The Empress's No.1 Lackey

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Imperial Court!

Zhao Douan suddenly felt enlightened,

"What if we remove this 'unexpected factor' that I am?"

"Three days ago, an informant from the Imperial Court received a clue, suspecting they had found traces of rebels. Around the same time, Zhuang Xiaocheng began to erase traces of information exchanges in preparation for his escape."

"After receiving the intelligence, the Imperial Court didn't rashly arrest anyone in order to fish for bigger prey; instead, they chose to wait, while Zhuang Xiaocheng also did not rush to flee."

"If I hadn't intervened, the subsequent script should have been that the Imperial Court would wait until the time was ripe to catch them.

Prepared in advance, Zhuang Xiaocheng would have escaped a step earlier, luring the Imperial Court's pursuers to the Southern Suburb Bamboo Forest, and, with the help of magician accomplices, performed a so-called 'Divine Descent,' inflicting a heavy blow on the leaders of the pursuing soldiers!"

"To capture such a significant figure, the leader sent by the Imperial Court would not be trivial, most likely being the Empress's trusted confidant, the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Court, famed as 'King Ma.'"

"In this way, it all makes sense!"

Zhao Douan suddenly saw the light.

The identity of the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Court was enough to make the rebels take risks.

Perhaps Zhuang Xiaocheng's aim for sneaking into the Capital this time was to use himself as bait to lure Ma Yan out and eliminate him.

The address coordinates were also voluntarily disclosed by Zhuang.

And to ensure the success of the plan, it was highly likely that the Kuangfu Society had an undercover operative within the Imperial Court, and their rank was not low.

But bad luck struck.

Unexpectedly, the naive original owner intervened midway, disrupting their plan.

"This explains why Zhuang Xiaocheng, upon learning the imperial guard was approaching, urgently retreated, yet left no valuable intelligence behind..."

"And because the Imperial Court also dispatched personnel to contend with me for people, Zhuang Xiaocheng still hoped to complete the plan, hence he still went to the Southern Suburb Bamboo Forest and patiently waited."

"As a result, I used the rules of the daylight restrictions, utilized privileges, and stopped the Imperial Court... getting there first, which is why after seeing me, Zhuang Xiaocheng said those words... guessing he was furious at the time."

"Left with no choice, he had to kill me... That strike indeed obliterated the original owner's Divine Soul."

Zhao Douan's expression flickered unpredictably, with an overwhelming feeling of disgust.

So, did I block disaster for the Imperial Court?

Of course, all of the above were just his speculations, with no substantial evidence, merely suspicions.

And it was still derived from the presumably false testimony of a "rebel."

Thus, he couldn't just go to the Empress to explain the situation or seek explanations from Chief Eunuch Ma Yan with such mind conjectures.

"But it wasn't without gain," Zhao Douan organized his thoughts,

"At least I am sure there might be rebels within the Imperial Court... hmm, let's suppress this clue for now. If I can't achieve a turnaround in the end, and the Empress indeed wants to execute me, then I'll reveal this intelligence as the last straw..."

Great, up until now, he finally had a bit of capital for self-rescue.

Zhao Douan ended his musings and looked at the girl wearing a prison uniform, eyes tightly shut, trembling lashes, and chest heaving nervously, and smiled,

"All right, today's interrogation ends here."

Yun Xi opened her eyes, extremely surprised,

Was it over just like that?

Immediately, she became nervous again, based on her understanding of the court's cunning men, after discussing important matters, wouldn't they proceed with 'important actions'?

If this scoundrel intended to defile her, how should she resist?

Should she look for an opportunity to commit suicide, or pretend to be accommodating while actually waiting for a chance to perish together?

While Yun Xi was going wild with these thoughts, Zhao Douan had already turned around, walked out of the cell, and called to the waiting prison guards in the distance, saying in a deep voice,

"This rebel still has significant value, make sure to guard carefully, do not allow anyone to get close. If even a single strand of hair is lost, delaying the grand plans of His Majesty, you know the consequences."

The prison guard was drenched in cold sweat, "Rest assured, Your Excellency!"

Was it really over?

Yun Xi was dumbfounded; this was different from the tragic encounter she had imagined.

Immediately, she saw Zhao Douan turn around, giving her an enigmatic look, and said,

"You should think carefully too. Is a teacher who hides everything from you truly worth your loyalty? If he really cared for you, why would he discard you?"

Yun Xi instinctively retorted,

"The magician fetching someone from a thousand miles away consumes a great deal of mana; it's only right to rescue the teacher first."

Zhao Douan sneered, mocking,

"But Zhuang Xiaocheng refused to tell you about any aid arriving. It seems he doesn't believe you'd willingly stay behind to cover his retreat..."

Yun Xi was at a loss for words.

Zhao Douan turned to leave, walking several steps away when he heard the young girl cursing relentlessly behind him.

...

...

Outside the government office's dungeon.

Zhao Douan got back into the carriage and suddenly asked,

"Zhu Kui, what do you think of this female thief?"

The ugly old official, acting as the carriage driver, sneered and commented,

"She claims to be righteous, while in reality, she's an ignorant fool."

"..." Zhao Douan remained silent for a moment, then said,

"Old Zhu, do you know why I like to keep you by my side?"

Zhu Kui was taken aback, his face filled with coarse flesh, his ugly and dark face broke into a grin,

"Because I'm efficient at work? Because I understand what Your Excellency wants, worrying what worries you?"

In his opinion, knowing his understanding of the Lord, that previous comment was sure to have struck Zhao Douan's heart; this was appealing to his superior.

"No," Zhao Douan said softly,

"Mainly because your coarse appearance brings out this official's extraordinary handsomeness."

Zhu Kui: "..."

"Just joking," Zhao Douan laughed heartily, exhaled a breath, and lazily said,

"After a busy day, take me to the nearest inn. I won't return to the office tonight. You head back and rest too, don't forget the important matters I entrusted to you."

"As you command!"

...

On the second floor of the inn.

Watching Zhu Kui leave, Zhao Douan closed the window, undressed, and sank into the bath barrel. The warm water permeated his pores, utterly exhausted.

Leaning against the barrel's wall, he felt the distinct differences of this body, gazing at the lamp on the table, lost in thought.

This entire day since transmigrating, he had been tense, one matter following another.

Until this moment, he could finally take a short breather.

"Just like that, I've become another person? It's unscientific... I hadn't finished the report in my hand, suddenly died, and tomorrow the leadership still needed it for a meeting..."

"Ha, as expected of a wage slave, even now thinking about the report... Damn it, my mortgage hasn't been fully paid yet, this time the housing fund won't cover it..."

"I wonder if it counts as a work-related injury, how many months of compensation can I get... Enough, for years I've worried for others, it's time to live for myself... After I die, let the floods come as they may!"

Zhao Douan's mind was filled with thoughts, as if countless bullet screens floated by, he just found it noisy.

"Slap!"

He punched the water surface, looking at the broken reflection in the water, seeing that extraordinarily handsome face, he took a deep breath.

"Think about the bright side!"

In the past life, from long sitting at desks, he had many minor health issues, being racked with rheumatism at a young age and suffering from severe sub-health. Now, this body was entirely different.

Practiced martial arts from a young age, laid a solid foundation, though the original owner's martial arts realm just barely entered the practitioner category.

But in the previous world, he could effortlessly take down a whole line of Master Mas with one hand.

Relying on the faint "Qi Mechanism" within the Dantian Qi Sea, combined with his appearance, maybe he could become the next martial arts superstar.

"It's a pity, in this world, I'm just a small fry, any magician could easily kill me from a thousand miles away."

This world had two cultivation groups, martial artists and magicians, the former being pure in their path, while the latter were diverse.

The original owner's family resources could only support him reaching the "mortal" realm of martial artists, and that too was the lowest "Low Grade," probably equivalent to a passerby's level in a Jin Yong martial arts novel.

Improving required meticulous attention to wealth and talent.

The key was that there were no paths for advancement!

Even having money didn't guarantee acquiring it!

In the original owner's memory, all knowledge concerning cultivation was highly concealed and nearly taboo.

Only by entering that circle could one qualify to know a few things.

Even though the original owner was nobly titled as the "Empress's Gigolo," he was uninhibited in the official court, yet he still had only a half-baked understanding of cultivation.

He attempted contacting people from the Heavenly Master Mansion.

But perhaps his reputation was too bad, practitioners simply didn't want any association with him.

He vaguely heard that the Great Yu Imperial Family mastered a highly powerful and domineering cultivation heritage; the original owner even fantasized about crawling into the Empress's bed and trying to obtain it.

"Ha, still thinking about cultivation? Better focus on staying alive first."

Zhao Douan laughed at himself and fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up again, it was broad daylight.

A night had passed, his whole body soaked white, and his fingertips wrinkled.

He put on his robe, ready to go downstairs to find the innkeeper for some food, when he heard hurried footsteps.

"Lord, I have an important matter to report!" Outside the door came Zhu Kui's voice.

Energized, Zhao Douan said, "Come in and speak."

Zhu Kui pushed open the door, weary from a sleepless night yet excited,

"Lord, the people you sent to follow Wang Xian of Ning'an County have returned with news!"

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