The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 573 - 420. The strategist enters the situation personally_3

Zhao Pan listened and was displeased: "Mother, during the New Year, isn't it normal for Big Brother to stay at home?"

Zhao Douan clapped his hands to brush away the snow powder, revealing a bitter smile on his face.

Originally, he thought, even if the Empress were to act, she should keep him at the palace tonight for appearances' sake.

But the result was Zhenbao saying, "Tomorrow morning, there will be ancestral worship in the palace," and staying in the palace would be inappropriate... The newly promoted Crown Prince's Junior Guardian returned home alone.

On second thought, it seemed normal; letting those ministers know that, on the eve of ancestral worship, the Empress and the Crown Prince's Junior Guardian were inappropriately close in the palace would be almost like giving ammunition to the enemy.

"During the New Year, it's best to stay at home."

Zhao Douan said casually, and he drew his sword, writing the name "Zhuang Xiaocheng" in large characters on the ugly snowman.

Then, with one swift stroke, he decapitated the snowman, lightly exhaled, and murmuringly said:

"It's time to avenge you."

"Ah, avenge whom?" The mother and daughter did not understand and only felt Dalang was acting strange.

"It's nothing."

Zhao Douan smiled to reassure the two, and then, as if he remembered something, he casually tossed the imperial decree from his arms to You Jinhua:

"Aunt, help me store it."

"Imperial decree?!"

You Jinhua was dumbfounded, hurriedly catching it, and the small lantern in her hand fell to the ground.

When she unfolded the imperial decree in confusion and read the words on it by the light of the lantern, both mother and daughter were bewildered and incredulous.

After Zhao Douan casually explained that he was appointed as Junior Guardian with benefits equivalent to Standard Third-Rank,

You Jinhua and her daughter, as if under a spell, took a moment to recover, followed by uncontrollable joy, and then the entire Zhao family was in an uproar.

The house servants and maids could hardly conceal their joy; as the saying goes, "When one person achieves the Dao, even chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

Though Zhao Douan's previous power was not weak, his status was ultimately just a fourth-rank military general; now, with an advancement, the Zhao family officially stepped into the ranks of nobility.

It was foreseeable that the Zhao family were destined to be sleepless tonight.

And at that moment, time slipped past midnight, Zhao Douan stood with his sword in the middle of the courtyard, hearing the resonant bell of the New Year from the direction of the Heavenly Master Mansion's bell tower.

"Dong——"

"Dong——"

Time had finally arrived in the third year of Tianfeng.

...

...

That night was filled with the sound of firecrackers into the late hours.

On New Year's Day, Zhao Douan was awakened early by the endless stream of officials and nobles arriving to pay their respects.

The news of his promotion to Junior Guardian last night had spread through officialdom with lightning speed.

Soon, it caused a stir.

All at once, officials and nobles hurriedly increased the New Year gifts they planned to send to the Zhao Mansion.

This caused a headache for the Zhao family.

Throughout the day, the visitors never stopped, and each was a major figure that had to be personally entertained.

The gifts sent by these people, in just one day, filled two side rooms.

Zhao Douan's face was stiff from smiling, and the second day continued, though the visiting officials were a lower rank, they were still of equal status and still required a welcoming smile.

When Ma Yan came with New Year gifts, the atmosphere between the two was particularly awkward.

On the one hand, Zhao Douan's official position was still that of the Master; on the other, the superior and subordinate's ranks were now equal.

By the third day, Zhao Douan finally found time to delegate the reception work to his stepmother, and he himself loaded a large cart with gifts from others, heading straight to the Heavenly Master Mansion.

He focused on the principle that even if time traveled, the custom of circulating New Year gifts should not change.

The days following were busy as well, with continuous rounds of social gatherings and entertainment.

Only after the tenth day did the impact of the official promotion begin to gradually fade.

Meanwhile, the time Zhao Douan promised, capturing Zhuang Xiaocheng within three months, had already lessened.

Leading figures like Li Yanfu and others in the court began to investigate, wanting to see what means Zhao Douan had to make such a promise.

Zhao Douan stayed in the Capital for social engagements until the fifteenth day of the New Year.

And in the early morning of the sixteenth day.

At dawn, the southern gate of the Capital was opened in advance, and a special "caravan" quietly departed the Capital, heading south towards Feng City.

——

ps: Anxiety with each new plot development