The First Lackey Under The Empress

Stolen… stolen…

This sentence was like a huge rock, smashing heavily into the lake within the hall, stirring up monstrous waves in everyone's heart.

Zhao Du'an looked at Haitang's gradually approaching figure, his expression clearly showing astonishment.

"Firearms… stolen!"

Xue Shence stood up abruptly. This 'God of War,' known for his unsmiling demeanor and masterful command of troops, was visibly moved.

A piercing light shot out from his eyes.

Beside him, equally high-ranking officials such as the Minister of War, Wang Zhishi, Ma Yan, and other military officers were also greatly alarmed.

Subconsciously, they instinctively cast their gazes towards the Firearm Camp's chief officer and the Divine Mechanism Camp's commander, responsible for defense.

However, Chen Gui, slightly tipsy from the wine, only wore a blank expression, as if he hadn't yet recovered from this terrible news.

Shi Meng, on the other hand, widened his tiger eyes, opened his mouth, and exclaimed:

"How is that possible?!"

At this moment, his drunkenness vanished without a trace, the shock instantly sobering him up.

He stared intently at the female Investigator arriving at the banquet hall.

Many people present recognized this mysterious Hall Master of the Narcissus Hall from the Imperial Prison.

Seeing that she was the one reporting, they couldn't help but feel puzzled.

As Haitang stepped into the hall, her gaze searched for Zhao Du'an, but she first clearly saw the noble figure sitting upright on the main seat.

Her movements stiffened, her eyes widening:

"Your… Your Majesty?!"

She hadn't expected that the Empress would also be here tonight.

At this moment, Xu Zhenguan also stood up, her face equally grave and unsightly, and asked directly:

"What about the Firearm Bureau? And how did you find out!"

"I… I…"

Haitang faltered, instinctively awed by the Empress's gaze, and felt the urge to reveal the truth.

"I ordered her to keep an eye on the Firearm Bureau for me."

At a crucial moment, Zhao Du'an spoke up to defuse the situation.

Swish—

A wave of gazes focused on him. Zhao Du'an remained expressionless and said in a deep voice:

"I was concerned about the safety of the Firearm Bureau, so I asked her to watch over it for me."

After briefly explaining this, Zhao Du'an stared at Haitang, his eyes slowly narrowing:

"What did you see? Don't rush, explain it clearly."

Haitang instantly received the "signal," and followed the lead, saying:

"Zhang Han and I took people to the Firearm Bureau, originally to assist in the defense, but unexpectedly, upon arrival, we found that the people in the yamen were either dead or unconscious, and the blueprints were also missing…"

She quickly recounted what had happened.

Upon hearing this, everyone present changed their expressions.

Including Zhao Du'an, their expressions became unusually strange.

According to the plan, it should have been someone from the Firearm Bureau yamen reporting at this moment, but Haitang personally ran back and spoke in such detail.

This meant that the ones who raided the Firearm Bureau were probably real "rebels."

They, who were playing the role of "rebels," were a step too late…

"Outrageous!"

The Minister of War's face was ashen as he slammed the table and roared:

"What audacity! What audacity! Those who did this must be traitors and rebels!"

Another military officer from the Privy Council also lamented with grief and indignation:

"How dare they? At this time…"

He stopped halfway, realizing it himself.

Everyone else also came to their senses.

Yes, precisely because no one dared to imagine that the rebels would make such a bold move against common sense at this critical juncture.

Therefore… it gave the other party an opportunity.

For a time, the faces of all the generals became extremely unsightly.

"Firearms… my firearms…"

Chen Gui, who was drunk, belatedly let out a wail, emitting a shrill scream.

Xue Shence was even more shocked and angry.

Stolen again after several months!

Both times, it happened right under the nose of him, the Privy Councilor.

Especially since he had convened this celebration banquet…

Xue Shence only felt a burning pain on his face.

He turned his head to look at the Empress, only to see a thick layer of "frost" covering Xu Zhenguan's noble and imposing face.

A piercingly cold light flickered in her phoenix eyes, as if countless swords and blades were sharp and menacing.

"Your Majesty, this minister has failed in his duty, allowing the thieves to steal important state weapons. I implore Your Majesty to allow this humble general to lead troops to search and arrest them! I will surely bring the thieves to justice!"

Shi Meng, whose physique was as burly as a bear, stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and shouted in a resounding voice.

His back was already soaked with cold sweat.

With this incident, he, the commander, could not shirk his responsibility. Shi Meng was eager to perform meritorious service.

His words awakened everyone from their dreams.

In an instant, commanders from the Five Armies Camp, the Three Thousand Camp, the Golden Guard, the Feathered Forest Guard… stepped forward one after another, requesting orders to go to battle.

Even Xue Shence spoke up, begging to be allowed to personally lead the search.

Xu Zhenguan's face was ashen, and she looked at the group of generals requesting battle, but her gaze ignored them completely, instead passing through the crowd and looking at Zhao Du'an:

"Zhao Qing, what do you think should be done?"

At this moment, even Xu Zhenguan herself felt the urge to soar into the sky and go search.

However, Zhao Du'an's next words silenced the entire hall:

"This minister believes that the most urgent task is to immediately seal off the banquet hall. No general here is allowed to step out of the hall!"

The corners of Zhao Du'an's mouth turned up, not in a smile, but revealing a murderous intent, like an old hunter staring at his prey.

"Clang!"

The hand he was using to support the sword hilt flicked, and the Frost Sword, encircled by cold light, was unsheathed.

With a sword in hand, he stepped forward and stood at the door, sealing off the exit, and said fiercely:

"Anyone who dares to go out will be regarded as a traitor!"

Gah—

At this moment, everyone was stunned, and Haitang looked at him blankly, not understanding why.

"Investigator Zhao, what is this…" Someone couldn't help but ask.

The next second, the gloomy voice of Grand Eunuch Ma Yan also rang out:

"That's right! No one is allowed to leave! Your Majesty, don't forget that the military mole who stole the firearms last time has not yet been purged!"

One sentence revealed the key point.

Everyone understood.

That's right!

Among the people present, there was likely a rebel hidden.

And was the theft of firearms tonight also the work of that rebel?

Once everyone was allowed to leave, the military mole would have the opportunity to contact the rebels, and even deliberately cover them up.

Shi Meng, kneeling on one knee, had cold sweat pouring down his forehead, and he realized that his act of requesting battle was a serious taboo.

Zhao Du'an held his sword and scanned the faces of the officials, trying to see any flaws, but he failed.

Xu Zhenguan raised his eyebrows slightly, his gaze towards the many military generals becoming increasingly icy.

“Your Majesty, Supervisor Zhao is right. The military generals in the arena must not leave this place. It would be most appropriate to have Supervisor Zhao lead trusted individuals to search outside.”

Xue Shence sighed and proposed a plan.

However, Zhao Douan shook his head, interrupting him:

“No need!”

Then, amidst the bewildered gazes of everyone, Zhao Douan, dressed in splendid attire and holding a long sword, slowly paced back and forth at the entrance of the inner hall.

Moonlight emerged from the clouds behind him, illuminating the courtyard like water, making him seem as if he were draped in a layer of light.

Zhao Douan suddenly smiled and said:

“Your Majesty, there is no need to send anyone to search. I only wish to ask Your Majesty and the esteemed officials to wait here for a while.”

Wait?

“Wait for what?”

The one who spoke was Haitang, who looked completely bewildered.

She really wanted to say, our plan has already failed, are you still going to continue with the deception tactics at this time?

Yes, Haitang believed that Zhao Douan was currently using a counter-strategy, resorting to desperate measures.

Implementing the so-called deception method.

But it’s already this time… Isn’t the main point to catch the secret agents?

“Waiting for someone.”

Zhao Douan spoke concisely, calmly uttering these two words.

He raised his eyes, looked past the heads of everyone in the arena, and met the Empress’s gaze.

Xu Zhenguan looked at him deeply, her red lips slightly parted, uttering an imperial decree:

“Granted!”

… …

… …

In the night.

In the bamboo forest in the southern suburbs.

Shadows darted swiftly.

This was precisely the bamboo forest where Zhao Douan had transmigrated to. In the darkness, the bamboo forest was as silent as a deep sea.

“Creak, creak…”

Only the sound of boots stepping on the decaying bamboo leaves on the ground could be heard during the run.

The leader, wearing a hood, was none other than the secret agent leader.

At this moment, he raised his hand, and everyone stopped, obeying orders without question.

“We should be out of the tracking range,” he said, looking back in the direction of the Ordnance Bureau.

A secret agent beside him smiled and said:

“I didn’t expect it to go so smoothly. That group of fools in the imperial court don’t learn from their mistakes. We originally thought that many brothers might have to die to succeed, but unexpectedly, the defense in the yamen was so weak.”

Another person also laughed and said:

“Thanks to the leader’s brilliance and wisdom, we didn’t even think we would attack tonight. It’s not surprising that the people of the imperial court were unprepared.

It was the leader who overestimated them, even dividing the troops into two teams, deliberately creating false trails to disperse the pursuers… We were too cautious.”

The secret agents laughed lightly.

Some people even took advantage of the break to wipe the blood off their blades with handkerchiefs.

The hooded leader, however, felt a faint unease and said:

“I always feel like there are eyes watching us along the way.”

Several secret agents beside him asked blankly: “Is there?”

The leader was also unsure, hesitated for a moment, and still said:

“Continue to flee, leave the capital area overnight. With this blueprint, it will be enough to report back to the Prince.”

However, as soon as the words fell, a lazy voice came from above their heads:

“Flee? Where else do you want to flee?”

In the bamboo forest.

The autumn wind suddenly rose, and the extremely tall ink bamboos, towering like trees, swayed, making a ghostly rustling sound.

“Who is it?!”

The secret agents were shocked and subconsciously looked up.

In the sky, the wind moved the clouds, and the round moon, which had been covered by wisps of clouds, happened to be revealed, illuminating the top of the bamboo forest.

The leader’s pupils suddenly constricted.

He saw at the top of a bamboo, the bamboo node was slightly bent by two boots.

The owner of the boots was a short, fat young man.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his heavy figure seemingly weightless, resting on the bamboo branch.

He wore a wrinkled, dirty Taoist robe, and upon closer inspection, the black Taoist robe was actually outlined with gold threads unique to the Vermilion Dot Child.

Behind the fat young man, a thick bamboo tube was slung diagonally with a hemp rope.

“A Taoist from the Celestial Master’s Mansion! Run!”

The leader roared angrily, and a group of secret agents fled into the distance like arrows released from a bow.

Gongshu Tianyuan stood with his hands behind his back, overlooking the group of insects below, shook his head, and a hint of disdain appeared on his round face:

“Since friends have come from afar… don’t leave.”

He waved his hand gently.

From his wide sleeves, a golden light suddenly burst out.

It was actually a strange copper coin, each with wings, extremely fast and exceptionally sharp.

During the flight, the leader only heard screams.

He hurriedly looked back, and was stunned to see the secret agents behind him collapsing one by one with "plops", "plops", like wheat stalks harvested by a sickle.

A spurt of blood gushed out from the back of each person.

Then they fell to the ground, motionless!

In the blink of an eye, only he was left in this squad!

“Divine Manifestation Realm!”

The leader’s heart sank.

Then, he saw the fat Taoist in the distance suddenly use a "Thousand Catty Drop", pressing the bamboo under his feet into an arched shape.

Stretching it to the extreme, then his body, like a cannonball, shot straight at him from a distance!

“Well done!!!”

The leader roared angrily, and while running, he drew his knife with his right hand and turned around to slash back!

Buzz!

This blade was extremely fierce, and the wind of the blade stirred up rolling fallen leaves on the ground, as if the sky was full of dead leaves, following the blade like a shadow.

The momentum was magnificent.

On the ground of the bamboo forest, a shocking huge groove was cut out.

However, Gongshu Tianyuan’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

“Stop looking, I’m behind you,” a faint voice sounded.

The leader suddenly turned his head, only to see Gongshu Tianyuan standing quietly in front of him under the moonlight, holding a small wooden figure in his hand, and throwing it forward.

The little man, who he called “Toasting Barbarian,” stood on the ground, respectfully raising a wine cup to the leader.

Toasting!

The talisman is activated!

When the barbarian toasts, the person being toasted is completely controlled and must drink a cup of wine to break free from control.

But where is the wine here?