The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 330 - 281, Xu Zhenguan: How do you explain this?

About fifteen minutes later.

Having cleaned himself and dressed, Zhao Douan, grooming himself neatly, walked through the corridor at noon under the guidance of a gorgeously-dressed court lady, holding the "Taia Sword" and arrived at the "Dining Hall" of Yangxin Hall.

It was not his first time here.

Several months ago, on his third day after arriving, he had entered this place and faced a life-or-death interrogation.

It was also the first time he had dined with the Empress.

Months later, on an autumn noon, he stood once again before this door, about to face another significant interrogation.

His emotions were uncontrollably tense.

Zhao Douan tried hard to clear his mind of complex thoughts and enter a sharp state of "great secrecy."

He knew if he mishandled this conversation between sovereign and subject, he might have to start all over with everything he had built up during this time.

"Mr. Zhao, Her Majesty is right ahead, please go forward."

The unfamiliar female official halted and stood motionless, her skirt still.

She gestured for him to proceed.

The noontime of autumn saw clouds dispersing over the Imperial Palace, sunlight filtering down, while the air remained damp and slightly cold.

Birds swept across the palaces from the imperial garden, and court attendants stood every ten meters or so along the lengthy corridor.

Yet at this moment, they all looked expressionless and unusually quiet.

"…Thank you." Zhao Douan took a deep breath, showed an impeccable smile, and took steps forward, embodying the role of a loyal official in seven strides.

After seven steps, he reached the door and bowed deeply:

"Your servant Zhao Douan greets Your Majesty."

A two-breath delay passed before a familiar, chilling voice replied:

"Sit down and dine."

"Yes." Zhao Douan didn't play at refusal; in the bureaucracy, understanding subtle hints was a fundamental skill.

He listened not to the words but to the tone and context to divine the true intentions of the empress.

Zhao Douan had once heard a saying:

Language is an imperfect vessel for thoughts; humans invented language and writing to express intentions.

But as soon as words leave the lips, they already lose most of their true meaning and become incomplete.

So, through a long evolution, humans learned to combine context, tone, and expression to understand the real intent of a statement.

Even then, language and writing make up only a very small portion in expressing intentions.

Thus, there is room for misunderstanding in words and speeches.

Just like now, when the Empress said to dine, she meant exactly that, nothing more.

So Zhao Douan stepped inside, approached the table, sat on the prepared stool, picked up chopsticks... After completing these fluid motions, he finally looked up.

The round table was laden with exquisite dishes.

Directly opposite him sat the elegant Xu Zhenguan.

She was as usual, clad in plain white, her unadorned black hair cascading down her back, no ornaments whatsoever, making her the focal point.

Her skin was white as jade, features almost sculpted and naturally perfect, with lush eyelashes, a prominent nose, and full lips...

The soft curve of her jawline flowed smoothly into a slender neck, sharply gathered at the collar.

While the ladies in the capital dressed boldly, the Empress, as the ruler of the nation, was exceptionally "conservative" in her attire.

While Zhao Douan discreetly observed the Empress, Xu Zhenguan also scrutinized him.

Her slightly elongated phoenix eyes showed no emotion, only the pure black of her pupils was striking.

Their gazes met.

"Let's eat."

Xu Zhenguan casually spoke and began to eat first.

She appeared to chew slowly and elegantly, but her eating pace was peculiarly fast; in a blink, she had finished two meatballs.

There was no interrogation.

Not even a question was posed, yet this multiplied the pressure in Zhao Douan's heart.

"As commanded." He managed those few words, and then lowered his head to eat heartily.

Being from the lineage of the Martial God, he naturally had a large appetite, and after his last intense battle, he was famished. Luckily, the Empress seemed to have ordered an increase in portion sizes today.

Empty plates from the pair were promptly removed by servant girls, and new dishes were brought to refill them.

For a while, the room was filled only with the whirlwind of their dining.

After a long while, when Zhao Douan felt full and his eating pace slowed, the Empress also put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and said, "Clear it away."

"Yes."

Several maids came forward to clean up the "battlefield" and presented post-meal tea.

With a sense of fatalistic resolve, Zhao Douan took a sip of the tea, moistened his throat, and proactively confessed:

"Your Majesty, I actually..."

He felt that as a man, he should take the initiative rather than waiting to be asked.

However...

Xu Zhenguan raised her hand, interrupting him, her pure white skirt fluttered as she stood up and walked out, leaving behind:

"Follow me."

…

...

Zhao Douan, whose spellcasting was interrupted, had no choice but to follow closely, staying one step behind the Empress—to prevent her prominent, voluptuous behind from entering his line of sight.

The two walked through the long corridor, exited the Yangxin Hall, and in the autumn afternoon, crossed the vast square in front of Meridian Gate that could accommodate thousands of people in battle formation.

They reached the exterior of the "Armory" guarded by tributors of the Imperial City.

"Your Majesty," Eunuch Hai in his python robe had been waiting early and bowed as he saw the two arrive.

Xu Zhenguan, with an imposing demeanor, lightly uttered "Mhm" and said,

"Unless there is urgent business, forbid anyone from disturbing us."

"Yes."

Xu Zhenguan stepped forward, crossed the threshold, and entered the complex that displayed many treasures of the palace.

...As Zhao Douan passed by Hai, he wildly hinted with his eyebrows, essentially asking,

What does this mean?

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But Eunuch Hai pretended not to see anything, acting as if he were invisible, which terribly frustrated Zhao Douan and made him increasingly uneasy.

Inside the quiet armory, the sovereign and her minister—one in front and the other behind—walked along the central axis, passing through one red wooden door inlaid with yellow brass nails after another.

They reached the deepest part, a small courtyard overgrown with wild grass.

Amid the autumn air, the dilapidated pavilion in front of them seemed especially desolate and mournful.

"Upstairs."

Xu Zhenguan said softly, stepping onto the staircase.

Zhao Douan climbed beyond the first floor, where the Martial God Map was carved on the stone wall, following the Empress to the second floor.

With a "creak," he pushed open the door—the layout of the second floor was almost identical to the first, the only difference being,

the stone walls in the room were much narrower and taller, resembling more a "stele" than a "wall."

The daylight was not bright, making the room appear somewhat dim.

The surface of the second stone wall was dusty; no patterns could be seen.

The ruler and her minister stood side by side in front of the door, letting the dim light behind them flow into the room.

"Your Majesty... I actually..." Zhao Douan began to speak again.

"Sword." The Empress interrupted him once more, her vermilion lips uttering that word.

"…Oh, oh!"

Zhao Douan paused, then hurriedly unfastened the Taia Sword from his waist and presented it with both hands:

"I boldly borrow the sword, truly a sin too grave to forgive, wholly unforgivable and utterly wicked..."

Xu Zhenguan glanced at him disdainfully, ignored his nonsensical babbling, and with her pale, slender wrist, casually grasped the hilt of the sword.

Her other hand lightly brushed over the black and red blade, which, under heaven, only Xu Zhenguan herself could handle, obedient as a cat.

The surface rippled with a water-like luster.

It seemed to release a quiet, joyful sword hum.

In the humming, there seemed to be a hint... of ingratiating intent.

Zhao Douan wore a strange expression, inexplicably feeling that he and this sword were well matched, both representing fawning figures in front of this unparalleled beauty...

Difficult brothers, difficult dogs indeed...

"Do you know how long it took me to ascend from the mortal realm to divine chapter back then?" The beauty stroked the sword and asked softly.

Zhao Douan candidly shook his head, not attempting any clever retorts at this inappropriate time.

"Half a year," Xu Zhenguan supplied the answer.

Zhao Douan responded admiringly,

"Your Majesty has exceptional talents, truly a rare genius."

To advance a realm in merely half a year was indeed extremely fast. Although Zhao Douan was also quick, considering that he had already been stagnant in the lower mortal realm for quite a long before his transmigration, the total time he spent amounted to several years.

Well, if counting from when he began cultivating the Martial God Map after transmigration, it wasn't quite half a year yet…

Xu Zhenguan shook her head and said,

"Such talent counts for little. The path of cultivation becomes harder the further one advances. Moreover, the time spent in the mortal realm is merely for toughening and accumulation... Therefore, what truly matters among the Imperial Family lineage is how much of Grand Ancestor Emperor's legacy one can receive, how much recognition."

She paused, her words heavy with meaning,

"Just like this Taia Sword, many tributors in the palace, generations of imperial princes and grandsons, barely a few could truly refine themselves to wield this sword, to gain its recognition...

Heh, that's an internal secret of the Imperial Family, not even those uncle princes of mine understand where the key to wielding this sword lies.

They only think, one needs sufficient cultivation, or the permission of the emperors through generations..."

Zhao Douan's forehead broke into sweat; he felt slightly panic-stricken.

Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes stared at him, her tone calm,

"And do you know when I received this sword's recognition?"

"…I do not know."

"That was long after I advanced to the Worldly Realm, and even before I ascended the throne, during the coup d'état, I could only barely handle it, yet could not command the sword to come to me."

Xu Zhenguan recalled wistfully.

Then, with a slight twist of her wrist, she rested the Taia Sword on Zhao Douan's shoulder.

The Empress' beautiful face turned stern, her eyes glinting fiercely as she breathed out softly,

"And how did you manage it?"

...

Wrong characters will be corrected later.