Chapter 71 Entering the Court
Chapter 71
As soon as Emperor Kang Cheng left, Lu Desheng wanted to sneak away and hide his achievements and fame.
But just as he was about to leave, Yao Songwen quickly grabbed him and said, "Songwen, thank you, Brother Lu, for your righteous words just now."
Lu Desheng quickly pulled his hand away, "Just talk, don't touch me!"
Many officials from the Yao faction saw the opportunity and gathered around.
"Brother Song Wen, congratulations."
"Master Yao, great joy."
…
With this encirclement, Lu Desheng was trapped in the middle.
So much so that when the ministers walked out, they would pass by Lu Desheng.
Whenever these ministers passed by Lu Desheng, they couldn't help but take a look at his old face, to see if he had some supernatural powers that could coax Emperor Kang Cheng into treating him so wholeheartedly.
Zhou Chengzhong, in particular, couldn't help but wonder in his heart, as both were censors in the Censorate, what was the difference between him and him?
What were they looking at? He didn't have any flowers on his face. Lu Desheng felt a chill.
At this time, the people who gathered around and Yao Songwen were congratulated and took the opportunity to invite Lu Desheng.
"Master Lu, there's a really good barbecue place at the end of Suzaku Street. Would you like to go and try it together?"
"Master Lu, I have always admired your talent. How about we go have a couple of drinks together tonight?"
"Alright, alright, stop surrounding me. He's the one you should be surrounding!" Lu Desheng was getting impatient. He pointed at Yao Songwen and said, "Make way. I'm going home to eat!"
Don't think he can't see what they're thinking. They just want him to get more benefits for the Yao faction. Don't even think he'll agree!
It was only when Yao Songwen saw that he didn't want to pay any attention to them that he said, "Alright, alright, let's all make way for Lord Lu."
Then, Lu Desheng left without looking back, without any reluctance.
The steps he took showed an attitude of not recognizing anyone as his own.
Yao Songwen and others watched him leave with a smile, but they thought in their hearts, this big sprayer Lu is really hard to approach.
This scene was reported to Emperor Kang Cheng by the palace servants. After listening to it, Emperor Kang Cheng nodded, thinking that his beloved Lu was very sensible.
They looked at Lu Desheng with very friendly eyes. Although Lu, this big troll, often scolded others when he disagreed with them, he could sometimes really get along with others.
Xie Mingtang didn't care about the hustle and bustle behind him. He just wanted to go home quickly. Then, on his way back to Xie Mansion from the palace gate, he was stopped at a corner.
Seeing the people who stopped him, Xie Mingtang also had a headache. He quickly said, "Brother Ji, I have asked someone to call Ah Zhan. Don't worry, our Xie family will definitely handle this matter and give you an explanation."
Hearing this, Ji Yongqing, who had been tense all the time, finally relaxed a little. Yes, there is also the eldest son! "Then Sir Xie, please go back soon. I won't keep you any longer." As he said this, he made way.
Secretariat Office
Xie Zhan currently works in the Secretariat, but he is only a secretary and is not qualified to attend court.
As soon as he started his shift, before he even left the office, a colleague came to inform him, "Master Xie, you haven't left yet? Your servant is waiting for you outside the office. It seems like there's something urgent. Please go out quickly."
Hearing this, Xie Zhan nodded, thanked his colleagues, and said goodbye to Shangguan, "Sir Wang, I may have an emergency at home, so I will be leaving first."
His superior waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."
Before leaving the office, Xie Zhan was still calm, but when he saw the anxious look on the servant's face, his heart sank for no reason.
When the servant saw him, he wanted to speak, but was stopped by his eyes.
After he got on the carriage, he was called in for questioning.
After hearing the servant's report, Xie Zhan almost stood up, "Failed? Impossible!"
He had been mulling over this plan against Lü Desheng for nearly a year, taking every possible aspect into consideration. Before it was implemented, no one could have predicted its failure! It wasn't easy to get officials to recommend Lü Desheng for a promotion, not a demotion. And how could this fail? What was his father's job?
The servant didn't know the details, and Xie Zhan didn't ask him any more questions. He just urged the carriage to go faster.
After returning to Xie's house, he went straight to his father's study in the main courtyard. As expected, his father was waiting for him in the study.
As soon as Xie Mingtang saw Xie Zhan, he said, "Ah Zhan, our joint recommendation of Lu Desheng failed. The emperor bestowed upon the Lu family a golden medal of immunity from death! The emperor and Lu Desheng jointly declined the promotion."
"Dad, tell me in detail what happened in the morning court." Xie Zhan was still quite calm.
Seeing him like this, Xie Mingtang calmed down and began to describe what happened in the morning court.
Xie Zhan hadn't expected such a sudden change! Could his former father-in-law actually be such a clear-headed person? Could he even have that much awareness? He didn't think so. Excluding this possibility, Xie Zhan quickly realized that there was a master around Lu Desheng. Not only had this master pointed out Lu Desheng's weaknesses, but he had also managed to block them before they could, or in other words, prevent them from being exploited.
This was equivalent to anticipating his plan and taking targeted precautions! What a powerful person! Who could this person be? Could it be the Qin family? Qin Heng? No, the timing didn't match. This person should have been with Lu Desheng before he obtained the death-free golden medal. At that time, the relationship between the Qin and Lu families might not have been that close. Besides, the Qin family needed the death-free golden medal more than the Lu family. If they had the ability to get it, why didn't they get it themselves instead of helping the Lu family?
Soon, Xie Zhan eliminated the Qin family.
Xie Zhan didn't think about Lu Songli. Lu Songli had already performed amazingly well in the matter of Zhao Bin. He didn't think she could do what that master did.
Xie Mingtang was a little depressed. He was eager to do something big, but unexpectedly he failed to do so.
The biggest blow to him was that Lu Desheng was actually granted a golden medal of immunity from death! It was amazing that such great news was kept secret by his Lu family!
If Lu Songli's decisiveness and ruthlessness had previously changed his opinion of the Lu family, even causing him to feel a bit of regret, then this time, he truly regretted it, and it was heartbreaking. Lu Desheng, you had a golden ticket to immortality, why didn't you tell me earlier! Their two families wouldn't have had to call off the engagement and remarry! And then the Qin family would have gotten such a huge advantage for nothing!
"Dad, there's no need to regret." Xie Zhan analyzed, "Lv Desheng might not have obtained the golden medal of immunity from death in the past. He must have obtained it recently."
Hmm? Xie Mingtang's regrets were slightly lessened after hearing his eldest son's words, but he still felt them. If the Xie family hadn't backed out of the engagement, they and the Lu family would still be in-laws. With some cunning, they could have shared this golden ticket to immunity.
Xie Zhan had just figured out the key. That night in the Weiyang Palace, the Empress Dowager had hurriedly left. Perhaps that was when Lü Desheng had obtained the golden medal of immunity from death. No wonder the Empress Dowager lost her composure. He explained his suspicions to his father.
Upon hearing this, Xie Mingtang felt even worse. In this case, wasn't it that the Xie and Zhao families were helping Lu Desheng?
Compared to the golden medal of immunity from death, Xie Zhan valued the expert behind the Lu family more. He was very wary of the other party's ability to predict the next step. After all, things are mortal, but people are alive. With that expert, the Lu family could easily get whatever they wanted.
Did Xie Zhan not regret it? He did, but his father was already like this, and if he showed any regret, it would only make things worse for his father.
"Should we continue with the subsequent plan?" Xie Mingtang asked. Is there any need to continue?
Xie Zhan nodded and said coldly, "Go on."
"Okay, A'zhan, we still have a chance, right?" Praise and kill, praise and kill, praising is just a means, the killing that comes later is the key. It doesn't matter if Lu Desheng avoids the praise, as long as he can't avoid the killing move, he will still be eliminated by them.
Xie Zhan remained silent. He had a chance, but the odds were slim. Had his father forgotten that Lü Desheng was granted a golden medal of immunity from death? This showed how much Emperor Kang Cheng trusted him.
He continued his plan simply because the stage was set, the play was already halfway through, how could he abruptly stop? Furthermore, Fan Quan was merely a small chess piece; throwing him out would verify his suspicions. If all went well, he could even arrange for Fan Quan to be at the emperor's side.
"A Zhan——"
Hearing the call, Xie Zhan, who was thinking about something, looked up at his father, but when he saw his father's flickering expression, his heart sank, "Dad, is there anything else?"
"Well, A'zhan, what our family lost was the position of Dali Temple Minister, not the position of Dali Temple Vice Minister." Xie Mingtang said with a little guilt.
Xie Zhan's forehead suddenly throbbed with pain. His father! He had said long before that he could lure him with the position of Dali Temple Junior Official! The position of Dali Temple Junior Official, a fourth-rank official, was just right. If the plan didn't go smoothly, the Xie family could still afford to lose a Dali Temple Junior Official.
He was so arrogant that he used the third-rank Dali Temple official as bait! Now, the position of Dali Temple official, which had always been controlled by the Xie family, was lost!
The Yao family is not easy to deal with! Xie Zhan felt tired for the first time. At this time, Xie Zhan finally realized that a family cannot have two voices!
And there was one thing he hadn't mentioned earlier: his father's ability to react on the spot was too poor, allowing Lu Desheng and the Yao family to seize the opportunity. His father had acted so crudely! Looking at the overall situation, once he realized that something was impossible, he should have cut his losses immediately. His father should have immediately recommended an official from their Xie clan to the emperor for the position of Dali Temple Minister!
Xie Zhan began to think about entering the imperial court as soon as possible. He had originally wanted to spend a few years in the Secretariat, carefully planning and managing the business, and opening up another path for the Xie family. But now, he was afraid that it would be impossible.
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