The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 537: Contact with Huai'an Palace (asking for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month)
"What do you mean?" Zhao Duan stood in the newly rented courtyard and looked at the girl standing at the door with some surprise.

The names of the landlord's family are very interesting. The male owner's name is similar to a historical celebrity he is familiar with. Of course, it is not uncommon for people to have the same name.

Du Ruhui has two children, an elder sister named "Du Shishi" and a younger brother named "Du Xiaobao".

The girl named Du Shishi looked mature beyond her age. She met Zhao Duan's gaze and said calmly:
"The broker who brought you here has a bad reputation and likes to sell tenants' information to the local Red Snail Gang.

A helpless outsider like you who comes here and rents a house with a private courtyard, paying half a year's rent, will soon be targeted by the Red Snail Gang in times of chaos."

Zhao Duan said with great interest:

"So? I'm going to be robbed? Exploited? Charged with protection money? Knocked out with a club?"

Du Shishi frowned and spoke more heavily:
"I'm not joking with you, nor am I trying to scare you. In the past, the city wasn't as bad as this, but in recent months, there has been chaos and turmoil. Men who travel outside must learn to protect themselves."

...Zhao Duan smiled strangely and said:
"Why are you reminding me? Aren't you afraid of offending the Red Snail Gang?"

Du Shishi said calmly:

"You rented my house, and you got robbed, which is troublesome. My family is local, and those gangs usually don't attack locals, but it's not necessarily the case for fat sheep like you. That's all I have to say, believe it or not."

After saying that, the young girl turned around and left, returning to her own yard which was separated by a wall.

Only clumps of green bamboos were left at the gate of the courtyard.

However, she did not notice that when she turned around, Zhao Duan's pupils emitted a faint blue light. With the help of the "Heavenly Eye", the aura of magic power on her body was clearly captured.

"A wild folk sorcerer? His cultivation seems to be very shallow, but it is enough to deal with mortals. No wonder he is so arrogant at such a young age..."

Zhao Duan was a little surprised. He didn't expect that he was so lucky that he could meet a wild warlock wherever he found a place to live.

However, considering the vastness of the Yu Kingdom's underworld, it is not surprising.

Shaking his head, he didn't take the girl too seriously. He made a decision secretly and then ordered the shadow guard to investigate.

Then he went out, did some shopping, and familiarized himself with the surrounding neighborhood.

After a simple lunch, we left Hongni Lane and headed for the destination we had already locked on.

……

Yunshao Courtyard.

It was the name of a brothel. After asking around, Zhao Duan arrived outside the building without spending too much effort.

Zhao Duan came here to get familiar with and check out a key person.

"According to intelligence, Zhao Shixiong and the border army generals are in the army or in the government office in the city all day long and rarely go out. It is also extremely dangerous to contact Zhao Shixiong rashly."

"According to your advice, it would be more appropriate to start with the 'military supervisors' that Prince Mu Xu Jingtang has placed in the city."

"Whether it's assassinating these military supervisors or capturing them to interrogate them for intelligence, both are good options. They are easy to deal with and have great results."

Zhao Duan squinted his eyes, looked up at the "Yun Shaoyuan" sign with colorful ribbons hanging on it, as well as the elegant three-story facade, and the corresponding information emerged in his mind.

The person he targeted was the highest-ranking military supervisor in the city, who could also be called the head of the military supervisors, named "Wang Qi".

According to intelligence, Wang Qi was not a military general, but a civil official in Prince Mu's mansion and one of Xu Jingtang's confidants.

This person was quite fond of elegance and even when he was in Yongjia City, he would come to the brothel every now and then.

Well... considering the loneliness in the army and the stress of war, it seems understandable that people need to relieve stress...

Yunshaoyuan is one of the romantic places that the military inspector Wang Qi likes to visit.

Zhao Duan turned the purse on his waist to a more conspicuous position and prepared to enter the building, but his eyes glanced behind him intentionally or unintentionally.

He had noticed that two people had been following him since he left Hongni Lane.

However, judging from his poor tracking skills, he is definitely not a rebel, but most likely a member of the so-called Red Snail Gang.

Zhao Duan didn't care and pretended not to see it. After buying the "ticket", he entered the brothel.

After he disappeared, a member of the Red Snail Gang who was hiding behind a wall not far away swallowed his saliva and said to his companions:
"Go back and tell the boss that this is a fat sheep. Damn, he doesn't even bother with ordinary brothels and goes straight here. He must be rich."

……

At the invitation of the two servants, Zhao Duan walked through the front yard and entered the lobby of the brothel.

The scene that came into view surprised him a little.

It was not the place with all the romantic and vulgar love affairs as expected. Instead, the interior of the building was quite elegant and quiet.

The desk in the hall was brightly lit, and the music of stringed instruments was melodious but not lewd. On a round table covered with a red carpet, a slender-waisted woman in a veil was playing the strings of a musical instrument. She had a focused look on her face, and her pretty eyes were full of tenderness. She didn't even cast a provocative glance at the guests in the "boxes" below the stage.

Although there were thinly dressed women drinking with each guest, there was no eye-catching scene.

Although Zhao Duan had remained a virgin for the empress, he had at least seen the world, and one word popped out in his mind:

High-end club!

That’s right…the military supervisors sent out from Prince Mu’s palace cannot be too vulgar, and they must go in and out of high-end occasions.

At this moment, soft and gentle footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. A ragged woman in the building came over with a smile on her face, speaking softly:

"Sir, is there anything you want..."

You vulgar woman! You are a skeleton! Get out of here...

Zhao Duan took a half step back and pointed to a square table in the corner. He declined the offer to drink with him and only ordered a few exquisite dishes.

The woman just smiled and her service attitude was very good.

Soon, a pot of sake, a fruit platter, two plates of snacks and other items were brought up. Zhao Duan drank by himself, listened to the music and waited.

After two cups of wine and a few peanuts, the string music on the stage stopped and the dancer with a white body wrapped in a light dress came on stage. She spun and jumped to the music. Her white body was visible when she raised her hands and her movements were tight. The atmosphere in the quiet lobby gradually became lively and ambiguous with the singing and dancing.

The target had not yet appeared, and Zhao Duan expanded his hearing to take in the conversations of the surrounding guests.

When he first arrived in Yongjia, he needed to know the latest situation in the city as much as possible to avoid being misled by delayed information on paper.

Guests who can enter and exit such high-end clubs must be well-known and have more information.

A middle-aged man who was hugging a prostitute stroked the woman's hand, looked at the singing and dancing on the stage, and said with emotion:

"After a war, even this place has become deserted. In the past, if you wanted to sit in the front row, you would have to pay more than this little money."

The companion beside him laughed and said:
"Isn't it because of the battle in Linfeng? I heard that the 'juren general' wanted to burn the city, but the legendary governor Zhao stopped him, saying that it was a god descending to the world, and heavy rain fell for a hundred miles. What a scene!
Now that the imperial court has recaptured Linfeng, they are about to march to the city. If it weren't for General Zhao blocking the road, countless people would have escaped. You can't even save your life, and you still have the mind to visit a brothel?"

The middle-aged man sighed:
"That's right. But I heard that Xue Shence has left to deal with Jiancheng's troops. Governor Zhao is in Taicang. I don't know whether he will fight or defend."

Zhao Duan had a strange expression on his face. He didn't expect that Yongjia's latest hot topic was himself.

He listened carefully to the conversations of the guests at each table in the hall. About four-fifths of the guests mentioned the words: Governor Zhao, heavy rain, Shenjiying firearms, and King Zhao.

The remaining one-fifth were all groaning and "Master, please don't touch me"...

It seems that the great victory on the Linfeng West Front has caused panic in the people of Yongjia City, which was hit hardest, and it is far from being as calm as it appears on the surface.

At this moment, several soldiers walked in from behind the screen in the lobby. All of a sudden, the guests in the hall shut up tacitly and stopped discussing the previous topic.

Then, a middle-aged official who was slightly plump, had a fair complexion, very light eyebrows, and a red nose walked in. Military Supervisor Wang Qi!

Zhao Duan compared their appearances and his eyes lit up slightly.

Wang Qi seemed to be a regular customer. The madam of the building immediately greeted him with a smile, called him "General Wang", and personally led the pot-bellied Wang Qi to a private seat on the second floor.

"General Wang just came back from a meeting at the government office. He looks very tired. Bring us some good wine and food as soon as possible!" a soldier urged, relying on his power.

The madam immediately called a group of beautiful girls to come up, and Wang Qi's serious face finally showed a little satisfaction. He went up to the second floor like the moon surrounded by stars.

"Bah, he's just a retainer of the royal palace, but now he's acting more arrogantly than the prefect." A guest cursed in a low voice.

Quickly being drunk by a friend and covering his mouth:

"General Wang's current status is even higher than that of the prefect! Even though his rank is not high, even Zhao Shixiong dares not neglect him. Drink, drink."

Zhao Duan was drinking alone in a corner, not saying a word, and was extremely inconspicuous.

The invisible divine thoughts gathered and returned from afar.

Well... Wang Qi himself is just a mortal, but the four "soldiers" around him are not simple. Two of them are in the Divine Chapter Realm, and two are mortals... They are close bodyguards... Outside the brothel, there is also a team of soldiers following... Zhao Duan calculated silently.

This kind of protection makes it almost impossible to assassinate anyone below the worldly realm.

But if Zhao Duan took action, he was confident that he could kill him within ten breaths if he exerted all his strength.

And get away with it.

However, what Zhao Duan was thinking about at this moment was not assassination, but something else.

Could it be that the "military supervisor" who is relied upon by King Mu and sent to check and balance Zhao Shixiong really has no control over his pants?

Even on the front line, you often go to brothels?

Although there were many guards and the hours were irregular, this brothel was just one of the places Wang Qi frequently visited.

but……

Something is still not right. As long as someone is waiting there deliberately, there will definitely be an opportunity for assassination.

Coincidentally, there is more than one worldly realm in the Taicang Prefecture city opposite.

Is Wang Qi so confident that nothing will happen? Or is he... fishing?

Zhao Du'an's eyes flickered, he took a sip of the wine in the glass, lowered his brows, and suspected that Wang Qi was using himself as bait to deliberately attract the attention of the imperial court's men hiding in the city.

"So, don't be hasty and be patient." Zhao Duan whispered in his heart.

Time waits for no one, and if he ventured into Yongjia City, he was bound to cause some trouble.

Similarly, due to time constraints, he could not infiltrate slowly like the Kuangfu Society, using gentle and covert means to plant spies little by little, or incite the core of the rebels to revolt.

They could only use more drastic and faster-acting methods, such as kidnapping and assassinating some people, to obtain intelligence and weaken the power of the vassal kings.

"I am determined to get Wang Qi. But I can't be impatient. I need more preparation."

As Wang Qi left, the atmosphere in the lobby quickly returned to its lively state. The guests became more unrestrained, hugging each other, rubbing hands, expressing their love, and singing softly. The atmosphere gradually became warm and noisy.

More and more guests entered the brothel. Among them, a young man wearing a green shirt, with elegant manners and the temperament of a gangster attracted Zhao Duan's attention.

The other party seemed to be a regular customer as well. The moment he came in, six women greeted him with smiles, and those smiles seemed to be genuine!
The suave young man in green had a cheerful personality. He was surrounded by women and sat down in the lobby without going upstairs. He even greeted several guests and seemed to know them.

A social elite... After a brief observation, Zhao Duan gave this man a label.

Although the Green Shirted Jianghu Man is not bad looking, he has an even more outstanding charm. It seems that he can become friends with anyone, has a high emotional intelligence, and is very generous.

As he talked and laughed, the group of women around him blushed and their hearts beat faster, and they laughed so hard that they shook.

"Send a pot of Huadiao wine to each table in the hall and put it on my account." The green-shirted Jianghu, reeking of powder, greeted the madam with a smile.

He looked like a veteran in the entertainment industry.

The servant in the hall immediately responded and went away. The green-shirted Jianghu man turned his eyes and seemed to notice Zhao Duan, who was standing alone in the corner and looked a little out of place with the crowd.

He waved his hand and said to the two girls beside him:
"Go and accompany that young master. It would be boring to go out and play without Hongxiu to accompany you, wouldn't it?"

Because of his social status and his generous personality, his behavior was not at all out of place. In the eyes of outsiders, it was just a means of making friends.

Zhao Duan frowned slightly and nodded:

"Thank you for your kindness, but it's not necessary."

The green-robed warrior who was the center of everyone's attention and looked like a bright pearl in the crowd raised his eyebrows.

Holding the wine cup, he staggered to the corner and sat down opposite Zhao Duan. He waved to let the two girls leave, turned to look at him, and introduced himself with a smile:

"Feng Xiaolian."

This is a man's name? Zhao Duan complained in his heart and said lightly:
"Dong Ping."

He used the name of Dong Da, the grandson of Grand Tutor Dong Xuan.

Well, Mr. Dong is not well-known and his name is extremely ordinary. There are many Dongs in Huaishui, so there is no need to worry about attracting attention from outsiders.

Feng Xiaolian picked up the wine pot and poured wine for Zhao Duan, with a smile on her face, but her voice was not loud:

"I know who you are. I wanted to find an opportunity to meet you, but I didn't expect to be waiting here today. Governor Zhao."

When Zhao Duan raised his hand to hold the wine glass, his arm muscles tensed slightly, a cold light flashed across his eyes, and the flying knife in his sleeve was ready to pierce the throat of the man in green in the blink of an eye.

Feng Xiaolian concealed her face with her sleeves, flicked her wrist from under the table, handed over a waist badge, and explained:
"Captain, please don't do anything. I am a guest official of the Huai'an Palace. Haha, I also supervise the palace's business in Yongjia. I can barely be called the 'big manager'. I have no ill intentions here. I am here on the order of the prince to contact you."

Someone from Huai'an Palace?

Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, and a wealthy figure standing at the table cutting fish and cooking emerged in his mind.

Princess Xu Junling's father was one of the Eight Kings and the King of Huai'an who ruled the Huai River.

When he went to Huting to open the market, he had a meal with King Huai'an and won the support of this "fence-sitter" prince who was rich enough to rival a country.

Finally, on the day when Hu Ting opened for business, Prince Huai'an secretly took action to block the threats from Prince Jing and others.

The imperial court was able to open the market smoothly. Although the market had been suspended due to the rebellion, the operation in just half a year helped the Ministry of Revenue alleviate the fiscal deficit and stabilize the national treasury.

In a sense, the Prince of Huai'an was also the first prince among the Eight Princes to speculate and bet on the empress.

Intelligence shows that after the two rebel forces of Prince Jing Xu Wen and Prince Mu Xu Jingtang entered the Huai River, Prince Huai'an did not try to stop them, but closed the gates of his palace and put on an attitude of "not fighting with the world."

Zhao Duan originally thought that Prince Huai'an was planning to be a coward and not get involved in the internal strife that was sweeping the dynasty.

But now it seems that the situation has changed.

"Huai'an Palace?" Zhao Duan glanced at the token, confirmed its authenticity, and threw it back under the table with a cold look:

"Do you know my whereabouts?"

(End of this chapter)