The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 455 - 371. Zhao Douan: Princess, where are you doing your cultivation?_2

"Lady, I have seen your intention," said the official. "For now, just stand down and wait for my message before taking a stance."

"Donger obeys."

"Good, go rest in the garden, and there's no need to rush off," Mr. Zhao said as he saw the guest out with a cup of tea in hand.

Mrs. Xiao rose gracefully and walked towards the door.

The moment she stepped over the threshold, her demeanor transformed, reverting to that of a high and aloof family head as seen by outsiders, a woman of great poise who met men with indifferent coolness and aloof eyes.

Then, one after another, imperial merchants came to call.

Each one came bearing gifts, their politeness bordering on obsequiousness.

Accustomed to officials and nobility in the Capital, the sudden array of merchants and scholarly families by comparison seemed even more bent on bowing and scraping.

Moreover, no one dared show the slightest disrespect to Zhao Douan, this seemingly young but powerful "great personage."

All knew that such a great personage was a King Yan of the mortal world, with a mere glance deadly enough to ruin their families.

"Mr. Zhao, it has been a long time; you still possess an impressive demeanor."

Finally, after several visits, Zhao Douan heard the sound of a bell-like, clear laughter.

Looking up, he saw Xu Junling, accompanied by her maid Lv Shui, entering the courtyard.

"Commandery Princess?" For the first time, Zhao Douan stood up and greeted her with a great laugh:

"If you are coming, just come; why bring something... hey, don't take it back, I'm just saying—take it not to heart."

Xu Junling, unable to help but laugh, as the two had grown more familiar, joked in reply,

"I heard about the big events you've orchestrated in the Capital. You wouldn't believe the looks on the faces of those Li Party scholarly families by the Huai River when they heard of Gao Lian's death."

Zhao Douan spoke with solemn righteousness:

"It was truly unexpected that Governor Gao would commit suicide out of fear of his crimes, though having confessed before his death, it shows he still had some conscience left."

Xu Junling blinked and inquired, "Did he really commit suicide out of fear of his crimes?"

"Could there be any doubt about it?"

"Ha ha..." Xu Junling offered a look that said 'do you think I'm naive,' but did not probe deeper, and instead, she brought up the matter of Mr. Zhengyang taking a disciple, pestering with non-stop questions, as the curious Princess was particularly interested in this.

Zhao Douan, playing coy and feigning ignorance, simply said it was because Mr. Zhengyang was up to no good, while Xu Junling's gaze grew more complex, as if trying to see through him.

"I was thinking of visiting Prince Huaian myself later, but it seems the Commandery Princess has come first," Zhao Douan changed the subject.

"Do you wish to see my father, the King?" Xu Junling asked, her smile hinting at playfulness.

"Would it be inconvenient?" Zhao Douan probed cautiously.

Xu Junling pondered in silence, then with a charming smile, was about to say something when suddenly noise erupted from the main gate of Zhuozheng Garden, accompanied by the loud shouts of the servants in the garden:

"Prince Jing has arrived!"

The pair inside the hall was taken aback, they exchanged glances and said in unison, "Did you invite him?"

They then looked at each other with odd expressions.

Xu Junling had not expected Prince Jing to come personally, and her mind flickered with various thoughts, unsure of what drama this might bring.

Zhao Douan was surprised because it was much earlier than the time he had instructed Feng Ju to extend an invitation, meaning that Prince Jing wasn't summoned by him but had come of his own accord.

Just a few hours earlier, he had repelled the Princely Heir on the river, and now, in the blink of an eye, the young man's father had arrived.

"The visitor comes with ill will," Zhao Douan murmured softly.

Immediately after, under Xu Junling's curious gaze, he rose and smilingly suggested,

"Commandery Princess, shall we go out to greet him together?"

After all, it was necessary to observe the formalities due for such an occasion.

...

As the two rose and stepped out of the hall, those imperial merchants who had come to visit Zhuozheng Garden earlier and whom Zhao Douan had deliberately asked to stay and relax in the garden, all came upon hearing the news.

Mrs. Xiao, Lady Lin, and their spouses all appeared with looks of bewilderment.

"Prince Jing is here?"

Haitang, the old Tributor, as well as Lang Shiba, Ji Yue, and other guards, also rushed over, readying their defenses.

Zhao Douan gestured for them to remain calm and looked towards the front of the garden.

He saw a grand procession approaching, surrounded by several servants from the Royal Mansion. In the lead was a family of three.

Xu Jinglong, whom they had recently seen, walked at the very end with his head slightly bowed, expressionless, and with a demeanor of obedience.

In the very front was a refined middle-aged man looking solidly in his prime, although his temples were already flecked with gray.

The face above the splendidly embroidered robe with four-clawed dragons was handsome and stern, imbued with a near-imperial dignity due to the slight smile hanging on his lips.

Wrapped around his arms were white bodhi beads, and hanging at his chest was a beautiful "Peaceful Nothingness Plate" of an orange hue, a rare South Sea Warm Jade.

The chief of the Eight Princes.

The powerful Vassal King with the greatest threat to the Empress's throne, from Jiancheng Road, Prince Jing, Xu Wen!

Zhao Douan's gaze collided with that of Prince Jing's and was then drawn to a gently-featured beautiful woman by his side.

She wore a flowing tassel gown, her face plain and unadorned with makeup, her eyebrows long and delicate, her hair coiled into a matron's bun.

Though no longer youthful, she radiated a unique charm of womanhood; the slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes only added to the rich, wine-like depth of a woman's years.

Information that Zhao Douan had previously perused flashed into his mind, and he guessed her identity:

The current Princess Jing, Lu Yaner.

Following the death of Xu Jinglong's birth mother, the position of Princess had been vacant for a while, with several hopefuls within the Royal Mansion vying for the title. However, Prince Jing had never taken a stance.

One day, he surprisingly took a female crown who had become a Daoist nun in one of the temples on Jiancheng Road and brought her back to the mansion to be his new Princess.

That was this Lu Yaner.

This became a hot topic of discussion in the marketplace at the time, with rumors circulating that this Daoist nun was Prince Jing's old lover, now rekindled, although there was no evidence.

Moreover, it was said that this Princess, perhaps due to renouncing her vows, was unlike ordinary women and did not shy away from making public appearances.