The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Creak... creak...

The sound of wagon wheels crushing snow was particularly pleasant in the wind.

"Drive!" Hou Renmeng snapped his whip, expertly navigating the carriage through numerous twists and turns. Shielded by Shen Juan and Qian Kerou, they looped several large circles before arriving on a relatively quiet street.

"Sir, we've shaken the tail."

As the carriage passed an alley, Shen Juan and Qian Kerou emerged from it, tumbled into the carriage compartment, brushed off the snowflakes, and spoke to Zhao Douan, who was resting with his eyes closed inside.

"En." Zhao Douan slowly opened his eyes, looked at his two subordinates who had disguised themselves, and said with a smile:

"Thank you for your hard work."

Their intervention in Yellow Court Alley had inevitably drawn some people's attention.

Zhao Douan was not sure exactly who had taken note, but fortunately, because the incident happened so suddenly, they had not yet caught the eye of any dangerous figures.

After leaving the chess game, the group easily lost those who tried to follow, thanks to their wealth of "counter-tracking" experience.

It was only then that the three subordinates finally had a moment to breathe. The young secretary Qian Kerou was full of admiration:

"Sir, you're amazing to have such skill!"

The genuine emotion from a female subordinate.

Shen Juan also marveled:

"I thought that little monk had enough confidence to challenge a national master, but I didn't expect you, sir, to outplay him so easily and avert a troublesome situation.

Hehe, once the news spreads, the Western Regions crowd might even think that Princess Wen Zhu brought you there on purpose to defeat the little monk... Could this be a way to drive a wedge between them? Hiss, sir, was this chess game also part of your plan?"

An attempt to imitate from a male subordinate.

Zhao Douan rolled his eyes and laughed:

"I'm not that miraculous. It was purely coincidental."

Although this coincidence might indeed seem too perfect to some people...

And as Shen Juan suggested, after learning the details, the Red Sect Master might indeed suspect that Princess Wen Zhu had engineered the event... Zhao Douan could only apologize; he truly didn't do it on purpose.

Why did Dan Che have to step into his line of fire?

He had to admit, though, that when comparing real chess strength, the little monk Dan Che was definitely better than him.

But...

It would not do to simply stand by and watch Dan Che sweep the chess world, allowing those Western Regions monks, who were likely in cahoots with the "Da Jing Master," to succeed, would it?

"Don't underestimate the princess. A small misunderstanding, I'm sure she can handle it. I didn't expect a simple attempt at contact to turn out like this," Zhao Douan said, spreading his hands innocently.

Tch—

His three subordinates were silent, a little skeptical, but they had grown almost numb to their master's mysterious chess abilities.

"Anyway, let's head back, and keep your mouths shut about this," Zhao Douan instructed seriously.

With the incident blown out of proportion, he suspected that his alias would sooner or later be exposed... all he could do was try to cover it up and delay the revelation as long as possible.

Otherwise, it would not be good if people found out that "Yama Zhao" was mixing with Princess Wen Zhu.

Shen Juan and Qian Kerou acknowledged, but Hou Renmeng, who was driving outside, remained silent.

Instead, the carriage suddenly came to a halt!

From outside the carriage, they heard the neighing of horses and Hou Renmeng's unusually alert voice:

"Sir, it seems we haven't shaken off the tail completely."

Zhao Douan's heart chilled, and he quickly lifted a corner of the carriage curtain. As a cold draught swept in, the three pairs of eyes inside clearly saw a "strange person" standing in the middle of the street ahead.

The individual was cloaked in a dark, large cape, covering the body from head to foot, with feet and shoulders equally wide, hands crossed in front, leaning on a particularly wide, crimson greatsword!

The greatsword was nailed into the snow-covered ground, its hilt firmly held by a man's large hand, and inscribed upon its blade were ancient golden characters.

"Go on without me," Zhao Douan said after assessing the person blocking the way, with an oddly peculiar expression, "don't worry about me."

Then, he stepped out of the carriage.

Qian Kerou and the others exchanged glances, curious but silently obeyed and left.

"Shhhhh—"

The carriage quickly departed, leaving only two people on the quiet street.

Zhao Douan, sword by his side, lifted a corner of the mysterious man's cloak with the cold wind and saw the dark priest robe beneath. He bowed respectfully:

"Could it be the Little Heavenly Master from the Heavenly Master Mansion? Brother Zhong Pan?"

Zhong Pan smiled in surprise: "You are Zhao Douan."

...

...

The man who beat Dan Che was related to auntie?

Outside the imperial study, a hint of surprise appeared on Xu Zhenguan's pale face as white as snow:

"Please go to the side hall."

After a moment.

In a side hall of the Qianqing Palace, Princess Wen Zhu, her dress soiled wet by the slushy snow, strode over the threshold and saw the Empress's smiling face next to the fire basin:

"Auntie, is it cold outside? Please sit down and have a cup of warm milk."

A gentle smile surfaced on the face of the Western Regions noblewoman, showing the softness of years gone by, as she took off her coat with the help of her maidservants.

A warm handwarmer was added to her slightly stiff hands.

First, a few superficial pleasantries were exchanged, and then the conversation moved to the chess game at Yellow Court Alley.

"Auntie, are you saying that the chess player who defeated the little monk Dan Che was a distinguished young man from East City whom you met by chance?" Xu Zhenguan, sitting beside the fire basin, looked surprised at the woman sitting opposite.

Princess Wen Zhu nodded, her face still carrying a mix of amazement and complexity:

"That gentleman, who called himself Lin Ke, was initially thought to have a chivalrous spirit and a kind heart, but I never imagined he had such skill."

You seem to be teasing me... When did such a distinguished man surnamed Lin appear in the capital without my knowledge? The Empress was somewhat doubtful.

Yet no matter how she looked, she could not see any signs of deceit on her aunt's face. Moreover, the whole affair was shrouded in mystery.