Chapter 938: Chapter 541: Identity Exposed—So You Are Zhao Douan!
On the same night, in the Capital, Imperial Palace.
Inside the Empress’s Palace.
Xu Zhenguan sat cross-legged on the bed, her long, white legs exposed unrestrainedly to the air like a white python.
"Hoo—" She opened her eyes, ending the visualization for the night, her brow furrowing.
"Still nothing?"
During this period, whenever she found time, she would enter the "Human World" Cultivation, yet to her bewilderment, the "Zhang Hui" had disappeared.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find him; that encounter was like a dream, unable to be continued.
"Why? Could it be that I still haven’t met the conditions to open this scroll for cultivation? Was Zhang Hui’s appearance last time merely because the ’Disaster Star’ passed overhead, opening it accidentally?"
"But I can’t recreate the Disaster Star... No, it shouldn’t be like this; I must have overlooked something. Zhang Hui’s appearance must require some special conditions to be met. That’s why I only encountered him once, and afterward, everything returned to its original state."
Xu Zhenguan furrowed her brow, beginning to recall what was different the time Zhang Hui appeared.
After much thought, apart from the arrival of the "Disaster Star," if there was something special, it was only that Zhao Douan suddenly returned...
"Your Majesty?" Suddenly, the voice of a female official sounded from outside the Palace.
The Empress ended her thoughts, her gaze piercing through the gauzy curtain draped from the partition, looking towards the silhouette illuminated on the door: "What’s the matter?"
The female official said, "Lord Ma sent a memorial into the Palace. It was supposed to be placed in the study, but Your Majesty had instructed earlier that if any memorials came in, they should be delivered no matter how late, so..."
Xu Zhenguan became serious, placing her two long, fair, and smooth legs onto the ground from the quilt, her jade feet slipping into shoes. She crossed the curtain and walked to the door, opening it with both hands.
"Your Majesty..."
The female official bowed her head, presenting the memorial with both hands.
Xu Zhenguan took it, opened it to read, and gradually displayed anger in her eyes, sneering, "What a group of betrayers."
The memorial contained several clues involving officials now in the court who were suspected of colluding with the rebel king.
Most of them were officials under the "Pure Stream Party."
After Li Yanfu’s fall, the Li Party was purged, and there was a significant reshuffling of the court. Yuann Li’s Pure Stream Party was minimally affected.
But such a huge Pure Stream Party, how could it lack ministers colluding with rebels? Xu Zhenguan had previously sent Ma Yan to secretly investigate and now had some leads.
However, these people were deeply hidden, and Ma Yan had only scratched the surface.
"I understand, inform Ma Yan to proceed as usual." The Empress suppressed her anger, "snap" closed the memorial, and calmly instructed.
The clues in the memorial were only a few small fish. Rash arrests would only alert them. Therefore, she ordered Ma Yan to continue investigating secretly.
"Unfortunately, most of the court’s ministers are unreliable. Ma Yan is loyal enough but lacks cunning. The Masters within the Imperial Court, like Haitang, though skilled in investigations, lack the wisdom to cope with the complex political environment."
The Empress sighed lightly, unable to help looking towards the south.
If the Little Forbidden Army were here, such matters would be as simple as eating and drinking for him, right?
...
...
"What did you come to my place for earlier?" Zhao Douan’s eyes turned dangerous instantly, a smile on his face, yet his muscles tensed beneath his robes. If the girl before him showed any anomaly, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.
Unaware of the impending danger, Du Shishi retorted:
"You paid for a meal at my house. But you didn’t come back tonight, your meal was reheated twice. You ask me why I came to find you?"
Zhao Douan: "..."
The tense atmosphere suddenly eased, he chuckled: "I was outside drinking today, delayed by the hour."
Du Shishi glared at him, "There’s a curfew at night, it’s fine if you’re bold enough to wander around, but if you drag my family into it, don’t blame me for kicking you out."
Finished speaking, the girl, entirely oblivious to having brushed with death, turned and walked away, lantern in hand.
Zhao Douan finished washing his feet, wiping them clean with a rag, then read in the room until late into the night before blowing out the lamp.
The room suddenly went dark, and a shadow flowed in through the crack of the window, rising in the corner to condense into a human figure.
"What’s the situation?" Zhao Douan asked calmly.
Song Jinxi replied, "Reporting sir, everything went smoothly. Tonight we hunted down five ordinary supervisors and retreated safely. Hong Ye and the scholar were also meticulous, leaving no trace."
Zhao Douan blandly said, "It means nothing. After today, Zhao Shixiong will certainly search the entire city. Night Fragrance Sect can’t escape, cut off contact with them tonight."
Song Jinxi nodded, "Understood. Sir, what are the next tasks?"
Zhao Douan took out two prepared letters from his bosom and handed them to him:
"The first letter is sealed. Give it to Feng Xiaolian, telling him to fulfill his deal with me. The second letter is open, inside is your next mission."
Pausing, he added:
"According to normal logic, after an assassination, we should hide and lie low. But I insist on acting contrary to that. Zhao Shixiong? Great at warfare? Strong cultivation too? I intend to test his mettle and see who truly triumphs."
Song Jinxi felt a stirring excitement; he didn’t know Zhao Douan’s exact plan but realized "Yama Zhao" had begun to scheme.
No... perhaps, from the moment he stepped into Yongjia City, Zhao Shixiong had already fallen into their master’s chess game.
...
The next morning.
Overcast.
The entire Prefecture felt as if shrouded in an uneasy atmosphere.
At the Du family dining table, as Zhao Douan ate breakfast with the landlord’s family, he noticed the couple looked worried.