The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1227 - 654: Siblings Reunited

"Your Majesty." Zhao Douan stood at the study’s doorway, slightly taken aback.

Unlike their previous meetings, when the Empress exuded an aura of calm majesty, he perceived a hint of sorrow in Xu Zhenguan’s eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around to close the door before cautiously saying:

"I heard that Your Majesty returned this morning and went to see Sun Master."

"See" in this context, of course, meant seeing the corpse.

With all that the Empress has been through, not much could truly sadden her anymore.

Sun Lianying’s death was one such thing.

"Yes." Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly, maintaining her composure as she spoke:

"I heard he passed on the day I went on my campaign?"

Zhao Douan nodded, saying:

"Grandmaster Dong mentioned that Sun Master originally wouldn’t have lasted until that day, but perhaps he held on, hoping to see the day when the turmoil within Yu Country would settle, so..."

He began recounting his last meeting with Sun Lianying, the words exchanged, cleaning the former residence of the Empress, and reminiscing about the past.

Xu Zhenguan listened quietly, and only after he finished, did she softly sigh and spontaneously say:

"I wonder when Mo Chou will return."

Since childhood, the Empress had two closest servants; one is dead, and now only Mo Zhaorong remains.

After saying this, she shook her head and said, self-deprecatingly:

"I nearly forgot, with the southern Liao people’s invasion, she is there overseeing the military. Even if Prince Jing’s mansion remnants are dealt with, she will have to stay there for a long while."

Zhao Douan gently said:

"If everything goes smoothly, perhaps it won’t take too long."

Xu Zhenguan did not quite understand, thinking he was trying to comfort her, and she smiled, regaining her rational and calm Emperor’s aura:

"Rest assured, I’ve seen off many people on this path and have gotten used to it. By the way, it’s timely you came, as yesterday I faintly felt a movement in the Yunfu direction. Do you know what happened? And has the operation against the Great Territory been launched?"

This was the real reason she took time to return even during her campaign.

However, it had only been four days since the campaign against the West, and Xu Zhenguan rationally did not think there would be breakthrough progress in the search for the key.

Therefore, her bigger worry was whether the Great La Ba had invaded the territory.

Only an existence of this magnitude could create a disturbance that she could faintly sense from thousands of miles away.

Under the bright gaze of the Empress, Zhao Douan pondered and slowly said: 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"This is a long story..."

Xu Zhenguan sat beside the chair, gesturing for him to sit too, and said indifferently:

"I have plenty of time; let me hear how ’long’ this story is."

You probably sat too early... Zhao Douan muttered inwardly, and after considering, he chose to speak frankly:

"Well, actually, I just returned to the capital, and I’ve already obtained the key."

The Empress had just lifted a blue and white porcelain cup from the desk covered with bright yellow silk when her wrist trembled...

She looked over sharply, her beautiful eyes filled with a hint of astonishment, and she stood up suddenly:

"What did you say?"

See, I told you you sat too early, didn’t I? Zhao Douan had to patiently explain:

"Actually, on the day Your Majesty went on the western campaign, I, along with Heavenly Master Zhang and his disciples, entered the Great Territory through the secret door under the Grand Temple..."

He went on to detail how they encountered Man Gu and killed him.

Then they devised a plan for Zhang Yan Yi to lure away the Great La Ba, and the three of them successfully infiltrated La Garden and subsequently encountered Tuoba Weizhi.

While speaking, he took out the two "Jade Balls" from the Void Illusion Scroll and presented them to the Empress like treasures.

After the Empress viewed the images recorded inside the two Jade Balls, though she was mentally prepared, she was still deeply shocked.

"So it’s like this... The Great La Ba is actually a divine creation of Qi Country..."

"Did the Grand Ancestor Emperor take over the ’heritage’ of the Liao Clan back then? And for centuries, emperors from each generation assigned people to go there?"

Xu Zhenguan felt strongly impacted, as this secret was not even recorded in the Grand Ancestor’s Notes.

However, reflecting carefully, during her recent review of the Grand Ancestor’s Notes, she did come across some puzzling and cryptic phrases. Combined with this old matter now, the notes’ occasional sighs suddenly became clear.

Zhao Douan nodded:

"Xu Jianwen somehow discovered this secret and replaced the Liao Clan Leader with Song Zhi, which led to the Liao people’s march northward."

The Empress was briefly lost in thought and then began pacing the room, seemingly digesting this news.

Moments later, she stopped, looked at him, and praised:

"This intelligence is crucial. I previously couldn’t figure out the reason for the Liao Clan mobilizing troops. Now knowing Jian Wen was behind it, it’s much better than being in the dark."

She frowned again:

"However, this also means the Liao Clan will be even harder to deal with."

Even if the Great La Ba cannot easily invade, the combination of powerful Liao figures and Xu Jianwen as a collaborator would cause significant damage.

Biting her lip, she pondered the next steps.

But Zhao Douan’s next words once again made the Empress momentarily freeze.

"Actually... the Liao people have already retreated," Zhao Douan gently said:

"After escaping the Great Territory, I lent a hand to Zhao Shixiong, used Heavenly Master Zhang as a blade, killed the first warrior Po Yun, traitor Qi Yuchun, and captured numerous generals..."

He elaborated on this story as well.

"..." Xu Zhenguan’s eyes widened slightly, her gaze skeptical, as she asked:

"Are you trying to entertain me?"

Zhao Douan couldn’t help but laugh: "Your Majesty, am I that frivolous a person?"

The Empress nodded seriously: "Yes!"

This guy, loves to bluff!

"..." Reputation is really taking a hit... Zhao Douan took a deep breath, trying to appear sincere: