Chapter 37: It's a scam
Chapter 37
Two flowers bloom, each showing its own beauty.
After Lu Desheng separated from his daughter, he walked along the familiar road leading to the Yugan Palace under the guidance of a familiar eunuch.
Arriving at the Yugan Palace, he first apologized to the emperor, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I'm late because I was waiting for my daughter to go out together."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Kang Cheng asked in surprise, "You and your daughter are going out together?" Lu Aiqing rarely mentioned his wife and daughter, and only occasionally mentioned them when his son mentioned the Crown Prince. And today, he actually took the initiative to mention his daughter?
Lu Desheng smiled and said, "Yes, the Queen Mother summoned her, and we separated at the palace gate."
"The Queen Mother summoned her? What's the matter?"
"I don't know."
Emperor Kang Cheng didn't care. He comforted him casually and then pulled him to play chess.
Lu Desheng lost two or three games in a row. He lasted the longest in the first game, but lost the next two games faster and faster.
Emperor Kang Cheng was a terrible chess player, but he was in high spirits after winning three games in a row. He commented on Lü Desheng with a bit of pride, "My dear, your chess skills need to be improved."
Lu Desheng said unconvincedly, "Your Majesty, I don't agree with what you said. I'm not bad at chess. I've been playing chess for so many years and have read so many chess records. My level is there, how could it be bad?"
As if to prove his point, he added, "When we played chess together in the past, the emperor and I always played back and forth. Your Majesty, have you forgotten?"
The emperor smiled as he drank his tea, pointing to the unfinished game. "Look, you've lost three games in a row, and you're still stubborn?"
"That's me being distracted!"
Lu Desheng said this, but secretly rolled his eyes in his heart. The emperor's bad chess player would only bully an honest man like him. He knew that the emperor couldn't beat many ministers, and it was because others secretly let him win. But he could see that the ministers were letting him win, so he was unhappy. The emperor liked to pick on noobs like him and bully them. He played chess with his daughter, and when his daughter heard him bragging that he could occasionally beat the emperor in chess, she was shocked and said that their fights were purely a fight between noobs. He thought about it and felt that it seemed to be true.
Perhaps Emperor Kangcheng was in a good mood, so he indulged the old minister Lü Desheng in his trickery. "Okay, then, tell me why you were distracted?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Desheng's mood visibly darkened. "Today is my daughter's first time entering the palace alone. I'm worried that she doesn't understand the rules and might offend the Empress Dowager."
Emperor Kang Cheng ordered, "Wei Zili, send someone to Changle Palace to check and come back to report later." His beloved minister mentioned his daughter one after another, and it seemed that he was really worried about her.
"Yes." Wei Zili walked out while thinking that Censor Lu was really valued by the emperor. Then he ordered his most valued little disciple to go to Changle Palace in person.
Emperor Kang Cheng asked him with a smile, "Now you should feel relieved, right?"
"I thank the Emperor for his consideration."
"Want another round? I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself."
Lu Desheng shook his head, feeling that it was not enough, and stopped playing. "Another day, another day. I will go back and practice for two days before coming to play chess with Your Majesty. Then I will definitely avenge my previous shame!"
"Hahaha." Emperor Kang Cheng laughed, "Okay, then I'll wait."
Lu Desheng looked at him resentfully and said, "Your Majesty, you are smiling like this. Do you think that no matter how much I practice after I return, I will never be able to defeat you?"
Emperor Kang Cheng stopped laughing and pointed to the boxes stacked on the table beside him and said, "Okay, those things are rewards for you. Go and take a look. Do you like them?"
Lu Desheng took a look, then looked away with difficulty, "Your Majesty, I have something to say."
Emperor Kang Cheng raised an eyebrow at Lü Desheng's unusual reaction. "If you have anything to say, just say it."
Lu Desheng immediately knelt down and said a lot of words to express his loyalty.
For the emperor, it was very helpful that Lü Desheng, a minister he had personally promoted and appointed, came to express his loyalty. However, when he heard Lü Desheng say that no matter how many merits he made or how much experience he accumulated in the future, he did not want to be promoted, Emperor Kang Cheng was surprised at first, and then the emperor's suspicious and sensitive nerve was touched.
The emperor has a conspiracy theory. There are always villains who want to harm me!
Emperor Kang Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly, "My dear minister, why do you have such thoughts?"
Could it be? "I heard you were attacked at the door the other day when you came home?" Scared? Are you that timid?
Lu Desheng said indifferently, "Well, it's just some little punks who don't like me and threw rotten eggs at me. How can this be considered an attack? I don't know where these little bastards got so many rotten eggs. Eggs are so delicious. They don't eat them but keep them to stink and throw them at people. What a waste!" The latter sentence was just a mutter.
"As for your question about why I had such thoughts, Your Majesty, to be honest, I only had this thought in the past year."
"I am now a fifth-rank censor. I feel that I have climbed very high and I am very content. In my hometown, this is a high-ranking official. To use the words of my hometown, this is already a great honor for my ancestors." Speaking of this, Lu Desheng couldn't help but puffed out his chest.
Emperor Kang Cheng laughed. What kind of high-ranking official was a fifth-rank censor? If a brick was thrown at him on Chang'an Street, it would probably hit several officials.
"I always remember that when I was in a lowly position, it was the emperor who recognized my talent and, against all odds, promoted me to the Censorate. If it weren't for the emperor, I might have been tricked back to my hometown long ago, and I don't know where I would be working as a farmer." As he spoke, Lu Desheng glanced at Emperor Kang Cheng, who motioned him to continue.
Lu Desheng whispered, "Watching what's going on in the court these past two years, I'm a little scared."
"What are you afraid of?"
"I am afraid that if I continue to rise, the change in status will make me lose my original intention and do something to hurt the emperor. Most importantly, I like my current position as Censor because no other official can do it well."
"You, you..." Emperor Kang Cheng stretched out his hand and nodded in the air. This Lu Aiqing was always sincere in what he said. If someone else said what he just said, they would put the words "the most important thing" at the beginning to show their loyalty to him as the emperor.
At this time, neither the king nor the minister spoke.
Emperor Kang Cheng narrowed his eyes and looked at his minister.
Lü Desheng sat upright, his eyes fixed on the emperor, his nose focused on the heart, allowing Emperor Kang Cheng to examine him without feeling nervous. He and his daughter had analyzed the situation, and no matter what Emperor Kang Cheng was thinking, he would be safe.
This beloved minister had many faults: he was straightforward, petty, and could not tolerate being bullied. But he also had strengths: he was very good at impeaching and framing others, and he was grateful. Most importantly, no matter how much infamy he bore for the emperor, he never complained. Now he had another advantage: he was self-aware.
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