Lu Chuan gave her an approving look, seemingly quite agreeing with what she said.
"That's excellent," Minister Lu exclaimed.
Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger; those in such positions yearn most for the life of an ordinary person. Even if they are poor, it doesn't matter, at least they don't have to worry about losing their heads one day.
Lu Huai, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, "I wonder who the Military Minister is?"
Lu Chuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "It is General Qin."
Lu Huai nodded knowingly. "Oh."
That was to be expected.
Like Minister Yuan, General Qin was a prominent member of the royalist faction in the court. Although both were loyal only to Emperor Yuming and both were military officers, their personalities were completely different.
General Qin had fought on the front lines for many years and had endured many hardships, yet he was very approachable.
Although Minister Yuan was a military officer, he had never actually been on the battlefield. He merely spoke what Emperor Yuming wanted to hear and refuted what the emperor did not want to hear in court. Even so, he was extremely arrogant, rigid, and serious, and looked down on General Qin, who had long been stationed in remote areas.
...
...
Inside the Imperial Study, General Qin knelt and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."
"Hmm, how is it?" Emperor Yuming had his hands behind his back and did not look at him.
"Your Majesty, quite a few people have already joined my ranks. As for the Prime Minister's... Wen Xiang's lineage, it seems that quite a few have scattered. Now, all that remains are a few stubborn old men who stick to their principles," General Qin said calmly.
"Oh?" Emperor Yuming turned around suddenly, as if he had heard a funny joke. "You mean... they're all old fogies?"
"Eight or nine out of ten."
Emperor Yuming stroked his beard. "Where is Lu Feng?"
General Qin pondered for a moment, thinking it over in his mind, and said, "Minister Lu seems to have made no move yet, as does Minister Du and the other ministers."
Upon hearing this, the emperor gave a cold laugh.
That old fox Qin Deng, I don't know what abilities he has, that he managed to bring five of the six ministers under his wing. Even though his power has clearly been stripped away, these lackeys remain inactive; they're truly good dogs.
There weren't actually that many, but Lu Feng was the one he personally "delivered" to Qin Deng. He thought his son would dislike Qin Qi, causing discord between Lu Feng and Qin Deng. Who knew he'd end up losing out instead, leaving him furious.
Du Wu had no principles whatsoever. He simply befriended Lu Feng and joined Qin Deng's faction along with him. Even his subordinates, including the vice minister, followed him. It infuriated him!
Fortunately, his eldest son was capable enough to come up with a way to reduce his power; otherwise, he might have become an accomplice to evil and things would have gotten out of control.
Emperor Yuming took a deep breath and gradually calmed down. He waved his hand, "I understand, you may go back now."
General Qin bowed and said, "Your humble servant takes his leave."
...
...
Life went on uneventfully, and Qin Qi's eighteenth birthday was fast approaching. Since he couldn't get any answers no matter how he asked her, the wealthy Second Young Master Lu decided to take her shopping and buy her anything that caught her eye.
Qin Xi was speechless at this method, but remained noncommittal.
She was led by Lu Huai as they walked along the road, with A Yu and two maids following behind. Fortunately, they were already married; otherwise, such ostentatious behavior would surely have attracted gossip.
The wealthy and powerful Second Young Master Lu doesn't care about gossip. He has never cared about such things, as long as he is happy.
The weather was gradually getting warmer, so Lu Huai took her to a clothing store and selected several outfits made of ice silk.
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