The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1130 - 615: Reporting to Your Majesty, the Second Prince Jian Wen Is Still Alive..._2

Chapter 1130: Chapter 615: Reporting to Your Majesty, the Second Prince Jian Wen Is Still Alive..._2

As she spoke, she finally turned her head, amidst the bewildered gazes of the female officials outside, and spoke as if to herself.

Zhao Douan floated over the threshold, meeting those phoenix eyes, and inexplicably felt much more at ease. He glanced at the lavishly set dining table and said with a smile, "Your Majesty still dines in such a decisive manner. It can’t help but remind me of the past..."

I remember.

The first time the ruler and minister dined together was here.

At that time, Zhao Douan had just escaped from a deadly situation and was here to accept the Empress’s questioning.

Xu Zhenguan rolled his eyes and with a wave of his hand, a faint light spread out, enveloping the room.

To prevent the conversation inside the room from being overheard.

Then in an annoyed tone, he said, "Get to the point." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Old ruler and minister indeed... no need for roundabout talk.

No... Baby, you’re not gentle or cute at all like this... You’d lose me, you know... Zhao Douan muttered in his mind, "sitting" across the dining table, and said in contemplation, "There indeed have been some complications taking over Hu Ting."

Xu Zhenguan’s exquisitely beautiful face showed a slight frown with brows like distant mountains, concerned, "Could it be the army does not support you? Or the officers and soldiers below follow orders in form but oppose in spirit?"

This is something that easily happens when changing commanders on a battlefield.

Zhao Douan shook his head and said, "None of those. To be precise, Hu Ting should have been recovered today; um, the rebel army stationed there is being slaughtered."

Xu Zhenguan: ??

A brief silence hung in the room.

The Empress couldn’t help but gently pinch the bridge of her nose with her fingers, calming herself and choosing her words carefully, "Are you saying, in just a few days, you’ve taken Hu Ting? Isn’t it you who said, moving troops in winter is a disadvantage, and you should first secure a foothold?"

She was a bit dumbfounded.

Zhao Douan felt aggrieved, "I also wanted to act gradually, but the enemy was too cunning, forcing my hand..."

Then he began to narrate the various incidents that happened after he arrived at Hu Ting.

Yes, this was a recurring scenario.

From fighting at White Stone Bridge, to meeting Jiang Wangsun, bribing spies.

Then to the other party proposing a prisoner exchange, how they set up, and went to Yansuo Lake...

The Empress initially listened attentively, without any surprise in her emotions. To her, what Zhao Douan did was already a basic range of operations.

But Zhao Douan stopped when it got to the crucial part.

"What happened after you went to Yansuo Lake? You found out it was a trap set by that military strategist surnamed Xu?" The Empress asked while holding a bowl of soup, her spoon gently stirring.

"Mm, more or less, and then we fought, and I won," Zhao Douan said vaguely.

Xu Zhenguan’s fair neck moved as she swallowed the soup, staring at him with puzzled eyes as he hesitated to speak, "What are you trying to say?"

Zhao Douan cautiously asked, "Isn’t Your Majesty curious about this military strategist surnamed Xu’s identity?"

Xu Zhenguan skeptically stared at him, "There are quite a few Xu clan disciples under Prince Jing, after all, hundreds of years of partition and enfeoffment, the Imperial Family has branched out..."

But as she spoke, the Empress herself paused, finally realizing something was amiss, gradually putting down the bowl of soup, her expression grew solemn, "Is this person very special?"

"Special." Zhao Douan did not keep her in suspense and calmly said, "Your Majesty should remember, back then we guessed that some did not die thoroughly in the Xuan Sect coup? That’s right, this military strategist was supposed to be the deceased Emperor Wen, Xu Jianwen."

Xu Jianwen.

In the dining room, silence fell abruptly.

Xu Zhenguan stared at him expressionlessly, as if trying to capture some playful traces, but she failed.

Zhao Douan spoke gently, "Xu Jianwen didn’t die. Not only that, he replaced Zhuang Xiaocheng and took over Kuangfu Society, bringing along Master Gu Huo, Qi Yuchun, and Ren Kun to wait for me at Yansuo Lake..."

Then he finally recounted everything that happened after encountering Xu Jianwen, in detail and thoroughly.

Xu Zhenguan listened quietly.

Seemingly calm on the surface, inside her mind and heart, infinite ripples and storms had already begun.

Second brother, Xu Jianwen... that name which should have been buried in history.

The one who rewrote the entire history of Yu Country and changed her destiny, this pivotal figure.

One might even say, today’s Eight Princes’ Rebellion traces its roots back to Xu Jianwen’s "Xuan Sect Coup" of the past, without which, there would be no unprecedented female Emperor of today, nor this turbulent "Unprecedented Change in Six Hundred Years."

Whether Xu Jianwen was truly dead? Previously, this wasn’t an issue. But when Master Gu Huo resurrected and came on the scene, the possibility of Xu Jianwen’s survival began to take root and sprout within her, until today, it has finally been confirmed.

Strangely... Xu Zhenguan felt only a sense of relief, like an unbound shoe finally touching the ground.

Her mouth instinctively curled up in a cold smile, "He really is still alive."

Zhao Douan nodded and said, "And living quite well... um, perhaps not so well now. Finally, it explains why back then, Zhuang Xiaocheng and others, clearly defeated, still stubbornly clashed with the court; it’s likely Xu Jianwen was always lurking in the shadows, while Zhuang Xiaocheng was merely his agent pushed to the front stage."

Xu Zhenguan murmured, "And now he’s entangled with Prince Jing. Hmph, early not to appear, late not to appear, he shows up only after Xu Jingtang’s death and the collapse of peace talks."

Zhao Douan analyzed, "It’s evident that Xu Jianwen initially wanted to watch us fight with the Eight Princes, while he reaped the benefits. But as circumstances reversed, fearing the Eight Princes’ decline, he couldn’t help but join forces with Xu Wen."

Xu Zhenguan’s eyes carried a chill colder than winter, "Those who are accustomed to schemes cannot change their habits even after resurrection."

Her tone was completely cold.

All her hatred was directed at the rebel brother who killed his brother and father, nearly extinguishing the entire main line of the Royal Family.