The Empress's No.1 Lackey

"Zhuang Xiaocheng?!" Luan Cheng had seen this Grand Tutor in the Capital before, and was utterly stunned. He approached in disbelief, staring at the unconscious old Grand Tutor several times before turning to Zhao Douan in astonishment:

"Sir... you... you captured this traitor?!"

Zhao Douan nodded with a smile: "Just luck."

It's true!

The rebel leader has been captured!

On the dazed face of Magistrate Luan appeared a joyful smile, visibly flushed with excitement and surprise.

Three years since the Xuanmen Coup, Zhuang Xiaocheng had evaded capture across the land, disappearing without a trace, a master of trickery.

Luan Cheng initially knew that Zhao Douan was pursuing this rebel leader and did not hold out much hope, only wishing that the Junior Guardian would not encounter any danger.

Yet, what did he see?

Zhao Douan had been in the city for only seven or eight days, and this rebel leader, who completely stymied the entire court, had been captured alive.

"Incredible!"

"A godlike feat!"

This local official, quite renowned on the Marine Road, was sincerely impressed, his expression complex.

Seeing is believing, he had indeed heard of many deeds of this "Yama Zhao," but couldn't help but doubt if they had been exaggerated.

But today, seeing it with his own eyes, he realized that the rumors were not at all exaggerated.

"I humbly ask, sir, how exactly did you manage to capture this traitor?" Magistrate Luan earnestly inquired.

Although Haitang and others had witnessed it firsthand, they actually did not know the details.

Now that the person had been captured, Zhao Douan thought for a moment and then sat down to recount the whole process, only omitting the abilities of the "Fengyue Treasure Mirror," and merely saying that Yun Xi left marks along the way.

After hearing the entire process of the game, everyone's eyes changed as they looked at Zhao Douan, including the unconscious Zhuang Xiaocheng on the ground, whose gaze was extraordinarily complex.

Is this the power of the civil officials at court?

Each deeply calculating, cunning and scheming, layer upon layer, illusion within reality, sowing discord and counter-sowing discord.

The process might not seem complicated, but looking back, Zhao Douan and Zhuang Xiaocheng began their duel since the exchange of prisoners last year.

Both used their methods, leading to this seemingly lightning-fast capture today.

Everyone quietly wondered, if it were them facing off against the old scoundrel Zhuang Xiaocheng, could they win? The answer was no.

"Brother Zhao, you're truly cunning." Gongshu Tianyuan sincerely praised.

... If you can't compliment, you don't have to, silence is also a virtue... Zhao Douan's mouth twitched, he coughed slightly, and changed the topic:

"Everyone, things are far from over. Not to mention the important members of the rebels who left early and haven't been caught, just taking Zhuang Xiaocheng back to the Capital is a challenge."

Such an important person cannot just be killed.

Aside from whether any intelligence can be extracted from this old thief's mouth, just his status as a leader carries significant weight.

Bringing the Grand Tutor back alive to the Capital is far more valuable than a corpse.

"Although many rebels were captured today, most were merely pawns discarded by Zhuang Xiaocheng. There are still many members of the Kuangfu Society scattered over the land, and two major experts, Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun, remain. Moreover, the journey back to the Capital is long and arduous...

Heh, the last time I returned to the Capital from Hu Ting, I was almost assassinated, nearly losing my life... I don't want to fall into the same trap again." Zhao Douan said calmly.

Haitang analyzed:

"You're worried that news might leak on the way back to the Capital, leading to the Kuangfu Society's frantic interceptions along the route?"

"Not just the Kuangfu Society." Zhao Douan's expression was serious.

The implication was that if the Eight Princes knew, they might also take action.

At least for now, the existence of the Kuangfu Society is beneficial and not harmful to the Eight Princes.

"The Junior Guardian's worries are justified," Magistrate Luan frowned:

"This is indeed a tough matter. What if we gather a large army for escort? With the Junior Guardian's golden token, muster the military mansions of the Coastal and Linfeng states along the way?"

Zhao Douan rejected the idea:

"Not appropriate. Not to mention that even with the golden token, I can't muster too large an army... Even if we have the numbers, hurrying along the road isn't the same as arraying on a battlefield. As long as the enemy's experts launch a surprise attack, no matter how many troops there are, it's hard to defend, not to mention the more people there are, the greater the consumption of supplies along the way."

The National Treasury has just recovered; there is really no need for large-scale mobilization.

"This..." Everyone looked at each other, unable to come up with a plan.

In the corner of the crowd, Yun Xi, who had been silent, suddenly raised her head, her bright eyes fixed on Zhao Douan:

"You already have a plan, don't you?"

Zhao Douan smiled at the young girl who had proven her loyalty and reliability through her actions and nodded:

"That's right, I'm prepared to go with the flow and fake my death once."

"Fake death?"

"Exactly. Other than those present here, no one knows the details at the Forbidden Mountain Villa. Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun even witnessed us perishing together with Zhuang Xiaocheng."

Zhao Douan spoke seriously:

"I was thinking, what if we declare to the outside world that Zhuang Xiaocheng and I fell off a cliff with no remains left? At the same time, we send the army to escort the many rebels captured in the city to the Capital to draw attention.

Could I, Brother Gongshu, Sister Jin Jian, and Ji Yue secretly escort Zhuang Xiaocheng back to the Capital? Would it work?

Given that the two priests from the Heavenly Master Mansion were originally invited by me, now that I'm 'dead,' it's plausible that they would continue roaming the Martial World and not return to the Capital with the main force. This explanation is reasonable."

In his familiar idiom, it means:

"Build a bridge openly while secretly transporting cargo!"

"But will Ren Kun believe it? Didn't he go to the bottom of the gorge to look for..." Haitang expressed doubts.

Zhao Douan turned his head, looking at Gongshu Tianyuan:

"On my way back, I estimated that the collapsed mountain is immense. With Ren Kun's 'World' level cultivation, how long would it take him to fully survey it?"

Gongshu Tianyuan thought for a moment, then said:

"It would take a long time. He's only World level, not Heavenly Human Realm, not that powerful. Earth Escape and Stone Escape are not the same difficulty. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to fight us on the mountain path; he could have just escaped into the mountain body...

Besides, I doubt they'd be foolish enough to dig three feet into the ground to find your 'corpses.' Surviving such a collapse is extremely unlikely."

"Then it's settled!" Zhao Douan smiled:

"As long as those two aren't completely certain, they'll be inclined to believe what they see. Coupled with the rumors we spread, it'll be enough to mislead people."

Magistrate Luan hesitated:

"It sounds feasible. But is it really necessary? Even false news of death can quickly be clarified, though rumors will undoubtedly spread faster than you can travel..."

Zhao Douan smiled indifferently:

"If I'm 'dead,' the people all over the world will only applaud, not destabilize the court. As for the real big figures, they'll naturally know it's a rumor once I return to the Capital. In contrast, if Zhuang Xiaocheng is rescued or dies on the way, the loss would be much greater."

Pausing, he continued seriously:

"Zhuang Xiaocheng must die, but dying quietly on the road and being publicly executed in the Capital, revealing his fabricated lies about the Xuanmen Coup, are worlds apart!"

In the court, several decision-making members exchanged glances and nodded silently:

"If you've decided, we will cooperate."

Zhao Douan smiled slightly and discussed the details of the fake death with others. Once they agreed, he turned back, smiling:

"Almost forgot, you have to come with us too, after all, you 'died' at the bottom of the cliff as well."

Yun Xi's expression remained indifferent:

"That's too complicated. You can just kill me directly; I have no more value."

Having completed the backstab, she was in a state similar to 'Wise Time,' feeling her life had lost its aim.

Zhao Douan chuckled, pinching the girl's cheek:

"You're underestimating yourself. Don't you want to witness Zhuang Xiaocheng's beheading firsthand?"

A glimmer of light appeared in Yun Xi's eyes, slightly moved.

"It's decided then!"

Zhao Douan stood up, a smile playing on his lips: "We must act quickly."

...

ps: Looking at the comments at the end of the last chapter... I've been honest, please go easy on me. Exceeding the human limit over ten chapters, I'll try to push myself to write longer chapters soon...