The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 406 - 339, I’ll accompany you for one night.

In the palace bedroom, candlelight flickered.

Zhao Douan and Xu Zhenguan sat facing each other, each pondering different issues.

"When Your Majesty says so, I feel assured," Zhao Douan feigned a relieved expression, then spoke seriously,

"In that case, if the Demon Path is collaborating with the Kuangfu Society and has ties with the Netherworld Sect, doesn't it mean that the Kuangfu Society might have allied with this Evil organization?"

Xu Zhenguan glanced at him and said,

"Not necessarily. Zhuang Xiaocheng is not a fool. His goal is to support Jian Wen's descendants to reclaim the throne and to realize his aspiration of becoming a dragon. No matter when, being involved with an Evil Mage is a scandal."

Her implication was clear:

Even if Zhuang Xiaocheng had connections with the Evil organization, they wouldn't be deep because getting too involved meant he couldn't disentangle himself later.

After all, the members of Kuangfu Society still harbored the hope of redeeming themselves and returning to the court.

Although Xu Jianwen had died initially, when the remnants of the rebels fled, they took the Second Prince's wife and son, promoting the flag of supporting this "Imperial Grandson" to ascend the throne.

A scandal, you say? But your father once appointed an Evil Mage as the State Preceptor... Zhao Douan criticized internally.

As if reading his thoughts, Xu Zhenguan said with a somewhat pained expression,

"However, if Zhuang Xiaocheng becomes desperate and feels the situation is unfavorable, it's uncertain he might not further seek help from these people."

Clearly, this was not something the Empress wished to see.

The atmosphere in the bedroom became somewhat oppressive for a time.

Zhao Douan subconsciously thought about picking up the teapot to pour tea for the female leader, hoping to ease the awkwardness.

But then he remembered the teapot was empty and forcibly stopped his motion, changing the topic,

"Your Majesty, the Demon Path self-detonated in my dream; could there be any lingering effects? I just felt faint all of a sudden with a surge in my energy and blood."

This was his second concern,

Bringing up this, Xu Zhenguan looked at him with complex eyes, reassuring him first,

"Rest assured, I have checked; it's nothing serious. After the Demon Path's Divine Soul shattered, he faced backlash, turning into pure Soul Power. Originally, that Soul Power was supposed to attract Divine Descent to take it away..."

Zhao Douan, feeling fortunate, blurted out,

"When I arrived, I saw red lightning in the southern sky."

"You guessed correctly, that was the phenomenon of Divine Descent entering the mortal world," Xu Zhenguan briefly explained, mentioning the fact that the death of a follower of the Five Demons Sect trigger the Divine Descent and said somberly,

"Fortunately, you are in the Capital. Had you been outside, the Divine Descent might not only have taken the remnants of the Demon Path but could have also engulfed you. Now though, there is no need to worry; Heavenly Master Zhang has taken action and repelled the Divine Descent, gifting you the Divine Skills of Master Gu Huo."

She said with an odd tone,

"Divine Chapter Realm is primarily focused on refining the Divine Soul. You were previously unstable, and I hadn't discussed subsequent cultivation with you, but this accident might just let you absorb the remaining Soul Power, which should be enough for you to advance to Middle Grade Divine Chapter."

Such a boon? Zhao Douan's face showed delight.

However, Xu Zhenguan seemed not to want him getting too proud and said with a half smile,

"However, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. The Soul Power of the Demon Path is not entirely harmless; your fainting earlier was an external manifestation. I had someone dissolve a Pill and feed it to you, which only temporarily suppressed it.

But the Pill cannot completely eliminate the aftereffects; it merely delayed the 'attack' to a later time. To fully embrace this gift, you must rely on yourself and endure the next crisis."

Dun...

Zhao Douan swallowed hard for the second time, feeling slightly panicked as he cautiously asked,

"Your Majesty, the 'illness' you mentioned refers to..."

"Desire."

Xu Zhenguan lightly parted her lips to utter these two words, adding indifferently,

"Divine Descent originates from the various desires of humans. The Divine Soul of the Demon Path is full of cravings. After his death, those desires will gradually dissipate, but before then, you will be dominated by desires, just as if the illness had flared up.

But next time, it won't be a mere faint; you will likely lose your rationality, your mind dominated by desires, degenerating into an irrational beast and committing madness."

Losing rationality... Duan's lips turned pale as he tremulously asked,

"What will happen to me?"

Xu Zhenguan said eerily,

"Uncertain, but there are several possibilities. For example, you might develop an intense urge to eat, feel extremely hungry, and driven by hunger, you might rush out to feast, and considering it is nighttime outside with no food available, you are very likely to attempt to eat people."

Eat people... Zhao Douan's breathing tightened, and he felt a growling in his stomach, accompanied by a wave of hunger.

Xu Zhenguan watched him and said methodically,

"You might also develop a desire to kill, destroying everything in sight, throwing and breaking objects lightly, or entering a crowd to commit mass murder, turning into a demon of slaughter."

Zhao Douan bit his lip, feeling a surge of violent urges to destroy everything.

His hands clenched into fists, with nails nearly piercing into the flesh.

Xu Zhenguan continued,

"Or perhaps you develop a greed, frantically looting wealth. Well, I don't need to elaborate on this; breaking into homes and stealing gold and silver is straightforward."

Zhao Douan looked around at the precious treasures in the room, his heart stirring, eager to act.

Xu Zhenguan teasingly said, "Or perhaps lust..."

"Your Majesty! Stop it!" Zhao Douan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said with a wry smile,

"I feel like I have all of them..."

Xu Zhenguan chuckled, no longer taunting him, and smiled,

"You haven't reached the crisis yet, so don't scare yourself. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be about an hour before the Pill's efficacy wears off."

An hour... Zhao Douan spoke earnestly,

"Your Majesty, to prevent me from going mad, I beg you to order someone to tie me up."

Xu Zhenguan laughed helplessly but with a trace of amusement,

"Do you think tying you up will solve the issue? Believe it or not, driven by hunger, you might end up eating yourself."

Zhao Douan shuddered involuntarily, his emotions sincere as he quickly bowed:

"Your Majesty, save me!"

Xu Zhenguan replied helplessly, "If I were not to save you, why would I have ordered you to be brought to this sleeping chamber?"

Zhao Douan exclaimed with joy, "Does Your Majesty mean..."

Xu Zhenguan sighed, "Tonight, I will watch over you the whole night to prevent you from losing your senses and doing something irreversible."

Translated, it meant that the two of them would have to get through the night in the sleeping chamber until dawn.

Zhao Douan breathed a sigh of relief and felt profoundly fortunate. At this moment, he couldn't even think about anything else, only feeling terrified of what might have happened if Ma Yan hadn't brought him to the palace.

Had he gone mad, it was certain he might have made a grave mistake.

In his current divine chapter realm state with the Dragon Essence alongside him, even Ma Yan might have been unable to restrain him.

However, now that the Empress was watching over him, there was no need to worry.

"Your Majesty's grace, I have nothing to repay with!" Zhao Douan seized the moment to offer his loyalty.

"Enough, put away that act. You're not tired of it, but I am," Xu Zhenguan said irritably.

It might have been the charcoal burning in the warm chamber, for the autumn night didn't feel cold at all and was even somewhat hot.

While Xu Zhenguan was speaking, she reached to pick up the jade pot in front of her and, as expected, picked up nothing.

Xu Zhenguan: "…"

Zhao Douan: "…"

"M'lord…"

"Forget it, no need to explain," Xu Zhenguan sighed lightly, thinking to herself that the teapot should be disposed of.

She turned her head and instructed someone outside the door.

…

After a while,

the door opened and one maid after another came in with trays, bringing in many fruits, pastries, and fresh tea, filling the large coffee table.

Then they silently withdrew, not sparing Zhao Douan another glance.

Once the door closed again, the monarch and her subject began to eat and drink.

However, Xu Zhenguan was accustomed to eating less after dinner, and Zhao Douan did not dare to eat too much, always suspecting that his "appetite" was being manipulated.

So, their eating manners were still relatively graceful.

Zhao Douan popped a date into his mouth, knowing the night would be long, and started a conversation:

"Your Majesty, I heard that there has been progress with the new policy of opening the market?"

The Old Director had mentioned this to him before, but not in detail.

Xu Zhenguan nodded and replied,

"It's mostly planned out, but after this news came out, all the local scholarly families, and even my eight uncles, have already started to show their divine skills. In a little while, there will be a 'policy meeting' at Ten Miles Lake Pavilion, and that will be the greatest test when these princes and several families trying to interfere gather together."

Zhao Douan was slightly stunned, hearing this for the first time.

Ten Miles Lake Pavilion...he was familiar with this place, located at the intersection of the Huai River and Linfeng, known for its prosperous trade. The court had chosen to open a market at Ten Miles Lake Pavilion to resolve financial issues in the Ministry of Revenue.

From the Empress's perspective, the Eight Princes and many powerful scholarly families clearly understood the significant implications of opening the market. While some might not have fully grasped it, they were not foolish enough to ignore it.

Of course, these people couldn't do anything overt, given that this policy had been agreed upon at court.

However, interfering, grabbing a share, or trying to keep most of the market benefits in their hands, preventing new traders from rising... this was possible.

The so-called "policy meeting" mentioned by the Empress was ostensibly hosted by the court, gathering various merchants who wanted to be involved in the market to set the rules—a conference.

But with the Eight Princes and many families sensing an opportunity, one could imagine the spectacle that the upcoming conference at Ten Miles Lake Pavilion would be.

Quite the grand affair indeed.

"Hehe, when the time comes, I definitely need to send someone to keep an eye on things. How about it, are you interested?" Xu Zhenguan suddenly asked with a smile.

R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freewebnovёl.ƈom Only.

Zhao Douan replied honestly, "I do not have such abilities."

A conference with the Eight Princes... What kind of scene would that be?

Just thinking about it, he knew that the major powers would definitely not be happy about the new policy's smooth implementation; they would surely force their way to get a share, inevitably leading to conflicts.

The presence of Prince Jing alone had already put pressure on him, let alone eight princes altogether.

So far, Zhao Douan had only indirectly dealt with Prince Jing and Prince Huaian.

Still remaining were six other princes: Mu Prince of Yunfu Road, Prince Hejian of Xiping, Yanshan King of Northern Iron Pass Road, Prince Heng of Qingzhou Road, Prince Chen of Coastal Road, and the most remote, Emperor Qiong of Lingnan.

Xu Zhenguan smiled but said nothing more, as there was still some time and she hadn't made up her mind yet.

She had asked because the opening of the market had been Zhao Douan's idea; he understood it the best and was sufficiently loyal and capable.

He was the most suitable candidate to represent her at the meeting.

But indeed... it was a bit too dangerous... she would think about it further...

"Yawn," Xu Zhenguan suddenly covered her mouth with her hand and stood up to walk towards the adjacent bedroom:

"I am tired; are you going to sleep?"