The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 294 - 258, Commandery Princess’s Ambush_2

Zhao Pan’s face collapsed instantly; she fell silent and sullenly pressed down on her Pekingese dog beneath her skirt.

The dog, often jestingly called a "sleeve dog" of the canine nobility, yelped pitifully with tears in its eyes,

not knowing what upset its mistress.

Once Zhao Douan had finished eating and left, You Jinhua glanced at her daughter and hesitated before probing,

"Your studies..."

"Mother!"

Zhao Pan turned away and picked up the confused dog, stating seriously,

"I heard that nagging is a sign of aging in women."

After she spoke, she hurried away, holding the dog that hadn’t tasted a single crab.

Getting old... struck hard by the thought, You Jinhua rubbed her plump belly with a frown.

...

...

At the Imperial Court, Lihua Hall.

When Zhao Douan arrived at the government office, the rain had nearly stopped, but the sky was still gloomy.

He wanted to just punch in, handle some simple official duties, and leave.

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However, his secretary stopped him with,

"Lord, the Master has summoned nine Halls’ Masters for a meeting."

A meeting early in the morning... Zhao Douan cursed under his breath and headed to the Governor Hall.

A group of people, half asleep, listened to Ma Yan ramble on for half an hour.

The core message of the meeting was this:

The Buddhist Tao confrontation was approaching. Recently, many cultivators from outside the Capital, particularly martial artists, had arrived.

Great Yu was a nation founded on martial prowess. Although civil ministers were esteemed in the court, the folk customs still upheld a martial spirit.

The Empress, with her broad-mindedness, facilitated the Jianghu people who came to watch the confrontation.

However, the influx of Jianghu people could inevitably lead to conflicts.

Thus, maintaining public order became a heavy responsibility for the entire imperial guard.

As part of the imperial guard and in charge of investigating rebels, the Imperial Court had an especially heavy burden.

Ma Yan urged the Nine Halls to increase patrols and stay vigilant.

During this period, he demanded no disturbances in the city and heightened precautions against Kuangfu Society exploiting the situation.

"The Lord is overthinking; Kuangfu Society wouldn’t dare to offend both Buddhist and Taoist factions unless they are seeking death,"

Haitang commented with a shrug and a face full of worker’s resentment after the meeting.

"The rest of the Jianghu people also need to be suppressed. If trouble arises, it would damage His Majesty’s prestige," Zhang Han said earnestly.

Zhao Douan lazily walked among the crowd and suddenly sneered,

"It’s about making those rough men from outside the Capital stay put obediently. Any miscreant we see, we just grab and it’s done.

This is the Capital, can we locals be bullied by outsiders? No matter their noble status or mighty backing, dragons coil and tigers crouch."

The other Masters looked at him with odd expressions.

Thinking, that’s so you, but why does this feel strangely satisfying...

Haitang, with crossed arms and a curious smile of watching an acquaintance show off, teased,

"Mr. Zhao seems to be implying something. By the way, reminding you, recently there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the city.

My Lvxian Hall’s informant reported that they saw a likely direct disciple of Martial Emperor City’s martial artist in town. Be careful, or you might capsize,"

Zhao Douan glanced at her and muttered indifferently,

"That Chai Keqiao? Not only your Lvxian Hall has keen eyes and ears."

Zhang Han and other six Masters silently watched the two bicker, a unique scene within the Imperial Court.

"Humph!"

Eventually, neither contestant in their verbal spar walked away pleased.

Zhao Douan strode out.

"You’re cutting work just after the Lord emphasized seriousness?" Haitang caught him by his little tail.

Zhao Douan completely ignored her,

"Do you know what it means to be ’ordered to cultivate’?"

...

Maintaining public order didn’t lack him alone.

Zhao Douan remembered that his task these days was to follow Eunuch Hai and learn how to advance into the Divine Chapter Realm quickly.

He left the Imperial Court.

Riding alone, Zhao Douan estimated the hour, broke through the autumn wind, and arrived at a street lined with tea houses in the city.

This area, home to many tea houses, gathered renowned teas from all around.

It also had a certain reputation in the Capital as an industry cluster.

However, Zhao Douan wasn’t here for the tea, but because Eunuch Hai was waiting for him here.

"You are a quarter of an hour late today."

On the second floor by the window, at the table with the best view nearest the street,

Mr. Hai, dressed as an ordinary wealthy elder, said lightly.

He wore a small melon-shaped hat and had a jade ring on his finger. His face, wrinkled yet baby-like, was atop a slightly hunched figure.

At first glance, nobody would connect this tea-drinking elder with the top martial artist within the Imperial Palace.

Mr. Zhao, grinning, walked over, handing over a paper-wrapped package:

"Mr. Hai, this morning at the government office meeting, I brought some apricot cakes as an apology."

Outside the palace, the elder Tributor, referred to as "Mr. Hai," glanced at him and chuckled:

"You rascal, where did you find out that I fancy this treat?"

Mr. Zhao beamed but did not respond, instead taking a seat opposite the elder Tributor and asking:

"Sir, you’ve had me watch plays here for three days. When will I begin my cultivation to breakthrough to the Divine Chapter State?"

Eunuch Hai set down his blue-and-white cup, his wrinkled hand unwrapping the package and pinching an apricot pastry into his mouth.

Tasting the sweetness on his tongue, he laughed:

"Cultivation? It had already begun."

...

At the same time Mr. Zhao and Eunuch Hai were conversing,

Across the street in another tea house, a maid named Lv Shui entered a room announcing:

"Commandery Princess, that Mr. Zhao has arrived."

In the room, sitting by the table were two figures.

One was Xu Junling, the renowned socialite who had been visiting various influential households in the Capital.

The other was an elderly man in plain robes, tasked by Prince Huaian to ensure the princess’s safety.

The tea house was also beside the street, but its windows were half-open, allowing a view down to the bustling crowd on the street.

However, from the outside, one could hardly see the people inside.

"He’s a quarter-hour later than reported; I thought he wouldn’t come today,"

Xu Junling, elegant and graceful, glanced at the hourglass on the table, her fingers twirling a delicate green-tinted porcelain tea bowl, calmly asked:

"Did he notice anything?"

The maid replied, "As per your instructions, we didn’t investigate, only watched from afar."

"Good," Xu Junling nodded slightly.

Her gaze fell on the substantial stack of documents on the table—data about Mr. Zhao continually compiled from various sources since entering the Capital.

Frankly speaking, the more she read, the more alarmed she became.

After all, Prince Huaian was miles away, and his intelligence network was nothing compared to Prince Jing’s.

Therefore, the initial information was rough and often erroneous.

These days, as Xu Junling mingled with various individuals in the Capital, she learned more accurate details about this man.

The more she knew, the more intrigued and increasingly...

wary she became.

At the same time, she felt the urge to make contact and test him out.

Recent intelligence showed that Mr. Zhao, for three consecutive days, had been arriving at the tea house across the street on time every day to drink tea with an unidentified elder,

only returning late in the evening, repeating this routine.

Xu Junling had not investigated the elder’s identity, but from the information she had, no significant figures in the Capital matched it.

Thus, she was not as vigilant.

"Then let’s send the order," Xu Junling said calmly.

The maid took the command and left.

The elderly man in plain robes pondered:

"Is the Commandery Princess sure of this?"

Xu Junling shook her head with a smile, not explaining but merely saying:

"Master Lv, just ensure my safety."

The elderly man stroked his beard, a confident smile in his words:

"Of course. There’s no one on these streets worth my concern."

...

"It’s already started?!"

Mr. Zhao was stunned.

Across from him, disguised as a wealthy elderly householder and overlooked by Jianghu for decades, Mr. Hai chuckled, nodding and then pointed outside:

"What is out there?"

Mr. Zhao turned his head to look outside the tea house, onto the street, which was far from an everyday scene.

Instead, spaces were cleared, surrounded by imperial guards in armor, weapons at the ready.

Their fierce gazes swept across the area.

The citizens of the Capital and tourists from other places gathered around the periphery, watching like an audience.

And in the middle of the street, isolated within the cleared space, two Jianghu martial artists were engaging in combat. Find more to read at novelbuddy

...

Typo to be corrected later