The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 155 - 136. How much better it would be if you cooperated like this from the start, why make it unpleasant?

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In the front yard of the private academy, Zhao Douan’s face changed instantly. As he spoke these words softly, the two colleagues beside him were momentarily stunned.

Standing opposite, the female teacher, who displayed an attitude of passive resistance, also felt a sinking feeling in her heart.

"I’ve been speaking kindly to you, yet you show no appreciation. Now, I have no choice but to dispense with courtesy."

Zhao Douan’s face was grim, devoid of the slightest hint of a smile.

He passed by his colleagues who exchanged glances and leisurely walked straight toward the master and servant pair.

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"This, sir, please do not be angry. My young lady did not mean it that way..."

The old servant, named "Uncle Fu" with graying hair, hurried forward, bowing and smiling earnestly in explanation.

He had little confidence in the moral standards of the Great Yu officials.

So, the true colors have finally been revealed... Xue Xuan sighed internally, unsurprised.

In her earlier years, as the noble daughter of an official family, the government officers she encountered were all "kind and friendly." But in these recent years, having been at the bottom, she had become accustomed to the reality.

Especially with the "King Yan" from the Imperial Court... She suppressed her sadness and tried to appear humble:

"Please, government officer, do not be angry. I am not unwilling to speak; I truly do not know what you all want. My father committed a crime in past years, and the verdict has long been settled..."

Zhao Douan’s face darkened even further, as though a storm was about to break.

"Mistress!"

At this moment, a little girl came running from the private academy behind.

She was just that small, with her hair tied in pigtails.

From the windows of the private academy, curious little heads poked out, looking over.

They were unaware of what was happening, thinking it was just "grown-ups talking."

The little girl paid no attention to Zhao Douan and the others, darting over and stopping abruptly, looking up at her eagerly.

Xue Xuan’s expression changed ever so slightly, striving to remain composed:

"Nannan, why are you coming over? Do you need to use the bathroom?"

The little girl shook her head, embarrassedly twisting her fingers:

"I... the spring rolls smelled so good, I couldn’t resist and secretly ate two ahead of time."

Halfway through, she waved her hand hurriedly:

"But, I only ate my two, and didn’t touch half of the teacher’s! Please don’t tell my mom, alright?"

Haitang looked at this child in surprise, finding her quite adorable.

Zhang Han, as usual, was expressionless.

Xue Xuan became anxious, her tone urging:

"It’s alright; the teacher won’t tell, and I don’t blame you. Go back and study, don’t come out."

"Okay!" the pigtail girl agreed happily and was about to run back.

"Hold on!"

Zhao Douan suddenly spoke, looking at the girl with interest, smiling warmly:

"What a cute child, come over here and let me take a look."

The little girl stared blankly at the three strangers, then timidly stepped back, a bit frightened.

Xue Xuan’s heart skipped a beat, striving to maintain her composure:

"This is just a child from the nearby villagers..."

"Is that so?" Zhao Douan, however, stepped in first, picking the little girl up with one arm.

With the other hand, he pinched her chubby cheek, a smile on his lips, although his tone carried not a shred of warmth:

"Tsk, tsk, not shy at all, impressive. Where’s your home, and who else lives there?"

It appeared to be an ordinary exchange of a man teasing a child, but coupled with his cold gaze at the moment, it made everyone’s heart skip a beat.

Xue Xuan felt a surge of panic; she wanted to grab the girl back but did not dare, so she could only say:

"Sir, the child is ignorant, if she offends you, it would be unfortunate. Please..."

Zhao Douan glared at her coldly, casting a glance at her, displeased:

"You keep calling me sir, claiming cooperation, yet you don’t even ask who we are. I think Miss Xue speaks well, but her heart isn’t sincere at all."

"I dare not."

Xue Xuan suppressed her grievances, fearing the students would provoke this government officer:

"I was most discourteous, forgetting to ask for your esteemed name."

"Me, ah, you might have heard of me," Zhao Douan suddenly smiled meaningfully, revealing his identity:

"Imperial Office Pear Blossom Hall, Master Zhao Douan."

Him!?

The mention of "Zhao Douan" made Xue Xuan’s cheeks turn pale, her expression instantly froze.

Among the common folk, perhaps many had not heard this name.

But for Xue Xuan, once an official’s daughter, having broader horizons, that name was certainly familiar.

Rumored to be the Empress’s gigolo, a newly infamous dandy.

In the past two months, his reputation skyrocketed further.

Known for rampant revenge, he gained new taglines of "revenge for the smallest grievance" and "ruthless means."

Relying on the Saint’s favor, he ran amok, the newly risen "little King Yan" of the Imperial Court.

It was him?

Why would such a figure come to my door?

Xue Xuan’s mind was tangled in chaos.

"The Lord from the White Horse Hall, Zhao?" Even Uncle Fu showed fear.

Rumors in the streets were that Zhao of the White Horse was vicious and would avenge anyone who offended him regardless of rank.

Either it was prison, or it was beheading.

Why did this living King Yan come?

And my young lady seemed to have angered him?

"Master Zhao, I..."

He stammered, fearful of misspeaking a word and inviting disaster.

"Eh? What’s with the expression, am I that terrifying?"

Zhao Douan constrained his smile, squinting his eyes, then turned his head again, his fingers pinching the little girl’s cheek, speaking softly:

"You aren’t as brave as a child."

The little girl looked at him timorously without making a sound.

She hadn’t heard of the name Zhao Douan, but instinct made her want to struggle, yet she couldn’t escape.

"Master Zhao, these children..."

Behind him, Haitang furrowed her brows, unable to contain speaking.

Zhao Douan interrupted her, suddenly breaking into a smile:

"Mr. Hai reminded me."

He scanned his gaze over the curious young faces in the school, leisurely concocting a story:

"If I remember correctly, there was intelligence suggesting that rebels may be hiding around Zhongfang Street, right?

In my view, there’s no need to bother with detailed investigation. Just send people to bring all residents of this area back and interrogate them carefully. I’m sure the parents of these children will cooperate."

As he spoke, he looked at the fallen lady, suddenly smiling:

"Miss Xue, wouldn’t you agree...?"

Thud!

At this moment, the hearts of the master and servant sank like a stone into a lake.

Faced with such undisguised, unmasked threats, how could they not decipher the implication in his words?

Xue Xuan’s face turned even paler. At this moment, in her eyes, Zhao Douan’s rather handsome face appeared incredibly sinister.

Like a blood-soaked wolf, seemingly ready to casually strangle the child he held.

Recalling the reputation of the "little King Yan" from rumors.

She didn’t doubt it at all.

A group of children, a group of civilians with no backing...

With Zhao Douan’s status, a mere accusation of "harboring a rebel" would allow him to wield a butcher’s knife at will.

"Master Zhao..."

The fallen official’s daughter, flustered, stepped forward, nearly pleading:

"If I have offended you, all the blame falls upon me, leaving others out of it..."

"Can you bear it?"

Zhao Douan said expressionlessly:

"Miss Xue, my patience is limited. I give you one last chance: either cooperate obediently and answer my questions or... you wouldn’t want to implicate these old acquaintances, right?"

A blatant threat!

Xue Xuan’s face finally drained of the last bit of color.

Only now did she realize how laughable and futile her "feigned compliance" and "passive resistance" were in the face of a true villain.

At this moment, the pigtail girl suddenly hammered Zhao Douan with her soft little fists:

"Bad person, you’re not allowed to bully the teacher... You’re not allowed to bully the teacher..."

The other children in the school, sensing something was amiss, also started running out.

Zhao Douan seemed to be provoked, lifting the child expressionlessly, suddenly raising her high, as if to throw her down.

Haitang’s face changed at once, intending to step forward, yet she was suddenly held back by Zhang Han.

"I’ll speak!"

At the critical moment, Xue Xuan uttered a sorrowful cry, her legs going limp as she collapsed onto the ground, her eyes welling with tears:

"Don’t implicate the children!"

The uplifted hand of Zhao Douan hesitated slightly; his face finally broke into a slow smile.

He gently placed the girl back on the ground and handed her to Uncle Fu.

Patting his sleeve lightly, he glanced at the fallen lady kneeling on the ground, brightly smiling:

"Miss Xue, wouldn’t it have been better to cooperate like this earlier? Why make things unpleasant?"

Xue Xuan staggered to her feet, cupping her hands:

"Please, esteemed sirs, step into the back courtyard for a moment. I will appease these children shortly to prevent their noise from displeasing you."

Zhao Douan said nothing further, just turned back and passed a glance to his two colleagues behind him:

Mission accomplished.

...

...

A moment later.

Uncle Fu led the three into a back courtyard. In a small parlor, he served tea before leaving to help look after the children.

Once the people left, Haitang, who had been holding back, finally spoke.

The spirited, intelligent, and straightforward Jinyi officer looked displeased, staring at Zhao Douan:

"This is your method?"

Zhao Douan leisurely picked up his teacup, took a sip, and smacked his lips.

He thought to himself, the tea from the "slum" truly is bland, just barely quenching thirst.

He smiled upon hearing her, "Just tell me, did Xue Xuan cooperate or not?"

By now, his face no longer bore the venomous look of a villain.

Speaking with a smiling face, paired with his handsome appearance, it was impossible to associate him with the image from before.

"..." Haitang was momentarily choked, finally saying with a hint of sarcasm:

"Really worthy of a little King Yan; I finally somewhat understand why Master Zhao can achieve such recognition."

Saying I achieve exploits because I have no bottom line, huh?

This is strategy, you know... Zhao Douan pouted.

When he had tricked the informers, he had assessed Haitang to possess some cleverness but lack greater wisdom.

Now he still maintained that original view.

Well, perhaps barely adding a label for kindness.

It’s no wonder she remains stuck in third place, unable to claim the top of Nine Halls...

"To deal with different people, one must flexibly employ different means."

Zhao Douan said flatly:

"The Lord sent you two to assist me; it might not be without the intent to let you learn my ways of handling matters."

Forget it; no one else can learn... Haitang didn’t agree.

With her intelligence, she clearly understood that Zhao Douan’s demeanor just now contained a large degree of theatrics, with the sole purpose of exploiting soft spots as leverage.

But such a method doesn’t work effectively when used by just anyone.

Zhao Douan’s notoriety was so foul that Xue Xuan hardly doubted he had no bottom line...

The same tactics used by someone with a reputation not fierce enough would see their impact greatly reduced.

This is the power of persona.

"If," Haitang paused to reflect, then suddenly asked:

"I’m saying if, earlier when Xue Xuan stubbornly remained silent, would you really have killed that child?"

Zhao Douan did not reply.

Beside them, the taciturn Zhang Han suddenly said:

"He wouldn’t have. That’s why I held you back."

Haitang was not convinced: "How do you know he wouldn’t?"

Zhang Han pondered, then said:

"From what I know, on the day he tricked us, although the commotion was grand, intruding on so many mansions, he never implicated even a single servant. So..."

The Volume King turned to Zhao Douan, suddenly and sincerely saying:

"I think Lord Zhao is a good person."

Zhao Douan was momentarily stunned, as if amused by the remark, laughing loudly and heartily:

"Old Zhang, if you say that, half the Capital will laugh their heads off. If you don’t know how to flatter, don’t force it..."

He suddenly closed his mouth and turned to look outside the hall.

Just then, the fallen lady, having washed her face and adjusted her emotions, walked in, offering a bow.

Xue Xuan raised her impassive face, getting straight to the point:

"It’s true, my father was indeed wronged.

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