The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 453 - 370, have Prince Jing come see me.

"I'm not betting anymore!"

Haitang crossed her arms, huffed coldly, and turned her face away at a forty-five-degree angle, looking exactly like a sulky anime character.

The teardrop mole at the corner of her eye became even more conspicuous.

"Ha ha, then let's bet a month's salary, that should be fine, right?" Zhao Douan joked, knowing there's a fine line when bantering with female colleagues.

The journey was too tough, filled with constant fighting; he intentionally teased to lighten the mood.

"Agreed," Haitang sighed, "But before that, go check on those two quirky guards of yours. Do you even know what it means to win people's hearts? I think they were also injured."

"I understand." Zhao Douan smiled and walked back to the deck.

At a glance, he spotted the Martial Artist and Magician sitting in a corner of the deck, concentrating on their breaths.

Lang Shiba's palms were cracked, and he was pouring strong spirits from a ceramic bowl onto his wounds, grimacing in pain.

Next to him, the socially anxious Ji Yue squatted on the ground, hugging her knees and curled up into a ball, her dark hair cascading down, covering her face.

"How are the injuries?" Zhao Douan approached with a smile and squatted down.

Lang Shiba was surprised and managed a strained smile with his weathered face full of stubble:

"External injuries, I should recover in a few days, it won't hinder the protection of your journey."

Ji Yue slightly lifted her head from her knees, revealing her eyes and brows under her wet hair, and said softly, "It's... okay."

Old social anxiety.

"I've prepared these for you." Zhao Douan took out a wooden case containing a red and a white pill.

Handing the red one to Lang Shiba, he said, "This one's for external injuries."

Once a commander defending Jubei City, now a disguised swordsman from the north, he accepted the pill and dropped it into his green gourd, turning it into medicinal wine: "Thank you, Sir."

Zhao Douan nodded, handed the white pill to Ji Yue, signaling her to take it, "This one's for the recovery of a Magician's mana."

"Thank you..."

Ji Yue muttered softly, then cautiously extended her pale hand but grabbed at nothing.

Zhao Douan abruptly moved the box away, then handed it back, chuckling, "I'm curious, haha, you can't see pupils in your eyes, can you see people clearly?"

"...I can," Ji Yue dryly responded, then reached out a second time, her hand still scarred, and missed again.

Ji Yue: "..."

Zhao Douan, who had moved the box again unexpectedly, grinned, "Another question, your clothes are all damp, don't you need to change? There are dry ones inside."

Ji Yue: "No need."

Then she saw this young official utter an "oh" and handed the pill box back over.

Ji Yue had learned her lesson and didn't extend her hand.

"Here you go, I won't tease you anymore." Zhao Douan laughed heartily, handed her the box, and walked away, patting his buttocks.

These two guards had grand stories, unlike ordinary soldiers, not ones whose hearts were easily won.

For now, it was merely about becoming more familiar.

Ji Yue held the pills in her hands, looking carefully several times at Zhao Douan as he walked away.

Once sure he wasn't watching her, she quickly swallowed the pills as if afraid someone would steal them, choking from eating too hastily...

"There." Next to her, Lang Shiba passed a bowl of medicinal wine, as cold as an Assassin.

"..." Ji Yue took the medicinal wine to help the pill go down then handed it back, whispering, "Thank..."

But saw that Lang Shiba didn't bother with her, instead turning away to drink sullenly alone.

Ji Yue quietly hugged her knees, her dark hair covering her face.

...

...

It wasn't long before the official boat smoothly entered Hu Ting dock.

As Zhao Douan and his entourage disembarked, they saw the dock was under martial law, with numerous civil officials in official robes expecting eagerly.

Among them, not lacking the likes of governors who ruled whole regions.

Yet to everyone's surprise, the figure at the foremost front of the officials was not in the usual crimson robes, but in a green one.

"Mr. Zhao! Your humble servant has waited many days and finally, you've arrived!"

The familiar middle-aged man came forward laughing.

"Feng Ju?" Zhao Douan was slightly startled, surprised: "It turns out to be you, Chief Feng."

The middle-aged civil official was none other than the old acquaintance from the Ministry of Personnel, Feng Ju.

At the beginning of his crossing, Zhao Douan, swaggering deceptively, tricked this Chief into making false accusations against Li Yanfu, pulling him into the "Imperial Faction."

Later, during Princess Yunyang's and Marquis Xiajiang's standoff with Zhao Douan, Feng Ju's family had been kidnapped as a threat.

Zhao Douan offered his help, deepening their bond. After that, they contacted each other less often, only exchanging gifts during holidays to Zhao's family.

On this trip, he had skimmed through the Hu Ting official directory and saw Feng Ju's name but thought it was a coincidence.

"Ha ha, Mr. Zhao is busy with significant national affairs, perhaps you didn't notice the personnel department's orders," Feng Ju said with a radiant smile.

"The court, to initiate the market, specifically set up a 'merchant department' in the government office. I have been honored by His Majesty to be promoted to this merchant department as a fifth-rank doctor. I am presiding over the market launch on behalf of the court, and henceforth, many affairs concerning the imperial merchants will also be handled by me."

Fifth-rank doctor... On the face of it, the position isn't very high.

Yet it is indeed a case of 'small position, heavy authority.' Just seeing Feng Ju having to stand in front of the governor of Huai River is testament enough.

This is similar to leaving the Capital to become a governor, who might only hold a seventh rank, but can act on behalf of the Emperor, holding immense power that cannot be measured by rank. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"In that case, one should congratulate Doctor Feng on his promotion," Zhao Douan smiled.

Feng Ju, feeling unworthy, was extremely humble and busily declined.

In terms of factions, Feng Ju would be considered a member of the Imperial Faction brought up by Zhao Douan, his status today mostly reliant on Zhao Douan.

Feng Ju even suspected that the core reason the Empress placed him in this position was his relationship with Zhao Douan.

Quietly resolved, once Zhao Douan arrived, he would regard everything with Mr. Zhao taking the lead.

"My lord, you've had a hard journey; I have prepared accommodations."

Feng Ju warmly invited everyone into the carriage, arriving at a private garden called "Zhuozheng Garden."

According to him, it belonged to a local "imperial merchant" and was specifically cleared for Zhao Douan to stay.

The private garden was rich in the style of Jiangnan, with small bridges over running water, white walls and black tiles, artificial hills, and flower ponds. Although it was late autumn, due to being close to the south, there was still quite a bit of greenery.

Accompanied by a group of officials, Zhao Douan entered the main hall in the garden, inevitably followed by some pleasantries.

He learned from Feng Ju about the current situation in Lake Pavilion.

...

"My lord, may I report,"

Inside the main hall, the alone Feng Ju bowed slightly and said:

"With the market opening approaching, nearly all invited forces have arrived. Here is the roster."

He presented a large register with both hands.

Zhao Douan weighed the roster in his hands, not hurrying to browse through, casually placing it on the coffee table, smiling:

"You can just briefly tell me about the general situation."

"Yes," Feng Ju responded, paused briefly to think, then said:

"Currently, Lake Pavilion is mainly divided into three factions. One faction is the court and the confirmed imperial merchants, who are the ones who have sided with us over the past few months. According to the instructions from above, half of the slots were reserved for small and medium merchants, and the other half for some local scholarly families who were the first to pledge allegiance to the court and accept the new policies."

"The second faction consists of the businesses and local families affiliated with the Seven Kings.

Apart from Prince Jing who came in person, the other seven princes have not come in person but have sent confidants to discreetly monitor their people to prevent them from siding with the court."

Zhao Douan raised an eyebrow and interrupted, "You mentioned the Seven Kings?"

Feng Ju nodded seriously, stating:

"Prince Huaian is somewhat special; unlike those seven princes who openly oppose, Prince Huaian's stance is ambiguous and fluctuates, belonging to the neutral faction. In fact, besides Prince Huaian, there are many others in the neutral faction, with the number of local scholarly families being the largest."

Zhao Douan, not surprised, said indifferently:

"The new policies are specifically targeting these families. They resist internally but dare not openly oppose the court or side with those princes, so their wavering is understandable."

Feng Ju nodded in agreement, hesitatingly added:

"These past few days, while observing, I found that Prince Jing and others are secretly trying to coax these neutrals to join forces to oppose the market launch. If this group really unites, then even if the court forcibly opens the market, trade might still face great difficulties under their united blockades."

Implementing any policy always involves local dynamics.

Even for merchants who have gained imperial merchant status, if they encounter blockades and financial leaks from the major forces during their commercial activities, their business could hardly succeed.

Zhao Douan spoke seriously, "So, the neutral faction is very important?"

"Yes," Feng Ju replied gravely:

"We cannot sway those scholarly families devoted to Prince Jing, Mu Prince, and others, but the wavering neutrals are winnable. We do not need them to lean towards us; just keeping them from siding with the Seven Kings is already half the success."

"Half success is not enough," Zhao Douan said with a frown.

From Feng Ju's description, he also realized the troubles in Lake Pavilion, suddenly grateful he had come in person.

Otherwise, with no one attentively here, if Prince Jing and others caused trouble, the court's financial relief would be hindered, leading to major trouble next year.

"I understand, I will think of a way."

Zhao Douan calmly said:

"But before that, I need to meet our local imperial merchants."

Setting aside the neutral faction for now, at the very least, he needed to keep a close watch on the imperial merchants to prevent anyone from defecting at the last moment.

Only by scrutinizing these people himself, and through his own reception making them publicly declare their stance, could he be reassured.

Feng Ju stood up and smiled with a nod:

"Good, I will arrange that. Actually, these people are all eager and ready to come visit you, they are already waiting outside."

Zhao Douan smiled. Although he held no official title or rank on this trip to Lake Pavilion.,

everyone knew that Lord Zhao from the Capital was the real decision-maker, representing the big shot of the Empress.

"By the way, where is Prince Jing staying?"

Suddenly, Zhao Douan stroked his chin, a hint of a smile in his eyes:

"Since we are meeting everyone, help me send a message, tell Prince Jing that this official invites him over for a talk."