The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Chapter 986 - 558: Surrender of the Enemy

Can one tolerate this fate?

Zhao Douan spoke the words with a gentle smile and a calm tone.

Zhao Shixiong, seated opposite him, fell into silence.

Who is Xu Jingtang?

Zhao Douan believed that this border general would understand him even better than he himself did.

Therefore, he didn’t directly answer the issue regarding Zhao Ke, as it was not important.

"Young man, I know you are eloquent, and you have a silver tongue. Without this, you wouldn’t have been able to swim smoothly in the court like a fish in water,"

Zhao Shixiong was not deceived, nor did he step into Zhao Douan’s conversational rhythm. Instead, he sneered, uncovering Zhao Douan’s intention:

"You just want to suggest the concept of the cunning rabbit being killed and the dog being cooked. I’m not a child who needs you to preach this?"

Zhao Douan’s smile remained unchanged, showing no anger, and his tone was indifferent:

"Naturally, General is not a child and must understand many of these connections. I also believe that when Xu Jingtang persuaded you to join the rebellion, he must have given you a large enough calming pill, such as... a marriage alliance? Haha, or other promises. It’s not important."

"People, no matter how pleasing their words may sound, will still ultimately need to implement them into actions. In fact, whatever Xu Jingtang promised doesn’t matter. What matters is how he acted. As far as I see, although this traitor appointed you as a general, he constantly restricted and balanced your powers. This kind of behavior is not characteristic of a benevolent ruler, so how can it inspire trust?"

As Zhao Douan spoke, a trace of disdain showed in his eyes:

"Just like this sowing of discord. Surely, I did indeed use some tactics, I do not deny it. But if Xu Jingtang truly trusted you, what use would a mere small tactic be? To be frank, just recently, I heard that in the Capital, the Yunfu Rebel Army also bribed the Pure Stream Party officials to slander and frame Yuann Li. The accusations spread widely, yet Your Majesty did not suspect Mr. Yuan due to these minor slanders, but instead worked tirelessly to preserve his reputation... Comparing the two, it’s really a sigh."

Zhao Shixiong was taken aback.

He was unaware of this matter, but just hearing it made him believe it seven to eight-tenths.

Because it aligned with his understanding of Mu Prince, and it wasn’t difficult to verify.

At the same time, he had no way to refute it.

Because Mu Prince’s lack of trust in him was almost written on his face, it was a well-known fact.

In contrast, Zhao Douan’s level of trust from the Empress was enough to make him envious.

Which general does not yearn to meet a sovereign who trusts them?

Zhao Douan smiled slightly, "In fact, these principles are something General clearly understands. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have agreed to come and meet me today."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shixiong seemed irritated, his face flushing with anger, he stared at him intently: "If it weren’t for your interference..."

Zhao Douan sighed lightly, interrupting him: "If it weren’t for my interference, wouldn’t General continue to stubbornly pursue the wrong path, thereby ruining the good reputation built over half a lifetime?"

He leaned forward slightly, hands resting on his thighs, with deep eyes, suddenly looked intently at the Southwest "Skinny Tiger":

"Actually, General has no loyalty towards Mu Prince, is that not so?"

No loyalty!

These four words pierced through the veneer of decency between them like a sharp arrow.

Zhao Shixiong’s tiger eyes suddenly narrowed, "Oh? How did you know I’m not loyal?"

Zhao Douan gently uttered a name, "Zhuang Xiaocheng."

He quickly said, "As far as I know, General first had other thoughts about the court after secretly meeting Zhuang Xiaocheng back then, right?"

Zhuang Xiaocheng!

The former Grand Tutor, long executed, leader of the Kuangfu Society.

Speaking of this name, Zhao Douan couldn’t help but sigh. He originally thought that after Zhuang Xiaocheng’s death, he would never encounter this name again. But fate is unpredictable, hard to grasp.

Time must be pulled back to the period after defeating Su Dan, at that time, Zhao Douan had subdued Nie Yurong, sending her to investigate the details of how Mu Prince persuaded Zhao Shixiong to rebel.

Yet, he didn’t solely dispatch Nie Yurong, he also utilized the Shadow Guard and activated members from the increasingly active "New Kuangfu Society" in the Martial World for the investigation.

Because he remembered, following the Xuanmen Coup, Jian Wen, a remnant of the Second Prince, initially hid along Yunfu Road to avoid pursuit.

During the investigation, he unexpectedly learned that Zhuang Xiaocheng had secretly met with Zhao Shixiong multiple times back then.

To be precise, Zhuang Xiaocheng made many secret meetings with local officials, Zhao Shixiong being one of the more significant ones.

Moreover, Zhao Shixiong seemed to have privately assisted the Kuangfu Society and was once quite close to Mr. Zhengyang.

He had privately expressed his remembrance of the late Emperor and his hostility towards the Empress multiple times.

And back then, the Southwest Border Army stationed at the frontier and Mu Prince Manor were often at odds, to which Zhao Shixiong never showed a favorable face to Mu Prince.

This was something noteworthy.

Because from a logical perspective, a real power border general has no reason to sympathize with remnants.

The scattered soldiers of the Kuangfu Society didn’t have the leverage to pull Zhao Shixiong into the water.

What truly unraveled the mystery was the investigation result sent back by Nie Yurong.

Before Yun Xi escorted Zhao Ke back, she did not meet Zhao Shixiong immediately, but first delivered a secret message to Taicang.

After Zhao Douan read the message, he learned a crucial piece of information:

Zhao Shixiong was very likely loyal to the late Emperor!

Due to his loyalty to the late Emperor, and numerous contacts with Zhuang Xiaocheng, Zhao Shixiong always believed that during the Xuanmen Coup, it was the Empress who killed his father and brother!

In other words, he was deceived by Zhuang Xiaocheng!

Because of his hostility towards the Empress, from that time on, he became estranged from the court, never returning to the Capital, and even openly refused to return for debriefing.

Similarly, he was not enticed by Xu Jingtang for personal gain; rather, Zhao Shixiong wished to support Prince Mu to overthrow the Empress and revitalize the society!