Chapter 186: The turmoil in the imperial court and the forgotten Zhao Duan
Chapter 186: The turmoil in the imperial court and the forgotten Zhao Duan
As the night deepened, when Zhao Duan returned home, he found that all the lights were on.
"Da Lang is back!"
The old steward opened the door, a look of joy appeared on his tired and worried face, and he announced the good news loudly.
After a while, the stepmother and sister, who had not yet fallen asleep, came in together.
Obviously, Zhao Duan's sudden departure had caused concern among his family, especially since the conflict had occurred in the daytime.
"Nothing, just some official business in the government office. I went to take care of it." Zhao Duan lied casually.
Eugene Hua let out a long sigh, smiled again, and said with concern:
"Are you hungry? Auntie left some food for you."
What kind of food...what to eat and drink?
... Zhao Duan was a little tired and no longer in the mood to joke, so he said:
"Let the servant take it to my room."
After a whole day of hard work, even though he was a martial artist with plenty of energy, he felt a bit tired now.
……
In the bedroom.
Zhao Duan ate everything in no time and filled his stomach. He regained some energy and stared blankly at his belly.
After repeated tests, he confirmed that the dragon soul in the qi sea had fallen into a deep sleep. Apart from being of great benefit to cultivation, it had no other drawbacks.
"Fortunately, I thought it also needed to eat or something..." Zhao Duan complained silently.
Shaking his head and putting the matter behind him for the moment, he stood up and took off his coat.
He took off his inner clothes which were wet from soaking in the river water and threw himself on the bed.
His sturdy body was exposed to the air. With his hands behind his head, he began to recall the conversation with the empress.
"The one who attacked me this time was Li Yanfu's son... that young elder. Phew... As my battle record improved, I eventually ran into the top brass of the Li Clan."
"Zhen Bao said that he hopes I can get out of Xiu Wen Hall next because he is worried that I will be affected later... It's right to hide a little, but hiding blindly is a strategic escape."
“This time, she vented my anger and taught a group of scholars a lesson. It was satisfying, but the hatred between her and that young minister will only deepen.
Well, next, the Li Party should be mainly faced with blocking the new policy, so they have no time to trouble me for the time being, but as long as they have time, they will come to me sooner or later..."
“If you fail to kill the snake, you will suffer from it… But with my mere sixth-rank status, I am not enough to defeat the other party… But who said that if I can’t defeat him, I can’t do anything?
Zhenbao dealt with the Li Party by beating them again and again, gradually weakening them... I can also use this idea, not seeking to defeat them in one fell swoop, but to gain ground day by day..."
"Young Lord, huh, Li Yinglong... it's impolite not to return the favor. Do you really think that you can let it go after cheating me once?"
Zhao Duan was thinking about the plan, his eyelids were drooping, fatigue surged over him like a tide, and he fell into a deep sleep.
……
……
same night.
In front of the Li Mansion, a sedan chair slowly descended.
Li Yinglong, who was nearly forty years old, with feminine features, a high nose bridge and deep eye sockets, walked out of the sedan chair and, surrounded by servants, entered his own house.
As a "Little Cabinet Minister" and a minister, his house is naturally grand and luxurious.
Every stone in the yard is a rare stone that was transported from outside Beijing thousands of miles away at the cost of manpower.
Li Yinglong's daily life was also full of luxury, as can be seen from his love for riding in a sedan chair.
If not for this, he would not have been able to become the "number one playboy in the capital" when he was young.
Even though he is nearly forty years old now, his extravagant lifestyle has not abated. All the old foxes in the capital's officialdom know that the young cabinet minister loves women the most.
Apart from the main wife, there were more than five concubines - this was still limited by the "Yu Law", with only six vacancies, but they were often changed.
Not only that, there are many rare ways to play.
There were a large number of maids in the mansion. Every winter, the strong ones would be selected to stand in a circle around Li Yinglong and use their bodies to shield him from the cold wind.
It's called "Meat Screen."
When close guests arrived, a banquet was held in the mansion to entertain them. There were no tables or chairs. All the food plates were held by beautiful concubines, who knelt down to serve the guests.
It is euphemistically called "a feast for the eyes".
In other words, the word "morality" must be considered to some extent, otherwise Zhao Duan has no doubt that Li Yinglong will come up with female body sushi...
At this time, maids and concubines came out to greet us and said in unison:
"master."
Li Yinglong looked gloomy and in a bad mood.
Seeing these women, he became more and more annoyed and waved his hand:
"roll."
The concubines were silent as a mouse, not knowing why the master was angry, and they scattered like birds and beasts.
Li Yinglong sat in the hall with a big horse and a golden sword, drinking the tea served by the servants, and the anger in his heart gradually subsided: "Is the Sixth Madam asleep?"
Next to him, the maid in the mansion said, "The lights are still on in the room, Master, are you going to sleep there?"
The Sixth Madam was a new concubine whom Li Yinglong had forced into his house not long ago.
It is said that one day the young minister went out for a drink and accidentally caught a glimpse of a young and beautiful woman. He was attracted by her and liked her very much.
After sending someone to investigate, they learned that the woman was originally a geisha from Jiangnan, and was later married to a businessman named Hu. This time she came to Beijing with her husband to sell goods.
When doing business these days, it is inevitable to resort to shady practices.
After Li Yinglong learned about it, he sent people to investigate further and caught the businessman surnamed Hu making mistakes. He then used some tricks to involve him in a case, turning a small matter into a big one.
He was deported to his hometown and thrown into prison, and the merchant's wife was also taken into his room by him using his power.
In order to make room for the vacancy, the original "Sixth Lady" was cruelly abandoned.
The whole process is reasonable and legal. Low-level playboys only flirt with decent women, while high-level playboys do things flawlessly.
However, after the new Sixth Lady entered the mansion, she cried all day long. She had an unyielding character. Under her elegant appearance, she was a wild horse that was difficult to tame.
Li Yinglong has not yet surrendered.
"Well, let's go and take a look." Li Yinglong stood up and, accompanied by the nanny, arrived at the wing room in the courtyard where Madam Liu was.
Sure enough, I saw the reflection of a woman on the window paper.
As if hearing a noise, the Sixth Madam in the room was startled, stood up suddenly, and said coldly:
"Who?!" Li Yinglong smiled, as if forgetting the unpleasantness Zhao Duan had caused him, and said softly:
"Mrs. Lin, it's me..."
"roll!"
Inside the house, a woman with a strong temper spoke in a cold voice, which frightened the old nanny, but she saw that the master next to her was not angry at all.
Li Yinglong gave kind advice:
"Madam Lin, as the saying goes, a husband and wife for a day are bound by a hundred days of grace. You are already my concubine, living in a wealthy family in the capital, isn't it a hundred times better than being married to a mere merchant?"
Inside the house, the woman's shoulders trembled and she shouted hoarsely:
"If you dare to come in again, I will fight with my life..."
"Hey! What are you talking about!" Li Yinglong said unhappily:
"If you don't want to go in, then don't go in. Am I so unbearable in your eyes, Master?"
Having said that, he actually walked away in anger, with a hint of anger on his face.
The old lady next to him said:
"Master, calm down. The Sixth Madam has been married for a short time, but she still can't get over it. I have been trying to persuade her these days. I believe that in two days, she will accept the reality and won't be like this anymore."
Li Yinglong nodded:
"I hope so. But don't push it too hard."
As he spoke, the young minister, who had failed to sleep with a woman, for no reason thought of the culprit who had caused him all the misfortunes today.
"Zhao Duan..."
Li Yinglong's eyes were gloomy. Thinking of his father's instructions, he could only suppress his anger.
In the next period of time, he and the prime minister need to do their utmost to fight against the new policy and avoid any unnecessary trouble for the time being.
"Let me let you jump around for a while."
In the wing room.
She is beautiful and elegant, with an oval face and long eyebrows. Although she was born a geisha, she has a scholarly temperament.
Mrs. Lin, whose appearance was no less than that of a young lady from a wealthy family, had tears in her eyes. She nervously grasped a pair of scissors in her hands and pointed them at the door of the room.
Until the footsteps outside the door faded away, she was sure that Li Yinglong would not "visit" her tonight.
The scissors in Mrs. Lin's hand fell to the ground with a clang. She, wearing a light gauze dress, threw herself on the table, looking towards the south of the Yangtze River, tears streaming down her face.
Who can save her?
perhaps……
All I can do is accept my fate.
……
Silent all night.
The next morning, all the ministers entered the Meridian Gate early.
Inside the palace, the door of the Yuanzu Temple burst open, and the empress walked out slowly. She looked at a group of female officials who were waiting outside the door with their heads bowed, and her eyes fell on Mo Zhaorong, who was leading the group.
On the tray in Da Bingtuozi's hand were the crown and dragon robe for attending court.
"Your Majesty. The Grand Master and a group of court officials are already outside the Meridian Gate."
Xu Zhenguan said "yes", her beautiful eyes sharp:
"Go to court."
She knew that today was the day when the new policy would be officially launched.
At that time, what will greet her is the resistance of countless aristocratic gentry in the entire Dayu Dynasty, as well as the officials and scholars from their origins.
……
On this day, a piece of news spread quickly in the capital.
It is said that at the morning court session, Grand Tutor Dong Xuan presented three new policies for the empress after she ascended the throne, which shocked all officials.
On the spot, a large number of officials opposed it and pointed out the various drawbacks of the three policies.
Moreover, many censors from the Six Departments and the Metropolitan Censorate criticized it, saying that the person who drafted the strategy was a traitor and was just talking nonsense. If it were implemented, the country would no longer be a country...
This piece of news was like a bomb, which attracted countless people's attention with a bang.
As a result, no one cared about the commotion in the Zhai Garden yesterday for a while.
As for Zhao Duan, at this critical moment in the storm, he handed back the badge of external scholar, decisively withdrew himself and avoided the storm.
And the next few days.
Things turned out just as Xu Zhenguan said. The whole court was almost turned into a vegetable market.
The empress was looking down from a high position, overlooking the struggle between various forces. This struggle, which concerned the division of interests of the entire Dayu Dynasty, was like a raging fire.
As the dog days of summer gradually pass, the situation becomes increasingly severe.
Anyone who dares to approach will have their intestines burned to pieces.
However, Zhao Duan, who was once the focus of many people's attention, suddenly disappeared and was gradually "forgotten" by people.
……
"Netizens are always forgetful... The best way to cool down an incident is to create a bigger hotspot."
Baima Prison, in the small courtyard at the back of the government office.
Zhao Duan, who was slightly drunk, talked nonsense.
Opposite him, the old eunuch Sun Lianying, who was wearing a loose official robe and had white hair on his temples, said drunkenly:
"What did the brat say? I didn't hear it clearly."
"Nothing," Zhao Duan held the wine jar and turned his gaze away from the corner of the eaves, that is, the direction of the palace, and muttered:
"Your Majesty, are you just going to let all parties quarrel to the point of being evenly matched? No, I don't think even Grand Tutor Dong can handle it."
Sun Lianying narrowed his eyes, and the experienced eunuch sighed:
"Your Majesty cannot leave immediately for such a major event. You must, and can only sit on the dragon throne and watch, allowing the imperial party headed by Dong Xuan to charge forward, and then see the momentum to decide when to make the final decision. If you issue an order directly, although you can force it to be implemented, it will leave no room for maneuver. It is far better to let them fight first...
What's more, these three strategies of yours have been aimed at too many officials. How can they not give it a try?
But you, who caused such a big disturbance with just a few words, ran away, idled around all day, and came to our house to drink, as if the temple had nothing to do with you. "
Zhao Duan put down the wine jar, stood up and left:
"What does the court dispute have to do with a mere sixth-rank small police officer like me?"
"Hey, where are you going?"
"I have something to do."
(End of this chapter)