The First Lackey Under The Empress

"Please invite Prince Jing over?"

Feng Ju's expression showed a slight surprise, and a faint worry arose: "Your Excellency, are you going to..."

Going to visit the Prince and asking the Prince to come over are two different postures.

Zhao Du'an smiled and said, "Just go and do it, don't worry. Also, send the letter later. I'll receive my own people first."

"Yes." Feng Langzhong immediately responded, positioning himself well as an obedient subordinate.

The two discussed some minor arrangements before getting up to leave.

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After they left, the entourage standing outside the main hall of the Humble Administrator's Garden came in.

"How are the arrangements?" Zhao Du'an took out two golden mangoes from the fruit plate and threw them to the Hai family, grandfather and grandson, respectively.

Hai Tang raised her hand to catch it and said lightly:

"The accommodations have been arranged. This garden is really good. It's rare even in the capital."

The eunuch in the python robe smiled and peeled the mango while eating, and said:

"If there's nothing else, this old servant will go and rest first. Hehe, the maids in this garden are all so lovely, and their voices are so soft. It's very different from the capital."

So? You can still enjoy it, how is it... Zhao Du'an complained, not surprised:

"When it comes to gardens, the Huai River area is indeed the best. I remember there's also an imperial summer resort in Huai River? It's a pity it's not here, otherwise I'd like to go and see it."

"The imperial family's mountain villa," Eunuch Hai's memory drifted away, muttering:

"That's further south, near Luo Mountain. It was built as an imperial palace when the Taizu emperor performed the Fengshan ceremony. It's been six hundred years... Heh, you may not necessarily have the chance to go there in the future."

The eunuch in the python robe's words seemed to imply something, but Zhao Du'an didn't understand it.

He waved his hand to let the group go and rest first, and he stayed in the hall, preparing to receive the guests who came to visit.

...

Just as Feng Ju said, as early as when Zhao Du'an entered Lake Pavilion City, many people couldn't wait to visit him.

Not long after Lao Feng went out to deliver the message, guests arrived at the Humble Administrator's Garden.

However, the first person to visit was a "familiar person" who surprised Zhao Du'an slightly.

"Madam Lin?" Zhao Du'an sat upright in the main seat of the hall, with a long landscape painting by a famous ancient artist hanging on the wall behind him.

Holding a tea cup from the Feng Kiln, he looked in surprise at a young woman walking in from outside the hall.

She was beautiful and refined, with an oval face and silkworm eyebrows. She was no longer wearing the plain white dress she had worn before, but had changed into a thicker, more conservative Ru skirt made of silk. Her expression was completely different from when she was in the capital.

Lin Susu!

The concubine "Sixth Madam" whom "Little Cabinet Elder" Li Yinglong had forcibly taken as his own.

At that time, she joined forces with Zhao Du'an, using her resemblance to the late emperor's concubine to trap the Li family and his son.

Later, Zhao Du'an sent her back to the south and gave her the option of joining the imperial merchants.

"The commoner Susu pays respects to benefactor!" Madam Lin stepped over the threshold and bowed directly, her expression excited.

A man in merchant attire, about thirty years old, who was following her also knelt down.

"Get up and speak." Zhao Du'an smiled and looked at the man beside her, curiously asking:

"If I remember correctly, this is your husband? Hu what..."

"Hu Xuezhai." The man hurriedly introduced himself, his eyes sincere:

"In the past, my wife and I suffered. If it weren't for your benefactor's rescue, my wife and I would have been separated in life and death long ago. This humble commoner wanted to go to the capital to visit you in person, but was delayed by something. Now that I know your benefactor has arrived, my wife and I have taken the liberty to disturb you. We don't have much wealth, only a little sincerity. I hope your benefactor will accept it."

As he spoke, he presented the wooden box of gifts in his hand.

Zhao Du'an smiled and ordered the couple to get up and chat. Only then did he learn that after Madam Lin returned to Jiangnan, she rescued her husband and told him what had happened.

This Hu Xuezhai was also a passionate man. He accepted it, and the couple did not separate. Madam Lin also took out the certificate given by Zhao Du'an.

Both of them were merchants to begin with, and were among the first to join the imperial merchants. Although they have not officially "opened for business", in fact, the trade led by the imperial court has been operating on a trial basis for some time.

The couple also benefited from it and have become emerging representatives of the imperial merchants.

Zhao Du'an chatted with them for a while, and when someone else came to visit, he ordered someone to take the couple to rest in the garden.

The second person to arrive was still a familiar person who surprised him.

"Your Excellency, Dong'er has been waiting in Lake Pavilion for a long time as you instructed."

Wearing a dark-colored horse-faced skirt and a shawl, Xiao from Qingzhou, the "Great Yu's First Widow," stepped over the threshold with a smile, carrying a gift.

She bowed gracefully to Zhao Du'an, vaguely revealing the two mounds of plump snow on her chest.

"Madam Xiao has indeed kept her promise. Please sit down and talk." Zhao Du'an smiled and invited her to take a seat. He learned that after Madam Xiao left the capital, she did not return to Qingzhou, but went directly to Lake Pavilion.

She had been living here for quite some time.

"Madam came here so eagerly, didn't Xu Zudi say anything?" Zhao Du'an asked curiously.

Madam Xiao smiled charmingly, as gentle as a pool of spring water, pursed her red lips, and said with a smile:

"I have something to report to Your Excellency. I was worried about alarming the enemy in the capital, so I didn't dare to tell you. This time, Xu Zudi instructed Dong'er to come over and set an example at the Lake Pavilion meeting, representing the Qingzhou merchants, to oppose the imperial court and obstruct the opening of the market."

There was such a thing?

Zhao Du'an was greatly surprised and somewhat amused. He smiled and said, "Then you still dare to come?"

Madam Xiao smiled and said, "Outsiders all know that my Xiao family wants to be imperial merchants, but the imperial court has refused several times. How dare I not come?"

Zhao Du'an sighed, "Madam is acting as a double agent."

Xiao, who was extremely opinionated and very good at using her beauty to her advantage, feigned panic and said timidly:

"Your Excellency, don't scare Dong'er. You know that the Xiao family only follows your lead. That Xu Zudi is a complete fool. I'm not afraid of him."

"Hahaha," Zhao Du'an laughed heartily and said seriously:

"Madam's intentions have been seen by this official. However, you should stay put for now and wait for my message before expressing your opinion."

"Dong'er obeys."

"Okay, go and rest in the garden. There's no need to rush to leave." Zhao Du'an offered tea to see her off.

Madam Xiao stood up gracefully and walked out.

The moment she stepped over the threshold, her temperament changed, and she returned to the female head of the family in the eyes of outsiders, who was cold and dignified, had a grand demeanor, and treated men with indifference and cold eyes.

Next, several more imperial merchants came to visit.

Everyone prepared gifts and was polite to the point of being ingratiating.

Having seen officials and nobles in the capital, and suddenly receiving so many merchants and gentry, the latter were much more servile in comparison.

No one showed even the slightest disrespect to Zhao Du'an, this "big shot" who looked excessively young.

Everyone knew that such a big shot was a Yama in the human world who could easily destroy their family with a single glance.

"Master Zhao, long time no see, your demeanor is still the same."

Finally, after receiving several waves of people, Zhao Du'an heard a silver bell-like crisp laughter.

He raised his head and saw Xu Junling leading her maid, Lǜshuǐ, to come to the courtyard.

"Princess?" Zhao Du'an stood up for the first time, welcoming her with a big laugh:

"Just come, why bring anything... Oh, don't take it back, I'm just saying, don't take it seriously."

Xu Junling couldn't help but smile. After all, the two were familiar with each other. After making a joke, the princess smiled and said:

"I heard that you have done a lot of great things in the capital again. When the news of Gao Lian's death came back, you don't know what expressions those Li Party aristocratic families in Huai River had."

Zhao Du'an said righteously:

"Chief Administrator Gao actually committed suicide out of fear of crime, which really surprised this official. However, he was willing to confess his guilt before his death, which was not without conscience."

Xu Junling blinked and asked, "Did he really commit suicide out of fear of crime?"

"Is there any falsehood in this?"

"Hehe..." Xu Junling had an expression that said 'Do you think I'm stupid?', but she didn't delve into it. She then talked about the matter of Mr. Zhengyang becoming a disciple, asking questions non-stop. The talented princess was particularly curious about this.

Zhao Du'an denied it completely, only saying that the old thief Zhengyang was up to no good. Xu Junling's gaze towards him became more and more complicated.

It seemed that she wanted to see through him.

"I originally wanted to visit Prince Huai'an in person later, but I didn't expect the princess to come first." Zhao Du'an changed the subject.

Xu Junling smiled and said, "You want to see my father?"

"Is it inconvenient?" Zhao Du'an tentatively asked.

Xu Junling pondered in silence. After a moment, she smiled brightly. Just as she was about to say something, suddenly, there was a commotion at the gate of the Humble Administrator's Garden, accompanied by the loud shouts of the servants in the garden:

"Prince Jing has arrived!"

The two in the hall were stunned and looked at each other, saying in unison: "Did you call him?"

Then their expressions became strange.

Xu Junling hadn't expected that Prince Jing would personally visit, and for a moment, her little brain flashed with various thoughts, imagining all sorts of scenarios.

Zhao Du'an, on the other hand, was surprised that it was still early from the time he had asked Feng Ju to invite him, which meant that Prince Jing had not been invited by him, but had taken the initiative to visit.

Just a few hours ago, he had repelled the heir on the river, and in the blink of an eye, the other party's father had arrived.

"The visitor is not friendly," Zhao Du'an murmured softly.

Immediately, under Xu Junling's curious gaze, he stood up and said with a smile:

"Princess, how about we greet him together?"

The necessary etiquette was still required.

......

When the two of them got up and walked out of the main hall, those royal merchants who had come to Zhuozheng Garden for a visit and were deliberately left in the garden by Zhao Du'an to rest and play also flocked in upon hearing the news.

Madam Xiao, Lady Lin and her husband, and others all looked surprised.

"Prince Jing is here?"

Haitang and the old guardian, as well as Lang Shishi, Ji Yue, and other guards also rushed over, making defensive preparations.

Zhao Du'an signaled them to be calm and looked towards the front of the garden.

They saw a large group of people walking over, with several servants of the Prince's mansion guarding them. The first one was a family of three.

The heir, Xu Jinglong, whom he had seen not long ago, walked at the end, his head slightly lowered, his expression unreadable, and a docile posture.

At the very front was a refined middle-aged man, seemingly in his forties, but his temples were already gray.

Above his gorgeous robe embroidered with a four-clawed python dragon, his jade-like face was dignified, and the slight curve at the corner of his mouth gave people an almost imperial nobility.

White bodhi beads were wrapped around the sleeves of his arms, and a piece of excellent "Safe and Sound" jade pendant hung on his chest, its color orange-yellow, a rare South China Sea warm jade.

The head of the Eight Kings.

The most powerful vassal king who posed the greatest threat to the Empress's throne, the Jiancheng Dao, Prince Jing Xu Wen!

Zhao Du'an's gaze collided with his, and then he was attracted by a gentle-faced beauty beside Prince Jing.

She wore a tassel dress, her appearance was plain and without makeup, her eyebrows were slender, and her hair was styled into a married woman's bun.

Although she was no longer young, she had a unique charm of a mature woman, and the slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes added a mellow and rich fragrance like wine that had been deposited over the years.

Zhao Du'an's mind flashed with the information he had read, and he guessed her identity:

The current Princess Jing, Lu Yan'er.

After Xu Jinglong's biological mother died, the position of princess was vacant for a time. Several princesses in Prince Jing's mansion wanted to fight for it, but Prince Jing never expressed his position.

One day, he actually married a female Taoist priest who had become a nun in a Taoist temple in Jiancheng Dao back to the Prince's mansion and made her the new princess.

This was Lu Yan'er.

It once became a hot topic in the streets, and there were rumors that this Taoist nun was Prince Jing's old lover, and now their old love had rekindled, but there was no evidence.

In addition, it is said that this princess may be different from ordinary women because she became a nun and returned to secular life, and she does not shy away from showing her face in public.

Prince Jing is used to traveling with his wife whenever he goes out.

At this moment, sensing Zhao Du'an's gaze, the gentle and refined beauty's bright and black eyes also looked over.

Zhao Du'an was slightly stunned.

During the eye contact between the two, the woman who had returned to secular life from being a Taoist nun frowned slightly and turned her head away, as if she was rarely scrutinized so rudely and almost unscrupulously by a man from the outside.

In Zhuozheng Garden, many people also noticed that Lord Zhao was staring at the princess, and their expressions were strange.

They only thought it was due to his nature, but was this kind of rudeness not afraid of angering His Majesty, or provoking Prince Jing?

"Prince Jing, your visit brings honor to my humble dwelling. I didn't receive the news and welcome you in advance. I hope you don't mind," Zhao Du'an said with a belated realization, withdrawing his gaze and laughing loudly.

But a strange emotion still arose in his heart. He had never seen this Princess Jing before, and he could not detect anything special about her at all.

But during the eye contact just now, he inexplicably felt a sense of "familiarity", which was very strange.

As if he had seen her somewhere before.

"Junling greets Uncle Wang," the little princess also bowed.

The powerful vassal king, the head of the Eight Kings, smiled indifferently, as if he had not noticed Zhao Du'an's actions just now, and nodded with a smile:

"Junling is also here, did your father not come?"

Xu Junling smiled sweetly: "This niece is familiar with Lord Zhao. My father doesn't know about this visit."

Prince Jing nodded, pretending to believe it. He turned his head and scrutinized Zhao Du'an with a profound gaze, saying meaningfully:

"You are Zhao Du'an? The favorite in front of His Majesty?"

For some reason.

Zhuozheng Garden suddenly became quiet, no one dared to speak, and even their breathing was held.

Zhao Du'an smiled and met the gaze of the refined and powerful man in front of him.

The two of them were meeting for the first time today, but it was not their first time fighting.

The earliest Zhao Du'an investigated the Zhang brothers, and accidentally involved the secret agents of Prince Jing's mansion. Later, he fished in the Shenji Camp, pulled down the military officer who had been painstakingly won over by Prince Jing's mansion, and destroyed the second secret agent team.

Then, Prince Jing used the provincial governor Gao Lian as a pawn to play a game with the Empress from afar, trying to force Li Yanfu to rebel and split the court... Zhao Du'an also participated.

At this moment, the two finally saw each other's true faces.

"Your Highness is being polite. I don't deserve the word 'favorite'," Zhao Du'an said with a smile, "I'm just eating the Emperor's salary and being loyal to the Emperor."

"A good 'eating the Emperor's salary'," Prince Jing's smile seemed to contain a deep meaning, "This prince came uninvited, Lord Zhao, won't you invite us in to sit down?"

"Haha, please."

Zhao Du'an laughed and greeted Prince Jing's family into the main hall, and turned to give a look to Eunuch Hai and others next to him.

The latter understood and walked to the outside of the main hall, separating the inside and outside.

Xu Junling blinked, wanting to follow in, but was suddenly stopped by the female constable Haitang:

"Princess, let's go and rest here."

Xu Junling smiled sweetly: "...Alright."

......

......

Inside the main hall, after both parties were seated as guests, the servants served tea and carefully closed the door.

Only four people were left in the room.

Zhao Du'an's smile was gentle, and he was completely devoid of arrogance:

"When I was in the capital, I always heard His Majesty mention Your Highness, saying that among the princes, only Prince Jing is talented and has the ability to govern the country, managing Jiancheng Dao in an orderly manner. Among the local officials dispatched by the entire court, only the officials of Jiancheng Dao are the most worry-free and effortless, because the Prince's mansion takes care of the affairs in the Dao."

These words were meant to stab at the heart.

Prince Jing pretended not to hear the hidden meaning. The vassal king, whose appearance was much younger than his actual age, smiled kindly, his eyes full of appreciation:

"It's rare that His Majesty still remembers this uncle. His Majesty was ordered in a crisis to take charge of the court, and must be particularly hard. Fortunately, there are young talents like you to assist him.

Although this prince is in Jiancheng and the journey is far away, I have also heard many news from the capital. When I first learned that His Majesty had found a forbidden army infantryman to serve by his side, I was very surprised.

It was not until later that I learned that the White Horse Supervisor, Lord Zhao, was famous in the capital, that I realized that His Majesty's ability to employ and recognize people is still above this prince's."

Standing inside the room.

Xu Jinglong, who didn't even get a seat, clearly darkened his face when he heard the word "serve".

After feeling the gaze cast by his father, he quickly restrained his emotions and controlled his expression.

Prince Jing sighed:

"Jinglong is much older than you, but he is not as good as you, who came from the forbidden army. Not long ago, this prince learned that he had clashed with you while playing on the river, causing unpleasantness, so I specially brought him here to apologize."

Zhao Du'an's eyes narrowed.

He saw Prince Jing Xu Wen's voice deepen: "What are you still standing there for?"

Xu Jinglong stepped forward, put down the gift box he was holding, and respectfully bowed:

"I collided with the envoy on the river, please forgive me."

Zhao Du'an narrowed his eyes and laughed heartily:

"What is Your Highness doing? A little misunderstanding, this official has already explained it to the heir, why bother making such a fuss?"

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly eased.

The originally heavy and almost solidified air also quietly eased and flowed.

Brushing past this matter, Zhao Du'an exchanged pleasantries with Prince Jing. The prince, who harbored hidden ambitions, praised Zhao Du'an's past "achievements", and Zhao Du'an also adopted a humble attitude, in turn praising the other party's skills.

Neither of them mentioned the word "opening the market".

After going through a round of topics, Zhao Du'an suddenly looked at the elegant and gentle Princess Jing sitting next to the middle-aged prince with a smile:

"I heard that the princess was also a Taoist? Which mountain did you become a nun on? Have you ever practiced cultivation?"

......

Stuck writing.