The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 51 The Empress's Reward

All those who have a good ending are like me.

In the Imperial Garden.

When Xu Zhenguan heard these words, her fair and graceful face was stunned at first, and then a complex expression surged on her face.

Then he looked at the "little imperial guard" in front of him with a slightly softer gaze.

Yes, as an emperor, I can easily explain why I am so slippery.

But as a subject, he could not avoid facing the might of heaven and felt sympathetic.

Just now, she issued an oral order, and with just a few words, she destroyed a doctor and the entire family behind him.

Even though the "culprit" is right in front of him, he will inevitably feel nervous, right?
Human nature.

Instead of questioning the other party, it would be better to ask why the officialdom, like this big melting pot, can influence a "simple" soldier so quickly.

Especially the sentence "The third emperor's daughter reads history books at night", which inexplicably made Xu Zhenguan feel a strange sense of closeness to him.

Very strange.

Yes, before this, the topics she talked about with Zhao Duan were all about official business.

This is the first time we have such a casual chat.

It is said that humans invented "chatting" in order to promote closeness between each other.

The reason why Zhao Duan took the risk and said this was to try to dilute the seriousness of the topic.

At this moment, he caught a glimpse of the subtle change in the empress's expression and quickly apologized:

"I don't choose my words..."

Xu Zhenguan shook his head and interrupted him, saying, "It's okay."

After a pause, the empress turned back and continued walking forward, saying:

"But I don't want to talk about Prince Jing."

Her walking pace slowed down visibly.

"According to the order."

Zhao Duan didn't want to offend her, but through the momentary emotion revealed by the empress, he couldn't help but daydream in his heart:
During the years that the empress lay dormant in the palace, she may have felt sad and grief-stricken after witnessing the brutal struggles among her brothers and relatives.

It is precisely because of this that people reacted so strongly to the actions of their relative "Prince Jing".

"Tell me the details of your case," Xu Zhenguan asked, expressing his doubts, "I want to hear it."

Zhao Duan’s previous narration was too brief and to the point, and he had anticipated that the empress would ask.

I will tell you the details one by one right away.

When Zhao Duan heard that Zhang's second son broke into Zhao's house and tried to molest Eugene Hua and her daughter, he decided to make trouble for him.

The empress was not angry, but nodded slightly, thinking:

After all, he still had the blood of a man. He was not too cold-blooded, nor was he blinded by anger and made unwise moves. He first punished with force and then struck back according to the rules.

She appreciated and agreed with this approach.

When she heard that Zhao Duan traced the information back to "Qinglian Xiaozhu" and obtained it from Xiaoya, the empress's eyebrows, as thin as distant mountains, slightly raised:
"So you visit prostitutes at night?"

Zhao Duan is righteous:
"After asking the question, I reported to Supervisor Sun and did not dare to stay for a moment!"

When it comes to topics like this, your stance must be expressed quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly!
The empress smiled, thinking that you didn't have the courage to sleep.

Although the "scandal" between the two was false, at least up to now, Xu Zhenguan had not really thought about having anything happen with this young imperial guard.

Logically speaking, she shouldn't interfere with Zhao Du's prostitution.

But for some reason, seeing that he was sincere, my irritable mood improved a little.

“Go on.”

"Yes." Zhao Duan exhaled silently and continued his narration. Except for the part about "Xiao Ya cosplaying as the empress", he concealed almost nothing else.

After hearing all the details, Xu Zhenguan's impression of him changed slightly.

If we say that the last time she took advantage of the power of another to coerce Feng Ju to bite the Prime Minister and hand her a knife, it might have been an accidental act of quick thinking.

But this time, Zhao Duan's series of micro-manipulations could not be explained by chance.

In particular, he cleverly used his own "dandy idiot" personality to complete psychological deception on the cautious Zhang Changshuo.

Even from Xu Zhenguan's perspective, it was still quite remarkable.

The person she tried to promote performed much better than expected... Although there are parasites like the Zhang family in the court, there are also outstanding talents under her command... The empress's mood eased a little. "So, the sorcerer's strength exceeded expectations, but fortunately he was accompanied by the Golden Sword Priest?"

Zhao Duan sighed and nodded:
"Yes, I guess it's my luck."

His heart moved, and he said:

"It's just that the character of that Golden Sword Priest seems..."

"That girl is indeed a bit withdrawn, not fond of showing off, and rarely gets close to outsiders," Xu Zhenguan was not surprised, "but she has a good character."

Zhao Duan was curious: "Your Majesty knows her well?"

He wanted to try indirectly to get some information.

By the way, Jin Jian left a message last night saying "I'll come back to find you", but he was nowhere to be seen until dawn.

Zhao Duan even started to doubt whether the other party was "invisible" and felt uncomfortable even when going to the toilet.

Xu Zhenguan nodded and said:

"In my early years, I also stayed in the Tianshi Mansion and sought advice from Tianshi Zhang for a while.

The Heavenly Master has accepted six disciples so far, and the first four have already graduated. The two red-dot boys are the latest ones to be accepted. Jin Jian is the youngest, the last in line, and the most favored. "

Learned... Zhao Duan listened carefully and struck while the iron was hot:
"I have heard of the name of Zhang Tianshi since I was a child, but I have never had the chance to see his true appearance. I wonder what kind of immortal figure he is?"

Each generation of Heavenly Master has a long lifespan. When Zhang Yanyi was active, Zhao Duan was not yet born.

He is a "legendary" figure, and because of his lofty status, even the powerful officials in the court have to bow down to him. Very few people have ever seen his image.

Xu Zhenguan sighed:

"Master Zhang... you are nothing special in appearance, but you are an unfathomable person. Your cultivation is too shallow, so even if someone stood in front of you, they wouldn't see anything special."

No... I haven't even seen it, so you conclude that I can't see it? Zhao Duan was a little unconvinced.

Just as he was about to ask in detail, he saw Xu Zhenguan stop his lotus steps and look at him:

"Okay, let's stop here today. You have done a great job this time and I am very pleased with you. What reward do you want?"

This is the end of the topic.

Happy times are always short... Zhao Duan was reluctant to leave, but when he heard the word "reward", he suddenly became energetic:

"During the fight with the sorcerer, the sword I borrowed from the Imperial Court's Jinyi Department could not withstand the force and broke in an instant. I think that in the future, when I help Your Majesty, I will inevitably encounter strong enemies, so I want to ask for a magic weapon."

Ask for magic weapon!

This was something he had thought of long ago. Compared to material possessions like money, saving his life was the most important thing.

Even if you have power and money, you still have to live long enough to enjoy it. This encounter taught him a profound lesson.

"Magic weapons?" The empress nodded happily:
"You are allowed to take one from the armory. Don't think I am stingy. The treasures in the armory of the imperial palace are incomparable to those outside. Each piece is not priceless, but it is far more valuable than gold and silver."

Zhao Duan still had some idea of ​​the preciousness of the magic weapon.

I know it's extremely expensive. Low-level magic tools are okay, but the higher-quality ones are, the more out of stock they are and cannot be bought at all.

In the martial arts world, it is not uncommon to hear stories of countless warriors fighting for decades for a magical weapon.

And the weapons displayed in the imperial palace armory were all the magical weapons mentioned in the stories.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhao Duan was overjoyed.

Xu Zhenguan raised his lips slightly, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said:

"Besides that, the women in your family are frightened. I think I am not good at governing... Someone, come here."

Not far away, the waiter who was always on duty came forward in small steps.

Xu Zhenguan ordered:

"Take two hundred rolls of Shu brocade from the palace and send them to the home of Envoy Zhao to make clothes for the women in his family."

"Here!"

The palace attendant obeyed and left.

The Shu brocade in the palace... the best silk tribute from the Great Yu Dynasty... is very valuable... Zhao Duan did not expect that there would be an unexpected surprise, and thought:
Now, my stepmother and sister can have new clothes to wear. They should be very happy.

……

There is something going on at home, so the updates may not be on time these days.

Thanks for the 100-coin reward from Buyancigui

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(End of this chapter)