The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 425 - 353, you are a candidate recommended by the Song dynasty for imperial examination, right? My master invites you.

In the end, whose family would it fall to? Even Zhang Yan Yi, proficient in deduction, could not calculate, could not understand.

Xiao Donger said candidly:

"Because the Xiao family cannot be tied with Prince Heng. Nowadays in the world, although remnants of the Kuangfu Society are rampant, they have already lost the momentum and are bound to lose the fight for supremacy. The current His Majesty's standing is gradually stabilizing, already carrying the aura of an Emperor, though rumors in the streets say that any of the eight princes might covet the throne.

Perhaps the eight of them together have the strength for one battle, but even if we take ten thousand steps back and the Eight Princes win, there's only one Dragon Throne. Who can sit on it? Who cannot?

It's commonly recognized that Prince Jing of Jiancheng Road is the strongest, next would be Mu Prince of Yunfu Road... discussing further down the order, Prince Heng is generally in the middle, much stronger than the Lingnan King, but to say contending for the throne... Throughout the thousand-year history on Qingzhou Road, there has never been an Emperor."

These words spoken fluently, a woman assessing the world situation, had an air of grandeur.

Zhao Douan said calmly:

"So, you've concluded that Prince Heng will not win, even if the Eight Princes join forces and achieve something incredible, when it comes time to divide the credit, Prince Heng won't even be in the top three. Later, the one who takes the throne, would he tolerate anyone sleeping peacefully by his side?"

Xiao Donger nodded:

"Sir has deep insight. Therefore, if His Majesty wins, then my Xiao family being tied with Prince Heng, there won't be a good outcome; if unfortunately some prince wins, the East Lake Xiao family, still tied with Prince Heng, will also not end well. Given this, why not gamble?"

Why not gamble?!

At this moment, her statement was very forthright, with a hint of madness even.

Zhao Douan was silent; he could probably guess that this woman's choice to bet on the Empress could also have been due to being oppressed by Prince Heng's mansion for too long.

But still... it was...

Crazy.

"You know, just with these reckless statements about court politics that you just made, I could throw you into the Imperial Prison," Zhao Douan suddenly said.

Mrs. Xiao grinned, unflustered, and presented some freshly roasted rice cakes.

Zhao Douan took them and said:

"How can I believe what you've said? What if Xu Zudi sent you to act this out?"

Mrs. Xiao smiled and said:

"If sir agrees, Donger will leave with sir straightforwardly, maybe record earlier conversation as a video. Even if my Xiao family took no profit in business, if it's fake, could it even harm the court, right?"

You've thought this through well... Zhao Douan bit into a rice cake and said:

"Is this the decision of the entire Xiao family?"

"I am the family head, once I decide, there's no turning back for the clan."

Xiao Donger answered calmly, "As long as we become royal merchants, whatever Prince Heng feels, whatever he targets, at least overtly he can't do much, and my Xiao family can also bear it."

You're pulling the entire clan onto the gambling table, what madness... Zhao Douan stroked his chin and said:

"One last question."

He suddenly smiled charmingly, "Since it's you who came seeking my help, how will you please me?"

Mrs. Xiao was stunned, her eyes suddenly showing a trace of sadness and sigh.

Hesitating, as if finally making up her mind, she gracefully stood up, took off the shawl she was wearing, her voice tender:

"Sir, whatever you want Donger to do, she can do."

She misunderstood.

Seeing Zhao Douan remain silent, this widow, extremely famous in the entire Great Yu Dynasty, bit her lip, took a few steps forward, and was about to kneel...

But she was stopped by an iron fork-like gesture.

"What do you mean by this, madam?" Zhao Douan asked with a smile.

Mrs. Xiao was startled, faltering in her words, seeming to finally realize she might have thought wrongly:

"I..."

Zhao Douan said indifferently:

"I do need you to do something indeed. In a little while, the court will hold a market at Hu Ting, do you know about it?"

The topic switched too abruptly, Mrs. Xiao's mind briefly crashed, then she nodded:

"Of course I know. It's the most noteworthy event recently among merchants everywhere, it's said that the court will have a conference at Hu Ting, announce the first list of royal merchants, along with various business strategies."

Zhao Douan nodded, calmly stating:

"I can give you a royal merchant spot, but not now. I need you to attend the meeting at Hu Ting, wait for my message, perhaps then I'll need the Xiao family to publicly set an example."

Mrs. Xiao was first shocked, then showed a look of delight, quickly bowing deeply:

"Yes! The Xiao family will not let sir down!"

"Go back now. Before that, don't stir up trouble," Zhao Douan instructed.

Mrs. Xiao was overjoyed, hastily complied, thanked him several times, then put her cloak back on and hurried away.

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In the blink of an eye, only Zhao Douan was left alone in the small courtyard, warming himself by the fire.

He lifted the cup of hot tea with milk and took a sip, feeling the warmth flow down his esophagus, and suddenly chuckled to himself.

"Mortal world is full of surprises."

Zhao Douan had just impulsively placed a piece, although some plans in his mind were still unclear, but the affairs of the world are unpredictable and do not follow a preordained path.

Just as he hadn't expected, a competition with Xu Zudi had unexpectedly drawn the allegiance of the Xiao family from East Lake.

Similarly, who could say what wondrous effects the piece he casually placed on the chessboard might have in the future?

When Yuann Li was setting up the board, he could only barely be a chess player in the corner.

When the Empress and Prince Jing were strategizing in Taicang, he once again became a foot soldier charging into battle.

Now, he first set up spies to deal with Zhuang Xiaocheng, then controlled Prince Heng with Xiao Donger, and, unknowingly, he had assumed the posture of someone strategizing powerful counterattacks from behind the scenes.

Shaking his head, he set aside this unexpected episode for the moment, drank the last of the milk tea, glanced at the sky, muttered something to himself, and got up to leave the place.

Meeting Mrs. Xiao was just an impromptu addition; his real plan for the day was to begin targeting Mr. Zhengyang.

"Looking at the hour, it's time to set off, ha, Zhengyang, Zhengyang, let's first test your mettle a bit."

On the other side.

Mrs. Xiao walked out of the tailor's shop, her maid carrying several wrapped garments, and they boarded the carriage, directly returning to the grand courtyard of the previous day.

This place was originally property of the Xiao family, with Xu Zudi having forcefully tagged along, freeloading food, drink, and accommodation.

As a group just entered the courtyard, they caught a glimpse of Xu Zudi, dressed as a dashing young master, practicing his boxing.

He even had quite an imposing air about him.

Mrs. Xiao reverted to her meek and harmless vase persona, standing silently to the side to watch.

After finishing a set of boxing forms, Xu Zudi slowly exhaled and with a smile that was not quite a smile, stared at the dejected-looking Xiao Donger:

"How about it, has Family Head Xiao managed to knock open the doors of the government office today?"

Mrs. Xiao shook her head in despair.

Xu Zudi burst into hearty laughter, his face undisguisedly joyful:

"I told you long ago, the court will not allow you to enter the market, but you wouldn't believe it. How is it? Instead of staying a respectable Family Head, you prefer to shamelessly flatter at the doors of the government office."

Mrs. Xiao sighed softly, as if resigned, "The Young Master is right."

In a good mood, Xu Zudi suddenly said:

"After a while, the court is opening the market at Hu Ting, you should go."

Mrs. Xiao was startled, "Your Highness, are you suggesting..."

Xu Zudi's smile was triumphant:

"Since the court doesn't want you, Family Head Xiao should realize that it's best to wholeheartedly align with Prince Heng. At the upcoming Hu Ting meeting, when merchants and great clans from all over gather, you should serve as a role model to show these people the situation clearly and understand which side to stand on."

"..."

Mrs. Xiao's gaze turned bizarre, but this emotion existed only for a moment before she reined it in, bowed slightly, her meaning ambiguous:

"As commanded."

The Capital was growing increasingly lively.

If news of the scholarly debate had just spread yesterday, then today, the city was abuzz with talk, even among those who were not scholars.

At the entrance to the Imperial College.

Song Jurist and a group from the Zhengyang School were almost driven out.

This action incited indignation among his companions:

"What an Imperial College, utterly unable to debate honorably, they resort to chasing us out! Truly unworthy of being scholars!"

"Indeed! They're nothing but a bunch of sycophantic thieves, knowing they can't out-debate Mr. Zhengyang, they resort to stifling our voices! But while you can silence us, you cannot silence the extensive voice of scholars throughout the world."

"Brothers, the day is still young, let's visit several literary societies in the city and vindicate our teacher!"

"Together! Together!"

The group of scholars was impassioned, carrying Song Jurist along to turn around and leave.

Four days later, the scholarly debate between Dong Xuan and Zhengyang would begin, but public opinion outside of academia was also a crucial factor.

Thus, in these days, over a hundred disciples who followed Zhengyang into the city began to contact their former classmates and organize various literary societies to drum up support in advance.

Today, as they tried to rally support at the Imperial College, they ended up in heated arguments with a group of students, only to be discovered and directly expelled by the Chief of the Imperial College.

Caught amongst the throng, Song Jurist—an elder in his fifties and not as energetic as his younger scholarly brethren—was drained after the skirmish and had no choice but to wave goodbye to the others from the Zhengyang School, and walk along the long street alone, heading back to his inn.

Song Jurist was very excited these days.

Initially, he had planned to just escort Mr. Zhengyang to the Capital and leave, but after recently experiencing the Taicang case, he was somewhat cautious of the bloody conflicts in the upper echelons of the court.

He didn't really want to get involved.

Nevertheless, unable to withstand the loud insistence of his peers, who cared greatly about their reputation, Song Jurist found himself unable to articulate any desire to leave... He was helplessly carried along into the city. After entering the city, amidst all the commotion, Song Jurist, swept up by the fervor of scholars, fostered a bold spirit, enkindled by a profound desire to aid the people, uphold righteous learning, and restore proper rites and rituals.

In short, he was caught up in the heat of it.

He even felt as if the past decades had been lived in vain; having been a scholar all his life, he felt compelled to engage in this great battle fiercely and die without regret for the sake of the Saint's teachings.

"An old man unleashes the passion of his youth..."

As Song Jurist walked along the street, his heart stirred until suddenly, a young man appeared ahead, smiling at him:

"Song Jurist, right? My master invites you."