The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 171 - 151 Xu Zhenguan’s Tacit Smile

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Whoosh—

When Zhao Douan spoke confidently in the public chamber, revealing the entire plan and presenting the corresponding evidence.

The entire chamber, inside and out, erupted with an unprecedented uproar that day, a shock beyond words.

Not for lack of calmness, but because the reversal was too great, too dense. Originally, it seemed Zhao Douan was on the brink of his downfall, his final struggle.

But unexpectedly, Zhao Douan proved his own innocence flawlessly, instead checkmating Zhou Cheng.

Yet, this was still not the end. Accompanied by the return of two Master Ji from the Capital after seven days of verification, Zhao Douan bared his fangs and delivered an unsparing blow to Zhou Cheng.

"Could it actually be like this... So, was everything today within his calculations?"

"What a cunning move to pull the rug from under Master Zhou’s feet. I’m afraid Master Zhou is finished."

"Where did this Lord Zhao emerge from? Why was he only known as a fool over the past year?"

"In these times of trouble, is the court going to see the fall of another senior official? It’s only been a few months..."

Whispers buzzed, and many averted their eyes from Zhao Douan’s silhouette, a chill secretly settling in their hearts.

If previously they had only heard rumors,

today, having witnessed Zhao Douan’s tactics first-hand, one could imagine that his name would truly enter the purview of the important figures of the court.

Rather than just as a mere pawn charging ahead on behalf of the great personalities, as before.

This change of status might seem minor but was in fact of great significance.

Like a working Emperor is still but an employee, while even the owner of a very small company has crossed into the ranks of capitalists.

The player and the pawn, a single letter changes everything, leading to a thousand miles of error.

After this battle, Zhao Douan had the stature of a "player," though still pitifully small, but to some extent, he now held the right to speak on equal terms with the true ministers of the court.

"Clap, clap, clap."

Yuann Li applauded in admiration, his eyes revealing a shade of amazement.

That day, when Zhao Douan had decided to wrestle with Zhou Cheng alone, this Big Qingyi had not been optimistic.

After all, the disparity in power was too great. When Zhao Douan was imprisoned, Yuann Li saw a glimmer of victory, but he was still not certain.

Until this moment, the dust had settled.

The evidence still required verification, but since Your Majesty wanted Zhou Cheng dead, with the evidence now so complete, how could Zhou Cheng not meet his death?

"Bang!"

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice rose to his feet, striking the sounding block to quell the noise.

He looked toward Zhou Cheng and, seeing that he remained silent, decided not to look at him any further and announced:

"The case is of great importance. Since the presiding officer is implicated, I, as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, hereby order the temporary detention of Minister of the Ministry of Justice Zhou Cheng, awaiting Your Majesty’s personal trial!"

"And the others from the Ministry of Justice should be taken into custody for security," Zhao Douan suddenly added.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice nodded in agreement: "Indeed, that is most prudent!"

Hee Zheng fell to the ground, as if his soul had departed.

Yuann Li laughed lightly, adding:

"Let’s not forget the main issue, ahem, I declare that in the case of Su Hongyu, the accused officer Zhao Douan is exonerated and released without charges. Does anyone have an objection?"

Who would respond?

Yuann Li waved his hand: "Court dismissed!"

Immediately, a government officer moved forward, unlocking Zhao Douan’s shackles.

The young Imperial Censor gestured, and someone brought over a tray, on which Zhao Douan’s clothes were neatly folded.

It seemed that everything was already prepared, as if Yuann Li had foreseen this outcome.

As the court adjourned, the crowd outside also quickly dispersed, with many rushing to relay the news of this significant event as swiftly as possible.

One could imagine that if Xue Lin were to be exonerated, those implicated would extend far beyond Zhou Cheng, with many involved officials still in the court.

Their lives hung on the Empress’s mood.

"Sir!"

Qian Kerou swam against the crowd, running into the chamber with a radiant smile on her round face, then patted her forehead as though remembering something, and hastily retrieved the "Void Illusion Scroll" from her bosom, returning it to its rightful owner.

Other Lihua Hall Jin Yi surrounded Zhao Douan, expressing their delight; the atmosphere was jubilant.

Ma Yan stayed outside the crowd, not joining in the excitement.

Leaning back in his chair, he observed the Ministry of Justice’s side looking like they had lost their ancestors, contrasting with the smiles here. He couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonderment and turning to Sun Lianying, suddenly said:

"You knew in advance, didn’t you?"

Sun Lianying smiled foolishly:

"Knew what? I’m just here for the fun, not meddling in your affairs."

Seeing this, Ma Yan was even more convinced, suddenly realizing:

"Did Your Majesty also know?"

Sun Lianying remained silent.

That day, Zhao Douan had asked him to present two items to the Empress: one was the Recording Scroll, a copy of that conversation to prove his innocence to the Empress.

The other was a memorial, in which Zhao Douan briefly explained that Zhou Cheng planned to use Wang Shan against him, hoping the Empress would play along in order to turn the tables at his convenience.

So, the Empress was aware of Zhao Douan’s "innocence" and that he planned to counter Zhou Cheng’s moves.

But the Empress had not known the progress, whether Zhao Douan had now successfully proved his innocence by being part of the plan.

More importantly, the memorial did not mention the case of Xue Lin.

So, the Empress did not know that Zhao Douan had used the old case to nearly topple Zhou Cheng.

Hence, how to say it.

The Empress knew a bit, but not much…

"Mr. Yuan?"

Inside the crowd, Zhao Douan looked towards the approaching Yuann Li, intending to thank him, but saw Yuann Li wave his hand and laugh:

"This is not the place for small talk. You now have another place you need to be."

```

He blinked, and for a moment, there was a trace of mischief in his eyes.

As if to say,

"Hurry along now, go and display your brilliance before Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Mr. Yuan, for the reminder."

Zhao Douan was well aware that in the workplace, a good performance often mattered less than good reporting.

That is why he was not keen on showing off in front of others, but purely to seize every opportunity to perform well in the presence of his leaders.

"Not good, I remember when I threw the scroll earlier, and Master Zhou was preparing to leave the hall, a little eunuch supervising from the palace seemed to have run out. He probably thought the interrogation was over and rushed to report back to the palace..."

However, upon further thought, Zhao Douan felt that the problem was not too serious.

The little eunuch had left too early and was not aware of the developments that followed; the memorial did not mention it, so Zhenbao probably still had no knowledge of my overturning Xue Lin’s case...

Safe and sound.

Zhao Douan hastily changed his clothes, borrowed Zhang Han’s horse, and with a flick of the whip, he headed towards the Imperial Palace.

...

...

Meanwhile.

This morning in the Imperial Palace, the Empress of Great Yu welcomed a guest.

In the imperial garden, beside a pond, within a cool pavilion.

Xu Zhenguan’s delicate and fair jade fingers took a white chess piece from the box, looking across the chessboard at the elderly man, she said:

"...Therefore, Grandmaster, you have truly misunderstood him. Zhao Douan is not as the rumors suggest, his past actions were merely a deliberate self-smearing attempt."

The "Grandmaster" she addressed was no ordinary person.

He was a pivotal grand authority of the Great Yu Dynasty’s literary world, one of the influential "Three Excellences," a seasoned minister of immense prestige, once known alongside the rebel Grand Tutor Zhuang Xiaocheng as "Zhuang of the South and Dong of the North."

Now, in charge of the Hanlin Academy, holding the third-rank post of "Grand Scholar of Hanlin Academy," he was the supremely honored Grandmaster Dong.

As the personal mentor who once taught the Empress when she was the Third Imperial Princess, Grandmaster Dong was entirely aligned with the "Imperial Faction."

He was also the most supportive force within the court when the Empress first ascended the throne.

Therefore, despite his advanced age making it difficult to handle important positions,

This venerable elderly figure still held a pivotal status in the eyes of the Empress.

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For this reason, he was entrusted with the significant task of selecting candidates to form the "new cabinet."

This morning, Grandmaster Dong had entered the palace once again to advise her to cherish her wise ministers and distance herself from petty men.

Clearly, he had heard more unfavorable rumors about Zhao Douan from one of his students.

Left with no choice, Xu Zhenguan had to explain as such.

Grandmaster Dong looked to be in his seventies or eighties, dressed in a scarlet grand scholar’s official robe, with white hair and a face like a red date.

Thanks to good maintenance, his spirit and energy were intact; despite his white hair, his aged eyes remained sharp and spirited.

Now, as he placed down a piece for the black side, the furrow in his brow slightly relaxed, he spoke:

"If what Your Majesty says is true, then his character is not as corrupted as my students claim it to be."

Xu Zhenguan nodded and said:

"The scholars of Hanlin Academy read the classics and are instructed by Grandmaster to despise evil. It’s common for them to dislike him due to his bad reputation."

Grandmaster Dong shook his head and said:

"However, I’ve heard that this man has recently entered the judiciary, seemingly involved in a case concerning a woman...

If my memory serves me right, today would be the joint trial by the Three Agencies. It is evident that, even if his conduct is not as debauched as rumored, he is far from a gentleman.

Even if he is a capable official, his heart will be difficult to maintain with the increased power, having come from the uncouth background of a mere illiterate soldier... Your Majesty, please don’t mind my nagging..."

Xu Zhenguan smiled wryly.

She knew that although Grandmaster Dong was loyal, he had always harbored a strong bias against military men.

Or to put it more accurately, he didn’t think much of officials who came from non-academic backgrounds.

The initial cause of his opposition to the eunuch Wang Zhen was when Wang Zhen meddled in the affairs of the Hanlin Academy.

Furious, the Grandmaster admonished the illiterate eunuch before the late Emperor, which led to their enmity.

The military background of Zhao Douan as an imperial guard also contributed to the disdain he faced from the scholars of the Capital.

As Grandmaster Dong’s bias against the military was of long-standing, Xu Zhenguan found it difficult to say much.

However, hearing him mention the joint trial by the Three Agencies, she glanced at the sky.

Thinking that if all went well, by this point at the court hall, that little guard would probably have cleared his name.

However, the records of the crimes on that scroll were too cautious in Master Zhou’s speech to conclude a charge of "conspiring against a courtier."

Nevertheless, she couldn’t be dissatisfied or overly critical, for the little guard had made it this far by entering the game to drag down Master Zhou.

Although the charge wasn’t strong enough, he had done his best... This was, of course, based on the premise that everything went smoothly, but Master Zhou, who had navigated the treacherous waters of the court for years, might not have been easily trapped.

With these thoughts, Xu Zhenguan’s attention drifted.

"Your Majesty?" Grandmaster Dong couldn’t help but call out.

Xu Zhenguan came back to her senses and was about to speak when, in the distance along the small path of the imperial garden, a young eunuch hurriedly scurried over, panting heavily.

Arriving up close, he presented the hastily recorded documents from the court:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the joint trial by the Three Agencies has adjourned. The proceedings have been recorded on this paper."

Is it over then?

Xu Zhenguan’s eyes lit up, she raised her hand to take the few thin sheets of paper, and as her slender fingers brushed over them, the pages fluttered.

Through those records, it was as if she were witnessing firsthand how Zhao Douan staged a last-stand counterattack, facing many unfavorable pieces of evidence to absolve himself, and in turn, implicating Master Zhou throughout the entire process.

Though the records were brief, they were more thrilling than any storybook.

As Xu Zhenguan read to the end, the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward. With that smile, she was stunningly beautiful, making the imperial garden seem as bright and lively as if the Spring God had descended.

...

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