The Empress's First Running Dog

Chapter 8 Late Night Interrogation
What kind of impression does Zhao Duan leave in the empress's mind?
It cannot be described by the words "good" or "bad", a more accurate description is:

Vague.

Since ascending the throne, Xu Zhenguan has been busy with world affairs every day and has never paid attention to the "rumored boyfriend" she casually mentioned.

When he occasionally met him, he treated him the same as other eunuchs in the palace.

As for Zhao Duan's bad reputation, although it spread in the capital, the slight criticism was not enough to reach the ears of the empress.

That's why Xu Zhenguan had asked the female official what kind of person this was.

Because she really never cared about it in the past.

If I had to talk about the most vivid impression, it was the few words Zhao Duan said while grinding ink in the afternoon, which vaguely revealed that this young guard was not simple.

He has great ambitions? Not really, but in the eyes of the empress, he is at least a little smart.

But if he is not a fool, why would he be so arrogant and domineering just because of some groundless "rumors"?
This strange contradiction aroused the empress's interest. She picked up the memorial but did not open it immediately. Instead, she said with interest:
"Mochou, what do you think the White Horse Supervisor will say?"

The tall female official whose real name was "Mo Chou" did not hesitate:

"It's not good after all. I heard that Zhao Duan has been arrogant and domineering over the past year, and has caused him a lot of trouble. Speaking of which, he was able to be promoted because of the favor of the supervisor. He didn't think about repaying the favor, but instead caused trouble. It's really shameful."

His words showed his extreme dislike for the notorious Zhao Duan.

"Is that so..." Xu Zhenguan's fingertips flickered with brilliance, and the seal of the memorial fell off. Her beautiful eyes swept over the words on the memorial, and then she suddenly smiled and said jokingly:
"It seems that this time, it was my female prime minister who guessed wrong."

Mo Chou was stunned. She took the memorial and read it completely in disbelief, looking stunned.

After a while, he said in a cold voice: "What he did this time can't be solved by just a plea."

The white-robed empress Xu Zhenguan took light lotus steps and pushed open the window.

There was a cool breeze in the night, and her long black hair fluttered in the wind. Her eyes passed through the magnificent palace, and she didn't know where they were going.

"Yeah. So...it depends on how he performs."

……

……

In a remote street.

Zhu Kui, who was dozing off in the carriage, heard his ears move slightly and woke up suddenly. He heaved a sigh of relief after seeing who was coming:
"Sir, you are back."

"Yes," Zhao Duan said calmly, "I left this formation, and someone followed me?"

The old official with a face full of flesh grinned:
"I have been watching, and no one is following me."

After a pause, Zhu Kui asked tentatively:

"Sir, it's getting late. Shall I take you back to your house?"

Come back home?

Zhao Duan, who was leaning back in the carriage and pinching his brows, was startled and then he remembered that the original owner had a home in the capital.

But of course I can’t go back at this time.

People around him may not be able to notice the changes in him, but his family members who live with him day and night will definitely find that he is not the real original owner.

At least... we have to wait until he gets used to his new body.

"No," Zhao Duan rejected the other party's proposal, paused, suddenly remembered something, and said:
"At this time, has the female thief woken up?"

Zhu Kui was stunned for a few breaths before he realized that the "female thief" his superior was referring to was the female disciple of Grand Tutor Zhuang Xiaocheng, who was now detained in the government jail:
"I think he must be awake at this hour. Sir, do you want to interrogate him overnight?"

"Well, go and meet him," Zhao Duan said.

In Ning'an County, although the fishing hooks have been released, it is still unknown whether there will be any gains.

He must grasp as many life-saving straws as possible within the limited time.

Throughout the day, as he continued to review the incident based on his memory, he always felt that there was something vaguely strange about it.

If he could get some clues from the girl named "Yun Niang", his chances of surviving this disaster would definitely increase greatly.

"Yes." Although Zhu Kui was full of doubts, he did not ask, and whipped his horse whip and rushed to the government office in the capital. But the two who left did not notice that not far from this street, on the top of a towering corner tower, on the eaves, stood a slender figure.

The night wind blew, and the sleeves of the sorcerer's robe with a black base and gold lines fluttered. On one corner of the robe, the emblem of the "Tianshi Mansion" was embroidered with gold lines.

The mysterious man watched the carriage drive away.

After a long time, starlight suddenly rose around him, and his figure disappeared inch by inch as if being brushed by an eraser.

……

……

The capital city government office and the prison.

Bang!
In the darkness, Yunxi was awakened by the movement at the end of the corridor. She opened her eyelids and saw bloodshot eyeballs.

My internal organs ached dully, my whole body felt weak, the chaos in my mind gradually dissipated, and the confused memories gradually became clear.

She recalled that the last scene before she fell into a coma was a confrontation with the empress's lackey in the temple in the bamboo forest in the southern suburbs.

As a result, the statue of the earth god suddenly cracked, and a high-level sorcerer "descended from the sky" and rescued the teacher. The aftermath of the magic power blew away a group of imperial guards.

She, who was nearby, was also affected, suffered severe injuries and fainted.

"So...I was caught by the court lackeys?"

With the help of the torches in the corridor, Yunxi gradually saw her situation clearly.

This is a solitary cell with walls on three sides and a corridor outside the fence in front.

The air was damp and smelly because it hadn't seen the sun for a long time. It made her stomach cramp and she almost vomited.

His dagger was gone, and he was put on prison clothes. He was tied to a wooden cross, kept standing, and his hands and feet were bound with chains - this was the court's special "privilege" for prisoners who entered the field of spiritual practice.

"Sure enough..." Yunxi's heart sank, and she had a premonition of the cruel fate that she would suffer next.

As a member of the rebel party, I will inevitably face cruel punishment from the cruel officials under the Empress of Dayu, and will be tortured to death at an age when I am about to bloom.

Fear? Of course I do.

But she has no regrets!
Even now that she was imprisoned, the girl still felt her blood boiling and she was filled with indignation when she thought of what her teacher had told her about the truth behind the Xuanmen coup and the tragic end that Dayu would face under the rule of the empress.

In order to save the people of the world, uncover the ugly mask of the empress who killed her brother and father, and save Dayu from collapse.

She and those people of noble character and lofty ideals who were persecuted and hiding in various places were already prepared to sacrifice their lives!

"What is the joy of life, and what is the pain of death?"

Yun Xi's eyes were firm, "If it helps the teacher escape safely, my life will be worth it."

It was just a pity that she had practiced sword skills diligently for ten years, but in the end she had to die at the hands of the traitor named Zhao Duan...

Hey, maybe the traitor is already dead.

Just as Yunxi was frantically imagining things, footsteps approached from the end of the corridor, and a jailer with a ferocious face holding a torch opened the cell door.

Turning back, he flatters and humbly says:

"Sir, the female thief is in the cell. As per your order, no one has brought her to trial during this period."

"Very good." A male voice that made Yunxi extremely disgusted sounded.

Then, Zhao Duan, dressed in gorgeous clothes, with chiseled features and a handsome appearance, walked in.

Looking at the prison, there was a girl tied to a wooden frame in the shape of a "大" character. She had messy black hair, delicate eyebrows, and a white face. There was a "prisoner" character bulging high on the chest of her shirt. She raised her eyebrows:

"We meet again."

Tsk, he's still quite big despite being so young...

Yunxi was startled at first, then her eyes spit fire:
"Running dog! The running dog of the empress! Despicable villain!!"

……

(I want to adjust the update time... noon, 8 pm, what about these two time points...)
(End of this chapter)