Chapter 38 Pie from the Sky
Chapter 38
"You really don't want to go up?" Emperor Kang Cheng confirmed again.
Lu Desheng shook his head like a rattle. "No, no. I don't want to be a high official. I'm fine as I am now. When I'm too old to lift a pen and can no longer help Your Majesty, or when Your Majesty has a minister more useful than me, please grant me a few acres of land, and I'll return home to retire."
His words were a testament to his firm belief that the two of them could get along well and have a successful relationship from beginning to end. This pure trust was very beneficial to Emperor Kang Cheng. You know, invisible flattery is the most deadly.
This loyalty is very touching. At least Emperor Kangcheng was deeply touched and comforted. At his age, he has seen many storms and waves, and has seen many evil spirits. In fact, few people can touch him, let alone move him.
As the saying goes, mastering the arts of civil and military becomes a gift to the imperial family. Officials who embarked on official careers worked tirelessly to climb the ladder, each one eager to advance. In all his years as emperor, he had never heard of a minister voluntarily requesting not to be promoted. Officials like Lu Aiqing, who knew their own limitations and possessed a clear understanding of their own abilities, were few and far between. Those who refused to advance, those who were solely dedicated to him, the emperor, were few and far between.
Emperor Kang Cheng sighed in his heart and said these words unconsciously.
Lü Desheng asked with a smile, "Your Majesty, is there not enough of such a person among you?"
Hearing this, Emperor Kang Cheng smiled and shook his head, "Well, not a few."
In the blink of an eye, Emperor Kang Cheng said again, "This won't do. Others will accuse me of being mean and ungrateful. I am the emperor and I must clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. Good work will be rewarded, and bad work will be punished."
"Your Majesty, I like gold, silver, and jewelry." Lu Desheng was a little anxious. He took two steps forward and whispered, "If I have made merit in the future, you can reward me with these. Or, if I have made merit, you can record it in a small notebook. If I make a mistake one day, I can use this merit to offset it. Is that okay? Let's agree that I will sit on the fifth-rank imperial censor's seat and stay there forever, right?"
Before Emperor Kangcheng could answer, Wei Zili came back with a strange expression on his face.
Lu Desheng's attention was immediately diverted, and Emperor Kang Cheng had to stop the conversation.
Emperor Kang Cheng then casually asked, "How is Lü Aiqing's daughter doing in the Empress Dowager's Changle Palace?"
The emperor asked, and seeing Lord Lu looking at him hopefully, Wei Zili had a headache. He pondered in his mind how to tell the two people in front of him, what should he do with the two masters?
Emperor Kang Cheng, who had been waiting for a long time for his reply, looked at him and asked, "What's the matter?"
Never mind, if you stick your head out, you'll get hurt too. Wei Zili gritted his teeth and said, "To be honest, Miss Lu Er is not in a good situation."
As soon as Wei Zili said this, Lu Desheng's heart was gripped, "Your Majesty..."
Emperor Kang Cheng gave him a soothing look and motioned Wei Zili to continue.
"Because of the recent incident in Chang'an where Lord Zhao Wenkuan's eldest daughter and Lord Lu's second daughter fell into the water and were rescued by their respective fiancés, rumors have been rife. Lord Zhao's eldest daughter, Zhao Yutan, has attempted suicide twice. The Empress Dowager, heartbroken, summoned Lord Lu's beloved daughter, Lu Songli, Xie Zhan, Zhao Yutan, and Qin Sheng. From what I've heard, the Empress Dowager intends to remarry them, granting them separate marriages to ensure they are both happy."
Emperor Kang Cheng wanted to say that it was nonsense, but thinking of the Queen Mother, he swallowed it back and said, "In the end, did the Queen Mother remarry them?"
"No. Miss Lu Er herself revealed that she had damaged her foundation while saving her fiancé Xie Zhan."
Hearing this, Lu Desheng burst into tears.
His appearance frightened Emperor Kang Cheng, "Lord Lu, what's wrong with you?"
Lu Desheng looked at Emperor Kang Cheng with red eyes, "Your Majesty, how did she know this? Her mother and I have been hiding this from her."
Emperor Kang Cheng patted Wei Zili on the shoulder, pitying his parents' love. He asked, "What next?"
"Miss Lu Er suffers from heart disease and is infertile. When my apprentice heard this, he hurried back to report."
In other words, we still don’t know what the situation is over there.
Emperor Kangcheng paced back and forth. Why would the Empress Dowager interfere in such a matter? As a son, he knew the Empress Dowager well. She rarely backed down from anything she set her mind to. Even if Lu Aiqing's daughter had been in such a plight, she wouldn't have hesitated. He feared the matter was already a done deal.
Trouble, doesn't this hurt Lu Aiqing's heart? In the past, he would not bother to care, but today he just showed his loyalty, and his mother turned around and stabbed him like this, wouldn't he be upset?
"Your Majesty, I feel very uncomfortable." Lu Desheng wiped the corner of his eyes. She didn't know how many people would point fingers at her for this in the future.
Emperor Kang Cheng also sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it." Even such a private matter was exposed, which showed that he had been pushed to the extreme.
When Lu Desheng heard this, his body shook, which meant that the emperor did not intend to intervene.
Emperor Kang Cheng looked at him with a look of despair, and he kept blaming himself, "It's all my fault for being useless!"
Emperor Kang Cheng walked back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back. Finally, he walked to the dragon table and took something out of the drawer. He came back and handed it to Lu Desheng, "Take this. I approve of what you just said."
When Lu Desheng saw what Emperor Kang Cheng handed over, he was immediately shocked and stammered, "Your Majesty, this is too valuable. I cannot accept it!"
In fact, Emperor Kang Cheng was hesitant to give the things away on impulse, but Lu Desheng's refusal made him feel relieved that he had not chosen the wrong person. "Take it." The Lu family is simple in population, and this thing should not have much impact in his hands.
Neither the emperor nor his ministers noticed that a young eunuch saw this scene, his eyes bulged in surprise, and then he retreated quickly and carefully.
After Lu Desheng placed the things in his arms, he whispered to Emperor Kang Cheng, "Your Majesty, I want to go back."
"Um?"
Lu Desheng smiled shyly and said honestly, "I have found such a great treasure. I want to go home quickly and hide it away before I feel at ease."
Emperor Kang Cheng laughed, "Are you not worried about your daughter anymore?"
Lu Desheng shook his head and said righteously, "Your Majesty, I believe in the Empress Dowager." His daughter had already exposed her wounds, so there was no point in feeling any more pain. If there was any loss, the worst that could happen was the loss of her marriage to the Xie family. With the treasure in his hands, he was very open-minded.
"Okay, go back." Emperor Kang Cheng also felt a little tired, so he waved his hand and let him go back.
Lu Desheng immediately knelt down to express his gratitude, then quickly left with the treasure and the emperor's reward. At the end, he said that he would go back to practice chess for two days and then fight the emperor for three hundred rounds.
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