The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 201 - 178, Scholar from Xiuwen Pavilion arrives, Scholar Zhao’s identity revealed_2

Third Young Master Dong’s body trembled as he turned around, and suddenly, he was like a mouse seeing a cat:

"Brother..."

Zhao Douan’s expression immediately turned strange.

The others could hardly conceal their surprise.

Brother? The only person who could make Third Young Master Dong so submissive and respectful was probably one person...

"I’m asking you! What are you doing here?"

Dong Dazhuang, with a stern face, strode over and then saw Zhao Douan, sword in hand, standing in front of two women.

At this moment, due to the heat, the earlier cold fog had dissipated, and Zhao Douan had also suppressed his qi. Dong Dazhuang, seeing this, simply thought he was carrying an ordinary sword.

"Is he your younger brother?" Zhao Douan asked, his expression strange.

Dong Dazhuang bowed in embarrassment:

"Brother Zhao, my younger brother lacks discipline. I didn’t know this was..."

Zhao Douan "Uh"ed, calmly saying:

"I had offended him before, and he came here to insult the reputations of my aunt and sister."

Dong Dazhuang’s face changed suddenly, and he looked incredulously at his younger brother.

Instantly, he imagined the whole scenario:

Surely, the obstinate younger brother had come looking for trouble, taken a fancy upon seeing the women, and Brother Zhao was unable to stop him, being forced to draw his sword in defense.

And when he saw the guilty look on Third Master Dong’s face, he knew that what Zhao Douan was saying was not false.

Immediately, his eyes widened in anger, his blood rushing to his head and veins bulging in his forehead, the rage taking over:

"You... never change, never change!"

"Brother... I..."

"Shut up!"

With a shout of anger, Third Master Dong truly hung his head and stopped speaking.

Dong Dazhuang, suppressing his anger, bowed apologetically towards You Jinhua and her daughter.

Then, turning his head, he picked up a wooden stick from somewhere, his eyes filled with disappointment as he looked at his brother:

"Kneel down!"

"Brother, I..."

"I said kneel!"

"Bang!"

A stick was swung towards his back, and the infamous and untouchable number one prodigal of the capital fell to his knees with a thud, before the watching crowd.

Though he was physically much more robust than the scholarly looking Dong Dazhuang and also practiced martial arts, he did not dare to fight back.

Dong Dazhuang, his face showing his anger at the lack of resistance:

"What did you tell me last time? You said you would change for the better, to make Grandfather proud. Is this how you make him proud?"

At this moment, Dong Dazhuang was utterly disappointed.

Admonishing his brother like this in public was undoubtedly very damaging to the Dong family’s reputation, but he still did it.

It showed that he was completely disappointed and preferred to be a joke to outsiders, just to teach his brother an unforgettable lesson.

The prodigal son kneeling on the ground wanted to explain, but seeing his brother’s demeanor, he could not speak.

Zhao Douan, seeing this, put the Golden Crow Flying Dagger back into his sleeve, apparently no longer needing it.

"Mr. Dong, calm down!"

Suddenly, from the crowd that was watching, someone stepped forward and said loudly:

"Although Third Master is a bit reckless, he had his reasons for acting. Why must the eldest treat his own family member with such contempt?"

The speaker was a scholarly man of about twenty-seven or eight, whose demeanor and speech were extraordinary.

"Xu Hanlin is right, don’t let outsiders hurt the brotherly love within your own family." Another scholar supported.

"Eldest Master, while it’s right to be angry, you should also understand the full story. Although Third Master’s words may be unpleasant, our Master Zhao too did not show any mercy, disrespecting the Grandmaster gravely by calling him by his name and even attempting to attack Third Master with a sword..."

More scholars stood up, seemingly trying to mediate but actually causing trouble.

Zhao Douan, noticing this, how could he not realize something was amiss?

He looked at Xu Hanlin, ah, was this person the chief aggressor attacking him these days, a member of the "Li Party"?

Finally, they had shown themselves... he wasn’t flustered at all, calmly watching these people perform.

"What? Master Zhao?"

Dong Dazhuang was stunned, and from the numerous voices of the crowd, he understood the situation and could not help but look astonished at Zhao Douan:

"Brother Zhao, you are..."

Zhao Douan nodded gently, smiling, "Yes, it’s me."

Dong Dazhuang was stunned.

For a moment, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind; he wanted to ask why you were visiting Little Ya...

Considering the inappropriateness of the location, he held back.

Then, he thought about how earlier, in front of him, he had discussed targeting Zhao Douan with criticism, suddenly feeling extremely embarrassed, and his anger faded a little.

And then, belatedly, thinking that the Brother Zhao in his memory, compared to the cruel official of the rumors, said to be even more repulsive than his younger brother...

Was vastly different.

"Did the Eldest Master truly not know his identity?"

That Xu Hanlin was shocked, turning the accusation around, coldly scoffing:

"Well done, Mr. Zhao, for hiding your identity while getting close to the eldest of the Dong family. What were your intentions? Thankfully, today the Third Master uncovered this, otherwise wouldn’t it have allowed you to succeed? Harmful to the Dong family? Harmful to the Grandmaster?"

What a hat... Zhao Douan wanted to applaud for his agile thinking.

He guessed that the instigators pushing Dong Dazhuang to trouble him were the "Li Party" scholars.

The opponents were already "ambushing" nearby, just waiting for him to retaliate, and they would jump out, but they did not expect unexpected complications.

Now that they saw Dong Dazhuang appear, they had to hastily change their reason.

"Not like that..." Dong Dazhuang wanted to explain, this matter was a bit complicated…

But the surrounding scholars, ready to action, did not give him the chance, and immediately began to accuse Zhao Douan:

"Just now, you drew your sword; what were you trying to do? Do you really think the Divine Dragon Temple’s monastery is a place where you can run wild? What do you regard Divine Dragon Temple as, and where do you place the dignity of the officials in the back garden?"

"Who instructed you to act this way? Whose orders are you following?"

"You also publicly slandered the Third Young Master, saying he was deliberately provoking, which is truly despicable..."

Everyone was furious.

The scholars were adept with words, and now led by Xu Hanlin, they angrily denounced the Zhao thief.

Zhao Douan remained silent, just watching them coldly.

"Scholar Chen has arrived!"

Suddenly, someone shouted, and in the distance, an old man dressed in Confucian robes approached, seemingly drawn by the noise.

It was one of the Hanlin Academy Scholars, Chen Zhengru.

Zhao Douan was unfamiliar with the name; the first time he heard it was when Dong Dazhuang mentioned it not long ago.

When Chen Zhengru approached, he first furrowed his brow and shouted:

"Silence! Shouting in the monastery, what is this supposed to mean, what happened?"

Xu Hanlin was "overjoyed" and hurriedly said,

"Teacher, you’ve come..."

Next, he quickly described what had happened, lightly skipping over the misdeeds of Dong Dazhuang and describing them as "a few odd words."

Zhao Douan’s actions, however, were heavily criticized.

It was as if they were unforgivable.

"There is such a matter," Chen Zhengru burst with anger and looked up at Zhao Douan, coldly saying:

"I had heard that an able official had emerged from the capital, and seeing you today, your reputation is indeed well deserved. On the day of the Mid-Yuan Festival, in this quiet Buddhist fasting place, you rashly wielded your weapon over a few words, and even dared to insult the current Grandmaster, deceive Mr. Dong...

What an able official, what a Lord Zhao, today my eyes are truly opened. To think that there is such a madman in the capital...

When I previously heard someone comparing you to Han Banshan, I thought you were a true talent. But now, pairing you two together, it’s an insult to Han Banshan, to the young scholars of Xiuwen Pavilion, and even to the dignity of the Grandmaster."

Zhao Douan’s eyelids drooped.

"Are you done?"

Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Chen Zhengru’s expression darkened:

"The child who cannot be taught, what do you have to say?"

Zhao Douan was about to speak, ending this farce.

Suddenly, from outside the crowd near the entrance to the monastery, there was a disturbance, with people shouting the title "Scholar of Xiuwen Pavilion."

Slowly, it became clear.

People then realized that the scholars from the Xiuwen Pavilion had arrived.

In an instant, many of the onlookers shifted their gaze, craning their necks, curious to examine this group of elites.

Chen Zhengru, Xu Hanlin, and others showed delight, thinking that the timing was perfect to cement the matter.

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They were not afraid of making a big fuss, but rather feared not making it big enough.

"Have my grandfather and the others arrived?"

Dong Dazhuang’s complexion slightly changed, unsure of how to wrap up the situation.

The Third Young Master, kneeling on the ground, quietly got up and stealthily moved outward; today’s incident had escalated far beyond his expectations.

"Han Banshan! I’ve long admired you..."

"Guo Jieyuan, do you still remember me?"

"Mr. Wang... How is your father doing these days?"

Many people approached to curry favor, all smiles and greetings.

The buzz there contrasted sharply with the tense atmosphere surrounding Zhao Douan.

Meanwhile, as the scholars from Xiuwen Pavilion who had just completed their new policy arrived at the gathering, they too caught the attention of the assembled crowd.

Curious, they walked over, wanting to find out what was happening.

Chen Zhengru smiled slightly, passing Xu Hanlin a look, who instantly understood, gratefully stepped forward:

"Brother Banshan..."

Han Banshan walked over, a bit confused when he saw Grand Scholar Chen Zhengru and his colleagues Xu Hanlin, slightly frowning.

Then, his gaze fell on someone inside the pavilion, and his face immediately beamed with a friendly smile.

He walked directly over.

Onlookers thought this warmth was due to the camaraderie between Han Banshan and Xu Hanlin and couldn’t help but envy.

Xu Hanlin was somewhat surprised; his relationship with Han Banshan was just average—why was he acting so warmly?

However, in the next second, he understood the reason.

He saw Han Banshan walk straight past him, not sparing him a glance.

Instead, he approached Zhao Douan, clasping his hands and smiling:

"Scholar Zhao, we were just guessing where you might be, yet here you are right as we enter."

...