307, Return to the Court
307, Return to the Court
The emperor looked at the ministers sitting across from him. As early as when he was still a prince, he had already admired Lu Mingfei. At that time, he had expressed his intention to recruit Lu Mingfei, but he didn't know whether Lu Mingfei didn't understand his meaning or was unwilling to serve him as his master, so he didn't agree to his invitation.
He felt the latter was more likely.
However, Lu Mingfei did not accept his recruitment, nor did he accept the recruitment of his other brothers. He even resigned from his official position and returned home after his good brother ascended the throne. Although Lu Mingfei returned home for mourning, this alone was enough to forgive Lu Mingfei for rejecting his recruitment earlier.
Some people even feel that Lu Mingfei would be a loyal and useful person because he is loyal to the court and the king.
Now that he has just ascended the throne, he needs manpower around him. Lu Mingfei, a poor boy without any faction, is exactly the person he needs.
In the past, when his father was alive, he could not get too close to the officials in the court. But now that he was the emperor, Lu Mingfei, the newly crowned top scholar and the editor of the Hanlin Academy, was his minister, someone he could use at any time.
Zhao Chen looked at Lu Mingfei's face, his mind turning several times before he asked, "Have you dealt with the affairs of Lord Lu's family?"
Lu Mingfei wasn't surprised that the new emperor knew about his family's affairs. He knew the emperor's reason for asking, and he also understood the emperor's purpose for summoning him to the palace today. He knew that if he could seize this opportunity, he could return to the court and serve as an official.
But is he coming back?
But he knew better in his heart that if he didn't make his stance clear today, he didn't know what would happen to him. Because the person sitting before him was the emperor, the person who held the highest position of power in this era.
"Your Majesty, I have been at home these days, mourning for my deceased relatives." What he meant by this was to tell the new emperor what he had been doing these days. It was also a subtle way of telling the new emperor that he was still in mourning.
When he said this, he was merely stating a fact, without any intention of answering or rejecting it, thus putting the decision-making power in the hands of the emperor.
Lu Mingfei knew exactly why the new emperor had appointed him. It was simply because he felt he was easy to control without anyone behind him. If the emperor knew who was behind him, and what he and Zhao Lang had done, he would most likely throw him in jail.
I heard that after the new emperor ascended the throne, he had many officials and their families thrown into prison. I'm afraid that the prison can't even hold so many prisoners now.
"I have also heard about this." The emperor looked at Lu Mingfei's distressed expression and thought that Lu Mingfei was grieving for his deceased relatives. He consoled him, "My dear Lord Lu, accept my condolences."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." Lu Mingfei stood up and bowed to the emperor sitting on the throne.
"Sit down, sit down and talk." The emperor raised his hand and pressed it down.
After Lu Mingfei sat down, he continued, "I have already found out that it was the traitor Zhao Yu who colluded with foreign enemies and brought in the Hu people, who killed so many people in our Great Yan."
"I let the traitor escape last time. I have ordered the capture of the traitor and his followers."
"Lord Lu, the court is in need of personnel right now. Are you willing to come back and help me?"
"Your Majesty, I am willing to serve you at your utmost." Lu Mingfei stood up and bowed in response.
The emperor smiled and stood up from the throne he was sitting on, walked forward, and helped Lu Mingfei to his feet. He looked at the young and handsome minister in front of him, and the thought of such an outstanding minister being at his disposal immediately filled his heart with joy. He smiled and said, "I knew that Lord Lu is a loyal and patriotic man."
"With your talent, it would be a waste of your knowledge to be an editor in the Hanlin Academy."
"The post of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice is vacant, so you can take over the post temporarily."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." At this moment, Lu Mingfei had no choice but to accept it.
He had originally been an editor in the Hanlin Academy, a sixth-rank official. The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was a third-rank official, meaning he had jumped three ranks in one go. Many officials struggled their entire lives, never making it past the fourth-rank hurdle, but the emperor, with a single word, allowed him to make three jumps, leaping over a hurdle many officials would never cross.
Although it was not a formal transfer, but he was just temporarily filling the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he also held the power of a third-rank official and could use the authority of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, which was much greater than when he was an editor in the Hanlin Academy.
However, the new emperor had just ascended the throne and given the current situation in the court, he was assigned to the Ministry of Justice. This position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was probably not an easy position to hold. The emperor had assigned him to this position not only to test his ability, but also to test his loyalty.
But no matter what, it is better to have real power than to have no real power. He will just sit in the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice for the time being.
That day, the emperor kept him in the palace and had dinner with him before he left.
The emperor also gave him a new house, but the new house had not been cleaned up yet, so after leaving the palace, Lu Mingfei returned to the small courtyard on Chunxi Road.
He returned to the small courtyard on Chunxi Road, where both his father and adoptive father were waiting for him at home.
As soon as he saw him come back, his adoptive father asked him nervously, "Why did His Majesty summon you to the palace?"
Lu Youtian also looked at his eldest son who had returned with a worried look on his face.
"Father, godfather, don't worry. I'm fine." Lu Mingfei gestured for his father and godfather to sit down and talk. After he sat down on a chair, he talked about going to the palace today. "The emperor summoned me to the palace today to ask me to return to the court to take up my duties. He said that the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was vacant, and asked me to fill in temporarily."
"Go to the Ministry of Justice?" Lu Qingfeng frowned. It was obvious that he had also thought that working in the Ministry of Justice was not necessarily an easy job.
"It's not easy to work in the Ministry of Justice, right?" Lu Youtian had gained a lot of experience during his years away from home. Naturally, he knew that with the current situation in Kyoto Prefecture, it would be difficult for his son to work in the Ministry of Justice.
"Whether it's easy or not, I have to take it. Don't worry, I can handle everything on my side." Lu Mingfei knew that the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was a hot topic. But now, even if there was a nail on the head, if the emperor asked him to take the position, he had to take it.
In this matter, it was not his turn as a minister to bargain with the emperor.
That day he chatted with his father and godfather for a while, arranged some things at home, then took a shower and went into the study to write a letter.
He wrote three letters in a row and arranged for someone to deliver them the next day before returning to his bedroom to sleep.
I don’t know if it was because he was thinking about something, but he tossed and turned in bed for a long time that night and couldn’t fall asleep.
…
The next day, before dawn, he got up, changed into his official uniform, and took a carriage to the palace to attend court.
In the past, he was a sixth-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy, and was not eligible to attend the morning court. But now he is a third-rank Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, equivalent to the second-in-command of the Ministry of Justice, and is eligible to attend the morning court.
He hadn't shown up since returning, so it would be nice to show up and meet some people. He didn't know how many officials were still in the court.
He just didn't sleep well the night before. Sitting in the carriage on the way to the morning court, Lu Mingfei felt his head was swelling. "It's really not easy to be a civil servant in ancient times." In addition, the place where he lives now is quite far from the imperial city, so he has to leave home earlier to catch the time for the morning court.
It seems that he will move to the house bestowed by the emperor once it is ready. At least the house bestowed by the emperor is closer to the imperial city and the six ministries, so he can go out later to attend court and work.
When he arrived at the palace gate, quite a few officials were already there.
After getting off the carriage, Lu Mingfei walked towards the crowd.
He didn't recognize most of the officials here. There were only a few who looked familiar, and most of them were strangers. However, even those officials who looked familiar were the kind where he knew them but they didn't know him, so he didn't rush to talk to them.
Seeing his former superior from the Hanlin Academy in the crowd, he walked over to his acquaintance, bowed to their dean and said, "Dean."
"Sir Lu, when did you come back?" The president of the Hanlin Academy squinted his eyes and looked at Lu Mingfei for a while, then he remembered that this was Lu, the editor of their Hanlin Academy, who resigned from his post a few months ago and went home to mourn his father.
However, Editor Lu had only resigned from his post and returned a few months ago. His mourning period should not have ended yet, right? How could he be back so soon?
The dean thought for a moment and realized that Lu Bianxiu had been summoned by the new emperor.
"I just returned to the city yesterday. I have been in my hometown in the countryside for some time." Lu Mingfei replied.
"Oh, I see." The dean nodded, and he understood what was going on.
The adults around were standing in groups of three or four, talking, or standing alone with their eyes closed, not talking to the people around them.
Lu Mingfei and their dean stood at the base of the wall. He lowered his voice and asked their dean, "I have been away for several months. I wonder what the situation is like in the court now?"
"Our Hanlin Academy is similar to before, but the changes in the six ministries are bigger." When the dean said this, he couldn't help but sigh.
When Lu Mingfei heard this, he immediately understood that their Hanlin Academy was a low-paying government office without much real power, so when the new emperor came, he was not in a hurry to touch their Hanlin Academy.
But the six ministries are different. The six ministries are the lifeline of the entire court. Every position therein holds real power. When a new emperor comes, he will definitely purge the old party members and replace them with his own people.
If this is the case, I am afraid that the changes in the entire court will be huge. Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support, mua! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading
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