The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 531 Xu Zhenguan is offline, Zhao Duan returns to Beijing!
In the barbecue restaurant, the meat on the grill was constantly being burnt, but the two people sitting opposite each other ignored it. They also lost interest in having a midnight snack.

Zhao Duan found it very magical. This "Human World" was indeed very special. When he and the empress were both in a state of visualization, they could actually meet here. This was an extremely magical setting.

However, considering that Taizu of Dayu was infinitely close to the power of "human immortal" in the past, it is not surprising that he mastered some special methods.

What really makes the current situation delicate is that... for some unknown reason, he appears here as a "Chapter Hui".

No matter how creative Xu Zhenguan was, it was difficult for him to think of this level. Due to the inertia of thinking, he was regarded as the "guide" in the scroll.

"So... up to now, she probably hasn't encountered a character like a 'guide' in this painting...

Well, this is an 'open world'?
However, thinking about it the other way around, if Old Xu six hundred years ago could draw the world at the time point I traveled through, and according to Zhen Bao, before her and me, the practitioners of the royal family in all generations could not see this city even if they visualized the "human world"...

So, is there a possibility... that this world was deliberately prepared by Old Xu for me and her?"

Hiss...Thinking of this possibility, Zhao Duan felt a little horrified.

But thinking back, he had previously speculated that many things that happened after he traveled through time had traces of being "arranged"... This absurd idea might not be impossible.

"If that's true, does that mean that in the original design, I was her guide? Just like in the Great Dream Scroll, I was accepted as a disciple by Pei Niannu, who belonged to that world, but in this world, I am a native and Zhen Bao is an outsider..."

"Stop - the more I think about it, the more confused I am. There is no point in speculating without evidence. If I want to find out the truth, I can only continue to contact Zhen Bao... Well, maybe our meeting will trigger something..."

Moreover, he keenly noticed that the empress's expression changed significantly after he said the name just now.

But she wasn't supposed to have heard her own name.

Zhao Duan's mind flashed and he made a decision.

He planned to conceal his identity temporarily and try to play the role of a guide.

After all, the thing called "time travel" is really hard to explain, and he was not ready to share this biggest secret with the empress.

Although... as long as the empress continues to learn about this city, she will be exposed sooner or later.

"Oh, it seems that Miss Xu has a lot of questions. But don't worry, the night is long, we can talk slowly."

Zhao Duan showed an attitude of being in control of the situation. He picked up the water cup and took a sip before asking casually:
"Ms. Xu, you must have heard of my name."

Xu Zhenguan frowned, feeling the difficulty of the person in the painting, she said coldly:
"No."

An unabashed refusal to answer.

Have you really heard my name?

Zhao Duan confirmed his guess and became more and more confused. Suddenly, a strange idea came to his mind:

This can't be the "blind date" arranged by Lao Xu... Unfortunately, I have already hit a home run in reality...

Hey, after I came here, I lost my cultivation, and Zhenbao should be the same. Doesn't that mean that if I practice dual cultivation here, I can bypass the limitation of being drained into dregs due to the realm gap?
Well... the prerequisite is that I take the initiative to reveal my identity... Phew, it's not the right time yet.

As for using this identity to approach Mask Lei, he had no interest in that kind of tactics.

Compared to the brief sexual pleasure, he was more concerned about exploring the secrets left by Lao Xu in the murals.

"You haven't answered my question yet. If you continue to beat around the bush, I'm not interested in wasting my time with you."

Seeing that he remained silent, Xu Zhenguan's face turned cold and he urged him in a cold voice.

The time she stays in this world is limited!
She had no interest in playing charades with a person in the painting. Given her identity and personality, even if she had lost her power, she was still not someone who could be controlled by a person in the painting. She wanted to take the initiative.

You are worthy of it... Zhao Duan smiled helplessly, but his expression remained calm.

This is the world he is familiar with and also his home ground.

"Ms. Xu has a quick temper, haha, that's fine.

Uncle Xu left a long time ago, and I don’t know where he went, but he did leave me some things before he left.

He also gave me a time and a place, and asked me to come here at that time and take care of a relative for a period of time.

I came here today as promised, it seems that Miss Xu is the one I am waiting for. "

Zhao Duan is just talking nonsense, and his main point is that no matter whether you believe it or not, I believe it anyway.

Emperor Taizu's arrangement? Xu Zhenguan's heart moved, without any doubt, he immediately stood up and said:
"What did he leave you? Where? I need to see it."

No, I haven’t had time to edit it yet… Is this the style of your practice in the scroll?
Zhao Duan sighed softly, smiled, thought for a moment, and also stood up:

"Alright."

The waiter standing not far away saw the two of them were about to leave, so he stood up and walked over, saying in surprise:

"Are you two going to leave?"

Xu Zhenguan's expression suddenly froze as she realized an embarrassing problem: she had no money to pay the bill!
But she couldn't move forward and end her meditation to "escape the bill". She was frozen in place, unable to move forward or backward. As an emperor, she had to face the dilemma of having no money to eat. Her pearl-like toes in her sandals curled up slightly...

"Let me do it." Zhao Duan raised his lips, calmly showed the payment code, and then said to Xu Zhenguan:
"It doesn't make sense to ask guests to pay for meals."

Xu Zhenguan frowned, but felt slightly relieved.

Then, after paying the bill, the two walked out of the restaurant one after the other, leaving behind a large group of diners with faces filled with shock, jealousy, and regret.

The two of them were talking quietly, so in the eyes of many people, Zhao Duan approached her, said a few words, and took the beautiful woman away without even eating...

"Why? If I had known this was possible, I could have done it too." Countless people secretly regretted and lamented.

Outside the restaurant.

Zhao Duan was enjoying the night breeze. Instead of hailing a taxi, he gestured in a distant direction, put his hands in his trouser pockets, and walked along the quiet road.

Xu Zhenguan was a few steps behind him, staring at him vigilantly, his sandals tapping on the ground, making crisp "tapping" sounds.

For some reason, she always felt that there was an indescribable weirdness in this chapter. However, although she had lost her cultivation, she could "exit" meditation at any time, so she was not afraid of any danger.

"Miss Xu, you don't have to be so wary of me. Well, by the way, where is Miss Xu from? How long have you been here? Does she live nearby?"

Zhao Duan asked casually, trying to find out the situation.

Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes were filled with anger and she suddenly stopped.

……

……

Capital city, Imperial Observatory.

As a court agency established at the beginning of the Yu State to record the stars and weather, the Imperial Observatory was located in a corner of the capital and was a low-income government office.

But it has the tallest building in the capital... Well, the big bell tower of Tianshi Mansion doesn’t count.

The top floor of this building, named "Observation Terrace", displays many complicated and intricate observation instruments.

Not only that, it is also used to store books. The wall of books covering three walls is several meters high, so much so that several ladders specially used to carry books are needed.

It was afternoon at this moment. Wisps of thin clouds in the sky blocked the sunlight and cast a large shadow. On this huge top-floor building, several officials from the Imperial Observatory wearing special clothes were on duty.

Suddenly, several officials stood up at the same time and bowed towards the entrance to the lower level: "Sir, the Supervisor." A one-eyed old man with gray hair, a slightly hunched back, and a frail appearance, one of his eyes covered with an eye patch due to too many stargazing attempts when he was young, came up wearing an official robe and holding a scroll under his arm.

Beside him was a teenaged servant.

The old man was the director of the Imperial Observatory, nominally a third-rank official, but had no real power. He was just a figurehead in the ritual system. Also, since Emperor Taizu, there were strict prohibitions in all dynasties for astronomers to have contact with court officials.

Therefore, even the Xuanmen coup and the subsequent court turmoil did not affect the Imperial Observatory.

This old man went to court and entered the palace only a handful of times in the past few years, and most of the time he was forgotten.

The old man waved his hand, dismissed the officials and went downstairs. He staggered across the dividing line between light and dark on the ground and came to the observation deck, which was a huge semicircular platform paved with white marble and protruding from the outer wall, like half a star disk.

At night, the sky is dotted with stars and you can enjoy the view of the Milky Way from here.

Even in broad daylight, when the stars are blocked, it is still possible to observe the stars with the help of huge instruments.

"Master Sijian, why do you have to come to work so often these days? In the wind and sun? There are so many people in the office who can be ordered around, and your eyesight is not good, why do you have to work so hard?"

After the servant helped the old man sit down, he also sat down on the edge of the platform and opened an umbrella.

The one-eyed old man stroked the cannon-like instrument fixed on the white marble and smiled:

"When I was young, I started to watch the stars when I was your age. I watched them during the day and at night. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have lost my good eye. But if I could exchange it for a lifetime of peace and wealth, I don't know how many people in the world would be eager to do it."

After a pause, the old man restrained his smile and said:
"When the previous dynasty fell, a fire destroyed the previous dynasty's astronomical records. After the Imperial Astronomical Observatory was rebuilt, generations of astrologers recorded the changes in celestial phenomena for 600 years and also discovered some patterns.

This rule is sometimes accurate and sometimes inaccurate, and according to the oldest records in the prison, the world is in turmoil and war is raging everywhere, so perhaps a corresponding astrological phenomenon will occur soon."

The book boy curled his lips and disagreed:

"People use the stars to predict good and bad luck, but how can you predict good and bad luck and then look for the stars to match them?"

The old man smiled and said:

"Little boy, you will know in the future that we, the astrologers who record the stars, are no different from the historians who record the emperor's daily life. No matter how much we adhere to 'faithful recording', we can't escape human interference.

If the emperor occasionally lost his words after drinking, and the historian recorded it and asked him to delete it, would he delete it? The historian who did not delete it would lose his head, and the star officials are no different. "

The book boy seemed to understand what he heard, and asked curiously:

"Master Sijian, according to what you said, could it be that the 600-year astrological records recorded in our Imperial Observatory were also fabricated? Who is so bold as to dare to fabricate? The laws of our great-grandfather Emperor Taizu are in place, aren't you afraid of being beheaded?"

The old man said meaningfully:

"You also know that it was the law established by Taizu."

However, he did not continue speaking. Instead, he operated the cannon-like stargazing instrument and slowly attached the tube to the remaining eye.

At this moment, the old man suddenly trembled, his face became extremely solemn, and his dry hands operated the instrument very skillfully.

"Master Sijian? What's wrong?" The servant boy was shocked.

The one-eyed old supervisor, who had been idle all his life, suddenly stood up, quickly spread out the book under his arm, turned to a page that was densely written with handwriting, and muttered something incoherently while reaching out his hand, moving his fingers continuously on the paper.

He was stunned for a moment, and murmured, "It matches."

Then, the one-eyed supervisor staggered to his feet, walked downstairs solemnly, and shouted:

"Prepare the car! I need to go to the palace to see the emperor!"

……

……

"what happened?"

Zhao Duan heard the footsteps stop, turned around and looked at Xu Zhenguan, who was dressed as an urban young woman.

The empress stared at him and said coldly:

"I don't like people prying into my affairs. Also, I have... well, as you say here, I have a fiancé. This time I came here just to learn about my 'father'."

Well, although it’s just a dummy in a painting, the empress’s strong personality makes her really dislike being questioned.

She had only revealed her soft, feminine side to a very small number of people, and most of those relatives were dead now, leaving only... After much thought, apart from Mo Chou and Sun Lianying who had served her since childhood, there was only Zhao Duan left.

In addition, perhaps because of the hint given by the temple priest in Taiqing Palace, she was very annoyed by some of the relationships assigned to her in this painting.

It just so happened that the way Zhang Hui looked at her made her feel a little uncomfortable, as if she was being "seen through".

It was as if I, a "person outside the painting", had no secrets in front of him...

After much thought, I decided to make it clear and draw a clear line first.

Yes, yes, it’s that look of looking at someone like they are trash… It’s just the right feeling… Zhao Duan was not angry after hearing this. Instead, the smile on his face deepened. He said with interest:

"Miss Xu seems to have misunderstood something. I just want to do my best to be a good host. After all... to some extent, Uncle Xu and I are also friends."

"That's good." Xu Zhenguan nodded with satisfaction.

Zhao Duan suddenly asked:
"Speaking of which, for a girl as outstanding as Miss Xu, her fiancé should also be a very capable person, right?"

Xu Zhenguan didn't expect the topic to turn like this. He thought about it, and didn't know what he thought of. His cheeks turned slightly red, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"He's a jerk."

Zhao Duan's expression froze. No... I'm not talking about that kind of "awesome"...

At this moment, Xu Zhenguan's expression suddenly changed slightly, as if he sensed something. He raised his head and looked at the night sky, muttering to himself:
"Is it time?"

"What?" Zhao Duan blinked.

Xu Zhenguan just glanced at him and said:

"Nothing, I...I'm leaving first. I'll come back when I have time."

After she finished speaking, her figure gradually disintegrated into a cluster of starlight, and then she rose from the ground and flew into the night sky.

The empress is offline!
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, a little disappointed, but then he looked at the remaining star streak in the night sky, thoughtfully.

So, is this how people who meditate withdraw?
Is this remaining star mark a sign of departure?
He reached out curiously and touched the star mark in front of him.

Then, the accident happened!

Zhao Duan's hand actually reached into the star mark, as if... this star mark was an extra crack on the scroll...

The next second, a suction force suddenly came, and Zhao Duan plunged into the crack.

Disappear!

……

In the capital city, in the imperial palace, deep in the martial arts hall, Zhao Duan suddenly walked out from a mural!

(End of this chapter)