The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 49: Report to Your Majesty, the firearms case was solved last night
That night, because it was too late and he had to report to his superiors, Zhao Duan did not go home, but stayed overnight in Baima Prison.

The next morning, when Zhao Duan opened his eyes, it was already bright.

He washed himself carefully, put on his official robes in front of the mirror, and picked out a sandalwood sachet. Looking at the handsome face in the bronze mirror, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly:

"It's done!"

When meeting the empress, you have to pay attention to your image.

"It's a pity that the scent of the sachet is just average. In the time-travel novel, how was perfume invented? The empress should like it..."

With all sorts of messy thoughts running through his mind, he ordered the servant to bring him some food and simply took a bite.

When he walked out of the yamen, he saw Zhou Cang, dressed in brocade clothes, waiting beside the carriage.

"Sir, I have prepared the carriage." Zhou Cang smiled.

Zhao Duan deliberately said last night, "I don't care what the interrogation reveals." What he meant was that he only wanted the credit for solving the case and arresting the suspects.

Leave the Zhang brothers to Ma Dugong, and whatever information they dig out will be the property of the imperial court.

This is a very "sensible" way of doing a favor.

Ma Yan understood the hint and returned the favor.

Therefore, he will not be accompanying Zhao Du'an when he enters the palace this time, in order to avoid competing for credit with Zhao Du'an. Only a centurion will be sent to create a sense of participation.

I went to the imperial court overnight to frame the Zhang brothers. Last night, the jailer in the imperial court heard screams that lasted all night.

Haha... I hope you can dig out something, Old Ma. Anyway, this information from the "Privy Council" belongs to me... Zhao Duan has no shame about intercepting the information.

……

……

The two of them hurried towards the palace, in no hurry.

Xu Zhenguan had a strict schedule. After the morning court session, he would review memorials or have private chats with ministers. Unless it was an emergency, they would not be disturbed.

It was already morning when Zhao Duan arrived at the imperial city.

He ordered Zhou Cang to wait outside and he followed the eunuch leading the way into the palace for the third time alone.

I thought I would be asked to wait in the side hall.

But he didn't expect that soon after the message was passed, the elderly female official he was familiar with came over with a smile:
"Envoy, His Majesty invites you to come over."

The status has been significantly improved, and you don’t have to queue up to enter the server.

Zhao Duan was flattered and thanked him, then he became curious:
"Your Majesty is not busy at this hour? Should I go to the Imperial Study?"

The older female officer smiled and said:

"Your Majesty is talking with Lord Yuan in the Imperial Garden. Since you are called over, I think there will be no delay."

Mr. Yuan?

Zhao Duan was startled and blurted out, "The Imperial Censor of the current dynasty?"

The older palace maid smiled and said, "Otherwise, who is the other Lord Yuan in Dayu?"

Yuan Li!

Zhao Duan must be very familiar with this name.

There are two groups confronting each other in the current court. One side is headed by Li Yanfu, who is backed by the Jiangnan gentry and ministers of the old emperor's generation.

The other side was the "Qingliu Party" headed by Yuan Li, the Imperial Censor of the Censorate.

It was based on censors and absorbed a large number of scholars from outside the Jiangnan region.

He is a new generation of giants in the court who were promoted and nurtured by the empress after she ascended the throne.

As the "party leader", Yuan Li was a first-rank official. Like Li Yanfu, he was a big shot who could make the Dayu Dynasty tremble with just one stomp of his feet.

But he is different from Li Yanfu, who is shrewd and powerful.

Yuan Li has a very good reputation, especially among scholars, where she is highly respected.

He served as the chief examiner of the imperial examinations many times, and his students were spread across various provinces.

Zhao Duan remembered that after he came to power, he wanted to visit Mr. Yuan, but the visiting card he sent out fell into the sea.

I was angry about this for a while, but now I think it was just that the original owner was just a little bit stupid and didn't know his own worth.

"Mr. Yuan is here today?"

Zhao Duan was surprised and felt a strong curiosity in his heart.

Well, after all, from the perspective of camp division, if Li Yanfu is his enemy, then even if Yuan Shikai cannot be considered an ally, he is definitely someone he can show goodwill to.

Bah, bah, bah... Why is my mind full of licking? Where is the backbone of a time traveler... Zhao Duan straightened his back.

As they were talking, the two arrived at the Imperial Garden.

In midsummer, the garden is full of lush greenery with pavilions, towers, flowing water, rockery, and clusters of precious flowers and trees transplanted from all over the world.

The growth is gratifying.

The winding stone path is long, with a waiter standing every few dozen meters. The fragrance of flowers fills the air and kingfishers chirp.

Zhao Duan walked curiously along the way, and soon a pavilion appeared in front of him.

The pavilion stood beside the pond, and was served by beautiful ladies in palace dress, their white chests dazzling the eyes.

In the pavilion, two figures were sitting opposite each other playing chess.

The person on the left is none other than the Empress Xu Zhenguan of Dayu. After not seeing her for a few days, the Empress still looks as beautiful as ever, wearing white clothes and wearing black hair, with an extraordinary appearance.

The man on the right, wearing a sky-blue double-breasted robe and an official hat, is about fifty years old, elegant and handsome, with deep eyes, showing the vicissitudes of life washed by time. Even though his appearance has declined with the passage of time, he is still like a jar of old wine, fragrant and mellow.

"His Majesty……"

The older female official was about to speak when Zhao Duan suddenly raised his hand to interrupt her and shook his head.

With the empress's cultivation level, she would have noticed his arrival long ago without any need to inform anyone.

"give it to me."

Zhao Duan caught a glimpse of a palace maid approaching with tea utensils in her hands. He raised his hand to take it, placing a white towel under his palm. The temperature of the precious purple clay teapot was just right.

Zhao Duan stepped into the pavilion, walked around to the two people playing chess, and carefully poured tea with slow and familiar movements.

The leader he followed in his previous life was quite fond of traditional culture, tea ceremony, calligraphy, Go, Chinese painting, etc.

He also loves reading history books. There is always a copy of "The 15th Year of Wanli" on his desk. He is not pretending, but he really likes it.

Zhao Duan is an ambitious person, whether he is influenced by his surroundings or studying hard.

In short, after several years of experience, I have not studied this kind of knowledge in depth, but at least I have a wide range of knowledge.

In addition, "people in later generations" have a broader vision and can find chess records of famous players everywhere.

Taking a glance at the chessboard at this moment, seeing the intertwined black and white pieces, one could tell that both players were very skilled.

Unfortunately, people in this era emphasize the "gentlemanly demeanor" when playing chess, and they should be upright and honorable.

Therefore, the study of chess tends to focus on the big picture, but the art of fighting for victory is not studied in depth.

Therefore, Zhao Duan, who had suffered a lot from AlphaGo, glanced at it and felt bored.

If he had taken over, the game would have been successful long ago.

"despair."

Xu Zhenguan seemed not to notice his arrival. He looked straight ahead and casually placed a piece, saying:
"…So, Lord Yuan thinks that Jiancheng Dao should make some moves on the salt and iron business this year?"

Oh no, it is obvious that the two of them were playing chess in fake form and discussing state affairs in real life.

Before that, some topics should have been discussed.

Zhao Duan interrupted the conversation midway and was completely confused, lacking understanding of the context.

"Your Majesty has already made up his mind. Why do you have to ask me what I think?"

Yuan Li said with a smile, and after a little thought, he also placed a move.

Xu Zhenguan sighed:

"The matter of salt and iron is of great importance. Jiancheng Road has been rich since ancient times, with developed commerce and trade. There have been no natural disasters in the past two years, but the tax revenue collected by the national treasury is not satisfactory. If there is no one playing tricks, I don't believe it."

Isn't it... that we are talking about important things like this? Should I retreat... Zhao Duan blinked.

But since the empress called him over instead of asking him to wait, it should be said that she didn't care if he heard it.

Moreover, the three words "Jiancheng Dao"... also concerned him.

Yuan Li was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, are you still worried about Prince Jing?"

Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes dimmed, and she said:
"How can I feel at ease when a tiger is lying on my bed? Just like the chess game I played, my uncle seems harmless and is always on the defensive, but in fact, he is just like your chess moves, full of hidden dangers."

The blue-robed Imperial Censor said:

"But the situation is ultimately in your favor, and I can only go to great lengths to make some calculations."

"A thousand-mile dam is destroyed by an ant hole. If too many seeds are taken away, the whole building will collapse." The empress sighed.

"But Your Majesty cannot be ruthless. After all, there are wolves all around. If you start a fight too early, I'm afraid the chessboard will be overturned by those outside the game. Just like a person who has just recovered from a serious illness, if you take strong medicine, it may kill him. You must recuperate slowly."

"Mr. Yuan is right, but in this case, I will become the defending party." Xu Zhenguan looked depressed.

"Your Majesty, are you still worried about the firearms craftsman?" Yuan Li hesitated.

"Wasn't it handed over to Ma Yan for investigation?"

Xu Zhenguan snorted, looking unhappy:

"He is just fooling around. I have already ordered him to re-investigate."

From his conversation, it seemed as if he had already guessed that it was related to Prince Jing, but there was no evidence.

In other words, judging by the conversation between the two just now, the empress actually doesn't care whether there is evidence or not.

After all, the conflict between her and the "Eight Kings" is deep, and it will be a bomb sooner or later. When the time comes, won't it be easy for her to get a name?
What really worried her was that she didn't know who the "ant" was hiding in the "thousand-mile dike" of the imperial court.

Where is it hidden?

Yuan Li sighed softly:

"I'm afraid it's difficult. Ma Yan has always been dedicated to his work. Since he can't find anything, he must have tried his best. It will be difficult to find anything even if he searches further."

Xu Zhenguan dropped the chess piece in his hand, looking depressed, and said bitterly:

"I know this truth..."

At this time, Zhao Duan, who was standing nearby pretending to be invisible, couldn't help it.

He cleared his cough to attract the attention of the two big men.

The empress frowned her beautiful eyebrows and finally turned her head to look at him:
"If you have something to say, just say it."

Zhao Duan took a deep breath, bowed to the two men one after another, and then said seriously:

"Your Majesty, the case of the firearms craftsman was solved last night!"

(End of this chapter)