Chapter 508: The Furious Empress (Seeking guaranteed monthly tickets at the beginning of the month)
"That's right," Zhao Duan nodded, organized his words, and said seriously:
"It was quite unexpected that I rescued him from the rebels this time..."
Immediately, he used the most serious tone possible to recount how he had pursued Prince Heng, how the other party had kidnapped Xiao Dong'er, and how they had attempted to slander, threaten, and defame him... as well as the plan he had envisioned:
“Although Prince Heng has been captured, Qingzhou Road, as his stronghold, must still have remnants. The imperial court should now devote its military forces to more important battlefields.
As the local tyrant, the Xiao family of Donghu assists the imperial court and controls Qingzhou Road, which is the most cost-effective option.
Not only that, this will also have the effect of buying a horse's bones with a huge sum of money. Apart from anything else, the other imperial merchant families in the nine provinces and eighteen prefectures will also be more inclined towards Your Majesty."
Xu Zhenguan listened quietly, but did not comment on the pros and cons of his plan. Instead, he suddenly said:
"Prince Heng slandered you and framed you for having an affair with that widow?"
Zhao Duan's heart was filled with alarm. Without hesitation, he pointed to the heavens and swore:
"Slander! Absolute slander! I am a selfless person. Heaven and earth can bear witness to my feelings towards Your Majesty, let alone a widow..."
Xu Zhenguan said quietly, "So, if you weren't a widow, what would you do?"
Damn it, don’t be so picky… Zhao Duan changed his words:
"I only have eyes for Your Majesty. All other women are vulgar and worthless."
Xu Zhenguan seemed to smile, as if he didn't care much and said:
"I was just joking. Zhao Qing's virtue is highly praised by everyone in the court. I trust him."
...You seem to be hinting at me... Zhao Duan's face was tense, his heart was beating fast. He stared at Zhenbao's fair, elegant, smooth face for a long time, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty...then..."
Xu Zhenguan thought for a moment and nodded:
"The method you proposed is good, but I need to see Xiao Dong'er before I can decide whether to approve it."
Huh... I knew you were sensible, Zhenbao. King Heng's slander, which is so easily refuted that even a three-year-old child wouldn't believe it, definitely wouldn't fool you... Zhao Duan showed a warm smile:
"She is in the team, currently in the Imperial City, being guarded by officers and soldiers from the Divine Machine Battalion. If Your Majesty wishes to see her, you can order her to come."
Xu Zhenguan looked at him quietly and said with a smile:
"You have made a good arrangement. In that case, have someone bring her to see me. By the way, you don't have to stay here. You can catch up with Eunuch Hai and the others."
Implications:
She wanted to meet Xiao Dong'er alone.
Zhao Duan's heartstrings were inexplicably tense, but thinking that Madam Xiao was sensible and had explained everything beforehand, he felt relieved: "Yes."
After saying this, he stood up and said goodbye, then walked out of the imperial study to pick someone up.
The empress was left sitting quietly alone in the room, playing with a vermilion-dyed Yulin brush with her slender jade fingers, lost in thought.
…
Not long.
Outside the study door, a female official led two imperial guards and escorted a woman.
"Your Majesty, the people have been brought here."
"Go out." Xu Zhenguan came back to his senses and said lightly.
The palace maids left, leaving only Madam Xiao, who was wearing a dark horse-faced skirt and had been dressed up on the way. She was extremely respectful, with her head lowered, and stepped into the threshold carefully, not daring to breathe. Her knees softened and she knelt gently on the Western knitted carpet in the study.
"I, Xiao Dong'er, pay my respects to His Majesty!"
Xu Zhenguan held the slender light brown pen between his fair fingers, looking down with dignity and nobility:
"Look up."
Xiao Dong'er hurried a little and raised her face carefully.
Her hair was jet black, her face was round and majestic, and she had a pretty face. However, due to the torture she had suffered during this period, the lady looked even more fragile and pitiful.
Although she is a widow, she is over 30 years old, which is the perfect age for a woman to be mature. If she is a little more mature, she will be too soft, and if she is a little less mature, she will be too immature.
Especially her figure, which is curvy and full of femininity.
When Xiao Dong'er knelt on the ground and looked up, her heart skipped a beat when she saw the Queen of Yu State!
She was completely stunned!
How could there be such a stunningly beautiful, cool, graceful and domineering woman in this world?
Xiao Dong'er herself was an extremely outstanding beauty, but at this moment, when she looked into the eyes of the empress, she actually felt a strong sense of inferiority!
"As expected of the 'First Widow of Yu State' in folklore, she is indeed quite beautiful." Xu Zhenguan looked at her for a moment and said lightly.
Xiao Dong'er shuddered and quickly lowered her eyes, terrified:
"Your Majesty, how could I, a commoner, be so beautiful as a firefly, and how could I please Your Majesty?"
Xu Zhenguan looked down from above with an elegant posture:
"Zhao Shaobao just spoke highly of you to me. He even traveled a thousand miles to bring you back to the capital and arrange for you to meet me."
Click!
Although Xiao Dong'er is a woman, she is able to take charge of the family. How can she not be a "human expert"?
Just hearing this sentence, I felt uneasy and hurriedly explained:
"Lord Zhao has defeated the Heng bandits, and I was fortunate to be rescued. I am deeply grateful and would not dare to have any improper expectations. If I can serve Your Majesty at your service, it would be a blessing for my entire Xiao family!"
Xu Zhenguan stroked the pen with his fingertips, his lacquer-like eyes looking down at her quietly:
"I didn't dare to have it, but I still had it."
Xiao Dong'er was very anxious and frantically explained: "I just said something careless, I didn't mean it..."
Xu Zhenguan suddenly chuckled, his voice calm, but the words he threw out were earth-shattering:
"When you went to the capital to ask for the title of Imperial Merchant, you met with Zhao Shaobao privately, but it was not like this."
At the beginning, Madam Xiao and Xu Zudi came to Beijing together, secretly went out, and met in a private house called "Cha Rong Xiao Zhai" in the city.
This matter was quite secretive, but after his identity as an imperial merchant was exposed, Prince Heng's Palace tried to find out about it.
Before this, the empress had received the record of this private meeting from the shadow guards hidden in the city long ago.
Of course, since the private meeting was top secret, no one knew the specific process, but the empress knew about it.
He said this casually at this moment, but he had the intention of deceiving others.
Xiao Dong'er's body trembled, and a look of confusion and grievance appeared on her face:
"Your Majesty, I have indeed sought the advice of Lord Zhao, but from beginning to end, we only discussed official matters and nothing else!"
Xu Zhenguan narrowed his eyes to examine her expression, and after a moment, he smiled sweetly:
"I didn't say anything, please get up quickly."
…
…
Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Zhao Duan watched Xiao Dong'er disappear from his sight and ran to the imperial study. After thinking for a while, he did not go to see the returning acquaintance. Instead, he turned around, turned a few corners, and arrived at a side hall.
At this moment, in the hall, Yuan Li, wearing a sky-blue official robe with a double-breasted collar, with a handsome face and eyes full of vicissitudes of life, sat alone.
Seeing him step in, she was slightly surprised: "Zhao Shaobao? But His Majesty wants to see me?"
After the impromptu "report meeting" just now, the ministers left one after another, except Yuan Li who stayed and waited here, trying to meet the empress.
Zhao Duan had just come out and heard this news from a familiar female official.
"Don't worry, Lord Yuan. His Majesty is currently meeting with the head of the Xiao family in Donghu. I'm sure he'll be free later." Zhao Duan walked over with a smile and sat down across from Yuan Li in a familiar manner.
"I thought Mr. Yuan and the others might be bored here, so I came to join in the fun."
Yuan Li was stunned for a moment. The man in blue had a strange look in his eyes, his beard stretched out on his lips, and he smiled:
"It's a great honor for the young master to come and keep me company."
Zhao Duan waved his hands and said unhappily:
"Mr. Yuan, you are being estranged. My real power is only that of a temporary military governor, and my honorary title is only that of a third-rank officer. What merit or ability do I have to deserve such courtesy from Mr. Yuan?"
He said with a wistful look, "I still remember to this day, when I was lucky enough to overthrow the Zhang brothers. When I left the palace, Lord Yuan condescended to ride in the same carriage with me, a mere seventh-rank official at the time. Honestly, I can't say enough about how much he appreciated my kindness."
Yuan Li was slightly distracted.
In just over a year, he witnessed with his own eyes how Zhao Du'an went from being a small envoy of the seventh rank to walking on a tightrope step by step, participating in the bloody storms in the court, successively toppling political enemies, and finally making his way out.
Until now, even without mentioning the identity of "future emperor's husband".
Also put aside the honorary title of the third-rank Shao Bao.
Just based on his powerful military position as the commander of the Shenjiying, no one in the court, civil or military, dared to underestimate him.
Yuan Li had no doubt that as long as the empress could survive the "Eight Kings Rebellion" and Zhao Du'an was not dead, based on his military exploits alone, in the near future, Zhao Du'an would most likely become the youngest first-rank official in the history of the Yu State.
The highest position among officials!
How many years did it take Li Yanfu to reach this point?
How many years did Yuan Li spend?
"Heroes emerge from young people..." Yuan Li sighed with admiration in her eyes.
The child is determined to leave his hometown and will not return until he becomes famous... Zhao Duan silently responded in his heart and said with a smile:
"It was just luck, just as many famous generals emerge in troubled times. If I could, I would rather not wear this official robe than see the world plagued by so many disasters."
Yuan Li looked at him deeply and said in surprise: "You didn't lie."
"..." Zhao Duan was dejected. "Am I, in Lord Yuan's eyes, just someone who craves fame and fortune?"
Isn't it? Yuan Li was shocked.
Zhao Duan coughed lightly, stopped teasing him, and became more serious. He asked tentatively:
"Mr. Yuan wishes to see Your Majesty, but is it about Emperor Xianzong of Wei?"
Yuan Li was not surprised and nodded calmly with a gloomy look:
"Wei Xianzong surrendered to the enemy and betrayed the imperial court, committing a heinous crime. I was the one who recommended this man, and now that he has shown rebellious intentions, I cannot escape the blame. Therefore, I have come to Your Majesty to apologize and ask for severe punishment for Wei Xianzong and Yuan. Otherwise, it would be inadequate to set things right."
He cupped his hands, his expression solemn:
"I will resign from your Majesty's office as Imperial Censor and remain idle in the capital, working as a teacher to teach the younger generation and to use my experience as a warning."
No... Old Yuan, you are not sincere. At this critical juncture, when we need people, how could Zhenbao agree if you just resign?
Zhao Duan curled his lips and thought to himself that he was indeed a treacherous old villain in the court.
Heart hand black.
Yuan Li's strategy was nothing more than going with the flow. Now that the Li Party had been defeated, only the Imperial Party and the Qingliu Party remained in the court.
The former was still shallow, and the Qingliu Party became an unstable factor. It happened that Wei Xianzong surrendered to the enemy, and Yuan Li simply did not wait for the empress to punish him and took the initiative to ask for punishment.
If she makes him guilty first, it will be difficult for the empress to punish him severely.
"Lord Yuan is making things difficult for Your Majesty." Zhao Duan sighed softly.
Yuan Li quickly waved his hands: "I have absolutely no such intention, but I feel that my sins are so grave that I must be punished."
He had some suspicion that Zhao Duan was testing the waters on behalf of the empress and was very cautious.
Zhao Duan looked at him seriously and said straight to the point, "Mr. Yuan, you should know that the State of Yu is in turmoil right now and needs people."
Yuan Li was stunned for a moment: "What does Zhao Shaobao mean?"
Zhao Duan pursed his lips and said:
"I don't know much about marching and fighting, but I can see that this Wei Xianzong is a talented person. After I arrested everyone in Prince Heng's palace, I interrogated them on the way back to the capital. I learned that Wei Xianzong's surrender was mostly forced.
Xu Heng had set a trap for him, set up a scheme, got a hold of him, and then used his relatives to coerce, intimidate, and bribe him into joining the pirate ship..."
The more Yuan Li listened, the more she felt something was wrong: "So?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "I wonder if Lord Yuan would be willing to give up this man and let me have him make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence?"
This time, Yuan Li was truly stunned. Her expression grew serious, and she leaned forward slightly: "You dare to use him?"
Zhao Duan smiled calmly: "Why not?"
Yuan Li stared at him blankly for a while, then suddenly lost his temper and sat back in his chair, his eyes complicated. "Heroes emerge young."
This was the second time he made this comment.
The two times are completely different.
Of course, he understood what Zhao Duan meant: It might be true that he valued talent, but even if Zhao Duan really dared to use it, there was no need to come to him to ask for it.
The reason for coming here is just to go through the motions, and the meaning is clear:
The one who surrendered to the enemy was Wei Xianzong, your Yuan Li's man. Now that I want to take this person away, the blame for Wei Xianzong's crimes will be borne by me, Zhao Duan.
This is undoubtedly an active way to share the blame with Yuan Li and share the guilt he will bear.
"Why?" Yuan Li's eyes were complicated, and she jokingly said, "You won't tell me, just because of that phrase 'grace of knowing and meeting'."
"I'm not that 'grateful,'" Zhao Duan stood up calmly and walked out. "I'm just helping Your Majesty with his worries."
Yuan Li seemed to be lost in thought.
…
After leaving the flower hall, Zhao Duan took only two steps when he suddenly stopped and turned to look at Mo Chou, who had been standing quietly in the corridor outside the flower hall door for some unknown period of time.
After exchanging a glance, the two of them walked away for a distance in tacit understanding.
"Is it enjoyable to eavesdrop?" Zhao Duan joked.
With his current level of cultivation, he naturally noticed Mo Chou coming outside the door long ago.
The "female prime minister" had a stern face, without the slightest bit of shame or anger at having her secrets exposed. She just stared at him fiercely:
"What did you mean by what you said to Yuan Li?"
Zhao Duan curled his lips, rubbed his eyebrows, and sighed softly:
"I really don't know how you got the title of 'Female Prime Minister'. You don't even understand this? Let me ask you, is the balance of factions in the court important?"
Mo Chou frowned, resisted the urge to turn around and leave, and said coldly: "Of course it is important."
"But there are always more important things than this," Zhao Duan said, looking at her seriously.
"Now that Your Majesty is in charge, even if the Qingliu Party is temporarily powerful in the court, it will not be able to overturn the situation. However, if we remove Yuan Li, the leader of the Qingliu Party, to maintain balance, it will be tantamount to pushing the families behind the Qingliu Party officials into the hands of the Eight Princes. This is unacceptable.
Now that the Li Party has collapsed, it means that there are a lot of vacancies in the court. Some of these vacancies can be used to promote new officials and cultivate the imperial party, while the other part will be fed to the Qingliu Party so that they can tie this group of people to the chariot of the court. "
Mo Chou suddenly realized:
"Therefore, the charge of Emperor Wei Xianzong's betrayal to the enemy is laid out here. If Your Majesty does not severely punish Yuan Li, you will not be able to convince the people. However, if you do severely punish Yuan Li, it will alienate the Qingliu Party and harm the overall situation.
Therefore, someone must give His Majesty a way out, a reason. When you ask for Wei Xianzong, you are the one who gives him the way out.
With the military achievements you have made, once you ask for someone, His Majesty should agree, both morally and logically.
And if you had saved Wei Xianzong and even brought him along to atone for his crimes, then even this commander who defected to the enemy hadn't been severely punished, and there was no reason for Yuan Li, who recommended him, to be severely punished...
This way, you can maintain your majesty's dignity, stabilize the Qingliu Party, and do Yuan Li a favor... and all you lose is the reward for this military achievement... which you don't need anyway."
Zhao Duan smiled and nodded:
"Right, it seems that I'm not that stupid. Stay with His Majesty and use your brain more."
Mo Chou was very angry when she saw his condescending and teachable manner, and the admiration that had just risen in her heart disappeared in an instant.
Big Ice Tuozi sneered and retorted:
"If you're in the mood to lecture me, why not go and see if His Majesty is angry? Oh, let me remind you, Xiao Dong'er has been sent out of the palace."
Zhao Duan's expression changed. He looked deeply at the maid who came with the dowry, then turned around and rushed to the imperial study.
However, as soon as he entered the courtyard where the empress was, he was stopped by a familiar-looking older female official:
"Lord Zhao, please stop. His Majesty has just ordered that she is a little tired and no one is allowed to disturb her."
Zhao Duan opened his mouth and pointed at his face with his finger: "I want to go in, it's me."
He tried hard to emphasize his own uniqueness.
The older female official smiled and said, "His Majesty has said that Lord Zhao, in particular, is not allowed to enter."
"..." Zhao Duan's heart tightened, realizing that something was wrong. He cursed Xiao Dong'er in his heart. His intuition told him that it must be the two women meeting that caused Zhenbao to misunderstand and get angry.
He pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and pointed in a certain direction: "Look, Cai Xukun!"
"Ah?" The female officials were stunned for a moment and subconsciously turned their heads to look. Then they saw a shadow forcibly breaking through the blockade.
Zhao Duan easily bypassed the palace servants and appeared outside the tightly closed door of the imperial study. He coughed lightly and raised his hand to knock on the door:
“Your Majesty, it’s me…Ah!!”
A majestic, vast, invisible energy wave suddenly hit Zhao Duan, and his face changed drastically. He was blasted away like a cannonball without any ability to resist, and flew over the high wall and fell out of the Yangxin Palace.
"roll."
The empress's cold voice echoed in her ears.
Zhao Duan took a few steps and landed on the ground, releasing the strength. He felt his blood boiling, and the internal energy generated by the stress in his body gradually faded away.
With a bitter face, he said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something important to ask you... Damn it!"
As soon as the word "see" was uttered, Zhao Duan's hair stood on end, and he suddenly left his afterimage and retreated violently.
The next second, where he had just stood, with a "ding" sound, the Taia sword pierced into the ground, halfway inside, leaving the hilt still trembling!
"Murdering my own husband..." Zhao Duan took a deep breath, feeling grief and indignation. He was not as strong as others and it was difficult for him to be a husband.
"But I can also control the Taia Sword..."
"The sword is coming..." He stretched out his hand to grab it, then suddenly pulled it back, turned around and ran away.
Behind him, the Taia sword was drawn out by itself, as if held by an invisible hand, and slashed towards him:
"roll!"
…
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
(End of this chapter)
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