Chapter 280 The Empress Summons
Chapter 280 The Empress Summons
Li House.
Compared to the bustling and noisy Arena Square, the Prime Minister's Mansion located in the "residential area" of the powerful in the north of the city is grand and quiet.
Because the prime minister is old, he doesn't like noise.
The servants in the mansion tried their best to walk lightly when walking, sitting or lying down.
As there was no court session today, officials at all levels in the yamen watched the fight, and Li Yanfu did not go to the yamen either.
"Xilulu." Outside the mansion, without waiting for the coachman to stop the carriage, the "young minister" who was over 40 years old and had a high nose bridge got out of the carriage and hurried into the gate.
He walked around the screen and arrived outside the study courtyard amid the greetings of servants along the way.
Li Yinglong took a deep breath, walked lightly, and tidied his appearance before knocking on the red-painted door.
"Father, my son is back."
Li Yinglong stepped over the threshold and bowed to Li Yanfu, who was sitting behind a large desk and reading a letter.
Li Yanfu was wearing loose casual clothes today, and his bare feet were stepping on the soft carpet that was tribute from the Western Regions.
The fierce old man with a slightly hunched back slowly raised his head and a gray beard on his cheeks nodded with satisfaction:
"What was the result of the battle? Did Shenlong Temple win?"
Li Yinglong shook his head.
"Is it that the Tianshi Mansion is better?" The powerful Prime Minister Dayu was a little surprised.
Li Yinglong shook his head again. Under his father's puzzled gaze, he spoke in a depressed tone, almost gritting his teeth:
"It was Zhao Duan who won!"
Then, the young elder recounted the entire fight in detail.
The study fell into silence.
Li Yanfu was stunned for a moment. His old, cloudy eyes were first filled with surprise, then deep thought. Finally, he nodded slowly:
"I understand. Back off."
Li Yinglong was stunned for a moment, and then he stepped forward in an urgent tone:
"Father, that Zhao guy is becoming more and more powerful. If we don't deal with him, he will become a serious problem..."
"I told you to get out."
"……Yes."
Li Yinglong's face was distorted. He stamped his feet, sighed deeply, and turned away.
After the people left, Li Yanfu slowly stood up, with his bare feet with bulging veins and gray nails, and paced to a corner of the room.
Because it was cold and rainy, the servants were given a damp charcoal basin to warm themselves up early.
Li Yanfu held in his hand the "letter for help" that had been sent from outside the capital not long ago, and threw it away casually.
The letter and the envelope fell into the charcoal basin with a "pop" and were quickly engulfed by the flames. They burned and twisted. In the flames, only a vague glimpse of:
"Taicang", "Yin", "Xiangguo" and other words.
In the study, there was a faint sigh from an old man:
"A troubled time..."
……
……
The imperial prison was named Jiazi.
"What's the noise about?"
A jailer holding a sword followed the sound of banging on the door, arrived outside a cell and shouted angrily in a deep voice.
Inside the cell, Chai Keqiao, with his hands and feet bound by chains, sat cross-legged on the cold ground.
He was not wearing the prison uniform of an ordinary prisoner, but was still wearing the ragged linen clothes and straw sandals. His wheat-colored skin had turned a little whiter. He smiled and put down his hand that was knocking on the cell door, and said:
"I decided to go out."
The old soldier, who had served in the imperial court for twenty years and had seen countless important figures, said, "Oh!"
"I kicked you out before, but you refused to leave. Are you coming to your senses now? Aren't you afraid that if you get out, someone will hit you with a club?"
Chai Keqiao smiled somewhat shyly and said:
"I just heard the bell that the fight is over, so I should go out now."
The jailer said nothing, opened the cell door, and carried Chai Keqiao out, saying:
"Be a good person when you get out. If you dare to provoke those people in the government again...especially Zhao Jisi, you won't be treated so well next time."
"Know, know."
Chai Keqiao spoke in a humble tone with a smile on his face. He did not show any intention of challenging the court masters. Instead, he looked like a down-and-out young master.
Russian qing.
When Chai Keqiao finished the "formalities", took back his axe and was about to go out.
Just then, a Jinyi officer came over and talked about the important events in the fight with his colleagues in prison.
Jinyi was quite excited, and described it with great joy. When he finished, he turned around and suddenly saw a figure standing behind him, who knew where he had come from.
"You said that Zhao Duan borrowed the Tai'a Sword and defeated Tianhai?" Chai Keqiao's eyes were burning.
"yes……"
There was silence.
As if digesting this incredible news.
After a while, Chai Keqiao looked depressed and disappointed. He walked out in a daze, shaking his head:
"It's a big loss..."
……
at the same time.
The crowd watching the game dispersed and left.
The news about the fight quickly became a hot topic in the capital, and became a hot topic among people on the streets, in restaurants and teahouses.
"Zhao Duan? Is he the 'King of Hell Zhao' in the legend? He is actually a priest in the imperial city? Aren't priests eunuchs? Could it be that..."
"Bah, a saint can choose eunuchs? Oh, I'm really envious. With the support of a saint, it's easy to become famous."
"Haha, does Lord Zhao care about his reputation? Maybe he even wishes he was less famous."
"Who said that King Zhao could only rely on his power? Shenzhang Wu Ren is really amazing. He is more powerful than the little monk in Shenlong Temple and Zhang Tianshi's disciples..."
"No, although King Zhao is strong, he is still far inferior to the two families. He can win. Let me tell you in detail..."
People were talking a lot.
Before this, King Zhao's reputation was mostly confined to the capital.
But this time, the news will spread to all nine provinces and eighteen prefectures through the mouths of these Jianghu people. As for her ability to hold the Taia sword, it did not arouse too much suspicion, and people subconsciously attributed it to "the arrangement of the empress."
"Zhao Duan... has he already reached the Divine Chapter Realm..."
Inside a tavern, the actor Wu Ling, who was dressed up to look ugly on purpose, was stunned and clenched and unclenched his fists.
A few months ago, the other party was still a low-level mortal, but now he has become a powerful figure...
"Master Zhuang was so confused. Why didn't he kill her back then..."
Wu Ling felt sad for the umpteenth time.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man walked into the tavern and sat down at the table behind him with familiarity, the two of them sitting back to back.
He began to support the routine transmission of information within the society. Finally, Wu Ling couldn't help but talk about Zhao Duan.
The middle-aged man was silent for a while before saying:
"I have urgently sent the news of the duel back to the headquarters. I believe Master Zhuang will make a decision."
You also said the same thing when you passed on the news of the fall of Governor Wang of the Privy Council some time ago... Wu Ling secretly complained in his heart.
In less than half a year, the false emperor not only did not lose the support of the people, but his throne became more and more stable.
Wu Ling said goodbye to her boss and walked out of the tavern silently.
On the way back to the Bafang Theater, when passing by the Shenlong Temple, they suddenly saw a team of armored imperial guards marching towards the temple.
The leader was actually the female prime minister in the palace, Mo Zhaorong.
Wu Ling was stunned for a moment and vaguely guessed the reason.
Suddenly I feel that the future of joining a society is bleak.
……
the other side.
Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Yuan Li took the carriage back to the government office. Before he could even sit down, he saw an imperial censor hurriedly asking for an audience:
"Mr. Yuan, the government has received a letter of accusation. It is of great importance. Please take a look."
Letter of accusation?
Yuan Li raised his eyebrows and did not dare to delay. The letter of accusation handed to him must be extraordinary.
The envelope was already opened. The man in blue took out the letter and stared at it:
"Taicang Silver Mine..."
After a moment, Yuan Qingyi's face became calm and he resisted the urge to enter the palace immediately.
At this time, Your Majesty must meet with Zhao Duan.
The matter at hand is not urgent yet.
"hold on……"
……
……
In a room in the palace.
"Wow!"
Zhao Duan pulled his two well-proportioned arms out of the bathtub and hit the wet edge of the tub.
He sat relaxed in the medicinal soup, feeling the stinging pain from the wound on his chest and the itching from the granulation tissue slowly healing and growing, and couldn't help but let out a comfortable hum.
"Cool--"
The room had its doors and windows tightly closed and was simply furnished, with only the large bathtub taking up space. There was a screen in front of it with his clothes and pants hung on it.
After the fight ended, Zhao Duan was immediately sent to the palace.
He thought that the empress would summon him immediately, but she didn't. Instead, the imperial physician came first and examined his injuries.
He also prescribed a bunch of precious medicinal herbs for internal and external use to treat the disease.
The noise was so loud that Zhao Duan thought he was going to die...
But in fact, in a fight, the wounds caused by the "Buddha's Light" breaking the defense are not serious.
He estimated that he would be basically recovered after a week of rest.
What really made him unsteady and depressed was the fact that his Qi was drained away.
However, after meditating and absorbing the medicinal power, his dried-up qi sea has been replenished. Although he still feels a little weak, he is no longer in serious condition.
I am thinking at this moment:
"Huh, it's fun to show off, but it's a funeral procession afterwards... Think about how to deal with the trouble that comes next."
"Well, although I am exhausted, after this, I can sense that my somewhat frivolous state of mind has stabilized... This means that my bet was right. A real head-on fight with someone, without dodging or avoiding, is in line with the state of mind of a warrior...
However, if you can avoid doing it yourself in the future, you should avoid doing it yourself... There is no need to force yourself to do it."
"After this incident, my reputation will definitely increase. In the eyes of the rebels of the Kuangfu Society, and even in the eyes of the political enemies such as the 'Li Party' in the court, they will be more eager to kill me. But it doesn't matter. Anyway, no matter how strong I am, the enemies will not let me go..."
Well, the main point is that a dead pig is not afraid of boiling water.
"The attitude of the Shenlong Temple is a bit interesting... unusual, and at that time, Bian Ji was obviously in conflict with that old bald donkey... Tsk, is it related to the power struggle within Buddhism? I wonder how the court will deal with it...
The rebels and the Eight Kings definitely hope to start a fight, intensify the conflict, and reap the benefits...
Well, but with that old bastard Yuan Li here, he should have thought of this... Bah, it's already this time, and I'm still thinking about the court, think about yourself first!"
Zhao Duan sighed and looked at the Taia sword placed motionless next to the screen, and suddenly felt a headache.
"How do you explain it? I can control this thing?"
Obviously, it would be difficult to fool her this time, so he could only reveal certain secrets in exchange for Zhen Bao's trust.
However, there are risks as well as opportunities.
If we can catch it, perhaps we can push the relationship between the monarch and his subject to a higher level.
As I was thinking about all sorts of things, there was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of a palace maid:
"Lord Zhao, His Majesty wants to see you."
What can't be avoided finally came...
Zhao Duan sighed and stepped out of the bathtub:
"coming."
(End of this chapter)