Chapter 63: Old Dog Zhao

Born to nobility, Zhao Erdong had a discerning eye for gold and jade artifacts. She quickly put away the jade plaque, drew a brocade pouch from her bosom, and pressed it into Su Gui's hand. "Thank you, Eunuch. If there is anything Erdong does not understand in the future, I hope you will be so kind as to guide me."

Weighing the heft of the pouch in his hand, Su Gui wore an increasingly radiant smile. This young lady, despite her tender age, certainly knew how to conduct herself!

"You are too modest, Lord Zhao. If you ever need anything in the future, just say the word," Su Gui replied politely. He glanced left and right, and seeing no one around while Zhao Tianjiang's figure had already vanished in the distance, he lowered his voice. "Lord Zhao, more than half of the officials in the imperial court are aligned with Prime Minister Zhao. Since you openly insulted the Prime Minister in court today, given his temperament, he is unlikely to let this go easily. You must be careful!"

Zhao Erdong nodded, her smile growing warmer. Though she knew full well that he was only offering these words because she had tipped him, it would have been equally natural for him to say nothing. It seemed that while this Su Gui was fond of money, his heart was not entirely bad.

Just as she stepped out of the imperial palace, a dainty figure lunged at her. "Miss, you're finally out! Wuwu—" Baihe threw her arms around Zhao Erdong, as if afraid she would vanish the moment she turned around.

"Hey—what is moving?" Baihe loosened her tight embrace slightly, feeling something wriggling against her waist and abdomen.

Zhao Erdong pointed to the cloth bag slung across her shoulder and laughed, "You were sitting on it. It was uncomfortable and struggling to get free."

She untied the red cord binding the opening of the bag and released Xiaolan from within. She hadn't wished to keep the creature shut up like that, but she had been forced to do so for fear it would cause trouble in the throne room.

"Wow—so cute! What kind of animal is this? It's so white! Hey—why does it have two tails?" Baihe was beyond excited. She had never seen such a jade-white, adorable little creature, and its distinct black-and-white round eyes gleamed with a cleverness and intelligence akin to a human's.

"Its name is Xiaolan, and it will be staying with us from now on. Just talk to it normally; it understands everything." Zhao Erdong stroked Xiaolan's head, the corners of her lips curling upward involuntarily. Whenever she was with Xiaolan and Baihe, she naturally felt happy.

Xiaolan still seemed angry about the pain of being crushed earlier. No matter how Baihe tried to tease it, the creature ignored her completely, adopting an aloof expression as if everyone else were mere dirt beneath its feet.

"Let's go. Let's go take a look at our new residence." Zhao Erdong pulled Baihe along and headed toward Yuanguangmen Avenue.

"What new residence? Are we buying another house?"

"Your present mistress is now the Imperial Court's First-Rank Appraiser. Holding a first-rank official position, I naturally deserve the treatment of a first-rank official. A mere manor? It's a breeze."

"Miss, I saw the master just now."

"What master? From now on in front of me, call him Zhao Tianjiang, or just call him old dog Zhao. Understood?"

"Understood. Zhao... old dog's expression didn't look too good. Did you run into each other?" Baihe suddenly felt that calling someone "old dog Zhao" actually felt rather nice!

Zhao Erdong glanced back over her shoulder and sneered repeatedly. "Run into each other? We had a major battle."

Startled, Baihe hurriedly stopped in her tracks and looked Zhao Erdong up and down to check for any injuries.

"Silly girl, it was a battle of wits and tongues. Besides, he didn't even fight back—I was just performing a solo act. Still, it pissed him off enough." Zhao Erdong felt a trace of triumph, thinking to herself that this was merely the beginning; the real show had yet to officially start.