Chapter 443: Blocking the door and bringing people in! The Empress has arrived

Chapter 443: Blocking the door and bringing people in! The Empress has arrived

Chapter 443: Blocking the door and bringing people in! The Empress has arrived

How to beat these Qingshan disciples? Zhao Duan has his own ideas.

In the world of martial arts, being a good-tempered "nice guy" is not the right way to survive. Only by showing appropriate toughness can you gain respect.

How to deal with these three people without going too far, maintaining the dignity of the court while not making enemies at this sensitive juncture, is a skill.

Xu Zhenguan seemed to believe that Zhao Duan could handle this matter.

"Everyone go." Zhao Duan waved his hand to dismiss the priests, and then walked to the gate of the cold palace under the last rays of sunlight in the western sky.

After hesitating for a moment, he did not push the door open, but just kept his eyes on the door.

Through the crack in the door, one could see Concubine Xiao, who was wearing a coarse cloth skirt, putting the food box on her knees, grabbing the food with her hands and swallowing it in big mouthfuls. She didn't care at all about Xiao Ran's departure.

After a moment's silence, Zhao Duan locked the door again and left.

……

The imperial palace is a structure similar to the shape of a Chinese character “回”.

The small "mouth" inside is the residence of the emperor and his harem, and the big "mouth" outside is the government office serving the royal family. Unmarried or grown-up princes and princesses also live in this area.

In a sense, the palace is the master's bedroom, and the imperial city is the area where servants and guests live.

The Qingshan trio was arranged to live in a villa within the imperial palace.

Chai Keqiao personally brought the dinner sent by the Shangshan Bureau and pushed open the door of Qiye's room.

As the door opened, a strong aroma of herbs filled the air. Qiye, with his eyes covered in a black cloth and his upper body naked, was sitting on the bed. A white bandage was wrapped diagonally around his chest, and his left hand was also wrapped.

"It's time to eat," Chai Keqiao put the lunch box on the table, his mouth twitching, "Why are you here?"

Qiye said expressionlessly:
"Given Zhao Duan's bad temper, will he leave so easily if I don't express my opinion?"

Chai Keqiao sighed:

"If you hadn't angered him, this wouldn't have happened. Are you really just speaking up for Tian Hai?"

Qiye calmly got out of bed. Although blindfolded, he walked to the round table and sat down like a normal person:

"Voicing is just one of the reasons. It's more of a test. If you don't make a move, Xiao Ran won't take this competition seriously. If I don't play the bad guy and do the good guy for you, how can I know the other party's strengths and weaknesses?"

After a pause, he frowned and said:

"However, I didn't expect that Zhao Duan could make such a slash. His internal strength is so powerful and deep that it is almost comparable to that of the mortal realm. Are you sure he is only of the middle level?"

Chai Keqiao placed the plates in the food box one by one and shook his head.

"That strike was not normal. If I'm not mistaken, it was just a release of the energy he had accumulated for a long time. He wasted too much of such a strong energy. If you can accumulate it to the limit like him, and then use your control over the energy, I wouldn't say you can break a hundred armors with one strike, but seventy or eighty armors are not out of your reach."

Qiye's frown relaxed and he said:
"So, he is indeed a show-off?"

Chai Keqiao hesitated and said:

"It's hard to say. After all, there has been no real sparring. Just looking at the internal strength is too one-sided. But in comparison, in my opinion, Tang Jinzhong and Song Jinxi are the most solid among the tributes, but... they are not worth worrying about. The Yu Kingdom's royal family of this generation is a waste of talent."

This young master of the Chai family, dressed as a mountain woodcutter, with a bronze complexion and snow-white teeth, has confidence and pride in his eyes.

Qiye also nodded and felt relieved.

The royal family places too much emphasis on "loyalty" and hides the inheritance of "God of War" too deeply. Only a very small number of people can access it, and it is bound to decline.

The Qingshan lineage is tolerant and inclusive, recruiting talents without any restrictions. If we ignore the fact that the royal family can mobilize resources from all over the world, they would have been completely left behind by Qingshan.

In this generation, there were only two people who attracted attention. One was the female emperor Xu Zhenguan, who achieved "pseudo-celestial being" when she was in her twenties and was a woman rare in the world.

The other is the rising famous Zhao Duan.

"You take a rest. I'll go bring food to Xiao Ran." Chai Keqiao said - as a "captain", his role is more like a nanny.

Qiye broke off the chopsticks and said calmly, "No need, she's out and probably won't be back until the evening."

Chai Keqiao's face changed, and he guessed something: "She went to the harem?"

"kindness."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why do you say that?"

"..." Chai Keqiao felt tired and adjusted the axe at his waist. Then he heard someone knocking on the door outside the villa.

The two looked at each other. Chai Keqiao looked unhappy. He walked out and opened the door, only to see a serving eunuch standing outside. The latter stood in the night with his sleeves gathered up, and said arrogantly:

"Qingshan Xiaoran has trespassed into the harem and has been captured by Zhao Shaobao. If you want him, come to the Martial Arts Hall."

Chai Keqiao's heart sank.

……

……

Martial Arts Hall.

When Zhao Duan pushed open the door of the house, he saw Xiao Ran, dressed as a female knight, with her hands and feet tied up with special magic ropes.

She sat quietly on a chair in the house, the hat on her head, the dagger on her body, and the soft sword were all taken away.

"Miss Xiao, you must be hungry after the fierce battle just now."

Zhao Duan walked in with a smile, carrying a tray with food on it.

Seeing the darkness in the room, he couldn't help but frowned:

"The people below have no vision and don't light the lamps."

He put down the food, lit the candle with a flint, covered it with a lampshade, and the warm orange light filled the entire room.

Xiao Ran stared coldly at the empress's adulterer. The hair on her temples was sticky to her cheeks, which was caused by the dried sweat after the competition.

She said sarcastically:

"I often hear that officials in the court are shameless, saying one thing to one person and another to another. Why was Zhao Shaobao so arrogant at first and respectful later? Why did you bother to bring food and light lamps for a mere daughter of a convicted official like me?"

Zhao Duan picked up the food again and sat opposite her. They were separated by a small table. He looked surprised and said:
"What did Miss Xiao say? Delivering food? No, no, you think too much. This is mine."

He pointed at the exquisite dishes, then pointed at his nose:

"This is my dinner. I'll eat it in front of you." Xiao Ran: "..."

Her chest rose and fell slightly and she closed her eyes, thinking that out of sight, out of mind.

After a moment, he opened his eyes again in annoyance:

"Can you eat quietly? Stop smacking your lips?!"

Zhao Duan, who was concentrating on a plate of crystal pork elbow, smiled and said:

"I come from a low-level military officer family. I am not as noble as Miss Xiao, who comes from a famous family. There are no such elegant rules when it comes to eating. There are no such rules as not talking while eating or sleeping. So...if you don't want to listen, you can just bear it."

"You..." Xiao Ran glared at him and sneered:

"Vulgar! I don't know how the empress could favor you!"

As soon as he said this, Zhao Duan suddenly picked up a cup of wine from the plate and without warning poured it on the face of Xiao Ran, who had his hands and feet tied.

She was stunned for a moment, letting the wine slide down her face, her eyes were cold, and she said nothing.

Eh... This is different from what was shown in the video. Shouldn't you turn your head away and say "It's so cold" or something like that... Zhao Duan was extremely disappointed. He put down his elbow, wiped the grease from his hands with a handkerchief, and said lightly:

"You are very brave."

Xiao Ran looked alert. Although she didn't quite understand what was said, her intuition told her that the treacherous minister in front of her seemed to be teasing her for fun.

Zhao Duan was dull and boring:

"I'm very curious. Even if she was born out of wedlock, there's no reason for her to be sent to the East China Sea to suffer since she was young, right?
It can't be that Mr. Xiao could have predicted the end of his entire family being executed many years later? Leaving behind a descendant? Then he should have left behind a boy, right? Tsk, I'm very curious, can Miss Xiao help me solve this puzzle?"

Xiao Ran didn't answer, just stared at him:
"Chai Keqiao will come to find you if he sees that I am late in coming back."

No, in fact I have already informed him, otherwise why do you think they would arrest you... Zhao Duan curled his lips.

Of course he understood that although "trespassing into the imperial palace" was a serious crime, with Qingshan Shiwu around, it was impossible for him to make a big fuss about it.

"Haha, is that so? Then I'd like to see if he has the guts to break in and save you. By the way, the eunuchs under you haven't searched you yet, have they? Oh, maybe you wouldn't mind if they searched you, but there's nothing they can do except smear saliva all over your face..."

Zhao Duan spoke trash as he slowly stood up, a sinister smile on his lips, and approached her step by step.

Xiao Ran suddenly tensed up: "What do you want to do? Aren't you afraid of the empress..."

At this time, a voice like thunder suddenly rolled across the courtyard outside the Martial Arts Hall:

"Zhao Shaobao! Chai is here to pick someone up! I hope you can come out and see me!"

Xiao Ran's eyes lit up, as if he saw a savior.

What a spoiler, I haven’t had enough fun yet... You interrupted me at the critical moment. You got the TV drama script, right... Zhao Duan sighed, glanced at Xiao Ran, and walked out of the room.

……

Outside the gate of Wugong Hall.

The entire palace was shrouded in the green night, and red lanterns were hung on the quaint gatehouse.

The young master of the Chai family, wearing linen clothes, straw sandals, and with an axe on his waist, was alone, confronting the large group of worshippers.

The leader was none other than Tang Jinzhong, who was also in the secular realm.

When Zhao Duan walked out from behind the crowd, he looked disappointed and said condescendingly:

"What are you shouting for? Go hawk your wares outside the front door if you have a loud voice."

"..." Chai Keqiao took a deep breath, suppressed the rage in his heart, and clasped his fists in a serious manner:
"I heard that Senior Sister Xiao was captured by the Young Guard due to a misunderstanding, so Chai came here specially..."

"Oh, come back tomorrow." Zhao Duan interrupted him, saying:

"It involves the harem, which is of great importance. I will personally interrogate Xiao Ran tonight. Please come back tomorrow morning."

Having said that, he was about to leave impatiently.

Chai Keqiao paused, and said, "It was clearly someone sent by the Shaobao, asking me to come over..."

Zhao Duan was surprised and asked, "I sent someone to look for you? Who can prove it?"

He looked at the group of worshippers beside him: "Did you go? Or you?"

The priests all shook their heads in agreement: "My Lord has never given such an order."

Zhao Duan smiled, stood on the steps with his hands behind his back, and said condescendingly:

"Brother Chai, I am a man of rules. You must identify who is falsely conveying my orders. If you can't, then you are being unreasonable."

No matter how good Chai Keqiao's temper is, he can't suppress his anger at this moment. How could he not understand that Zhao Duan is obviously making fun of him on purpose?

The purpose is nothing more than humiliation and revenge.

As for leaving Xiao Ran in the eunuchs' den for a night... Even if it was a eunuchs' den, with Zhao Duan's despicable and cunning nature, Xiao Ran's reputation would be completely ruined as soon as the news was made public tomorrow.

Realizing that he couldn't reason with him, Chai Keqiao took a deep breath and slowly held the axe handle at his waist:

"What if I insist on taking someone away?"

Zhao Duan smiled slightly and brought everyone to his front:
"Then we need to ask them whether they agree or not."

During the fifteen days, if either side fought, they could use the excuse of "exchange of ideas" to cover it up.

Chai Keqiao glanced coldly at the group of palace priests headed by Tang Jinzhong, took a step forward slowly, and gripped the axe handle tightly in his hand.

Eunuchs such as Tang Jinzhong also drew their swords.

"Chong-"

For a moment, the atmosphere was murderous.

Just when the two sides were on the verge of a fight, suddenly, the sound of a carriage passing in the distance and the sound of wind chimes shaking were heard.

Accompanied by the eunuch's sharp voice:
"His Majesty is here!"

……

ps: I promised to write more words yesterday, but I only wrote 5,000 words. This chapter will make up for it. There will be an update in the early morning tonight.

(End of this chapter)