The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 3 Survival from death
How to please your boss and be a caring and loyal dog?

The first thing is to understand the master's temperament.

But in the original owner's memory, he did not have a deep understanding of the empress's character, and his mind was full of pornographic garbage.

Zhao Duan could only guess on his own and test carefully. For example, the question the empress just asked revealed a hint of fear of the masters of Xuanmen.

Since ancient times, imperial power and religious power have always been difficult to coexist harmoniously unless there is a huge gap between them. I think Dayu is no exception.

The meaning of this sentence copied by Zhao Duan can be translated as: Governing a big country is like frying a small fish. If you use "Tao" to govern the world, ghosts and gods will have no effect.

The "Tao" here refers to the Tao of the saints.

And the emperor is a saint.

He is playing a very high-level flattery.

Beside the case.

"Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish..." Xu Zhenguan chewed on this sentence for a while, then said, "This is not what you would say."

Zhao Duan said calmly: "To reform and provide relief is not something that the Prime Minister can propose."

Xu Zhenguan smiled, the majesty on his face turned gentle, and his phoenix eyes curved slightly downwards.

In an instant, the quaint palaces became bright.

Zhao Duan exhaled silently, the bet was right!
It seems that Queen Dayu really doesn't like people who practice cultivation to interfere in the secular world.

Although Xu Zhenguan appreciated this sentence, she was not too surprised. After all, she was a female emperor who was well-read in poetry and books and had great knowledge. She was more of a little surprised about this "rumored boyfriend"... but that was all.

"Tell me, why did you come to the palace to see me?" She changed the subject lightly and placed the pen in the recessed space of the jade pen holder.

Zhao Duan's heart suddenly rose, he put down the inkstone, bowed and confessed:

"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, report to you..."

He described what happened in detail without embellishing himself too much.

As the most powerful woman in Dayu, she wouldn't be stupid enough not to investigate.

The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After Zhao Duan finished his report, he lowered his head and waited for the empress's decision.

He was not sure how much effect his temporary increase in favorability would have.

Do your best, listen to destiny.

He even predicted several of the Empress' reactions and made corresponding plans.

However, the imagined wrath of thunder did not come, and Xu Zhenguan said calmly: "That's all?"

"...Yes, Your Majesty, I..."

"Go away," Xu Zhenguan said, "I am tired."

Zhao Duan's heart sank suddenly as he heard the subtle changes in the empress's voice.

The few smiles and appreciation have been replaced by coldness and alienation.

"Are you not leaving yet?" Seeing that he didn't move, the empress's voice became deeper.

"I...will take my leave." Zhao Duan bowed and left. When he was closing the door, he caught a glimpse of a beautiful woman in white clothes and black hair, looking out the window with her hands behind her back.

There is a lake outside the window, with rippling water.

I don't know what Xu Zhenguan is thinking.

Not long after.

There were footsteps outside the door, accompanied by the palace people's respectful title of "Zhao Rong", and then the sound of the door creaking open.

Immediately, the calm and capable voice of another young female official sounded:

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Household Supervisor Ma Yan and the Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate are waiting outside to impeach Zhao Duan of the White Horse Prison, saying that he secretly released the rebel Zhuang Xiaocheng and may have colluded with..."

"understood."

"How to deal with it?"

"What do you think?"

"If it were someone else... we could interrogate him according to the law. But Zhao Duan is a chess piece chosen by His Majesty. I dare not make a judgment on my own."

Xu Zhenguan sighed, "It's just an idle move, it's not a big deal. I heard that he doesn't have a good reputation?"

The female officer said coldly:
"It's terrible. I heard that this person relied on rumors to run rampant in the capital, doing whatever he wanted. He was uneducated and notorious, causing complaints from the people..."

The numerous crimes made the empress's head buzz...

After the female official finished her complaint, she said:

"It has damaged your majesty's reputation. This time, they let the rebels go. Regardless of whether they are colluding or not, all the officials in the court will do their best to impeach them. I am afraid that killing them will not be enough to appease the anger."

The implication is that useless people should be killed.

However, Xu Zhenguan hesitated for a rare moment. The impression Zhao Duan had just left on her emerged in her mind, and she felt that it was different from the rumors.

It was probably just a disguise in front of me... This seemed to make him deserve death even more. But...

"Send someone to find the Chief Supervisor of the White Horse Prison and ask him about his evaluation of Zhao Du'an, whether the rumors in the streets are true, and whether he still has value. If... he is truly useless, then hand him over to the imperial court for disposal." Xu Zhenguan's words were golden.

"Yes."

……

……

On the other side, Zhao Duan looked grim as he walked out of the palace.

The empress did not give a clear answer, which he thought was a bad signal.

It's like a gate knife hanging high in the air, no one knows when it will fall.

"Next, people from the imperial court and even officials in the imperial court who have long held grudges against me will surely flock to me. And I am not a true lover, so I cannot persuade him... This is going to be a disaster."

"The Empress's attitude has made it clear that she has no strong intention to favor me. The situation in the court of Dayu is complicated. As the 'Empress's gigolo', I may become a pawn of various forces in the court to curb the imperial power."

"Even if the charges cannot be proven, I cannot bear the torture and interrogation if they arrest me."

Zhao Duan didn't dare to gamble on the extent to which his actions just now could influence the empress's decision.

We must find a way to save ourselves!
As long as the gate knife has not really fallen, there is still a chance to struggle!
Zhao Duan thought calmly and tried to change his thinking.

When ordinary people face false accusations, the usual approach is to prove their innocence and appeal for sympathy.

But this is not the way the world really works.

Through the brief contact, Zhao Duan believed that the Queen of Dayu was a smart person and could probably determine that he was not colluding with the enemy.

This can also be seen from the other party's performance just now.

The biggest reason for killing himself was to quell the impeachment of officials, and at most to vent his anger.

From the perspective of the emperor:
"As long as the value I provide is greater than the value I can gain by killing me, I can survive."

Zhao Duan's thoughts suddenly became clear. There were countless corrupt officials and treacherous ministers in history. The reason why the emperor did not eradicate them was largely because these people were more useful when they were alive.

Following the same logic, as long as he can demonstrate enough value before the knife falls, as long as he does not cross the red line, there is hope for a turnaround.

Capture Zhuang Xiaocheng? Unrealistic.

Then there is only one way left.

"Atoning for my sins with merit." Zhao Duan got into the carriage, having already made up his mind. He could not depend his life and death on the whim of a big shot in the upper echelons.

Must try to do something.

But how to achieve enough merit in such a short period of time? Zhao Duan was at a loss.

"Sir, are you going back to the government office?" asked the coachman.

Zhao Duan's heart moved, and he said in a deep voice:
"Back. Immediately, right now!"

……

……

The Baimajian official office is located not far from the imperial city.

As a new government office that was recently planned, its internal structure was simple, with one "Sijian" who was an old eunuch sent from the palace.

It is said that the old eunuch once served the third princess and was considered a direct descendant of the empress.

In addition, there are many "envoys" in the prison, who are of equal rank and have no high or low. The emperor will entrust any temporary tasks to the envoys.

This official position was created by Emperor Taizu, the founding emperor of Dayu.

It is said that one day, Taizu wanted to eat fresh lychees, so he appointed a "lychee envoy" to find a way to send lychees from Lingnan to the capital.

Because they worked for the royal family and enjoyed special privileges, it was considered a lucrative job with much money to be made, so many high-ranking officials took advantage of the situation to get people in.

However, the empress attached great importance to appearance when appointing envoys, and only good-looking ones could enter. Therefore, it was rumored that the Baima Prison was the empress's reserve of male favorites in the harem.

After Zhao Duan got off the car and entered the yamen, he casually ordered the servants to feed the horses and wash the car, and went straight to his own office.

"Zhu Kui?" He shouted loudly, the name of his trusted black-clad official.

It was the ugly and ferocious official who had held him and shaken him when he woke up in the bamboo forest.

As far as I can remember, he once worked in the government office and was an experienced official.

However, what greeted him was not the fawning smile of the black-clad clerk.

Instead, it was a man in his thirties, with a handsome face, a delicate moustache and thin lips, who was sitting in the duty room and drinking tea.

The latter slowly put down the tea bowl, smiling:

"Envoy Zhao, I heard that something happened to you? Congratulations."

……

ps: Thanks to the boss of Neigui for the 20,000 yuan reward! Thanks to the beautiful lady Huang'er and old book friend Li Shipu for the reward and support~
(End of this chapter)