CHAPTER 1064: CHAPTER 588: GIVING THE COURT A SHOW OF FORCE

The Capital of Yu Country welcomed yet another winter snowfall.

The swirling white snow silently descended in the night, covering the vast Capital with a layer of white blanket, as households shut their doors, and the cold wind was harsher than in previous years.

Morning.

Within the bedroom of Zhao Douan at the Zhao Residence.

The body lying horizontally on the bed was cold and stiff, as if dead, devoid of any life force.

But in the next second, Zhao Douan’s eyelashes trembled, his eyes opened, a spark slowly gathering in his dull eyes. Then he sat up with the help of the bedding, his body gradually gaining vitality.

"Whew..." Zhao Douan glanced at the extinguished brazier in the room and sighed: "I’ll have to remind Gongshu Tianyuan about this; this body doesn’t retain warmth."

His Divine Soul had just floated back home from the palace, merging into this body.

This was Zhao Douan’s recent habit; every time he would control the body to go to the Martial Arts Hall, which was troublesome and easily attracted attention.

So, he simply left the puppet body outside, letting his Divine Soul travel between the Capital and the Huai River.

During this period, as expected, the territories gradually ceased hostilities. Zhao Douan remained stationed at the Huai River, consolidating the reclaimed territories, while Zhao Shixiong advanced into Yunfu, frequently reporting victories.

As the Grand Governor, he had a rare leisurely time, dedicating himself to cultivation every day.

Additionally, he occasionally inquired about the Empress’s progress in cracking the phone password. Unfortunately, over these days, Xu Zhenguan had tried numerous times but couldn’t find the password.

This made both the sovereign and minister increasingly pessimistic, suspecting that some conditions for triggering a hidden checkpoint had not been met.

One suspicion, proposed by the Empress, was that perhaps when Zhao Douan advanced to the Heavenly Human Realm, changes would occur, as "Human World" was only cultivatable by those at the Heavenly Human Realm, with Zhao Douan exploiting a bug to enter prematurely.

"I have a feeling that I can definitely advance to High Grade in the World before the year ends."

Zhao Douan’s eyes brightened with excitement.

After High Grade comes Perfection, then Half-step Celestial, and once reaching Heavenly Human, he could thoroughly engage in Dual Cultivation... ahem, assist in unraveling the secrets Xu Zhenbao hid in the painting...

Shaking his head, feeling his body gradually warming, Zhao Douan lifted the quilt and stepped out of the room.

He placed his hands on the door panels and pushed forcefully!

"Ugh!"

Fine snow mixed with the north wind hit his face, making him squint his eyes unconsciously.

After a night of snow, the Zhao Residence was a vast white everywhere, but fortunately not very big, with not much accumulation.

Daylight was already bright, and few people were seen in the inner residence, only a few trusted old servants sweeping the snow.

Seeing Zhao Douan coming out of the room, they all stopped and greeted him: "Young Master."

Indeed.

Although Zhao Douan appeared as the "White-faced Arresting Officer" outside, he occasionally came home to stay for a night or two.

Over time, it became impossible to completely conceal it, so You Jinhua set a rule prohibiting ordinary servants from entering the inner residence.

As for the few old servants, they had been given a gag order to not mention Dalang’s secret return home.

However, Zhao Douan knew well that his alias could not be hidden for long; as its use increased, more people knew or guessed... but at least for now, those who knew Zhao Douan was in the Capital were still few.

...

In the dining room.

When Zhao Douan pushed open the door, a wave of heat struck him; the round table was already laden with dishes, and You Jinhua, wearing a padded floral long dress, was sitting by the dining table.

A red-hot charcoal basin lay at her feet.

Zhao Pan, wrapped like a ball in a loose jacket, was contentedly teasing a pet Pekingese.

"Time to eat." Seeing him come in, You Jinhua quickly stood up, eagerly lifting the covers off the food, and went to urge her daughter to wash her hands.

Zhao Pan, however, showed reluctance: "I didn’t even use my hands to play with the dog, they’re clean."

The beautiful concubine rolled her eyes and familiarly retorted to her daughter: "Then go wash your feet."

Zhao Pan: "..."

Zhao Douan watched the two banter with a cheerful smile, lifting the hem of his robe, and sat by the dining table.

As a puppet, although he didn’t need to eat, he enjoyed the feeling of family meals.

During the three-member family’s meal, they routinely discussed recent happenings in the city.

"Brother," Zhao Pan, with a plump, melon-seed face framed in a semi-circle braid at the back, curiously asked: "Isn’t the Peace Negotiation Delegation arriving soon? Tell me about it."

Since news of Xu Jingtang’s defeat spread, the atmosphere in the Capital had noticeably lifted.

Starting from Qingzhou, the court won several major victories and even toppled the formidable Mu Prince, much to the surprise of the previously anxious Capital residents.

Moreover, with Zhao Douan’s orchestration, people spread the theory: that the enemies were mere paper tigers.

For a time, aside from external affairs, the local atmosphere in the Capital was buoyant and generally optimistic, with people believing the rebellion could be quelled by the following year.

Subsequently, news spread that the Vassal Kings, Prince Hejian and the Yanshan King, were sending envoys to negotiate peace with the court.

Since the onset of winter, the people, with nothing better to do, gathered and inevitably discussed national affairs. Zhao Pan, mingling with the city’s elite circles, naturally couldn’t avoid such topics.

"Hehe, if memory serves correct, they should arrive today," Zhao Douan laughed casually while eating: "I haven’t inquired about other details."

"Really?" Zhao Pan looked skeptically, "With your influence, how could you not know the inside story?"

"Can’t even block your mouth with food; if you don’t want to eat, go back to your room and do some needlework!" You Jinhua held her chopsticks, her finger almost poking her daughter’s forehead: "Today’s test is the patterns I taught you earlier."

A test... Zhao Pan suddenly deflated, putting down the bowl and picking up the dog to leave: "Ah, almost forgot, I have an appointment with Ning from next door, I’m off!"

You Jinhua glared with anger.

Zhao Douan laughed heartily.