Chapter 434 Your Majesty, I have a plan

Chapter 434 Your Majesty, I have a plan

Chapter 434 Your Majesty, I have a plan (Long Chapter)

How do you know that I am a "god walking in the world"... The "holy monk" from the Western Regions also told me so. Is this some kind of unique way of praising people in this world... Zhao Duan saw that Zhenbao was not angry, and his heartstrings suddenly relaxed. He used complaints in his heart to ease the embarrassment.

The study became quiet for a moment.

The king and his ministers, who were clearly on the verge of a fight just now, became strange in the atmosphere when there were no outsiders watching them and they were left alone with each other.

"Ahem," Zhao Duan finally broke the silence and explained:

"I beg Your Majesty to allow me to tell you about my trip to Fengcheng and the reasons why I faked my death to deceive you."

Yes, I am here to call for punishment...Xu Zhenguan was reminded and his expression became a little tense.

Trying to maintain his image as an emperor, he simply sat down on Zhao Duan's chair, staring at him with clear eyes, as if to say, "Let's see how you try to argue."

Zhao Duan smiled awkwardly, pondered for a moment, pulled a chair from the corner of the room, and tentatively sat down opposite the desk.

While doing this, he kept glancing at Zhenbao's expression. Seeing that she just raised her eyebrows and tacitly agreed to his behavior that went beyond the rules, Zhao Duan's mouth corners slowly rose and he began to organize his words in his mind.

"Your Majesty, this matter begins when I and my group arrived at Binhaidao..."

Zhao Duan's narration was very careful and slow, starting from when he was surrounded by Prefect Luan and his men in Fengcheng and his identity was exposed.

Strive not to miss any details.

Although the memorial sent by Luan Cheng in advance gave a general account, it was very brief. It was only with the narration of Zhao Duan, an eyewitness, that the details of the story were enriched and came to life.

Xu Zhenguan listened to the story quietly. Similar reports between the emperor and his subjects had happened many times before, but every time, the guy in front of her could bring her freshness and surprise.

When the empress heard that Luan Cheng was misled and led officials to arrest Zhao Duan, she shook her head and lamented that although Magistrate Luan was a capable minister, he was ultimately far inferior to Zhuang Xiaocheng in wisdom and strategy.

When she learned that Zhao Duan had ordered his troops to raze the Zixiao Taoist Temple, encountered resistance from Lu Zhengchun and arrested him, her eyes were filled with anger, and she snorted coldly and denounced the "evil Taoists" for betraying the kindness of the late emperor.

When he heard that Zhao Duan used "beheading" as a trap and started a real and fake game of confrontation with Zhuang Xiaocheng, and finally used the spies planted earlier to gain the trust of Zhuang Xiaocheng and thus obtained the position of the headquarters.

Even though Xu Zhenguan already knew the result, his eyes still lit up and he almost exclaimed in admiration.

This contest of wits and strategies, the game between chess players at a distance, is indeed exciting, especially when you think about the fact that Yunxi, who played a key role, was the one Zhao Duan had retained long ago last year.

Suddenly, there was a sense of a hidden plan that was going on for thousands of miles...

"Could it be that when you were nearly killed by Zhuang Xiaocheng last year, you already had a plan in mind? Otherwise, why would you value that female traitor so much?" Xu Zhenguan asked curiously.

Zhao Duan's heart was filled with alarm bells. Without hesitation, he said with a righteous look:
"Your Majesty, please understand! At that time, I did consider that Yunxi was a disciple of Zhuang Xiaocheng and might be able to rebel, so I put her in solitary confinement."

joke!

It would be troublesome if Zhenbao misunderstood that he had other thoughts about Yunxi.

The empress looked at the righteous Zhao with suspicion, pretending to believe him:

"In that case, Yun Xi has indeed made great contributions. I have a clear distinction between rewards and punishments. Although she was once a traitor, she has turned over a new leaf and captured the thief with her own hands. I can pardon her crime."

Zhao Duan was stunned and felt warm in his heart.

The empress could have told Yunxi about the decision to pardon her after she got out to show her royal grace.

Now that I tell him in private, I want to give him this "favor".

From this, we can see that the empress did not intend to be jealous. However, it is also understandable that as the ruler of a country, a female emperor who would leave a glorious chapter in history books, how could she take a female prisoner to heart?
If you don’t even have this little confidence, how can you be a king?

"Your Majesty is merciful and magnanimous. I will be grateful." Zhao Du'an said sincerely, and then he calmly detonated Zhuang Xiaocheng's formation and collapsed the mountain.

At the critical moment, he once again asked Pei Niannu for help, and in order to hide his whereabouts, he told the story of how he faked his death.

After listening to this last section, even though the empress had some vague guesses in her mind just now, she still felt a surge of surprise in her heart, like a stone falling into the sea of ​​​​heart, creating ripples.

Xu Zhenguan leaned forward subconsciously, his eyes sparkling: "Did you really capture Zhuang Xiaocheng alive?"

Zhao Duan smiled and said, "It's absolutely true."

Even though she was an emperor, she still couldn't help showing her joy. If she hadn't been concerned about being indecent, she would even have had the urge to laugh out loud.

Capture alive!

The leader of the rebel party was a headache for the entire court. She regarded him as a thorn in her side, and he had actually captured the remnant.

And just as he had publicly agreed with Li Yanfu at that time, it only took three months.

Most of the time is wasted on the journey to and from work.

If someone else said so, she would have doubted it, but if it was Zhao Duan, who had created countless miracles, she was surprised and in a trance had a mentality of "it should be this way".

It should be so... When did I have such confidence in him that I could almost regard him as a "God"?

It wasn't something that happened overnight, but the impression created in her mind by too many victories in the past made it seem as if any problem or thing that others couldn't do could be solved with ease as long as she took action.

And when we think back on the process carefully, we have to admire that victory was by no means accidental, but almost inevitable.

"Where is this thief?" Xu Zhenguan was distracted for a moment, gathered his thoughts, and temporarily suppressed the emotions between men and women.

"He is at your house. Will I bring him here right away?"

"it is good."

Zhao Duan got up and went out. After a while, the door was pushed open again. He held the pull ring of a large box with one hand and walked into the study.

Under the empress's strange gaze, the riveted box was opened, revealing Master Zhuang, who was curled up inside, tied up all over, with a "Sleeping Talisman" stuck on his forehead.

Zhao Duan took Zhuang Xiaocheng out of the box, threw him on the ground, tore off the yellow paper talisman on his forehead, and sneered:
"We've arrived. Wake up, Zhuang Xiaocheng, open your eyes and look at who is in front of you."

Zhuang Xiaocheng's eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyelids, revealing a look of confusion.

The haggard old scholar first looked around, then tried to sit up, and then he could see the empress in white sitting behind the desk, looking down at him majestically.

"Third Highness..."

Zhuang Xiaocheng's pupils narrowed, his heart was shaken, and a moment of panic appeared on his old face.

But perhaps because he had rehearsed too many times on the way back to Beijing, he quickly calmed down after a brief panic and smiled bitterly:
"It's been a long time since we last met. Your Highness, who was once as talented as the other princes, has finally changed a lot."

Xu Zhenguan withdrew his gaze from outside the door, first glanced at Zhao Duan, and then cast his eyes on the old minister who was kneeling on the carpet, looking much older than he remembered.

Or maybe it would be more appropriate to say, teacher.

The duty of "Grand Tutor" was to teach all the princes. Zhuang Xiaocheng and Dong Xuan had both been the teachers of the Third Princess. However, Zhuang Xiaocheng at that time openly favored the Crown Prince, but in private, he had an increasingly close relationship with the Second Prince Xu Jianwen.

Although he was impressed by the talent and learning of the former Third Emperor's daughter, he never paid too much attention to her because of her status as a woman.

Especially when Xu Zhenguan grew older, the late emperor tried many times to marry her off, but Xu Zhenguan refused. In accordance with the ancestral rules, any royal family member who had achieved success in cultivation did not have to marry. She remained single, which led to a bad relationship with the late emperor, and Zhuang Xiaocheng became more and more distant from her.

But I didn't expect that they would later evolve into the enemies we are today.

"The Grand Tutor has aged a lot." Xu Zhenguan did not get angry, but sighed with a complicated look in his eyes.

Zhuang Xiaocheng laughed at himself:
"Working hard in the martial arts world is not as good as teaching in the palace in the past."

Xu Zhenguan said sarcastically:

"What the Grand Master has been worrying about all day is how to oppose me, how to fabricate history, throw dirty water on me, whitewash Xu Jianwen's evil deeds of rebellion, and deceive people? Doing such an inhumane thing is indeed a lot of work."

Zhuang Xiaocheng was silent.

The room fell silent for a moment. Just when Zhao Duan couldn't help but want to speak, Zhuang Xiaocheng finally sighed and said, "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. If Your Majesty feels that you can scold me a few times, it can be used to express your grievances. I will bear it."

Zhao Duan laughed angrily. He sneered:
"A few curses... What? Do you think a few curses can make up for the crime that Kuangfu Society has committed against the country of Yu? Or do you still think you are right?
Oh, I was born a warrior, I didn't study much, and I'm not a Confucian student, but I know that the Confucian saints never taught their followers to usurp the throne. They would never be blinded by greed and seek higher power, pretending to be a noble and upright "righteousness"! "

Zhuang Xiaocheng closed his eyes and said calmly:

"I am at the mercy of others. My bloodline was completely cut off three years ago. I am nothing but a wandering ghost in the world. Your Majesty, you can kill me or chop me up as you wish."

A complete "winner takes all, let it be dealt with as you wish" attitude.

Seeing him like this, Xu Zhenguan suddenly became bored and waved his hand.

The meeting after three years was not thrilling, but there was only clear-cut positions and a determination to fight to the death.

Zhao Duan pasted the yellow paper talisman on again with a "snap". Zhuang Xiaocheng entered the "sealed" state again and was thrown into the box.

After doing all this, he looked at Zhen Bao, who was staring at the bookshelf in silence, and asked tentatively:
"Your Majesty, should this thief be thrown into the imperial prison and tortured?"

Xu Zhenguan was silent for a long time before he suppressed the complicated emotions surging in his heart and sighed softly: "You already have an idea, right?"

Zhao Duan said, "Yes,"
"I think that given the stubborn mind of Zhuang Xiaocheng, it would be difficult to get anything out of him through torture. We can probably only wait until he dies and try to use magic to spy on him. However, given the cunningness of this old dog, I'm afraid he has already made preparations...

Therefore, I believe that the greatest role of this bandit lies in his identity as a leader, and nothing else.

It would be best to build momentum in the capital and execute this man in public according to the law to deter the world... However, more importantly, we should use his death as an opportunity to try to reverse the rumors about the Xuanmen coup that this thief has long slandered and fabricated."

There are two versions of the story of the Xuanmen coup.

The first is the official version, which is relatively close to the truth, namely the story of Xu Jianwen plotting rebellion and the third princess suppressing it.

Although some details have been embellished, the story is generally true.

The second is the unofficial history spread by the Kuangfu Society, which said that it was Xu Zhenguan who rebelled, and the second prince Jianwen was the one who tried to stop the rebellion and was killed... It was mainly a fabricated story.

However, due to the unremitting smear campaign by the Kuangfu Society, the latter version became more widely circulated, which was also an important reason why the legitimacy of the empress's regime was questioned outside the capital.

"How do you want to clarify the truth?" the empress asked curiously.

Zhao Duan shook his head and said:

"It is useless to clarify. Your Majesty should know that rumors are more ferocious than tigers. Throughout history, rumors have been widely spread, but no one cares about refuting them. Why is that?

I believe that the most crucial point is that rumors are more in line with the expectations of the people, and only rumors that the people are willing to believe can spread.

On the contrary, if the people are unwilling to believe a rumor, it will be of little effect even if it is spread.

The reason why the Kuangfu Society succeeded in its smear campaign is that many people in the society cannot bear to see Your Majesty becoming emperor as a woman, and are even more unwilling to believe that Your Majesty is the one who came to the rescue. Therefore, refuting the rumors and clarifying the matter will probably be of little use."

Xu Zhenguan thought for a moment: "So what do you want?"

"Fight poison with poison," Zhao Duan said with a smile:

“In fact, the common people also dislike the corrupt scholars in the court. The people are disgusted with these officials.

Therefore, we only need to give enough information about the dirty and scandalous things he has done in his private life when we execute this thief according to the law.

For example, let Yunxi accuse Zhuang Xiaocheng of having bad intentions towards her as his female apprentice...she would definitely be willing.

Well, it would be best to wait until the rebels escorted by Luan Prefecture arrive in Beijing, and then encourage them to revolt, and let them come forward to expose and accuse. Doesn't Zhuang Xiaocheng want to leave his name in history and gain fame? Then let him lose his reputation and become a shame for all eternity!
In this way, his private scandal will be widely spread. As long as the Kuangfu Society represented by Zhuang Xiaocheng is dirtier, uglier, and more untrustworthy, his words to smear Your Majesty will be self-defeating. "

The empress was stunned and looked at him with a strange look:

"I suddenly believe the rumors that you are sinister and cunning."

This method was somewhat vicious. What scholars cared about most was their reputation, and Zhao Duan simply wanted to destroy Zhuang Xiaocheng's reputation.

Especially the point about smearing his private life... The ministers in the court might not have thought of it, but no one would publicly make such a suggestion as it would make them appear too insidious.

But Zhao Duan dared to bring it up, since his reputation was already rotten...

"Then do as you think. You are the one who captured the man, and he almost killed you. I feel at ease if you deal with him." Xu Zhenguan felt that he could not interfere in such a dirty matter, so he decisively passed the buck.

Zhao Duan said:
"I have another idea. I hope Your Majesty can help me conceal the news that I am still alive and not expose the existence of Zhuang Xiaocheng for the next few days. Everything can be done after the Luan prefect's team arrives in Beijing. During this period, Your Majesty can try to suppress the 'Li Party'."

Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment: "Suppress the Li Party?"

Zhao Duan smiled brightly:
"After I got home, I chatted with my aunt and learned that a few days ago, Li Yanfu asked about my recent situation in public, and he also jumped out on New Year's Eve. This account should be settled. If I am not mistaken, because of my "death news", the Li party must have celebrated these days.

At this time, if Your Majesty were to find fault and suppress the Li Party in order to vent your anger, Li Yanfu would most likely not resist, and the entire Li Party would not resist either...

No one wants to offend His Majesty who is furious and has lost his mind... Besides, they would also think that it is acceptable to sacrifice a little bit of interests in exchange for the life of the minister."

Xu Zhenguan opened her mouth, and had a deeper understanding of this guy's "vindictiveness" and "sinisterness". She said quietly:
"You weren't planning to do this when you were planning to fake your death, were you?"

"How could that be? I just thought of it not long ago." Zhao Duan said confidently.

Xu Zhenguan looked suspicious, so he just believed him:

"...Okay, I'll give it a try as you said."

Zhao Duan nodded with satisfaction: "I have one more thing..."

"..."Xu Zhenguan's eyes really changed this time. Two consecutive "evil schemes" made her a little stressed. She was really afraid that this guy would come up with some unethical means again.

Zhao Duan said sternly, "I do feel something is wrong. Your Majesty, what do you think of Zhuang Xiaocheng's wisdom?"

"Naturally good."

"That's right. On my way back to the capital, I kept thinking that since Zhuang Xiaocheng had already planned to die with me, then with his intelligence, he would definitely have made arrangements in advance to run the Kuangfu Society after his death."

Zhao Duan said seriously:
"In the battle of Fengcheng, the rebels suffered heavy losses, but there are still many remnants entrenched.

Zhuang Xiaocheng might have already found a "successor" to continue to run the society after his death. Moreover, he would rather die than kill his subordinate, which means that he believes that the successor is enough to make up for the loss caused by his death."

Xu Zhenguan was stunned and fell into deep thought.

After his reminder, the empress also realized this blind spot.

Zhao Duan asked, "Your Majesty, who do you think might be the successor in the Kuangfu Society?"

Xu Zhenguan thought for a moment, shook his head and said:

"In the Kuangfu Society, there is hardly anyone else who has enough reputation and ability to run it.

Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun are both incapable of the job. As for Jian Wen's widow, Princess Wen is weak in character, and the young prince left by my second brother is too young and only exists as a banner."

Zhao Duan said: "So, there is no one to take over?"

"No, you are right. Zhuang Xiaocheng would not leave such a mess behind. He must have chosen a successor." The empress stood up and paced in the study. After thinking for a moment, she said:
"But I really can't think of a candidate, unless the entire Kuangfu Society loses its independence and submits to one of the eight princes. But this is not like Zhuang Xiaocheng's character... But besides this, who else can it be? Unless Xu Jianwen is resurrected, the Kuangfu Society will inevitably fall apart..."

Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind, and he looked at Zhen Bao in surprise:

"Jian Wen is resurrected... Your Majesty, do you think this is possible?"

Xu Zhenguan was also stunned. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I was just making an analogy."

However, Zhao Duan caught the inspiration in his mind, frowned, and shook his head:
"No! It's not an analogy... I was thinking, if Zhuang Xiaocheng really has completely surrendered to a certain prince, it is most likely Prince Jing or Prince Mu... It doesn't matter.

The point is, if he really surrendered, then the assassination of me should not be done by the Kuangfu Society alone. Zhuang Xiaocheng will definitely use the society as a bargaining chip to exchange for the support of a powerful person from a certain prince.

In that case, with the help of the prince, he won’t have to die with me…”

"So, he most likely didn't sell himself. Is it possible that Jian Wen is really alive? Or, he didn't die in the first place?"

Zhao Duan made this somewhat horrifying guess. Although it was outrageous, when all possibilities were ruled out, from a logical point of view, this was indeed the most "reasonable" conclusion.

The empress was also startled and said:

"I personally witnessed Jian Wen's death in the chaos, and I have also carefully examined his body..."

Suddenly, she thought of something and suddenly closed her mouth.

Zhao Duan stared at her with burning eyes and said:
"The bewitching Taoist! The national master! I remember that the national master also died in the coup and left behind a body, but the facts proved that he was not really dead! He is still alive!

The one in the palace that day was just a "stand-in" of his! The bewitching Taoist was a retainer of Jian Wen and participated in the coup!"

Xu Zhenguan opened his mouth:
"You mean, the bewitching demon also used secret methods to help Jian Wen escape his inevitable death? The people who entered the palace and initiated the coup that day were not all of Jian Wen?
No... your guess is totally groundless. The reason why the Gusu Yaodao can bring the dead back to life is because of the deity that he practices, which is extremely rare..."

Zhao Duan interrupted her:

"Yes, precisely because it is so rare, can Your Majesty guarantee that he cannot help others create a 'clone'? When Jian Wen made the coup, did he also think of leaving a way out for himself?
Besides, doesn't Your Majesty think that Zhuang Xiaocheng gathered the remnants too easily? What gave him the confidence to lead a group of people in the underworld to fight against the court?

Is it just because you are unwilling? If you are really unwilling, why are you willing to die with me? Isn't this a contradiction? "

Xu Zhenguan was suddenly speechless after being retorted by him!

My mind was a little confused.

It’s not that she didn’t doubt whether Jianwen was really dead, but Jianwen’s body in the palace had been checked repeatedly and it was not a disguise.

Moreover, Jian Wen has never shown up in three years.

but……

If it was really done by the Guhua National Master, then this "three years of disappearance" can be explained... The Guhua Taoist also disappeared for nearly three years.

Because the creation of a clone requires tearing half of the soul apart.

When the clone dies, the remaining half of his life will fall into long-term weakness, and even the bewitching demon had to hide himself to recuperate for two years.

Doesn't it make sense that Jian Wen hid away his injuries to recuperate, while Zhuang Xiaocheng was put out in the open?
"I...I...need to go back and carefully review the original files to look for clues."

The empress was silent for a moment, her eyes sharp:
"If Jian Wen really made this arrangement, there would be no trace left behind."

Too many people were involved in the coup that year.

After the coup, the empress ascended the throne and killed too many people who participated in the usurpation of the throne, leaving behind countless confessions, files, and information.

It would be a huge task to unravel the matter again, but she had to do it no matter how absurd it seemed to her.

"I am just making a wild guess. I have no basis for it. Besides, it is indeed unbelievable."

Seeing her expression, Zhao Duan comforted her.

Xu Zhen looked at him, noticed his thoughts, and suddenly smiled calmly. The room seemed to light up:

"I don't need you to worry. Not to mention that Jian Wen is dead, even if he is still alive, what can he do? Does he dare to stand up? How many bargaining chips does he have?
"He had many soldiers and generals back then, and I was able to suppress the rebellion by myself. Now he only has a group of remnants, so why should I be afraid?"

Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, and then confirmed that Zhenbao did think so. He laughed at himself and said, "I am making a fuss out of nothing."

The two of them have so many enemies, and the difficulties have been solved. What does it matter if there is one more Jian Wen who is trying to survive?
Smile at each other.

The tense atmosphere in the study disappeared.

After finishing the serious business, the two looked at each other in silence, and the atmosphere became a little ambiguous.

They hadn't seen each other for more than two months, so Zhao Duan couldn't help feeling a little reluctant, but Xu Zhenguan didn't take the initiative to let him go.

He wanted to flirt with her actively and say some sweet words, but when Zhao Duan saw the old dog lying in the box, he felt awkward.

"Come here." Xu Zhenguan suddenly said softly.

"Ah?" Zhao Duan was bewildered and a little dazed.

Xu Zhen couldn't help but smile as he watched the silly and cute look on the little imperial guards' faces who had just come up with all kinds of vicious schemes.

She was very open and generous. She called him over, threw away the "portrait" on the table, spread out the white paper again, ground the ink herself, and said in a serious tone:
"Your painting skills are too bad. I am in a good mood today, so I will teach you how to paint myself. Do you want to learn?"

traditional Chinese painting?

You have to learn that. You have to learn Chinese painting!
Zhao Duan seemed to be possessed by Mr. Hou. He moved closer and was at a loss: "How do I do this?"

Xu Zhen took a look at his tall and strong figure and estimated that he could not imitate the posture of the teacher teaching children to paint in the school, so he simply reversed it and said:
"Stand behind me and hold the pen. I will teach you how to draw."

"Oh……"

Zhao Duan walked behind the empress and saw her sitting down lightly. She began to adjust the ink skillfully and chose a brush from the pen holder skillfully. After filling it with ink, Xu Zhenguan, who was sitting in the armchair, raised her fair wrist and a piece of her sleeve slipped off.

The jade hand, carved from white jade, held a slender brush in a standard posture, suspended over the rice paper, and said:

"Hold a pen."

"Oh...oh oh..."

Zhao Duan adjusted his posture somewhat awkwardly, standing behind the empress, bowing slightly and leaning down, this posture seemed to be embracing her.

He could smell the familiar vanilla scent coming from her, and Zhao Duan slowly moved his face closer to the empress's goose neck.

He noticed that as he approached, a layer of fine hair on Zhenbao's white neck stood up and swayed gently with his breathing.

The neck began to turn red visibly, but he did not avoid it, rather it was a sign of acquiescence.

Zhao Duan became more and more bold, and his posture became more intimate. He only regretted that there was an armchair between the two of them... He put his right hand around the empress's shoulder and reached for the brush, his eyes looking down along her collar.

She was then disappointed to find that the collar was so tight that there was no gap at all. She could only catch a glimpse of a emerald jade drop on the necklace hidden in the collar, on her exposed goose neck.

The right hand holding the pen suddenly felt something soft and cold.

"..."

"..."

"Where are you holding it? Holding a pen! Not shaking hands!"

"Oh...oh oh..."

He hurriedly released the big hand that was covering the small hand and grasped the top of the pen.

The empress sighed helplessly, and simply pried open Zhao Duan's hands, helped him adjust his pen-holding posture, and then...

The slender little hand wrapped around the big hand holding the pen.

The first drop of ink falls on the rice paper.

-

7,000-word chapter

(End of this chapter)