Chapter 51 The Empress's Reward
Anyone who has a good ending is like me.
In the Imperial Garden.
When Xu Zhenguan heard these words, her fair and graceful face was stunned at first, and then a complex expression emerged.
Then he looked at the "little imperial guard" in front of him with a slightly softer gaze.
Yes, as an emperor, I can easily explain why I am so slippery.
But as a subject, he could not avoid facing the might of heaven and felt sympathetic.
Just now, she issued an oral order, and with just a few words, she destroyed a doctor and the entire family behind him.
Even though the "culprit" is right in front of him, he will inevitably feel anxious, right?
It's human nature.
Instead of questioning the other party, it is better to ask why the temple, a big melting pot, can influence a "simple" soldier so quickly.
Especially the sentence "The third emperor's daughter reads history books at night", which inexplicably made Xu Zhenguan feel a strange sense of closeness to him.
Very strange.
Yes, before this, the topics she and Zhao Duan talked about were all about official business.
This is the first time we have had such a casual chat.
It is said that humans invented "chatting" in order to promote closeness to each other.
The reason why Zhao Duan took the risk and said this was to try to dilute the seriousness of the topic.
At this moment, he caught a glimpse of the subtle change in the Empress's expression and quickly apologized:
"I speak without thinking..."
Xu Zhenguan shook his head and interrupted him, saying, "It's okay."
After a pause, the empress turned back and continued walking forward, saying:
"But I don't want to talk about Prince Jing."
Her walking pace slowed down visibly.
"As you wish."
Zhao Duan didn't want to offend her, but through the empress's momentary emotional expression, he couldn't help but imagine:
During the years that the empress stayed in the palace, she witnessed the brutal struggles among her brothers and relatives, and perhaps she felt sad and grief-stricken.
It is precisely because of this that people reacted so strongly to the actions of their relative, Prince Jing.
"Tell me the details of your case," Xu Zhenguan asked, expressing his doubts. "I want to hear it."
Zhao Duan’s previous narration was too concise and he had anticipated that the empress would ask.
I will tell you the details one by one right away.
When Zhao Duan heard that Zhang Jia Erlang broke into Zhao's house and tried to molest Eugene Hua and her daughter, he decided to make trouble for him.
The empress was not angry, but nodded slightly, thinking to herself:
After all, he still had the blood of a man. He was not too cold-blooded, nor was he blinded by anger and made unwise moves. He first punished with force and then struck back according to the rules.
She appreciated and agreed with this approach.
When she heard that Zhao Duan traced the information back to "Qinglian Xiaozhu" and obtained it from Xiaoya, the empress's eyebrows, as thin as distant mountains, raised slightly:
"So you visit prostitutes at night?"
Zhao Duan is righteous:
"After asking questions, I reported to Supervisor Sun and did not dare to stay for a moment!"
When it comes to topics like this, your stance must be quick, accurate, and ruthless!
The empress smiled, thinking that you didn't have the courage to sleep.
Although the "scandal" between the two was false, at least up to now, Xu Zhenguan had not really thought about having anything to do with this young imperial guard.
Logically speaking, she shouldn't interfere with Zhao Du's affairs with other prostitutes.
But for some reason, seeing that he expressed his sincerity, my irritable mood improved a little.
"Go on."
"Yes." Zhao Duan exhaled silently and continued to narrate. Except for the part about "Xiao Ya cosplaying as the empress", he concealed almost nothing else.
After hearing all the details, Xu Zhenguan's impression of him changed slightly.
If we say that the last time she took advantage of the power of others to force Feng Ju to bite the Prime Minister and hand her a knife, it might be an accidental act of quick thinking.
But this time, Zhao Duan's series of micro-manipulations could not be explained by chance.
In particular, he cleverly used his own "dandy fool" personality to complete the psychological deception of the cautious Zhang Changshuo.
Even from Xu Zhenguan's perspective, it was quite remarkable.
The people she tried to promote performed much better than expected... Although there were parasites like the Zhang family in the court, there were also outstanding talents under her command... The empress felt a little relieved.
"So, the sorcerer's strength exceeded expectations, but luckily he was accompanied by the Golden Sceptre Priest?"
Zhao Duan sighed and nodded:
"Yes, I guess it's my luck."
With a thought in his mind, he said:
"It's just that the character of that Golden Tablet Priest seems..."
"That girl is indeed a bit withdrawn, not fond of showing off, and rarely close to outsiders," Xu Zhenguan said without surprise, "but she has a good character."
Zhao Duan was curious: "Your Majesty knows her well?"
He wanted to get some information indirectly.
By the way, Jin Jian left a message last night saying "I'll come back to find you", but he disappeared at dawn.
This made Zhao Duan suspect that the other party was "invisible" and he felt uncomfortable even going to the toilet.
Xu Zhenguan nodded and said:
"In my early years, I also stayed in the Tianshi Mansion for a while and sought advice from Tianshi Zhang.
The Heavenly Master has accepted six disciples so far, the first four of whom have already graduated. The two red-dot boys are the newest. Jin Jian is the youngest, the last in line, and the most favored.
I learned something… Zhao Duan listened carefully and struck while the iron was hot:
"I have heard of the name of Zhang Tianshi since I was a child, but I have never had the opportunity to see his true appearance. I wonder what kind of immortal figure he is?"
Each generation of Heavenly Master has a long lifespan. When Zhang Yanyi was active, Zhao Duan was not yet born.
He is a "legendary" figure, and because of his transcendent status, even the powerful officials in the court have to bow down to him, and very few people have seen his image.
Xu Zhenguan sighed:
"Master Zhang... you don't look anything special, but you are an unfathomable figure. Your cultivation is so shallow that even if someone stood right in front of you, they wouldn't notice anything unusual."
No... you haven't even seen it, and you're concluding that I can't see it? Zhao Duan was a little unconvinced.
Just as he was about to ask in detail, he saw Xu Zhenguan stop his lotus steps and look at him:
"Alright, let's stop here for today. You've done a great job this time and I'm very pleased with you. What reward would you like?"
This brings us to the end of the topic.
Happy times are always short... Zhao Duan was reluctant to leave, but when he heard the word "reward", he suddenly became energetic:
"During the battle with the sorcerer, the sword I borrowed from the Imperial Court's Jinyi Department couldn't withstand the force and shattered instantly. I believe that in the future, when I help Your Majesty, I will inevitably encounter powerful enemies, so I would like to request a magical weapon."
Ask for magic weapon!
This was something he had thought of a long time ago. Compared to material possessions like money, saving his life was the most important thing.
Even if you have power and money, you still have to live to enjoy it. This encounter taught him a profound lesson.
"Magic weapons?" The empress nodded happily.
"I'll allow you to take one from the armory. Don't think I'm stingy. The treasures in the imperial armory are incomparable to those outside. Each piece is not priceless, but it is far more valuable than anything else."
Zhao Duan still had some idea of the preciousness of the magic weapon.
I know it's extremely expensive. Low-level magic tools are okay, but the higher-quality ones are, the more out of stock they are and cannot be bought at all.
In the martial arts world, it is not uncommon to hear stories of countless warriors fighting for decades for a magical weapon.
And the weapons displayed in the palace armory are all the magical weapons in the stories.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhao Duan was overjoyed.
Xu Zhenguan raised his lips slightly, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said:
"Besides, the women in your family are frightened. It's my fault for not governing well... Someone, come."
Not far away, the waiter who was always on duty came forward in small steps.
Xu Zhenguan ordered:
"Take two hundred rolls of Shu brocade from the palace and send them to the home of Envoy Zhao to make clothes for his female relatives."
“Here!”
The palace attendant obeyed and left.
The Shu brocade in the palace... the finest silk tribute from the Great Yu Dynasty... is extremely valuable... Zhao Duan had not expected that there would be an unexpected surprise, and thought:
Now, my stepmother and sister can have new clothes to wear, they should be very happy.
…
I have something going on at home, so the updates may not be on time these days.
Thank you for the 100-coin reward
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
