Jiuxi

Chapter 1044 Extra 08 [Father and Son]

In the imperial harem, not far to the west of the Qianqing Palace is the Zhongcui Palace.

This is the bedroom of Imperial Concubine Li Bingxue.

Starting from the third year of Datong, Li Bingxue no longer directly intervened in military affairs. After all, as a noble concubine, it was not easy for her to stay in the military camp for a long time like before. In fact, Lu Chen had no such requirements, but Li Bingxue did not want to attract the advice of those important officials from the outer court.

Even so, she still has a profound influence in the army, especially among the military heroes who came from the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office, such as Xu Gui, Duke of Cheng, Fan Wendi, Duke of Jing, Huo Zhen, Duke of An, and Zhang Zhan, Marquis of Jingyuan, who have always been respectful to Li Bingxue.

In the side hall, Li Bingxue, who was 34 years old at the time, was sitting on the couch, chatting with two princes.

The boy sitting on the chair on the right is the ninth prince Lu Wei, who is seven years old this year and is temporarily living with his mother in this Zhongcui Palace.

He obviously inherited the good looks of Li Bingxue, with fair skin and handsome features, and a hint of heroic spirit between his eyebrows. In terms of appearance alone, he is second only to Crown Prince Lu Jiusi and Fourth Prince Lu Jing among all the princes.

During the years when he was growing up, Li Bingxue gradually put aside the affairs of the outer court and turned her attention to the harem, so she had ample time to teach and train him, so that he did not become arrogant. Although he was young, he was very polite.

Sitting opposite him was the second prince Lu Chen, who was eleven years old this year.

Compared to his younger brother who is born of the same mother and is still very immature, Lu Chen has a vaguely youthful temperament.

He left Zhongcui Palace last year and currently lives in the princes' residence adjacent to the east of the imperial city. This is where the princes live from the age of ten to sixteen. They study and practice martial arts here. They can go to the palace to see their mother at any time on weekdays. As for their father, it depends on whether Lu Chen is free.

There was only one exception among all the princes, and that was Crown Prince Lu Jiusi, who had lived in the East Palace from the very beginning.

The chat between mother and son was very heartwarming. Li Bingxue had never liked those flashy principles, so she paid more attention to the details of Lu Chen's life in the prince's residence, such as food, clothing, housing and transportation, what he had learned in the past year, how he got along with other princes, whether he had made some new friends, etc.

"I met the wife of Duke Cheng a few days ago, and she said that Xu Zhun is always by your side?"

Li Bingxue looked at the second prince with a smile.

Xu Zhun is the youngest son of Xu Gui, Duke of Chengguo, and is twelve years old this year.

The princes would certainly not be isolated from the outside world. Lu Chen would never allow this to happen. Therefore, whether they were studying or practicing martial arts, they had a group of companions, who were the sons of outstanding military officers in the capital.

Lu Chen is second only to Crown Prince Lu Jiusi in age. His mother's family has deep connections in the military, his uncle is the Minister of Military Industry, and he himself has good talent in martial arts, so he can easily win the respect of some young boys.

"Yes, mother."

Lu Chen said respectfully: "I know my limits and will try to pay attention to the impact in the future."

Li Bingxue was slightly startled, then shook her head and said, "You kid... don't let your imagination run wild. A person of integrity is not afraid of his own shadow. There is no need to avoid socializing. Your father has already said that he had made a decision about the future of you princes a few years ago. All you need to do is study hard, practice martial arts and increase your knowledge."

Lu Chen lowered his head slightly and said, "I'll remember this."

Li Bingxue felt a little helpless.

Lu Chen and Lu Wei are both her flesh and blood. As a mother, she certainly doesn't favor either one over the other. But at the moment, it seems that Lu Chen's personality is not quite like hers. He always looks like he has a lot on his mind at such a young age - this is also unlike his father. When Li Bingxue and Lu Chen met in Guangling City, although he gradually had the aura of a dragon and an elephant, he never pretended to be profound.

Fortunately, Lu Chen is still young. If I spend more time to comfort him, I think he will be able to turn around slowly.

Li Bingxue was just about to start talking again when someone outside the palace suddenly came with a message. Not long after, Concubine Duan Gu Wan'er walked in with a smile.

The two princes quickly stood up and saluted. Gu Wan'er stopped them repeatedly and then took the initiative to greet Li Bingxue.

Many years have passed, and the former Yongjia courtesan's appearance has not changed, but she has become more elegant and charming.

Perhaps because of her self-awareness, Gu Wan'er lived a comfortable life in the palace. She respected Lin Xi and Wang Chulong very much, and she had a deep friendship with Li Bingxue from the days when they accompanied each other. In addition, she was not competitive and kept to her lot, and she was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Not only were other nobles very polite to her, but even Lu Chen would often go to her to relieve his fatigue.

"Just now I thought you hadn't been here for a while, and now you are here."

Li Bingxue smiled and invited her to take a seat.

Gu Wan'er said with a sigh, "It's because Lu Qi is so stubborn that he doesn't want to learn martial arts. No matter what I say, he won't listen. I really can't do anything about him. So many princes have to learn martial arts to keep fit. It's not that we want them to become powerful masters. After all, they can have fewer minor illnesses and disasters, and it may extend their lifespan."

Lu Qi is the sixth prince born to Gu Wan'er. He is her only son, so she inevitably spoils him a little. Fortunately, Lu Qi is a reserved person who only loves reading and practicing calligraphy, and never causes trouble outside.

Li Bingxue immediately felt sympathetic, as being a mother isn't easy at all.

Gu Wan'er smiled and changed the subject, "Sister, I just heard something new."

Li Bingxue stopped thinking and asked with a smile: "You are almost becoming a gossip in the palace, but His Majesty doesn't want to restrict you. Tell me, what's the interesting thing?"

"It's all spread out there now."

Gu Wan'er praised: "The protagonist is our eldest princess!"

"Changle?"

Li Bingxue asked in surprise: "What happened to her?"

Gu Wan'er praised, "What else could it be? Changle went out of the palace incognito this morning, and somehow found a big case in West City. It seems that a well-known restaurant was secretly forcing women into prostitution and killing people. Changle brought a group of personal guards to catch them red-handed, and informed Shuntian Prefecture in advance, so they caught them red-handed!"

"No wonder His Majesty likes her so much."

Li Bingxue said, "It's hard to stop this kind of thing. It's great that she can help her father share his worries. I just don't know who is so bold and reckless. To be able to cause such a big scene, I'm afraid it must be related to a senior official in the court."

"That's not clear."

Gu Wan'er shook her head and said, "I only heard someone vaguely mention it. It seemed to be called Jinxiu Tower."

Li Bingxue did not notice that when Gu Wan'er said the three words Jinxiu Tower, Lu Chen's expression changed drastically and he immediately lowered his head to cover up.

The eleven-year-old Second Prince lowered his head, his hands clenched quietly in his sleeves, the panic in his heart could not be described in words.

……

Qinzheng Hall, Imperial Study.

Lu Xinyi stood beside the throne with a dignified manner, side by side with Crown Prince Lu Jiusi.

There were two important ministers sitting opposite each other in the hall. On the left was the white-haired Prime Minister Xu Zuo, and on the right was the Chief Military Minister, Duke Baoguo Li Jingda.

There was another person with a strong build and slightly graying temples. At this moment, he was kneeling on both knees with his head bowed to the ground.

It was Xu Gui, Duke of Chengguo, who hurried into the palace.

Behind the imperial case, Lu Chen raised his hand and rubbed his brows, saying unhappily, "Get up."

Xu Gui replied with great guilt: "Your Majesty, I am too ashamed to stand here."

"How can a dignified duke act like a rogue in front of me?"

There was no expression of joy or anger on Lu Chen's face, and judging from his tone, he didn't seem to be too angry.

However, Xu Gui did not dare to be careless. He knew the emperor's taboos better than most people in the world, especially the evil act of relying on power to oppress the common people. This might not be a big problem in previous dynasties, but the current emperor was different - if you do it, never let him know, otherwise you will be severely punished. Three years ago, Lu Jing, the Marquis of Ping'an, was stripped of his title and executed for stealing the people's property.

Therefore, he said honestly: "Your Majesty, Jinxiu Tower is my family's property. Although Xu Ling, that beast, doesn't have the guts to do such a thing, he is the owner of Jinxiu Tower and should bear the responsibility if something goes wrong. I am also guilty of not educating my son well. I ask Your Majesty to have the officials investigate this case thoroughly and punish all those involved in the case in accordance with the court laws, including me and Xu Ling. I have no complaints!"

Li Jingda sighed silently.

He knew that Xu Gui was not acting on purpose. He had been a bachelor for decades. Otherwise, he would not have won the trust and respect of the emperor so early and would not have been given one-third of the military forces in the capital area to command.

"You get up first."

Lu Chen slightly emphasized his tone, but Xu Gui was not stupid, and he quickly thanked him and stood up.

"Because of your reputation as Duke Cheng, Jinxiu Tower was blocked by the officials of Shuntian Prefecture and even the Jingzhi Bureau could not place too many spies. It was also for this reason that the managers of the tower, led by Hu Qingyan, forced more than 40 women to become prostitutes in just one year and two months, and tortured 17 of them to death."

Lu Chen flipped through the case file in front of him and said calmly, "At this point, whether you and your son are involved or not, you must bear the consequences of this case."

The calmer the emperor was, the more uncertain Xu Gui felt.

Lu Chen turned to look at Xu Zuo and asked, "What does the Prime Minister think of this case?"

Xu Zuo glanced at the dejected Xu Gui and said thoughtfully, "Your Majesty, brothels have been difficult to ban from ancient times to the present, but this business is not only immoral, but also breeds a lot of sin. In my opinion, it is not ruled out that some women are willing to enter this business, but most are forced to do so, which has led to many cases of trafficking, coercion, abuse and even murder. The court really had no time to take care of it in the past few years. Now, we might as well use the Jinxiulou case to investigate and rectify all brothels in the country."

Li Jingda secretly thought that he was worthy of being the Prime Minister, and that this was a role model worthy of learning for him.

He felt that the Jinxiulou case was actually very simple and the facts were clear. The only thing worth considering was how to deal with the father and son, Xu Gui and Xu Ling.

Although Xu Zuo is the Prime Minister, he never interferes in military affairs, and naturally will not interfere in this matter now, but he also cannot avoid answering it, so he only needs to slightly raise the level of this case, which will be the best way to have the best of both worlds.

Of course, Lu Chen knew Xu Zuo's thoughts. He nodded slightly and said, "Then how far do you think we should go?" Xu Zuo replied, "Your Majesty, there has always been a trend of superiors following suit in the officialdom. Many trends in the market are set by officials. In my humble opinion, while further regulating the brothel business, it may be possible to ban Qin officials from entering such places of pleasure. In addition, those criminal acts must be severely punished. Not only should the government at all levels conduct regular inspections, but if they encounter complaints from brothel girls, they must not be perfunctory. Violators should be punished with the most severe measures."

"It makes sense."

Lu Chen thought for a moment. He knew that it was unrealistic to completely ban this business in today's era, but he couldn't just pretend that nothing had happened. At least he could take it step by step and use a large number of heads to make those scum behave themselves. So he slowly said, "This case will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple and the Censorate. The cabinet should pay more attention to it and use this case as an opportunity to clean up those evil spirits. At the same time, we must give an explanation to the victims. Part of the silver and money seized from the homes of those involved in the case must be used to compensate the people. You must personally keep an eye on this matter."

Xu Zuo bowed his head and said, "I accept your order."

Lu Chen then looked at the sweaty Xu Gui and said expressionlessly, "Go back home and stay here quietly. We'll make a decision after we find out the truth."

Xu Gui didn't dare to say anything more, he bowed and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

The three of them bowed and left.

Dai Hongji, the chief eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was very perceptive and quickly signaled to the other palace servants to quietly retreat.

Only the three members of the royal family were left in the imperial study. Seeing that everyone else had left, Lu Xinyi came over and took Lu Chen's right arm, saying in a tender voice, "Father..."

Lu Jiusi felt a little envious when seeing this scene. He had not dared to do this since he was old enough to understand things. The same was true for his other brothers and sisters. Only Lu Xinyi dared to pull his father and act coquettishly.

Lu Chen glared at her and said, "Do you still have me, your father, in your eyes?"

Lu Xinyi knew that she had definitely made trouble this time. It wasn't that she shouldn't have exposed such a sin, but she shouldn't have taken it upon herself to make a big deal out of it. She should have informed her parents in advance.

She leaned her chubby face against Lu Chen's arm and said flatteringly, "Father, I originally thought it was just a small case, just like what I encountered when the Crown Prince took me outside the palace to visit the people, so I didn't want to disturb you. But when I got there, I realized the situation was very serious. I couldn't hold back my anger, so I asked Sister Qi to send someone to report to the palace and Shuntian Prefecture. Father, I know I was wrong, and I promise there won't be a next time!"

"That kind of place..."

Lu Chen raised his hand and tapped her smooth forehead gently, accusing her: "Have you ever thought about what if someone else takes a risk? If something goes wrong with you, what will happen to me and your mother?"

Lu Xinyi shrank her neck and said obediently, "Father, please don't be angry. This won't happen again, okay?"

"I can't do anything to you, but you have to think carefully about how to deal with your mother later."

Lu Chen's words stunned Lu Xinyi.

Seriously speaking, the person she fears the most is not Lu Chen, but her biological mother Wang Chulong.

Seeing that she was about to pester him again, Lu Chen immediately changed the subject and said, "By the way, how do you know the secret of Jinxiu Tower?"

Of course, Lu Xinyi would not hide anything from her father, and she said truthfully, "My fourth brother said it. He also happened to hear people talking about it at the prince's residence. He said that Jinxiu Tower was a restaurant on the surface, but in fact, there was an extremely hidden place of entertainment behind it, and it had done many bad things. My fourth brother could not leave the prince's residence without permission, so I wanted to find out the truth. I originally wanted to ask the prince brother to go with him, but he had to accompany my father to meet the officials in the court today, so I went alone."

The fourth brother she mentioned was the fourth prince Lu Jing, who was born to the same mother as her. He was a few months younger than the second prince Lu Chen and would be eleven years old on the thirteenth of next month.

At this time, Dai Hong's respectful voice sounded from outside: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort sent someone to ask for your permission. If the business is done, then let Her Royal Highness return to Yikun Palace."

The Qinzheng Hall is located at the junction of the outer court and the harem. Since it is the place where Lu Chen summons court officials on a daily basis, neither Lin Xi nor other concubines would ever come here rashly.

Lu Xinyi's face turned pale, and real fear emerged in her bright eyes.

Seeing this, Lu Chen was both angry and amused. He said with a straight face, "Don't even think about it. I can't help you. You know, your mother has only been angry a few times in all these years, and every time it was because of you. Even I suffered a lot."

"Father, your daughter wants to stay with you for a while longer."

Lu Xinyi looked at him pitifully.

Lu Chen finally couldn't help laughing and said, "A teenage girl is still playing the same tricks as she did when she was seven or eight years old. Well, I'll ask Dai Hong to tell your mother to calm down, so that the dignified Princess Changle won't get beaten."

"Thank you, Father."

Lu Xinyi gave a sweet and innocent smile before bowing and leaving.

When her figure disappeared, the smile on Lu Chen's face gradually faded.

He looked at the rough case file in front of him, his deep eyes were filled with turbulence, but his tone remained calm: "What do you think?"

At this moment, only Crown Prince Lu Jiusi was around, and the young man answered cautiously: "My father, I think Duke Cheng may really be unaware of the situation. Although he has not joined the Military Affairs Council, he is one of the military heroes that your father trusts very much. His title is Duke, which is the highest level of a minister. I dare not make rash comments on Duke Cheng's character, but I think he should be able to distinguish between the pros and cons, and will not forget your father's teachings, so he will not knowingly commit such a crime and lose the greater for the smaller."

Lu Chen did not comment and asked, "That's all?"

Lu Jiusi concentrated and said, "There are still a few doubts."

"speak."

"Yes, Father."

Lu Jiusi calmed down and said slowly, "First, Changle has always hated evil, and those who are interested will definitely know this. Therefore, as long as we tell her the inside story of Jinxiu Tower in a tactful way at a suitable time, even if it doesn't cause a scene like today, she will definitely tell my father, and then Duke Chengguo and Xu Ling will still not be able to stay out of it."

Lu Chen said calmly: "Maybe this is just a coincidence."

"I don't rule out this possibility."

Lu Jiusi had obviously been thinking about this matter, instead of acting on impulse like Lu Xinyi. He said calmly, "Secondly, I don't think Xu Ling knows the inside story of Jinxiu Tower. Although he is the nominal boss, as far as I know, he is quite diligent in his work at the Ministry of War, so he won't have too much energy to focus on Jinxiu Tower, let alone do everything himself. Father, I am not trying to excuse Xu Ling, but maybe someone wants to drag Duke Cheng into this matter, but..."

"But what?"

Lu Chen looked at him gently.

Lu Jiusi was a little nervous. He didn't expect that his thoughts would suddenly get stuck.

Lu Chen reminded him, "Are you trying to say that the person behind the scenes went to such great lengths to force Changle to uncover the truth, and that this behavior is very unusual?"

Lu Jiusi came to his senses and said with admiration: "Father, you are wise. This is exactly what I meant. If the person behind the scenes just wanted to target Duke Cheng, he would have many simpler ways, such as asking the victim's family to submit a petition to Shuntian Prefecture. Would Prefect Huang dare to conceal it? Why did the other party insist on luring Changle to take action? This is the key point that I cannot figure out for the time being."

Lu Chen showed approval and asked, "Anything else?"

Lu Jiusi's thoughts gradually became smoother, and he mustered up the courage to say, "There is one more thing. Although Jinxiu Tower has the sign of Duke Cheng's Mansion, the officials of Shuntian Prefecture dare not keep a close eye on it. How could the Weaving Bureau turn a blind eye? In the past year and two months, Jinxiu Tower has done so many evil things. I don't believe that the Weaving Bureau is unaware of it, and it is even more impossible that they would not report it to the emperor out of fear of Duke Cheng."

At this moment, Lu Chen finally nodded with satisfaction and asked expectantly, "Then tell me what's so strange about this?"

Lu Jiusi pondered for a moment, looking at the encouragement in his father's eyes, and said straightforwardly: "Father, the Duke of Chengguo alone would not make the Textile Bureau so secretive, unless there is a backer behind Jinxiu Tower. After thinking about it, I am afraid that the real backer is related to the royal family."

The matter involved the imperial palace, and in the eyes of those officials, it was not a major event that would shake the foundation of the country, so it was best to pretend that they knew nothing.

Lu Chen said no more. He stood up and walked to the window. He stood with his hands behind his back, quietly looking at the green in the courtyard.

Lu Jiusi came and stood beside him.

After a long while, Lu Chen said, "You missed a very important point."

Lu Jiusi said respectfully: "Please give your instructions, Father."

"If this case is not a coincidence, but there is really another mystery, the person behind the scenes is obviously not trying to plot against Changle. No matter how much I love Changle, she is just a girl after all."

Lu Chen's eyes were deep, and he continued, "You and Changle have been close siblings since childhood. In the past two years, you have often accompanied each other out of the palace incognito. This matter is not a secret to a small group of people in the capital. If Changle wanted to go out of the palace to secretly investigate Jinxiu Tower, how could you sit idly by? It just so happened that I suddenly had the idea to summon all the ministers to the palace to discuss politics today, so you were not free. The people behind the scenes obviously didn't expect that Changle was actually very independent. Seeing that you were not free, she went to investigate alone, so you were not present today."

Lu Jiusi's heart trembled.

According to his previous speculation, the reason why the secret of Jinxiu Tower was kept secret was probably because it was related to the royal family, otherwise there would be no need for the Weaving Bureau to do this.

If he and Lu Xinyi appeared in Jinxiu Tower together today, and continued to punish evil, promote good, and relieve suffering, he would certainly win the world's praise for him as the prince, but he would also stir up disputes within the royal family.

Lu Chen turned his head and looked at him, and asked calmly: "Jiusi, do you have the courage to take over this case?"

Lu Jiusi's heartbeat suddenly quickened.

He had been observing government affairs for less than a year and had never thought of interfering in the specific affairs of the court. He had always followed Lin Xi's teachings and fulfilled his duties as a crown prince conscientiously.

Now this case seems simple on the surface but in fact it may be an abyss. It is difficult to determine what secrets will be involved. He knows that it is not easy to find out the truth and it is even more difficult to end it afterwards. If he is not careful, his reputation will be damaged.

but……

Lu Jiusi raised his head to meet Lu Chen's gaze. He suddenly understood his father's thoughts, so he took a deep breath, bowed and said, "Your Highness is willing to share your worries!"

"Wait for the Ministry of Justice to give you a detailed file, and then you can decide what to do."

Lu Chen smiled slightly, raised his hand and patted his eldest son's shoulder, and said gently: "The crown prince is also a king, don't let the people of the world down."

Lu Jiusi was filled with emotion and said solemnly, "I will remember your father's teachings!"

(End of this chapter)