Chapter 341 Luqiao

Xiao Yun, Duke of Song, and the Left Prime Minister all turned green in the face.

They were still preparing for the possibility that the Left Censor-in-Chief's illness could not be cured and they would have to arrange someone to replace him, but the emperor made the arrangement!

Old Master Pei had originally been at odds with the Duke of Song, and in a fit of rage, he resigned from his post and left the capital. He was only a third-rank official when he left, and after ten years away from the court, he was appointed Left Censor-in-Chief upon his return. How many ministers worked diligently and diligently, yet couldn't even get promoted two ranks in ten years?!

Especially since Old Master Pei returned to Beijing because his grandson committed a crime!

Although it is only a temporary position, if the Left Censor-in-Chief is seriously ill and cannot return to the court, the temporary position will most likely be secured!

Duke Song was very angry.

Empress Song had her Phoenix Seal taken away from her, which had a profound impact on Xiao Yun. In addition, Princess Xuanning was granted a marriage, and Dongliang might ask Princess Shouzhen to marry her. His daughters Song Nanyue and Xie Jingze were sent out of Prince Jingbei's Mansion. The successive setbacks had already affected Xiao Yun's ability to win over court officials, and now he couldn't even keep the position he had obtained!

Besides, when Old Master Lin returned home, he went straight to Old Madam Lin. Old Madam Lin asked, "Haven't you had lunch yet?"

Old Master Lin said, "Not yet."

Old Madam Lin ordered the maid to ask the small kitchen to serve the food.

After giving the order, Madam Lin asked, "Does the Emperor agree to allow Old Master Pei to return to the court?"

Old Master Lin served tea and said, "Not only did they agree, they also promoted him by two levels."

Madam Lin was surprised. "Old Master Pei has been away from the court for so long, it was not easy for him to be reinstated. How could he have been promoted two levels?"

Old Taifu Lin said, "This matter is indeed very strange. It may have something to do with the Prince of Jingbei."

Madam Lin was puzzled. "How could it be related to him?"

Old Taifu Lin said, "Just now I went to the palace to see the emperor, and the emperor asked me some very strange questions——"

"What?" asked Mrs. Lin.

Old Taifu Lin said, "The Emperor knows that Huai Jin is a martial artist, and he was surprised that Old Master Pei, a mere civil official who couldn't even tie a chicken, would let his grandson learn martial arts. He also asked me who was better at martial arts, Huai Jin or the Prince of Jingbei..."

The civil and military officials look down on each other.

Civil officials and military generals have always disliked each other in the court.

Civil officials think military generals are vulgar, and military generals think civil officials are only good at writing. There are very few people who are both civil and military talents.

Scholarly families rarely let their children learn martial arts. Even if they do, it is only to strengthen their bodies.

Even Old Taifu Lin just found out that Pei Huaijin had killed someone and was escorted to the capital. Normally, the emperor shouldn't have known about this, but he chose to compare him with the Prince of Jingbei. The emperor asked Old Taifu Pei to return to the court, and Old Taifu Lin was not surprised. However, he promoted him two levels and directly appointed him as the Left Censor-in-Chief. Old Taifu Lin felt that this was unusual no matter how he looked at it. The emperor should not have made a random comparison, there must be a reason.

Madam Lin said, "Huai Jin's martial arts skills shouldn't be as high as the Prince of Jingbei's, right?"

Old Taifu Lin said, "This is the strangest thing. Normally, no one would compare the grandson of a civil official with the son of a general, not to mention that the two are several years apart in age."

When the emperor asked this question, Old Tutor Lin was stunned.

The Emperor had never met Pei Huaijin. Even Old Tutor Lin had only met him once a few years ago when he visited Lianzhou. The Emperor doted on the Prince of Jingbei, so how could he compare him to the grandson of a civil official he had never met? It was unknown who had been bragging about Pei Huaijin in front of the Emperor.

Even if he killed Young Master Wang, it doesn't mean that his martial arts skills can compare with those of the Prince of Jingbei.

In fact, Pei Huaijin learned martial arts thanks to the old tutor Lin.

Pei Huaijin had a photographic memory and was highly valued by Old Master Pei. When he was seven or eight years old, he showed interest in martial arts. Old Master Pei did not want Pei Huaijin to learn martial arts, but he did not want to bury Pei Huaijin's martial arts talent, so he mentioned his troubles in the correspondence with Old Master Lin.

Old Tutor Lin knew what was bothering Old Master Pei. Pei Huaijin was not Old Master Pei's biological grandson, and no one knew who had placed him in front of the gate of the Pei Mansion. Although he was adopted, there was no guarantee that he would never be able to return to his roots.

He showed talent in martial arts, so it was very likely that his father was a military general. If he was not allowed to learn martial arts, how could a man who was weak and powerless gain a foothold in a family of military generals when he returned to his ancestral home in the future?

But staying in the Pei family, practicing martial arts seemed a bit out of place.

Old Master Lin replied with four words——

Let it be.

As long as Pei Huaijin is willing to learn, find someone to teach him.

As for future matters, we will talk about them later. For a gentleman, virtue comes first, and literary talent and martial arts are secondary.

Old Tutor Lin even joked with Old Master Pei in the letter, saying, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a grandson who is both talented in literature and martial arts?"

After reading the letter, everything became clear to Old Master Pei.

A pure scholarly family hired two martial arts masters to teach Pei Huaijin. After this happened, Old Master Pei felt regretful and somewhat relieved.

My regret is that if Pei Huaijin had not been allowed to learn martial arts, he might not be in prison today.

Fortunately, if he hadn't learned martial arts, it might have been Pei Huaijin who was beaten to death.

It was difficult for Old Master Lin to answer the Emperor's question, so he simply replied, "Old Master Pei's fourth grandson is only sixteen years old this year..."

Old Tutor Lin still remembers the way the emperor's mouth twitched after he finished speaking.

Then he promoted Old Master Pei to be the Left Censor-in-Chief.

Seeing that Old Master Lin looked confused, Old Madam Lin smiled and said, "It's a good thing after all."

Old Master Lin didn't think any more about it, took two sips of tea and put it down.

The steward of the Lin Mansion came in hurriedly, "Grandmaster..."

But after saying only two words, the voice stopped abruptly.

The steward looked at the other people in the room, and Mother Chen waved her hand to let the maid go down.

After everyone left, the steward took two steps forward and whispered, "Just now, when the Prince and Princess of Jingbei left, I saw someone outside the door. She looked like Lu Qiao..."

Old Tutor Lin and Old Madam Lin were both shocked.

Madam Lin asked anxiously, "Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

The steward said, "Even though it's been sixteen years, I can still recognize it at a glance."

The manager was certain it was Luqiao.

If it weren't for Luqiao, why would she have hidden outside the Lin Mansion stealthily, and turned around and ran away in panic when she was discovered?

Old Master Lin also felt that the steward would not admit his mistake, "Didn't catch up with her?"

The steward shook his head and said, "I sent my servants to chase him, but they didn't catch him..."

Madam Lin's hands began to tremble. "Luqiao is still alive. Is our daughter still alive too?"

Old Master Lin also hopes that his daughter will be alive.

But her daughter faked her death and fled Kyoto, and even gave birth to a child, which was a capital crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of her family.

Qingyin has always been sensible. She chose to fake her death and leave Beijing, letting them suffer the pain of seeing their loved ones die, and she would never come back.

Qingyin only brought Luqiao with her. Now that Luqiao has returned to the capital, she dares not enter the mansion...

Old Master Lin had a bad feeling in his heart.

I'm afraid my daughter is no longer alive...

Luqiao's return to Beijing must have been due to some unavoidable reasons.

The steward asked, "Do you want to send people to search all over Kyoto?"

In the past sixteen years, not many servants and maids in the mansion recognized Lu Qiao. If they wanted to send someone to look for her, they could only send those who knew her, and the fact that Lu Qiao was still alive could no longer be concealed.

This is a matter concerning the fire in Prince Jin's Mansion, which is not a trivial matter. The steward dare not act on his own.

Old Master Lin really wants to find Luqiao and know the truth of what happened, but this is not something that can be investigated in a high-profile manner.

Old Master Lin could only suppress his urgency and said, "Let's wait for her to come back on her own."