Lu Baichuan understood the emperor's meaning and said calmly, "My wife will go with me. She's much better now, and there's a shortage of doctors there, so she can be of great help."
The emperor was just waiting for these words, and he immediately beamed with joy, saying, "Very good, very good! Madam Lu is indeed righteous. When you return, I will reward you handsomely!"
Lu Baichuan didn't care about the reward at all; he just wanted to do what he wanted to do.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
With Lu Baichuan stepping in, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. This meant they wouldn't be sent out; whoever went to that godforsaken place would be doomed.
After the court session, Mr. Qin Jiankang stopped Lu Baichuan and immediately scolded him: "Are you crazy! You want to take your younger brother and sister-in-law to such a dangerous place? You can't be so heartless!"
Qin Jian, who had just gone through the ordeal of his wife's childbirth, was very sensitive to these things. The reason Peng Yuan had accompanied him during her pregnancy was mainly due to the circumstances, and it was something she had no choice but to do.
But now they can be resting and recuperating in the capital, yet they can't stay put and insist on going to the most dangerous place. What is that if not sick?
Lu Baichuan didn't answer their questions directly, but simply said, "Brothers, please look after the house after I leave."
"No, why are you so stubborn? It's fine if you want to go, but why bring your sister-in-law along? Do you know how difficult it is for a woman to be pregnant and give birth!"
Mr. Kang chimed in, "Yes, you should think about your wife and children!"
Lu Baichuan said expressionlessly, "Excuse me, I need to go see the Emperor."
The two: ...
He's gone mad, he can't even understand human speech anymore.
The emperor had expected Lu Baichuan to come to him after court, and he thought he would tell him about his plans for the trip. He was about to ask Lu Baichuan what his thoughts were when, after bowing, Lu Baichuan stepped forward and placed the tiger tally on the table in front of him.
"Your Majesty, I have come to resign from my official post."
The emperor was completely bewildered. He had just taken on the task in the southwest, and now he was saying he wanted to resign? Was he playing a joke on him?
"No, Lu Baichuan, what exactly do you mean by this? Are you going to abandon the disaster-stricken areas in the southwest?"
The emperor was furious. Lu Baichuan kept resigning from his post every few days, and the emperor really couldn't handle it!
"Your Majesty misunderstands. Of course, I must take care of the affairs in the Southwest, but it is true that I am resigning. My wife wants to go out and travel, and I would like to take this opportunity to take her out for a while. After we have dealt with the disaster in the Southwest, we will set off directly and will not return to report for the time being."
He had already explained his reasons for resigning last time, so there was no need to repeat them this time. He finished speaking briefly and then shut his mouth, waiting for the emperor's reaction.
When he resigned for the first time, the emperor thought it was because he was still holding a grudge about what happened at the palace banquet.
But it was only after this resignation that he realized Lu Baichuan wasn't just joking; he genuinely wanted to resign and leave the court to travel.
The emperor took a deep breath. He couldn't keep someone who wanted to leave. Even if he forced them to stay, their heart wouldn't be in their post. Why bother?
Before he could speak, Lu Baichuan continued, "Your Majesty, rest assured, if the court ever needs my help during my lifetime, I will return to serve Your Majesty at any time. However, now that the country is at peace, I would like to make amends to my wife and children whom I have neglected for many years."
The emperor sneered and said sarcastically, "You make it sound so nice, but you won't have any official position by then, so how will you come back?"
After saying that, he quickly continued, "If you want to go out and play, then go ahead and play however you want. As long as the country is not in danger, I will not interfere no matter where you are. But you must not resign from this post. You are my Grand General who assists the country, and you will be for life. I will still pay you your salary, and you will not be short of what belongs to you. Of course, I also have conditions."
As he spoke of the preceding events, Lu Baichuan's brows furrowed tightly, a sense of unease settling in his heart. But upon hearing the last sentence, he instantly felt relieved.
My wife once said that there's no such thing as a free lunch, and that having conditions is much better than making empty promises.
"Your Majesty, please speak."
Since he couldn't resign from his official post, he decided to use it to seek some benefits for himself and his family.
The emperor thought for a moment and said, "I have only been on the throne for a few years and my foundation is not stable. The officials below me have impure thoughts and I have no opportunity to see them. I want you to use the pretext of traveling to secretly visit the people in various places, strictly investigate the officials, and protect the welfare of the people so that I can sit in the court with peace of mind."
"Furthermore, regarding that treasure, I hope you will investigate privately to see if it is true. The Eastern Court people have been coveting it for a long time, which makes me uneasy. However, this matter is indeed difficult to handle, so let it be as it may. I will not force you."
It's just an ancient legend. If Dongting hadn't caused all this trouble, he wouldn't have thought about it so much. But since it's been brought up, he can't just ignore it. It's always good to pay more attention to it.
As Lu Baichuan listened to these arrangements, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily. It was true that money was hard to earn and life was tough.
He was about to resign and would no longer cause any harm to the emperor or the court. It was one thing for the emperor not to let him go, but to entrust him with such a despicable task. How could he possibly enjoy his journey like this?
And you say you won't force it? If you won't force it, why say it at all?
Lu Baichuan remained silent for a long time, creating an awkward atmosphere. The emperor belatedly realized that he might have been asking for too much, so he cleared his throat and tried again: "I won't force you to do the undercover investigation. It's all up to fate. If you want to get involved, then do it; if you don't want to, just report it, and I'll send someone to investigate. How about that?"
He made quite a few concessions, and Lu Baichuan, knowing the importance of the matter, finally nodded.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my utmost."
The emperor was finally satisfied, nodding and smiling so much that his eyes narrowed.
"I trust you to do things right. How many men do you need, and when do you plan to depart?"
"Your Majesty can arrange things as you see fit, but I must take my wife and children and go ahead first. My wife is pregnant and will be slow, which may delay things in the disaster area."
In other words, they went first, and then the troops arranged by the imperial court followed behind.
The emperor thought about it and decided it wasn't a bad idea. After all, Jiang Jiuniang was indeed pregnant and shouldn't rush. It would be better for her to leave earlier.
"Alright, you can leave once you're ready. If anything happens over there, contact us immediately, and I will definitely send people to fully cooperate with you."
As the emperor spoke, he walked around from behind the table, reached out and patted Lu Baichuan on the shoulder like a good brother. In times of crisis, only Lu Baichuan is reliable.
"I understand. Then I shall take my leave."
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