The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 103: I have fulfilled my mission. The internal ghost of the imperial court has been captured before noon.

Zhao Duan's words sounded high-sounding, but he understood that this was also Ma Yan's intention.

The reason why the other party sent a message saying that he wanted to sit in the imperial court was that he did not want to compete with him for credit.

Since this was the case, he gladly agreed, gave a few instructions, arranged the follow-up matters, and sent someone to the Baima Prison alone to report to the old supervisor on the follow-up.

He mounted his horse and headed straight for the imperial city.

"I calculated that today is my seventh day in office. I have completed the hidden mission within a week... Oh my god, I have become a speedrunner too."

Zhao Duan was in high spirits and used complaints to dilute the sadness in his heart.

Suddenly I had a sense of déjà vu after defeating monsters and getting equipment, and then returning to the main city to find an NPC to hand in a quest.

……

royal palace.

Because the quarrels in the court had come to a temporary end, Xu Zhenguan felt lazy today and did not attend court.

It was a rare moment when he slept until the sun was high in the sky, and then he completed his daily practice without fail.

I figured I wouldn't be able to handle many things, so I started lunch early.

The lunch was very sumptuous.

There was a dish made with fresh fish slices cut into a white and greasy soup. The empress stirred the soup with her bare hands and ate it with a spoon. She was in a very good mood.

"His Majesty."

At this time, Mochou, who had been busy all morning, came over, still looking serious and upright.

The White-robed Empress smiled and said:

"You've come just in time. Today the imperial kitchen has improved some new dishes. This fish soup is quite good. You should try it too."

Mo Chou hurriedly declined, stating that there was a difference in status between the ruler and his subjects, and between the master and his servant.

Xu Zhenguan shook his head helplessly and said while eating the fish soup:
"You are not as relaxed as you were when you were with me. It's easier to get along with me now."

Mo Chou said seriously:
"Your Majesty is no longer a princess, and I am no longer just a maid."

Xu Zhenguan sighed softly:
"Yeah, we've all changed."

After a pause, she seemed unwilling to dwell on this and changed the subject:

"Are you here to report something? Just say it directly."

Mo Chou said "Yes" and said:
“It’s not an urgent matter. I learned that His Majesty was resting this morning, so I didn’t rush to tell him.

Yes, it's about the imperial court and the White Horse Prison. I received news that the imperial court issued a house arrest order today, with the exception of Lihua Hall, which seems to be related to the arrest of rebels...

In the Baima Prison, the chief eunuch Sun Lianying used his authority to ask the monk Bianji from the Shenlong Temple to come out, but he has not yet sent a detailed document to the palace to explain the situation.

Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment, and the movement of pinching the white jade spoon slowed down.

The expression is a little strange:
"House arrest? Even the monk Bianji has been invited to leave?"

If the two things are viewed separately, they do not connect.

After all, they do not belong to the same government office, but it would be different if "Zhao Duan" was added.

The sudden unusual actions of the imperial court and Sun Lianying's request for experts had a "precedent" not long ago.

That time, the two yamen joined forces to capture the secret spies in Prince Jing's Mansion of Jiancheng Dao.

But this time the scale of the deal is obviously much bigger.

What happened?

"Your Majesty, I suspect that these two things are related to Zhao Duan," Mochou said calmly, "He has been acting a little too out of line recently."

Xu Zhenguan said "oh" and asked with a smile:

"If it's really to arrest the rebels, it's not out of line."

Mo Chou shook his head and said:
"I'm afraid that Zhao Jisi is deliberately using a butcher knife to kill a chicken, using the name of working for Your Majesty to show off his own power."

The first female officer analyzed:
"This is not the first time he has done this. When he coerced Feng Jupan to bite Li Yanfu, we saw the clues.

Now that he has been promoted, he is becoming more and more undisguised. It is understandable that he wanted to establish his authority in Lihuatang, but the subsequent arrest of 58 officials was obviously deliberate.

He has more gentle ways to deal with those things.

But he chose the one with the biggest momentum. It seemed that he had done the job, but in fact, he was deliberately showing off his favor to everyone in order to intimidate the court. "

What he said was indeed true, Zhao Duan did hold this idea.

From this perspective, Mochou actually sees his thoughts more clearly than many people.

Seeing that the empress remained silent, Mo Chou tried to persuade her:
“I know that Your Majesty appreciates this man’s abilities, and I don’t deny that, but is Your Majesty being too indulgent towards him?

When he took office, you sent servants to support him. You also blocked the matter of the 58 people before him, and even went to the extent of causing trouble with Princess Yunyang, but what was the result? How did he do it?

Instead of being considerate and caring to Your Majesty and making Your Majesty worry-free, he became even more arrogant. In order to gain credit and avoid being robbed by others, he even made up a false pretext and forced the eight halls to be under house arrest.

He even took advantage of his position to frequently ask for protection from the Tianshi Mansion and Shenlong Temple...

The last time the golden tablet was fine, after all, he came voluntarily, but this time to ask for the monk Bianji... is really..."

Xu Zhenguan put down the spoon, interrupted her and said:

"Mo Chou, your prejudice against him is too deep, and it has affected your judgment."

After a pause, she said:

"Let's take a step back. Even if he is indeed arrogant as you said, will Ma Yan and Sun Lianying follow his lead out of fear of him?"

Mo Chou was scolded, and she argued anxiously:

“That’s not what I meant. I suspect that Ma Dugong and Sun Sijian were deceived by Zhao Duan’s fabricated story, such as his Lihua Hall is going to catch the rebels today.

But he had just taken office, so even if he got some clues from the other eight halls, how much could he gain?
Is it necessary to mobilize so many troops?
As for asking for the protection of Monk Bianji? Is there a rebel party with such strong military force in the capital?
I'm afraid even the traitors hiding inside the imperial court wouldn't do this."

She finished speaking in one breath, and when she saw that the empress remained silent, she suddenly realized what was happening and knelt down to confess her crime:

"I lost my composure for a moment. Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Outsiders only know that there is a "first female official" in the palace.

But in fact, Mochou was still the "maid" who followed the Third Princess. Therefore, she only called herself "slave" instead of "minister".

Therefore, even though she is smart, her style of doing things is still very different from those old foxes in the court.

She is more like a "maid" following the "young lady" rather than an official.

"Get up, I won't punish you for this."

Xu Zhenguan sighed softly.

Although, she did not agree with the judgment of the personal maid that Zhao Duan had been lying.

But she really couldn't explain the purpose of Zhao Duan's behavior.

Just as Mo Chou said, within the Kuangfu Society, are there any "rebels" in the capital that could alarm the monk Bian Ji?

As for catching the traitor, she made a bet with Yuan Li in the Imperial Garden yesterday, and she only dared to say that the result would be known in a month.

So, when she wanted to explain Zhao Duan's behavior in order to change the prejudice of her personal "maid", she couldn't find a reasonable excuse.

Of course, as an emperor, she didn't need to explain to a maid.

But the empress is a person who cherishes old times after all.

From this perspective, she is indeed not a qualified emperor who is good at political politics and cold-blooded.

"Forget it. I will ask someone to inquire about this matter later."

Xu Zhenguan waved his hand gently, and an invisible force lifted Mochou up, and said.

However, at this moment, the hurried footsteps of the eunuch were heard outside:

"Your Majesty, I have summoned the Imperial Guards and the White Horse Supervisor, Zhao Duan, to see you."

Speak of someone and he will appear.

The two women in the room were stunned for a moment. Xu Zhenguan smiled and looked at the personal female official:

"Well, just ask him in person."

Mo Chou didn't say anything, but she was also expecting something, thinking, let's wait and see how you explain it.

……

Russian qing.

Zhao Duan, who had been waiting outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation for a long time, was led by a young eunuch through the straight corridor and arrived outside the dining hall.

I saw a group of people from the imperial kitchen taking away the leftovers.

No... I came here just in time for dinner, but you had already finished eating. That’s ok... I’m still hungry... Zhao Duan opened his mouth, feeling disappointed.

The hope of having lunch with the Empress was tragically dashed.

Wait for the palace servants to leave.

Zhao Duan finally saw the empress, whom he hadn't seen for several days, sitting at the round table in the room.

Next to him was the big ice ball, who was extremely hostile to him. He was standing aside and fanning the empress.

Why is this annoying guy here? I hate light bulbs the most... Zhao Duan muttered in his heart, but saluted solemnly:

"Your Majesty, I am honored to see you."

"No need to be so polite." The well-fed Empress Dayu looked a little lazy.

His white uniform hung limply, and his long black hair looked listless.

In the past, she would take off her shoes after lunch, sit on the bed in the bedroom and read a book to rest.

After all, today we are meeting with "foreign officials", so we have to be more formal.

At this moment, she wanted to ask, so she pretended to be dignified and asked with a stern face:

"I was just about to send someone to summon you to the palace, but you came here on your own."

Call me a kidney... Bah, damn input method...

What do you want me to do? Zhao Duan was curious: "Your Majesty, do you have anything to ask?"

Xu Zhenguan had a stern face, but he was not really angry, so he did not look dignified:

"I heard today that you made a big fuss in the imperial court and even alarmed the monk Bianji from the Shenlong Temple. Is this true?"

Monk Bian Ji?
Is that the Buddhist name of the monk in white? It sounds familiar... Zhao Duan said:

"It is true. I was about to report this to Your Majesty when I entered the palace."

After a pause, he said:
"Yesterday, I had a secret discussion with Governor Ma, and asked Supervisor Sun to bring in strong guards... This morning, I led the Lihua Hall to arrest the rebels."

He first explained what he had done, and the empress listened quietly, waiting for what to say next.

Mochou, holding the palace fan, pricked up her ears, expecting him to explain his actions with eloquence.

Soon, Zhao Duan said calmly:

"This trip was a great success. I led the Lihua Hall and joined forces with the Governor to successfully uncover the rebels hiding in the imperial court, namely the Pomegranate Hall and the Peach Blossom Hall... Now the two have been thrown into the imperial prison, waiting for your majesty's interrogation."

Hmm...Xu Zhenguan listened and nodded slightly to show his satisfaction.

Then, I realized belatedly that I had captured the key words from Zhao Duan's overly bland and uneventful narration.

Inside the imperial court, two rebels...

Xu Zhenguan's lazy face showed a brief look of shock:

"Wait, the rebels you just mentioned are..."

Zhao Duan smiled and nodded:
"I have fulfilled my mission. The traitor hidden in the imperial court has been found."

The Queen of Dayu suddenly woke up, and all her sleepiness disappeared instantly. In her mind, she kept repeating "The traitor has been found", "The traitor has been found"...

"Snapped!"

Next to her, the palace fan in Mo Zhaorong's hand accidentally slipped and fell to the ground, making a noise.

It was like a slap in the face, crisp and loud.

(End of this chapter)