Chapter 42: What a Big Pie
Chapter 42
The next day, as soon as Lu Songli woke up, her parents invited her to the main courtyard for breakfast. After breakfast, her father invited her to the study. Then, Lu Songli saw her father mysteriously take something out of his arms.
"Dad, how did you get this?" Lu Songli carefully took the golden medal of immunity from death from his father's hand and looked it up and down with shining eyes.
A golden medal of immunity from death! Something she had only seen in TV dramas. She hadn't expected Emperor Kang Cheng to be so generous as to give one to her father! Even the Qin family, who had protected the land of Dali for generations, risking their lives for it, might not have earned a golden medal of immunity from death.
Hide, must hide!
Lu Songli looked her father up and down. Her father was okay. There wouldn’t be any kind of deal between the emperor and her father, right?
"Daughter, what's wrong with you? Don't look at your father like that. It makes me feel uneasy." Lu Desheng felt that his daughter's eyes were strange.
Lu Songli looked at him for a few seconds before looking away. Never mind, the Emperor probably wouldn't like her father. It was simply because her father was so good at currying favor with others. It seemed the Emperor was really sold on her father's tricks.
Lu Desheng cleared his throat and told Lu Songli everything that happened in Yugan Palace last night, no matter how big or small.
Lü Desheng had recently been planning to show his loyalty to the emperor, something they had discussed before. By sharing this with his daughter, Lü Desheng was also giving her some feedback.
Lu Songli had originally expected that Emperor Kang Cheng's impression of her father would improve significantly after his expression of loyalty, but Lu Songli never expected that her experience in the Empress Dowager's palace, combined with her father's expression of loyalty, would actually achieve such an achievement - making Emperor Kang Cheng give her a golden medal of immunity from death.
Then her gaze returned to the death-proof golden medal in her hand. Lu Songli now understood why the Queen Mother had rushed to the Yugan Palace in such a hurry last night, as if her butt was on fire. It turned out that it wasn't because of the fire, but because her father had stolen the tower.
Lu Songli calculated the time and slipped away just as the enemy was about to arrive at the battlefield. Her father's departure and the Queen Mother's arrival should have happened at the same time.
"Dad, it's a good thing you ran fast." Otherwise, it's hard to say whether the person who got the golden medal of immunity from death would still be named Lu.
"That's right." Lu Desheng said proudly. He was leaving quickly after getting this great treasure.
She thought about it and felt something was not right. Her father left earlier than her last night, so he should have arrived home before her.
In response to her doubts, Lu Desheng said, "I took another route." He didn't take the shortcut, but took a detour because he was afraid that someone would catch up with him.
Lu Songli gave him a thumbs up and said, "How treacherous."
Lu Desheng glared at her, "How can you describe your father as treacherous?"
"Dad, I was praising you."
"Dad, this is a life-saving item, you have to keep it safe." After examining it, Lu Songli handed the death-proof gold medal back to her father. She was unsure if this item was specifically for a specific chapter. If not, it would be very useful.
Lu Desheng took it carefully and warned her, "This matter only needs to be known by you, me, and your mother. Don't let anything slip."
"That can't happen." Hearing her father's warning, Lu Songli was a little surprised, "You won't tell my elder brother and younger brother either?"
Lu Desheng hurriedly said, "Don't tell them yet." It wasn't that he didn't trust his son. After all, his eldest son already had a wife, and he knew the power of pillow talk. "Your eldest brother is a simple man, but as for your younger brother, I'm afraid he might talk in his sleep and let this slip."
A pot fell from the sky, Lu Mingzhi's younger brother: When did he develop the habit of talking in his sleep?
Lu Songli: As expected of her father, he has such double standards. He dotes on his wife but still complains about his sister-in-law’s influence.
Lu Desheng didn't think there was anything wrong with his decision. So much had been going on at home recently, and his two sons weren't home. While their reasons for not being home were understandable, he still felt uncomfortable.
The little girl was different, she could help him. Besides, the daughter had to take half the credit for getting the golden medal of immunity from death from the emperor.
"My mother has no objection?"
"She has no objection." The existence of the death-free golden medal was a trump card, but they were just not told. If the two brothers really encountered trouble, they would have to use it.
Neither of them mentioned her sister, Lu Songyun. In Lu Desheng's opinion, a daughter who is married off is like spilled water.
For Lu Songli, this golden medal of immunity from death was earned by her father through his own ability, so she can do whatever she wants with it.
"Dad, this secret can't be kept." After the initial excitement subsided, her rationality returned, and Lu Songli thought of the scene where the Queen Mother hurriedly left for the palace last night. Few people knew that her father had received a golden ticket to avoid death, but if the Queen Mother knew, how could she allow the Lu family to keep such a powerful weapon in their possession?
Since ancient times, it has been difficult to snatch treasures, and even more difficult to keep them.
When Lu Desheng heard his daughter's explanation, he also thought of this point. It was indeed true.
"Be prepared to deal with it."
"My dear, the emperor also gave me a magic pill." Lu Desheng took out a red pill the size of his little finger. "When you smell it up close, it has a light, cool, fishy fragrance. It's a very special smell."
Lu Songli was shocked, "Dad, you can't touch this thing." This thing is full of poisons, mercury poisoning, heavy metal poisoning, and mineral poisoning...
"Dad, this elixir doesn't use ingredients that can prolong life."
Just think about how this thing is made, cinnabar, gold, mercury and various minerals. I heard that they also put girls' menstrual blood in it. They really dare to put anything in it. It makes my scalp tingle just thinking about it.
Seeing that his daughter was obviously frightened, Lu Desheng quickly comforted her, "Don't worry, I'll keep it and won't touch it."
Even after receiving her father's assurance, Lu Songli was still worried and snatched the pill away. "I'll take care of this pill for you. If the emperor asks, just say you ate it."
"Okay, okay." He was also very disgusted when he heard his daughter talk about some of the materials for alchemy.
Seeing this pill, Lu Songli's heart was pounding. Your Majesty, oh your Majesty, how could you be so stupid as to take this chronic poison!
She had originally thought that Emperor Kangcheng would be a golden thigh. After her father successfully climbed up to the throne, the Lu family would have a long period of peace. At least before Emperor Kangcheng passed away, the Lu family didn't have to worry.
Emperor Kangcheng was forty-eight this year, and Lü Songli wasn't greedy. As long as he worked hard and lived to sixty, that would be enough. That would give their family twelve years of peace and stability, a period that would also include the Qin family's exile and their counterattack on Chang'an. If the Qin family was as fortunate as the novel described, they could secretly find an opportunity to befriend them and board their ship. They didn't seek to remain standing forever like the Xie family in the novel. They simply hoped to ensure a safe transition to a new dynasty.
However, it was clear that Emperor Kang Cheng was now overdoing it. Lu Songli dared to say that Emperor Kang Cheng might not live past sixty. It was unknown whether Emperor Kang Cheng was taking elixirs frequently. If so, it was likely that he would not have lived even a fraction of twelve years.
What to do now? It was clear that Emperor Kangcheng's golden thigh was no longer secure, and there was no telling when he would die. Shouldn't they prepare a retreat? She had to think about which prince was suitable for the Lu family to secretly invest in. It was a headache, a hassle. No, no, no. Her father had just pledged his loyalty, and now he was investing in another prince. Did he think the head on his neck was too comfortable?
Lü Songli was on the verge of tears. Damn it, shouldn't she have thought of this earlier? Emperor Kangcheng was obsessed with Buddhism and Taoism, claiming to be the Great Pure One. How could he not have touched the elixirs of the immortals? Then she thought, over the past five thousand years, countless wise and powerful emperors had fallen in their old age on the elixirs concocted by these Taoists! Famous emperors included Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang, and Emperor Yongzheng, all renowned for their civil and military prowess. Compared to these wise rulers, she wasn't surprised at all that Emperor Kangcheng was superstitious about this.
The key is, what should their family do next? What kind of retreat should they prepare? It's best to have a two-pronged plan, do both well, and be strong in both.
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