The Empress's No.1 Lackey

As the end of the year drew nearer, the temperature in the Capital dropped once again, plunging it deep into the winter.

Zhao Douan's waking hours therefore started to get increasingly delayed.

Early in the morning, inside the bedroom.

"Sigh," Zhao Douan crawled out from the warm blankets and heavily exhaled a breath of stale air, lifting his hand to summon a sphere of clear water over his face to dispel the remaining drowsiness.

Then with a flip of his body, he sat cross-legged on the bed, stared blankly for two seconds, and suddenly brought his hands together in front of his chest in a gesture.

A "Swastika" Buddhist character surrounded by a faint glow, silently emerged from thin air.

Zhao Douan spread open his right hand, allowing the "Swastika" to fall into his palm like a falling leaf, feeling the Sea of Consciousness Green Lotus within his mind fade slightly, his mouth slowly curving into a smile, "Done."

Since the Western Regions Monk Group had left, half a month had flashed by. During this time, aside from his daily cultivation, Zhao Douan had devoted a considerable amount of energy to studying the Sea of Consciousness Green Lotus.

And finally, after continuous attempts, he mastered the first Buddhist magic — the "Sealing Demon Spell".

That is, he could utilize the Sea of Consciousness Green Lotus to bridge the gap between cultivation systems and cast Buddhist spells.

According to the book he had that introduced Buddhist spells, the Sealing Demon Spell's potency, with proficiency ranging from low to high, could impose varying degrees of confinement on the enemy.

"My current grasp is still shallow, I could likely only bind an opponent. If my mastery were deeper, or my realm higher, I could attempt to seal off the enemy's mana or even their senses."

"Sigh, yesterday I couldn't release it with a hundred percent certainty, but this morning I could, does this count as proficiency leveling up? If I had a cultivation panel system on me, this would probably be the time it would 'ding ding' with a new skill upgrade…"

Zhao Douan restrained the impulse to make a "ding" sound with his mouth, slowly released the maintenance of the "Sealing Demon Spell", allowing the spell inscription to disperse and vanish on his palm.

...

Inside the Main Hall!

As Zhao Douan enters, a lavish breakfast had already been set out on the table.

"Morning, Auntie, morning, Sister, morning, Dog."

Zhao Douan casually greeted the two women and the dog by the table in an unserious manner and sat down to eat heartily.

You Jinhua snorted, muttering while serving him food:

"Big lad, you are a figure of some importance now, you should pay attention to your speech and conduct, how can you still act like a child."

Tsk, after nearly a year's time, my stepmother has successfully emerged from the shadow of being bullied by her stepson, and now she even dares to nag.

Yet, while saying these "critical" remarks, she couldn't hide the smile on her lips.

It seems that in her eyes, a stepson who is so casual is endearing, if he truly became like those austere "lords" in court, putting on airs, then familial warmth would indeed become cold.

"Yawn..." Zhao Pan yawned incessantly, having long abandoned her initial resolve to learn martial arts, and now she appeared sleepy:

"Big brother, why did you get up so early today..."

In the past, Zhao Douan woke up late, so she too indulged in lying in, under the guise of waiting to have breakfast with her big brother.

Today, Mr. Zhao unexpectedly got up early, and the young girl had to do so as well, no longer having the excuse to sleep in, pulled out from her warm bed by her mother.

Zhao Douan held his porridge bowl, lips sipping the fragrant thick white porridge until the warmth slid down his throat before he said:

"Duke Tang will return to the Capital today, a group of military generals are ordered to line up outside the city to welcome him, I can't escape it."

You Jinhua was taken aback, somewhat nervously said:

"It's that Young Master with whom you have a grudge..."

"No worries, a misunderstanding can be cleared up with a few words." Zhao Douan reassured her with a smile, hastily finished his breakfast, changed his clothes, and strode out the door.

...

The time for Duke Tang to enter the Capital was set for the morning.

Zhao Douan first went to the government office, according to the arrangement with Ma Yan representing the Imperial Court, to welcome him.

"Brother, the Divine Mechanism Camp didn't ask for me, why would the Imperial Court think of including me, that's not proper, is it?"

As Zhao Douan entered the Governor Hall, he complained to Ma Yan who was dealing with official documents.

Ma Yan sat upright on the main hall, his thin face expressionless.

Nearing the year's end, all major government offices in the Capital had a large pile of affairs to handle, petitions to the Imperial Court were basically put on hold, urgent to complete the "reports", culminating at the Governor Hall.

Ma Yan had been so busy these last few days his eyes were surrounded by dark circles.

"At work, refer to your official title."

Lord Ma put down the seal in his hand, picked up the blue-and-white porcelain tea caddy to moisten his throat, and then glared at him:

"Why would I need to bring you along, don't you know?"

Zhao Douan grinned and pulled up a chair to sit down: "It can't be to let me brush up on some presence in front of the Duke."

Ma Yan was no longer surprised by the novel expressions that occasionally popped out of his mouth, resignedly said:

"When you demonstrated your power in the Divine Mechanism Camp, you humiliated Tang Ping severely, even though you restored someone else's position afterward. However, this matter must be explained face to face with Duke Tang, to clear up any misunderstandings. Otherwise, if Duke Tang hears some unfavorable rumors, allowing a misunderstanding to arise, it would be less than ideal."

Zhao Douan was not overly concerned as, throughout the year, he too had become accustomed to major tumults. He casually grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the fruit bowl on the table and wondered:

"Given the delayed news from the border, a Duke should be aware of such matters."

Ma Yan spoke seriously:

"Stop joking, based on what I know of that Young Master and his character, he definitely wouldn't mention these incidents to the Duke. Duke Tang, as a great commander guarding the frontiers, to avoid suspicions of partiality, wouldn't actively inquire about the affairs of the Capital Camp, even if he's heard about your improvements to the weaponry, or your part in overthrowing the traitors in the Privy Council, he won't be privy to the details.

Moreover... for the affairs of the Divine Mechanism Camp, His Majesty, to minimize the impact and prevent leaking of secrets, already hid a lot. Even within the official circles of the Capital, those with insufficient status do not know what you did in that. If the Young Master doesn't take the initiative to speak of it, how would the Duke know?"