The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 135 - 120, Behind you, Your Majesty silently shields you from the wind and rain.

Officials were startled, privately wagering that the early court session tomorrow was bound to be eventful.

On the periphery, within the crowd, someone turned and said,

"Director Lu, let’s go, you should leave the government office quickly, lest you catch the eye of the senior officials unfavorably."

Nearby, the same Lu Zhi who, not long ago, had been arrested by order of Master Zhao and thrown into the Imperial Prison,

and because his family was destitute with no money for bribes, became the only official released among the fifty-eight,

now wore a solemn expression, suddenly speaking out,

"Marquis Xiajiang is no good. Why would the Minister of the Ministry of Justice protect him?"

"Shush, keep your voice down. The Lord is furious, don’t drag us down with you if you’re courting death."

His colleagues around him were shocked and quickly dragged Lu Zhi away.

They sighed inwardly: These are troubled times.

...

...

"Master Zhao Douan from the Imperial Court led a night raid on the Ministry of Justice, confronted the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and with the backing of Lord Ma, forcefully detained Marquis Xiajiang—according to eyewitnesses, the Marquis was covered in filth when arrested, utterly undignified."

That very night,

this explosive news spread like wildfire, beginning to circulate madly among the officials, nobility, and literati of the Capital.

The raid occurred just as twilight had fallen, followed by officials from various government offices "clocking out."

As per usual, they gathered in small groups at restaurants, the Teaching Bureau, and taverns for socializing.

It was the perfect setting for spreading and discussing rumors.

"Is this for real? That Zhao Douan is relying on brute force to barge into the Three Legal Departments? Has he really become so lawless?"

"Could this be false? I saw it with my own eyes. The Minister of the Ministry of Justice is fearsome, right? Master Zhao didn’t even regard him."

"Right, I was there. That lantern was mine... I can testify."

"Hey, isn’t anyone concerned about Marquis Xiajiang? How did a Marquis offend that little King Yan?"

"I heard it’s related to Princess Yunyang..."

"I think there’s more to it than that. Lord Zhu personally got involved, just to back up his subordinate? The Minister of the Ministry of Justice is not the type to swallow his anger. Tomorrow’s early court session is going to be tumultuous."

In the Imperial Court, the Governor Hall.

After Master Zhao had dismissed his subordinates, he vaguely heard whispers in the corridors of the government offices as he walked over.

One could easily imagine the speculation raging outside.

"Heh, if it were my past life, this intensity would be enough to top the trending search list... no, what am I thinking? It wouldn’t even be able to create a page, it would prompt an error due to relevant regulations not allowing it to show..."

Master Zhao sarcastically thought to himself as he stepped through the doorway.

He saw Lord Ma seated, pensively writing what seemed to be a memorial to the throne. After Master Zhao arrived, Lord Ma waited a moment before setting down his pen and saying,

"The man has been caught, is there something more?"

Master Zhao replied with a playful smile,

"Earlier, I was fortunate to have my elder brother at the scene, otherwise my life would have been in danger. But, my life isn’t important, the key issue would be tarnishing our Imperial Court’s reputation..."

"Get to the point," Lord Ma interrupted, somewhat helplessly.

"Oh." Zhao Douan found a chair to sit on, then continued,

"What concerns me is what comes next, how we’ll deal with this."

"What do you think?" Lord Ma asked.

Master Zhao grew serious,

"My original plan was to capture the man, then search for his crimes to solidify the case. Afterwards, we could report to Her Majesty or confront whatever comes, ultimately holding the initiative."

He paused, then frowned and added,

"But I hadn’t anticipated it would involve the Ministry of Justice. Now, I fear unexpected complications."

Lord Ma replied irritably,

"You realize how troubling this is? Had you reported to Her Majesty from the start, would it have come to this?"

Master Zhao laughed awkwardly, but then suddenly said,

"Isn’t this following Lord’s intention as well?"

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Lord Ma gave a noncommittal "Hmm?" and looked at him with interest,

"What are you implying?"

Master Zhao ventured,

"Could it be that Lord originally intended to take action against Marquis Xiajiang?"

This question had been plaguing him for a while.

Seeing his affordable senior brother remain silent, he could only continue on his own:

"Previously, when I came to apply for the imperial post, Brother, you had prepared it in advance. Although I was surprised at the time, I thought that with your network of informants, and the fact that I had created such a commotion, it wasn’t surprising that you knew beforehand.

"But the more I thought about it afterward, the more I felt it wasn’t simple.

Although you, Brother, have been maligned by others, as far as I know, during your more than two years in charge of the Imperial Court, you have rarely abused your power capriciously.

"This time arresting a hereditary Marquis, though there is a ’confession’ from Lord Meng, ultimately... it seems insufficient."

Ma Yan listened quietly, the corners of his mouth suddenly revealed an almost imperceptible smile:

"So, you don’t understand why I agreed so readily."

Zhao Douan nodded frankly:

"Yes. Especially when I barged into the Ministry of Justice, and you did not stop me, allowing me to act rashly, my doubts only deepened."

What kind of person was Ma Yan?

He was not exactly impartial and incorruptible but certainly cold and heartless.

At least Zhao Douan reckoned that with his current relationship with Ma, he was not yet at a point where Ma would bend the rules unconditionally for him.

But Ma Yan not only allowed him to bypass the rules to arrest the hereditary Marquis...

He even backed him up, at the risk of slapping a third-rank official in the face...

Zhao Douan felt that something was off.

So, after much deliberation, he still decided to ask for clarification face-to-face.

Sometimes, revealing one’s ignorance in front of a superior isn’t a bad thing.

Especially when one’s persona is that of a "smart person," it can give the superior a sense of intellectual superiority.

This is a form of implicit flattery.

As expected, the corners of Ma Yan’s mouth expanded, and a rare smile appeared on his usually austere face:

"That’s right, I indeed planned to deal with the Marquis Xiajiang."

"Why?" Zhao Douan was puzzled. It seemed too coincidental.

Ma Yan looked at him deeply, his tone complex:

"I have, from the beginning to the end, only listened to one person: Her Majesty."

Zhao Douan was stunned.

Ma Yan only obeyed the Empress.

And Ma Yan suddenly decided to deal with the Marquis Xiajiang.

So...

"You mean, this is arranged by Her Majesty?" Zhao Douan was truly surprised.

Ma Yan smiled, casually tossing the freshly written memorandum for the impeachment of Marquis Xiajiang on the table:

"Wouldn’t Her Majesty know that you offended Princess Yunyang? And couldn’t she guess that her own ’aunt’ couldn’t swallow her pride and would find trouble for you?"

"Her Majesty knows everything, so she ordered me to secretly watch over you, to shield you from the wind and ward off the rain for you."

"So, even if you did nothing this time, I was already prepared to act and arrest him."

"You are very capable, and capable people often like to do things themselves, not wishing to rely on others for fear that the results may not match their desires."

"But you must also know that you are Her Majesty’s man. Just as you would stand up for Shen Juan if he were bullied, Her Majesty would also stand up for you if you were bullied."

Zhao Douan gazed fixedly at the document with fresh ink stains on the table.

Ma Yan’s voice echoed in his ears:

"After this matter, you need not worry. You’ve been through a lot today, go back and rest. I will handle the remaining issues. Tomorrow morning’s court session will bring clarity."

Tomorrow morning’s court session, huh... Zhao Douan suddenly turned his head.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the walls, over the black tiles, through the dim sky, to land on the majestic and bright Imperial Palace.

And on the Empress clad in white robes, her black hair tumbling like a waterfall.

Inside the royal study.

Xu Zhenguan, who was reviewing memoranda, suddenly wrinkled her beautiful nose and muttered:

"Who is thinking of me?"

...

Misprints will be corrected later.