The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 27: Horses Trampling the Zhao Family
Zhao Duan's family situation is a little complicated.

The original owner's father was a low-ranking military officer in the imperial army. The original owner was born to his wife, but his mother died of illness when he was fifteen years old.

Zhao's father was injured in his early years, and he is his only son.

Half a year after his wife's death, a comrade-in-arms of Zhao's father, who was as close as a brother, unfortunately died on his way to Beijing on a business trip, leaving his young and beautiful wife and daughter alone in Beijing.

In these days, without a man in the family and without the source of income, the plight of the wife and daughter can be imagined.

Zhao's father generously donated money and went to help.

One had lost his wife, the other had lost her husband, and with the help of a matchmaker, Zhao's father simply married his brother's wife home as a second wife.

So, the fifteen-year-old original owner, who had not yet recovered from the grief of his mother's death, was shocked to find that he had a new "aunt" and a younger "sister".

The boy was rebellious and extremely resistant to his stepmother and stepsister.

Fortunately, his stepmother named "Eugenhua" treated him as her own son, and with his father's mediation, the family could barely get by for the sake of face.

As a result, several years later, Zhao's father suddenly suffered a headache and died.

For a time, the Zhao family lost its pillar.

At the age of twenty, the original owner had no choice but to inherit his father's mantle and join the imperial army as a foot soldier.

After losing control, the original owner often hung out with his comrades and lived in military camps.

He was unwilling to go home and contact his aunt, and the relationship between them became cold and distant.

It's okay here.

Until more than a year ago, the original owner was appointed as an envoy and was rumored to have an affair with the empress. Once he gained power, he became arrogant and his personality changed drastically.

Due to a change in official position, he moved back to his family home and lived under the same roof with his aunt and stepsister again.

Therefore, the original owner, who had a bad and domineering personality, disliked the mother and daughter very much.

In addition, some neighbors gossiped that Eugene Hua's two husbands died within a few years of marriage and that she was destined to be a husband-killer.

The original owner immediately turned his anger towards the two of them and often scolded them at home.

They order people around, make sarcastic remarks, and even commit domestic violence.

Poor Eugene Hua and her daughter, who was renamed "Zhao Pan", were masters of the house, but they had less dignity than the servants and lived in fear all day long.

The relationship between the two sides deteriorated.

How to evaluate it... Anyway, Zhao Duan thinks it's pretty cool...

This was also one of his concerns, and he had not returned home for three days.

I really haven't figured out what kind of personality I should adopt to face my family.

Therefore, when he heard Zhu Kui's words "something happened at home", he was stunned for a moment and didn't come back to his senses:
"Which home are you talking about?"

The black-clad clerk with a dark, fleshy face panted and clutched the whip, saying:
"Of course it's your home, your mansion."

Zhao Duan frowned:
"Tell me more carefully, what happened?"

Zhu Kui took a deep breath before explaining the whole story.

It turned out that he was overjoyed when he learned that Zhao Duan was fine.

I first went back to my home to reassure my family and had lunch.

Afterwards, he went to the Baima Prison to report the good news and inquire about the details, but he got nothing. Zhu Kui was worried and thought that Zhao Duan should leave the palace by now, so he came to pick him up.

As a result, I unexpectedly met an acquaintance on the road and learned a piece of "bad news".

"Sir, my acquaintance said that he saw Zhang Changji, a soldier, riding a fast horse, leading a few evil slaves, heading towards your home!
I am afraid that it will harm your family! I am weak in martial arts and I know I cannot stop that fellow, so I have no choice but to come to the palace to find you!" Zhu Kui said.

Zhang Changji?
Which one is this?
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then the memories in his mind came flooding back and he immediately understood.

Zhang Changji is Zhang Changshuo's younger brother.

Unlike his brother who calls himself a scholar, this man does not like reading. He has been practicing martial arts since he was a child and relying on resources to become a mortal martial artist. However, he is one level higher than the original Zhao Duan and is a "middle-level mortal".

He served as a "colonel" in the Beijing camp.

It is worth mentioning that Dayu’s imperial guards were divided into two parts. One part guarded the imperial city, which were the emperor’s personal army, the “Twelve Guards”.

The other part, guarding the capital, was called "Beijing Camp".

Zhang Changji was a cruel person, but fortunately he was under military discipline and his reputation was not as bad as Zhao Duan's.

The two had no intersection, but Zhao Du'an was hated by his colleague Zhang Changshuo because of the "favor of the empress."

Because of this relationship, Zhang Changji and Zhao Duan were united in hatred of the enemy and once led people to secretly block Zhao Duan, and the two sides became enemies from then on.

"What was that fellow doing in my house?"

Zhao Duan's heart sank and he had a bad feeling.

Without thinking too much, he jumped up and grabbed the whip:
"Let's go! Go back and take a look!"...

……

On the other side, on the streets of Beijing.

"Da da……"

There was the sound of urgent horse hooves as several riders rushed past, and the people along the way scattered in fear.

Sitting on the leading horse, Zhang Changji held the reins in one hand and the whip in the other, galloping recklessly. Seeing the people retreating on both sides like a tide, he looked arrogant.

He looks similar to Zhang Changshuo, but is much younger.

Because of practicing martial arts, his body has become more muscular, and his loose training clothes are open at the chest, revealing his well-developed muscles.

"Master, the alley ahead is the Zhao family!"

Next to him, a slave on horseback said excitedly, holding a whistle stick in his hand.

Zhang Changji reined in his horse, slowed down, and said with a smile:
"Okay, follow me and rush in, and trample the Zhao family!"

Another older servant said worriedly:

"Master... the true nature of Zhao Duan is still unknown. If we come to his house like this, will it..."

Zhang Changji glared at him unhappily and sneered:
"Who in the capital doesn't know that the thief Zhao has lost his backer? My elder brother told me yesterday that the thief Zhao will definitely fall today. He is even more confident that he will personally send him to prison and prevent him from turning over...

Humph, Zhao was arrogant and domineering in the past, and he has offended countless people. There are countless people who want to come and take revenge on him. What if I go too late and someone else gets there first?"

Unlike his cautious brother, he has always been a reckless person with well-developed muscles and low IQ.

Yesterday, he heard the news all over the city that Zhao Duan was going to be doomed, so he hurried to verify it with his brother.

Zhang Changshuo had evidence in his hands at the time and thought he had a sure win. When he saw his brother coming to ask about it, he showed off proudly.

Zhang Changji was reassured and trained in the military camp as usual in the morning.

He took advantage of the noon leave, took a few vicious slaves with him, and went straight to the Zhao family.

He was ready to give the fallen dog a beating and avenge the grudge he had with Zhao Duan.

Therefore, he didn't know that Zhao Duan was not only fine, but also got promoted.

"But sir, even if that thief Zhao falls, he will probably be thrown into jail. We won't be able to catch him even if we go to his house." The servant hesitated.

Zhang Changji glanced at him and said nothing.

The servant explained with a smile:

"Who wants to stop him? That Zhao has been in power for a long time, and he must have accumulated a lot of wealth. This person dared to provoke the young master, so he should be charged some interest."

The other servants holding whistles suddenly realized what was going on.

……

As they were talking, a group of people ran into the alley and stopped outside a large house with three entrances.

The door is closed at the moment.

Zhang Changji led the crowd to dismount, and without knocking on the door, he gathered his energy and, with the strength of a martial artist, kicked the gate open with a "bang"!

The evil slaves filed in.

Zhao's maids and servants came out upon hearing the noise, shouting:

"Who are you?"

Then those who were beaten screamed and scattered in fear.

A group of people broke into the courtyard by force.

Zhang Changji, who was wearing a short shirt with his collar slightly open, saw several people walking out of the inner house.

Leading the group was a woman and a young girl.

Eugene Hua is in her early thirties this year. She is well maintained and a beautiful woman with great charm.

Because she was born into a wealthy family, was well-educated and gentle, she had never seen such a scene before. At this moment, her pretty face turned pale and her eyes were filled with panic.

On the contrary, the 28-year-old girl Zhao Pan'er, who was following her mother, looked calm.

But above the girl's autumn-water eyes, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, revealing her inner tension and fear.

"Who are you? How dare you break into a house in broad daylight?"

The girl shouted loudly, but her trembling voice revealed her weakness.

(End of this chapter)