Chapter 7 Politicians are born actors
“Apologies? Bribery is enough.”
After a brief moment of daze, the old supervisor, who had gray hair on his temples and sunken eye sockets, said coldly.
The disappointment in his eyes became more intense.
In his opinion, Zhao Duan's behavior was undoubtedly hypocritical. He knew that the trouble he caused this time was serious, so he tried to bribe himself, which was a routine operation in officialdom.
The simple little imperial army at the beginning was eventually corroded by the big dye vat of officialdom, and it was no longer the original one.
"Take it away, our family will not be able to enjoy this fine thing." The old supervisor waved his hand to drive them away.
However, Zhao Duan's next words really surprised him.
"You misunderstood. This folding fan is a stolen property presented by a lowly official." Zhao Duan said in surprise.
The old supervisor frowned: "What do you mean?"
Zhao Duan said calmly: "A few days ago, the Ning'an County magistrate who acted as a broker came to me and promised me a generous gift and asked me to help commute the sentence of an official detained by the Ministry of Punishment..."
Immediately, he told the whole story truthfully.
This was the purpose of his coming to see each other tonight.
In the memory of the original owner, the old eunuch in front of him was the real confidant of the empress, and he was the direct descendant who had followed the third empress since her days.
After taking charge of the White Horse Prison, although she is extremely low-key and does not have a strong sense of presence, she is an ear and a pair of eyes placed in the Yamen by the empress.
He highly suspected that the old eunuch was one of the few people who knew that he was not the empress's "male favorite".
The emergence of Zhang Changshuo has added many variables.
Zhao Duan could only deal with it in a hurry and chose to report what he wanted to do in advance.
In this way, as long as you "register" it in advance, if Zhang Changshuo wants to make a fuss about this matter later, his power will be greatly reduced.
You want to snitch on me?
Hehe, I will report myself in advance.
"...Because of his humble position, he has not replied to him for a long time, so Wang Xian invited me to meet and discuss today." Zhao Du settled down and said:
"I agreed to him."
In the room, the oil lamp burned quietly, and the light gradually dimmed.
The old eunuch wearing a large robe remained expressionless throughout the whole process: "You want to use this Wang Xian to find out the person behind him?"
People become better with age, and smart people don’t need to talk nonsense.
"yes."
The old supervisor sat up straight slightly. Zhao Duan, with quick eyes and quick hands, picked up the lamp for him.
The lights come back on.
...The old supervisor glanced at him, sat back in the armchair, and said:
"Do you want to make meritorious deeds? To offset the trouble you caused? To withstand this impeachment?"
Without waiting for his answer, the old man shook his head and said slightly sarcastically:
"It's too late. Not to mention that you have made many enemies in the past. Just because of your status, you are prone to disaster."
These words were very implicit. If the original owner had the intelligence, he would not be able to hear the profound meaning.
But Zhao Duan had already thought of this level when he left the palace in the afternoon, and he felt like he was facing a formidable enemy.
For the real big shots in the temple, they will not be jealous of a pretty boy who betrays his beauty, just like Prime Minister Li Yanfu, who doesn't even bother to look at him.
But that doesn't mean big shots won't target him.
Just as in the history he was familiar with, in certain dynasties, it was not uncommon for civil servant groups to impeach the emperor's concubines and appoint heirs, raising the emperor's family affairs to the safety of the world.
Is it because of grudges? not necessarily.
It may also be to check and balance the imperial power.
The game between the courtiers and the empress often does not involve a quarrel, but a chess piece to start a confrontation.
Zhao Duan is very suitable as a chess piece.
Powerful officials like Li Yanfu didn't mind taking this opportunity to casually destroy Zhao Duan. This would be equivalent to a small victory in the confrontation.
The old supervisor had already noticed this, so he warned the original chief many times to keep a low profile.
But it's hard to persuade a damn ghost with good words.
"I know," Zhao Duan laughed at himself, "but we have to do something."
The old supervisor looked at him, shook his head and said:
"Even if you can do meritorious service and find those people, this credit is not enough. Asking for help from you shows that the people behind this are not powerful people."
It breaks my heart...
Zhao Duan's eyes darkened, he was silent for a moment, and said:
"Even so, I still want to investigate. I just want to thank you for taking care of me."
He gave a forced smile:
"After all, I am also a member of the yamen. Even if I can't change anything, I still have your share of the merits. I have caused a lot of trouble in the prison, so this can be considered a small reward."
The old supervisor was startled, a little dazed.
After Zhao Duan finished speaking, he turned around and left, counting one, two, three silently in his heart. "etc."
The old man's complex voice came from behind:
"Take the fan, take it away."
Zhao Duan never looked back:
"It's hot, I'll leave it here to fan you."
After saying that, he disappeared into the darkness outside the door.
In the quiet house, only the old man was left silently looking at his disappearing figure. After a long time, he sighed softly:
"If you had been like this, why would you be here today?"
Immediately, he raised his hand and opened an account book on the table, revealing two envelopes hidden underneath.
The letter on the left was delivered from the palace, and the saint asked him for his evaluation of Zhao Duan.
The letter on the right is a memorial he had just written, with eight words on it:
Domineering and notorious.
After a moment of silence, the old supervisor tore the document into pieces, threw it away, took out a blank memorial, picked up a pen and wrote a new eight-character comment:
"The prodigal son may still be forgiven when he turns back."
…
…
It was dark at night, and there were forbidden troops patrolling the city walls surrounding the palace.
The Yangxin Hall where the empress lives is also brightly lit.
In the corridor, a palace maid walked forward in small steps carrying a tray with lotus seed soup cooked in the imperial dining room. When she arrived outside the imperial study room.
I saw a figure coming from the opposite side.
"My slave has seen Mo Zhaorong." The little palace maid stopped and saluted.
The young female officer, who was respectfully called "Zhaorong", was in charge of the Sixth Shang, and had an official rank of the fifth rank, said "En" and took the tray:
"I'll do it."
After saying that, the young female official knocked on the door.
In the imperial study room.
Wearing white uniforms, the graceful and elegant Empress Xu Zhenguan of Dayu is at her desk handling government affairs.
Under the candlelight, her crystal clear skin was covered with a sheen like ivory and warm jade.
The thin eyebrows were slightly frowned, with a trace of unnoticeable fatigue.
"Your Majesty," the young female officer placed the lotus seed soup on the table and called softly.
Xu Zhenguan then raised his head and said unexpectedly: "Why are you here to send me off?"
"We bumped into each other when we came here," the young female official handed over the spoon with her hands bare, looking at the pile of memorials, she said distressedly: "Why does your Majesty have to work so hard? There will always be endless things to deal with."
Xu Zhenguan put the soup into Tankou and drank for a while, feeling less tired.
Turning to look at the most important female official in Ouchi, who is known as the 'Female Prime Minister' in both the government and the public, she said with a helpless smile: "Why don't I want to rest? It's just that there are so many people in the world looking at me. Since this year, , there are frequent disasters in various states, and the mess left by my father and my second brother needs to be dealt with...
There are internal and external troubles, and if one thing is not done well, it will be blamed on me, a woman. "
Outsiders only saw the glorious side of Xu Zhenguan, who ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor as the winner of the "Xuanmen Coup".
But only those around her know how much pressure she has been under in the past two years since she took the throne.
The late emperor left an empty treasury.
The coup of the second prince also involved the replacement of a large number of ministers, which caused the temple to be unstable and left the remnant party to make trouble behind the scenes.
The "princes" of the nine and eighteen mansions of Dayu were all watching.
The major cultivating forces are waiting for the opportunity to move...
Empress Dayu looked around, and the dynasty that looked like it was in flames was actually full of dangers.
However, there are only very few direct relatives under his command who are truly useful.
"Don't mention it anymore," Xu Zhenguan swallowed the lotus seed soup, resisted the urge to suck on her long fingers, put down the porcelain bowl, and said with a smile: "You can't come here so late just to persuade me to rest."
The young female officer took out a envelope from her sleeve:
"The one sent just now by Superintendent Baima is a critique of Zhao Duan."
He... A handsome face appeared in Xu Zhenguan's mind. Putting aside his character, Zhao Duan's appearance was indeed impeccable.
"What did the Superintendent say?"
"This slave has not opened it for reading, so please ask your Majesty to open it personally."
At this moment, Xu Zhen looked at the memorial in front of her and suddenly hesitated.
(End of chapter)