Minister Lu put down his chopsticks, glared at him, and said, "You brat, what are you doing!"
Lu Huai pursed his lips. "There must be something fishy going on. You've been scheming against me since I was a child. You can tell something's up just by looking at you like this. Who knows, you're probably scheming against me now and then against my wife. What can I do? I'll just have to protect her."
Thinking of this marriage, Minister Lu choked and looked away guiltily.
Lu Chuan smiled and shook his head, "Chang Jue, you must not be unruly."
“Oh…” Lu Huai always listened to his older brother, so he responded and didn’t argue back. He just glanced at Minister Lu warily every now and then, only to be glared at back fiercely.
Lu Huai: "..." What are you looking at!
Minister Lu: "..." You brat!
Lu Chuan: "..." Eat your food properly.
Qin Xi: "..." What does this have to do with her?
The meal was finally finished amidst the various thoughts on the matter. Minister Lu seemed to want to say something, but held back, his face turning red.
Qin Qi, understandingly, handed over a glass of water. "Father-in-law, please feel free to say anything to your daughter-in-law."
"No, no." Minister Lu waved his hand in a panic, then pushed the water glass towards him. "You drink it, and I'll talk to you after you finish."
Qin Xi did not refute, but finished the tea in her cup, only to find the three men, father and sons, staring intently at her. Minister Lu was flustered, Lu Chuan was curious, but Lu Huai was very wary.
"..." Qin Xi twitched the corner of her mouth, "What are you all doing?"
Lu Chuan glanced at Minister Lu, who coughed lightly, looked away, cleared his throat, and said, "Yizhi, I have something to tell you."
Qin Qi nodded. "Please speak, sir."
“Yes, this matter is rather tricky.” Minister Lu wiped his forehead with his sleeve. “It’s related to your father…”
"My father?" Qin Qi instinctively gripped the hem of her clothes. "Has something happened to Father?"
Seeing her anxious, Minister Lu quickly waved his hand, "No, no, this... sigh, Changliu, you explain."
Lu Chuan: "..."
"Brother, has something happened to my father?" Qin Qi frowned and looked at him, and Lu Huai followed her gaze.
"Cough." He coughed twice, making a fist with one hand and pressing it to his lips. "It's nothing serious, it's just..."
"Um?"
Lu Chuan sighed, "Prime Minister Qin has been appointed as the Minister of Literature by His Majesty."
Qin Xi was taken aback. Wen Xiang?
What's this?
Seeing that she didn't understand, Lu Chuan spoke again, "Originally, there was only one prime minister in the court, Prime Minister Qin. This morning, His Majesty issued an imperial edict to establish civil prime ministers and military prime ministers, dividing the prime minister's power in two. And Prime Minister Qin is the civil prime minister."
Divide into two?
Qin Xi's furrowed brows relaxed slightly; she understood something.
The establishment of two prime ministers in one dynasty was unprecedented in history. Emperor Yuming had long been wary of his father and had been secretly on guard against him. Seeing his relationship with Lu Huai growing stronger and Minister Lu showing signs of siding with his father, he must have panicked and was willing to break the precedent of having two prime ministers in order to take away his father's power.
While it may seem like he was trying to listen to all opinions, his real intention was to weaken the power of the prime minister in order to consolidate his own position.
That's quite a scheme.
Minister Lu glanced at her cautiously, seemingly a little worried about her, "It's just one more person to assist His Majesty, Yizhi, there's no need to worry too much."
Qin Xi was taken aback, then shook her head with a smile, "Father-in-law, there's no need to worry. It's just power and influence. If one can be healthy and secure, living as an ordinary citizen is perfectly acceptable."
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