Jiuxi

Chapter 845 [The Way of Loyalty and Filial Piety]

When all the important officials in the hall were confused and puzzled, Li Zongben also couldn't believe it.

His previous conversation with Queen Ning in the harem was enough to prove that he was fully prepared for today's court meeting. He expected that Lu Chen would not give in easily, and he could only use the righteousness to force him to accept it.

However, Lu Chen's tone of voice was so gentle, which was very different from his usual temperament, which made Li Zongben feel at a loss.

It was like a punch that had been accumulating strength for a long time and was thrown out fiercely, but in the end it hit the soft cotton.

Lu Chen seemed to be oblivious to everyone's reactions. He continued calmly, "I was appreciated by the late emperor. I was able to lead an army at the age of twenty and was granted the title of Marquis. How could I not be grateful for this favor? Now Your Majesty has granted me the title of Duke and the honor of wearing golden armor. If I don't know what is good for me, wouldn't that be against the way of a minister? What Marquis Linjiang said is exactly what I thought in my heart. I am afraid that it will cause criticism from the court and the public, saying that I am greedy and have already enjoyed such honors, but I still want the court to settle my family. Therefore, I did not report this matter."

After hearing this, Li Zongben and other important officials became even more confused.

According to Lu Chen, he actually wanted to leave his family in the capital and let the court take care of them, but he was worried that this would make people laugh at him for being greedy, so he did not take the initiative to speak up.

Now that Chen Lanyu suggested this, it would undoubtedly help Lu Chen achieve his wish.

Li Zongben's mind raced, and he smiled warmly, "Mr. Lu's family is too petty. Doesn't the court even have this little leeway? Since you have this intention, then there is no need to worry. Your family members can all stay in the capital. I will order people to take good care of them and ensure that you will not have any worries."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen bowed and said, "I have considered this matter before, so I asked my father to bring the Lu family members who are willing to leave Guangling to the capital. There are 26 people in total, including my uncle Lu Mingxuan. This time I can marry the daughter of Duke Wei and inherit his family line. The Duke's Mansion cannot accommodate so many people. At present, some people live in temporary rented houses. I hope the court will arrange for them as appropriate. My father and I will be grateful for your majesty's grace every day."

Li Zongben really didn't expect this matter to go so smoothly, so he had a faint smile on his face all the time, until he heard Lu Chen's last sentence, and his smile froze involuntarily.

There was a sudden commotion in the hall.

Minister of Personnel Li Shizhi first glanced at the unnatural emperor, then looked at Lu Chen and asked, "Does the Duke mean that your father will not stay in the capital?"

He looked solemn, but no one knew that he finally felt relieved.

If Lu Chen really went against his usual behavior and calmly accepted the result of leaving his family in the capital, Li Shizhi really would not be able to use this incident to his advantage. After all, the emperor never thought of forcing Lu Chen into a desperate situation. In essence, he just wanted to suppress Lu Chen's power appropriately.

Lu Chen didn't hide anything and nodded, "Yes."

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became a little weird.

Although the emperor did not inform other important ministers in advance, after Chen Lanyu spoke, almost everyone knew the true intention of this proposal.

Asking the court to support Lu Chen's family is nothing more than using these people as hostages. In this way, no matter how high Lu Chen's prestige in the border army is, he will always be worried about making a rash move. If the court wants to make some adjustments to the border army at that time, Lu Chen will definitely not be able to act arbitrarily.

No matter how high-sounding Chen Lanyu's words were, this proposal was meant to strike a chord with Lu Chen.

And who doesn’t know the family background of this young Duke?
His mother had died of illness long ago, and he had no brothers or sisters. His two wives and one son and one daughter were all far away in Dingzhou. Although he had married the daughter of the Duke of Wei, who, from the emperor to the ministers, dared to take Li Tianrun as a hostage?
Not to mention that Li Tianrun is dying, even if he can live another ten or eight years, with his contributions to Da Qi and his loyalty and responsibility in decisively giving up the military power of Jingzhou without any attachment, as long as he does not openly express his disloyalty, if Li Zongben dares to surround the Duke of Wei's Mansion, there will definitely be chaos in the court and the country.

Simply put, the only thing that Chen Lanyu's proposal could use to control Lu Chen was Lu Chen's father Lu Tong. As for the 26 Lu family members mentioned by Lu Chen, no one thought that Lu Chen would really regard them as more important than his own life.

What is the point of this matter if Lu Tong does not stay in the capital?

Li Shizhi considered and said, "Duke, the capital is the best place under the feet of the emperor, and the climate in the south of the Yangtze River is pleasant. Why not let your father stay in the capital to live out his old age? I know that Duke may be worried that your father will not adapt to the capital, but there is no need to worry. There are Duke Wei, Duke Rong, Wang Xueshi and others in the capital. They are all close friends or relatives of the Lu family. I think your father would be willing to accompany them. As for the business of the Lu family, your father is over fifty years old, and we should promote some capable younger generations. You only need your father to take charge of the overall situation."

These words were reasonable and impartial, and Li Zongben and several important ministers nodded frequently after hearing them.

"I admire Minister Li's kindness, but——"

Lu Chen did not argue with Li Shizhi, but turned to look at the emperor on the dragon throne and said sincerely: "Your Majesty, please allow me to report this. I do have my own difficulties."

Li Zongben was a little uncomfortable with Lu Chen today. Where was the young powerful official who would overturn the table at the slightest disagreement?

Lu Chen was so docile and respectful that Li Zongben had no chance to make use of the topic. He could only nod and say, "My dear, why don't you elaborate?"

Lu Chen's tone was a little heavy, and he said slowly: "Your Majesty, I have been in the army since the twelfth year of Jianwu in the reign of the previous emperor. It has been six years now, and the time I have spent with my father has not exceeded seven months. Minister Li just said that my father is over fifty years old, but he has hardly enjoyed the joy of family. This time my father came to the capital to preside over my wedding. When I met him in the suburbs of the capital that day, I noticed that my father was gradually showing his old age, and I suddenly felt that I was unfilial and felt guilty."

When it came to the emotional part, Lu Chen couldn't help but sigh again and again.

Li Shizhi and Chen Lanyu were not in a position to take over the conversation at this moment, and no one else would interrupt Lu Chen's sigh.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Li Zongben gradually became aware of Lu Chen's thoughts, but he was unable to refute them.

Lu Chen continued, "However, I am not truly unfilial. I have dedicated my life to the country and dare not slack off in the slightest."

Li Zongben knew what he wanted to say, so he could only patiently comfort him: "My dear minister, you are loyal to the country, don't blame yourself too much." "Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen bowed his hands, and then said sincerely: "When I saw my father's old age, I thought that no matter where I am in the future, I must take my father with me and serve him as much as possible to fulfill my filial piety. The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop, the son wants to take care of his parents but they are no longer there, this is the most sad thing in the world. Every time I think about this, I can't help but feel uneasy, so I really can't let my father stay in the capital, so that father and son are separated by thousands of miles and can't see each other."

Li Zongben looked at the young minister with a gloomy expression and had to nod his head and said, "I understand your dilemma."

Right Prime Minister Xu Zuo said: "The Duke's filial piety is truly touching."

Lu Chen looked at him with admiration, and then said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the country governs the world with loyalty and filial piety. The court and the people take this as a guideline. How can I be an exception? I have received the grace of the late emperor and your majesty, and I should do my best to serve the court without any hesitation. I beg your majesty to allow me to be loyal and filial, so as to live up to the trust of the emperor and the kindness of my father in raising me!"

"Your Majesty, please do it!"

Lu Chen bowed very solemnly.

Li Zongben quickly raised his hand and said, "My dear, please stand up."

He glanced at Chen Lanyu inconspicuously and found that the other party had a calm expression and obviously had no intention of dwelling on the matter any longer.

Turning his eyes to Li Shizhi, the Minister of Personnel met the emperor's inquiring gaze and just shook his head slightly.

The meaning is self-explanatory.

Li Zongben suddenly felt helpless.

Although Chen Lanyu's original intention in proposing this was to restrain Lu Chen, he could still portray it as the court's grace to the outside world. This kind of thing is like seeing flowers in the fog. People in the situation can see it clearly, but it is difficult for outsiders to see through it at a glance.

If Lu Chen continued to act like he did before, turning the table over at every turn because of his stubborn temper, then what awaited him would be a storm that would be countless times more terrifying than the last time.

Reputation is important at all times, because not everyone is like Lin Xi or Wang Chulong, who understand how difficult it has been for Lu Chen to get to where he is today, and know his temperament and character.

This is the truth that three people make a tiger and a lot of gossip can melt gold. Once Lu Chen's reputation is completely ruined, it will be difficult for him to stir up trouble again because he cannot get the support of most people.

Who would have thought that today Lu Chenjian would take an unconventional approach, changing his usual domineering attitude and instead skillfully putting himself on the moral high ground. How could Li Zongben refute this?

Do I have to make him openly say that he will leave your father in the capital so that he can control you?
In any case, Lu Chen is not ungrateful. He just wants to be filial. Who dares to question the word filial piety on this issue?
The hall was very quiet, and the ministers had different thoughts.

Only Xiao Wangzhi had no distractions. He felt that such a scene was rare to see. The emperor and those important ministers were obviously shooting themselves in the foot today.

"Cough cough..."

Li Zongben cleared his throat and finally made a decision: "My dear minister, you want to be both loyal and filial, how can I not allow it? Since my dear minister is so sincere, you can take your father back to Jiangbei. As for the more than 20 members of the Lu family, if they are willing to stay in the capital, I will let the officials take care of them. If they still want to return to Guangling, my dear minister can also take them back."

He knew that this game had been broken by Lu Chen, and there was no point in getting hung up on the details, so he decided to be more generous.

"Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your kindness and will always remember it in my heart."

Lu Chen bowed again, his emotion seemed to be beyond words.

After the court meeting ended, the ministers left Chongzheng Hall one after another.

Li Zongben sat on the imperial sedan chair returning to the harem, looking a little depressed and helpless.

He never expected that Lu Chen would change his personality today. It is said that it is difficult to change one's nature, so why is this young and powerful official so different from ordinary people?
His plan failed again and was easily resolved by the opponent. A gloom gradually appeared in Li Zongben's eyes.

On the other side, Lu Chen was walking in the bright sunshine and noticed Xiao Wangzhi looking at him. The two couldn't help but smile at each other.

Passing through the deep archway of Hening Gate and arriving at the wide square, Lu Chen looked back at the towering imperial palace without any nostalgia in his eyes, and then slowly exhaled.

Perhaps in the eyes of those people, my trip to the capital should be over?
……

North of the capital, in Xinzhou.

Several knights were galloping at lightning speed, and their expressions were solemn, as if something big was about to happen.

They rushed towards the capital city like a whirlwind.

(End of this chapter)