The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 219 - 194, Your Majesty, your servant has something to report...

Zhao Douan walked out of White Horse Hall when the sun was past its zenith.

Outside, his car awaited, with Little Wang, the coachman, shading his face with a cap, half-asleep, but he promptly rose upon hearing movement and asked,

"Sir, you’re out. Where to next?"

Zhao Douan replied, "Back to the government office."

Little Wang asked curiously, "And then?"

As a leader’s driver, after this period of testing, he had grasped some of Zhao Douan’s style of doing things.

Though not knowing specifics, he vaguely knew that his master had recently been targeting someone and setting up some strategies.

"Wait," Zhao Douan said calmly, leaning back on the soft cushion.

In his previous life caught in a whirlwind of events, he had bought a copy of "The Art of War" out of curiosity. After reading it, he came to two conclusions:

First, war is about outnumbering the enemy, concentrating superior forces, making large advances, and not giving the adversary a chance to breathe.

Second, maintain an undefeated position, and patiently wait for the enemy to make a mistake.

Much like a Martial Arts Grandmaster, when both contenders assume their stance, the one who makes the first move is often the one who loses patience first and reveals an opening.

However, people often lack patience, unable to bear "inaction," feeling compelled to "act chaotically" to alleviate anxiety.

His scheme against Young Master wasn’t exactly war, yet the principle was the same.

All he was doing now was preparing as much as possible, concentrating his advantages, and luring the other party into exposing their vulnerabilities.

"All that needed to be done has been done, what remains is just waiting," Zhao Douan closed his eyes.

Waiting and hoping— all human wisdom is contained therein.

...

...

In the subsequent days, all was calm.

Zhao Douan spent his days leisurely, enjoying a rare, relaxed and leisurely time since his transmigration.

The few eyes paying attention to him gradually shifted away, drawn instead by the struggles at court that resembled an Immortal Battle.

Almost everyone thought he had learned to be prudent, wishing to remain low-key and protect himself amidst these tempestuous times.

Meanwhile, the political fights in the palace escalated daily.

Xiuwen Pavilion was brightly lit throughout the night, contrasting sharply with Zhao, who kept regular hours, arriving at and leaving work on time.

Until this day in the Imperial Palace, at the Imperial Court.

The chief eunuch stepped over the threshold and entered this place responsible for many miscellaneous items in the palace.

"Greetings to you," a group of young eunuchs stood up to salute.

During the late Emperor’s time, the Imperial Court held significant authority, with Grand Eunuch Wang Zhen as its head.

After the Empress ascended to the throne, she employed more female officers around her, but Xu Zhenguan also considered that blindly appointing female officers would be no different from using eunuchs.

Therefore, she deliberately allowed the coexistence of both the eunuch and female officer groups, preventing a great disparity in power between them.

Thus, many of the palace affairs were still managed by the Imperial Court and were not under the jurisdiction of the Six Palaces.

"Yes."

The chief eunuch nodded, sauntered to his workstation, inquired about a few matters, and then casually asked,

"Has it been mid-year already, have the ladies had any visits to their families outside the palace?"

A young eunuch stepped forward with a register,

"Please review, Sir."

When concubines left the palace, they needed to apply in advance, and then the Imperial Court would approve, following the old precedents; many applications were made well ahead of time for flexible adjustments.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

The chief eunuch browsed through it for a moment, his eyes landing on the name "Lady Yuan," making markings and adjusting the schedule.

After arranging everything, he said,

"Submit this to the Six Palaces for review."

Some decisions of the Imperial Court were reviewed by the Six Palaces, and conversely, decisions made by the Six Palaces were supervised by the Imperial Court.

...

...

As the Chief of the Six Palaces, Mo Chou had been very tired recently.

Due to the divine battles at court, with the Empress preferring not to make a public stand, she could only liaise with the Imperial Faction indirectly through Mo Chou.

Almost always, if not at Xiuwen Pavilion, she was outside the palace, reducing her time available at the Six Palaces.

Hence, when an underling brought over the documentation from the Imperial Court, Mo Chou only gave it a brief glance.

Seeing that it was just a schedule for the concubines’ family visits—not very important and with no anomalies—she said,

"Alright. Follow this plan."

She paused, then frowned and said,

"For such trivial matters, assess and handle them yourselves; there’s no need to bring them to me."

An Imperial Concubine leaving the palace.

This indeed used to be an important affair during the late Emperor’s regime, involving many aspects and regarded as a high-standard affair needing careful attention by managing officials.

But now... it really wasn’t much of an issue.

It’s almost safe to say, as long as the Imperial Concubines didn’t stir up any scandals or disgrace the Royal face, everything else was negotiable.

The female officer heeded the instruction and departed.

Mo Chou sighed, turned around, pushed open the door, and returned to Xiuwen Pavilion.

Upon entering, she was met with a chorus of discussions, the atmosphere tense.

She looked up to see the Emperor of Great Yu sitting quietly on the principal seat, listening to scholars argue below, occasionally speaking, mostly contemplating.

Indeed, lately, the Empress’s appearances in Xiuwen Pavilion, and her involvement in "meetings," had significantly increased.

Mo Chou stepped back to the Empress’s side, Xu Zhenguan’s ink-black eyes turned towards her, casting an inquiring look.

Mo Chou whispered,

"Your Majesty, it’s nothing urgent, just some trivialities from the Six Palaces, all are arranged properly."

"Understood," Xu Zhenguan responded, no longer concerned, and redirected her attention back to the议论议论 meeting.

Mo Zhaorong, sitting adjacent, saw the unflecked, pale visage of the Empress, her brows tinged with a faint touch of worry, and couldn’t help but feel distressed.

Yet she was powerless.

The resistance to the new policy was too significant.

After a period of effort, the Imperial Faction had already secured the support of one-third of the officials at court, which was not an easy feat.

After all, the members of the Imperial Faction were also backed by prominent gentry families; essentially, implementing new policies was akin to slashing at themselves with a knife.

To successfully implement the "Golden Three Strategies," at least one-third of the officials must be persuaded to turn their backs.

Thus, with the majority pressing the minority, the matter would be secured.

However, easy to say, yet... how difficult is that to do?

In recent days, although Your Majesty seemed calm on the surface, her inner anxiety, worry, and gloom... were all seen by Mo Chou.

Harsh governance is fiercer than a tiger.

To the scholar-gentry and powerful officials of Great Yu, the Empress’s new policy was like a ferocious tiger being unleashed.

How could they not be afraid?

Ultimately, they were too incompetent to alleviate the Emperor’s concerns.

...

...

News that Yuan Fei was soon to leave the palace for a family visit started circulating in the palace that same day.

Thereafter, an eunuch informed Yuan Fei’s parental home to prepare for her reception.

Luckily, the Yuan family resided within the Capital, hence the commute was not far.

Before long, this news also found its way through secretive channels to Lihua Hall.

Zhao Douan lazily sat in the main seat of the inner hall, flipping through a few items in his hand.

The first was a copied document, relayed by Lady Lin during her trip to the Divine Dragon Temple to fulfill a vow, extracted from the tales of Li Yinglong’s past interactions with Yuan Ru.

Besides that, there was a piece of belt jade that Li Yinglong had worn for many years and would occasionally wear.

The second, stealthily delivered by Xu Hanlin, was surprisingly a clue about past misdeeds of his mentor the Grand Scholar Chen Zhengru, along with a group of familiar scholars.

For each item, intimate remarks were added on where to find further verification, to obtain evidence.

What can I say...

Zhao Douan suddenly remembered his old self.

It’s hard for an enemy to find your weak spot, but damn easy for your associate to betray you...

However, he planned to not act on these items yet to avoid alarming anyone.

The third item, sent from White Horse Hall, concerned the arrangement for Yuan Fei’s family visit.

"Everything is ready."

Zhao Douan threw the items onto the table and looked up at the four capable subordinates standing directly in front of the hall.

"Sir, shall we make a move now?"

Hou Renmeng, with a defiant demeanor, grinned broadly, already rubbing his hands in anticipation.

"Sir, shall we prepare a bit more to ensure safety?"

Now no longer passive, yet still noticeably tired, Shen Juan spoke.

Zhao Douan said indifferently, "More time brings more dreams; no waiting."

With Lady Lin’s situation likely to be discovered at any moment, and Yuan Fei unable to stay outside the palace for long.

Preparation is for victory, not for "completeness."

Zhao Douan calmly stated,

"Jiu, you have always boasted to me that no one in the Imperial Court can match your skill in imitating handwriting. Now is the time to use your skills to copy these words in Li Yinglong’s handwriting. Can you do it?"

Decades ago, Jiu was famed in the Imperial Court, and now, seemingly harmless and spending his days drinking tea and reading, Zheng Laojiu stepped forward smiling.

His somewhat stooped back straightened slightly, his face flickering with pride:

"Sir, just watch me."

Zhao Douan stated,

"Shen Juan, you claim to excel in stealth and disguise, and tracking evasion in the government office, can you locate Yuan Fei?"

Shen Juan came forward cheerfully, picking up the jade pendant and nonchalantly stated:

"If I fail, you can throw me into the river."

Zhao Douan looked at Hou Renmeng:

"I’ll only ask you one thing, are you brave enough?"

Hou Renmeng rubbed the handle of his knife, his eyes lifted high with pride:

"I’m a loner with no ties, just tell me who to chop."

Beside him, standing a secretary known for being clear-eyed and naive-looking yet actually very competent, who had rapidly grown lately, puffed his cheeks:

"Sir, what about me?"

Zhao Douan smiled and said,

"Ke Rou, your task is the most challenging. Well, I want to invite some distinguished guests for a drink, can you arrange the banquet?"

Qian Kerou opened her mouth, feeling underestimated, and sulkily said,

"Alright then..."

Zhao Douan laughed heartily, like a general issuing a command:

"Success or failure, hinges on this single move."

...

...

Another day.

The palace gates opened, a splendid carriage carried Yuan Fei out of the palace, directly back to her maternal home in the Capital.

Another day.

When the personal maid of Yuan Fei went out to purchase items, she suddenly encountered a handsome and charming young man.

In Yuan Mansion.

In a fragrant room, Yuan Fei, graceful in her posture, sat before the dressing mirror, observing her beauty, which had somewhat faded with age compared to her youth.

She seemed distracted.

In the mirror was a face somewhat similar to Lady Lin’s, but upon closer inspection, the demeanor and air were distinctly different.

Yuan Fei, who had been in the palace for nearly a decade and was just over thirty, still maintained a good appearance due to proper care.

However, the perennially melancholic and unmoisturized expression around her eyes significantly marred her looks.

"Knock, knock."

Suddenly, the door was knocked.

Yuan Fei snapped back to reality and coldly said, "Enter."

Then the door opened, and the maid came in cautiously, her expression complex:

"Your Highness, I have something to report."