The Empress's No.1 Lackey

As a pawn on the verge of abandonment, how could one carve out a path to survival from the game?

Zhao Douan had never counted on the mercy of the powerful, nor on luck, the only thing he could rely on was to make the fullest use of the intelligence and means at his disposal to turn the tables.

When he entered the palace yesterday, he coincidentally came upon the Empress discussing matters with the Prime Minister, then he learned about the subsequent changes to the "switch from rice to mulberry" strategy.

From this, Zhao Douan drew two key pieces of information:

First, the Empress and the faction made up of the Jiangnan gentry, represented by Li Yanfu, were engaged in a gamble.

The Li Party first launched a "pilot" in the Huai River region, and after that failed, Li Yanfu proposed a method of "reform combined with disaster relief" through the mouth of a scholar from the Hanlin Academy.

In reality, it was all about using national affairs as a means for his own behind-the-scenes interest group to scrape up benefits.

Second, the Empress was fully aware of this, and since her ascension, had been suppressing the Li Party.

Then the question became clear—how to gain the leader's favor?

Old official Zhu Kui put it plainly: Think what the leader thinks, worry about what the leader worries.

Therefore, from the beginning, Zhao Douan realized that the key to his "redeeming his faults through meritorious service" was not the "size" of the merit, but whether the Empress urgently needed this service!

The price of goods is determined by supply and demand... This was a concept Zhao Douan was all too familiar with from his studies.

So later, when he saw the invitation from the child of Ning'an County in the White Horse Hall and noticed that the official imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice came from the Jiangnan gentry, he realized that this was an opportunity.

As long as he could link the bribery case to Li Yanfu.

Then it would become a pretext to criticize the Prime Minister and, in turn, to strike against the Li Party.

And the Empress would probably like this pretext very much.

This plan was of course not perfect, due to the original protagonist's lack of understanding of court affairs, many of Zhao Douan's judgments could only be based on guesswork and experience from his past life.

But he didn't have time to devise a "perfect" plan!

He could only take a gamble!

…

"Lord... are you joking?"

Inside the black-cloaked boat, Feng Ju felt as if he had been struck hard, his face turned pale in an instant, feeling as though countless needles were piercing into his spine.

He would denounce the current Prime Minister? Had he gone mad?

Even in the most absurd dream, he wouldn't dare imagine such a plot.

Zhao Douan spoke calmly, "Is Mr. Feng afraid?"

Bullshit... Offending the Prime Minister, you're asking me to die, who wouldn't be afraid?... Feng Ju shook his head and said:

"It's not that I am afraid, it's just that this matter is entirely unrelated to the Prime Minister, who would believe it if it were said out loud?"

Zhao Douan countered:

"Unrelated? Isn't Chief Feng and that person in the Ministry of Justice's Imprisonment from the same grad year, both Jiangnan Scholars?"

Feng Ju hurriedly tried to disassociate himself:

"The scholarly atmosphere in Jiangnan is strong, many government officials come from the south, but I'm not the Prime Minister's man."

He was truly wronged. The division of court factions wasn't based on regions; how could he be subject to such generalizations?

"But others might not think so," Zhao Douan asserted as if it were only natural:

"Both are descendants of the Jiangnan scholarly families, serving in the court concurrently, being caught in an offence, and seeking the Prime Minister's help would make sense, wouldn't it?"

He continued saying:

"But what kind of status does the Prime Minister have, how could he dirty his hands with such trivial matters? He might even be too lazy to meet with you personally, perhaps just instruct someone below to help you or point you in the right direction, wouldn't that make sense?"

Zhao Douan added:

"You received guidance and went through Wang Xian to bribe me. I am the person of Her Majesty, and on the surface, I have nothing to do with the Prime Minister. For me to handle the matter would be the most secure, wouldn't that make sense?"

Feng Ju was dumbfounded.

Three "makes sense" had directly concocted an unfounded script.

His face drained of color, he said in a cold voice:

"Lord, you are forcing me to falsely accuse the Prime Minister... do you want to drive me to my death?

If I don't comply with you, you will expose my bribery, and according to the law, at most I'll have to take off this official robe and return home to retire early.

But if I falsely accuse the Prime Minister... his golden body might get slightly tarnished, and I'm afraid afterward I'll end up with no place to be buried!"

He found it somewhat laughable.

Could this lover under the Empress's skirt be naive enough to think that, with leverage in hand, he could threaten him?

Is it that hard to choose between losing an official position and losing one's life?

"Is this how Chief Feng thinks?" Zhao Douan feigned disappointment as he spoke:

"I originally thought you were a smart man."

"What do you mean?" Feng Ju frowned.

Zhao Douan said calmly:

"So, you think that in order to exonerate myself, I am whimsically trying to implicate Li Yanfu?"

"This..."

Feng Ju was at a loss for words, indeed it didn't quite add up logically.

In the spur of anger, I had not deeply thought it through; there was no reason for Zhao Douan to be an enemy of the Prime Minister. Even if the attempt to incriminate was successful, at most, the Prime Minister would be reprimanded, and it would enrage a powerful figure. With the Empress' backing, even if Zhao wanted a pretext to exonerate himself, it would make no sense to direct his accusations at Li Yanfu. Unless...

"Heh, Chief Feng must not forget," Zhao Douan saw the change in his expression and ominously added the most crucial stab,

"Behind this official, stands whom."

Boom!

Feng Ju's mind exploded like thunder; he had an epiphany at that moment.

Zhao Douan was the Empress's dog; his action against the Prime Minister surely represented the will of the Empress.

That's it!

Since the Empress ascended to the throne, she has been consistently weakening the Li Party; this was not a secret. Recently there were rumors that the Li Party was in a power struggle with the imperial authority...

This morning, within the government office, he also heard that an Imperial Censor from the Li Party faction was assembling a group to impeach Zhao Douan...

Everything made sense now.

Constantly being checked by the Prime Minister, the Empress, finding her own confidants being used against her, would naturally be angered if one were to put oneself in her shoes. It was reasonable.

The struggle within the court is a bloodless battle of shadows and swords where everything must follow the rules.

Even the sovereign cannot act recklessly; to reprimand the Prime Minister, a proper pretext was needed...

"Thud!"

Feng Ju forcefully swallowed, his mouth dry, his tongue parched, realizing that he had been swept into the whirlpool of courtly intrigues.

"Would Chief like to wet his throat?" Zhao Douan offered him a cup of tea.

Feng Ju drank subconsciously and then spoke with a nervous expression:

"Lord... so, this is Your Majesty's intention?"

Zhao Douan frowned and spoke sternly:

"Chief, be careful with your words! What does this have to do with Her Majesty? You must not speak recklessly!"

His own words were thrown back at him.

Feng Ju got the hint; of course, Her Majesty wouldn't give people a handle against her.

But Zhao Douan's attitude was as good as an admission.

Zhao Douan struck while the iron was hot:

"So, Mr. Feng must carefully consider which side to stand on. If you are willing to alleviate Her Majesty's worries, Her Majesty will not treat her own people poorly, but if you remain obstinately misguided..."

"Heh," he chuckled lightly, with profound meaning,

"Though heaven's rain is generous, it doesn't nourish rootless grass."

He gently got to his feet, patted Feng Ju's shoulder,

"How you choose, is for you to consider."

Having said that, he stepped outside the canopy, where the drizzle fell ceaselessly and the Hun River's banks were shrouded in misty willows, picturesque like poetry.

Behind him, Feng Ju sat in the cabin, motionless. Moments later, he bit his teeth, made a decision,

stood up, picked up an oiled paper umbrella inside the cabin, held it over Zhao Douan's head, and said in a low voice, like a servant,

"Your subordinate...wishes to..."

"Hmm?"

"Oh, this matter is unrelated to Her Majesty, your subordinate wishes to serve Lord with the loyalty of a dog and horse."

Zhao Douan's mouth curved slightly, the fist hidden in his sleeve relaxed.

The crucial "evidence" for a turnaround... was finally obtained.

...

...

It wasn't long before.

After Zhao Douan returned to shore and entered the carriage, peering through the curtains, he saw Feng Ju's carriage drifting further away.

Zhu Kui, the carriage driver, wiped the rain off his face and muttered:

"My lord, where shall we go next?"

He was finding it more and more difficult to decipher his own lord's schemes.

But judging from Feng Ju's shift from arrogance to deference, for some reason, Zhao Douan, who initially seemed superficial and frivolous, was becoming increasingly enigmatic.

"What's next, ah," Zhao Douan lowered the carriage window curtain, estimated the time he had left, and said,

"To the Ministry of Justice."

According to his original plan, he simply needed to intimidate Feng Ju into becoming a "tainted witness" to claim his great success.

But since there was still time, why not lead a few more people into the pit in one go.

Zhao Douan certainly remembered that in the shadows, a "love rival" Zhang Changshuo was eyeing him tigerishly.

"Since you wish to deal with me, there is no reason not to return the favor."

Zhao Douan narrowed his eyes and decided to teach Zhang Changshuo a lesson he would never forget.