The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 256 - 225, Message from the palace

This night, the number of guests at the Teaching Bureau in the Capital surged. The officials, made jumpy by the "assassination declaration" and unable to sleep peacefully for several days, felt overjoyed and organized retaliatory gatherings.

Zhao Douan’s reputation, through this event, experienced some degree of recovery.

Amid the noisy crowd, Wu Ling, a rising young actor at the Eight Directions Theater and a member of the Kuangfu Society in the Capital, quietly got up and left.

He walked through the bustling streets under the night lamps, did not return to the theater, but instead arrived at another tavern and sat down.

He ordered a pot of wine and a plate of salt-boiled peanuts.

Slowly eating and drinking.

Finally, at the table behind him, another guest sat down, the two sitting back-to-back, seemingly strangers.

Yet they engaged in a quiet conversation using the Sound Transmission Skill.

"Did the New Leader really get caught?" Wu Ling asked softly, his face darkened.

The middle-aged man from the Kuangfu Society behind him grunted affirmatively and said in a deep voice,

"According to the known intelligence, it was Zhao Douan who led the ambush. The court’s hounds were dispatched, and the New Leader has been abolished and thrown into the Imperial Prison."

Zhao Douan again... Wu Ling clenched his fist.

He recalled the painful experience when he went to assassinate the Zhao thief, only to be effortlessly countered by the "Empress."

After steadying himself, he asked, "What do we do next?"

The middle-aged rebel said,

"After the Thousand Faces God entered the city, he had little contact with us, which is the only advantage. His capture implicates us relatively little. However, we still must be cautious. Many of us have moved our residences, changed our identities, and are lying low to await further instructions from the main base."

Main Base... Wu Ling’s voice was bitter,

"Two consecutive new leaders, each not even in office for half a month, and then..."

The middle-aged man also fell silent for a moment, then said,

"At times like this, it’s especially important not to lose control. I’ve started the emergency contact channel to report the situation back to the main base. The Grand Tutor will make arrangements."

After a pause, he snorted,

"Moreover, with the New Policy announced, we aren’t the ones who should be worried. Our enemy is only the Fake Emperor. If the New Policy can benefit Great Yu, it would be good to support the Princely Heir to ascend the throne."

Wu Ling had a sudden realization,

"You mean, the ones truly anxious are those few restless princes..."

The middle-aged man disguised his actions with a drink and said,

"We’ve lost two Heavenly Gang-level experts in succession. It’s about time those covert spies in the Royal Mansion start contributing."

Wu Ling felt steadied and exchanged a few more words before getting up to settle the bill and leave.

As he walked out of the tavern, he looked up to see the moon obscured by dark clouds, which made him involuntarily shiver, thinking,

But the spies of Prince Jing Mansion had also once fallen prey to that Zhao Douan.

...

...

South of the Capital, thousands of miles away.

Zhuang Xiaocheng looked up at the dark clouds obscuring the moon, his brows furrowed.

He wore a Confucian robe, was about sixty years old, with silver hair and deeply wrinkled features that carried the presence of a National Scholar, unflinching even in the face of catastrophes.

As a former "Emperor’s Master" and Grand Tutor, one of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, he was also a trusted counselor under the Second Prince and the second-ranking leader among the Kuangfu Society rebels.

Since he left the Capital months ago, he returned to the current main base of the Kuangfu Society.

Namely, the place beneath his feet, built on a tranquil mountain peak, known as the "Forbidden Mountain Villa."

He also oversaw the operations of the Kuangfu Society sub-branches throughout the Nine Roads and Eighteen Prefectures of Great Yu.

Among them, the one of utmost importance was naturally the Capital.

However, what Zhuang Xiaocheng did not anticipate was

that since his departure, the rebel network in the Capital suffered multiple significant setbacks in a short time.

The "Cold Frost Sword" he dispatched to replace him died a violent death just days after entering the city.

Thereafter, the intelligence continuously sent from the Capital repeatedly caught the attention of this sixty-year-old Emperor’s Master.

In the court, several Ministers were overthrown consecutively, and the Empress’s grip on the court grew steadily stronger.

The establishment of the Xiuwen Pavilion, a prototype of the "cabinet," further centralized power into the hands of the Empress.

Of course, if it were only these matters, it would not truly cause him anxiety.

The deadliest was the so-called "New Policy."

With Zhuang Xiaocheng’s wisdom, after roughly reading the "Golden Three Strategies," he was greatly alarmed, immediately judging,

"If these three strategies are implemented, the Empress’s throne will be as impregnable as a fortress!"

And what astonished him even more was the name running through almost every piece of intelligence.

Read lat𝙚st chapters at fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓ Only.

"Zhao Douan!"

Zhuang Xiaocheng murmured, as the image of that depraved henchman wielding a knife in the ruined temple in the Southern Suburb Bamboo Forest during a light rain played in his mind.

There was confusion in his eyes.

Zhuang Xiaocheng couldn’t understand why the lackey who seemed so ordinary before would rise so forcefully after he left the Capital, displaying such skill and talent.

It made Zhuang Xiaocheng regret countless times.

Why didn’t the magicians on his side strike hard enough to kill him completely?

"He has become a grave threat..." Zhuang Xiaocheng sighed, his gaze lowering to the letter in his hand delivered by the falcon.

The Capital was too far from the Forbidden Mountain Villa, and even in this world with magicians, long-distance communication was difficult.

Therefore, the Kuangfu Society arranged a secret message transmission method similar to a beacon.

Special Suppressing Objects could be used, with pre-agreed "codes," to transmit some simple intelligence.

Just now, the falcon from the mountain delivered the latest intelligence:

The Thousand Faces God was captured.

"In just a few months, two of my generals have been lost..." Zhuang Xiaocheng clenched his hand tightly, with veins bulging on the back of his hand.

It showed that his heart was far from as calm as his face.

How were they lost?

Logically, with the cunning and caution of the Thousand Faces, and equipped with the "personal" treasure he prepared for him,

It shouldn’t have been so.

Unfortunately, the details could not be conveyed on the letter and would take some days for the detailed information to be returned.

"Could it be, Zhao Douan again?"

Zhuang Xiaocheng suddenly had a premonition and then laughed at himself,

"It can’t be a repetition of old mistakes..."

Behind him, light steps on the stairs suddenly echoed, very softly.

"Grand Tutor, the wind is strong on the rooftop. Is there a change at the foot of the mountain?" A woman’s voice anxiously came through.

Zhuang Xiaocheng tucked the paper into his sleeve, turned with a smile, using the lantern light hanging in the White Crane Tower of the villa, looking at the woman climbing upstairs,

"Why is the Princess here, not looking after the Young Master?"

The Second Prince, named Xu Jianwen, was titled "Emperor Wen" by the late Emperor according to the Royal Family’s rules at the age of ten.

He had always lived in the Capital, and the woman before him was the rightful wife of the Second Prince, Queen Wen.

The qualitatively gentle and beautiful Queen Wen softly said,

"The Princely Heir is being looked after by the servants, so I came to have a look."

The Princely Heir they were speaking of was still just a child, the blood of the Second Prince Xu Jianwen, and also the banner of the Kuangfu Society.

Externally, the Kuangfu Society declared their goal to overthrow the Fake Emperor and support the little Princely Heir to the throne.

Zhuang Xiaocheng smiled and shook his head,

"Your Highness need not worry. These trivial matters, this old man will settle them with the society’s generals."

The gentle Queen Wen muttered an "uh-huh," as if relieved, only leaving after being comforted by Zhuang Xiaocheng.

Watching the woman leave, the great scholar Zhuang Xiaocheng stood with his hands behind his back, suddenly speaking,

"Inform Prince Jing Mansion and the other idle princes of this news. Let them weigh it themselves, see if the Fake Emperor, after gaining power, will not butcher his uncles."

In the darkness, the light flickered slightly, and a figure slowly emerged, clasped fists and said,

"Yes!"

And then, disappeared without a trace.

...

...

When Zhao Douan rode his horse back to his home, the sky was completely dark.

At the ancient and picturesque gate tower, mosquitoes danced around the hanging lanterns.

Matching the indigo sky in the distance, Zhao Douan fleetingly felt as if he had walked into a painting.

As he entered the residence, one of the newly added servants eagerly approached to take the horse, shouting, "Master’s back!"

There was only one male master in the house, Zhao Douan, still young, had become "Mr. Zhao."

Dining hall.

You Jinhua and Zhao Pan greeted him anxiously, his stepmother’s eyes filled with unease,

"How was it? Hearing from the neighbors, you went to catch a thief? Are you hurt?"

Zhao Douan smiled broadly, opening his arms, gently embracing the two women back into the dining hall.

He briefly mentioned that the thief had been punished and reassured them there was nothing to worry about.

As for the ambush earlier in the South City, he did not mention it.

He casually mentioned meeting with You Zhande’s family and deciding that prior matters were resolved, and the families would not contact each other anymore.

You Jinhua breathed a sigh of relief, finally showing a joyful expression, a weight lifted from her heart.

Zhao Pan sensed something might have happened, but she had no evidence.

...

After dinner.

Sated with food and drink, Zhao Douan returned to his courtyard.

Due to the lingering heat, he did not enter the house but squatted under the eaves, taking out the "Nine Changes" mask to fiddle with.

"This thing, just covering the face can make a change?"

Zhao Douan seemed to have received a new toy and was eager to try it.

He slowly placed the soft mask on his face, and it seemed to adhere itself, slowly integrating into his skin.

"Who should I turn into?"

In his mind, familiar faces flashed one after another.

Eventually, he fell silent, thinking of his past life self.

That pitiable hard worker, who never indulged in a single day of power, until his sudden death.

His face, like ripples in still water, began to shift.

"Elder brother, the green grapes mother bought, chilled in well water..."

In the corridor, a young girl strutted forward wearing a thin little skirt, carrying a copper basin full of green grapes, her voice crisp.

Seeing him squatting on the ground, she curiously asked,

"Elder brother, what are you doing squatting there... ah!!"

The next second, the girl saw a stranger turning to look at her.

"Clang!"

The copper basin dropped to the ground, and Zhao Pan instantly linked it to the rebel assassin rumors buzzing in the Capital.

Didn’t brother say that they had already captured him?

Or, perhaps the person in front isn’t that rebel?

But who else could quietly enter their home?

"What happened?"

From the hanging flower door, You Jinhua, wearing a thin woman’s sweatpants long skirt, hearing the commotion, rushed over.

Coincidentally, she ran into her daughter, and seeing the stranger quickly drained the color from her face,

"Who... who are you? How dare you break into this house? Da Lang?"

Zhao Douan raised his hand, brushing back his hair, revealing a handsome visage, he said calmly,

"Don’t panic, auntie, it’s me."

Well... he realized that his voice seemed to have transformed, resembling his pre-memories life.

"You... you’re Da Lang?"

You Jinhua was dumbfounded, sensing that though the man before her had the same build, clothes, and demeanor as her stepson,

The face was startlingly plain.

"It’s me. I learned a new skill of disguise."

Zhao Douan maintained a casual demeanor, mentioning a few family-only known life details to verify his identity.

The mother and daughter were convinced, intently and curiously looking him over.

Zhao Pan dismissively said,

"Elder brother, why did you swap for such an ordinary face, truly makes you blend in... probably won’t stand out in a crowd."

You Jinhua interjected in defense of her stepson:

"Da Lang’s disguise must be unremarkable for better mobility."

Zhao Pan nodded, accepting this explanation.

Thinking how clever her brother was, able to alter his face so unmemorably.

"..." Zhao Douan remained silent.

At that moment, the maid Mian Tao rushed over, her voice arriving before she did:

"Master, someone from the palace conveyed a message, saying you’re wanted in the palace tomorrow morning to accompany Your Majesty to the Heavenly Master Mansion!"