The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 76 Zhao Duan: The court is a deep place, you can’t control it
Ma Yan was stunned, not only because of the title of "senior brother", but also because of Yuan Li's iconic carriage.

Zhao Duan? Yuan Li?

There is no reason for these two people, who are completely opposite in terms of status and reputation, to have any intersection.

"Yes," Zhao Duan smiled as warm as the spring breeze and tried to get close to him:

"I didn't expect to meet my brother here by chance."

Ma Yan frowned:

"I don't remember when I had a junior brother like you, the Envoy."

Zhao Duan laughed and said:
"You and I are both worshippers of the Imperial City, our guide is Eunuch Hai, and our mentor is Emperor Taizu. Isn't it natural for us to be from the same school?"

Ma Yan was stunned for a moment, then looked at him strangely, but did not respond. He just remained silent:
"Did Sun Lianying tell you?"

Not many people know his identity as a worshipper, and one of them is the one with the surname Sun.

"Mr. Supervisor said that the Governor is loyal and devoted, and I admire him very much." Zhao Duan looked impressed.

“……”Ma Yan felt inexplicably uncomfortable all over, as if he was stuck with taffy and couldn’t get rid of it or break free.

Others did not dare to get close to Ma Yan. After all, "Ma Yanwang" was notorious and the notorious Zhao Duan did not care.

He only knows that if you want to make a living, you need more connections and more paths.

Although the Empress is a powerful figure, she is too far away from the mortal world and is not as intimidating as Ma Yanwang.

As they talked, the two walked side by side towards the Golden Palace.

At this moment, the sky was just getting bright, the morning mist was floating, and there were few people on the palace gate square.

This is a square that can accommodate thousands of imperial guards. During a past coup, there were tens of thousands of corpses on the ground, and the blood dyed the ground red. It took three days of flushing with clean water to barely wash it clean.

In the distance, towering palaces are scattered around, and long white jade steps extend all the way down along the entrance of the Golden Throne Hall.

Looking up from below, I feel awe in my heart.

Looking down from above, people are as small as dust.

"Brother, are you here for Pei Kaizhi?"

Zhao Duan, with his sleeves rolled up, stood in the square and chatted.

Ma Yan was a man of few words, but he couldn't stand the annoying buzzing of flies beside him, so he said "hmm" and then said disdainfully:

"You can address me by my official title."

How stingy... Zhao Duan curled his lips:
"I heard that the court meetings in the past few days were very exciting, but in the end, Lord Yuan was the better one. Master...Does Lord Du know the inside story?"

Ma Yan's face was grim: "I don't know."

Zhao Duan, an e-person, is in high spirits and eager to perform:

"Aren't you curious about why I'm here?"

Ma Yan glanced at him and looked away:

"Not curious."

No, you can’t have a good chat now… Zhao Duan complained, can people just pretend to be nice?

Disappointing!

He was about to fight again when he heard the sound of the bell at the Meridian Gate. Ma Yan said solemnly, "He's out."

Zhao Duan looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a sharp shout amidst the mighty bell sounds. The door of the Golden Throne Hall opened wide, and all the officials in the court poured out.

Dispersed.

There are many ministers participating in the court meeting today, hundreds of people, and the scarlet official robes are extremely eye-catching.

There is also a patch of green in the red, which is exclusive to censors.

At this moment, the crowd was walking down the white jade steps in a silent and peaceful atmosphere.

The court officials were divided into two groups in the middle. One group was headed by Yuan Li. The blue-robed imperial censor held his head high and his chest puffed out, his demeanor was impressive.

The other force is the "Li Party", which has more people, but the atmosphere is depressing and heavy.

The leader was an old man wearing a dark red official robe and a black veil on his head. His temples were like hedgehog skin and his eyebrows were like purple stone edges. He looked fierce and majestic. His slightly messy stubble spread up along both cheeks and intersected with his temples.

This inexplicably reminded Zhao Duan of the old Sima Yi played by Wu Xiubo.

Prime Minister of Dayu, Li Yanfu!

This was the second time that Zhao Duan had seen this "prime minister of the time". The last time, Li Yanfu passed by him and refused to even turn his eyes.

That was the most silent contempt ever described by Mr. Lu Xun.

This time still.

Zhao Du'an and Ma Yan were like the pillars of a stone bridge going against the flow of people, letting all the officials flow past them.

When Li Yanfu walked past the two of them, an invisible majesty made Zhao Duan's breathing become stagnate.

Those who hold great power can make martial artists feel pressured just by their aura.

Yuan Li fell behind, Lu Liang was not here.

Behind all the officials of the "Li Party" came Pei Kaizhi, who finally arrived late.

Zhao Duan was shocked. After not seeing him for a few days, the once powerful Minister of Justice seemed to have aged ten years. His energy was drained, his hair was withered and his face was haggard.

At this moment, his official robe had been stripped off, leaving him only in a plain white inner garment. In the cold morning mist, he staggered, looked distraught, and shivered.

In a daze, he walked forward instinctively without even looking at the road, and bumped straight into Zhao Duan.

Pei Kaizhi didn't raise his head until he noticed a shadow blocking his way. His bloodshot eyes suddenly lit up with the ferocity of an old wolf in desperate situation. He stopped walking, his fingers trembling:
"It's you!"

Zhao Duan, who looked radiant and in sharp contrast, smiled and nodded:
"My Lord, we meet again."

Pei Kaizhi was refreshed when he saw his enemy. Veins bulged on his forehead and his face was cold and violent.

"I spent all day hunting geese, and finally got my eyes pecked by a goose. I was deceived by a villain like you. But don't be so proud. Do you think that you are qualified to laugh at me just because you are doing things for others? You are just a chess piece, are you worthy enough?"

It seemed that he didn't know that all this was the work of Zhao Duan, and only thought that he was being plotted by Yuan Li.

Zhao Duan is just a tool to implement Yuan Li's plan.

I just don’t accept this… Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows, glanced at Yuan Li, and saw the woman in blue smiling and nodding.

He walked straight ahead and came close to Pei Kaizhi.

He put his hand on the old man's shoulder, pulled him closer, and smiled softly:

"The Minister is really old and his eyesight is blurry. He has already lost everything, but he is still at a loss and can't find the real enemy."

Pei Kaizhi's expression changed slightly: "What do you mean?"

Zhao Duan said with a smile:

"Do you think I am a pawn following Lord Yuan's orders? No. In fact, Lord Yuan has no idea that the whole thing of alienating Lu Liang was done by Zhao alone...

Oh, you think that you lost to Lord Yuan, so you still have honor in defeat? No, you can't even defeat a small pawn like me...

Haha, when you were fishing on the bank of Jinjiang River that day, you acted so mysterious that I almost frightened you. I thought you were very cunning...

Since you have no ability, why are you, an old dog, pretending to be a big shot? "

He patted Pei Kaizhi's shoulder gently and added the final blow:

"Pei Zi, listen to Brother Zhao's advice. The political world is a turbulent place, and you can't handle it. Go home and retire. I'll give you a high position, a generous salary, and a beautiful wife. I'm not afraid of deep waters. I'm young and can handle it."

Pei Kaizhi's old eyes widened as he stared at him, his face turned blue, his whole body trembled violently, and he was so angry that he suddenly cursed:
"Zhao thief! I will not let you go even if I become a ghost in my next life!!!"

Immediately, he spurted out blood and fainted from anger!

On the steps, Yuan Li had a subtle expression.

Beside him, Ma Yan was stunned. With his martial arts hearing, he heard the entire conversation between the two.

In the distance, many officials who had already left suddenly turned back and saw this dramatic scene in astonishment.

Li Yanfu also stopped and turned his head for the first time. In his eyes, which were as calm and cold as a deep pool, someone's figure was reflected.

"Zhao...Duan..."

(End of this chapter)