The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 204 - 180, Empress Emerges from Pass_2

He casually mentioned it to Bian Ji, implying:

"Your Majesty values the Divine Dragon Temple, but the seclusion just happened this year, preventing attendance. Yet Li Yanfu, that ’Old Dog’, excuses himself from coming too; clearly, he doesn’t respect Master Xuan Yin..."

Had Zhao Douan been there, he would have understood in an instant and secretly cursed Yuann Li for being an old fox; even his casual remarks were full of hidden traps.

But Li Yinglong’s reaction was half a beat too slow. Subconsciously, he said,

"My father has been unwell these past few days, so..."

He stopped halfway through, realizing his gaffe. He glanced at the monk in white, who smiled like a spring breeze, and the expressionless ’big ice block’, and had no choice but to say,

"It has fallen on me to attend in his place."

This response, however, was already inferior.

The Chief of Staff from the Ministry of Justice and Minister Wang from the Ministry of Rites seated with him shook their heads slightly, thinking that the ’Young Master’ was still too green, not at all on the level of the old thief Yuann Li.

Had Li Yanfu been there, he surely would not have made such a mistake.

Suddenly, a monk burst into the gate of the separate garden, whispering something anxiously to a reception monk from the Divine Dragon Temple.

The reception monk’s expression changed slightly, he glanced covertly towards the pavilion, and murmured a few words of caution.

"Find out what’s happened."

Bian Ji’s gaze was piercing. As a Magician of the Worldly Realm, he could not overlook such a disturbance. He immediately called over a young monk and instructed him.

The young monk went off and soon came back, saying softly,

"Master, there’s been trouble outside. It seems that Zhao Douan and the young master of the Dong family have clashed, drawing a circle of onlookers among the literati."

His voice wasn’t loud, but the officials close by caught snippets of the conversation.

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"Zhao Douan? He’s here too?"

Mo Chou was taken aback; although she was in the Xiuwen Pavilion, she was unaware of this. She couldn’t help but look towards Bian Ji.

She thought to herself:

Doesn’t Buddhism preach about the nature of the heart, keeping a respectful distance from the ’King Yans’ of the Imperial Court?

The monk named Bian Ji, dressed in white and with the demeanor of a gentle spring breeze, slightly furrowed his brows. With his status, he naturally wasn’t responsible for invitations.

But he was familiar with the name "Zhao Douan."

"A clash with the Dong Family people? Scholars spectating?"

Yuann Li’s eyes narrowed, the old fox’s keen senses smelled something unusual.

Meanwhile, Li Yinglong, who had just lost face, seemed delighted, but he concealed it well, feigning surprise like the others.

Today’s scheme against Zhao Douan was his own work.

The method was crude, but the cruder the strategy, the more effective it often was.

Now it seemed to have worked... Given the Zhao thief’s temperament and way of doing things, he would certainly retaliate when provoked.

At that moment, Chen Zhengru, who had been ’ambushed’ and was aligned with the Li Party, would strike.

The scholars in the capital had been discontent with the Zhao thief for a while, and after brewing for days, just needed a spark to ignite a wildfire.

Then, the Zhao thief would offend both the Dong family and the Divine Dragon Temple, and even the Xiuwen Pavilion, representing the scholars.

Once Grandmaster Dong clashed with Zhao Douan, when the Empress emerged from seclusion, she would inevitably face a choice between the two sides.

The decision was not a difficult one.

And the best part was that no matter what the Empress did, at least one party would feel alienated; if she hesitated, there would be a rift on both sides.

Li Yinglong was rather proud of his own planning.

"I’ll go have a look, sit tight," Mo Chou said after some hesitation.

Although she knew that Zhao Douan and Dong Xuan had already eased their relations, if a gap arose because of an offspring, it would still be improper.

Yuann Li pondered for a moment, then said, "Perhaps I should go as well."

The rest of the court officials looked surprised but, seeing this, they all began to rise, preparing to join the visit.

Bian Ji also stood up; as the host, his presence was necessary.

However, just as everyone was about to leave the garden, a group of people from the Xiuwen Pavilion suddenly walked in from outside the garden gate.

"Grandmaster?" Mo Chou was puzzled and asked hurriedly,

"We heard that Zhao Douan outside ran into..."

Among the crowd, Li Yinglong saw Grandmaster Dong’s somber face and felt a surge of joy, thinking that Providence was on his side, that it was perfect timing.

This was even better than he had imagined.

However, Dong Xuan merely nodded and then shook his head, saying:

"It was a misunderstanding; it’s been dealt with."

After a slight pause, the old man’s cold eyes turned to the Young Master, his voice low and solemn, "I wonder who it was that incited my foolish grandson to trouble Scholar Zhao. Fortunately, we arrived in time."

Li Yinglong’s smile instantly froze on his face.

Then came deep bewilderment.

Scholar Zhao? Wasn’t it supposed to be trouble for Zhao Douan?

Which Zhao is there in the Hanlin Academy? Could it be they’ve mistaken the person?

Mo Chou exhaled silently and smiled,

"It’s good that it’s nothing serious."

She had a hunch that the events outside must have been interesting but now was not the time to inquire in detail. Turning her head to look at the monk in white, she said,

"Mage..."

The white-robed monk named Bian Ji, who had been listening quietly, also revealed a hint of surprise in his eyes.

It seemed that the name "Zhao Douan" had sparked some curiosity.

Just as he was about to reply, his expression calm, the young monk with the eyes of an infant suddenly looked up towards the Imperial Palace, a swastika momentarily appearing on his forehead.

It vanished in an instant.

"She has emerged..." he said suddenly.

What? Mo Chou and the other officials were at first baffled, but a second later, they all understood what Bian Ji meant.

In the deep recesses of the arsenal at the Imperial Palace,

The old door on the fifth floor of the tower left by the founder was abruptly pushed open, and the Empress of Great Yu, Xu Zhenguan, stepped out into the sunlight that graced her breathtakingly beautiful face.

Xu Zhenguan’s eyes narrowed slightly as she lazily stretched, ending her half-month-long seclusion.

With this step, she felt closer to the Heavenly Human Realm.

At this moment, as her Divine Thought spread out, she reflected on the divine beings of heaven and earth in her gaze, murmuring in wonder: