Chapter 434: Your Majesty, I have a plan (Long Chapter)
How do you know that I am a "god walking in the world"... The "holy monk" from the Western Regions also told me so. Is this some kind of unique way of praising people in this world... Zhao Duan saw that Zhenbao was not angry, and his heartstrings suddenly relaxed. He used complaints in his heart to ease the embarrassment.
The study became quiet for a moment.
The king and his ministers, who had been on the verge of a fight just now, suddenly became strange when there were no outsiders watching them and they were left alone with only each other.
"Ahem," Zhao Duan finally broke the silence and explained:
"I beg Your Majesty to allow me to recount my trip to Fengcheng and the reasons why I faked my own death to deceive the Emperor."
Yes, I am here to call for justice...Xu Zhenguan was reminded and his expression became a little tense.
He tried hard to maintain his image as an emperor and simply sat down on Zhao Duan's chair, staring at him with clear eyes, as if to say, "Let's see how you try to argue."
Zhao Duan smiled awkwardly, pondered for a moment, pulled a chair from the corner of the room, and tentatively sat down opposite the desk.
While doing this, he kept glancing at Zhenbao's expression. Seeing that she just raised her eyebrows, tacitly agreeing to his unruly behavior, Zhao Duan's mouth corners slowly rose, and he began to organize his words in his mind.
"Your Majesty, this matter begins when I and my group arrived at Binhaidao..."
Zhao Duan's narration was very detailed and slow, starting from when he was surrounded by Magistrate Luan and his men in Fengcheng and his identity was exposed.
Strive not to miss any details.
Although the memorial Luan Cheng sent in advance gave a general account, it was very brief. It was only with the narration of Zhao Duan, an eyewitness, that the story was filled with details and became vivid.
Xu Zhenguan listened to the story quietly. Similar reports between the emperor and his ministers had happened many times, but every time, the guy in front of her could bring her freshness and surprise.
When the empress heard that Luan Cheng was misled and led officials to arrest Zhao Duan, she shook her head and lamented that although Magistrate Luan was a capable minister, he was ultimately far inferior to Zhuang Xiaocheng in wisdom and strategy.
When she learned that Zhao Duan had ordered his troops to raze the Zixiao Taoist Temple, encountered resistance from Lu Zhengchun and arrested him, her eyes were filled with anger, and she snorted coldly and angrily scolded the "evil Taoist" for betraying the kindness of the late emperor.
When he heard that Zhao Duan used "beheading" as a trap and started a real and fake game against Zhuang Xiaocheng, and finally used the spies planted earlier to gain the trust of Zhuang Xiaocheng and thus obtained the position of the headquarters.
Even though Xu Zhenguan already knew the result, his eyes still lit up and he almost exclaimed in admiration.
This kind of contest of wits and strategies, the game between chess players at a distance, is indeed exciting, especially when you think about the fact that Yunxi, who plays a key role, was retained by Zhao Duan long ago last year.
Suddenly, there was a sense of a hidden plan thousands of miles away...
"Could it be that when you were nearly killed by Zhuang Xiaocheng last year, you already had a plan in mind? Otherwise, why would you value that female traitor so much?" Xu Zhenguan asked curiously.
Zhao Duan's heart was filled with alarm. Without hesitation, he said with a righteous look:
"Your Majesty, please understand! At that time, I was indeed considering that Yunxi was a disciple of Zhuang Xiaocheng and might be a potential rebel, so I imprisoned him in solitary confinement."
joke!
It would be troublesome if Zhenbao misunderstood that he had other thoughts about Yunxi.
The empress looked at the righteous Zhao with suspicion, pretending to believe him for the time being:
"In that case, Yun Xi has indeed made great contributions. I have a clear distinction between rewards and punishments. Although she was once a traitor, she has turned over a new leaf and captured the thief with her own hands. I can pardon her crime."
Zhao Duan was stunned and felt warm in his heart.
The empress could have told Yunxi about her decision to pardon her after she got out to show her great grace.
Now I tell him in private that I want to give him this "favor".
From this we can see that the empress did not intend to be jealous. However, it is also understandable that as the ruler of a country, a female emperor who will leave a glorious chapter in history books, how could she care about a female prisoner?
If you don’t even have this little confidence, how can you be a king?
"Your Majesty is so magnanimous, I will be grateful to you." Zhao Duan said sincerely, and then he calmly detonated Zhuang Xiaocheng's formation and collapsed the mountain.
At the critical moment, he once again asked Pei Niannu for help, and in order to hide his whereabouts, he told the story of how he faked his death.
After listening to this last section, even though the empress had a vague guess in her mind just now, she still felt a surge of surprise in her heart, like a stone falling into the sea of heart, creating ripples.
Xu Zhenguan subconsciously leaned forward, his eyes sparkling, "Did you really capture Zhuang Xiaocheng alive?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "It's absolutely true."
Even though she was an emperor, she still couldn't help showing her joy. If she hadn't been worried about being indecent, she would even have had the urge to laugh out loud.
Capture alive!
The leader of the rebel party caused the entire court a lot of headaches. She regarded him as a thorn in her side and a thorn in her side, but he actually caught her.
And just as agreed with Li Yanfu in public at that time, it only took three months.
Most of the time is wasted on the journey to and from school.
If someone else said so, she would definitely be skeptical, but if it was Zhao Duan, who had created countless miracles, she would be surprised and in a trance have a mentality of "it should be this way".
It should be so... When did I have such confidence in him that I almost regard him as a "God"?
It wasn't something that happened overnight, but rather the impression created in her mind by too many victories in the past. It seemed as if any problem, anything that others couldn't do, could be solved with ease as long as the person in front of her took action.
Looking back and thinking carefully about the process, we have to admire that victory was not accidental, but almost inevitable.
"Where is this thief?" Xu Zhenguan was distracted, gathered his thoughts, and temporarily suppressed the emotions between men and women.
"He is at your house. Shall I bring him here right away?"
"good."
Zhao Duan got up and went out. After a while, the door was pushed open again. He held the pull ring of a large box with one hand and walked into the study.
Under the empress's strange gaze, the riveted box was opened, revealing Master Zhuang, who was curled up inside, tied up, with a "Sleeping Talisman" stuck on his forehead.
Zhao Duan took Zhuang Xiaocheng out of the box, threw him on the ground, and tore off the yellow paper talisman on his forehead. He sneered:
"We've arrived. Wake up, Zhuang Xiaocheng, open your eyes and look at who is in front of you."
Zhuang Xiaocheng's eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyelids, revealing a look of confusion.
The haggard old scholar first looked around, then tried to sit up, and then he could see the empress in white sitting behind the desk, looking down at him majestically.
"Your Highness Third Prince..."
Zhuang Xiaocheng's pupils narrowed, his heart was shaken, and a moment of panic appeared on his old face.
But perhaps because he had rehearsed this too many times on the way back to Beijing, after a brief panic, he quickly calmed down and smiled bitterly:
"It's been a long time since we last met. Your Highness, who was once as talented as any other prince, has become quite different."
Xu Zhenguan withdrew his gaze from outside the door, first glanced at Zhao Duan, and then his eyes fell on the old minister who was kneeling on the carpet and looked much older than he remembered.
Or perhaps teacher would be more appropriate.
The duty of "Grand Tutor" is to teach all the princes. Zhuang Xiaocheng and Dong Xuan were both the teachers of the Third Princess. However, Zhuang Xiaocheng at that time openly preferred the Crown Prince, but in private, his interactions with the Second Prince Xu Jianwen became increasingly close.
Although he was impressed by the talent and learning of the former Third Emperor's daughter, he never paid too much attention to her because she was a woman.
Especially when Xu Zhenguan grew older, the late emperor tried many times to marry her off, but Xu Zhenguan refused firmly. In accordance with the ancestral rules, any royal family member who had achieved success in cultivation did not have to marry. He remained single, which led to a bad relationship with the late emperor, and Zhuang Xiaocheng became more and more distant from her.
But I never thought that they would become the enemies we are today.
"The Grand Tutor has aged a lot." Xu Zhenguan did not get angry, but sighed with a complicated look in his eyes.
Zhuang Xiaocheng laughed at himself:
"Toiling in the martial arts world is ultimately not as good as the leisurely life of teaching in the palace."
Xu Zhenguan said sarcastically:
"Is it true that Grand Tutor's sole concern is to oppose me, fabricate history, smear me, whitewash Xu Jianwen's evil deeds of rebellion, and deceive the people? To do such an inhumane thing is truly exhausting."
Zhuang Xiaocheng was silent.
The room fell silent for a moment. Just as Zhao Duan was about to speak, Zhuang Xiaocheng finally sighed and said, "The victor is the king and the loser is the bandit. If Your Majesty feels that you can scold me a few times, it is to express your grievances. I will bear it."
Zhao Duan laughed angrily, and sneered:
"A few curses... What? Do you think a few curses can make up for the crime that Kuang Fushe committed against the country and people of Yu? Or do you still think you are right?
"Oh, I'm a military man, not well-educated, and certainly not a Confucian scholar. But I know that the Confucian sages never taught their followers to plot against the throne. Nor would they, blinded by greed, seek ever greater power, disguising it as some noble and upright 'righteousness'!"
Zhuang Xiaocheng closed his eyes and said calmly:
"I am at the mercy of others. My bloodline was completely cut off three years ago. I am nothing but a wandering ghost in this world. Your Majesty, please kill me or chop me up. It is all at your disposal."
A complete attitude of "winners are kings and losers are bandits, let it be dealt with as you wish."
Seeing him like this, Xu Zhenguan suddenly became bored and waved his hand.
The meeting after three years was not thrilling, but there was only clear-cut positions and a determination to fight to the death.
Zhao Duan pasted the yellow paper talisman on again with a "snap". Zhuang Xiaocheng entered the "sealed" state again and was thrown into the box.
After doing all this, he looked at Zhen Bao, who was staring at the bookshelf in silence, and asked tentatively:
"Your Majesty, should this thief be thrown into the imperial prison and tortured?"
Xu Zhenguan was silent for a long time before he suppressed the complicated emotions surging in his heart and sighed softly: "You already have an idea, right?"
Zhao Duan said "yes" and said:
"I believe that, given the thief Zhuang Xiaocheng's stubborn mind, it would be difficult to extract anything from him through torture. We can probably only wait until he dies and try to use magic to spy on him. However, given this old dog's cunning, I'm afraid he's already prepared...
Therefore, I believe that the greatest role of this bandit lies in his identity as a leader, not anything else.
It would be best to build momentum in the capital and, according to the law, publicly execute this man to deter the world... However, more importantly, we should use his death as an opportunity to try to reverse the rumors this thief has long fabricated about the Xuanmen coup."
There are two versions of the story of the Xuanmen coup.
The first one is the official version, which is relatively close to the truth, namely the story of Xu Jianwen plotting rebellion and the third princess suppressing the rebellion.
Although some details have been embellished, the story is generally true.
The second is the unofficial history spread by the Kuangfu Society, which said that it was Xu Zhenguan who rebelled, and the second prince Jianwen was the one who tried to stop him and was killed... It was a fabricated story.
However, due to the unremitting smear campaign of the Kuangfu Society, the latter version became more widely circulated, which was also an important reason why the legitimacy of the empress's regime was questioned outside the capital.
"How do you want to clarify the truth?" the empress asked curiously.
Zhao Duan shook his head and said:
"Clarification is useless. Your Majesty should know that rumors are more ferocious than tigers. Throughout history, rumors have always spread widely, but no one cares to refute them. What's the reason?"
I believe that the most crucial point is that rumors are more in line with the expectations of the people, and only rumors that the people are willing to believe can spread.
On the contrary, if the people are unwilling to believe the rumors, no matter how much they are spread, they will have little effect.
The Kuangfu Society's smear campaign was successful simply because many people were dissatisfied with Your Majesty's claim to the throne as a woman, and were unwilling to believe that Your Majesty was the one who came to the rescue. Therefore, refuting the rumors and clarifying the situation would be of little use.
Xu Zhenguan thought thoughtfully: "Then what do you want?"
"Fight poison with poison," Zhao Duan said with a smile:
"The common people also dislike the corrupt scholars in the court. The people already have a dislike for these officials.
Therefore, when we execute this thief according to the law, we only need to give him enough information about the dirty and ugly things he has done in his private life.
For example, let Yunxi accuse Zhuang Xiaocheng of having bad intentions towards her as a female apprentice... she would definitely agree.
Well, it would be best to wait until the rebels escorted by Prefect Luan arrive in Beijing, then encourage them to revolt, letting them come forward to expose and accuse. Doesn't Zhuang Xiaocheng want to leave his name in history and gain a reputation? Then let him be completely discredited and become a disgrace to the ages!
If this is the case, his private scandal will surely spread widely. As long as the Kuangfu Society represented by Zhuang Xiaocheng is dirtier, uglier, and more untrustworthy, his rhetoric to smear Your Majesty will be self-defeating."
The empress was stunned when she heard this, and the look she gave him became strange:
"I suddenly believe the rumors that people say you are insidious and cunning."
This method is somewhat vicious.
What scholars care about most is reputation, and Zhao Duan simply wants to ruin Zhuang Xiaocheng's reputation.
Especially the point about smearing his private life... The ministers in the court might not have thought of it, but no one would publicly make such a suggestion as it would make them appear too insidious.
But Zhao Duan dared to bring it up, since his reputation was already rotten...
"Then do as you wish. You are the one who captured the man, and he almost killed you. I am relieved that you are in charge of handling him." Xu Zhenguan felt that he could not interfere in such a dirty matter, so he decisively passed the buck.
Zhao Duan said:
"I have another idea. I hope Your Majesty can help me conceal the news of my survival for the next few days, and do not reveal Zhuang Xiaocheng's existence. Everything can be done after Prefect Luan's troops arrive in Beijing. In the meantime, Your Majesty can try to suppress the 'Li Party'."
Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment: "Suppress the Li Party?"
Zhao Duan smiled brightly:
"After returning home, I chatted with my aunt and learned that Li Yanfu had publicly inquired about my recent situation a few days ago, and that he had also jumped in on me on New Year's Eve. This account should be settled. If I am not mistaken, the news of my 'death' must have caused great celebration among the entire Li clique.
At this time, if Your Majesty were to find fault and suppress the Li Party under the pretext of venting your anger, Li Yanfu would most likely not resist, and the entire Li Party would not resist either...
No one wants to offend His Majesty when he is enraged and losing his mind... Besides, they would also think that sacrificing a little bit of profit in exchange for a life is acceptable."
Xu Zhenguan opened her mouth, and she had a deeper understanding of this guy's "vindictiveness" and "sinister nature". She said quietly:
"You weren't planning to do this when you were planning to fake your death, were you?"
"How could that be? I just thought of it not long ago." Zhao Duan said confidently.
Xu Zhenguan looked suspicious, but he believed him for the time being:
"...Okay, I'll give it a try as you say."
Zhao Duan nodded with satisfaction: "I have one more thing..."
"..." Xu Zhenguan's eyes really changed this time. Two consecutive "evil schemes" made her a little stressed. She was really afraid that this guy would come up with some unethical means again.
Zhao Duan said sternly, "I do feel something is wrong. Your Majesty, what do you think of Zhuang Xiaocheng's wisdom and strategy?"
"Naturally quite good."
"That's right. On my way back to the capital, I kept thinking that since Zhuang Xiaocheng had already planned to die with me, then with his intelligence, he would definitely have made arrangements in advance for the operation of the Kuangfu Society after his death."
Zhao Duan said seriously:
"In the battle of Fengcheng, the rebels suffered heavy losses, but many remnants still lingered.
Zhuang Xiaocheng probably already has a 'successor' in mind to continue running the society after his death. Furthermore, the fact that he would rather die than kill his ministers suggests that he believes a successor would be enough to compensate for the losses caused by his death.
Xu Zhenguan was stunned and fell into deep thought.
After his reminder, the empress also realized this blind spot.
Zhao Duan asked, "Your Majesty, who do you think is the likely successor to the Kuangfu Society?"
Xu Zhenguan thought for a moment and shook his head:
"In the Kuangfu Society, there is hardly anyone else who has enough reputation and ability to take charge.
Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun are both incapable of the task. As for Jian Wen's widow, Princess Wen is weak in character, and the young prince left behind by my second brother is too young to serve merely as a banner."
Zhao Duan said: "So, there is no one to take over?"
"No, you're right. Zhuang Xiaocheng wouldn't leave such a mess behind. He must have chosen a successor." The empress stood up and paced around the study. After a moment of thought, she said,
"But I really can't think of a candidate, unless the entire Kuangfu Society loses its independence and submits to one of the Eight Princes. But that doesn't seem like Zhuang Xiaocheng's character... But who else could it be? Unless Xu Jianwen is resurrected, the Kuangfu Society will inevitably fall apart..."
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind, and he looked at Zhen Bao in surprise:
"Jian Wen's resurrection... Your Majesty, do you think this is possible?"
Xu Zhenguan was also stunned. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I was just making an analogy."
However, Zhao Duan caught the inspiration in his mind, frowned, and shook his head:
"No! It's not an analogy... I was thinking, if Zhuang Xiaocheng really has completely surrendered to a certain prince, it's most likely Prince Jing or Prince Mu... It doesn't matter.
The point is, if he really surrendered, then the assassination of me should not be done by the Kuangfu Society alone. Zhuang Xiaocheng will definitely use the society as a bargaining chip to exchange for the support of a powerful person from a certain prince.
In that case, with the prince's help, he won't have to die with me..."
"So, he most likely didn't sell himself. Is it possible that Jian Wen is really alive? Or, in other words, he never died in the first place?"
Zhao Duan made this somewhat terrifying guess. Although it was outrageous, when all possibilities were ruled out, from a logical point of view, this was indeed the most "reasonable" conclusion.
The empress was also startled and said:
"I personally witnessed Jian Wen's death in the chaotic battle, and I carefully examined his body..."
Suddenly, she thought of something and suddenly closed her mouth.
Zhao Duan stared at her with burning eyes and said:
"The bewitching Taoist! That Imperial Master! I remember that the Imperial Master also died in the coup and left behind a body, but the facts proved that he was not really dead! He is still alive!
The one in the palace that day was just a 'stand-in' for him! And the Taoist priest was actually a retainer of Jian Wen and had participated in the coup!
Xu Zhenguan opened his mouth:
"Are you saying that the bewitching demon also used secret techniques to help Jian Wen escape certain death? That the people who entered the palace and initiated the coup that day weren't all of Jian Wen?
No... your speculation is completely unfounded. The reason the Gusu Yaodao can bring the dead back to life is because of the deity they cultivate, which is extremely rare..."
Zhao Duan interrupted her:
"Yes, precisely because it's so rare, can Your Majesty guarantee that he can't help others create a 'clone'? When Jian Wen staged the coup, did he also think of leaving a way out for himself?
Besides, Your Majesty, don't you think that Zhuang Xiaocheng has gathered the remnants of the rebellion too easily? What gave him the confidence to lead a group of people from the underworld to fight against the court?
Is it just because you are unwilling? If you were truly unwilling, why would you be willing to perish with me? Isn't this a contradiction?
Xu Zhenguan was suddenly speechless after being interrupted by him!
My mind was also a little confused.
It’s not that she didn’t doubt whether Jian Wen was really dead, but Jian Wen’s body in the palace had been checked repeatedly and it was not a disguise.
Moreover, Jian Wen has never shown up in three years.
but……
If it was really the work of the Guhua National Master, then this "three years of disappearance" can be explained... The Guhua Taoist also disappeared for nearly three years.
Because the creation of a clone requires tearing half of the soul apart.
When the clone dies, the remaining half of his life will fall into long-term weakness, and even the bewitching demon had to hide and recuperate for two years.
Doesn't it make sense that Jian Wen hid to recuperate and put Zhuang Xiaocheng out in the open?
"I...I...need to go back and carefully review the original files again, looking for clues."
The Empress was silent for a moment, her eyes sharp:
"If Jian Wen really made this arrangement, there would be no trace left behind."
Too many people were involved in the coup that year.
After the coup, the empress ascended the throne and killed too many people who participated in the usurpation of the throne, leaving behind countless confessions, files, and information.
It would be a huge task to unravel the mystery again, but no matter how absurd she thought it was, she had to do it.
"I am just making a wild guess. I have no basis for this, and it is indeed unbelievable."
Seeing her expression, Zhao Duan comforted her.
Xu Zhen looked at him, noticed his thoughts, and suddenly smiled calmly. The room seemed to light up:
"I don't need you to worry. Not to mention that Jian Wen is dead, even if we take a ten thousand steps back, he's still alive. What can he do? Does this sinner dare to stand up? How many bargaining chips does he have?
"He had many soldiers and generals back then, and I was able to quell the rebellion single-handedly. Now he only has a group of remnants, so why should I be afraid?"
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then confirmed that Zhenbao was indeed thinking this way, and laughed at himself: "I am making a fuss out of nothing."
The two of them have so many enemies, and the difficulties have been solved. What does it matter if there is another Jian Wen who is trying to survive?
They smiled at each other.
The tense atmosphere in the study disappeared.
After finishing the serious business, the two looked at each other in silence, and the atmosphere became a little ambiguous.
They hadn't seen each other for more than two months, so Zhao Duan couldn't help feeling a little reluctant, but Xu Zhenguan didn't take the initiative to let him go.
He wanted to flirt with her and say some sweet words, but Zhao Duan looked at the old dog lying in the box and felt awkward.
"Come here." Suddenly, Xu Zhenguan said softly.
"Ah?" Zhao Duan was confused and a little dazed.
Xu Zhen couldn't help but smile as he watched the silly and cute look on the little imperial guards' faces who had just come up with all sorts of vicious schemes.
She was very open and generous. She beckoned him over, casually threw away the "portrait" on the table, spread out the white paper again, ground the ink herself, and said in a serious tone:
"Your painting skills are terrible. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll teach you how to paint myself. Do you want to learn?"
traditional Chinese painting?
You have to learn that. You have to learn Chinese painting!
Zhao Duan seemed to be possessed by Mr. Hou. He moved closer, feeling somewhat bewildered. "How do I do this?"
Xu Zhen took a look at his tall and strong figure and guessed that it would be impossible to imitate the posture of the teacher teaching children to paint in the school, so he simply reversed it and said:
"Stand behind me and hold the pen. I'll show you how to draw."
"oh……"
Zhao Duan walked behind the empress and saw her sitting down lightly. She began to adjust the ink skillfully and chose a brush from the pen holder. After filling it with ink, Xu Zhenguan, who was sitting in the armchair, raised her fair wrist and let a piece of her sleeve fall off.
A hand carved from white jade held a slender brush in a standard posture, hovering over the rice paper, and said:
"Hold a pen."
“Oh…oh…”
Zhao Duan adjusted his posture somewhat awkwardly, standing behind the empress, bowing slightly and leaning down, this posture seemed to be hugging her.
He could smell the familiar vanilla scent coming from her, and Zhao Duan slowly moved his face closer to the empress's neck.
He noticed that as he approached, a layer of fine hair on Zhenbao's white neck stood up and swayed gently with his breathing.
The neck began to turn red visibly, but he did not avoid it, it was more like a tacit acceptance.
Zhao Duan became more and more bold, and his posture became more intimate. He only regretted that there was an armchair between the two of them... He put his right hand around the empress's shoulder and reached for the brush, his eyes looking down along the lapels of her clothes.
She was immediately disappointed to find that the collar was so tight that there was no gap at all. She could only catch a glimpse of a emerald jade drop on the necklace hidden in the collar on the exposed goose neck.
The right hand holding the pen suddenly touched something soft and cold.
“…”
“…”
"Where are you gripping it? A pen! Not a handshake!"
“Oh…oh…”
He hurriedly released the big hand that was covering the small hand and grasped the upper end of the pen.
The empress sighed helplessly, and simply pried open Zhao Duan's hands, helped him adjust his pen-holding posture, and then...
The slender little hand wrapped around the big hand holding the pen.
The first drop of ink falls on the rice paper.
——
7,000-word chapter
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com