Jiuxi

Chapter 386 384 [The whole world is an enemy]

Qi Jianwu's fourteenth year, May 28th.

At the beginning of Mao hour, the sky was not yet bright.

In the side hall of the front yard of Shanyang Hou Mansion, Lu Chen and Luo Jiujiu were having breakfast together.

The meal was relatively simple, consisting of porridge, side dishes, sesame seed cakes, and some boiled eggs according to Lu Chen's habit.

Different from his usual style of feasting, Lu Chen ate more slowly and carefully today.

Luo Jiujiu only drank half of the bowl of porridge before putting down her chopsticks and looking at the young prince opposite her. Her expression was a little complicated.

She has been living in the Hou Mansion these days, but Lu Chen has not restricted her freedom, so she can occasionally contact her Twelve Uncle and others outside to learn about the situation in the capital.

She knew that Hou Yu was now under house arrest, and she also knew that Lu Chen made a bold move yesterday, leading dozens of soldiers through the streets and arresting many officials with his own hands as the powerful people in the city watched in disbelief. Although these people did not personally kill Shazhou people like Hou Yu, they were all accomplices of Hou Yu's misdeeds over the years.

Luo Jiujiu is not stupid. She understands that Lu Chen does not do this entirely for the people of Shazhou. It can even be said that giving justice to the people of Shazhou is just a incidental move.

Lu Chen personally arrested so many people, which will inevitably cause a storm in the Qi court. Even if he has the support of the Qi Emperor, can he withstand such great pressure?

When the Lu family's carriage arrived at the square north of the palace, surrounded by dozens of soldiers, it was still dark. Fortunately, the weather was not chilly in midsummer, and the elderly ministers could hold on.

Looking at his handsome face, Luo Jiujiu felt a lot in her heart. Instead of answering the question, she asked: "Are you in danger?"

The courtiers gathered in small groups and whispered in their own small circles, mostly talking about yesterday's major events - in the fourteen years since Yongjia was the capital of Daqi, there has never been such a Tiqi dispatch and arrest in one go. Horrifying scenes of more than a dozen powerful officials.

Lu Chen stood up and said goodbye. Luo Jiujiu originally wanted to send him outside the house, but suddenly felt that this was not appropriate, so she could only watch him leave the side hall and then return to the small courtyard where he lived.

"Miss Luo."

Countless looks were directed at the carriage. If the looks could be turned into sharp arrows, the carriage would definitely be riddled with holes.

Lu Chen tilted his head slightly, as if he didn't quite understand the origin of the question.

It's not like today, with a mixture of indifference, fear, wariness, disgust, and all kinds of negative emotions.

Luo Jiujiu explained: "Aren't you going to the palace to attend the court meeting today?"

Lu Chen said: "Hou Yu's case will be resolved soon. This can be regarded as an explanation to you and you Shazhou people. After the matter is over, I will arrange for someone to escort you back."

Lu Chen walked forward calmly, but even the courtiers who were far away from him would deliberately retreat quietly.

Lu Chen smiled and said: "For me, the safest place in the world right now, besides the border military camps, is the imperial palace in Beijing."

When she came back to her senses, she saw the young man opposite with a gentle look on her face, and quickly replied: "What's wrong?"

But she was still grateful, and at the same time a little bit worried.

Today is the imperial meeting, and many courtiers are participating, especially the officials from the capital who cannot be absent without any reason, so the square is quite lively.

When the Lu family's carriage and dozens of soldiers appeared at the edge of the square, the air seemed to be sprinkled with salt, and all conversations disappeared instantly.

After Lu Chen got out of the car, he immediately felt eyes on him from all directions.

Lu Chen's gentle voice interrupted Luo Jiujiu's thoughts.

Luo Jiujiu looked at him steadily, nodded and said, "That's good."

I recall that when he first came to Beijing the year before last, he had enjoyed this kind of attention-grabbing treatment at the court meeting. However, at that time, the eyes of the officials in the court and central government mostly looked at him with curiosity, and at most with a bit of scrutiny.

It seemed that everyone was making way for him, but in fact they used this method to express their attitude.

The difference is clear.

Lu Chen seemed unaware of this and walked all the way to the southern end of the square. Most of the people here were important officials. Naturally, they would not show their emotions on their faces like those middle and lower-level officials, but they would not be deliberately enthusiastic towards Lu Chen. He just nodded in greeting and then continued to wander.

Standing at the front were the two prime ministers.

Lu Chen looked at the backs of the two men and noticed that there was a distance between them, so he stepped forward to the side of Left Prime Minister Li Daoyan, and saluted respectfully: "Old Prime Minister."

Li Daoyan turned to look, and what appeared in his sight was a young face with a mellow smile.

The old man turned back and looked ahead, and said calmly: "Marquis Shanyang does not need to be polite."

The sense of alienation is palpable.

Lu Chen took two steps forward and stood next to the old man, and said softly: "How is the old prime minister doing now? I wanted to visit him, but I was afraid of attracting criticism from the world and it would be harmful to the clear name of the old prime minister, so I didn't dare Make your own decisions.”

"Cough cough..."

Li Daoyan raised his hand to cover his mouth, obviously shocked by this guy's shamelessness, and then said in a dumbfounded voice: "Why would your coming to visit me cause criticism? What does this have to do with my reputation?"

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Juniors must find a topic, otherwise it will be awkward just standing around."

"You……"

Li Daoyan shook his head and said with a half-smile: "I used to know that you were a ruthless young man, but now I know that you are also very brave. What's the matter, now you know that you are being pointed out by a thousand people, do you feel bad?"

Lu Chen looked at the majestic palace in front of him and said calmly: "Old Prime Minister, this junior has been to Heluo and has experienced more serious scenes than this. To be honest, I really don't care." Li Daoyan turned to look at him. With his decades of ups and downs in officialdom, he could naturally see that what this young man said was true.

The old man couldn't help but rolled up his sleeves, and said softly: "I know that you act with great grace, and you also pay attention to being straightforward and without any sloppiness. This is a good habit you developed in the border army. But you should also understand, There is no eternal solution in this world, and adapting measures to local conditions is the only way to truly solve problems."

To be fair, as the leader of the Jiangnan clan, the old man could be said to be open-minded for saying these words to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen's answer was simple, even a little disrespectful: "Old Prime Minister, if you don't destroy, you won't build. If you break, you will build."

Li Daoyan was not surprised that he would say this. After a moment of silence, the old man said with deep meaning: "Seek the person first, and then the method."

Lu Chen was slightly startled.

He probably understood the profound meaning of this sentence, bowed his head slightly and said: "So this junior took the initiative to come to the old prime minister for advice."

Li Daoyan's eyes were deep and distant, and he sighed softly: "I can't help you in this matter."

Lu Chen's expression remained normal, he nodded and said, "Actually, this is what this junior wants to say."

After Li Daoyan heard this, he couldn't help but look at Lu Chen in surprise, but saw that his eyes were pure and without any impurities.

Lu Chen continued: "When I was at the border, I once talked with Governor Xiao about the ministers in the court. The person he admired most was the old prime minister. I know that the old prime minister cares about the overall situation and never thinks about his own selfish interests. But now that the situation is tense, if the old prime minister is too sober and fair, I am afraid it will make things more complicated."

Li Daoyan really didn't expect Lu Chen to have such thoughts.

He originally thought that this young man came over shamelessly and wanted to persuade him to focus on the overall situation and help the emperor control the situation as much as possible.

However, Lu Chen thought deeper.

For some reason, Li Daoyan suddenly thought of his eldest son Li Shizhi at this moment.

He looked at Lu Shen's calm face, nodded slightly and said, "You are serious."

Lu Chen smiled and said: "With the old prime minister here, there will be no chaos in the Qi court. This is the hope of the younger generation."

Li Daoyan also smiled and said: "With your good words, I will try to live for two more years."

Lu Chen bowed his hands and said no more.

The conversation between the two was so soft that even Xue Nanting, the right minister not far away, could not hear clearly, let alone the courtiers behind.

In fact, when Lu Chen approached Li Daoyan, many people's eyes were fixed on his back. Until he retreated to his position, those eyes still remained.

After a while, the palace door opened, and officials filed in according to their rank.

In the Duancheng Hall, the sound of drums gradually started, followed by Shao music, and finally Danbi music.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites shouted loudly, and all the officials bowed to the emperor four times.

Li Duan was sitting on the dragon chair, his face looked pretty good, and his narrow eyes glowed with indifference.

He looked at the important ministers below the imperial rank, starting with Li Daoyan, Xue Nanting, Guo Congyi, Wang Yan, Liu Shouguang and others, and finally stopped for a moment on Lu Chen's face.

"Every official has something to report!"

The high-pitched voice of the great eunuch Lu Shizhou resounded throughout the palace.

"Your Majesty, I have this memorial!"

A middle-aged civil servant immediately left work and got ahead of the others.

Li Duan narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly: "Tell me."

The civil servant leaned forward slightly and said loudly: "My lord, Han Chang, the Imperial Censor, is here to impeach Lu Chen, Marquis of Shanyang and General of Nanya! He is arrogant and overbearing, ignores the laws and regulations of the court, and tramples on the regulations of the court. I beg your majesty to punish him severely!"

Before he finished speaking, another civil servant came forward.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, Ding Hui, Minister of the Ministry of War, impeaches Shanyang Marquis and Nanya General Lu Chen for relying on his status as an imperial envoy, indiscriminately implicating courtiers, and venting his personal anger in the name of investigating the case!"

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, I, Xie Yanfu, a scholar at the Hanlin Academy, impeached the Marquis of Shanyang and the General of Nanya, Lu Chen, for causing trouble in the imperial court, using clever words, deceiving the emperor, and repeatedly stirring up chaos at home and abroad!"

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, I, Imperial Supervisor Ye Pei Fangyuan, impeach the Marquis of Shanyang and the General of Nanya, Lu Chen, for not cultivating his personal ethics and befriending princes and princes without authorization. He is suspected of being disobedient!"

"Your Majesty, I, the Minister of Rites, Lu Hao, impeach the Marquis of Shanyang and the General of Nanya, Lu Chen..."

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, I will impeach Shanyang Marquis and Nanya General Lu Chen..."

"Your Majesty, I am reporting to He Geng, a doctor in the Department of Civil Affairs, to impeach the Marquis of Shanyang and the General of Nanya, Lu Chen..."

The sounds of playing came and went continuously.

In less than half a quarter of an hour, more than twenty courtiers came out one after another. Their attitude was firm and their tone was sonorous, and they only said one thing.

Impeach Lu Chen!

(End of this chapter)