The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 341 - 290, a mobilization order, Zhao Douan leads the army to break the city

"Commandery Princess, be careful with your words, we must avoid such language,"

Zhao Douan suddenly changed color, appearing the very model of righteousness, with the demeanor of a loyal lapdog to the Empress, he stepped back and said seriously:

"I fear His Majesty might misunderstand!"

"..." Xu Junling, whose sweet countenance and skin smooth as satin stiffened with a smile.

Feeling the strange gazes from all directions, she took a deep breath, clenched her hidden hand tightly, maintaining the elegance and demeanor of a "talented lady," and smiled:

"Mr. Zhao jests."

After dropping that remark, Zhao Douan couldn't care less about her, his gaze surveyed the surroundings.

Leaving the Capital, the scenery became much more open.

A long road that connected the north and south, lined by trees with yellowing leaves, presented a scene of decline.

Although there were still some remnants of green on the treetops, they were few.

The tea stall's dusty "tea flag" looked lackluster, hanging on a flagpole rooted in the loess road.

At this moment, as the not-so-large procession halted, the entourage became busy.

Some fed the horses while others looked for wooden stakes to tether the wagons.

For this trip, Zhao Douan didn't bring many people; altogether fewer than ten, including the direct descendants of the Lihua Hall.

Qian Kerou, Shen Juan, and Hou Renmeng led the group, accompanied by a few Jinyi Captains.

As for Zheng Laojiu, he was left in the Capital to watch over the house.

Additionally, there was an Imperial Censor from the Imperial Court of Supervision serving as the deputy for the imperial envoy.

He was a middle-aged man with a woman's name, Chen Hong.

Now, middle-aged Imperial Censor Chen Hong poked his head out of the carriage, his aged face framed with a pair of silver false teeth, and flashed a bright smile:

"Mr. Zhao, please rest, I shall not alight from the carriage."

Yuann Li's subordinates are indeed a bunch of..." Mr. Zhao nodded with a smile while internally ranting wildly.

This deputy Censor was alright when he left the Capital.

But from the day the Commandery Princess mysteriously joined the procession midway, this old man caught cold and seldom left the carriage, clearly not wanting to be involved.

As for the remaining two carriages, they naturally belonged to the daughter of Prince Huaian.

One for Xu Junling and her maid Lv Shui.

The other for the sword Dao master from the Royal Mansion, known as "Master Lv," who had confronted Eunuch Hai the other day, along with the robust bruiser and mediocre heroine who faked a challenge in the arena.

At this moment, the owner and the waiter of the roadside tea stall, upon seeing the attire of the group, dared not be careless.

They obsequiously wiped the tables and chairs, smilingly welcoming.

More keenly, they wiped the best table twice and beckoned the authoritative figures, Zhao Douan and Xu Junling, to sit down:

"My lord, madam, please."

Zhao Douan rolled his eyes, tired of being misunderstood too many times along the way, he simply chose not to explain.

Xu Junling, dressed in luxuriously bright silk clothes, sat down opposite him smilingly. After the waiter served the tea and left, she lowered her voice and asked:

"Aren't you afraid of the Empress misunderstanding this time?"

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Zhao Douan, in a majestic pose, sat on the stool, picked up the teacup and moistened his lips first.

With the slightly cool autumn breeze blowing, he looked at her helplessly and sighed lightly:

"Commandery Princess, you are playing with fire. I was tasked by His Majesty to handle official duties. Instead of returning to Huai River, you surfaced midway following us; what is this about?

Fortunately, Imperial Censor Chen is here to vouch for me, otherwise, my lifelong reputation would have been impossible to uphold."

Reputation... Heh... Xu Junling's lips twitched slightly, now immune to Mr. Zhao's shamelessness, she smiled and said:

"I am indeed heading home, to Huai River Road, and it happens to pass through Linfeng Road. Moreover, it's a rare trip northward; how could I miss the chance to discuss poetry and essays with a talented person like Mr. Zhao?"

Just spouting nonsense... Zhao Douan couldn't be bothered to expose her.

...

These past few days, Xu Junling had indeed often looked for him under the pretext of "discussing poetry."

She gave a noble excuse:

That day at the Zhangtai Banquet, Zhao Douan composed poetry while drinking, leaving behind a masterpiece that became the talk of the town.

While others focused on the gossip behind the poetry, Xu Junling, known as the "talented lady from Jiangnan," was more interested in the talent revealed through the poetry itself.

During these days, every time they stopped for a rest, she would seek him out for discussion.

A true literary young woman of ancient times.

But Zhao Douan wasn't a fool; he saw right through that this crafty Little Princess was using it as an excuse to further understand him.

Xu Junling didn't deny it either.

From her point of view, it was correct to establish a good connection with this emerging powerful official... or at least to gauge his character.

However, her admiration and curiosity for his poetic talent were indeed genuine.

To this day, Xu Junling couldn't understand how someone with little scholarly background like him could produce such poetry.

Unfortunately, no matter how she probed, Zhao Douan never revealed any hint of his poetic talent again.

Momentarily, she doubted whether Zhao Douan was truly deep and unfathomable,

or if he was merely building a reputation on purchased poetry.

"If the Commandery Princess is happy, then that's good,"

Zhao Douan shook his head solemnly and pointed ahead:

"However, up ahead is Taicang Prefecture, I need to investigate a case there, once we enter the city, we should part ways."

Xu Junling responded with an "oh," seemingly indifferent, and nonchalantly said:

"It's my first time visiting Taicang Prefecture; I was thinking of staying a few days in the city to enjoy the autumn scenery. If Mr. Zhao doesn't mind, I'm quite interested in this silver mine matter too."

Zhao Douan looked at her deeply:

"Commandery Princess, I naturally can't stop you from staying, but are you not afraid of playing with fire?"