Jiuxi

Chapter 882 [Old Handkerchief]

Zhongshu Province, the office of the left prime minister.

The servant served fragrant tea and then respectfully took his leave.

Minister of Rites Chu Huaizhong looked at the teacup in front of him and sighed slightly with a hint of fatigue.

Although he had taken over as the Minister of Rites for less than a month, he was no stranger to this duty room. When Li Daoyan was on duty here, he was a frequent visitor here.

The two were not much different in age, and they were the same year in the imperial examination. Chu Huaizhong was more successful in his career, while Li Daoyan was once squeezed out of the central government and served as a governor in Xinzhou, north of Yongjia. If Heluo had not fallen and the court had moved south, perhaps Li Daoyan would never have had the opportunity to enter the central government again in his life, let alone become a prime minister who was second only to him and respected all other officials.

Chu Huaizhong had no resentment towards his peers' situation. He was open-minded enough in his life. Therefore, before Li Duan's death, he took the initiative to resign from the post of Chief Censor and handed it over to Xu Zuo, who was more than 20 years younger than him.

Xue Nanting looked at the tired look in the old man's eyes and said earnestly, "Lord Siren has been working hard lately."

"The emperor has passed away, and the court is in turmoil. Since my old bones can still move, how can I hide in a small building and spend my days leisurely?"

Chu Huaizhong took a sip of tea, frowned slightly and said: "Prime Minister Xue, are you really not going to do anything?"

Xue Nanting said calmly, "What do you mean by this, Lord Siren?"

"Why does Prime Minister Xue pretend to be ignorant?"

Chu Huaizhong put down the teacup, and his tone gradually became solemn: "I am definitely not a jealous person. Even if Lu Chen is a prince at such a young age, I will not have the slightest jealousy."

He naturally had great confidence in saying this, because he had never been greedy for power in his life and had never violated the rules to promote younger generations. All the children in his family entered the officialdom by passing the imperial examination, and no one dared to ask him for help to take shortcuts.

Xue Nanting looked at the old man who had experienced four dynasties and whispered, "Does Lord Siren feel that the Queen Mother's reward to the Prince of Huai'an is too generous?"

"He defeated Li Shizhi's conspiracy, and he has so many military achievements, so it is not an exaggeration to be named a prince. As for the power to supervise the military affairs of the three states in northern Jiang, he is already in power without a title, and the Queen Mother is just going with the flow."

Chu Huaizhong's old eyes flashed with a sharp look: "What I want to talk about is what happened before. Only four days after the death of the late emperor, Lu Chen's cronies were able to open the east gate of the capital to let the Ruishi Battalion enter the city. A little later, the Dingbei Army and the Feiyu Army appeared outside the capital. I'm sure Prime Minister Xue has already seen through the strangeness of this, so there's no need for me to elaborate."

The duty room fell into silence for a long time.

Chu Huaizhong did not urge him.

Xue Nanting looked at the bookshelf against the opposite wall and tapped the armrest lightly with his fingers.

Chu Huaizhong said upon seeing this, "I believe that Lu Chen had no direct connection with the assassination of the late emperor, and I also admit that he dealt with Li Shizhi and others for the sake of the overall situation. But Prime Minister Xue should not deny that Lu Chen had long been aware of Li Shizhi's intentions, otherwise he would not have allowed Ding Hui to return to the capital secretly, but should have submitted a secret memorial to the late emperor in the name of Ding Hui as soon as possible, explaining Li Shizhi's previous plans. In this way, the late emperor would not have trusted Li Shizhi all the time, and would not have allowed Yuan Yuji to lead a large number of elite confidants to leave the palace just to capture Gao Huan!"

Xue Nanting said slowly: "But even Lord Mingda did not discover Li Shizhi's plot in advance."

Mingda is Li Daoyan's courtesy name.

Chu Huaizhong said with a hint of disappointment: "Brother Mingda has been away from the court for two years, and Li Shizhi will definitely try every means to hide his intentions from him. In addition, he has always been targeting Lu Chen. It is not difficult to understand why Brother Mingda is not aware of the situation. Lu Chen is different. Many of Li Shizhi's plots are aimed at him. If you and I were in Lu Chen's position, we would also carefully consider Li Shizhi's intentions."

"Lord Siren..."

Xue Nanting stared into the old man's eyes, a bitter look on his face, and said in a low voice: "What do you think I should do?"

Such a simple question left Chu Huaizhong speechless for a moment.

"As Lord Siren said, some of Lu Chen's actions have crossed the line, but no one in the court discussed it, let alone impeached him. It can't be because all of us have become deaf and blind. It's just that the situation has reached this point, and Da Qi can't afford another turmoil."

Xue Nanting looked ashamed, and said with some difficulty: "As the left prime minister, how could I not want to clean up the court and eliminate all factors that would threaten the imperial power? It's not that I don't want to, but I can't."

Chu Huaizhong did not refute. It was obvious that he understood this truth, but there is a saying that goes "do your job well while in your position."

He was a transitional Minister of Rites, an old man whose half body was already buried in the ground. What could he do even if he was unwilling?
That's why he came straight to the point, hoping that Xue Nanting, as the head of all officials, would assume his due responsibilities. But looking at Xue Nanting's gloomy expression at this moment, he could no longer say the words in his heart.

He knew what kind of person Xue Nanting was and couldn't bear to continue criticizing him.

Xue Nanting lowered his eyes and said, "In fact, the Prince of Huai'an has already realized this problem, so even though he holds great power, he has not taken any further action. He did not interfere in the appointments of the 50,000 imperial guards, nor did he interfere in the defense of the palace. There were so many vacancies in the court, and he just pushed Gao Huan. You and I both know why he did this. After all, the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the logistics lifeline of the border army. He would definitely not feel at ease if he handed it over to someone else. Other than that, he did not overstep the boundaries."

"What about the future?"

Chu Huaizhong looked depressed and sighed, "My life span is drawing to an end. I don't have many years left. When I close my eyes, I will no longer see these disturbances. But you have to face this dead end. From ancient times to the present, when the ruler is weak and the minister is strong, accidents will happen. The history books are full of blood and tears."

"Lord Siren, I will do my best to protect the emperor."

Xue Nanting put away his hesitation and said firmly: "Please believe in Nanting's loyalty."

"I have never doubted your loyalty to Da Qi, otherwise I would not have come to you to say this today."

Chu Huaizhong said solemnly: "I just hope you are well prepared and don't have any unrealistic fantasies."

"Yes."

Xue Nanting nodded and said in a deep voice: "I have discussed with the Queen Mother privately. The best option now is to maintain the status quo, deal with the covetous eyes of Jing State first, and patiently wait for the emperor to grow strong. Maybe there will be a turnaround in the future. After all, the Prince of Huai'an is a man who values ​​friendship and loyalty. If there is no turnaround, we will naturally prepare for the worst."

Chu Huaizhong looked at his resolute expression and could not help but be moved. He stood up and bowed, saying, "I just spoke rudely. I hope Prime Minister Xue will forgive me."

"Lord Siren, what are you doing..."

Xue Nanting quickly stood up and held his arms, saying with a complicated expression: "Nanting is unworthy of this." Chu Huaizhong's old eyes were slightly red, and he gently patted the back of his hand, saying everything.

……

After leaving the palace, sitting in a stable and sturdy carriage, Lu Chen closed his eyes slightly, recalling the details of what had just happened in the palace.

Although Empress Dowager Ning was young, she had a kind of political wisdom that was self-taught and could see the essence through phenomena. Although not as effective as Li Duan's, it was at least better than Li Zongben's capriciousness.

In fact, Lu Chen knew clearly that the Queen Mother was not without doubts. At least it was an obvious fact that the Dingbei Army and the Feiyu Army went south ahead of schedule via Jingzhou. However, she was able to grasp the most critical point and strive to maintain the current peaceful situation under the premise of powerful enemies lurking and the young emperor.

For Lu Chen, this is also the result he hopes to see.

He knows his own business well. He does have the confidence to protect himself now, but he has not yet reached the point where he can openly challenge the imperial power, unless he sets up a new business and starts over again.

But if that happened, all his efforts over the years would be almost in vain, so he would not make that decision unless he had no other choice.

"It's good to unite as one to deal with foreign enemies."

Lu Chen exhaled and muttered to himself.

The carriage slowly stopped, and Qin Zilong's respectful voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, we're here."

Lu Chen got out of the carriage and walked back to the Huai'an Prince's Mansion, where the gate tower had been replaced.

When he arrived at the backyard, he vaguely felt that the atmosphere was a little strange. The maids seemed to be bowing respectfully as usual, but they all tried to lower their heads, as if they did not dare to let Lu Chen see their faces.

Full of confusion, Lu Chen went straight to the main room.

We are still in the national mourning period, which will last for nearly two months. During this period, women in the family will choose plain-colored clothing. There is no need to give rise to criticism over such a trivial matter.

Lin Xi, Li Bingxue and Gu Wan'er were all there. Even though they were dressed simply and had light makeup on, they were still a pleasing sight to the eye.

However, Lu Chen stopped as soon as he stepped over the threshold and raised his hand to wipe his eyes.

He finally understood where the maids' strange behavior came from.

The wives and concubines looked at him with smiles, and stood up at the same time and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

This was obviously intentional on their part. Normally, their family didn't care about formalities, and this time even Lin Xi stood up and bowed.

"Your Majesty?"

A timid voice sounded in the seemingly harmonious atmosphere.

Compared with her slightly nervous voice, the red dress she was wearing was particularly eye-catching, forming a sharp contrast with the plain styles of Lin Xi and others, becoming the most unique scenery in the room.

Countless thoughts flashed through Lu Chen's mind at this moment, and in the end he could only utter one sentence: "Miss Luo, why are you here?"

Luo Jiujiu looked at him in a daze. The longing, anxiety and grievance that had accumulated in her heart for a long time suddenly emerged and turned into tears in her bright eyes.

Lin Xi felt sorry for the situation and gave up teasing them. He winked at Li Bingxue and Gu Wan'er, then left in tacit understanding.

When she passed by Lu Chen, she snorted lightly, ignoring Lu Chen's flattering gaze, but finally whispered: "You... don't scare her."

Lu Chen nodded quickly.

The room fell silent.

Luo Jiujiu pursed her lips and clenched her hands together.

Lu Chen walked over and stood in front of her. He raised his hand to wipe the tears from her face, but suddenly stopped and said softly, "Wait a moment."

Luo Jiujiu's emotions, which had been brewing, were choked again, and she looked at him in confusion as he hurried away.

After a moment, Lu Chen strode back with a handkerchief in his hand.

Luo Jiujiu watched him use the handkerchief to wipe her cheek, and suddenly something moved in her heart. She raised her hand and snatched the handkerchief. She saw that the handkerchief was still very new and must not have been used much. There were two words embroidered on it.

Lu, Luo.

Memories suddenly come to mind.

That day, she stood on the green hill and shot an arrow at him on the official road. Tied to the arrow was a handkerchief that she had spent seven days weaving with her own hands.

Luo Jiujiu held the handkerchief, looked up into Lu Chen's eyes, and then threw herself into his arms.

Sobbing quietly.

Amidst the sadness, there is also a bit of joy of reunion after a long separation.

(End of this chapter)