Chapter 201 9 Entering the Palace, a Newcomer to the Imperial Party’s Small Court Meeting

Chapter 201 9 Entering the Palace, a Newcomer to the Imperial Party’s Small Court Meeting

Chapter 201: Entering the Imperial Palace for the Ninth Time, a Newcomer to the Imperial Party’s Small Court Meeting
half an hour.

On the first floor of Yunshui Tower, under the watchful eyes of Li family servants, Zhao Duan, who had stayed upstairs for a long time, stepped out.

"The master has come out!"

Outside the building, Qian Kerou and the others who were waiting by the carriage were cheered up and hurriedly stood up to greet him: "Sir..."

"Get in the car." Zhao Duan waved his hand and stepped into the car.

Then, he finally let out a long breath, and his tense muscles relaxed.

The whole person had a vague illusion of exhaustion.

It was obvious that he had just been negotiating with Li Yanfu for a while, but the energy he had consumed seemed to be more excessive than fighting with others.

Just now in the building, from the outside, he seemed to be in control of the initiative, and even used threats and inducements arrogantly, and finally forced the other party to nod.

But in fact, Zhao Duan was not as relaxed as he appeared.

For some people, you can only feel their elusive aura and pressure when you get close to them.

This experience is hard to describe in words.

Including the end, even Li Yanfu gave in and nodded to agree to his request.

However, Zhao Duan did not feel too excited.

There is even a faint feeling...

The other party may have already made plans to make concessions, and the previous momentum was just...

The feeling of "acting" him.

"I must have thought too much. After all, he is just an old sheep, not a wolf like the eight princes headed by Prince Jing."

"Of course, I can't let my guard down. Who knows if this old Deng is deliberately showing weakness to the enemy? A man who has been the Prime Minister of the Cabinet for nearly 20 years, would he really not have fangs and claws?

Is there no ruthless side to him? Damn it, he is not deliberately making me underestimate the enemy..."

Zhao Duan shook his head and suppressed his messy thoughts.

He knew that, in the final analysis, it was because Li Yanfu was too famous.

Even he had gradually accumulated a lot of fear towards him.

Therefore, even though this strategy tricked the other party, he still didn't dare to really underestimate the other party.

"No matter what, the goal has been achieved."

After reaching a basic agreement, the two negotiated on the specific content of the transaction inside the building.

Of course, there will be some pulling.

He also learned from Li Yanfu that Chen Zhengru was about to take action and launch a public opinion offensive, and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

In order to return the favor, Zhao Duan generously sold Xu Hanlin.

At the same time, he did not forget to rescue Mrs. Lin and her husband. Li Yanfu did not refuse such a small matter.

As for Concubine Yuan... since Li Yinglong is fine, she naturally won't be involved.

Since the late emperor was not around, the empress would not be so harsh on this "hero".

In this way, a preliminary agreement was reached.

"Sir, where are we going next?"

Qian Kerou stuck her round face into the carriage. What she actually wanted to ask was whether the task was done.

But she didn't know what her master had done...

"What's next?" Zhao Duan exhaled slowly, rubbed his eyebrows, and raised the corners of his mouth:
"Go to the north gate and enter the palace."

Zhao Duan was not qualified to negotiate transactions of this level with Li Yanfu as an individual.

Therefore, he had to report to the empress, who would issue some orders to complete this "exchange" between the monarch and his subject.

"Alas, I also want to keep my achievements and fame to myself, but the situation does not allow it."

Zhao Duan said that he definitely did not want to take credit.

……

Yunshui Tower is closer to the north gate of the imperial city.

Zhao Duan’s first stop was Xiuwenguan.

Although he lost his temporary bachelor title in order to avoid the limelight, his status remained.

The imperial guards guarding the gate allowed this "outsider" to enter Xiuwenguan without any obstruction.

"Master Zhao, you are here?"

Inside the museum, in a busy huge "office", scholars gathered here.

Someone at the door said in surprise.

Suddenly, the scholars who were working at their desks looked up, stood up and saluted.

He said that Master Zhao had not been here for a long time and he even missed him.

Guo Jieyuan, who looked ordinary and whose name was full of classics, had his eyes brightened. He ran over to him and wanted to ask him for help with some difficult mathematical problems.

"Grand Master is not here? Mo Zhaorong is not here either?"

Zhao Duan held the enthusiastic Guo Jieyuan back with one hand and looked at Han Zhou curiously.

He wanted to ask why His Majesty was not here... Wasn't it said that he was often here...

The gentle Han Banshan said:

"He was there not long ago, but he was summoned to the palace to discuss something."

"Enter the palace to discuss matters?" Zhao Duan wondered.

Han Zhou said "yeah" and said:

"This meeting is different from the previous ones. His Majesty summoned many ministers of the 'Royal Party' to meet. It is said that there are some changes in the new policy. We don't know the details."

misfortune?

A gathering of royal party bosses?

Zhao Duan's heart skipped a beat, not knowing what was going on. Could it be that the old fox Li Yanfu had set a trap?

Not daring to delay, he immediately said goodbye and went straight into the palace, fearing that something might go wrong.

"Mr. Zhao..." Guo Jieyuan held the book in frustration, his face full of regret, and asked curiously:
"Is there something urgent about him?"

"I don't know, I guess there is." Han Zhou shook his head. Everyone in the room was confused and couldn't guess the reason.

……

……

The place where the imperial party gathered was held in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Relying on his identity as an envoy of the White Horse Supervisor, Zhao Duan entered the palace and, led by a servant, arrived outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation in a familiar manner.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I will go and inform His Majesty right away." The young eunuch said in a friendly manner.

Zhao Duan waited patiently for a while before he saw the person return. There was another familiar face beside the young eunuch.

Mo Chou was still dressed in a neutral style, her female official robe was brand new, under the wingless black gauze, she had a plum blossom makeup on her forehead and a cold face, saying "No entry, strangers allowed".

"What are you doing here? They are discussing something important inside."

Mo Zhaorong frowned and emphasized.

This is a big deal for me... Zhao Duan remained calm and did not answer. Instead, he asked:
"Your Majesty is discussing matters with the Imperial Party? But what happened to the new policy?"

Mo Chou drooped her brows and said:

"I heard that you've been very relaxed these days, eating, drinking and hanging out all day. I didn't expect you to be quite well-informed."

No, don’t take advantage of every opportunity to ridicule me at this time... Zhao Duan sighed and was about to ask again.

But Mo Chou turned around and said:
"Come with me. His Majesty asked me to take you there so that you can get familiar with their faces. If you have anything to say, please wait until we finish our meeting.

If it is urgent, please tell me and I will inform you."

Can I go in and listen in, too?
Zhao Duan's heart moved, and he said:

"It's not that urgent..."

Mo Chou felt that coming out to meet him would waste time, so she walked quickly.

After a while, the two arrived outside a side hall.

"Remember, don't talk nonsense later, talk less and watch more..."

Mo Chou gave the reminder out of habit, and then suddenly felt that the words sounded familiar.

kindness……

It seemed like I had told him about this somewhere.

Mo Chou shook her head and put aside her messy thoughts:

"Forget it, you don't need me to teach you."

As she spoke, she knocked on the door gently before slowly pushing it open.

"Squeak-"

At this moment, the setting sun has sunk into the horizon, and the thick dark clouds make the sky a little dim.

There was no lamp in the room and the light was a little dim. This side hall was modeled after the Golden Palace.

But it is more "approachable".

The Queen of Dayu, Xu Zhenguan, was dressed in casual clothes. She did not have the solemnity and majesty she usually had when attending court, nor did she have the usual fairy-like aloofness.

This time, he had a blank expression on his face, sitting upright in the bright yellow chair at the main seat.

On both sides of her head were two rows of chairs, and in the middle of the chairs was a square table.

At this time, ministers in official robes were standing on the left and right, discussing something intensely, and seemed to be arguing.

When the two came in, several glances were cast at them, with different expressions.

Zhao Duan entered the hall with his head lowered and his eyes submissive, instantly changing from the domineering "Zhao Jisi" to "Xiao Zhao".

Following Mochou with light steps, he glanced around and caught a few familiar faces.

Dong Xuan, the current Grand Tutor, is in his 80s and has a face as pale as a calamus.

Yuan Li, the Imperial Censor, was a refined and handsome man wearing a dark blue robe with a double-breasted collar.

He was once the Minister of Justice, one of the chief judges in the Dali Temple's three-court trial.

Well, my cheap senior brother Ma Yan is not here.

It should be due to the special nature of the imperial yamen that there is really no need for it to appear in such occasions.

In addition, there are several completely unfamiliar faces with different identities.

One of the gazes concerned Zhao Duan the most. When that gaze came over, he subconsciously responded with the warning of a mortal high-level warrior.

The muscles tensed, the qi sea contracted, and the hairs all over the body stood up for a moment...

It's like a person in the wild being targeted by a wild beast.

It is not hostility, but an instinctive response of a practitioner to a martial arts master.

"Besides Zhen Bao, are there any martial arts masters here? Yes, the gathering of the bigwigs of the imperial party includes not only civil officials, but also military officials..."

Zhao Duan followed the gaze.

In his eyes, there was a middle-aged man wearing a military officer's robe, with a fair complexion and a short beard under his chin.

The other party seemed to sense his nervousness, and the invisible pressure instantly receded like the tide and disappeared without a trace.

Xu Zhenguan glanced over here and said nothing.

Continue to play the majestic emperor image in front of people.

"You sit here."

Mochou pointed to a chair that was temporarily added at the end and spoke in a low voice.

Zhao Duan nodded and sat down.

Inside the hall, the discussion that had just been suspended due to his entry resumed.

After listening for a while, Zhao Duan's expression became strange.

Because he discovered that the reason why this group of royal party bosses gathered urgently to discuss was that Chen Zhengru was preparing to launch a public opinion offensive to counter the new policy.

……

Update first, then typesetting

(End of this chapter)