Chapter 361 The Empress Visits

Chapter 361 The Empress Visits

Chapter 361 The Empress Visits
"Well, I'm back." Zhao Duan took off his outer robe with a smile and threw it to the girl who was running over. Then he turned his head and solemnly instructed the old housekeeper:

"Close the door tightly. If anyone wants to come to visit, stop them all. Except for those from the palace or the imperial court."

The girl in the goose yellow dress and green vest was stunned for a moment, with a strange expression:

"Brother, are you in trouble again?"

This scene of blocking disaster behind closed doors... It's hard not to make associations when thinking of Zhao Duan's glorious record of doing big things at any time.

What's more, Zhao Pan was an eyewitness and witnessed the debate between Zhao Duan and Zhengyang.

"What do you mean by causing trouble? I am doing this to help the court to settle things, you know?"

Zhao Duan raised his hand speechlessly and scalped her head, then walked into the inner hall carefreely.

At this time, Aunt Eugene Hua also rushed over after hearing the noise. She was also shocked to see the servants guarding the house with the door closed.

The mother and daughter surrounded Zhao Duan and asked questions.

Zhao Duan then briefly recounted what happened in the plum garden.

The mother and daughter were stunned when they heard this. Zhao Pan was surprised that Zhengyang was conquered by his elder brother and was so brave that he admitted defeat directly.

Eugene's emotional feedback is more realistic:

"What? That great scholar from the south publicly acknowledged you, Dalang, as his master?"

Although Eujin Hua has become one of the wealthy ladies in Beijing because of her son's status as a mother, she still does not have enough experience.

I don't know the pros and cons of it, I just find it incredible.

Zhao Duan crossed his legs and enjoyed his aunt's top-notch service of massaging his shoulders in the inner hall. He said with a sad face:
"Yeah, it's a big trouble."

Then he smiled again and said nonchalantly: "Maybe this is the trouble of being famous."

The mother and daughter, who had never left the house, looked at each other in confusion, not understanding much.

However, Eugene Hua was used to her stepson doing big things, so she remained calm.

He just ordered the kitchen to serve the food and to buy the ingredients so that he could make a good meal in the evening to celebrate Dalang's great achievement.

……

after lunch.

In your own room.

Zhao Duan threw himself hard on the bed, raised his head and sorted out his thoughts:

"Well, today's battle was unexpected, but the counterattack was generally successful. It can be regarded as a solution to this crisis... I just don't know how Zhengyang will face Prince Mu after returning to Yunfu... Well, it's none of my business."

"It's easy to defeat the thieves in the mountains, but it's hard to defeat the thieves in the heart... What a coincidence that Zhengyang can say such a thing? Tsk tsk, if I hadn't intervened, maybe this person could really figure out the School of Mind in his lifetime and become the Dayu version of Wang Yangming..."

"After today, I will attract the hatred of another wave of scholars... Well, after Zhengyang leaves, I can follow the recorded list and clean up another wave of scholars with bad thoughts in the capital..."

"Hey, I wonder how Xu Zudi will react after learning about what happened today. And the Eighth Prince...especially Prince Jing, he's probably paying attention too, right?"

"By now, Zhenbao should have heard the news, but it's a pity that she didn't see it in person.

But it's not a big problem. Matters like feelings need to be properly managed. It's not good for me to always take the initiative to report. It's best to wait for her to ask me to go to the palace. Then I can think about it and ask for some benefits. "

With a mess of thoughts running through his mind, Zhao Duan looked inward again and felt a dull pain between his eyebrows.

He asked Ma Yan, who said that this was a sign that he was about to advance to the middle realm of the Divine Chapter.

After devouring the True Man Guhuo, his promotion time was indeed greatly shortened.

"Don't be complacent. There's no point in bickering with scholars. You still have to improve your strength."

Zhao Duan closed his eyes and started practicing again.

……

When I opened my eyes again, it was already evening.

Zhao Duan finished his practice and walked out of the room. He learned that there were indeed several groups of people coming to his door in the afternoon, but they were not important figures, so he turned them all away.

"Is there no one coming from the palace?" Zhao Duan couldn't help but ask.

Got a negative answer.

He was not surprised, thinking that Zhenbao would definitely take care of the successor, and might summon him into the palace at night.

In late autumn, it gets dark much earlier. When the sun sinks below the horizon, the Zhao family hangs up lanterns and Zhao Duan walks into the dining hall.

He saw the maids had laid out a large table filled with sumptuous dishes to celebrate his great success today.

Eugene Hua and Zhao Pan were already sitting at the table. Since autumn, my stepmother had been dressing more conservatively, and she looked more graceful and elegant like a lady.

Inviting the stepson to take a seat, the three of them faced a large table of food. Eugene Hua looked at him with emotion and sighed:
"Everything is fine at home right now, except that there are still not enough people, so it's not lively enough."

In the past, small families did not seem to matter much.

But now compared with other mansions, the Zhao family's is indeed a bit deserted.

According to Zhao Duan's age and status, he should have married or even taken a concubine, and it would not be surprising for him to have children.

However, due to the special rumors about Zhao Duan and the empress, there was no such thing as "urging marriage" in the Zhao family, and no one ever came to propose marriage to Zhao Duan.

It's quite embarrassing...

"I think it's a good idea. Too many people will cause complicated thoughts and it will be troublesome." Zhao Duan, who was an only child in his previous life, said with a smile.

Eugene Hua was about to say something when suddenly the sound of horse hooves was faintly heard outside the yard, accompanied by a knock on the door.

The old butler hurriedly ran along the courtyard and said:
"Da Lang, someone is coming from the palace." Finally he's here!

Zhao Duan perked up, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and said, "I'll go take a look."

He then walked outside. At this moment the sky was dark and there were only two large lanterns hanging on both ends of the plaque of the Zhao Mansion.

When Zhao Duan walked out of the gate, he saw a low-key and luxurious carriage parked there, with only three or five plainclothes guards following it.

"But Miss Mo?" Zhao Duan asked with a smile.

The guess is that Mo Chou came to see him.

However, as the curtain of the car was lifted, a familiar figure walked down. Zhao Duan's expression froze and he said in surprise:
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"

Xu Zhenguan was wrapped in a dark cloak that covered his beautiful body, leaving only his head exposed. His three thousand strands of black hair were tied up behind his head and fixed with a female crown inlaid with jade.

Against her fair face, her eyebrows and eyes are particularly clear.

She smiled and said, "Why, aren't you disappointed, Mochou?"

No... Zhao Duan was greatly surprised, and hurriedly shook his head and explained:

"I was just surprised. I didn't expect that Your Majesty, who is so respected and worth millions of gold, would visit my humble home..."

Xu Zhenguan looked at him with a smile and said, "I'm here now, why don't you invite me in to sit down?"

Ah, this...are you really going to come in?
Aren’t you taking me into the palace?

Zhao Duan's heart was pounding, because this was the first time the empress had stepped into the Zhao family's doorstep.

He could clearly be summoned into the palace, but he chose to come to the Zhao family... the meaning is very different.

"Please..." Zhao Duan took a deep breath and turned around to lead the way. At the same time, he winked at the old steward near the screen wall inside the door:
"Your Majesty is here, go and ask the people in the palace to greet him!"

The old butler was stunned, his eyes widened, and he was in a daze for three full breaths before he came to his senses, his old face flushed red.

With his status, how could he have thought that he could witness the emperor's arrival with his own eyes?

And the visit was totally unexpected and without any notice!
Soon, the entire Zhao Mansion was in an uproar.

Eugene Hua and Zhao Pan led several maids and servants from the mansion and rushed out to greet them.

In the courtyard, he could clearly see the female emperor following Zhao Duan. Although she was wrapped in a cloak, her demeanor and appearance were far beyond anything he had ever seen in his life.

"Your Majesty...I kneel to welcome Your Majesty!"

Eugene's voice was trembling.

How could the mistress of the Zhao family, who had just adapted to the status of a noble lady, be mentally prepared at all?
His legs went weak and he knelt down.

He did not forget to pull Zhao Pan, who was struck by the empress's beauty before he could recover from his shock.

The rest of the Zhao family's servants fell to their knees, not daring to even look at Xu Zhenguan, for fear that they would be impolite and have their eyes gouged out by the big shots, as described in the folk stories.

Xu Zhenguan was calm and composed, not at all surprised by this scene. He smiled like a flower, and quickly bent down and stretched out his hand to pull up Eugene Hua and her daughter, smiling gently:

"No need to be polite. I am the one who came to visit you today. I am the one who disturbed the host family. You two must be the aunt and sister mentioned by Zhao Qing."

Eugene Hua had never seen such a scene before. She was shaking with nervousness and hurriedly said yes, looking at Zhao Duan for help.

Zhao Pan was bolder and stared at Xu Zhenguan's face, which was like a fairy under the moon and had no flaws at all. Suddenly, he felt ashamed of himself.

His face turned red with nervousness.

It’s not that I have other thoughts like Mochou, but it’s not just men who like beautiful women, women like them even more.

Although Zhao Pan had heard many rumors about the empress in the palace in the past, he had never seen her with his own eyes like today.

"Pan'er! Don't be rude!" Eugene Hua said hurriedly.

Xu Zhenguan smiled gently: "No problem, you are Zhao Pan? You are indeed as young as a lotus emerging from water."

Zhao Duan stepped forward to help:
"Your Majesty, have you eaten yet? My meal has just been served, but I haven't started eating yet."

Xu Zhenguan smiled and glanced at him, then nodded and said:
"Then I will give your Zhao family a meal."

Your Majesty, do you want to have dinner at my house?

Eugene Hua and her daughter woke up from their trance and shouted for the servants to get the best and unused bowls and chopsticks in the house, and to bring new chairs.

The guards brought by the empress were waiting outside the door and did not come in.

In the blink of an eye, around the round table in the inner hall of the Zhao family, at the center of the sumptuous dining table, there appeared the empress wearing a cloak, a moon-white dress, with a powerful aura, and a graceful and stunning appearance.

"What are you all standing for? Sit down, all sit down and eat together."

Xu Zhenguan acted like the host, smiling and inviting everyone to take a seat.

Zhao Duan was in a strange mood. He took the lead and sat next to the empress. He smiled at his stepmother and sister and said:

"Your Majesty has said so, let's all sit down and eat together."

Eugene Hua and Zhao Pan looked at each other with strange expressions, and at the same time they remembered the rumors about the ambiguous relationship between Zhao Duan and the empress.

Therefore, if the empress really had that kind of relationship with her own Dalang, then coming to her house for dinner today would also be considered a...

Family dinner?

Thinking of this, the Zhao mother and daughter could no longer sit still.

(End of this chapter)