The Empress's No.1 Lackey
Chapter 688 - 458. Jianning 45 Days (7,000-word Long Chapter)_3

Chapter 688: 458. Jianning 45 Days (7,000-word Long Chapter)_3

The atmosphere in the Cao Transport Office was akin to the Central Army Camp on the battlefield. Mr. Zhao moved a bamboo chair to sit outside the study with its double doors wide open.

He closed his eyes for a moment under the eaves sheltering him from wind and rain.

"Sir, a secret message from the Shadow Guard!"

The young assistant, Qian Kerou, briskly came running from the front yard, her boots splattering the wet floor and soaking her trouser legs.

Mr. Zhao opened his eyes, raised his hand to take the secret message, and drew out a thin piece of letter paper from it. After scanning it, his mouth curled into a smile, and he looked pleased:

"The Emperor’s Dragon Ship has crossed the Huai River. In a few days, it will arrive at Jianning Prefecture."

Qian Kerou was delighted: "The Emperor is coming?"

Then, her expression turned bitter: "But the situation on our side now..."

Forty-nine consecutive days of fierce battle, though there was no smoke, the court’s losses from the paralysis of institutions alone and the accumulated affairs were enough to dismiss all officials in Jianning Prefecture.

And the situation seemed unchanged; both sides were still in a deadlocked confrontation, with the Shen family intent on holding out until the Empress’s arrival.

Once the Empress arrives, if the situation remains unchanged, it will inevitably affect the Sealing matters.

Such a grave consequence, Mr. Zhao might not care, relying on the Empress’s favor to withstand it, but Governor Ning, leading the Jianning Prefecture and even the entire Jiancheng Road local official group, could not hold out.

In other words, even if Mr. Zhao does not relent, Governor Ning might sacrifice everything, while other local officials, to avoid being implicated, will begin to "revolt."

"Don’t panic, Kerou, do you trust me?" Mr. Zhao smiled.

The young assistant nodded like a chicken pecking rice: "I naturally trust Sir."

Mr. Zhao smiled: "If my judgment is correct, the Shen family can’t hold out anymore, and in these few days, Grand Dowager Shen must make a choice."

Qian Kerou blinked: "Because of yesterday’s secret message?"

Last night, a secret message was delivered by the Shadow Guard in the city, but its contents were unknown to others except Mr. Zhao.

Mr. Zhao smiled silently. Qian Kerou guessed correctly, as the secret message revealed that a "forced abdication" incident took place at the Shen family’s large residence last night.

The Shen family, overwhelmed by losses and pressure, secretly contacted by Mr. Zhao and incited by several Shen family members he had bribed, pushed Grand Dowager Shen.

Although eventually suppressed, the seemingly powerful Shen family was already on the brink of collapse under immense pressure internally.

Seeing Mr. Zhao’s silence, Qian Kerou wisely did not probe further, instead casually saying:

"Oh, earlier Tributor Song sent over two more spy heads. As per your instructions, they were sent to Bodhi Bodhisattva’s courtyard, but Bodhisattva expressed some displeasure and wants you to visit."

"Understood." Mr. Zhao puckered his lips.

These days, apart from the open conflicts, in secret, the Martial Arts Hall’s tributors have used various means to fish and strike back against Prince Jing Mansion’s spies.

Mr. Zhao was deeply impressed by what is known as dimensional reduction strikes... Compared to the Jinyi of the Imperial Court, the inner court tributors, in collaboration with the Shadow Guard, seemed unstoppable.

When dealing with spies, it’s as easy as chopping vegetables... But on second thought, considering the resources the Royal Family had invested to cultivate the Inner Court Tributor team of just dozens of people, wasn’t too surprising.

Mr. Zhao sighed, picked up the oiled paper umbrella by the door, and walked to another separate small courtyard.

Upon entering, he saw a small courtyard with a pond, covered with green lotus leaves, where frogs and fishes hid under the leaves to "shelter from the rain."

Bodhi Bodhisattva stood quietly by the square stone pillar at the pond’s edge, with no trace of wetness on her body; it seemed as if the fine raindrops were pushed away by an invisible force when approaching her.

She gazed at the rippling water surface and turned her head slowly, gritting her teeth:

"Mr. Zhao, can you refrain from sending more dead heads here?"

Mr. Zhao chuckled softly: "Didn’t Bodhisattva agree to perform the funerary rites for the dead on behalf of this official?"

Bodhi Bodhisattva, draped in light gauze, black hair cascading, her translucent eyes staring at him intently:

"If I had known this earlier, I might as well have gone to the temple early; why stay here to help you?"

Mr. Zhao rolled his eyes, sneered:

"Does Bodhisattva really think I am unaware? The reason you didn’t leave, besides craving my body, isn’t it also because you promised to protect this official for the Emperor? Until the Emperor arrives? Here’s some good news for you: the Emperor’s Dragon Ship will arrive at Jianning Prefecture soon, Bodhisattva will be free in a few days and can leave."

Bodhi Bodhisattva bit her lip resentfully, acting like a coy eighteen-year-old girl:

"Why is Sir so heartless? You know that I am grateful for your kindness during the debating scripture today. Even without the Emperor, to repay this favor, I would assist you."

Ha... assist me? Isn’t it to prevent affecting your Zen cultivation?

In Buddhism, it speaks of cause and effect. I helped you during the debating scripture, and you benefited. If you do not repay, how can you avoid repaying this "effect" in the future... Clearly selfish, yet claiming to love me... Mr. Zhao contemptuously said:

"Alright, just say it, what do you want me for?"

Bodhi Bodhisattva raised her hand, pointing to the courtyard in the rain.

There, a "tower of heads" was formed by stacking head after head, each belonging to a spy.

At this moment, the top of the tower held two fresh heads with closed eyes, appearing very serene in death.

These heads, when delivered, almost never closed their eyes in death, but after Bodhi’s funerary rites, they turned serene.

"During funerary rites for these two benefactors, I ’saw’ some valuable information from the residual memories of their heads."

Bodhi Bodhisattva’s expression turned exceptionally serious:

"I ’saw’ Prince Jing recently secretly assigned them to gradually allow some people into Jianning Prefecture."