Chapter 258 The Princess' Ambush

Chapter 258 The Princess' Ambush

Chapter 258 The Princess' Ambush

As autumn arrives in the capital, the temperature turns cooler.

Perhaps in retaliation for the scorching sun in midsummer, a notice posted by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory stated that there would be frequent rains in the next half month.

Zhao Duan was awakened by the drizzling autumn rain.

I washed and dressed lazily, pushed the door open, walked along the corridor and passed through the magnificent courtyard of the new house.

The wet blue bricks paving the ground were reflected in Zhao Duan's pupils, and the tall bamboos were swaying in the drizzle.

Strings of crystal clear water droplets stuck together and rolled down along the black tiled roof above heads.

"Auntie, sister. What did you eat this morning?"

When Zhao Duan stepped into the dining room, the sleepiness on his face gradually faded away.

The so-called spring sleepiness, autumn fatigue, summer naps, and sleepy winter months... No matter in his past or present life, one of the wise sayings he summed up is that rainy days are the best time to sleep.

Inside the dining hall, which is decorated much more luxuriously than the old house.

Eugene Hua stood up, smiling, holding the white towel herself, and lifted the lids of the dishes and bowls one by one.

As the weather turned cooler, the amount of fabric used in my stepmother's dress increased dramatically, but it still looked a little tight.

The belly is visible and the whole person looks rounder.

I guess her living conditions have improved and she has gained weight in the autumn. Even her face is rosy. Now she smiles and says:
"Da Lang, come and try it. Auntie is watching the cook. I'm going to make the drunken crab according to your recipe again. Do you think it's to your liking this time?"

next to.

A pretty girl, casually wrapped in a home skirt and with her hair casually tied behind her head, was sitting on a round stool.

A colorful rope was tied around her fair wrist, and her two feet were gently stepping on the back of a Pekingese dog with white hair, short legs, a wide and flat face, and big round eyes.

Yes, Zhao Pan has a dog.

The Zhao family originally had a few guard dogs, but they were all big and ferocious dogs, looked after by the doorman and servants.

As the Zhao family's status continued to rise, even though the mother and daughter came from a humble family, they were inevitably gradually pulled into the upper-class life of the capital.

It has become popular among the wealthy ladies in the capital to raise Pekingese puppies.

Someone gave Zhao Duan one as a gift, but he was too lazy to walk the dog, so he just gave it to Zhao Pan and kept it for her to use as a foot warmer in the winter.

She shyly and schemingly quickly tucked her pair of slender feet under her skirt, turned around, and said with a smile:

"Brother always comes up with new food, it's amazing."

Eating crabs in autumn was a custom among officials of the Dayu Dynasty.

A few days ago, Zhao Duan wrote a recipe for drunken crabs based on his memory and asked the cook in his house to try it.

Unfortunately, I was not very satisfied with it the first time, so today I have an improved version.

"Well, since Auntie is watching over it personally, it must be much better than last time."

Zhao Duan joked casually.

After sitting down, the family of three took out the crabs, which were bigger than their hands, from the soup jar and started to enjoy the crabs.

"Yeah! It's really much better."

As the crab roe entered his mouth, Zhao Duan nodded in praise.

Although the lack of seasoning makes it incomparable to the familiar taste, the superior quality of the ingredients complements the taste.

Eugene Hua's willow-like eyebrows curved into a smile.

She doesn't care much about food. As long as her stepson and daughter think it tastes good, she thinks it's good too.

Hearing this, he said:
"It's a pity that the cook is from the capital. I heard that when it comes to cooking crabs, the best are the chefs from the Huai River. The blue crabs that are abundant there are also excellent. When it comes to eating crabs, it is said that the King of Huai'an claims to be the best and no one is second."

Zhao Pan ate the crab in small bites, blowing on it with his mouth from time to time and raising his little finger.

The main feature is the elegant manners that imitate those of a lady from a noble family.

Blinking, he asked curiously:
"Prince Huai'an? The 'foodie prince'? My daughter heard that the princess who came to the city recently is the daughter of the Prince of Huai'an. Does big brother know?"

Zhao Duan looked calm as he unwrapped the crab claws and said calmly:

"It's true."

With his status, of course he knew about the arrival of the princess.

As far as he knew, the princess claimed that she came to observe the battle between Buddhism and Taoism.

After entering the city, she went straight to the palace, where the empress personally received this "cousin".

In the following days, the princess was not idle either, and began to visit important figures in the capital one by one.

Li Yanfu, Yuan Li, Dong Xuan...even the Tianshi Mansion and Shenlong Temple were not missed.

The main feature is to soak up both rain and dew.

Later, he used Han Zhou as a breakthrough point, claiming that he admired the style of people in Beijing, and entered the circle of Beijing's literary circles.

I participated in an autumn literary gathering and performed brilliantly.

It didn't take long before he became a powerful figure in the capital.

However, Zhao Duan has not met him yet, but he has read the information about Huai'an King's family several times.

"Long sleeves are good at dancing."

This was his comment on the princess after observing her coldly for several days.

Or, to use a more vivid word to describe it, she is like a "social butterfly".

"I heard that this princess is a talented woman. Her talent for poetry and prose is so great that even Han Banshan is amazed by her."

Zhao Pan pinched the crab legs and said softly:
"Didn't she visit my brother?"

Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"I am just a fourth-rank military commander. I am a high-ranking official outside, but I can't even get a seat in the capital. How can a daughter of an imperial family come to visit me?"

Zhao Pan snorted, unconvinced:

"Brother is not an ordinary military officer. I heard that the Huai River Road is the territory of the Prime Minister's faction. I think the King of Huai'an is in the same group with the so-called 'Li Party', so he deliberately treated Brother with contempt."

Eugene Hua was suddenly worried, with concern in her eyes:

"Da Lang, is that really the case? Then don't provoke the princess. After all, her last name is Xu."

Zhao Duan couldn't help laughing, so he shaved the girl's scalp and scolded her with a smile:
"Little girl, you're analyzing the court situation. What? You want to be a counselor for your elder brother? Then let me check your recent studies first."

Zhao Pan's face fell instantly. She said nothing and just stepped on the Pekingese under her skirt.

The aristocratic dog, nicknamed "sleeve dog", was stepped on and cried out in grievance, with tears in its eyes.

I don’t know how I offended the hostess.

After Zhao Duan finished eating and left, Eugene looked at her daughter, hesitated, and asked tentatively:

"Your schoolwork..."

"mother!"

Zhao Pan turned his head, picked up the confused dog, and said seriously:

"I've heard people say that a woman's nagging is a sign of aging."

After saying that, she went back to the house with the dog who didn't get to taste the crab.

Getting old... Eugene Hua felt as if she had been hit hard. She rubbed her fat belly and looked worried.

……

……

Imperial Office, Pear Blossom Hall.

When Zhao Duan arrived at the yamen, the rain had almost stopped, but the sky was still gloomy.

I wanted to punch in as usual, handle some simple business and then leave.

Unexpectedly, the secretary held him down:
"Sir, the governor has summoned the nine police stations to discuss the matter."

A meeting early in the morning... Zhao Duan cursed and walked to the Governor's Hall.

A group of people were drowsy and listened to Ma Yan's morning meeting which lasted for most of the hour.

The core spirit of the meeting is:
As the battle between Buddhism and Taoism approaches, many practitioners from other places have come to the capital in recent days, especially warriors.

Dayu was a country founded on military power. Although civil officials were highly respected in the court, the common people still had a martial spirit.

The empress was broad-minded and gave convenience to the people from the martial arts world who came to watch the fight.

However, with more people in the underworld, conflicts are inevitable.

Therefore, the pressure of maintaining public order fell on the entire imperial guards.

As one of the imperial guards and responsible for investigating rebels, the Zhaoya had a particularly heavy burden on its shoulders.

Ma Yan urged Jiutang to increase patrols and keep his nerves tight. Don't let any chaos happen in the city during this period, and be careful to prevent the Kuangfu Society from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

"The governor is just overthinking. If the Kuangfu Society dares to slap the faces of Buddhism and Taoism, it must be courting death."

After the meeting, Haitang crossed her arms and looked like a resentful worker.

"The rest of the people in the martial arts world must also be suppressed. If any trouble occurs, it will damage the dignity of Your Majesty." King Zhang Han said seriously.

Zhao Duan walked lazily in the crowd, and suddenly grinned:
"Isn't it just to make those reckless men from other places lie down obediently? Anyway, if we see any ignorant people, we can just arrest them and that's it.

This is the capital city. How can we, a bunch of local tyrants, be bullied by outsiders? No matter if they are princes, nobles, or people of great background, they will be treated as dragons coiled and tigers crouched. "

The other police officers looked at him with strange expressions.

I thought to myself that you are worthy of me, but I felt a sense of relief when I heard these words...

Haitang hugged her shoulders, with a strange smile on her face, as if she was watching someone she knew pretending to be cool, and teased:

"Master Zhao, this is a hint. By the way, let me remind you that there are many hidden talents in the city recently.

My informant from Shuixiantang reported that he saw a martial artist who is suspected to be a disciple of Qingshan in the city. If you accidentally run into him, you'd better be careful not to capsize. "

Zhao Duan glanced at her and said calmly:
"That Chai Keqiao? You're not the only one with smart eyes and ears in Narcissus Hall."

Zhang Han and six other detectives watched the two people bickering in silence. This was already a unique scene in the imperial court.

"Humph!"

In the end, the two people parted unhappily after the argument ended.

Zhao Duan strode out.

"The governor just asked us to be serious and you're skipping work?" Haitang grabbed his pigtail.

Zhao Duan ignored her at all:
"Do you know what it means to practice according to the emperor's order?"

……

He is indispensable in maintaining law and order.

Zhao Duan kept in mind his mission during this period, which was to follow Eunuch Hai and learn how to enter the Divine Chapter Realm as quickly as possible.

Walk out of the imperial court.

Zhao Duan rode alone on horseback, estimated the time, and broke through the autumn wind to arrive at a "teahouse street" in the city.

There are many teahouses in this area, selling famous teas from all over the world.

It is quite famous in Beijing and is home to an industrial cluster.

However, Zhao Duan came here not to drink tea, but because Eunuch Hai was waiting for him here.

"You are a quarter of an hour late today."

It's by the window on the second floor, closest to the street, at a table with the best view.

Hai Gongfu, who was dressed as an ordinary rich man, said lightly.

He wore a melon-shaped hat and a jade ring on his finger. He had fine wrinkles on his face, a baby-like face, and a slightly hunched body.

At first glance, no one would associate such an old man drinking tea with the top master in the imperial palace.

Zhao Duan walked over with a smile and handed over the paper bag in his hand:

"Mr. Hai, the government office was having a meeting this morning, so I brought some apricot cakes to apologize."

Outside the palace, the old priest who was called "Mr. Hai" glanced at him and smiled:
"How did you find out that my family likes this?"

Zhao Duan smiled and didn't respond. He sat down opposite the old priest and said:

"Sir, you have brought me here to watch the show for three consecutive days. I wonder when you started practicing and learning to break through the divine state of mind?"

Eunuch Hai put down the blue and white cup, opened the paper bag with his wrinkled hands, picked up a piece of apricot jerky and put it into his mouth.

Feeling the sweetness on the tip of his tongue, he smiled and said:
"Practice? You've already started."

……

……

Just when Zhao Duan was talking to Eunuch Hai.

Opposite the teahouse where the two were, the door of a private room in another teahouse across the street was pushed open.

A maid named "Lushui" came in and reported:

"Princess, Zhao Duan is here."

Inside the room, there were two figures sitting at the table.

First of all, it was Xu Junling, the famous and talented "socialite" who had been visiting various houses in Beijing these days.

The second is the old man in white robe who was ordered by King Huai'an to protect the safety of the princess.

The teahouse is also next to the street, but the windows are half-open, and from inside the house you can overlook the hustle and bustle and crowds in the middle of the street.

But from the outside, it was almost impossible to see the people inside the house.

"It's fifteen minutes later than the intelligence said. I thought he wouldn't come today."

Xu Junling, who looked sweet, elegant and generous, glanced at the hourglass on the table, turned the delicate tea bowl with a hint of green in the white porcelain with his fingers, and said calmly:

"Did the other party notice?"

The maid said, "As you instructed, we did not do any investigation, we just watched from a distance."

"Well, very good." Xu Junling nodded slightly.

Her eyes fell on the thick stack of information on the table. Since she entered the capital, she had been collecting and completing information about Zhao Duan from various channels.

Frankly speaking, the more she watched, the more frightened she became.

After all, Prince Huai'an is thousands of miles away, and his intelligence system is far inferior to that of Prince Jing.

Therefore, the information we received before was relatively rough and contained many errors and omissions.

These days, Xu Junling talked with different people in Beijing and learned more real information about this person through conversations.

The more she watched, the more interested she became in this favorite of her sister, and the more...

fear.

At the same time, I also had the urge to contact and test it.

The latest intelligence shows that for three consecutive days, Zhao Duan arrived at the teahouse opposite at this time every day to drink tea with an unidentified old man.

I don’t go back until the evening, and this cycle repeats.

Xu Junling did not investigate the old man's identity, but based on the information she had, there was no important figure in the capital who matched his identity.

So he was no longer so vigilant.

"In that case, just give the order." Xu Junling said calmly.

The maid took the order and left.

The old man in plain robes opposite him groaned:

"Does the princess really want this?"

Xu Junling smiled and shook his head, without explaining, he just said:

"Master Lu just needs to protect me."

The old man in plain robe stroked his beard and smiled faintly, his words full of confidence:

"Of course. There is no one on this long street that I can take seriously."

……

“It’s already started?!”

Zhao Duan was stunned.

Across from him, Hai Gongfeng, who was dressed as a rich man and had been forgotten by the underworld for decades, nodded with a smile and pointed out the window:
"What's outside?"

Zhao Duan turned his head and looked outside the teahouse. The long street was not the usual scene for ordinary people.

Instead, pieces of land were left empty, surrounded by armed imperial guards standing guard with weapons in hand.

His sharp eyes swept around.

Citizens of the capital and spectators from other places gathered outside the open space, looking like they were watching a show.

In the middle of the street, in the isolated open space, two martial artists were fighting.

……

Correct typos first and then correct them
(End of this chapter)