Inside the guesthouse room.
Zhao Douan sat arrogantly, crossing one leg over the other, with his boot pressing down on Qin Qiu’s head, speaking sarcastically.
"Who dares to attack a government officer? Let me go..." Qin Qiu, furious underfoot, struggled but was shocked to find the boot unusually heavy, and turned to plead for help:
"Won’t someone knock this scoundrel down?"
Outside the door, a group of clerks came to their senses and made to charge in. Zhao Douan slightly exerted force with his boot and said blandly:
"Tell them to stand guard downstairs."
Qin Qiu let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered, quickly changing his tune: "All get out! Wait for me downstairs! Hurry!"
This... the group of clerks exchanged glances and reluctantly retreated.
"Close the door." Zhao Douan lazily ordered. Once the door was tightly shut, Qin Qiu, sprawled on the ground with his buttocks raised and hands pressed to the floor, spoke with a slight tremor:
"You must know, this is the Capital."
Zhao Douan said indifferently: "First, answer my question. Are you from the Imperial Court’s Jinyi?"
Pinned to the ground, Qin Qiu couldn’t see what was happening in the room, but he keenly sensed that this person was not to be trifled with, and hurriedly bluffed:
"I’m not, but... I’m on very close terms with Junior Guardian Zhao of the Imperial Court."
"Junior Guardian Zhao?" Zhao Douan sneered:
"So you’re that Zhao traitor’s lackey, no wonder you’re so arrogant and domineering. You deserve to die."
In the inner room, the Empress, watching quietly, glanced at him.
Damn it... I pulled the wrong rank... Qin Qiu felt a chill in his heart and bitterly lamented inwardly, changing his tune:
"However, that Zhao has been out of the Capital for a while, and I haven’t associated with him much, not familiar, not familiar."
Zhao Douan rolled his eyes, having no desire to waste words with this small fry, and lifted his foot:
"Yes, yes, yes, I even have a personal grudge against that Yama Zhao. He nearly got me killed back then. Hero, have mercy..." As Qin Qiu began crawling up, he looked up to see what this ruthless person looked like.
Immediately, he seemed to have his throat grabbed, eyes widening in horror, as if he’d seen a ghost.
Zhao Douan casually ripped off a Disguise Mask, revealing his true face, with a faint smile:
"Qin Qiu, do you still remember the grudge against this official?"
"Brother Zhao?!" Qin Qiu’s eyes bulged, his voice high-pitched like a drake, rubbing his eyes hard to confirm it was Zhao Douan, first feeling joy, then cold sweat pouring down like a waterfall:
"No... no, I’m not... that..."
He was almost crying, his barely standing legs collapsing again, a wet stain spreading.
Zhao Douan pinched his nose, disgustedly kicking him:
"Alright, this official hasn’t been away from the Capital for even a few months, and you’re already acting all high and mighty, beating the tiger skin and throwing your weight around."
Kicked lightly, Qin Qiu somersaulted but switched to a tearful smile, holding onto Zhao Douan’s leg and burst into tears:
"Brother Zhao, you’re finally back. I always said a blessed person would be protected by heaven. There’s no telling how many people in the city hoped you wouldn’t return, but only dear Qiu remains loyal..."
He knew if Zhao Douan wanted him dead, he could have killed him earlier, so he immediately turned into a sycophant.
"Enough, let go of my leg, stop howling, or I’ll throw you into the Imperial Prison for revealing my identity." Zhao Douan said with a face full of disdain.
Only then did Qin Qiu release his grip, face covered in snot and tears, both crying and laughing, overly excited:
"There’s talk in the Capital that you, Brother, protected Your Majesty, evading rebels. How did you show up in the city?"
As he spoke, his beady eyes finally noticed a veiled, elegant woman standing quietly within the room, seemingly realizing something, his mouth gaped open:
"Could this be, Your Maj... es... ty..."
"I’ll ask, you answer." Zhao Douan interrupted him, coldly inquiring:
"Tell me everything you know about the current situation in the city."
Qin Qiu dared not breathe too heavily, heart pounding like a drum, and spilled everything he knew like beans from a bamboo tube.
Once, during a clash with Zhou Cheng from the Ministry of Justice, Qin Qiu had been thrown into prison, but after Zhou Cheng’s downfall, he returned home to rest and recuperate.
Later, as Zhao Douan’s status rose, Qin Qiu, a loafer in the noble circles, also thrived by exploiting the tiger’s power.
Due to his associations with the Capital’s elite youth known as the "Capital Circle," his intelligence was sharp, sparing Zhao Douan from going out to gather information, and the two quickly grasped the general situation within the city.
"... So, Xue Shence has headed south to oversee the situation on Linfeng Road, preparing to thwart the rebel army? And Prince Heng of Qingzhou has stationed troops a few dozen miles east of the Capital, at the Qingzhou border? Blocked by the Capital Camp?"
Zhao Douan frowned deeply: "What about within the court? Who is making the decisions?"
Qin Qiu replied: "Grandmaster Dong leads, almost daily convening Court Meetings these days. However, there’s disarray within the government offices and rumors spreading among the people, causing panic and skyrocketing prices.
"The government offices are severely understaffed, so the Imperial Court has temporarily delegated some power to a few clerks recruited recently to help with the tasks. I was assigned a job to check the identities of those entering the city."
Zhao Douan sneered: "Assigned a task? More like seizing the opportunity to profit amidst the chaos."
The loafer kowtowed on the ground, not daring to argue.
Zhao Douan had no interest in dealing with him, turning to exchange a look with the Empress, both relaxing slightly.
The Capital was indeed turbulent, but the court’s operations continued, avoiding the worst-case scenario.
Xu Zhenguan walked with grace to the loafer kneeling on the ground, speaking with authority: "Has there been any unusual movement from the Prime Minister’s faction?"
Isn’t that... a bit beyond his knowledge?... Zhao Douan thought sarcastically.
Yet Qin Qiu hesitated, not daring to lift his head, and spoke:
"Your Majesty, this humble one dares not presume to speak of the Prime Minister."
He had confirmed the identity of the lady before him, adrenaline coursing through him, not daring to step out of line:
"However... these past few days, while inspecting the city, I did find something. Yesterday, someone with an unknown identity entered the city, their entry record scrubbed, but subordinates saw them being secretly taken away by a steward from Young Master’s residence..."