Jiuxi

Chapter 681: 679 [A Difference in Thought]

It was early winter and the cold came quietly.

Lu Chen came to the east warm pavilion alone and signaled Jinshu and Yusu who were guarding the outer room to keep quiet. Then, under the smiling gaze of the two maids, he tiptoed into the inner room.

The room was warm, with a faint scent of sandalwood wafting through the air. The silhouette of the woman working at her desk by the window looked even more graceful and charming.

Lu Chen walked behind her and leaned over her shoulder.

Wang Chulong did not raise her head, her eyes still fixed on the file in front of her, and she said affectionately, "My husband, do you have anything to do today?"

Lu Chen sat down on the chair next to him and said leisurely, "The personnel adjustments of each infantry have been completed. As the Grand Commander, I will not be in charge of even the daily training. Huang Changshi will lead people to inspect the military preparations in various places. Miss Li's injury has healed. The Feiyu Army is recruiting thousands of new soldiers this time. How can she sit still? In fact, I hope she can continue to recuperate for a while, but she almost fell out with me, so I had to allow her to go back to lead the troops."

Wang Chulong smiled sweetly, stopped writing, and turned around to ask, "My husband, when do you plan to marry Sister Bingxue?"

"This……"

Lu Chen felt a little embarrassed.

The court's commendation for the Feiyu Army, including Li Bingxue himself, has been sent to the Dingzhou Governor's Office. In addition, the eunuch from the capital privately announced a secret decree to Lu Chen. The emperor first affirmed the bravery and loyalty of Li Bingxue and the Feiyu Army soldiers, and then reminded Lu Chen not to do it again. After all, for Da Qi, cavalry is too precious, and it cannot suffer heavy losses in such a war that is irrelevant to the overall situation.

Lu Chen was not surprised by this. In fact, when he submitted the military report, he specifically asked someone to find Li Jingda and asked him to give Xiao Wangzhi enough support in the Military Academy.

Through the conclusion of this matter, Lu Chen has confirmed one thing, that the rulers and ministers in the capital have tacitly agreed that he should accept the few connections left by Li Tianrun, including the Feiyu Army led by Li Bingxue.

In other words, the biggest obstacle between him and Li Bingxue had disappeared at this moment.

During the time when Li Bingxue was recovering from her injuries, Lu Chen insisted on keeping her by his side. Although Li Bingxue teased him for abusing his power for personal gain, their relationship actually improved.

Especially Li Bingxue's occasional weak performance, which is completely different from her usual straightforwardness. This makes Lu Chen feel like he has discovered a new world, and his understanding of her becomes more and more three-dimensional.

The problem is that their relationship seems to have stopped at this stage and cannot move forward.

After listening to Lu Chen's story, Wang Chulong looked at him steadily and said with a smile: "Husband, everyone says that you are extremely smart, but I don't think that's entirely true."

Lu Chen humbly asked, "Madam, please help me solve this problem."

Wang Chulong said softly, "Sister Bingxue expressed her feelings to her husband a long time ago, but they were unable to become a couple due to practical obstacles. She has been deeply in love with her husband over the past few years, and he has mostly passively accepted it, but perhaps he has changed recently. Of course, I am not saying that my husband has done anything wrong, I am just saying that in this matter, Sister Bingxue has done her best, what else can she do? Does she really have to completely abandon her dignity and reserve as a girl and beg her husband to marry her?"

Lu Chen slapped his forehead fiercely and said guiltily: "This is indeed my problem."

Wang Chulong stopped there. She believed that Lu Chen just didn't come around for the time being and would be able to handle the matter properly later.

She skipped the topic and said softly, "Husband, a lot of things have happened in the capital in the past few months."

After getting married, Lu Chen handed over all the power in the dark to Wang Chulong and gave her absolute trust. Therefore, Wang Chulong is now the first member of the Lu family to know the first-hand information about the north and south.

Lu Chen has been busy with military affairs recently and doesn't know much about what's happening in the south. He nodded and said, "You tell me."

Wang Chulong first briefly introduced the situation in the court, starting with the retirement of the left prime minister Li Daoyan and his hometown, to the appointment and removal of the main officials of the six ministries, two courts, nine temples, seven institutes and even the Censorate, and finally the transfer of generals in the Military Academy, the Imperial Guards and the Beijing Camp.

Listening to her clear and pleasant voice, a huge map of interpersonal relationships gradually unfolded in Lu Chen's mind.

When she finished speaking, Lu Chen said calmly: "The day when the old prime minister leaves the court will probably be the beginning of the chaos among the demons."

"Husband, why do you say this?"

"The old prime minister is more than just the head of all officials in Da Qi. If we only talk about the skills and ability to handle government affairs, Xue Xiang and Zhong Shangshu are not weak, but they do not have the prestige and status of the old prime minister. The forces in the capital are complicated and intertwined, but whether it is the emperor, the newly promoted civil officials, the Jiangnan clans or the military merits, they all give the old prime minister enough respect. As long as he is still in the court, even if he no longer manages the government himself, there will be no chaos in the capital."

"But judging from the current situation, the court seems to be very calm?"

"This is just an illusion. Although Tan Zheng, Qu Zhong and others are dedicated, they have only been in the capital for a short time and it is difficult for them to touch the undercurrent beneath the calm surface." Lu Chen frowned and whispered, "In fact, I don't quite understand why the old prime minister is in such a hurry to resign. I went to the prime minister's residence before leaving Beijing. His health is not bad. He can at least stay in the center for another year or two."

Wang Chulong said slowly: "Could it be that because Li Xiang was disappointed with some of the emperor's actions, coupled with his old age and frailty, he decided to leave?"

"It is possible." Lu Chen nodded and sneered, "I think the emperor will be overjoyed at the old prime minister's decision. After all, even he has to consider the old prime minister's opinion and cannot make decisions as he pleases. Now that the haze above his head has disappeared, who in the court can hinder him, the emperor?"

Today was a private conversation between the couple in the boudoir. Even though Wang Chulong could hear the contempt for the current emperor in her husband's words, her mood would not be greatly affected. Anyway, she would stand on Lu Chen's side no matter what.

She changed the subject and said, "There is one more thing. I just received news that the emperor allowed Qin Tiju, the chief of the Textile Bureau, to resign and conferred him the title of Marquis. He was also given gold, silver and land, and was allowed to return home to retire."

Lu Chen was not surprised by this. After all, he had experienced the entire assassination case in the capital and was familiar with the twists and turns behind the incident. Therefore, he asked calmly, "Who will take over?"

Wang Chulong replied, "Su Yunqing, the supervisor of the Weaving Department."

A meaningful smile suddenly appeared on Lu Chen's face.

Wang Chulong couldn't help but feel a little curious when she saw this. After thinking for a while, she asked, "Could it be that this new Su Tiju is my husband's man?"

"Madam is truly extremely smart."

Lu Chen was full of emotion, and then smiled and said: "Not only Su Yunqing, but also the Minister of Justice Gao Huan is my man."

He briefly explained the reason, and Wang Chulong smiled and said, "I was worried that my husband would suffer in the court in the future. Now it seems that my husband has already made up his mind and has inadvertently laid a hidden plan."

"I still like to hear you praise me."

Lu Chen's eyes were full of intimacy, and he leaned closer and said, "How about a reward?"

Wang Chulong said helplessly: "Let's talk about business."

However, Lu Chen's face was getting thicker and thicker. Seeing that he was so persistent, Wang Chulong had no choice but to kiss him on the cheek, then pushed him away and said gently, "The news sent from the south also said that after Qin Tiju resigned, he immediately packed his luggage and left the capital with his family, and Su Yunqing personally saw him off. But when he was about to leave the city, suddenly Li Xiang's personal attendant loudly invited him at the city gate, saying that Li Xiang invited Qin Tiju to stay for a while when passing through Jinlin County, and Qin Tiju readily agreed."

After hearing these words, Lu Chen's fantasies instantly dissipated.

He suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the room, his brows as cold as ice.

Wang Chulong was puzzled, but knew that he must be thinking about a very important issue, so she sat quietly and followed his figure with her eyes.

After a long time, Lu Chen stopped in front of the window and said in a deep voice: "Chu Long, I suddenly begin to doubt myself now. Did I do something wrong?"

Wang Chulong asked with concern: "What's the matter?"

Lu Chen looked at the desolate courtyard outside the window and said slowly, "On the day of the funeral of the previous emperor, Li Zongben arranged in advance for the eunuch Wen Changbao from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to assassinate the emperor. Because Wen Changbao had served in the residence of the third prince Li Zongjian, Li Zongben could drag Li Zongjian into the water to suppress Empress Dowager Xu. At the same time, this is a strategy to kill two birds with one stone. An assassin actually sneaked into the funeral of the mountain tomb. How can the Textile Bureau, as the emperor's personal army, be exempted from responsibility? Qin Tiju must be the first to bear the brunt of it."

"It's just that Li Zongben didn't expect that Ning Bugui, a man from the grass roots, would be so bold as to let his two brothers, who had risked their lives for each other, take advantage of the chaos at the time to unexpectedly kill the king. I thought the matter ended here, but after hearing what you said today, I realized that there might be another mystery."

Lu Chen turned around and looked at Wang Chulong, and snow suddenly floated in his eyes.

Although Wang Chulong was smart, he couldn't figure out the connection between the two things for a moment.

She knew Qin Zheng's unique position in the court, which was almost the same as that of a lone minister. In addition, he resigned this time because of dereliction of duty. Naturally, people in the court and the public did not dare or want to get close to him. At this time, it was obviously only Li Daoyan who would not care about gossip and give Qin Zheng a certain courtesy. After all, they were all important ministers who were extremely relied on by the previous emperor.

But what does Li Daoyan’s invitation to Qin Zheng to his house have to do with the assassination case?

It actually caused Lu Chen to have such obvious emotional fluctuations.

"I saw it with my own eyes that day. Wen Changbao tried to assassinate the emperor with brute force, but Li Zongben easily avoided him. But the young emperor didn't expect that the two assassins hidden among the royal craftsmen were both masters. They took advantage of the chaos and suddenly rushed to Li Zongben. Yuan Yuji and the guards were too late to rescue him. It was me who rushed over in advance and saved Li Zongben from the two assassins. Otherwise, he would have been the shortest-lived emperor in the history of Da Qi."

Lu Chen let out a long sigh, a hint of self-mockery appearing on his face.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and uttered a sentence almost through his teeth: "Now I regret it. If I had not taken action at that time and let Li Zongben die in the hands of the assassin, it might have been a good thing."

"Husband..."

Wang Chulong was shocked, because Lu Chen was full of murderous aura at this moment, as if it was real.

(End of this chapter)