Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

A little earlier.

There were six carriages, four for people and two for cargo. Although the road surface was compacted, the dirt road was inevitably bumpy due to rain and snow, and the rugged road caused the rear part of the shaft to shake slightly.

The curtains on both sides of the carriage were drawn, and the door curtain in the middle was opened, revealing a crowd of curious faces looking around, as if the people around them were also a fresh scenery in their eyes. After looking around enough and looking into the distance, they could already see the gray outline of the city.

"We've finally arrived in Shangjing."

Among the four carriages, Lu Sili in the second carriage had followed Yelu Yanxi in his travels around the five capitals. Except for Lu Siyan, the head of the family, the others had almost never left the area of ​​Xijin Prefecture.

"Shangjing doesn't look that good..." Lü Yan's brother Lü Jieshi, who was following behind, stood on tiptoe on the shaft of the carriage and looked at it: "It feels much worse than Nanjing."

"Second brother, you are so picky. How can you have a place in Nanjing?" A weak voice came from behind. A woman who was only about the age of marriage also stuck her head out. She glanced at the young man and said, "Otherwise, we wouldn't have come here."

"Nuh...nuh!" The young man, whose face turned red at his sister's words, glared at him, then sat back in the carriage angrily: "I heard that Shangjing is preparing for the imperial examination. It's just right. I originally planned to participate in the imperial examination of the Liao Dynasty next year. Although I don't have the opportunity now, I can also participate in the imperial examination of the Qi State to see what level I am at."

The car moved forward, shaking from time to time. After speaking, Lu Jieshi crossed his arms and waited for a long time without hearing what his sister said. He raised his voice and said, "Third sister, I said I want to participate in the imperial examination of Qi State. Did you hear me?"

The girl who stuck her head out rolled her eyes and said, "I think you've become stupid from studying so much, don't talk to me." She rubbed her forehead with her hand and pretended to have a headache: "My eldest brother and my younger brother are both very smart, how come a genius like you appeared in the middle of them."

"What...what's wrong with me? Lu Yujian! I am your second brother after all, you have to respect me!" The young man, who was speechless because of his sister, shouted.

But the girl over there was too lazy to say anything. She just stared at the woods and fields on both sides. Acres of fertile fields were turning green. Busy farmers stood on the ridges of the fields, wearing straw hats and lowering their heads, not knowing what they were looking at. The barefoot children looked at the girl in the car and ran after her with laughter.

Linhuang Prefecture appeared larger in their field of vision. The official road became wider and smoother. The city wall that stretched for miles was simple and majestic. The Lu family members looked at the wall that stretched from east to west, and smiles appeared on their faces. One of the women picked up the baby in her arms, pointed at the wall and whispered something.

Soon, the Lu family's carriage entered the city from the south gate calmly, and then stopped on the street in the city. It turned out to be the two brothers Lu Siyan and Lu Sili who wanted to see what the South City, also known as Hancheng, was like now.

"You guys go ahead first, Si Li and I will catch up in a while."

The man, who was middle-aged but still had a good appearance, waved his hand, signaling the vehicle to go to the front. Then he stood on the street with his brother and watched the carriage go away. Then he patted his waist and stretched his legs.

"If I don't take two more steps, my old bones will fall apart."

"Brother is the one who has the idea. I am also tired of riding in a car. I don't know how the women in my family can bear it."

The two middle-aged brothers talked and stretched their bodies as they walked forward slowly. The younger brother, who had once been a Privy Councilor in the Liao Kingdom, looked around and said, "Shangjing seems to have changed a lot. I remember that I came here with Yelu Yanxi in the first year of Tianqing. Now it is no longer what it used to be."

Walking and stopping, Lu Siyan would occasionally pick up something from the stall to look at it. When he saw a hairpin that he liked, he would pay for it and put it in his arms: "You can't tell that this place has been through war in the past two years."

Turning his head to look at the head of the Nanjing Lu family, he had a relaxed expression on his face: "I remember that I also applied for an official position here, but unfortunately there was fierce competition among several families at that time, and in the end it was taken by the man named Zhao."

"Now my surname is still Lu." Lu Sili stroked his neatly trimmed beard and smiled with a sense of success.

Naturally, the elder brother beside him was no less impressive.

The two chatted and walked as they passed the street here. When they turned around, Lu Sili paused and turned his head to look inside the alley.

"It's better not to say certain things in the future... Hmm? Sili, what are you doing?" As Lu Siyan was speaking, he suddenly felt that there was someone missing beside him. He stopped and turned around to see that his brother was still standing there without moving.

"It seems... I saw someone familiar."

The man tilted his head, feeling a little unbelievable, hesitantly turned his head to look at his brother, then turned his head to look at the alley, shaking his head repeatedly: "No, no, I must have seen it wrong, that person can't be here."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Lu Sili turned around and took his brother's arm. He no longer had the heart to wander around: "Let's go quickly. Let's go inform Yan'er and Guan'er first. The sooner we see His Majesty, the better."

Lu Siyan nodded, no longer bothering about his brother's strange behavior, and said, "That's true. I'll see you sooner and I'll have nothing to worry about."

They moved in a hurry, and within a moment they caught up with the convoy that had stopped ahead to wait for people. Then the six carriages drove towards the imperial city again.

Not long after, the carriage slowly entered the imperial city under the watchful eyes of teams of black-armored soldiers, and was guided by a team of cavalry to stop in front of the gate of the inner palace. The Lu family members got off the carriage somewhat stiffly, and Lu Yan, who received the news, hurried over.

Different from the spirit of the current Liao soldiers, the soldiers standing guard gave them more of a faint sense of threat. When their gazes swept over, the women and children of the Lu family could not help but look away, not daring to look directly at them.

"These are the imperial palace guards. What are you afraid of?"

Lu Yan stood beside his father Lu Siyan, turning his eyes from time to time to look at his wife and children. During the glance, he found his brother trembling beside him. He raised his hand and slapped him: "I am still the Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, how come I don't see you afraid?"

"Who... who is afraid?" Lu Jieshi puffed out his chest, then collapsed: "It's just that their eyes are weird and creepy. I have never seen such soldiers when I was in Xijin Prefecture before."

Lu Yan's expression was a little complicated for a moment. He looked at his father and uncle, shook his head, and patted his brother on the shoulder: "Okay, just follow the rules in the back and don't make any unnecessary movements."

After a while, a eunuch ran out from the imperial palace, saluted carefully to everyone, then bowed his head and said loudly: "His Majesty has summoned you, please follow me into the palace."

At that moment, everyone in the Lu family took a breath. Lu Siyan and Lu Sili walked in front, Lu Yan lagged behind half a step, and the rest of the people followed behind according to their gender and seniority, and followed the eunuch in.

He had no mood to look at the scenery of the palace. The atmosphere in the palace, with the backdrop of the feng shui walls, stone carvings, and guards, was extremely oppressive. As he went deeper, it seemed to come alive and pressed down on him, making the Lu family members, who had their own thoughts, dare not act rashly.

I walked carefully along the steps, looking at the square bricks carved from rocks that extended all the way forward. On both sides stood various stone lamps depicting ferocious beasts. Palace maids and eunuchs walked back and forth, and I didn't know what they were busy with.

The sky was moving among the clouds. The crowd, who had no idea where they were going, felt a little dizzy and followed the figure in front of them into a hall.

"Your Majesty will be here soon, please wait for a moment."

The eunuch said something and then retreated. The palace was not big, and there were complete tables and chairs inside. The furnishings were very exquisite, but the three men in the Lu family who were officials knew that this was not a place for formal receptions.

"Your Majesty...what do you think of my Lu family?" Lu Siyan looked at the landscape painting hanging on the wall, but had no intention of going forward to appreciate it. Instead, he stroked his beard and looked at his son.

"Father." Lu Yan pursed his lips and looked around: "Your Majesty still respects me and my brother Guan, but he left home at a young age after all, and he is the emperor."

The two middle-aged men frowned at the incoherent words, but then they relaxed. Lu Sili sighed, "I thought about it before coming here. It's normal for him to have little affection for his family, as he started his own business."

"That depends on how much merit you can make in the future." Lu Siyan said, pulling his beard. He looked at the women and children in the family and found that they did not sit down without permission, but just stood and looked around curiously. He felt a little comforted and relieved.

At this moment, a voice came from outside: "Your Majesty has arrived——"

Then Lu Bu, dressed in a black suit with red edges and gold patterns, strode in, guarded by two men, one tall and one fat, and followed by eighteen armored soldiers. They walked to the door and stood on both sides.

The Lu family members in the room turned around respectfully. Lu Yan stepped back to the back of his father and uncle and bowed, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

The staff is not prosperous.

These four words suddenly jumped into my mind. The figures standing in front of me were clearly visible. The oldest ones were the two brothers of the Lu family. There were no older generations above them, and there were not many younger generations below them, except for Lu Yan and his two siblings...

He glanced behind Lu Sili and saw two married women and their husbands, and below them were only one or two children. The total number was no more than twenty.

It took only a few breaths of time for Lu Bu to approach with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, and put on a friendly smile on his face: "There are no outsiders here. We are all family. There is no need to be so polite."

Then he walked to the main seat in the front and sat down. Lu Siyan and Lu Sili watched Yu Cheng and Wei He, who were definitely not their family members, walk to Lu Bu and stand beside him.

Lu Bu chuckled and waved his wide sleeves: "Everyone, sit down."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Everyone in the Lu family thanked them and went to sit down on both sides.

……

The news of vehicles entering the imperial city and the Lu family coming to seek refuge did not spread, and no one cared. As Qi stabilized, more and more people here walked into the city and bypassed it.

In an ordinary house in the south city, more than a dozen figures sat together around a blueprint. The person in the middle had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a good-looking face. He tapped the table with his fingers: "The imperial examination is coming soon, and this place is the place to take the exam. It's a pity that we learned the news too late. Otherwise, we could have sneaked in and done something, and the fire would have been set even faster. Now we can only take advantage of their unpreparedness and launch a surprise attack."

Someone raised his head and moved his lips. The people in the middle looked over and said, "Our internal supporter is not in a high position now. It was not easy for him to get the blueprint. Don't doubt him. He is also a Khitan noble. He surrendered out of necessity. Now he has come back from his mistakes. It must be not a fake. Otherwise, you and I would have been captured by the Qi army today."

The figure over there lowered his head. He paused and looked around: "One more thing. If it weren't for this thing, I wouldn't have gone out. Pay more attention to the movements outside today. Is there any movement on the streets of Qi State..."

squeak-

The door opened, and the men standing in a circle reached out to their arms. Only the figure standing in the middle waved his hand. The figure who walked in hurriedly closed the door and said angrily: "Who told you to get out! Didn't you agree to discuss anything with me first? If someone sees you, you're going to kill my whole family!"

The man calmly reached out his hand to stop him and pointed to the side: "Calm down, no one is watching me, sit down first."

The figure sat down angrily.

……

"Let's stop here today. I'm a little tired."

As the daylight shone from the west, the voices of conversation gradually slowed down. Lu Bu stood up from his seat, and the Lu family members on both sides quickly followed suit.

"It's over? I want to go out, um..."

The figure, who was only about six or seven years old, was no longer willing to listen to the adults talking, so he jumped off the seat and was about to run.

The woman at the side hurriedly stopped the child who had lost his patience, and while pulling him back, she covered his mouth with one hand to prevent him from shouting and interrupting the emperor's speech.

"It seems that we have been chatting for a long time, and the child has become a little anxious." He said jokingly. The woman over there hurriedly wanted to pull the child to apologize, but Lu Bu stretched out his hand to stop her: "I also have a child, how could I not know that this is his nature, there is no need to apologize for this."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your magnanimity." Lu Yan bowed. That was his child, and according to seniority, he should call Lu Bu uncle.

Lu Bu just waved his hand, and his tall figure walked forward: "I told you that we are family, so there is no need to be polite."

He paused as he was about to step out of the door: "By the way, when you go back to your residence, keep a low profile for a few days and don't wander around. There has been some unrest in Linhuang Prefecture recently."

The two brothers Lu Siyan responded instinctively at first, then they looked at each other, the elder brother winked, and Lu Sili pondered for a moment before speaking: "When we came here, we saw many officials on the street, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment... I wonder what your majesty means?"

Lu Bu was about to say nothing, but thinking that he had already spoken, he tilted his head slightly and said, "Someone from the Liao Kingdom leaked the news and wanted to prevent me from holding the imperial examination. Unfortunately, there are people in the city who are helping them. My people are working hard to find them."

Turning around, the figure walked out of the door and his voice spread to the back: "Anyway, just let me know. I don't want you to wait until the first day..."

"Your Majesty." Lu Sili suddenly took two steps forward to the door and interrupted: "This... the person you are talking about, I think I saw him."

The emperor, who was walking down the stairs, suddenly stopped. Yu Cheng and Wei He, who were following behind him, also stopped and turned back to look at the figure near the door in surprise.

Lu Bu suddenly turned around, stepped up two steps, and walked to the uncle in this body: "Did you see it?"

The other party nodded slowly. (End of this chapter)