The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 73 People all over the world have misunderstood Mr. Zhao for a long time

Zhao Duan?
Inside the house, upon hearing this name, Yuan Li was stunned, then frowned:
"The messenger from the White Horse Prison?"

When there were outsiders present, Yuan Li deliberately pretended to be unfamiliar with them.

"Yes. He said he was doing something important for Your Majesty and wanted to see Lord Yuan." The servant added.

That empress's concubine asked for an audience? And she claimed she came on orders?

The officials present were surprised and extremely surprised.

Yuan Li also frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Take him to the flower hall."

Then he stood up and said to everyone, "I will be back soon."

The officials responded hurriedly and discussed the matter curiously after the people left.

Given Mr. Yuan's status, he shouldn't have bothered with a notorious gigolo.

The reason why he went to meet him in person must be for "Your Majesty", which is not surprising.

……

"What did he say he was here for?"

In the corridor, Yuan Li asked, her clothes swaying.

The attendant who brought the news, who was also the servant who invited Zhao Duan to get in the carriage outside the imperial city gate that day, said:
"I don't know. He just rode over and tied a man to his horse. He wrapped his head with clothes, blocked his mouth, and took off his outer clothes. I don't know what he was."

What he just said, "I came on the emperor's order," was just a lie, an excuse to fool the officials in the room.

Yuan Li was stunned, thinking to himself, could it be that this idle move actually produced something?
A little unexpected, but not exciting.

After all, the entire Qingliu Party had been messing around for a long time, but the few pieces of evidence they produced did not satisfy him.

Zhao Duan was a young man with little strength, and only a few days had passed, which was too short.

Even if there is some progress, it is most likely just some small piece of dirty information, or even not enough information. It's just some clues, and they come to claim credit for it.

"After all, you are still too young and eager for success."

Yuan Li shook her head and didn't think Zhao Duan had made any significant gains.

This judgment was based on reason, but he still decided to meet him and praise him in the hope of achieving good results.

In the flower hall.

Zhao Duan sat there for a while before he saw a familiar figure outside the door. He immediately stood up:
"Your humble servant greets Lord Yuan."

Yuan Li smiled like a spring breeze and joked:

"You come to my house at night, you don't want me to sleep well."

Zhao Duan said seriously:
"Everyone knows that Lord Yuan worked day and night for the Great Yu, and never had to go to court. I, too, want to emulate a virtuous person."

Yuan Li waved her hand and scolded with a smile: "Stop talking so smoothly. Tell me, what are you doing here tonight?"

The host and the guest took their seats and got down to business.

Zhao Duan said seriously:

"Last time, I was favored by Lord Yuan and had the honor to participate in the case of 'overthrowing Pei'. Now that several days have passed, I heard that the court was in turmoil, so I dared to come and ask if there is any breakthrough?"

This was a bit rash, but Yuan Li trusted her employees and did not hide anything:

"All we need is the east wind."

"Mr. Yuan has not yet found strong evidence of the crime?"

"Pei Kai's golden body is very strong. It would be difficult to deal with him without force." He gave a cryptic answer.

You guys can’t do it either… Zhao Duan complained.

But he knew in his heart that he had to be a member of the Qingliu Party to succeed. They had already cleared the most difficult links. He was just the heir of the original owner's "legacy" and was just being taken advantage of:

"Can't I just kill him by force?"

Having watched too many historical dramas, Zhao Duan had the impression that the emperor executed ministers with a wave of his hand, easily and without hesitation, and no one dared to disobey.

Yuan Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "If Your Majesty had been on the throne for thirty years, it would be fine. But now it's only been less than three years."

If she had been on the throne for thirty years, I'm afraid she would not be able to do anything and would not be able to stand up... Zhao Duan complained, saying:
"This time, I was lucky enough to get a piece of evidence that might be useful."

Yuan Li was not surprised at all and pretended to be surprised:
"So quickly, you've achieved something? Yes, young people are really resolute and decisive."

A qualified boss must know how to give positive feedback to his subordinates. This is the way to manage people, and the Imperial Censor is well versed in this.

Can you be more hypocritical? If you don't believe I can come up with something good, just say it directly... Zhao Duan complained in his heart, but his expression remained normal:
"It was just luck, and the evidence I have obtained is definitely not as good as that of the others under Lord Yuan. I am very afraid to present it to you, fearing that Lord Yuan will laugh at me."

Yuan Li smiled faintly, thinking that you boy have a lot of nice words to say, just trying to save face for yourself in advance.

He raised his hand and picked up the teacup, speaking casually:
"Just say it."

He didn't mind listening to it, even if it was useless or overlapped with existing evidence.

However, the next second, Zhao Duan calmly said, "What I have found is that Pei Kaizhi abused his power for personal gain, interfered with the imperial examination, and cheated in the examination paper!"

Interfering with the imperial examinations... the crime of cheating...

Yuan Li's hand holding the teacup suddenly stopped. After a moment of silence, the blue-robed Imperial Censor slowly raised his head, his deep eyes slightly blank:
"what?"

Zhao Duan had no choice but to repeat it again.

You heard it right... Yuan Li's face became visibly solemn, and the knuckles holding the porcelain cup unconsciously exerted force:

"Do you know what you are talking about? For such an important matter, solid evidence is needed to count. Suspicion and suspicion do not count at all."

Zhao Duan said:
"I have brought the witness Lu Liang to your residence. Censor Lu is willing to testify in person that his father-in-law interfered with his imperial examinations in the past. In addition, he also has evidence in his hands and is willing to present it to Lord Yuan."

Lu Liang is at home?
The person he kidnapped was Lu Liang?
Yuan Li was startled, his expression suddenly changed, and he said in a deep voice:

"You know, testimony obtained through coercion is unreliable!"

The tone was stern.

In his opinion, Zhao Duan most likely used force to kidnap Lu Liang and threatened him to testify, which is consistent with the character of the empress's lover.

But what is the use of such identification?
Reckless! Stupid!
For the first time, he doubted his own judgment of people. However, as his anger surged, the leader of the Qingliu Party suddenly calmed down, stared at Zhao Duan's calm face, and said suspiciously:

"Not a threat?"

"Of course not," Zhao Duan smiled, "It's alienation."

Yuan Li's eyes lit up slightly, and he leaned forward: "Speak clearly!"

"Yes!"

Zhao Duan was not in a hurry. He explained how he obtained clues and made a plan, using Pei Si Niang as a breakthrough point to get the opportunity to talk to Pei Kaizhi.

The story also tells the story of how Pei Wulang forced Pei Kaizhi to give up his son-in-law.

“I know very well that with Pei Kaizhi’s cunning and ruthlessness, I can either pretend to be nice to him, demote him first, and then get Lu Liang back.

Otherwise, they would cut off the roots... Lu Liang and his father-in-law had long been at odds with each other and did not trust each other. This subordinate took advantage of this and used Pei Si Niang to set up a trap, sending a death row prisoner and a killer to create the illusion of silencing...

After this incident, Lu Liang knew that there was no way out. If he wanted to survive, he had to surrender to Lord Yuan. "

Zhao Duan smiled and said:

"Even if he came to his senses later and realized that he had fallen into a trap, from the moment I led him out of the Ministry of Justice and into Yuan's mansion, Lu Liang had completely lost the trust of the 'Li Party' and there was no turning back...

This is a conspiracy that turns into an open one. One wrong step leads to another. He has no way back and can only join hands with us to kill my father-in-law."

Quiet.

The flower hall fell into silence for a moment, and Yuan Li remained silent for a long time.

The look he gave Zhao Duan was as if he was looking at a good-looking little fox with shiny fur.

He suddenly exclaimed: "People in the world have misunderstood you for a long time."

……

……

Pei Mansion.

In the study, the lights are brightly lit.

Pei Kaizhi, who is already old and has white hair and beard, cannot sleep tonight.

Even after taking Yaozhitang's tranquilizing pills, my eyelids still twitched wildly and I always felt like something was happening.

"Someone come!" Pei Kaizhi paced in the room for a long time and called the servant:

"Go to the prison cell of the Ministry of Justice and see why no one has reported yet."

"Yes!" The brown-clothed servant responded and left, not daring to delay even a moment.

When he came back during the day, Pei Kai ordered the legs of two servants to be broken, as if to vent his anger. The entire Pei Mansion was silent.

However, before he left the mansion, he saw the head of the Ministry of Justice rushing in, sweating profusely:
"Quick! Take me to see the Minister!"

After a while, Pei Kaizhi, wearing only a single layer of clothes, saw the breathless chief official in the study. The old man had a gloomy look in his eyes and felt that something was wrong:
"What happened?"

The head of the Ministry of Justice wailed:

"This is terrible. Zhao Duan drugged us and took the opportunity to kidnap Censor Lu. I'm afraid he has evil intentions!"

Pei Kaizhi only felt a "hum" and his heart suddenly sank to the bottom of the river:

"Fell into a trap..."

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(End of this chapter)