The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 215 - 190, please come with us, my elder wishes to invite you.

Inside the Buddhist Temple, incense smoke twirled and curled.

Yet Zhao Douan’s heart could not calm down for a long time.

Yuan Fei? Li Yinglong? He found it very difficult to connect these two names.

He did not know much about the widows of the Old Emperor.

However, thanks to his previous role in the imperial guard at the Imperial City, he had been somewhat exposed and learned a bit about the situation of the concubines.

Yuan Fei had entered the palace nearly a decade ago, the daughter of a canal transport official in the Capital.

The Old Emperor was old in age but not in spirit; despite his advanced years, he never stopped selecting concubines.

But Zhao Douan really didn’t expect any connection between Li Yinglong and Yuan Ru.

"Was it before she entered the palace, or after? If it was after, it would have been provocative... No, it shouldn’t be, it’s extremely difficult for external officials to enter the palace, and the Li family isn’t a royal relative, Li Yinglong had no chance to enter the palace and engage in illicit relations... especially not with the Emperor’s woman..."

"Then it must have been before she entered the palace... Yes, the ages match, hmm... But I’ve never heard of it, and besides, they surely must have checked the concubine’s virginity upon entering the palace, Yuan Fei should still have been a virgin... Unless, they had a pure love..."

Lost in wild thoughts, Zhao Douan felt as if he had stumbled upon a juicy piece of gossip in mid-summer.

He furrowed his brows and asked, "Did Li Yinglong tell you this?"

He was somewhat skeptical, because given Li Yinglong’s caution, he shouldn’t have casually mentioned such sensitive information.

Lady Lin shook her head:

"He only told me that I resembled his past lover, as for the name, I learned it by accident."

Zhao Douan pressed on, "Learned it by accident?"

Lady Lin was silent for a long time before calmly saying,

"He called out that name when he forced himself on me."

Zhao Douan: "…"

Having made her decision, Lady Lin no longer displayed the fragility and timidity of earlier, and did not try to mask her words.

She merely knelt before the Buddha, awaiting his instructions.

Zhao Douan slowly paced in the temple, pondering how to leverage this information.

After a moment, a vague plan formed in his mind, and he said:

"Good. This clue is very valuable."

He was not worried about Lady Lin lying.

This answer was very easy to verify; with his current status, getting a portrait of Yuan Fei or even catching a glimpse of her was not difficult.

"Sir, what do I need to do?" Lady Lin, eager for revenge, was very proactive, her eyes gleaming with urgency.

One should never underestimate a woman.

Especially a woman who has grasped hope from a desperate situation.

"This is what..." Zhao Douan pondered for a moment and asked:

"Can you find a way to come out again soon?"

Lady Lin hesitated, then said:

"It’s a bit difficult, but if I pretend to comply, it should be possible. I can say that I’m coming back to Divine Dragon Temple to fulfill a vow. Li Yinglong generally does not make things too difficult for me; he usually agrees."

Zhao Douan nodded and said:

"Good, I need you to try to extract as much information as possible about his relationship with Yuan Ru, but make sure he does not realize that you are deliberately probing.

If possible, it would be best to obtain something that Li Yinglong regularly uses, something that can represent him personally, more accurately, something that Yuan Ru would recognize."

In Jiangnan, a geisha who was once a step away from being a top courtesan could hardly be considered foolish.

Catching the subtle hints, Lady Lin’s eyes flickered, intuitively guessing Mr. Zhao’s plan.

But wisely, she did not clarify it outright, simply nodding:

"I understand, sir. Do you have any other instructions?"

Zhao Douan shook his head:

"Just manage these tasks well. I will have someone watching the Li family. When you come out, don’t worry too much, just try to create opportunities to be alone, and someone will contact you."

Now in control of Lihua Hall, he was not short of trusted subordinates.

Lady Lin noted this, then said:

"I have been in the temple for quite some time now..."

"Yes, go back. Be careful not to let the Li family notice anything unusual, otherwise... I might not suffer any loss, but your safety could be jeopardized," Zhao Douan stated indifferently.

For him, the worst outcome of this impromptu plan was that it might lead nowhere.

After all, he had already broke ties with the Li family, and Zhao Douan was not worried that Li Yinglong would realize he was up to something.

But for this Sixth Madam, if things went south, the consequences were easy to imagine.

"Sir, rest assured, it was my own choice. I only hope that after the matter is resolved, you will not forget what was said today. I would be deeply grateful, and dare not forget this great kindness."

Lady Lin curtsied gracefully.

"Go then."

Zhao Douan walked away, disappearing behind the curtains on either side of the temple.

Lady Lin watched his retreating figure, then looked up at the grand, compassionate Medicine Buddha in the temple.

She wondered, could it be that her prayers were truly being answered?

Shaking her head, she quickly adjusted her appearance and, with a face showing no signs of emotion, pushed open the door and stepped out of the Buddhist Temple.

Down the stairs.

The waiting maid and Protector looked up, seeing the tear stains on her face, they paused, but expressed no surprise.

With tear-stained face, Sixth Madam’s plight was no secret.

"Let’s return to the mansion."

Lady Lin spoke calmly, now with a slight authoritative air of a Madame.

Acting... for a once-renowned geisha of Jiangnan, it was after all what she was best at.

...

Once the three had left.

Zhao Douan leisurely stepped out of the temple and stood quietly.

Soon after, Hou Renmeng and Qian Kerou approached from a distance:

"Sir, is the matter handled?"

"Indeed, how are those monks?"

"Prime Minister, rest assured, though the Imperial Court does not favor these monks, the Emperor is behind us. Today, no one at the Divine Dragon Temple will ’remember’ your visit here."

"Good, let’s go then."

"Prime Minister, are we heading back to the government office? Or..."

Zhao Douan took a few steps, pondered for a moment, and asked:

"Have Chen Zhengru and Xu Hanlin, the teacher-student pair, been released?"

That day, the Empress had ordered, and Ma Yan executed, the arrest of those scholars leading the criticism against Zhao Douan, resulting in a thorough reprimand.

However, after all, it was just a few insults, not a major crime.

The main purpose was to make an example of them, so after a brutal round of chastisement, they were gradually released, having been served a profound lesson.

Qian Kerou said:

"Oh, those two scholars from the Hanlin Academy were released the day before yesterday, Prime Minister. Do you want us to recapture them? We can directly capture Xu Hanlin, but since Chen Zhengru is a Grand Scholar, we might need to involve the Lord..."

"No need," Zhao Douan narrowed his eyes, seemingly amused by an interesting thought, his lips curving upward:

"No need for such trouble. Here’s what we’ll do..."

He whispered instructions, and both listeners, paying close attention, exchanged looks.

The same thought occurred to both:

The Prime Minister is plotting against someone again!

...

...

Evening.

Inside the Zuixian Building in the Capital, Xu Mingyuan sat in a private room, clinking cups with a group of literary friends, also recently released.

The day before yesterday, having paid a fine and endured a moderate punishment, Xu Hanlin had finally emerged from the terrifying Imperial Prison and returned to the mortal world.

He first went home to reunite with his family.

Afterward, he had thought that, thanks to his connections, many scholars would come to "cleanse away the past for him."

However, Xu Mingyuan waited from morning till dusk, yet no one stepped through the once-bustling threshold of the Xu family.

"A bunch of cowards!"

Xu Mingyuan cursed loudly.

He realized that those scholars who usually appeared morally upright and constantly spoke of Confucian teachings dared not associate with him.

They were afraid of offending the Empress, the Grandmaster, and even feared Zhao Douan.

He couldn’t help but think that the Grandmaster’s scolding back then wasn’t wrong.

After sulking himself to sleep, he went to the Hanlin Academy the next day, only to be shunned.

However, his teacher, Chen Zhengru, was treated much better.

Upon release, he was personally picked up by Young Master Li Yinglong and likely even saw the Prime Minister.

Chen Zhengru, though not very powerful within the Li Party, held significant respect.

Covering for Li Yinglong required Li Yanfu to personally appease him.

Left with no choice, Xu Mingyuan sought out the group of scholars who had also been released.

Finding everyone in a similar plight, they banded together, drinking to drown their sorrows for two straight days, cursively complaining about injustice and the Zhao thief.

"Brother Xu, it’s one thing for us to be treated as Abandoned Children, but you were highly regarded by the Prime Minister and even a student of Grand Scholar Chen. How could you also be neglected? Why not seek the Young Master?"

Amidst their drunken stupor, one scholar blurted out, his breath heavy with alcohol.

Xu Mingyuan’s face turned awkward, unsure of how to respond.

Another added:

"That’s not right; these days, the court is in turmoil, a real mess.

The Young Master is like the general of the central army, busy with many tasks; perhaps he simply couldn’t find the time, which led to his neglect of a meritorious official.

After all, Brother Mingyuan’s suffering in prison should be rewarded, wouldn’t you agree?"

A group of drunken scholars nodded in agreement.

But they didn’t realize that Xu Mingyuan felt like a thorn was in his back, his face flushing red.

A meritorious official?

Ha, one is called a meritorious official only after winning a battle. What am I, a defeated general?

He dared not mention that he had personally visited Li Mansion the day before, only to be snubbed.

After all, through this ordeal, he had thoroughly offended Grandmaster Dong and the Xiuwen Pavilion faction, and was even despised by the Empress, with only Li Yinglong left to rely on.

And all this was thanks to "Zhao Douan!"

Xu Mingyuan couldn’t bring himself to resent the Young Master or his teacher; he directed all his anger towards Zhao Douan.

If only Zhao had humbly let himself be attacked that day, would he have ended up in this current situation?

If initially, Zhao had not concealed his connection with Grandmaster Dong, would he have foolishly charged head-on?

"Zhao the thief has misled me!"

Xu Mingyuan downed a bowl of liquor, sending it deeply:

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"The shame we face today, one day, we’ll repay Zhao the thief a hundredfold!"

The crowd cheered, united in their hatred.

...

The gathering ended.

Xu Mingyuan, completely intoxicated, walked out of the Zuixian Building, staggering toward his home.

It was already pitch dark, the night sky sparsely starlit, clouds obscuring the moon.

As Xu Mingyuan walked along a deserted street,

suddenly, several figures dressed in black emerged from the shadows ahead.

The leader, with dark skin and a defiant face, grinned, revealing his stark white teeth:

"Are you Xu Mingyuan?"

Xu Mingyuan jolted, half-sobering up, and cautiously replied:

"I am not, you’ve got the wrong person."

Hou Renmeng’s smile grew even brighter as he kicked over, and with a thud, Xu Mingyuan doubled over in pain like a shrimp, the contents of his stomach spewing onto the ground.

"Xu Hanlin, come with us, my master invites you."