As Zhao Douan rushed to the White Horse Hall,
inside the Imperial Palace, Empress Xu Zhenguan was listening to a report from a lady official.
"So, the verdict given by the Imperial Court is 'private escape'?"
The empress, dressed in plain white robes, her black hair cascading like a waterfall, possessed an aura of cold majesty; her face was flawless as she sat on the soft cushioned chair, her elongated eyes fixed intently on the other person.
Her voice carried an undertone of anger.
Dressed as a lady official, her head crowned with a wingless black cap, adorned with a plum blossom makeup at her brows, "Prime Ministeress" Mo Zhaorong bowed her head in response:
"Hmph." Xu Zhenguan tossed the petition presented by the Imperial Court onto the desk:
"Ma Yan is increasingly shirking his duties; first, there was Zhuang Xiaocheng's intrusion, then the disappearance of the gunsmiths; this vast Capital seems to be like a sieve, unable to stop anyone who wishes to leave."
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
"Lord Ma has always been diligent in his duties, it is just that this incident was ultimately detected too late."
Xu Zhenguan frowned deeply, knowing in her heart that Mo Chou's words were not without reason.
Not long ago, there was news of the disappearance of gunsmiths from the Capital Camp, which caught Xu Zhenguan's attention, and she ordered Ma Yan to investigate.
It turned out that the incident had happened two months earlier.
The reason the news was delayed was firstly because the missing craftsmen were scheduled for leave.
Furthermore, the lower-ranking officers, fearing responsibility, used up a lot of time to investigate privately, trying to resolve it independently to cover up their negligence.
When the case finally reached Ma Yan's hands, the clues were mostly broken, and the final verdict given was:
Several craftsmen, ostracized and bullied by tyrants, could no longer bear the harassment; they secretly took their families and fled the Capital, their whereabouts unknown.
It seemed reasonable and accounted for, but Xu Zhenguan was not satisfied with this outcome.
"One or two fleeing can be explained thus, but those who left cover every aspect of the firearms manufacturing process; how can you expect me to believe there was no foul play?" Xu Zhenguan said.
Mo Chou was silent, unable to answer.
After a while, Xu Zhenguan sighed softly, pinching her brows with a hint of fatigue and bitterness:
"Enough, I shouldn't take my temper out on you all; in the end, it is my oversight of the Capital Camp monitoring."
Mo Chou's face was full of shame; she hurriedly said:
"Your Majesty manages countless affairs, especially since the dissolution of the cabinet, with an immense volume of state business and few to share the burden, even an iron man would be worn down; it is this servant who is incapable..."
Xu Zhenguan shook her head, stopping her self-criticism, and sighed:
"The power of the court officials is entrenched, the original cabinet had already become corrupt; if it hadn't been dissolved at the beginning of my reign, it would have been even more difficult later on."
"On Grandmaster Dong's side, the recruitment of scholars is still in preparation; once it's settled, Your Majesty can ease up a bit."
The cabinet would share some of the Emperor's powers.
But monopolizing great power also has its disadvantages, not only has the Empress become weary, but it's easy to neglect and overlook, resulting in mistakes.
Therefore, the Empress planned early to create a completely loyal "new cabinet" of her own line.
"Speaking of which, it has been some days since I last visited the Grandmaster," Xu Zhenguan reflected with a hint of amusement:
"The last time I went there, I happened to catch the Grandmaster admonishing his grandson, which was quite interesting."
The Grandmaster's grandson, said to be a "bookworm," was not stupid, just different in character from the children of the nobility, not fond of going out to mingle for entertainment, very low-key.
With the Empress starting light conversation, the oppressive tension in the Imperial study diminished instantly.
The two women chatted casually, tacitly avoiding the previous topic.
"By the way, how has Zhao Douan been these past few days? Has he caused any more trouble?" Xu Zhenguan suddenly asked.
At the mention of Zhao Douan, Mo Chou's expression turned cold:
"It is said that after receiving his rewards that day, he had a conflict with the nephew of Ministry of War Doctor Zhang upon returning home, involving fists and kicks; truly unrepentant and tyrannical in his behavior."
"Oh? Did he win?" Xu Zhenguan's point of interest seemed a bit peculiar.
"...He won," Mo Chou said sullenly, reluctant:
"It's said he won easily, and the Zhang family managed to suppress the matter, preventing it from becoming widely known."
The Empress smiled with her eyes, seemingly quite content with the performance of her newly acquired henchman.
Having learned the Royal heritage, if he couldn't even beat a Capital dandy, wouldn't that be a loss of face for the Royal family?
Zhao Douan's clean and decisive win was exactly to her liking.
"..." Seeing the Empress's expression, Mo Chou felt increasingly dissatisfied with Zhao Douan, believing that His Majesty was deceived by a scoundrel.
Just as she was about to speak ill of him, she saw the Empress wave her hand, her smile fading:
"Alright, no more joking around, I still have state affairs to manage," the Empress commanded, "Go and relay a message to Prime Minister Ma Yan. Say that I am not satisfied with this outcome, and he must continue the investigation. I gave the Imperial Court the power to supervise all officials; such great authority is not granted for them to shirk their duties."
Mo Chou's heart tightened at the words, and she promptly replied,
She then withdrew from the imperial study, and as she left, she saw, under the lamp and night's shadow, Advisor Xu Zhenguan, weary from the day's work, continuing to review petitions at his desk. She sighed softly in her heart.
These past two years, Her Majesty's hard work and toil were evident to all, exceeding even that of the late Emperor.
Yet, despite such dedication from the Empress, there were still so many in the world who opposed her.
At the White Horse Hall.
When Zhao Douan re-entered the back office after several days and knocked on the door of the Old Director, the eunuch named Sun Lianying showed an unexpected emotion in his eyes.
"What brings you here again?"
His tone was still not pleasant, but noticeably milder than the last time.
Zhao Douan put on a smile, walked in as if he were at home, and without speaking, his gaze drifted to an empty chair in the room.
"..." Sun Lianying fell silent, and eventually shook his head, saying,
"If you want to sit, move a chair yourself."
"Thank you for the seat," Zhao Douan said, bowing with a smile.
Draped in a light robe, with graying temples and deep-set eyes, the Old Director "hmphed" and sat down in his chair without moving.
He picked up his teacup slowly, wiping the mist off with the lid.
It was reminiscent of an old bureaucrat from a government office relishing his thermal mug.
"So, what is it you want, coming to me again?"
Only after sitting on the chair did Zhao Douan's face turn sincere:
"I am here to thank you for your help with the matter last time."
The Empress had not mentioned to him how the Old Director had judged his case.
Yet Zhao Douan, who had worked many years as a secretary and was crafty in his thoughts, guessed a bit of the story from his last conversation with the Empress.
For instance, when the Empress inquired whether he had come up with the idea to threaten Feng Ju, to earn merit and counteract his crimes, and whether the Old Director had given him any guidance behind the scenes.
This hinted that she may have discussed Zhao Douan's matter with the Old Director.
And the information the Empress received was probably not negative.
Otherwise, she would not assume Zhao Douan would be under his guidance and care.
These were all conjectures, not necessarily true, but they did not hinder him from testing the waters under the guise of gratitude.
"Humph," Sun Lianying took a sip of water before slowly and mockingly saying,
"It's the first time I've seen someone come to say thanks with empty-handed."
So he admits it? So he did help me from behind the scenes?
At least it showed he hadn't sabotaged me, maintaining objectivity and fairness... Zhao Douan judged silently.
He automatically ignored the unfriendly tone of the other party.
Many times, the key to reading expressions and words is not in what is said, but in the actions taken.
Not driving him away immediately was already telling.
"How does the Director know that I haven't brought a gift?" Zhao Douan asked with a smile.
Nonsense, you came empty-handed... Sun Lianying was about to scorn,
when suddenly, the scene of Zhao Douan's last visit at night came to mind, and he sat up a bit straighter:
"You couldn't possibly be..."
"Indeed," Zhao Douan smiled,
"I happened to have come across clues to a major case and am prepared to report to the Director."
Sun Lianying was skeptical, his eyes filled with distrust:
"Young man, don't boast idly, labeling every trivial incident as a major case, or you risk biting off more than you can chew."
Nevertheless, Zhao Douan kept his smile unchanged:
"Though this case might appear minor, if we follow through, it may not be so insignificant."
"Involvement? Who are you trying to incriminate this time? Prime Minister Li Yanfu again?" Sun Lianying looked at him with disdain.
Clearly, he was already aware of Zhao Douan's previous scheming.
Zhao Douan shook his head and said calmly,
"This time it's not the Prime Minister, it's Jiancheng Road, Prince Jing Mansion."
"Pfft!" The Old Director spat out his tea.