The Empress's No.1 Lackey

"What an excellent fake death, what a brilliant scheme."

Zhao Douan smiled as he met his gaze:

"Prime Minister, you flatter me. To be honest, I have to thank you for your urging; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to capture this traitor so swiftly."

Li Yanfu remained silent.

Haitang and Zhang Han found it amusing to see the Prime Minister being put in his place in public.

"As Junior Guardian Zhao said, today's capture of the rebel leader owes much to the efforts of his subordinates, and the Prime Minister's contribution is equally significant."

Xu Zhenguan chuckled, the remark was more teasing than praise, like a slap "smack" landing on Li Yanfu's face.

However, today's purpose was not to target Li Yanfu.

The Empress, after having enough, began to list Zhuang Xiaocheng's crimes and conferred rewards publicly on Haitang and others who had participated in the battle.

Only Zhao Douan was excluded—because officially, his achievement this time was considered "atoning for his crime with merit."

As for whether there was any private compensation, ministers could not know.

Finally, the Empress announced in public that Zhuang Xiaocheng and other rebels would be publicly tried and executed at Cai Market once the case was concluded.

All the officials shouted long live, and no one raised any objections.

...

After the court dismissed.

Zhuang Xiaocheng continued to be escorted by Inner Palace Experts to ensure he lived to the day of the execution without incident.

Zhao Douan walked among the crowd, exiting through the Meridian Gate.

Unconsciously, the ministers tacitly parted, leaving him and Li Yanfu behind.

One was excessively young, the other exceedingly old.

The two officials of the new and old courts walked slowly down the white jade steps, their shadows cast on the ground by the sunlight.

"Does the Prime Minister remember the first time we met at the Meridian Gate?" Zhao Douan, with his hands tucked in his sleeves, walked down the long steps, looking straight ahead as he softly asked.

Li Yanfu remained silent.

Zhao Douan continued speaking to himself:

"It was when Pei Kaizhi was stripped of his official status. I was standing at the Meridian Gate at the time, not yet qualified to attend court, just watching the ministers disperse after court, indifferent to me at the time.

I jokingly said something to Pei Kaizhi, and he got so angry that he spat blood. That was when the Prime Minister finally turned and glanced at me."

Li Yanfu did not say a word.

Zhao Douan went on:

"But before that, the deepest impression you left on me was the afternoon when I 'let go' of Zhuang Xiaocheng. I entered the palace to plead guilty to the Empress while you were discussing state affairs with her in the study.

When you came out of the study, I was standing in the corridor with a group of female officials. I called out to you, but you didn't even spare me a glance."

Li Yanfu reached the last step and took a deep breath.

Zhao Douan stopped, held his hands in the sleeves, faced the sunlight with a slight tilt of his head, and revealed a bright smile:

"From ignoring me to turning to look at me, and now seeing me as a thorn in your side at the Golden Throne Hall... it's taken me almost a year to witness these changes."

He turned and looked down at Li Yanfu, who was descending the steps, walking straight ahead, and humorously remarked:

"And how many decades did it take for the Prime Minister to reach your position?"

Li Yanfu's steps halted, his slightly hunched body trembling as if he were trying hard to suppress anger, the gray hair fluttered in the spring breeze.

"Don't be smug for too long!"

He spat out these words, stepped forward, and disappeared beyond the palace gates.

Zhao Douan stood on the steps with his hands folded in his sleeves, looking disappointed.

It's a pity, this old thief is not as fragile as Pei Kaizhi.

"Well then... we'll see."

...

...

After the court dismissed, Zhao Douan and the two "living" colleagues headed straight for the Imperial Court.

As expected, it caused quite a stir.

The Jinyi of Lihua Hall went from mourning to daze to ecstasy, experiencing highs and lows in just half an hour.

Fortunately, the same explanation had been given several times, smoothly explaining the situation. The once leaderless and dispirited bunch immediately perked up.

Zhao Douan waved his hand, personally allocating several hundred taels of silver, instructing Qian Kerou to prepare a banquet for later celebration with his colleagues.

As for the Jinyi's "bonus," it was allocated from the account, making the entire hall jubilant for a time.

...

"How are the prisoners brought back doing?"

At the Governor Hall, Zhao Douan asked Ma Yan upon arrival.

As the Empress's sharpest knife, Ma Yan had already learned the news of Zhao Douan's survival earlier, even before court started.

And last night, according to Zhao Douan's arrangement, he had sent Yun Xi into the Imperial Prison

—this time not for detention, but to persuade defectors.

"Following the list you provided, those prisoners with incorrigible records are being tortured for intelligence. As for those with a chance of being converted into spies, they are held separately. However, I heard that this group is rather stubborn, and individual persuasion might not be very effective."

Ma Yan, sitting in the hall, holding a teacup, replied.

Zhao Douan pondered for a moment and said:

"I'll go and see for myself."

...

...

Lin Yuebai woke up from a nightmare.

She opened her eyes wide and sat up suddenly, shouting, "Qi Chi!?"

In the neighboring cell, the young Kou Qichi approached the bars with hair messy like a bird's nest:

"Sis, I'm here!"

Lin Yuebai panted heavily, a look of lingering fear on her face in the dim dungeon, raising her iron-chained wrists to wipe the cold sweat off her forehead, shaking her head:

"It's nothing, just a dream."

In the dream, Kou Qichi was dragged out by prison guards, taken to the torture platform to be skinned, his screams echoing throughout the dungeon.

Lin Yuebai shook her head to clear her groggy mind, realizing her male disguise as a Confucian robe was gone, replaced by ragged, foul-smelling prison attire.