a rich family's dog. Now I know it's not an exaggeration at all."
Although Eugene Hua was born into a prominent family in Xipingdao when she was young, her good days did not last long, and she was still an ordinary woman at heart.
Even though the Zhao family had undergone tremendous changes in this year and had become one of the new elites in Beijing, the family was still far from developing the mentality of aristocrats and wealthy people.
Zhao Duan sat in a chair, picked up a bowl of hot soup and took a sip without commenting too much.
No matter what era it is, this kind of thing always exists objectively.
"Hasn't our family just received some money? Ask Uncle Zhao to buy some charcoal and rice. If anyone in the city is in need, please provide some assistance."
Zhao Duan said.
Half of the dividends from the saltpeter formula went into his pocket, and the other half was given to Jin Jian, who represented the Tianshi Mansion to negotiate business with him.
This left him with some extra money to donate. In fact, the rich families in the city had the custom of donating alms every winter.
Not to mention the "Charity Hall" in Dongcheng that Zhao Duan has been supporting, this winter not only has there been a lot of snow, but it is also colder than in previous years.
The prices in the city have risen a lot recently, which has no impact on the Zhao family, but it is really hard for those poor people.
"Yes, I've asked someone to prepare it." Eugene Hua said softly, looking at her stepson with more emotion.
Dalang is really different now.
While eating breakfast, Zhao Duan casually flipped through the imperial court newspaper that was already on the table.
——The Dayu Dynasty already had a newspaper-like official gazette, which was usually read by officials and major government offices.
It is a bit similar to those newspapers and magazines that government agencies at all levels were required to subscribe to in the previous life.
Zhao Duan glanced over, raised his eyebrows, and said:
"Has that holy monk from the Western Regions gone to the Shenlong Temple?"
It has been several days since the Western Regions delegation arrived in Beijing.
Zhao Duan has been recuperating at home, so he has rarely appeared in public recently. The empress has consciously reduced his presence as a form of protection.
Zhao Duan was also happy to have some free time. He went to the government office less frequently and did not pay as much attention to the news in the city.
The court newspaper recorded that yesterday the leader of the Western Regions delegation, the Red Sect master "Holy Monk", formally paid a visit to the abbot Xuanyin of Shenlong Temple.
The description in the official report was brief, but it contained a huge amount of information. It mentioned that the "holy monk" issued a challenge to the Shenlong Temple to debate Buddhist scriptures and Buddhism. The Shenlong Temple agreed. The time has not been determined yet, but it will be in the near future.
"Those monks are no good. It would be best if they could just fight each other and make a huge fool of themselves!"
Zhao Pan ate the meat bun and commented seriously.
Zhao Duan joked:
"You haven't had much contact with them, how do you know they are not good things?"
Zhao Pan said as a matter of course:
"How could someone who wants to harm my brother be a good person?"
Zhao Duan’s family members were not aware of the details of the assassination attempt, but they knew that it was done by Master Dajing.
The mother and daughter had very clear attitudes. Eugene Hua burned all the Buddhist items in the house that day.
Still not satisfied, he boldly ran to the Shenlong Temple and asked for the incense money he had donated when he and the noble ladies of the capital went to burn incense together...
Zhao Duan was amazed when he learned about it.
However, his attitude is much better.
Especially when Nagarjuna Bodhisattva returned, Abbot Xuanyin gave him a severe punishment. After explaining it to the empress, he did not vent his anger on others, but just silently wrote down "Great Master" in his small notebook.
…
…
After breakfast, Zhao Duan wore only an ordinary cotton robe and walked to a nearby teahouse.
After listening to the story for a while, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
Several people went upstairs.
Three of the four golden flowers of Lihua Hall came today, and only Zheng Laojiu stayed behind.
Hou Renmeng, Chen Juan and Qian Kerou, three capable subordinates, were not wearing brocade uniforms, nor did they carry weapons. Instead, they were all dressed as servants.
Lao Hou and Lao Shen dressed up as servants and guards, while confidential secretary Qian Kerou dressed up as a maid.
Moreover, their faces have been modified to some extent, which is a superficial disguise. If you are not familiar with them, you may not be able to recognize them at first glance.
"grown ups--"
After the three of them went upstairs, their eyes lit up and they all bowed.
Zhao Duan sat at the table, cracking melon seeds. He spat out the shells and glanced at them.
"What should I call you today?"
Qian Kerou smiled on her rosy round face and said sweetly, "Sir."
Zhao Duan smiled with satisfaction, pointed to the empty chairs, asked a few people to sit down, and then asked:
"What are you investigating?"
Secretary Qian Kerou quickly took out a document and handed it over:
"Sir, this is Princess Wenzhu's movements and whereabouts in the city over the past few days. According to the information we've gathered, she's going to East City to give alms to the people today."
Zhao Duan shook off the melon seed shells in his hand and picked up the document to look through it.
Princess Wenzhu!
Another "aunt" of Zhenbao, a woman of the same generation as Princess Yunyang, the deceased old emperor, Prince Jing and others.
To be precise, she should be called "the Grand Princess", but both in the court and among the people, people are accustomed to referring to her as "Princess Wenzhu".
This princess was quite legendary. It was said that because her biological mother had offended the emperor at that time, she was banished to the cold palace, which caused Princess Wenzhu's status in the palace to plummet and she became extremely unpopular.
Later, the ruler of the Western Regions asked for marriage. The emperor at that time probably thought that out of sight, out of mind, so he simply married off this princess with a very low sense of presence and who was often neglected, as a bargaining chip for the marriage.
It is said that when Princess Wenzhu got married, apart from the items required according to etiquette, the only thing that belonged to her was a box of various miscellaneous books on farming, craftsmanship, divination, medicine, etc.
As a result, before the people entered the Western Regions, an armed seizure of power broke out in a small country in the Western Regions. The prince who was originally to be married was seriously injured by a scimitar and became disabled.
The moment Princess Wenzhu set foot on the land of the Western Regions, her identity became quite embarrassing. She could neither return to Dayu nor settle down as planned.
At this time, Princess Wenzhu showed extraordinary resilience.
She assisted her seriously injured "husband" and led his subordinates to stabilize the situation. Afterwards, Princess Wenzhu used her status as a royal descendant to obtain help from the Dharma King of the Western Regions' ancestral Buddhist temple and the official troops of the Dayu Dynasty guarding the border.
She assisted her nominal husband to gain a foothold and continued to strengthen the strength of her tribe through the many books she carried with her.
It took several years to gradually regain the territories lost after the seizure of power. His reputation in the Western Regions grew stronger as he repeatedly rescued the people and demonstrated a "people-friendly" image.
Later, even after her nominal sickly husband died, Princess Wenzhu managed to maintain her original status.
“That’s quite impressive.”
After Zhao Duan learned about his experience, his first reaction was to think that this was a powerful figure similar to Zhen Bao.
They all kept a low profile in the early stages and were not liked, but then showed their outstanding talents at critical moments.
Wenzhu and Zhenbao's experiences have some strange similarities. In fact, although the aunt and niece do not spend much time together, they do have a sense of mutual understanding.
However, after careful investigation, Zhao Duan overturned this view.
Princess Wenzhu’s character is actually closer to a saint or virgin with some kind of “religious significance”.
Although he is talented, he lacks the toughness and decisiveness of Zhenbao, and is more compassionate and empathetic.
The temperament is also softer.
The reason why it has such a great reputation in the Western Regions is mainly due to its "people-friendly" image and a certain political compromise reached between Buddhism and Dayu.
Moreover, the so-called "Western Region Kingdom" is strictly speaking a collection of tribes in the Western Region. The tribe where Princess Wenzhu belongs is only the most powerful one among many tribes.
The political situation is far less complicated than that of Dayu, and is more rough and primitive.
…
"Sir," Qian Kerou, with a round and rosy face, said in the teahouse:
"The princess last returned during the reign of the late emperor. This time, she's in Beijing nominally on behalf of the Western Regions to discuss next year's trade, but I'm afraid her true purpose is to cultivate a relationship with His Majesty.
"They've been asking about you repeatedly these past few days. If you weren't recuperating at home, you would have closed the door to visitors long ago. I'm afraid this group of people still want to meet you."
Zhao Duan flicked the paper with his fingers, threw the information on the table, and said with a smile:
"Here comes with bad intentions."
Unlike the intelligence gathered by Lihuatang, Zhao Duan has been staying indoors most of the time these days, refusing visitors and telling others that he is seriously injured and recuperating.
But in fact, he also learned about the situation in the palace through the White Horse Prison.
The old eunuch Sun Lianying told him that Princess Wenzhu seemed to have a deep prejudice against him and believed that the empress had been bewitched by him, a treacherous minister.
It was like an aunt who had married far away and came back to her parents' home to check on her niece and get rid of the yellow-haired boyfriend around her...
"Haha, Her Royal Highness the Princess has been in the Western Regions for a long time. If she doesn't understand the situation in Yu State and misunderstands me, that's fine. But I'm afraid she has ulterior motives..."
Zhao Duan rubbed his chin and said:
"Instead of just sitting there and waiting for her to come to you, it's better to take the initiative and find out more about her."
Hou Renmeng scratched his hair with his big hands, his face showing a fierce look:
"Sir, do you want us to secretly kidnap the person? And then..."
Chen Juan glared at him and said speechlessly:
"Vulgar. Can you think of anything else besides fighting and killing? Princess Wenzhu is not Princess Yunyang. She represents the Western Regions."
Zhao Duan smiled, took out the disguise mask, pressed it on his face, and slowly transformed into a new appearance:
"Xiao Shen is right. The Jianghu isn't about fighting and killing. We're just here to find out. If he has any misunderstandings about me, it would be best if we could resolve them in a gentle manner."
The second half of his sentence he didn't say was:
If the gentle method cannot resolve the problem, then Lord Zhao will have no choice but to use some physical methods to sober up this "aunt" who intends to eliminate him.
Although……
Lord Zhao, a local tyrant in the capital, was not afraid of a mere married princess.
But as the saying goes, I'm not afraid of thieves stealing, I'm afraid of thieves thinking about it.
"Always being passive and defensive is not good either."
However, before that, in order to avoid being exposed because of his handsome appearance, he decided to contact the person under a different identity.
A moment later.
After disguising himself, Zhao Duan led three trusted aides disguised as maids and servants to drive the carriage. The wheels rolled, leaving two ruts on the snow.
Heading towards East City.
…
East of the city.
Near the orphanage where Zhao Duan had donated many times, a long line formed at the intersection of a street today.
The poor people who heard the news gathered in front of the shed where coal was being distributed for winter heating. Amidst the shouts, they held their winnowing baskets and shivered in the cold wind.
Not far away, a carriage slowly drove over, and then Princess Wenzhu, wrapped in a thick cotton dress and without her jeweled ornaments, got off the carriage, guarded by the tall female warrior.
——
I'll put together a 4k chapter and update it as normal today. In addition, my leave actually prompted a bunch of book friends to vote for the monthly ticket... It turns out that women can't compare with brothers at all!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
