The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 1: From the beginning, I wanted to go to the palace to see the emperor

In the second year of Tianfeng, in the southern suburbs of the capital of Yu State.

Dark clouds covered the city, as if a river in the sky had burst its dam. Raindrops as big as beans poured down, hammering the ground like drums and raising mist as low as smoke.

A spider-web-shaped lightning tore through the dark sky, illuminating the bamboo forest in the southern suburbs. At the edge of the dense green bamboo sea, two armored soldiers were looking into the distance.

The sound of hooves is like thunder!

A three-horse carriage broke through the rain curtain, coming from far away, the wheels rolled up a large amount of mud, and finally stopped outside the bamboo forest path.

The dirt road was muddy and narrow, making it difficult for the carriage to move forward. The driver jumped down, put down a small stool, held up an oil-paper umbrella in his hand like a canopy, and stood beside the carriage.

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and two young servants in blue clothes came out one after another, each holding a heavy wooden board.

Zhao Duan raised his eyes lazily, bent slightly and got out of the spacious carriage, without looking around, and stepped out of the car.

The hem of the embroidered clothes hung down, and the expensive cloud-patterned boots stepped casually on the muddy ground, but before they could get dirty, a piece of wood was placed under their feet.

He walked forward, and the umbrella above his head moved with him.

The two servants on the left and right bent over and half-knelt in the mud, their faces wet by the cold rain, and moved two wooden boards alternately to create a dry and clean path.

"In ancient times, nobles used their maids as human spittoons. I use my servants to pave the way, but I am far inferior."

When Zhao Duan was distracted, he saw two brave soldiers running up to him, clasping their hands and fists:

"The rebels are trapped in the forest, waiting for your punishment!"

Zhao Duan said with a smile: "This great achievement should fall into my hands. Lead the way!"

"promise!"

……

The forest is covered with fallen leaves, and green old bamboos point straight to the sky.

It was raining heavily outside, but it was much warmer when he stepped into the forest. Zhao Duan, escorted by his followers, walked for a while before he saw a deserted temple emerging from the rain.

The couplets engraved on the left and right pillars:

"Honorable people carry great virtues."

"Life goes on forever."

A temple to the earth!

Compared with the main temple of the Tianshi Mansion in the capital and the Shenlong Temple, the small temple in front of him was quite shabby. Not to mention the courtyard, even the palace itself was in ruins.

At this moment, the temple gate was tightly closed and more than a dozen fierce imperial guards surrounded it, making it impossible for anyone to get in or out.

Seeing Zhao Duan coming, a black-clad official hurriedly flattered and sought credit:
"Sir, we have already injured that old thief and his disciples. We will arrest them at your command!"

Zhao Duan nodded with satisfaction and praised: "Not bad."

If the subordinates had arrested the suspects first, the boss would inevitably lose face. Now that they have surrounded the suspects but not killed them, the credit can be fully presented. This is a basic operation of old-timers in the officialdom.

"In that case, I will arrest him myself." Zhao Duan changed the subject and said, "Bring the knife."

The clerk was stunned and hurriedly presented his sword with both hands.

Zhao Duan didn't even raise his eyelids and held the hilt of the knife in front of him with one hand.

After a moment of hesitation...

Clang!
The blade was unsheathed, and a burst of energy shot out, instantly shattering the rotten wooden temple door into pieces! !

As wood chips flew, Zhao Duan had already stepped into the hall.

In the ruined temple.

He saw a silver-haired old man in his sixties wearing a Confucian robe sitting cross-legged facing him. His deeply wrinkled face had a calm expression, and although he looked embarrassed, he had the demeanor of a patriot.

Behind the old man, on the altar, stood a stone statue as burly as a god, with a ferocious face. One hand supported the stele, and the other hand was on the ground, with spider webs hanging from it. It had been in disrepair for many years.

"As expected of the previous generation's Grand Tutor, he remains calm even when facing death," Zhao Duan said with a slow smile.
"But who would have thought that Mr. Zhuang, a remnant of the Second Prince, would hide in the capital, under the nose of the Saint, despite being hunted by the whole country. Could this be the so-called great hermit hiding in the city?"

The old man named Zhuang Xiaocheng, who was respected as "Taifu" and was once one of the emperor's teachers, looked at him coldly:

"I have been wise all my life, but I never thought that I would be found by a running dog like you who betrayed your master and served the false emperor."

"Be bold!"

The black-clad clerk following behind him shouted angrily, but Zhao Duan raised his hand to stop him.

The smile on the handsome face of the empress, who was well-known to everyone in the capital, faded, and he sighed softly:

"Grandmaster, what you said is wrong. When the previous emperor passed away, the crown prince should have succeeded to the throne. However, the second prince was so rebellious and had long been rebellious that he teamed up with the rebels to break into the palace and assassinate the emperor. He launched the Xuanmen coup and intended to usurp the throne.

At that time, the Third Princess had achieved great success in martial arts. Upon hearing the news, she took action to quell the rebellion and killed the rebels. Unfortunately, she was a step too late, and the Crown Prince and the other princes were all slaughtered.

Later, because the country could not be without a ruler for a day, he had no choice but to ascend the throne and become emperor, ruling the Dayu Dynasty. What was wrong with that?
It is you who followed the remnants of the Second Prince, who are like wildfire and can never be eradicated... If you had abandoned the dark and joined the light earlier, how could this have happened?"

"Bah! What nonsense you are talking about!" Suddenly, a clear female voice sounded.

That was a young girl standing beside the old man.

She was dressed as a servant, holding a bloodstained short sword in her hand. Her hair was torn in the battle, her black silk was loose, her facial features were delicate, and her beautiful white face was raised. She stared at him fiercely, her silver teeth clenched:

"It is obvious that the false emperor was plotting to murder my father and brother. The second prince was loyal to the emperor and protected him. My master wanted to help the world, but he was slandered by a villain like you!"

"Yunniang!" Zhuang Xiaocheng said in a deep voice.

The sword-wielding girl's eyes were filled with sorrow and despair, like a female beast trapped in despair:

"Teacher, I am useless and have failed to protect you. I will repay you in the next life for your kindness in this life..."

Zhao Duan was indifferent to the tragic scene in front of him. He glanced at the girl's face and said meaningfully:

"Master, you have good taste. On your way to escape, you didn't forget to bring such a beautiful female disciple with you. But she is sharp-tongued and seems to lack discipline. But don't worry, I will take her back and teach her well for you."

The sword-wielding girl's eyes were bloodshot, and she wished she could eat the man's flesh alive!

Zhuang Xiaocheng stared at him for a moment, then suddenly shook his head and said:
"You are too proud to be proud of yourself. This is your nature. If you keep acting like this, you won't be able to stay rampant for long."

"Huh?" Zhao Duan sneered and looked around:

"Am I a villain? Am I getting carried away?"

The clerks, servants, and armored and sword-wielding imperial guards behind him all shook their heads.

Zhao Duan's smile disappeared, and he looked down at the two of them:

"Look, they all said no. After I succeed, there will be great scholars to debate for me. The Grand Master has been in the officialdom for many years and knows all about worldly affairs. I don't need to tell you this, right? What's more, it is you scholars who fabricated history. I am a villain, so who are you?"

Zhuang Xiaocheng, who was wearing a Confucian robe, looked calm, as if he had never been afraid from beginning to end:
"Do you really think you can defeat me?"

No reason.

At this moment, Zhao Duan's heart tightened. The bamboo forest was dark and windy, the light in the dilapidated temple was dim, and the rustling of raindrops made the whole world silent.

There was clearly a huge disparity in strength between the two sides, but at this moment the momentum was reversed.

Zhao Duan forced a smile and took a half step back without leaving a trace:

"Do you really think I was scared? This is the capital. How can you, an old man and an injured man, compete with my team of imperial guards? Or are you, a corrupt scholar, a high-class warrior or a master of magic?"

With a mocking tone.

Zhuang Xiaocheng, with white hair and beard, shook his head gently: "I am just an ordinary man."

Changing the subject: "However, there are still some friends who can help."

Zhao Duan's pupils suddenly narrowed. Just as the old man uttered this sentence, the stone statue on the dusty altar behind him suddenly shook!

Even the earth began to shake.

The ferocious statue's brow cracked, emitting golden light, and then the crack spread all over the body. The stone skin fell off, revealing a burly figure wrapped in golden light inside.

"God descends!"

"The world's sorcerer!"

"My Lord, be careful—"

Everyone retreated in fear and there was a lot of noise, but Zhao Duan seemed to be frozen in place, his legs felt like they were filled with lead and he could not move. He let the ruined temple be illuminated by the golden light of the "Earth God".

Circles of golden ripples spread out in all directions with the statue as the center. The soldiers outside the temple were blown away with screams, and their black iron armor fell heavily into the fallen leaves, splashing large amounts of water.

"Go!" the old man growled.

Zhao Duan's face was pale. He only saw a figure wrapped in golden light, looking down with indifference and majesty.

With a big hand, he dragged the old tutor in Confucian robes into the ripples of light, then raised his finger and pointed it at him.

boom!
Zhao Duan's chest seemed to be hit hard, and he flew backwards like a cannonball, crashed out of the temple gate, and plowed along the ground for several feet. It was unknown whether he was alive or dead.

Inside the temple, the golden figure seemed to be unable to cope with the situation and dragged the tutor into the earth. In the blink of an eye, all the strange phenomena disappeared.

As if nothing had ever happened.

Only the cold rain rustled down.

Later, the rain stopped.

……

……

After a long time.

The fainted imperial guards and others woke up one after another. The black-clad clerks were horrified and pale. They rushed to Zhao Duan and called out:
"My lord! My lord! Wake up!"

at last.

"Zhao Duan" woke up slowly, and saw with a dazed look that he was lying in the arms of a man with a dark face, a sturdy figure, and dressed in ancient costume.

"Sir! I'm glad you're okay!"

The black-clad clerks were overjoyed. If anything happened to their master, they, the followers, would also be killed.

But in his joy, he did not notice that Zhao Duan's temperament had changed drastically. Compared with his previous arrogance and frivolity, he had become calm and steady.

"I...am not dead?"

Zhao Duan spoke slowly, his sentences were not coherent, as if he was learning how to pronounce words.

"Perhaps the sorcerer was thousands of miles away, and casting a spell to rob people consumed a huge amount of mana, and your protective gear blocked it again."

The black-clad official took out a concave breastplate and showed it to him.

Zhao Duan's eyes became more and more confused. He slowly sat up and saw a collapsed temple in the bamboo forest after the rain. He moved his eyes upwards and saw that the dark clouds in the distance split open, revealing rays of sunlight.

A corner of the majestic city can be vaguely seen, towering high into the clouds.

"Dang——dang——"

There was a sound of bells.

At noon, the "daytime ban" was lifted.

"Where is this?" Zhao Duan suddenly asked, paused, raised his hand and pressed his forehead, "My mind is a little confused."

The black-clad official had no doubts and thought that he had fallen and was stunned, so he flattered him:

"In the southern suburbs of the capital, you got the information and used your authority as the envoy to mobilize a team of imperial guards to arrest Zhuang Xiaocheng. Unfortunately, the thief had an accomplice, a sorcerer, who cast a spell to rescue him."

"What year and month?"

"Uh... the second year of Tianfeng, actually three years. It was delayed after the coup d'état in the winter of the previous year."

"Isn't it Xuanwu Gate?"

"You are joking, my Lord. We dare not add any more words to this matter."

Zhao Duan was silent for a while, with no awe in his eyes. With the brief conversation and the unfamiliar memories gradually becoming clearer in his mind, he realized what had happened.

The Dayu Dynasty, coups, empresses, warriors, sorcerers... a world that seems real but is not.

As for myself...

The empress's personal male favorite? The arrogant and domineering playboy in the capital?
Difficult to comment.

"My lord, this female thief did not escape!"

Suddenly, the imperial guards dragged the unconscious Yunniang out from the collapsed temple. The forehead of the beautiful girl was broken. Even in her coma, her brows were tightly furrowed, showing her stubbornness and unyielding spirit.

The clerk with a face full of flesh said anxiously:

"This traitor was originally found by the secret agents of the imperial court, but was intercepted by our Baima Prison. Now that the city ban has been lifted, the people from the imperial court will surely arrive soon...

If we succeed in arresting him, it will be a great achievement, but now that the traitor has escaped, I am afraid that the blame will be put on us. If those people in the court who dislike you find out, they will accuse you of releasing prisoners privately and colluding with the rebels... Even with your status, I am afraid that..."

"For now, we can only trouble you to rush ahead and apologize to the saint, so that there is a glimmer of hope." He swallowed his saliva, and seeing that he was silent, he said anxiously:
"Sir, please say something!"

Zhao Duan silently withdrew his gaze and glanced at the latter, his eyes like a deep pool, and everyone shut up.

Hell Begins...

After thinking for a moment, he closed his eyes and opened them again:

"Then... go to the palace and meet the emperor."

ps: I heard that it is quite popular recently to put a "brain storage" at the beginning of the book, so I put one too. . This reply has been successfully stored~
(End of this chapter)