The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 374 - 318, go on a trip out of the palace and see Gao Lian off on his journey.

The night was tranquil, with the entire Capital shrouded in a veil of darkness, yet the Imperial Palace to the north was ablaze with lights.

Outside the sleeping quarters of the Empress was a room designated for meeting foreign ministers.

Xu Zhenguan, her face devoid of emotion, listened to the minister's report.

Not long ago, Yuan Li, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Justice, and the newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of Justice had come to the palace together to seek an audience with the Empress.

Xu Zhenguan, who was ready to rest for the night, rose again to receive them.

"Your Majesty," the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Justice took the initiative, without shirking responsibility. "The death of Wang Chusheng is due to the Ministry's neglect. I, as the Chief of Staff, should bear full responsibility!"

Hearing this, the other two who did not want to be left behind, hurriedly admitted their guilt.

The room was filled with the lucid light emanating from columnar lampshades, reflective enough to see one's visage.

Xu Zhenguan looked, without expression, at the three men bowing to accept their guilt. After a long while, she spoke without emotion, "Yuan Li stays behind."

To the other two, she said, "You both wait outside."

Relieved, the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Justice and the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, not daring to make a sound, promptly withdrew in silence.

Once the room door closed, leaving only Xu Zhenguan and Yuan Li inside.

"Your Majesty," Yuan Li solemnly began, his face weary. "It was my negligence. I never imagined those people would be so heartlessly mad as to dare to do such a thing in the Capital."

Xu Zhenguan lifted her jade hand and gently waved it, her calm unexpected:

"The crime occurred in the Imprisonment, not in the dungeons of the Imperial Court of Supervision. Mr. Yuan, there's no need for such concern. If there was an oversight, it was mine. I believed that by removing Pei Kaizhi and Zhou Cheng, the Three Legal Departments would no longer hinder each other...

But after those two cultivated their power for years, only to fall in mere months, could the government office really be clean?"

"Your Majesty…" Yuan Li opened his mouth.

But Xu Zhenguan had already risen and began to pace slowly around the court:

"Mr. Yuann, who do you think killed him? Li Yanfu? The Shen family? Or the Kuangfu Society?"

After pondering for a moment, Yuan Li shook his head, "The incident happened so suddenly, I can't yet conclude."

Unable to confirm... Xu Zhenguan glanced at him and said:

"Do you think it's not Prime Minister Li?"

Yuan Li took a deep breath, "The Prime Minister Li I know wouldn't be so foolish."

Xu Zhenguan's demeanor remained calm, seemingly unsurprised by the answer:

"Continue."

Yuan Li then spoke decidedly:

"I believe that determining the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes can be postponed. The urgent matter is the aftermath of this case. Or rather, it matters not who killed Wang Chusheng, but how this incident, once it spreads, will affect how the people view the court, what they will think."

Xu Zhenguan fell silent, then sighed softly:

"Mr. Yuann speaks sensibly, what do you think should be done?"

Yuan Li hesitated, then said:

"I fear those people will sensationalize this death. I think we should be decisive: we must quickly establish the guilt. The man is dead, but the evidence remains. So long as we withstand the pressure and fix the guilt, we can uphold the authority of the court."

Be decisive... Xu Zhenguan seemed preoccupied, and after a while, responded neither agreeing nor disagreeing:

"Mr. Yuann, you have worked hard. Go back and rest for now. I will consider this matter."

Yuan Li was startled, seemingly not expecting such a response, and his expression darkened.

In the end, did Your Majesty still have too many considerations, inhibited, not wanting to give the rebels a handle to criticize and concerned about reputation?

Or was it a balancing act, not wanting to hit the "Li Party" too hard and allowing the "Clean Stream Party" that he represented to become too powerful, fearing an imbalance in the court dynamics?

Shaking his head, Yuan Li complied and withdrew.

The hall was left with only Xu Zhenguan standing by the luminous column lampshade, her feelings masked, her eyelashes seemingly holding onto the light.

After a while.

The room door opened again, and Mo Chou walked in respectfully:

"Your Majesty, the three ministers have left the palace."

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"Okay," Xu Zhenguan returned to her senses and said, "You are already aware of the situation, I presume."

Mo Chou nodded, a solemn look on her face, "Your Majesty, they are desperate."

"Yes, desperate. It seems I have truly pushed them into a corner. But the more property one has, the more precious their shoes, the more fearful and patient they are.

It's only the barefooted that bite when cornered. They are not. Such pressure isn't enough to make these people bold to this extent,"

Xu Zhenguan's voice was cool, and after a pause, she added somberly:

"Unless they believe they have found a new master."

"Your Majesty means the Shen family…" Mo Chou looked up.

Turning back, Xu Zhenguan's heavy and closely woven white robe, embroidered with dragon patterns, trailed loosely across the polished floor, making a half-circle.

Her eyes, dark as lacquer, stared at Mo Chou dispassionately, and she said:

"You're to leave the Imperial Palace once, to send Gao Lian on his way."

Are they expecting me to act against the Li family? Do they really see me as that foolish?

Mo Chou's breath tightened, and a trace of murderous intent shaded her eyes, "This servant obeys the decree."

She turned and walked out of the hall.

...

...

The Zhao family.

After seeing off Chen Hong, Zhao Douan stood outside the courtyard gate for a while before turning around and heading back.

As he did, he saw his younger sister, Zhao Pan, hurrying over, draped in a coat, having heard some noise and come out to see.

"Big brother, what happened?"

"Nothing much, just a minor incident," Zhao Douan replied nonchalantly, and then, maybe due to being in a mood to confide, he added,

"The County Magistrate I had captured has been killed."

"Ah!" Zhao Pan was startled, her eyes wide as ponds, "Is it related to that Gao Lian?"

These last few days, there had been much discussion in the Capital about the case, and the Zhao family was now among the officialdom of the Capital.

Zhao Pan had established connections with the daughters of wealthy families, and when these officials' daughters chatted in their leisure time, they often broached topics of court politics.

"Why do you think that?" Zhao Douan asked with a smile.

Zhao Pan puffed up her snowy cheeks,

"Don't think I don't understand, wasn't Wang Chusheng the key witness threatening Gao Lian? Now that he's dead, who else could be the prime suspect?"

Heh, how I envy your simple way of thinking... Zhao Douan smiled without responding.

He had too little information at hand but felt intuitively that since the beginning at Taicang Prefecture up to now, there had been a hidden hand pushing the case from the shadows.

"Ah, does that mean Gao Lian won't be convicted?" Zhao Pan frowned deeply.

"Do you wish for him to be convicted?" Zhao Douan laughed.

"Of course, I've heard that man has blood on his hands and has defiled innocent women, framing entire families; such a person deserves to die ten times over. To think he's lived half his life in high office—if he can still enjoy his later years, wouldn't it mean the wicked go unpunished?"

Zhao Pan had a sense of right and wrong so clear it was enviable. Her eyes shone as she looked at him,

"You caught him and brought him back; surely you don't want him to escape punishment either, right?"

Zhao Douan fell silent for a moment before answering noncommittally,

"If everyone in the world thought like you, that would be good. Now go back, it's cold at night; beware of catching a chill."

"Aren't you coming back?"

"I am from the Divine Chapter Realm, I'm not afraid of the cold, go back."

"Oh."

Once she left,

Zhao Douan sat alone in the courtyard, looking at the stars above, contemplating his next move.

Strictly speaking, this matter didn't concern him greatly; there was no need for him to get involved.

Justice or whatever... I, playing the role of the antagonist, don't really need to care about that.

But...

"If somehow you manage to overturn the case and even sway public opinion, confirming that Wang Chusheng was framed, wouldn't that make it seem like I too was deceived?"

"Even worse, could people think I sought revenge for a failed bribe?"

"Of course, I've accumulated so much notoriety, a few extra accusations wouldn't matter, but..."

Zhao Douan instinctively reached for the "pocket" over his chest wanting to grab a cigarette, found nothing, and then, with a resigned air, dropped his hand, muttering softly,

"To think I went to such lengths to capture you, if you're not convicted, it means I caught you for nothing... Annoying."

Zhao Douan's hand, at some point, had clenched a half-burned yellow incense.

With a flick of his fingers, the tip of the incense suddenly lit up with crimson flames, piercing a hole in the night, followed by trailing wisps of blue smoke rising into the clouds.

After a moment,

The cool air rippled in circles.

Within these ripples, the corner of a gold-threaded priest robe slowly came into shape.

Like a spirit of the dark night, the ethereal priest who had not been seen for a long time slowly descended into the Zhao family's courtyard, unexpectedly looking at the peculiarly positioned Zhao with a piece of yellow incense between his fingers.

"You're back?" The palm-sized face of Jin Jian was filled with surprise.

Not... I've been back for several days now, haven't you heard... Zhao Douan took a deep breath, extinguished the incense tip, and coolly said,

"Take me to a place."

"...Where?"

"To the Imprisonment of the Ministry of Justice!"