Chapter 407 Door-to-Door Challenge (5k)
The New Year's Eve is getting closer and closer, and the temperature in the capital has dropped again, completely falling into the depths of winter.
Zhao Duan's wake-up time also became later and later.
Early morning, in the bedroom.
"Huh." Zhao Duan got out of the warm quilt, exhaled a deep breath, raised his palms to condense a ball of water and covered his face to drive away the remaining sleepiness.
Then he turned over and sat cross-legged on the bed. He was stunned for two seconds and suddenly put his hands on his chest to make a seal.
A Buddhist inscription with the character "卍" lingering in a faint glow quietly emerged from the air.
Zhao Duan spread his right hand and let the word "卍" fall on his palm like a fallen leaf. He felt that the green lotus in the sea of consciousness quickly dimmed a little, and the corners of his mouth slowly rose, spreading into a smile:
"It's done."
It has been more than half a month since the Western Region Sangha left. During these days, apart from his daily practice, Zhao Duan devoted a considerable amount of his energy to pondering the Sea of Knowledge Green Lotus.
And finally, through constant attempts, he learned the first Buddhist technique - "The Demon Sealing Curse"
That is: he can use the Green Lotus of the Sea of Consciousness to transcend the differences in practice systems and release Buddhist spells.
The ability to seal magic spells, according to the book introducing Buddhist magic in his hand, can imprison enemies to varying degrees according to the level of mastery from low to high.
"My current mastery is still shallow, and I can probably bind the enemy. If I master it deeper, or if my realm is higher, I can try to block the opponent's magic power and even the five senses."
"Huh, I couldn't release it 100% yesterday, but I can do it this morning. Does this count as a proficiency upgrade? If I had a training panel system on my body, I would probably be able to refresh the 'ding-ding' sound of new skill upgrades at this time. …”
Zhao Duan restrained the urge to make a "ding" sound with his mouth, and slowly released the maintenance of the "Demon Sealing Curse", causing the spell to collapse and disappear in his palm.
……
Inner hall!
When Zhao Duan walked in, a sumptuous breakfast was already placed on the table.
"Good morning, aunt, good morning, sister, good morning, dog."
Boss Zhao Duan casually said hello to the two women and one dog at the table, sat down and began to feast.
Eugene Flower spat, chattering while getting him food:
"Da Lang, you are now a big shot. You should pay attention to your speech and manners. Why are you still acting like a child?"
Tsk, after nearly a year, the stepmother has successfully emerged from the shadow of being bullied by her stepson, and now she dares to nag.
He just said "criticism" but couldn't stop the smile on his lips.
It seems that in her opinion, such a casual step-son is lovable. If he really puts on airs like those "masters" in the court, then the family affection will be lost.
"Yawn..." Zhao Pan yawned continuously. Now he has long since given up his original determination to learn martial arts. He still looks sleepy now:
"Brother, why did you get up so early today..."
In the past, Zhao Duan got up late, so she also stayed in bed, calling it a meal with her eldest brother.
Today, Mr. Zhao rarely got up early. The girl had no choice but to stay in bed without any shield. She was forcefully pulled out of the warm bed by her own mother.
Zhao Duan held the porridge bowl, sucked a mouthful of fragrant white porridge with his lips, and waited for the hot flow to slide into his esophagus before saying:
"Today the Duke of Zhenguo will return to Beijing, and a group of military generals are ordered to line up outside the city to greet him. I can't hide."
Eugene Flower was taken aback and said nervously:
"It belongs to the young father-in-law who has a grudge against you..."
"It's okay, the misunderstanding will be solved once you talk about it." Zhao Duan reassured with a smile, quickly finished his breakfast, changed his clothes and went out.
……
The time for Tang Daren, the Duke of the town, to enter the city is scheduled to be in the morning.
Zhao Duan went to the Yamen first, and as agreed, he and Ma Yan went to greet him on behalf of the Yamen.
"Senior brother, the Shenji camp didn't even look for me. Why did our office think of taking me there? This is against the rules."
Zhao Duan walked into the Governor's Hall and complained to Ma Yan, who was dealing with official documents.
Ma Yan was sitting in the main hall, his long and thin face expressionless.
As the end of the year approaches, all the major government offices in the capital have a large amount of affairs to deal with. The main halls of the imperial offices have basically stopped all tasks and are rushing to prepare "reports" and summarize them in the Governor's Hall.
Ma Yan has been so busy these days that the circles under his eyes are dark.
"When you work, you call it your job title."
Ma Dugong put down the seal in his hand, picked up the blue and white tea jar to moisten his throat, and then glared at him:
“You don’t know why I took you with me?”
Zhao Duan laughed and pulled the chair to sit down: "It can't be to make my presence felt in front of the Duke."
Ma Yan was already used to the novel expressions that popped out of his mouth from time to time, and said helplessly:
"When you established your authority in the Shenji camp, you severely humiliated Tang Ping. Later, even if you reinstated your position as an official, you still have to explain this matter clearly to Tang Guogong in person and resolve the misunderstanding. Otherwise, you will really wait until Tang Guogong hears it. Some bad rumors and misunderstandings are not beautiful.”
Zhao Duan didn't care much about this. After all, he was used to seeing big storms this year. He casually grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the fruit plate on the table and said curiously:
"No matter how slow the news at the border is, the dignified prince should also know this."
Ma Yan said seriously:
"Don't be so playful. According to my understanding of the young prince, with his character, he will never mention these things to the Duke. As a border guard general, Tang Guogong will not take the initiative to inquire about the Beijing camp in order to avoid suspicion. Even if I heard about you improving firearms and defeating the thieves in the Privy Council, I don't know the details
What's more... His Majesty has covered up a lot about the Shenji Camp incident in order to reduce the impact and avoid leaking secrets. Even in the official circles of the capital, those with insufficient status don't know how much you did in it. If the young prince doesn’t take the initiative to mention it, how will the prince know?
However, those who dislike you, or those like the King of Hejian in Xipingdao, may deliberately send news to the border, use the conflict between you and Tang Ping to make a fuss, and then instigate the trust between Tang Guogong and His Majesty...
In short, I have sent someone to deliver a letter in advance, saying that you will be there to greet him today. It is better to clarify the matter in person later than to ignore it. Still think you haven’t made enough enemies? ”
Zhao Duan heard that Senior Brother Jianyi was thinking about him and said innocently:
"I didn't say not to go either."
The two chatted for a while, and seeing that it was almost time, Ma Yan and Zhao Duan rode straight to the west gate.
At this moment, a group of civil servants and generals were already in place.
A large group of people just stood there in the cold wind, chatting while waiting for the Duke's team.
However, everyone waited eagerly for a long time, until the sun rose and the time was well past the agreed time, but there was still no sign of the team on the official road.
"Is there an accident on the road that delayed the trip?" Someone wondered, "Or was the delivery time copied wrong?"
Ma Yan also frowned, and at this moment, in the city gate behind everyone, an official came running on horseback, panting, dismounted, and waved to everyone:
"Don't wait any longer. The Duke and his entourage have entered the city through the north gate and have now returned to the Duke's Mansion!"
Many officials were stunned, not knowing why, and some even looked dissatisfied:
"The letter states that we enter the city from the west gate. Why did we suddenly change the route? Let us wait in the cold wind in vain? Isn't it entertaining?"
The official looked hesitant, looked carefully at Zhao Duan in the crowd, and explained:
"The Duke's intention seems to be that it was precisely because he knew in advance that General Zhao was coming to greet him, so..."
Everyone was silent for a moment, and the atmosphere became weird.
Zhao Duan, who looked like a salted fish, was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "So what?"
The official, with beads of sweat on his forehead, stammered: "That's why we changed the route."
Ma Yan's face turned ugly for a moment, and then he felt a headache. Feeling the strange atmosphere, he coughed lightly and said:
"In that case, please follow me back to the city and go to the Duke's mansion to meet the Duke."
A group of officials looked at each other, tacitly agreeing not to mention the conversation just now, and all echoed:
"That's fine."
Neither Zhao Duan nor Tang Guogong wanted to provoke him for no reason.
Zhao Duan glanced at Ma Yan and smiled:
"The Governor will take all your lords there. I won't go, so as not to offend the Duke."
Ma Yan took a deep breath, pulled him aside and said:
"It seems that the situation is more troublesome than expected. I will go to Tang Guogong to explain it to you later. You go back to the Yamen first and wait for my news. Don't wander around."
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"What did the Governor say? How could I ever be that person who waits and doesn't understand the overall situation? Don't worry, it's just a misunderstanding. I'm waiting for the Governor at the Yamen and I'm not going anywhere."
Ma Yan's stern and slender face twitched slightly, and he always felt that the smile of his subordinate in front of him was a bit catchy. He was silent for a while and said:
"You don't have to talk about each position in private, it's strange."
……
The unexpected episode caught everyone off guard.
Everyone turned around and entered the city. Ma Yan led a group of officials who had resentment in their hearts but did not dare to show it at all and went straight to the residence of the Duke of Zhen. Zhao Duan was alone, riding a horse slowly back to Zhao Yamen, falling into thinking on the way:
Although he has been prepared, Tang Guogong, who has always been very protective of his shortcomings, is likely to be dissatisfied with him because of the young prince's affairs.
But Zhao Duan originally thought that with his current reputation and the empress' favor, at least Tang Guogong's outward attitude would not be too bad.
But it seems the situation is a little worse than expected.
However, unlike what outsiders feared, Zhao Duan himself knew that the bad relationship between him and Tang Ping had been reconciled as early as that night when he personally invited Tang Ping back to Shenji Camp.
However, only the two parties involved knew about this kind of reconciliation, and no outsiders had any way of knowing it. Baobu Ma Yan still thinks that Zhao Duan reinstated Tang Pingguan to his post because of the empress.
After that, Zhao Duan rarely went to Shenji Camp, which was interpreted as being disliked by the young father-in-law.
But Zhao Duan wanted to say: You are thinking too much...
Therefore, in his opinion, this matter is not that complicated. As long as Tang Guogong comes home and summons Tang Ping in person, and the father and son explain the matter clearly, the misunderstanding will be resolved.
Outsiders think that Zhao, the King of Hell, will retaliate, but the real Master Zhao is a broad-minded person.
Shaking his head, Zhao Duan put the matter aside and didn't take it to heart. However, just as he turned into the street where the imperial office was located, he saw a familiar figure running out with a horse in a hurry.
"Sir?! You are back!"
Holding the horse, the anxious Hou Ren was stunned for a moment, "I was about to leave the city to find you."
Zhao Duan looked surprised: "What happened?"
Hou Renmeng spoke very fast and said:
"Please go back to the hall and take a look. A fierce woman has just arrived. She didn't even give her name, but she can tell that her strength is not low, and she is full of martial spirit. She wants to see you, sir. Qian Kerou said she is not here. She insisted on waiting. Lao Zheng thought this person was coming with bad intentions and asked me to come out to find you.”
Zhao Duan looked strange: "The other party didn't identify himself? How did he get into the Yamen?"
Zhao Ya is not someone who enters casually.
Hou Renmeng said: "The opponent has the title of military general."
"Take me over and have a look." Zhao Duan got off his horse and followed Lao Hou straight to Lihuatang.
As soon as people entered the courtyard, they saw Zheng Laojiu, Shen Juan and a group of Jinyi gathered in the outer courtyard. They were all shocked when they saw him coming:
"My lord..."
Zhao Duan said calmly: "Where are the people?"
"In the main hall, Kerou is with me."
Zhao Duan nodded, pushed aside the crowd, and led the crowd into the atrium, bypassing the big pear tree that had been bare with only branches left, and suddenly saw the door of the hall open.
The long table at the entrance of the hall, which was originally used as a conference room, sat at the head of the long table, which belonged to Zhao Duan. At this moment, a female general sat with a golden sword.
His skin color was slightly reddish-black due to long-term exposure to the sun, but he had a murderous aura that was cultivated in the military. He was not wearing a military uniform, only simple and neutral clothes, and the soft armor lining was vaguely visible.
At this moment, he was sitting upright with his legs crossed and his eyes slightly closed. There was a long horse spear lying on the table in front of him, with a cold light shining at the end.
"My lord!"
Qian Kerou, who was standing aside, hurriedly walked over, her round face showing joy, and she quickly explained:
"I won't let her sit in your seat, and she won't listen."
Tsk, it’s you Xiaorou, if the other thorns had already taken action... Well, no wonder Old Zheng asked you to stay with the guests, and let the most brainless Hou Ren come out to find me... Or Old Zheng knows people and makes good use of them...
Zhao Duan complained in his heart.
Tang Zhao, who heard the sound, opened his slightly closed eyelids. This rouged horse actually had a pair of sharp black and white eyes.
Looking at Zhao Duan, Tang Zhao was stunned for a moment when he saw his handsome appearance clearly, and a thought flashed in his mind:
Such a good-looking man should not be the one who bullied his younger brother.
"I don't know which army general you are, but you suddenly came to Lihuatang to look for me. What advice do you have?"
Zhao Duan looked at the face that looked familiar but had definitely never been seen before, and asked in a deep voice.
"Are you Zhao Duan?" Tang Zhao raised his eyebrows.
Wait for him to nod.
Tang Zhao suddenly felt that this person looked disgusting. She snorted, stood up and said:
"You don't know my identity, but you should know that Tang Ping has a second sister."
Young father-in-law’s second sister? That female general from the Duke's residence who has practiced martial arts since childhood and served in the border army? Tang Zhao?
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, and the corresponding information came to mind. When he investigated Tang Ping, he naturally checked the status of the personnel in the Zhenguo Duke's mansion.
It suddenly dawned on me!
No wonder I always felt that this man looked familiar. His face was clearly similar to that of Tang Ping, the little general in white robes.
Wait... shouldn't the second sister of the Tang family enter the city with Duke Tang Guo today? Why did you come directly? Judging by the time, it’s unlikely that you didn’t even return home and came to see me directly after entering the city...
Of course he didn't know that Tang Zhaocun's intention was to help his younger brother vent his anger first, and then go back to the house to see his younger brother.
This would be honorable and proud, and it would also prevent people at home from stopping her from taking action.
"It turns out it's Miss Tang Zhao, the daughter of the Duke's family." After Zhao Duan realized the identity of the other party, he smiled and revealed his origin.
The Duke's daughter?
The people in Jinyi behind him were stunned, looking at each other, and felt lucky for a moment - fortunately, they didn't rush to fight with the other party, causing trouble for the adults.
Thousand gold? Miss? After Tang Zhao heard these two titles, his expression suddenly became unkind, and he said coldly:
"Then you should know why I am here."
Zhao Duan pretended to be confused, smiled and said:
"Miss Tang and I have never met. We have no grudges in the past and no grudges in recent days, but I can't figure out why."
Tang Zhao saw his frivolous look and was furious:
"I'm too lazy to talk nonsense with you. I just want to ask you, when you went to work in Shenji Camp, did you strip my younger brother of his official robe and drive him out of the camp? Was it you?"
Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows and said lightly:
"So what? As a fourth-grade official, I shouldn't be able to deal with my subordinates by others."
Tang Zhao laughed angrily. She was always quick-tempered and protective of her shortcomings. She suddenly pulled out her badge from her waist and threw it forward:
"Okay, just admit it. The country has national laws, and the army also has military rules. I really can't control the affairs of your Shenji camp. So I came to you today to discuss with you according to the rules of the army. Martial arts, do you dare to challenge?”
"Pa." Zhao Duan raised his hand, grabbed the flying waist badge, glanced at the words on the bronze medal and the shaking tassel below, and said slowly:
"What if we shouldn't? What if we should?"
Tang Zhao said matter-of-factly: "If we agree, we'll have a fight. If we don't agree, I'll leave immediately."
So simple? Zhao Duan knew that of course it was not that simple.
Today, he is no longer the novice he was when he first traveled through time. He knows that in the Yu State Army, there are rules for martial arts competitions between generals.
As long as the two sides are of equal rank, they can invite a fight or not, but once word gets out, they will become a laughing stock. The military has always been ashamed of those who dare not challenge.
Tang Zhao was at the border, and the rank of the border army was somewhat different from that of the inland military offices such as Jingying. It was larger, so Tang Zhao was of the same rank as him.
"Don't worry, I won't bully the small. I heard that you entered the divine chapter realm a few months ago. I am also in the divine chapter realm, so I don't count as bullying you." Tang Zhao looked condescending.
His tone was extremely confident.
After Zhao Duan was promoted to the Divine Chapter, the only record he made public was the Buddhism and Taoism Competition.
But that time he used the Tai'a Sword to "cheat", so it was not counted as a real result. In the eyes of everyone, he was just a newcomer who had only entered the Divine Order for a few months.
There are very few people who even know that he is already in the middle level of the Divine Chapter.
But Tang Zhao is a top-grade Shen Zhang who has been honed in the military. Regardless of the solid foundation of martial arts, martial arts and consciousness, he is one of the strongest among the Shen Zhangs.
In almost everyone's eyes, as long as they don't cheat, this is a battle with great disparity in strength, and there is almost no suspense about the outcome.
"Sir..." A group of Jinyi looked anxious and wanted to speak.
But Zhao Duan raised his hand to stop, looked at Tang Zhao strangely, and smiled: "Okay."
(End of chapter)