The Empress's No.1 Lackey

How can one establish a foothold in the Imperial Court, known as the "Hall of Yama"?

Zhao Douan struck fear by making an example of a monkey to warn the chickens, stepping on the members of the Royal Family as his stepping stones, and initially established his authority within Lihua Hall.

But this deterrent was obviously not enough to make the other eight Masters revere him.

Especially the ones ranked at the very top, they didn't give him any face at all.

Even the more tactful ones at the hallway entrance, the attitude they conveyed was essentially one word:

Scram.

The things that have been swallowed, would they just be spit out simply because Zhao Douan said so?

"Lord, you must not act rashly!"

The four who heard Zhao Douan say this with a chuckle, felt a chill down their spines. The newly promoted secretary Qian Kerou's heart raced, urging him.

Fearing that her superior would act impulsively, and grab a knife to hack at someone at the eight entrances.

This seemed like something Zhao Douan could very well do.

Zhao Douan glanced at his female secretary and said, sounding resigned,

"Do I look like that kind of reckless person?"

None of them spoke, but eyes were all spelling out "you do."

Zhao Douan sighed, thinking that the world misunderstood him too deeply. He thought for a moment and suddenly asked,

"Did the Masters from each hall have a gathering yesterday?"

Yesterday, Mo Chou stood by his side, clearly and undoubtedly stating his backing from the Empress.

By common sense, for the sake of their own interests, even if they were reluctant, to offend one less person, and to give him a bit of flesh as concession would have been worthwhile.

The first few halls had the confidence to refuse, but what about those ranked lower?

Wasn't there one willing to ally with him?

Yet today, their unified refusal was so in sync; it didn't make sense.

He suspected that the eight of them had conspired privately.

Qian Kerou shook her head, "There shouldn't have been any. If there was a gathering, it was only the meeting called by the Lord."

Zhao Douan raised an eyebrow, "I didn't attend the meeting, but shouldn't there have been a notification?"

Qian Kerou thought for a moment, then suddenly pulled out a piece of document from a pile she was holding and said,

"There was. Last night, the Lord issued a public letter, stating that this quarter's evaluation has started, and the achievements of each hall will be tallied at the end of the month, impacting the allocation of funds."

She hadn't forgotten; she had just habitually thought the document was unimportant.

After all, such evaluations had nothing to do with Lihua Hall...

Zhao Douan pondered for a moment, then exhaled and his face cleared with realization,

"I understand now."

The four exchanged glances, understanding what?

Zhao Douan couldn't explain well.

Ma Yan, choosing this moment to introduce the evaluation, undoubtedly sped up the intensity of internal rivalry among the halls.

What might have been a situation where cuts and blood could be offered to Zhao Douan's hall, in order to secure their own evaluation scores, they would now hold tight to their cases.

This explained why the Eight Halls formed a united front, refusing staunchly.

But why would Ma Yan do this? The Great Eunuch must have known clearly that Zhao Douan taking charge of Lihua Hall was to relieve problems for him.

The two should be on the same side; it made no sense for him to be trapped.

"So there's only one truth; my cheap senior brother is helping from the sidelines. He knows very well that even without pushing, the Eight Halls would only give me some insignificant benefits, which wouldn't make a difference..."

"However, by advancing the evaluation, he forces the Eight Halls to reject and isolate me. On the surface, it looks like I've been trapped, but on the contrary, it forces those inside Lihua Hall to unite even more, creating cohesion."

Zhao Douan summarized three experiences from his past work life as follows.

Question: How to resolve internal conflicts?

Answer: Rapid growth

Question: How to cover up internal conflicts?

Answer: Deal with the one raising the question

Question: How to shift internal conflicts?

Answer: Construct a powerful external enemy

"When Lihua Hall is collectively rejected and isolated, the Jinyi officers will turn their hostility towards me into hostility against an external force, thus accepting me as 'one of their own.' This can very quickly enhance the group's cohesion."

Zhao Douan admired his cheap senior brother, a master of shifting conflicts.

Of course, this method had drawbacks. If Zhao Douan lost this struggle and was defeated, it would disappoint all his subordinates.

Lose the possibility of establishing prestige.

On the contrary, as long as he could win and break through the "sanctions" of the Eight Halls' joint efforts, he would earn his subordinates' genuine respect.

To earn the loyalty of a group of men was simple, just be good enough to impress them.

"Cheap senior brother, you really think highly of me. Aren't you worried that I can't handle the pressure, can't turn the tides and mess up?"

Zhao Douan muttered to himself, but his eyes showed excitement.

"Lord, you should go see the Lord, please get him to help, to gather some cases from other halls," suggested Qian Kerou.

Hou Renmeng crossed his arms, his mouth curling slightly as he said,

"I thought, they don't give us face, so the Lord doesn't need to show them any, either. It'd be simple and direct to knock on their doors one by one."

Are you trying to stir up trouble, thinking we aren't dying fast enough?

Shen Juan stopped him with one hand, smiling playfully,

"Don't listen to him, Lord. I think, since there are assessments this month, when the assessment ends, tasks will inevitably be redistributed, we just have to wait."

The short, half-white-haired Zheng remained silent, playing the invisible man.

Zhao Douan's face was expressionless, "I've already made a decision."

These methods were all effective, but none satisfied him.

"Lord, are you going to..." The four were perplexed.

Zhao Douan suddenly smiled and said,

"There's an even simpler way. We actually have no shortage of major cases in our hands, don't we?"

He said at a leisurely pace,

"Such as... hunting down the rebels."

Rebels?

Everyone looked at each other in confusion; this was indeed a big case.

However, the problem was that they did not have a single clue in their hands.

Zhao Douan, however, couldn't be bothered to explain and instead took out a small booklet with a red cover from his chest, threw it onto the table, and said,

"Send out the orders. All members of Lihua Hall are to mobilize; I want you to bring back everyone listed on pages five to eighteen of this booklet within a day, throw them into the Imperial Prison, and wait for examination."

Qian Kerou picked it up, puzzled, opened it, and the other three stretched their necks to look, then were astounded.

The booklet was filled with densely packed names, covering all large and small government offices of the Great Yu Dynasty.

The section mentioned by Zhao Douan contained officials below the rank of fifth-rank.

These were the officials he had learned of, who had once petitioned to impeach him in the case involving Zhuang Xiaocheng.

Indeed, Zhao Douan had written down in this booklet all those who had been decidedly against him during this time.

Some of the names were crossed out, such as Lv Liang and Pei Kaizhi.

But many more remained.

Unfortunately, his authority as a Master only extended to signing arrest warrants for officials below the rank of fifth-rank.

For anyone above, it would require Ma Yan himself to sign the arrest order.

Even so, the number of officials he requested to arrest reached a terrifying fifty-eight.

"Lord... You are about to..."

Qian Kerou opened her mouth and her hands trembling slightly while holding the booklet.

Arresting fifty-eight officials in one go was enough to send shockwaves through the entire Imperial Court.

Madness... absolute madness...

"Lord, you can't be telling us that all of these fifty-eight individuals are related to the rebels."

Shen Juan also ceased his usual carefree manner and seriously addressed the situation.

Zhao Douan's expression remained unchanged, he calmly said,

"Don't ask about what you shouldn't. If I dare order you to arrest people, naturally I have my reasons. You just need to do your job. If there's any trouble, I alone will take the responsibility."

Hou Renmeng squinted his eyes, taking a serious look at his superior for the first time.

Even with his own madness, he was stunned by the audacity of his superior's actions.

And then, an ineffable excitement surged within him.

As the former problematic figure of Peony Hall, his blade had been hidden for too long in Lihua Hall, almost to the point of rusting.

His eyes gleamed with a vicious light,

"Is my Lord serious? What if those people resist arrest?"

Zhao Douan indifferently said,

"That's your responsibility. I just want the people, alive. If you can't bring them back, don't bother returning."

Hou Renmeng laughed heartily, tore off five pages, and bowed with his fists,

"Your subordinate will carry out the order! I will not fail you!"

Having said that, the dark and resolute man left with murderous intent.

"This..." Qian Kerou was dumbstruck, only to see a usually laid-back Shen Juan, who was always punctual, never worked overtime, suddenly smile, and also gently tore off five pages,

"When my Lord commands, how can a subordinate dare to disobey?"

With these words, he turned and walked out of the hall, his tongue lightly licking his lips, revealing a malicious edge that was never present before.

Qian Kerou froze, suddenly realizing she had never truly understood Shen Juan.

"Cough... this old man is half-retired, and can't compare to the young ones."

Zheng, who had been acting invisible, suddenly chuckled.

Qian Kerou felt relieved, thinking there was still someone sane.

But the next second, she saw the old Zheng, who usually just drank tea and read newspapers in the government office, who liked to tinker with wood carving in his spare time and possessed exceptional carving skills, step forward too.

He gently tore off three pages, with a smile,

"But with such boldness from my Lord, old Zheng cannot dampen that spirit, can I?"

Qian Kerou's eyes went blank as she watched Zheng leave the hall to summon his subordinates, donned in armor and armed.

She looked at the last page, her face changing colors indeterminately.

Finally, she gritted her teeth, tore it off, holding it in her hand, muttering,

"If we are going mad, let's go mad together..."

Then she left without another word and also rushed outside.

Only Zhao Douan was left in the hall, sitting upright alone, closing his eyes, beginning to doze.

The booklet that was left on the table in front of him, where fourteen pages of names had been torn away.

The wind blew, faintly revealing the first two pages with the names of Li Yanfu, and Zhuang Xiaocheng.

...

...

Today, the people inside the Imperial Court were surprised to see an extraordinary scene.

From the usually idle Lihua Hall, that knew quiet days, suddenly a large group of government officers burst forth.

Four Jinyi Captains, each leading a group of government officers, wielded their swords and rode their horses, charged out of the government office with murderous intent towards different directions in the Capital.

On a certain street.

Hou Renmeng sat astride his horse, urging it forward with the whip, making a boisterous scene.

The team led by Shen Juan was temporarily traveling the same way, riding side by side.

The laid-back second-generation Shen Juan, with dark circles under his eyes, suddenly sent his voice through his energy to Hou Renmeng,

"Old Hou, do you think this Zhao can hold up? Or will he just slap his butt and leave, making us take the fall?

Arresting fifty-eight officials at once, though they're all lower-rank, without a proper explanation, it could cost us our lives."

Hou Renmeng gripped his knife handle, giving him a sidelong glance,

"If you're afraid, then roll back home, give me the names you have. I am not afraid. If Zhao dares to say it, I dare to do it. If he runs, I'll chop him down as a coward and then kill myself."

Shen Juan cursed and spurred his horse away, thinking they were all mad.

But then again, wasn't he one of them?

If things are going to blow up, then let's turn the world upside down.

...

Here are today's 8,000 characters.