The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 21: Loyal Zhao Duan

The magnificent power of heaven.

At this moment, Zhao Duan clearly realized:

Under that power, no living creature can resist and can only crawl.

But for some reason, he could clearly feel that his consciousness was not affected at all.

It was as if his soul was immune to the spells of this world.

"Is this the power of cultivation in this world?"

"The Queen of Dayu is indeed a cultivator... But, in the original owner's memory, didn't the Queen follow the path of martial arts?"

"Wait, quickly gather your thoughts and don't show any weirdness!"

Zhao Duan’s thoughts raced as he tried his best to keep his soul within his body.

After an unknown amount of time, the gaze that had swept across his entire body was retracted, the invisible pressure suddenly disappeared, and all the strange phenomena subsided.

"Hoo..." Zhao Duan gasped like a fish coming ashore, and the scenery in his vision returned to normal:

He was still sitting at the round table. The empress opposite him had her eyes clear again, and the wind around her disappeared.

It was as if everything that just happened was an illusion.

"Your Majesty..." Zhao Duan asked with lingering fear.

Xu Zhenguan took a sip from the jade teacup, and lied without blushing or beating his heart:
"I heard that you were attacked by a mysterious sorcerer when you captured Zhuang Xiaocheng. I am worried that your soul may have hidden dangers, so I will help you investigate."

I don't trust you... You are clearly testing my body... Zhao Duan said anxiously:
"How is the result?"

"No problem," Xu Zhenguan said, paused, and added:
"Although there are some injuries, I have helped you to heal them."

She did suspect that Zhao Duan in front of her was under the influence of magic.

For example, some sorcerers possess the power to "bewitch people's minds."

Can achieve a hypnotic effect.

The recipient will subconsciously follow the caster's orders without knowing it.

It even changes people's perception of things. There have been two vicious incidents in history:
A certain sorcerer deceived the people of a place and turned the matter of sexual intercourse between men and women into a daily etiquette of meeting...

Another one is even more outrageous:
All the people in a small town were bewitched, their gender identities were reversed, and a collective gender transformation occurred on a psychological level...

However, after checking just now, she found that although Zhao Duan's soul had indeed suffered some shock, it was within a reasonable range and was not affected by any similar "bewitching" ability.

With the empress's level of cultivation, even the old Taoist priest from the Taoist Temple or Master Xuanyin could not hide their magic from her eyes.

"So, it was really his own idea, without any guidance from others..."

Xu Zhenguan held the tea bowl in his hand, his doubts growing instead of diminishing.

Did you treat me? No wonder I feel much better. It seems that time travel still has its benefits. At least I don’t have to worry about my origins being exposed.

Zhao Duan's heart suddenly settled down, knowing that he had passed the test of magic.

The most difficult stage was passed.

……

……

"I'm curious."

Finally, Xu Zhenguan stopped thinking and stared at the handsome man in front of him with his bright eyes and asked:

"From what I know, the abilities you demonstrated today are very different from those in past rumors. I need an explanation."

coming!

Zhao Duan was cheered up, and it was time for the performance segment, which he was good at.

He was silent for a moment, then he said as if he was lost in memory:
"A year ago, I was fortunate to be recommended by Your Majesty and was given an important task, serving as the White Horse Envoy.

From being an unknown foot soldier in the imperial army to becoming a so-called "celebrity" in front of His Majesty in the eyes of outsiders, it is actually the result of ten lifetimes of cultivation..." Xu Zhenguan did not interrupt him and waited quietly for the next words.

Zhao Duan looked at her carefully and said:
"But later, some rumors and gossips involving your majesty and me gradually spread in the court and the public... At first, I thought they were just groundless rumors and nothing to worry about. However, as the rumors became more and more intense, the palace never dealt with them.

Even...Your Majesty seems to treat me a little differently from other colleagues."

Xu Zhenguan remained calm and did not take it as an offense:

"go on."

Zhao Duan took a breath and said seriously:
“I know my own limitations, and there is nothing wrong with me and Your Majesty as rumored. But Your Majesty’s attitude seems to be… as if he is letting this rumor spread!
I am very confused, and I have no one to talk to, so I have to figure it out on my own."

"I would like to make a bold assumption. If this was indeed done deliberately by Your Majesty, what was the purpose?

I am just a small soldier, what is so special about me? After thinking about it, I can only think of one possibility. "

Xu Zhenguan asked curiously: "What's the possibility?"

"Bait!" Zhao Duan spoke aloud.

"At that time, Your Majesty had just ascended the throne, and the political situation was not stable. There were countless people who secretly harbored ulterior motives, some of whom were involved with the rebel party, some of whom were concerned about their own interests, and they always wanted to harm Your Majesty.

However, Your Majesty is extremely powerful and resides in the imperial palace, so even if you want to harm him, it will be difficult to do so."

"So, if we can put a bait outside the palace, maybe we can lure people into it."

"But I am a soldier, I am not very cunning, I only have a good appearance, I am a good bait candidate, as long as you spread the word, I will be favored by your majesty, and put me in the Baima prison...

If someone in the dark is paying attention, they may use me as a breakthrough point, whether it is to gather intelligence or to instigate rebellion... I am the best candidate in the open."

Xu Zhenguan's eyes became brighter:
"go on."

Zhao Duan took a deep breath and said:

"After guessing this possibility, I began to think about what I should do to relieve your majesty's worries and complete this task perfectly. I think the person in the dark is very cautious. If I want to lure him into the trap, I must make him lose his guard against me."

Xu Zhenguan seemed to understand something:
"So, you changed your temperament?"

"Yes!" Zhao Duan said:

“So, I followed the example of the ancients, pretending to be favored by the emperor, and became arrogant and domineering, hanging around with the dandy boys in the capital, thus tarnishing my reputation.

I also deliberately broke off relations with Si Jian, who had been kind to me... This way, people would think that I was a foolish, arrogant, and empty-headed male lover...

This will allow those who intend to harm Your Majesty to let down their guard and dare to approach me, revealing their true colors!"

After a pause, he looked regretful:
"It's a pity. I don't know if it's because I didn't do a good job or the villains were too cautious. In the past year, I was able to lure in mostly unimportant small fish like Feng Ju and Wang Xian. As for the truly evil and treacherous people, they were not able to take the bait."

Really impressive!

Zhao Duan's words were full of loyalty and righteousness.

It perfectly shows the sincere character of Feiyangyang, a man who is blessed by heaven and loyal to the emperor, and who would rather defile himself and bear the world's infamy than share the worries of the saint.

This was also the most reasonable version he came up with after thinking it over last night to explain the changes in his personality.

Zhao Duan never thought that he could truly and perfectly integrate into the original owner.

After just a few days of brief contact, even Zhu Kui could detect his changes, so how could he deceive the empress's discerning eyes?

Therefore, he realized that his identity as a "fake lover" was extremely strange.

They also learned that the original owner had been appreciated by the supervisor and was a very good young man, but after being contaminated by fame, wealth and power, he came up with this excuse.

This set of statements can perfectly explain why Zhao Duan's mind and methods are inconsistent with the rumors.

As for whether or not it was really the empress who deliberately threw out the fishing bait, it didn’t matter!
As long as you can justify yourself, you win.

In the tea room.

After listening to Zhao Duan's heartfelt speech, Xu Zhenguan, the Queen of Dayu, was stunned for a moment, and when she looked at him again, there was a difference in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)