Chapter 326: Lord Zhao, the Imperial Master ordered me to say hello to you
Chapter 326: Lord Zhao, the Imperial Master ordered me to say hello to you (asking for a guaranteed monthly ticket)
"Cough cough,"
Seeing that he was beginning to lose focus, Xu Zhenguan cleared his throat and pulled Zhao Duan back to his senses.
The voice was cold and clear:
“As for the dream-devouring technique, you don’t have to worry too much. With your will, even if we are invaded, we can resist it.
Moreover, to perform this technique, the distance must be very close. You must either have extraordinary cultivation or have magical instruments to protect your body, and have guards accompanying you at all times to take care of each other. As long as you are careful, it will not be difficult to resist.
After all, that demon is not good at fighting, and direct confrontation is his weakness. As for verbal instigation, you have to be careful and talk less with strangers."
This is just a consolation... Even if everyone present has a way to resist, the capital has a population of one million and there are so many officials in the government. If something happens to the middle and low-level officials, it will be very troublesome...
Zhao Duan pondered and felt that the empress must have made more arrangements than just this.
As expected, Xu Zhenguan continued:
"This person, Guhui Yaodao, is extremely vengeful and has a high-profile style of doing things. Even if he is an enemy, he is often only willing to find someone he respects as an opponent.
Therefore, I feel that since he has publicly announced his return, he will not hide and do those despicable things to disrupt the court."
Yuan Li looked at the last three people who came into the hall, thinking:
"Your Majesty, what you mean is... if he comes back to seek revenge, he may have already locked onto his target?"
Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly, looked up at the three people, and said nothing.
But the meaning seems to be very clear.
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then shifted his attention to them again.
After quietly listening to the conversation between the emperor and his ministers, three people of different identities who were suddenly summoned to this small court meeting stood up and walked out at the same time.
The deputy general of Qianniu Guard had sharp eyes.
The alchemy priest of Tianshi Mansion frowned.
The skinny old man Kong, a Hanlin scholar, seemed to have understood something.
Xu Zhenguan looked down at the three people and said carefully:
“The three of you all had grudges against that demon in the past. In my opinion, it is very likely that the demon will return to the capital and cause trouble for you.
Therefore, I summoned you here, firstly, so that you can be prepared, and secondly, I will send experts to secretly protect you, and if the demon appears, they will be captured. "
The three of them looked at each other, and there was no surprise at all, as if they had expected it.
The deputy general of the imperial guards and Kong Hanlin bowed in thanks with solemn expressions.
As for the priest with the blue alchemy furnace pattern embroidered on his chest, he looked arrogant and bowed his head:
"Thank you for your care, Your Majesty, but it is not necessary. If I were in the Heavenly Master's Mansion, I don't think that demon would dare to take even a single step inside!
However, now that this person has returned, I hope he can come to me. In the next few days, I will walk outside the Tianshi Mansion more often. If I meet this person, what will happen if I fight with him?
Life and death are determined by fate. Haha, I was not able to fight this monster in the past, which is a pity. Now I have the opportunity to eradicate the monster and defend the way. I have no choice but to do it. "
He looked as if he didn't need the court's protection and could come here on his own.
...No, old priest, you don’t understand anything at all. "Protect" is a euphemism. Using you guys to fish is the real thing... Zhao Duan complained in his heart.
But it's not surprising.
The priests of the alchemy school have always been arrogant, and with the support of Zhang Tianshi, they are naturally confident.
Xu Zhenguan was not surprised and nodded slightly as a token of appreciation.
Then, she instructed the rest of the imperial party officials to keep the matter low-key after returning and to be vigilant to each other to prevent anyone from being misled into causing trouble.
As for Ma Yan, he naturally received the task of hunting down and arresting the evil Taoist priests.
The whole process was orderly. At the end, the small court meeting was dispersed, and Zhao Duan was named by the empress to stay until the end.
"Your Majesty, do you have any instructions?" Zhao Duan blinked his big innocent eyes.
Xu Zhen watched him for a while and said:
"Although you have never met that demon Taoist and have no connection with him, he is still a member of Jian Wen's rebel faction. I am afraid that he will get involved with the Kuangfu Society after his return..."
The implication is: We cannot rule out the possibility that the Imperial Master will cause trouble for Zhao Duan.
"I am a thorn in the side of the rebels. If I am really targeted, it will be troublesome. If Your Majesty does not abandon me, I am willing to move into the palace during this period of time to avoid being harmed by the evil spirits!"
Zhao Duan first said this seriously with a frown, then his eyes turned sincerely, revealing his true intention.
"..." Xu Zhenguan's eyelashes trembled, his chest rose and fell slightly, he turned around and said unhappily:
"Get out."
"Okay."
Zhao Duan readily followed the advice and turned away.
Just as he was about to step out of the door, he heard the cold voice of the empress behind him:
"If you really encounter this person, you can try to meditate on the 'Six Chapters Sutra' to break this path."
Hey, is there still this function for visualizing the paintings left by Old Xu... But I don't want to break the situation now. I want to try the taste of swallowing dreams... Zhao Duan was surprised and smiled:
"Yes, Your Majesty."
……
After leaving the palace, Zhao Duan walked out quickly. When he arrived at the palace square, he saw Ma Yan waiting for him there.
"Let's go together."
Ma Yan glanced at him, did not ask what the empress had said to him, turned around and led the way towards the Meridian Gate.
Zhao Duan followed beside his cheap senior brother. In his field of vision was a spacious square, and behind him were hundreds of steps with white jade railings.
The autumn wind swept across the square, as if one could smell the bloody odor of the coup d'état that year.
"Brother, will that demon take the bait? I mean, will he risk causing trouble for those three people? Since he was able to deceive the late emperor and thrive in the capital, he must not be a foolish and reckless person."
Zhao Duan thought about it and asked indirectly.
Ma Yan didn't look at him, but walked ahead without blinking his eyes, saying:
"That's because you don't know this person well enough. With this demon's temperament, it's not surprising that he did such a daring thing. Haha, if you think about it, you should know that if this person was not brave enough, how could he dare to cheat under the nose of the Tianshi Mansion in the capital with his evil body?"
The key is that he pretended to be... Zhao Duan added silently in his heart.
In his opinion, many people probably guessed that this person was not cultivating a true god.
But this world is never black and white, with good and evil competing against each other.
The late emperor could pretend to be ignorant in order to prolong his life, and others could pretend not to see it out of consideration for the royal family.
Zhao Duan asked curiously, "So, what grudge do these three have against the demon?"
Ma Yan explained:
"Kong Hanlin is a very old-school scholar. In the past, the late emperor appointed him as the national teacher. Kong Hanlin thought that this order was not respectful of etiquette and law, so he repeatedly wrote letters to oppose it. He was hostile to the evil Taoists, but considering the noble status of the Hanlin Academy and the support of Dong Taishi and others behind him, the late emperor only suppressed him a little."
"That alchemy priest... well, he is from your family, and his last name is Zhao. In the past, Priest Zhao openly questioned whether the national master was a demon, and the magic he used was fake... It caused a big fuss, and the demon was jealous of him, but with Tianshi Zhang in charge, the matter was eventually dropped."
Ah... he is the priest who publicly exposed the fakes back then... Zhao Duan suddenly realized.
Ma Yan continued, "As for the deputy general of Qianniu Guard... on the day of the coup, it was he who chopped off the demon's head in the chaos of the army."
Zhao Duan: ...
Well, this vengeance is indeed very real.
Zhao Duan blinked and asked curiously, "So, who was this person in the palace back then..."
Ma Yan glanced at him, heard the hidden meaning, sighed, and explained:
“The death of the previous emperor should not have a direct connection with him. After all, there are many experts in the palace who will not allow him to do evil. As for whether it is indirectly related, it is hard to say. It has become an unsolved case.
There is a more important theory. Your Majesty once suspected that the Second Prince Jianwen might have been bewitched by this person when he led his troops into the palace and attempted a coup. "
Ah... Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, but felt confused.
The Empress just said that the Martial God's visualization can break the dream, so it should have a certain resistance to bewitching. Even if not, Xu Jianwen had some cultivation back then, not to mention that he was surrounded by masters and magic tools, so it was unreasonable for the demon to take advantage of him.
However, this is indeed hard to say.
Perhaps only by catching the former national teacher can we learn the truth.
Throughout the dynasties, there have always been many secrets and conspiracy theories involving the royal family, and Zhao Duan has seen a lot of them.
……
With heavy hearts, the two men walked out of the Meridian Gate and rode out of the imperial city again.
After all this trouble, it was almost noon when Ma Yan came out, and he had to go back to the yamen to arrange the investigation.
Seeing that it was time for dinner, Zhao Duan did not return with him, but decided to have a meal first.
The sky is big and the earth is big, and eating is the biggest thing.
After riding around on horseback, they arrived at the busiest restaurant street in the capital, and Zhao Duan entered a restaurant that had a hotpot sign hanging on it.
The hot pot of the Dayu Dynasty is a standard copper hot pot, which is only popular in autumn and winter.
Every year after the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the weather is cool enough, copper pots will be set out in every restaurant in the city.
Zhao Duan walked upstairs. Since he often came here to drink with his colleagues, the waiter already knew this important man and immediately welcomed him to a private room reserved for the powerful and wealthy.
In a moment, a copper hot pot was lit with red charcoal fire, and plates of freshly cut lamb and side dishes filled the table.
"How does that saying go? Eating pickled vegetables and rolling tofu..."
Zhao Duan declined the service of the restaurant waiter, and holding the long chopsticks, he personally dipped the vegetables and meat into the boiling milky white soup. He then held a piece of tender white tofu on the plate in the palm of his hand, cut it into small pieces with a knife, and poured it into the pot.
Outside the window is a bustling street scene with hawkers’ cries and the hustle and bustle of people.
There was boiling water and a pot of warm wine upstairs.
After cutting the tofu, Zhao Duan picked up a peanut boiled with salt and put it into his mouth, chewing it silently.
He picked up the wine cup and took a sip, thinking about the matter of bewitching the evil spirit.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the box door.
"Come in." Zhao Duan thought it was the waiter delivering the food, but when the door opened, an ordinary middle-aged man walked in.
"You must have taken the wrong path." Zhao Duan said.
This middle-aged man, who was of medium build and ordinary appearance, wearing a melon-shaped hat and a silk jacket, and looked like a businessman, closed the door with his backhand.
He immediately turned around and looked at Zhao Duan as if to confirm, and said, "Is it Zhao Shijun, the White Horse Supervisor?"
Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Who are you from?"
He habitually thought that it was another servant from the home of some important figure in the capital, perhaps also drinking in the building and wanted to pay a visit.
But it was a bit ignorant that he didn't come in person but only sent a servant.
The middle-aged man seemed to smile when he heard this, and actually walked straight to the table, sat down in the empty seat opposite the hot pot, raised his hand to take off the melon-shaped hat on his head, with a warm and polite smile on his face.
He was clearly a businessman, and his manners and demeanor reminded Zhao Duan of the old-fashioned European gentlemen in silk gowns and vests that he had seen in British TV series in his previous life.
"I have long heard of Envoy Zhao's great name. I hope you will not be offended by my presumptuous visit."
The middle-aged man's bloodshot yet enchanting eyes revealed a smile:
"The Imperial Master of the Great Yu Dynasty ordered me to say hello to you."
……
……
Imperial yamen.
Ma Yan rode alone back to the Governor's Hall.
After stepping in, I saw that there were only two police officers left, still waiting here, and the rest had disappeared.
"The Governor!"
The two of them hurriedly stood up and saluted.
Ma Yan nodded, then frowned and asked, "Where are the others?"
One person explained: "According to your instructions, we are all going to check on 'that person'."
No one seemed to know how to address the Imperial Master who had caused chaos beyond his authority and then mysteriously resurrected.
Ma Yan nodded and said without hope: "Did you find anything?"
"Not yet." They both said at the same time.
Ma Yan was not surprised at all. Although the evil Taoist was bold and reckless and dared to bring harm to the country with his evil body, he was by no means a fool.
How could there be any obvious clues left?
He was about to speak when he ordered people to be gathered to discuss the follow-up, to deploy defenses among the people and places that the imperial teacher might come into contact with, and to wait and see.
Suddenly, a figure hurriedly walked in from outside the hall.
"Master Du, I have discovered something!"
Haitang said loudly, attracting everyone's attention.
Without waiting for questions, he quickly explained:
"My people started from the origin of the paper the post was made of, traced the shop that sold it, and then tracked down a foreign Taoist priest in patched clothes, who might be that person.
After that, we tracked him down to a clothing store. Our people did not alert the enemy but watched from the dark. We did not see the monk, but we found that the owner of the clothing store was acting suspiciously. He had gone out not long ago and his men were following him secretly.
Ma Yan's eyes were sharp, and without any hesitation, he immediately grabbed the long knife:
"Take me there! Now! Right now!"
……
……
"Master Dayu ordered me to say hello to you."
In the restaurant, in the private room.
The two sat opposite each other, and the copper hot pot on the table created waves of heat.
Zhao Duan's pupils suddenly narrowed, and the muscles under his clothes tensed, ready to guard against any attack.
The Great Yu State Master?!
That bewitching demon?
Zhao Duan couldn't help feeling surprised, and was also very alert.
Zhenbao's last name is not Xu, it should be Cao, right? He has just arrived after I said it? What a bad mouth...
Oh, I am also a jinx, but good things happened... Hey, she and I are both jinxes... We are the same...
Zhao Duan forcibly cut off the inappropriate complaints, thinking rapidly in his mind, but his face remained calm, and he even deliberately showed a sneer and disdain:
"Heh, I just handed in the invitation this morning, and someone came to my door right now. You are really impatient. Are you a subordinate of that evil Taoist? Or a rebel of the Kuangfu Society? Or both?"
He put down the wine cup in his hand and sneered:
"What kind of gutter rat dares to confront me?"
The middle-aged man looked normal and polite:
"Master Zhao, why are you so angry? I am the current acting manager of the Kuangfu Society's Beijing branch. Although this identity is not glorious, I think I am qualified to talk to you... Besides, why don't you listen to what I have to say first?"
(End of this chapter)