Chapter 364: I invite you to fight (5,000 words)
Since ancient times, emperors in the world have spoken with great wisdom, but Xu Zhenguan's words that seem like a joke are not a joke.
When the news spread that "His Majesty will stay in the mansion tonight", the mother and daughter who ran to the yard to hide for the second time were shocked.
First there was surprise, then followed by nervousness, fear and a trace of... uneasiness.
"We are not prepared for this at all. I don't know if His Majesty can accommodate the main room if it is temporarily vacant..."
As the mistress, Eugene Flowers was in trouble.
It stands to reason that when a ninety-five-year-old man stays, he must stay in the most dignified room in the house in terms of etiquette, which is the master's bedroom, but it is not suitable.
As for guest rooms, the Zhao family naturally has more than one, but why would His Majesty live in a guest room?
"It doesn't have to be so troublesome. It's fine for me to live in Zhao Qing's yard." Xu Zhenguan gave his decision with a smile.
This statement once again shocked the mother and daughter, who looked at each other with some strange speculation in their eyes.
"Ahem, I have two rooms in my yard. Find clean bedding and send them over." Zhao Duan came to the rescue.
His attitude in front of the empress was habitually exaggerated and humble, and he acted like a dog-licker to the outside world. But in fact, the emperor and his ministers knew each other well that this was not the truth.
How could Mr. Zhao, who has extraordinary skills in doing things outside, really be weak in the face of a beautiful woman?
How could the majestic empress fail to see some traces of her courtier's performance?
Adults see things through but don't tell them. In many cases, the interaction between two people only follows a certain tacit understanding.
Just like when the empress said that she wanted to stay, it was undoubtedly ambiguous, but Zhao Duan was much more serious, and the arrangements were considered appropriate, and there was no real drama about having sex.
…
Soon, the room was cleaned, and Xu Zhenguan also went to the courtyard where Zhao Duan was located, separated by a hanging flower door.
"Your Majesty," Zhao Duan held a lamp and knocked on the antique door.
He saw the empress in white standing in her bedroom, looking with interest at a pile of papers on his desk where he practiced calligraphy and drawing during his free time:
"The room next door has been tidied up. Well, if you want to take a bath, can I ask my servants to move the bathtub there?"
Xu Zhenguan automatically ignored the second half of his suggestion about bathing. She picked up the paper on the table with her slender fingers and looked at the black and white words on it, such as:
"I sat up in shock when I was dying, chatting and laughing for another year", "Although the old woman's strength was weak, she shook Yueyang City", "Looking up to the sky and laughing and going out, no one knew that the lychee was coming"... and other poems, the expression was extremely weird.
She could see that these sentences were quite good when taken individually, but when put together they were full of nondescript words.
When she saw the two lines of the poem "I took off my war robes with the general, and spent the spring night warmly in the hibiscus tent", she turned around with an unkind look in her eyes and said calmly:
"Is this Zhao Qing's new work?"
Danger...Danger...Danger...
Zhao Duan took a deep breath, walked over with a smile, and said calmly:
"I just sketched it randomly when I was practicing calligraphy, and Your Majesty laughed."
As he spoke, he quickly put away those crooked poems and pretended that nothing happened.
"snort."
Xu Zhenguan was in a good mood today and didn't bother to argue with him, a hero, so he remained silent.
Zhao Duan silently packed away the four treasures of his study and said:
"Your Majesty is staying out all night. If word spreads, people outside will spread the word again."
Xu Zhenguan said indifferently:
"If I cared about some gossip, I would not be able to sit on this dragon chair long ago."
After a pause, she smiled: "Besides, do you still care about some rumors?"
Zhao Duan smiled bitterly, why did the empress deliberately stay at the Zhao family tonight? Is it really because he is worried that Prajna will kill him?
Maybe there are some factors, but the core reason is not the case.
In his opinion, Zhenbao did it deliberately to show others.
It is conceivable that as long as tonight passes, tomorrow's rumors about Zhao Duan's "face" will be solidified again. The real powerful officials in the past did not believe his identity as a face and knew it was false.
The Empress' stay tonight is sending a very important signal:
Zhao Duan has indeed entered the waiting list of the empress's future husband.
This signal is very important.
After all, there is more than one identity of the Empress's favorite... Mo Zhaorong is also a favorite, and so is Sun Lianying... Otherwise, do you really think that a supervisor from the White Horse Prison can summon people from Tianshi Mansion and Shenlong Temple?
Sun Lianying is actually the "window" to communicate with the two major cultivating forces on behalf of the empress.
Therefore, whether he is a favorite or a popular person, he is not the only one.
But the face is different.
Since Xu Zhenguan ascended the throne, he has never had anything to do with any man, and Zhao Duan is the only one.
If the empress can finally secure the throne, she will definitely have her own bloodline heirs to continue the descendants. Although from a legal point of view, it is still more appropriate to adopt an adopted daughter from a branch of the royal family.
But...what if?
Things in the world are always uncertain. If Zhao Duan really becomes the "Emperor's Consort" in the future and gives birth to an heir with the Empress, then his identity will suddenly become a "foreign relative"...
Although it's far away, some people can't help but think of it.
In short, this will once again increase the weight of Zhao Duan and the entire Zhao family in the Yu Dynasty.
It's not a promotion or a commendation on the surface, but this kind of invisible "reward" will undoubtedly increase Zhao Duan's power.
"Let's talk about today's follow-up."
Xu Zhenguan broke the silence and said seriously:
"After today, you will also become enemies with King Mu."
"And King Heng, Xu Zudi probably hates me very much." Zhao Duan smiled.
"Is it because of Princess Yunyang? Or is it because of the conflict between you and him?" Xu Zhenguan was curious.
Zhao Duan shook his head and said seriously: "Because of the Xiao family."
?
The empress was stunned for a moment.
Zhao Duan then took his time and told the story of Mrs. Xiao's secret surrender to him.
Xu Zhenguan just learned about this. After hearing this, his eyes lit up and he raised his eyebrows:
"So you told her that you wanted her to go to the Huting meeting later? Give her the status of royal merchant of the Xiao family?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"I don't have the ability to make a decision with a single word. I just make an empty promise first, and it depends on what Your Majesty wants."
Xu Zhenguan thought deeply:
"What do you want to do? Wait, you arrange for her to go to Huting... Hey, did you agree to go there?"
During the last night talk, Xu Zhenguan said that the imperial court was about to "open the market" and the location would be Huting.
Such a major event requires a person of sufficient weight to attend on behalf of the empress to act as a supervisor and prevent the Yamen below from messing around.
"I have thought about it during this period. Since I planned the opening of the New Deal, I understand it best, and I do have the responsibility to carry this burden on my shoulders." Zhao Duan said with awe-inspiring righteousness.
I muttered in my heart:
Even if I want to get the treasure "Black Turtle Seal", I have to go there.
The magic weapon that even Taizu and Emperor could not get must be extremely precious.
Hidden in the "Yansuo Lake" in Huting, Zhao Duan had obtained clues from Master Bewitching, so there was no reason not to get them.
Xu Zhenguan stared blankly at his indifferent smiling face, a little surprised and lost in thought.
After a while, the empress in white said seriously:
"Prince Jing is not far away from the opening of the market this time. He is likely to go there in person and try to stop it."
The implication is that Prince Jing and Zhao Duan have a deep hatred and this trip is dangerous.
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"I have been friends with Prince Jing for a long time, and I really want to see his grace. As for the danger, didn't His Majesty say that if a practitioner wants to become truly strong, he must leave his comfort zone and face the hardships? I feel that in a few days, , should be able to enter the middle level of the Divine Chapter."
However, the middle-grade divine chapter is still vulnerable to the strong men in the world... Xu Zhenguan looked at him quietly and said:
"Are you serious? Have you thought about it?"
"Think about it."
"……good."
Xu Zhenguan had complicated eyes, spit out the word "good", and suddenly smiled:
"Since you have such courage, how can I really let you go alone? Hai Zongfeng can go with you."
Is Lao Hai coming too? Zhao Duan's eyes lit up.
Xu Zhenguan continued: "It's not just him, come with me."
As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and grabbed Zhao Duan's wrist.
Before the latter came back to his senses, he only felt a blur in front of his eyes and disappeared into the room, but appeared in the night sky of the capital.
The night breeze is blowing.
Zhao Duan appeared high in the sky out of thin air, with a fairy-like female emperor beside him.
There was wind under their feet, lifting them up.
Walk with the wind!
Is there still this spell in the Martial God Path? Zhao Duan was surprised: "Your Majesty, you want to..."
"Shut up."
Xu Zhenguan identified the direction below, pulled his loyal lackey, and a strong wind barrier rolled up around his figure. Suddenly it whizzed out like a cannonball, speeding like a meteor towards the north of the city.
How fast is a strong person in the heaven and human realm?
Zhao Duan felt it clearly. Not long after, he saw that he had crossed the city wall and reached the sky above the "Houhu" in the north of the city.
This was not his first time here. The last time he and Mochou came to inspect the "Huang Ceku".
At night, the entire back lake was very quiet, with only the five islands in the center having sporadic firelight.
"Crash..."
The empress pulled Zhao Duan down and hovered on the lake. When she landed, the strong wind stirred up waves of water.
Accompanied by a powerful aura of the heavenly and human realm, it spread out in all directions with the two of them as the center.
"Crash..."
The sound of water suddenly became intense, and the entire back lake was black in the night. Only with the light of the stars and moon above could we see the scenery and the sparkling water on the water.
Zhao Duan caught a glimpse of the lake in the distance filling up large bags and then breaking apart. A realization came to his mind: "Your Majesty, are you looking for the lake god and the weirdo on the island?"
The last time he came here, he learned that there was a "Lake God" hidden under the Houhu Lake. There was a crazy man in the two-story gray building on the island, who was the prisoner guarding the Houhu Huangceku.
But now that Huang Ceku has lost most of its meaning, these two royal guards have almost been forgotten by him.
"boom!"
The water surface suddenly exploded in the distance, and under the moonlight, a dripping female figure rose from the bottom of the lake.
Her long wet hair was hanging loose, her face was bloodless, and her eyes were pure white with no pupils visible. Under the bloody red clothes on her body, her hands and feet were bound with black shackles.
The long chain stretches almost endlessly into the icy lake water.
The white-eyed woman known as the "Goddess of Houhu Lake" came rolling in the water waves. She made no swimming movements and almost glided on the water.
"Woof woof woof..."
Suddenly, fierce barking came from the island in the distance. Zhao Duan looked over and saw a man carrying a huge green-skinned gourd riding the waves under the moonlight!
He was dressed sloppily, wearing only a single coat, and his long black hair was spread out, covering one eye and less than half of his face.
The man had a knife tied loosely around his waist. In the blink of an eye, he stepped on the water and rushed over, almost making a sound of breaking through the air.
Xu Zhenguan and Zhao Duan stood in the sky, overlooking the man and woman kneeling on the water below:
"His Majesty……"
Xu Zhenguan was noble and majestic. He looked down at the two strong men who were very good at first glance and explained to Zhao Duan:
"The sorcerer's name is Jiyue, he majors in water god, and he comes from the East China Sea. The swordsman's name is Lang Shiba, and he is a warrior from the North."
Jiyue...Lang Shiba...these are all weird names...
Zhao Duan complained and blinked: "Did His Majesty send them to protect the minister?"
Xu Zhen looked at the sorcerers and warriors kneeling toward the water and said coldly:
"If something happens to him, you two won't have to live."
The shoulders of the white-eyed sorceress Ji Yue and the northern swordsman Lang Shiba trembled slightly, bearing the pressure of mountains and seas in the realm of heaven and humanity:
"I obey the order!"
…
Tianshi Mansion.
In the small courtyard where the big banyan tree was planted, Jin Jian walked in with brisk steps and hummed an unknown tune.
He said happily: "Master, I found out something new, that is, Zhengyang actually worshiped Zhao Duan as his teacher."
Afterwards, Jin Jian realized that she did not wait for questioning as she wished. She pushed up her glasses on the bridge of her nose and saw the old master writing a letter under the banyan tree.
"Hey, Master, who are you writing to?" Jin Jian was greatly surprised. He sneaked over to take a look, but only caught a glimpse of the name revealed when the letter was closed:
"Ah, for Senior Brother?"
Zhang Yan, who is tall and has narrow eyebrows, wrote a good envelope and said with a smile: "Yes."
The eldest brother of the Tianshi Mansion is known as the "Little Tianshi". He has been walking around the world for many years and rarely returns to the capital.
He is also a powerful successor to the next Heavenly Master. It is said that his cultivation is profound and unpredictable. He has already entered the Great Perfection of the world and is looking for opportunities to advance to heaven.
He is a first-class strong man under the four heavenly beings.
"Do you have anything to do with Senior Brother?" Jin Jian asked.
Zhang Yanyi smiled and did not answer. He just threw it away and the letter flew into the night sky.
Immediately, he was grabbed by a big blue hand that landed in the sky and disappeared without a trace.
“Be prepared.”
…
…
The road was built and the palace of Prince Jing was built.
On the same night, the palace occupied an extremely large area and was majestic. There were countless secret guards hiding in the courtyard of the palace guarding the palace in secret.
Prince Jing, who had an elegant appearance and his arm wrapped three times with a total of 108 extremely rare bodhi beads, looked up at the moon.
He looks like he is in his forties, but his gray hair on his temples reveals that he is actually older than he looks.
The face is like a crown jade, and the style is outstanding.
Suddenly, a noble prince hurriedly walked towards him from afar. His appearance was very similar to that of Prince Jing. His whole body was filled with the aura of nobility cultivated by mountains of gold and silver sea. He was clearly the eldest son of Prince Jing, Xu Jinglong.
It was also when the old emperor was on the throne that he once went to Beijing to propose marriage to His Highness the Crown Prince, who failed to marry the third emperor's daughter Xu Zhenguan.
"Father, the news has been confirmed. The court has set a date. The market will open in Huting next month, and merchants and nobles will be invited." Xu Jinglong said respectfully.
King Jing Xu Wen looked away from the bright moon in the sky and said calmly:
"What do the others say?"
The crown prince Xu Jinglong reported:
"Except for the King of Huai'an, everyone has agreed to send his trusted followers to Huting. When the market opens, they will obey your orders and advance and retreat together."
"Hmph, you are a wallflower." Prince Jing snorted, but he was not surprised and said:
"They only said that they would send their cronies there? What about Yunfu?"
Xu Jinglong said: "Prince Mu said the road is far and difficult to travel."
"Obviously I don't want to be the first person," Xu Wen sneered, but he didn't care:
"Forget it, let's count the days. Mr. Zhengyang has arrived in the capital now. After some hard work, even if it doesn't accomplish anything big, it can still build momentum. We can also have more chips at the next meeting in Huting."
Xu Jinglong smiled and said:
"Father, if you go to Huting in person this time, you will definitely win. But I don't know who my imperial sister will send to monitor. It would be best if she is willing to send Zhao Duan here."
Prince Jing glanced at his son: "You care about him very much."
The crown prince Xu Jinglong’s eyes were sinister:
"My father knows it. If it wasn't inappropriate, I would have wanted to go to the capital to meet this pretty boy for a while. Besides, according to the intelligence, this person has repeatedly ruined our affairs, so he deserves to die."
Prince Jing laughed heartily and said, "I'm afraid this person doesn't have the guts to leave the capital."
Waving his hand, he dismissed the crown prince.
When they left, a beautiful woman slowly emerged from the darkness. She was wearing the princess's clothes, but her face was covered with a simple and mysterious silver mask.
Princess Jing said: "Are you sure you want to go to Huting?"
Xu Wen nodded, looked at himself, the princess in name, but in reality was a powerful warlock who protected him closely, and said, "You also have to go with me."
Princess Jing was not surprised, just a little lazy:
"Are you still afraid of being assassinated?"
Xu Wen shook his head and said calmly:
"I may want you to kill someone."
Princess Jing, who was wearing a silver visor and was actually a sorcerer of the Pei Niannu lineage passed down six hundred years ago, sighed softly, said nothing, and turned to leave.
She had no intention of participating in the fighting and intrigue among the royal family, but she still needed to rely on Xu Wen.
Xu Wen's cheeks twitched and he said in a deep voice:
"I said that I would find Pei Niannu's mantle."
Princess Jing did not respond and disappeared into the palace.
Xu Wen's face was gloomy, and he clenched his fists with slight force, with a sneer on his face:
"When I find the mantle of the former number one sorceress, I will teach you how to be a slave."
He knew that as long as he mastered that inheritance, he could make the silver-armored sorceress bow down and become his slave.
…
Huai River Road, Huai'an Prince's Mansion.
Princess Xu Junling led the maid along the corridor to the outside of the study room in the mansion.
She took the tray from the maid's hand and whispered to the brightly lit study:
"Father, the lotus seed soup is ready."
Then he pushed the door open and looked with bright eyes at the father behind the table, who was well-built, dressed in silk clothes, and wearing six wrenches on his ten fingers. He was always smiling, but he was able to establish a firm foothold in the Huaihe River where there were many nobles.
That is, the famous "political wallflower" King Huai'an.
"Haha, it's my daughter who knows how to love others. She's not as heartless as your brother." King Huai'an said with a smile.
Xu Junling chuckled and walked over obediently, with a sweet smile:
"Brother is going to do big things. Hey, has the agenda for the opening of the market been set?"
She caught a glimpse of the paperwork on the table.
The King of Huai'an said "En" and sighed: "I'm going to have a headache."
The imperial court was on the edge of the Huaihe River from the beginning, and he, the King of Huai'an, became one of the biggest factors affecting the effectiveness of the imperial court's opening of the market.
Xu Junling's beautiful eyes flashed, wondering who the court would send this time. Could it be him?
…
…
Beijing, Zhao family.
Zhao Pan secretly opened the door and walked in. Eugene Hua, who was waiting in the house, asked anxiously:
"How's it going? Did you hear anything happening in your eldest brother's yard?"
Zhao Pan, who was assigned by his mother to go to Tingqiang Gen, looked unhappy, shook his head and said:
"No. No sound."
Eugene took a long breath of relief, patted his chest, and said with a relieved smile:
"It seems like I'm just staying here, nothing else."
Zhao Pan said with a dull face:
"I heard that powerful monks can set up soundproof barriers. The courtyard is so quiet that it's eerily quiet, not even the sound of insects."
Eugene Flower: "..."
Zhao Pan: "..."
——
It’s a 5,000-word chapter. I’ll have to sort out the details of the follow-up tomorrow.
(End of chapter)