The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 247 - 217. Lure the snake out of its hole

A loud roar broke the deadly and gloomy atmosphere of the courtyard.

Zhao Douan stopped in his tracks, looked up, and saw a group of people, both men and women, intruding through the floral gate.

Leading them was a burly man whose appearance greatly resembled that of the deceased.

At that moment, he was holding an iron rod, his eyes red with fury as he charged in, followed by a sobbing woman trying to hold him back.

"Who goes there?!"

Before a few people could move, the Imperial Court officers guarding the yard swarmed up, overwhelmed the intruders, and pinned them to the ground.

A Jinyi officer sternly delivered a harsh elbow strike.

"Bang!"

The burly man was brought to his knees, the iron rod falling into the dirt, yet he still glared fiercely at Zhao Douan, cursing loudly.

Ma Yan furrowed his brow, and Haitang looked towards Mr. Zhao.

Zhao Douan shook his head, indicating he was unaware of the situation:

"What’s going on?"

Beside him, the government office’s official in a green robe looked uncomfortable and explained in a low voice:

"This is the brother of the deceased minor flag officer, who, in his grief, assaulted your lordship. It’s best to disregard him."

Yet Zhao Douan walked up to the man and said indifferently:

"Why should I pay with my life when it was the rebels who assassinated your brother?"

The man being restrained, still kneeling, glared with bloodshot, spider web-like eyes:

"My elder brother had no connections with the rebels. If it weren’t for you antagonizing them, inviting unwarranted assassinations with your new policies, how would this misfortune have befallen us? How can you claim to be uninvolved?! Why weren’t you the one who died?"

Zhao Douan was almost amused by the anger, as, in a way, this logic did hold some water.

The government official in the green robe suddenly changed his expression and shouted angrily:

"Utter nonsense! Someone, take this man away…"

Zhao Douan, however, waved his hand and said:

"Let him go. Such fools, like dogs tied up, bark loudly but lack the courage to bite."

The man felt insulted: "You…"

Zhao Douan stood with his hands behind his back, his expression mocking:

"What about me? Not to mention, anyone with a sane mind could see that it’s the rebels stirring up strife. Even by your logic, if I hadn’t provoked the rebels, they wouldn’t come to kill...

Moreover, the blood letter even had His Majesty’s name on it. Why don’t you go to the Golden Throne Hall and seek trouble with His Majesty?

You dare not vent your anger on His Majesty, but you dare to vent it on me… It seems, even in your fury, you still know whom you can provoke and whom you cannot… But..."

He sighed softly, his eyes filled with sympathy:

"Why do you think I can be provoked?"

The man was left speechless, unable to retort.

Zhao Douan had already stopped paying him any attention, following Ma Yan and Haitang out of the place.

After the three left, the remaining Imperial Court officers sneered, one of them kicking the man in the chest and spitting:

"Fools come and go, but this year has been particularly abundant… Lock him up, take him away to reflect, so he won’t trouble us."

Zhao Douan could afford to casually say to let him go, not holding grudges against the insignificant.

But the officers below would not truly do so.

Seeing this, the green-robed official shook his head and sighed.

…

Outside.

Having dealt with the interruption, Zhao Douan was not in a good mood.

The emaciated eunuch Ma Yan looked at him, his long face expressionless:

"What do you think?"

In investigations, he would ask Haitang, but for handling more complex situations, Ma Yan would seek Zhao Douan’s opinion.

Zhao Douan sighed lightly, his expression complicated:

"The good news is the rebels are finally panicking. The bad news is the same.

They chose to assassinate a minor flag officer, sending a message rather than genuinely attempting murder. If it were truly about killing, they would have targeted major figures of the Imperial Faction.

By just killing a minor official, they won’t engender hatred against the Kuangfu Society from the entire court and military. However, it will unsettle the lower-level officers… Just when the new policies need them the most…"

He snorted and said:

"It seems a foolish act to assassinate, but it might actually be effective.

Key figures of the Imperial Faction might have treasures to protect themselves, skilled bodyguards, or hold such high status they are untouchable... But for lower officials, the court can hardly protect them all.

Our only option is to quickly capture the ringleader as a warning.

After all... even though the Kuangfu Society harbors many simple-minded, self-righteous fools, those truly capable of threatening and implementing assassinations must weigh whether sacrificing their lives to kill some insignificant officials is worth it...

Furthermore, we can use this to our advantage. If they dare kill, we dare to publicize it—not to the officials, but to the people...

Ha, haven’t these rebels always been slandering and vilifying His Majesty?

Now that they’ve given us a handle, we can turn it around and vilify them... Once the Kuangfu Society realizes the benefits of assassination are outweighed by the ensuing infamy, they will naturally stop."

Ma Yan and Haitang’s eyes lit up slightly.

Thinking that when it came to scheming, this lad truly excelled.

Lord Ma nodded in agreement with the plan but added:

"However, the immediate priority is to address the upcoming assassinations, namely, to capture the Thousand Faces God."

The detective Haitang said bitterly:

"Easier said than done. The Thousand Faces God is extremely skilled in disguise. Unless one is highly familiar, even if he stood right in front of you, you might not recognize him. In the Capital, with millions like a vast ocean, he hides among them like a single drop of water... Unless..."

The female detective suddenly looked at Zhao Douan.

Ma Yan also tightened his brows, looking at his taciturn younger ’brother,’ his expression profound.

"…" Zhao Douan felt a chill from their stares and said helplessly:

"Don’t think about using me as bait. Would they be so foolish? Last time, the Cold Frost Sword tried to deal with me and was counter-killed. Would this Thousand Faces God not be cautious? Could he not predict that I might use myself as bait?"

He paused, then picked up the blood letter, shaking his head:

"Moreover, you see, they deliberately listed my name alongside His Majesty’s this time."

Ma Yan frowned: "You mean, a borrowed knife to kill someone?"

After speaking, he shook his head in denial, "A futile effort."

Zhao Douan squinted his eyes and said self-mockingly,

"Is it really a futile effort? Just now, in the courtyard, didn’t the deceased’s brother take the bait?

Do not underestimate the level of stupidity some people can exhibit, or rather, when a loved one is killed, in the throes of fury, one’s rationality can greatly diminish... leading to some unimaginable actions."

"On this paper, it talks about exterminating me, the treacherous official. Guess what? With my terrible reputation, once the word spreads, what will it turn into?

Ha, the rebels don’t even need to do anything. In the Capital, those who hold grudges against me, those who are hostile towards me, will spread the word themselves, directing the assassination attempt by the rebels onto me... achieving the transference of conflict."

He sighed deeply, as if foreseeing the "future" that was about to arrive:

"Compared to the rebels, who, like ghosts, hide in the shadows and are ready to strike at any moment, isn’t it much easier to bully me, the traitorous official out in the open?"

Ma Yan shook his head and said,

"But it’s useless; mere words cannot harm you."

Because my reputation is already terrible. I don’t care if it gets worse, right... Zhao Douan commented and shook his head,

"Do not underestimate the power of public opinion. This Thousand Faces God is very clever; he knows that once an assassination occurs, the officials will panic or become enraged, and this emotion needs an outlet. The officials do not dare to lash out at Your Majesty, so they will only despise the rebels...

But now, the rebels have also included my name. The people’s anger will be directed towards me...

You see, it’s simple but very effective. Transferring hatred like this.

Indeed, public opinion can’t kill me, but it will make me very uncomfortable, and as long as I stand in the forefront, even if they carry out an assassination, people won’t entirely hate them but will hate me.

Thinking that all this trouble, is caused by me.

Just like when robbers come to a village to kill, the villagers will hate the robbers, but if the robbers say they came to kill because a certain villager offended them...

Then the villagers will hate that person."

Haitang could not help but interject,

"How could that be? Maybe a few people might think like that, but most people can’t be that foolish. To not hate the enemy but hate one’s own people?"

Zhao Douan glanced at her and suddenly said,

"Don’t overestimate human nature."

Seeing the atmosphere becoming solemn and dreary, he chose to lighten the mood with a smile,

"It’s not that bad yet. At least my reputation is already dreadful. Those people, even if they hate me, can only curse me behind my back, not daring to truly trouble me, the ’little King Yan.’

Therefore, since the rebels need me in the forefront to share the hatred, they will not come to kill me... Using me as bait is likely not going to work."

Ma Yan sighed, finding the situation troublesome.

As a martial artist, he never feared a direct opponent, but he especially loathed skulking actions like these.

He had not realized it before, but after Zhao Douan’s clear and simple analysis, he was shocked to see how much scheming was behind what appeared to be a reckless "assassination."

Unfortunately, with Zhao Douan’s intelligence, he could not think of a way to counter it for the time being.

"Let’s go, we’ll report to His Majesty first."

Ma Yan made the decision, and the three of them rode off at top speed.

...

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...

At noon that day.

A decree from the palace was delivered to the desks of various government offices throughout the Capital.

The Empress, after thoughtful deliberation, chose not to suppress the case and pretend nothing happened, but to make it public.

The general idea was that the Kuangfu Society rebels were deranged and had attempted to assassinate a courtier, aiming to overthrow Great Yu.

Her Majesty the Empress had already ordered the Imperial Guard, including the entire Capital Camp’s troops, to strengthen patrols, putting the Capital in a third-degree state of martial law.

She had demanded that the officials, especially those below the fifth rank, heighten their vigilance.

The Imperial Faction was encouraged to possibly move into the government offices, guarded by the Imperial Guard.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Court’s nine main divisions were fully committed to the capture of the "Thousand Faces God," even seeking help from some cultivators from the Heavenly Master Mansion and Divine Dragon Temple.

Unfortunately, the two major cultivating forces’ "upper echelons," adhering to the principle of not participating in power struggles, deployed magicians only up to the Divine Chapter Realm.

Once the news was released.

The Capital’s officialdom was reduced to silence.

The city, already entering August, felt the chill of autumn deepen suddenly.

For a moment, the court officials were furious, and the lower-level officials felt threatened.

That same evening.

Another minor official from the Imperial Faction, on his way home, was lured to a secluded place by the Thousand Faces God, disguised as a "coachman," and brutally killed.

Reportedly, his death was horrific, his skin even partially peeled off.

At the scene, on the wall, similar sentences were written in blood again, claiming that the murder was for the well-being of the people, demanding the Fake Emperor retract the "evil policies," and severely punish the treacherous Mr. Zhao.

Then, there was a third incident.

Then a fourth...

For a while, people’s hearts were filled with fear.

And just as Zhao Douan had predicted, gradually, some people in the Capital began to regard him with hostility.

There were voices claiming that he had provoked the rebels, leading to the killings.

However, out of respect for Zhao Douan’s displayed adeptness over the past few months, these voices only lingered in private discussions.

Along with many officials, attitudes towards Zhao Douan changed.

But no one really challenged him officially.

"A bunch of spineless sheep!"

Zhao Douan sneered, finding Li Yanfu’s metaphor apt.

...

On this day.

Within the new home’s dining room, the Zhao family of three dined together.

As Zhao Douan had been busy chasing the Thousand Faces God without success, he appeared preoccupied and lacked appetite.

Suddenly, holding her rice bowl and hesitantly taking small bites, his beautiful stepmother hesitated for a moment before speaking,

"Eldest son..."

"Hmm?" Zhao Douan looked at her curiously, "Aunt, what’s on your mind?"

You Jinhua hesitated for a second, her expression timid as she said,

"The You Zhande family sent another invitation during the day, inviting you to dinner, to personally apologize."