In the Imperial Study.
When Yuann Li spoke these words, Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment, her eyes flashing with confusion.
She doubted whether she had heard wrong.
Delivering the first blow? Zhao Douan?
She could understand each word, but when linked together, they became opaque and difficult to comprehend.
How could he be involved in the "case of beheading Pei"? And why would Yuann Li know this and tell her?
Mysteries piled up one after another, baffling the Empress.
"Mr. Yuan, speak more clearly," Xu Zhenguan's crimson lips parted slightly, her smile briefly fading:
"I do not recall his involvement in this matter."
Yuann Li smiled and said:
"The matter is indeed a long story, and it greatly surprised me as well. It all started on that day when Lord Zhao came to report the 'craftsmen of firearms' case in the Imperial Garden."
Then, Yuann Li explained the events calmly and collectely.
He described how, on a whim, he became curious about Zhao Douan, invited him to ride together, and how they encountered Lv Liang stealing from his home, and how he set a trap in the game.
Until Zhao Douan tied up Lv Liang late at night and came to his door to explain the details of the plot.
Yuann Li had a natural talent for storytelling.
Though he hadn't experienced it firsthand, his narrative was vivid and engaging, with a strong visual impact.
The Empress listened quietly the whole time, without uttering a word, as if immersed in the story.
"When Lord Zhao explained everything, I too was amazed and still skeptical until I met Lv Liang later and was convinced," Yuann Li said with emotion:
"Then, we used this as a breakthrough to tear apart Pei Kaizhi's golden image and crush him in one fell swoop. Your Majesty is aware of all these."
In the Imperial Study, the story came to an end.
Yet, the Empress seemed momentarily lost in thought, as if she had been distracted.
"Your Majesty?" After a while, Yuann Li tentatively called out.
"Oh." Xu Zhenguan then suddenly came to her senses, realizing she had momentarily lost her composure over something trivial.
"Unexpected." The Emperor of Great Yu spoke in a complex tone, uttering these four words.
Had it not been for Yuann Li's narrative, she would have thought it merely a fiction concocted by novelists.
Yet, such an inconceivable event had genuinely occurred right before her eyes, the very catalyst for the fierce political struggle was none other than Zhao Douan.
How could she not be astonished?
At that moment, she suddenly recalled her previous conversation with Mo Chou when she had jokingly said what if Zhao Douan were to do it.
Little did she know her words would come true.
A previously minor character had carelessly caused a major incident.
Thus, the reason why Pei Kaizhi fainted from vomiting blood was explained—at the moment of defeat, seeing the enemy who had engineered his downfall, and one he had previously scorned, how could he not be furious?
"Where is he now?" Xu Zhenguan suddenly asked, already realizing that Zhao Douan's presence in the palace today must have been arranged by Yuann Li.
Even at this moment, the Empress still found it incredible that Zhao Douan could genuinely be involved with Yuann Li.
They were clearly two very different kinds of people.
"He is waiting outside. Does Your Majesty wish to see him?" Yuann Li asked.
Xu Zhenguan nodded, her eyebrows raised, regaining her saintly demeanor:
She wanted to personally evaluate this member of the Little Forbidden Army who had repeatedly surprised her.
While the Empress was meeting Zhao Douan.
As the hundred officials dispersed from the court, the final outcome of this protracted political struggle also spread throughout the Capital.
Pei Kaizhi has fallen!
Sentenced to death after trial, personally inscribed by the Empress, the Li Party lost a key pillar, and although not uprooted, it was certainly shaken.
Another incident, occurring outside Meridian Gate, also began to circulate widely through word of mouth.
"Pei Kaizhi vomited blood blocked by Zhao Douan?"
"Did Zhao Douan possibly use his Inner Strength to severely injure the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice? Was it at the Saint's instigation?"
"I heard that Lv Liang's ex-wife, the fourth daughter of Old Dog Pei, had a complicated relationship with Zhao Douan. The reason why Old Dog Pei faced betrayal from his former son-in-law arises from the tangled emotions among Lv, Pei, and Zhao!"
"Yes, I've also heard that Lv Liang impeached the Zhao thief because the Saint forcibly took his love..."
In the winehouses and tea houses, lower-level officials and scholars wildly speculated, each version of the story becoming more outrageous and sensational.
However, in the circles of true power, the spread rumors were closer to the "truth."
"It's said that Mr. Yuan managed to turn Lv Liang against his own father-in-law by using Zhao Douan to carry out the schemes... It seems he valued his reputation, easily gaining Pei Kaizhi's trust... which led to the cursing at the Meridian Gate..."
Behind the White Horse Hall.
Sun Lianying, having woken from a hangover, dressed in a loose robe, listened to reports from his subordinates.
Because most were ignorant of the actual circumstances, apart from a few individuals, the majority believed that it was Yuann Li who devised the plan to drive a wedge between father-in-law and son-in-law.
Zhao Douan was merely responsible for carrying it out.
This speculation made sense—after all, how could someone considered nothing more than a decorative pillow possess such wisdom to independently orchestrate plans against Pei Kaizhi?
In the courtyard, the sunlight fragmented through branches of the old locust tree, casting mottled shadows on the stone table's surface.
"My lord?" the reporting messenger called out softly.
Sun Lianying, displeased, said, "My ears work fine; I'm listening."
After rebuking him, he confirmed, "So, these days, Zhao Douan has been working for Yuann Li?"
"I see..." Sun Lianying suddenly realized something and asked, "Did he enter the palace with Ma Yan?"
The old eunuch grunted in acknowledgment, waved him away, and shortly after, called for a carriage and, surprisingly, headed toward the Imperial Court.
Before long, two old acquaintances met in the back hall of the Imperial Court, with Ma Yan slightly surprised by Sun Lianying's visit, immediately scoffed,
"I was just about to look for you, but here you are, delivering yourself to my doorstep."
With his temples graying, Sun Lianying, looking like an old man in the twilight of his life, was taken aback:
"What do you want with me?"
Ma Yan, expressionless, said, "You send that Zhao Douan to cling to my connections, and then you come asking me?"
After understanding the situation, Sun Lianying found it both laughable and annoying:
"Last night I fed that slippery fellow a pound of 'soul-bewitching soup' and spoke some drunken nonsense, though none of it serious. How could I have anticipated..."
He sighed deeply, and said mournfully,
"I too was deceived by him for a long time. Only today did I learn that he was serving Yuann Li, executing the scheme of estrangement..."
Ma Yan, with his thin, cold face and roughly arched eyebrows, suddenly said,
"It seems you were indeed tricked by him."
"The plot of estrangement has nothing to do with Mr. Yuan; it was his own doing. Otherwise, how would Pei Kaizhi be so humiliated?" Ma Yan revealed the truth.
Sun Lianying was stunned.
At the Mansion of the Heavenly Master.
Outside the deepest courtyard, Jin Jian, with her clothes fluttering like a ghost, arrived unnoticed by the priests as she passed.
"Master, I just watched an intriguing play involving that Zhao Douan..."
The mysterious girl with a surreal voice didn't knock.
She walked straight through the wooden door and stepped into the small courtyard.
Only to find, beneath the large banyan tree, the lounging chair empty.
"Master isn't here? Where could he be?"
Jin Jian paused, dazed for a moment, then looked up to the banyan tree with its verdant branches, an extraordinary origin.
The banyan tree's leaves rustled, the wind passing through them as if whispering.
"Has Master gone out?" Jin Jian tilted her head, thinking this was quite unusual.
Outside the Imperial study in the Imperial Palace.
Zhao Douan, having drunk too much water that morning and with a swollen bladder, was contemplating whether to find a restroom first when Yuan Qingyi floated by:
"Her Majesty wants to see you."
I'm not quite ready... Zhao Douan opened his mouth and, encouraged by the other's gaze, mustered the courage to head to the door of the Imperial study:
"Your Majesty, Zhao Douan from White Horse Hall requests an audience."
From inside the room, a stern, cold, and authoritative female voice commanded, "Enter."