The First Lackey Under The Empress

After lunch, when Zhao Du'an arrived at the Institute for the Advancement of Literature, the sun was already high in the sky.

He wasn't flustered at all. As an "external academician," he positioned himself as a "consultant" to the new policies.

Therefore, he even took the time to first go to the Pear Blossom Hall, just to show his face, before hurrying over.

He entered the institute unimpeded, and upon pushing open the door, he saw that the large government office was already bustling with activity.

Academicians were either processing memorials and official documents from various departments or refining the "Three Golden Strategies."

"Zhao… Academician."

"Mr. Zhao, you've arrived?"

"Greetings, Lord Zhao."

The academicians took the initiative to greet him, their attitude undergoing a complete transformation compared to yesterday morning.

However, perhaps still finding it difficult to accept a military man as a colleague, many used different titles.

Lord Zhao Du'an was magnanimous and didn't bother arguing with a group of scholars.

His gaze swept across the room, and he saw the "Female Prime Minister" also occupying a desk.

"Where's the Grand Tutor? Why haven't I seen him?"

Zhao Du'an sauntered over, pulled up a chair, and sat down habitually.

"…" Mo Zhaorong was unwilling to pay him any attention, replying with a stern face:

"The Grand Tutor has taken Han Zhou out. There's a lot to do after your Three Strategies came out…"

After briefly explaining, she added:

"You've come at the right time. The Grand Tutor said this morning that there's something he wants you to oversee."

"What is it?" Zhao Du'an asked curiously.

"The Yellow Register Archives," Mo Chou uttered three words, explaining:

"When the Great Ancestor founded the Great Yu Dynasty, in order to understand how many people and how much land there were in each region, he spent twenty years recording all the people in the land and surveying and registering the land…

Because the imperial court's tax revenue is based on the population, this Yellow Register is related to taxation and cannot be taken lightly. It requires revision every ten years.

That is to say, once the register is completed, there are four copies: one to be submitted to the Ministry of Revenue, and the other three to be kept by the Provincial Administration Commission, the Prefecture, and the County respectively."

Hmm… the Great Yu version of a population census…

So, the Yellow Register Archives is the largest archive in the land… Zhao Du'an pondered.

According to Mo Chou's description, the Yellow Register Archives has existed for too long.

Because of the population tax, local areas have developed too many means of forgery, hiding population, and tampering with content…

In short, the data recorded in the Yellow Register is already seriously flawed.

"The Grand Tutor's intention is to ask you for your opinion on this Yellow Register Archives," Mo Chou said.

Opinion?

He's asking me if I have any ideas to solve the problem of data fraud, right… Zhao Du'an discerned the hidden meaning, thought for a moment, and asked:

"Where is that archive? I need to see the situation in person."

Mo Chou wasn't surprised and said:

"It's located at the Back Lake in the north of the city. It's not far. If you ride a horse, you'll be there soon."

Zhao Du'an had nothing to do and was quite curious about the Great Yu's largest archive, so he readily nodded.

…

The two agreed and didn't take a carriage, but rode their own horses out of the north gate of the capital.

They hadn't gone far when they saw a range of green mountains rising from the ground in front of them, surrounding them in a circle, creating a magnificent sight.

A lake forty miles in circumference was nestled among the mountains, with excellent scenery, like a gem embedded in the earth.

"Da da da…"

Zhao Du'an gripped the horsewhip and rode on, looking ahead at the Back Lake with curiosity, saying:

"I heard that this place is a royal garden, guarded by the military, and no one is allowed to approach within a certain radius. I've never been here before, but I didn't know that the so-called Yellow Register Archives is hidden here?"

When Mo Chou came out, she changed out of her female official robes and took off her black gauze hat.

Now she was just dressed as an ordinary, somewhat androgynous woman, with her black hair draped behind her head.

Her cold and aloof temperament was diluted, becoming much gentler.

If one ignored the commanding authority between her eyebrows, it wouldn't be surprising to say she was a young lady from a scholarly family.

At this moment, she said faintly:

"The land's Yellow Registers are created once every ten years. Six hundred years have passed. Although the too distant registers have been damaged, there are still millions of registers left.

Because it concerns the country, it must be placed near the capital for easy access. Where in the city can one find such a large free space?

In this Back Lake, mud from the bottom of the river was used to create five 'islands,' called 'Five Continents,' named Ring, Cherry, Diamond, Beam, and Emerald…

Because of the natural geographical barrier, the Yellow Register Archives is placed on the island, which can avoid fire and is safe enough. It's the most suitable place.

The only trouble is the moisture and insects and rodents on the island, but it can be solved by having people sun and ventilate it in summer and autumn."

Millions of registers?

Zhao Du'an clicked his tongue in wonder.

With the amount of books in a feudal dynasty, generally speaking, a library of tens of thousands of books is already rare.

Not to mention a warehouse of millions of books…

While speaking, the two had arrived near the Back Lake.

Mo Zhaorong took out her waist tag, and the guarding soldiers nearby respectfully let them pass.

Afterward, the two arrived at the pier, only to see that the boats in the dock were sealed with seals.

An official walked out from the shore, and upon learning that Mo Zhaorong had been ordered to investigate the archives, he dared not delay.

He immediately untied a boat and had the official personally row the boat to send the two to the island.

Zhao Du'an stood on the boat, only feeling a gentle breeze coming, and the summer heat was gone.

The scenery of the lake and mountains in front of him was breathtaking.

Moreover, because it was summer, large patches of lotus flowers were in full bloom in the lake. The boat traveled on the extremely quiet lake, with countless dark green lotus leaves on both sides, and red lotus flowers swaying gracefully.

"With such scenery, if it weren't for the imperial guards guarding it, I'm afraid it would already be crowded with people."

Zhao Du'an sighed in admiration, then looked down at the lotus flowers on both sides of the boat and said:

"I heard this morning that the Shenlong Temple was selling lotus flowers. I looked at them, but they are far inferior to those here."

Mo Chou smiled slightly and came to his side, her eyes reflecting the scenery of the lake and mountains, and her mood was also very good, proudly saying:

“The lotus pond at Shenlong Temple is good, but only the Buddha lotuses in the temple's inner courtyard are truly blessed by Buddhist light. Ordinary people rarely obtain them. As for those sold to the common people, they are merely ordinary lotuses from the outer courtyard, naturally not worth mentioning.”

Zhao Dou'an indicated that he understood and his heart stirred:

“I heard that during the upcoming Ghost Festival, the Shenlong Temple's Dharma Masters will hold a ritual to appease the gods?”

Mo Chou glanced at him:

“Yes. Every year during the Ghost Festival, they dispatch monks of at least the 'Worldly' realm to preside over it. Shenlong Temple is enthusiastic about this, inviting many dignitaries to participate every year. Heh, they call it appeasing the gods, but it's more like a way to rake in money.

The Celestial Master Manor only appeases the gods within the manor and doesn't widely invite outsiders…

Why, do you want to go and see?

Heh, with the reputation you've made in the past few months, you might actually get invited… That is, if the great Buddhist monks are willing to extend an olive branch to someone with such a tarnished and infamous reputation.”

I feel like you're mocking me, but I have no evidence… Zhao Dou'an shook his head.

He wasn't interested in any god-appeasing rituals, but he was very interested in Shenlong Temple.

After all, it was a cultivation force on par with the Celestial Master Manor.

The abbot of the temple, Xuan Yin, was one of the strongest people in the world, capable of going toe-to-toe with Celestial Master Zhang.

Since his transmigration, he hadn't interacted with the monks of Shenlong Temple, so he was inevitably curious.

As he pondered this, suddenly, the boat rocked slightly.

It was as if something was moving beneath the surface of the water, disturbing the lake.

Zhao Dou'an's martial artist's warning instincts were immediately triggered.

His pupils suddenly narrowed, and his right hand subconsciously gripped the Golden Crow Flying Knife hidden in his sleeve.

His muscles tensed as he stared intently at the deep green water where the ripples were spreading.

Like a hunter in a primeval forest, sensing danger.

It was as if extreme danger was approaching the boat from underwater!

“No need to be nervous,” Mo Chou said, her expression slightly changed, but still able to maintain composure:

“Don't worry, the thing at the bottom of the lake can't come up.”

As if to confirm her words.

The next moment, the strange disturbance disappeared, and Zhao Dou'an instantly lost his target.

He still didn't dare to relax his vigilance and asked:

“The thing at the bottom of the lake? What is it?”

“I don't know,” Mo Chou replied matter-of-factly:

“Anyway, it's a very powerful thing. You can think of it as a 'Lake God' guarding the back lake. If any cultivators secretly sneak in, trying to approach the Yellow Records Repository, the Lake God will attack and kill them.”

After a pause, she said with a strange expression:

“I once asked His Majesty, if the Yellow Records Repository is so important, and ordinary people find it difficult to land on the island, what if cultivators take action? His Majesty said that there are two guardians in the back lake, one at the bottom of the lake and one on the island. One is a prisoner, and so is the other.”

Is the Empress's family name Lu…? Zhao Dou'an quipped, thinking that it was indeed an important imperial place with unfathomable foundations.

Besides the strong on the surface, there were countless hidden ones behind the scenes.

Only the word “prisoner” seemed to suggest that the experts here were not guarding the place voluntarily.

The boat slowly sailed away from the lotus pond.

No one noticed that in the deep green lotuses, huge bubbles suddenly rose to the surface of the water.

Then, a bloodless face of a young woman with pale eye sockets slowly floated up.

Her long hair slowly drifted underwater, like a clump of seaweed.

The woman was dressed in red, but her hands and feet were locked in black shackles. The long chains seemed endless, extending all the way to the depths of the lake.

The white-eyed woman at the bottom of the lake slowly poked her head out, floating on the surface of the water.

She quietly watched the departing boat.

Her eyes without pupils stared at the handsome young man on the boat.

After a long time, she slowly sank back into the bottom of the lake.

…

On the other side.

The boat Zhao Dou'an was on had also arrived at "Huanzhou Island," one of the five islands in the back lake.

As soon as he got off the boat, he saw several houses standing on the island.

The layout was similar to that of a government office, obviously the residence of the officials guarding the area.

In addition, there was also a unique pavilion not far away, but it was unknown what it was, and it seemed quite out of place.

“This humble official is the supervisor of the Yellow Records Repository, greetings to Lady Mo.”

Inside the island's duty room, an official of about fifty years old walked out and hurriedly bowed.

He looked at Zhao Dou'an again, with a hesitant expression.

Mo Chou said indifferently:

“This is Lord Zhao. He has come to inspect the situation of the Yellow Records in the repository.”

The old supervisor was probably stationed on the island for many years and had limited information.

He didn't immediately guess Zhao Dou'an's identity, but he didn't think too much about it.

No matter which department the Lord was from, he was someone he couldn't afford to offend.

He immediately greeted him with a smiling face:

“Please sign and stamp first, just a formality, and then this humble official will take you two to the repository.”

The two naturally had no objections.

After simply signing and stamping and walking out of the room, Zhao Dou'an pointed to the small building in the distance and asked curiously:

“What is that place? I see that there is only one building here.”

The old supervisor's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he whispered:

“Lord, please don't go over there. There is a madman living in that building, who was assigned to the island during the late Emperor's time. He rarely comes out.

His Majesty only instructs us to regularly send him food and wine.

He said that if there is any danger on the lake, this madman will take action to protect us.

I think he must be a cultivation expert.”

Another prisoner?

Zhao Dou'an raised his eyebrows, vaguely realizing that the madman on the island and the "Lake God" in the lake might be in a mutually restraining relationship.

At this moment, as if sensing someone's gaze, a crack in the window on the second floor of the small building faintly opened.

Across dozens of feet, Zhao Dou'an suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, feeling like he was being stared at by some terrifying beast.

…

Hasty update, will format later.