Jiuxi

Chapter 990 988 [Giving Up Power]

December 13, the second year of Yongning in the Great Qi Dynasty.

After a long journey of more than two months with stops and starts, the huge team composed of the royal family, civil and military officials of the court, and some prominent families who fled to the south of the Yangtze River in the past, accompanied by 20,000 imperial guards and 10,000 elite cavalry of the Dingbei Army, passed through Xinzhou and Huaizhou along the way, entered the capital area from the side of the widened road at Panlong Pass, and finally arrived at Shenze, a small town more than ten miles east of Heluo. They will rest for a while before entering the capital tomorrow.

Under Lu Chen's leadership, Right Prime Minister Xu Zuo, Minister of Rites Kong Yingdong, Minister of Works Zhu Heng and officials from various ministries who had arrived in Heluo in advance were ready for the ceremony to welcome the emperor tomorrow.

Chengpingfang, inside the Prince’s Mansion.

In the main hall of the front house, Lu Chen, with the dignity of a prince, sat obediently at the bottom, chatting and laughing with his father and a group of fathers-in-law sincerely.

Lu Tong undoubtedly sat in the main seat, while the guests were Lin Jie, Wang Cheng and Luo Yaozong who came all the way from Shazhou. He also called Xiao Wangzhi to accompany him.

The reason why so many people came was, firstly, because the New Year was approaching and Lu Chen hoped that the whole family could get together this year, and secondly, he had worked very hard in the past year. Li Bingxue, Wang Chulong, Luo Jiujiu and Song Pei were each six to eight months pregnant, and Lin Xi and Gu Wan'er were also diagnosed with pregnancy a few days ago.

When Lu Tong thought about having six more grandchildren next spring and summer, his old face was filled with wrinkles, and Lin Jie and others also had smiles on their faces.

In today's era, having many children and grandchildren is the foundation of a family's prosperity. With Lu Chen's current status and position, the more children he has, the more at ease the people below him will feel.

What made the elders in the hall even more gratified was that although Lu Chen had many wives and concubines, they all had a deep emotional foundation with him, and he was not a man who was greedy for beauty. Over the past year, countless officials and nobles wanted to send their daughters to the palace, but they were all directly rejected by Lu Chen.

They also knew that the atmosphere in the royal mansion's backyard was different from that of other noble families. Although there were also rules and respect, there were no such troubles. Their daughter lived very comfortably with Lu Chen.

As a parent, if you have a son-in-law like this, what else could you ask for?
Therefore, even Wang Cheng, a great scholar in the literary world who was usually obsessed with literature and unwilling to have too much contact with the secular world, praised Lu Chen to the sky in front of Lu Tong today.

In such a harmonious and happy atmosphere, Qin Zilong, the commander of the palace guards, sneaked his head out from the door.

Lu Chen knew that this guy was not confused about major issues, so he laughed and scolded: "Come in and talk, what are you doing sneakily?"

The hall fell silent. Qin Zilong walked in with an apologetic smile and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, the Junior Supervisor of the Palace's Ministry of Internal Affairs, Yuan Yuji, has just arrived."

Everyone's eyes instantly focused on Qin Zilong.

"Just now?"

Lu Chen immediately noticed the strangeness of that sentence and frowned slightly, "He must have come to convey the will of the saint, why didn't he pass it on in time?"

"Your Highness, I wanted to report first, but the eunuch Yuan asked if Your Highness was in the mansion. I said something else, saying that Your Highness was chatting with the elders of the families. He stopped me and said that the Queen Mother asked Your Highness to go to Shenze to discuss something, and then left in a hurry."

Qin Zilong said with a bit of embarrassment: "I have made a mistake, I will accept the punishment myself later."

"You won't stop him if he leaves?"

Lu Chen shook his head, but didn't make a fuss. He said, "Go and gather eight hundred personal guards, and follow me out of the city later."

Qin Zilong bowed and accepted the order.

After a brief silence, Lin Jie said, "Do you want me to accompany you?"

Lu Chen smiled and shook his head, saying, "Thank you for your concern, father-in-law. You don't need to bother me."

"Don't be careless!"

It was difficult for others to speak at this time, so Lu Tong naturally had no scruples and said seriously: "It's better to be safe than sorry. How about letting Lao Lin accompany you?"

"Father, that's really not necessary."

Lu Chen suppressed his smile and said calmly, "When dealing with stupid people, you have to be prepared for any eventuality. However, Queen Mother Ning and the Left Prime Minister are both smart people, which are rare. Otherwise, the relocation of the capital would not have been so smooth. Before they were absolutely sure, they would only hope that I would be alive and well. Having said that, we must be on guard against others, so I asked Li Chengen to lead 10,000 cavalrymen to station in Shenze in the name of protecting the emperor. In addition, there are some other arrangements."

Xiao Wangzhi said, "Old Lu, just relax. Do you still think of him as a rising star? When it comes to calculating people's hearts, all of us old guys combined are no match for him."

Lu Tong was unhappy, and everyone laughed.

Lu Chen then stood up, bowed, and strode away.

Looking at his calm and composed figure, Lin Jie couldn't help but say, "He makes light of heavy tasks. This is the demeanor of a great general."

Everyone nodded thoughtfully.

……

Shenze was only ten miles away from Heluo, and the official road along the way was wide and neat, so it only took the eight hundred riders less than half an hour to reach the destination.

This small town has become very lively now. Even though many people have entered Heluo in advance, there are still thousands of people in the royal palace and the officials accompanying the emperor, and they can barely be accommodated in the city. As for the imperial guards and Dingbei cavalry, they can only camp outside the city.

Lu Chen led 800 personal guards straight into the city. The commander of the imperial army, Shen Yulai, came out to greet him personally and led Lu Chen to the location of the imperial carriage.

About a quarter of an hour later, Lu Chen met the Queen Mother and the Emperor, whom he had not seen for two years, in a spacious and bright main hall. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen bowed, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Your Majesty, please excuse me."

The beautiful face of Empress Dowager Ning was slightly pale, and she smiled gently. She then looked at the young emperor and said, "Emperor, why don't you pay your respects to the gentleman?"

Li Daoming nodded, stood up, bowed to Lu Chen and said, "Hello, sir."

Lu Chen dodged sideways, lowered his head slightly and said, "How dare I."

Li Daoming's eyes were clear, and he said calmly, "My mother often said that you have made great contributions to the country and are the pillar of the country. I am lucky to have your help. It is not only the legacy of my ancestors, but also my own luck. I am young and ignorant, so I will ask you to teach me in the future, so you should accept this gift."

The moment he opened his mouth, Lu Chen had already raised his head. He noticed that Empress Dowager Ning's eyes fell on Li Daoming, and there was even a hint of surprise on her face, as if these words were not her private instructions.

Looking at the young emperor again, I saw that he had a sincere expression. Although he still had the immaturity of a teenager, he already had some dignity.

Suppressing his thoughts, Lu Chen said earnestly: "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I will do my best."

Queen Mother Ning looked at Lu Chen's handsome face and said with a smile: "Yuan Yuji, give the prince a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen sat down calmly.

In fact, he felt a little strange, because apart from the royal mother and son and the palace servants, there were no important officials of the court present. Even the left prime minister Xue Nanting did not show up. He wondered what arrangements the empress dowager, who was always smart, had made.

"The prince may be a little confused as to why I summoned you today instead of waiting until tomorrow."

Queen Mother Ning slowly opened up and said softly, "Actually, I have an idea that may cause a stir in the court and may even cause the prince to misunderstand the royal family. That's why I didn't summon other important officials today, and only discussed it with the prince in private. This way, no matter whether it goes ahead or not, it won't be known to everyone and cause complications."

Lu Chen's heart was slightly moved, but his face remained calm: "Your Majesty, please make it clear."

"Yuan Yuji, you take the emperor to review his lessons. Everyone else leave. Ruolan can stay."

Empress Dowager Ning now has a very deep control over the harem. No one hesitated and everyone followed her instructions.

Only Li Daoming looked at his mother with some worry when he left.

After a while, the hall became completely quiet.

Queen Dowager Ning stared into Lu Chen's eyes and smiled, "I still remember that when the prince left Yongjia two years ago, I entrusted the safety of the Great Qi to him. This should be the most correct decision I have ever made. If it weren't for the prince's efforts to turn the tide and annihilate the powerful enemy, I'm afraid the Jing army would have already arrived at the gates of Yongjia."

Ruolan, the female official standing at the side and behind, lowered her head, trying not to show the sadness in her heart.

Lu Chen is indeed the savior of Da Qi, but now he is also the biggest threat to the Tian family.

What made her even sadder was that from her perspective, it seemed like no one was doing anything wrong.

Lu Chen said calmly: "Your Majesty, I am too humble to praise you. Although I have made some contributions, they are also the result of hundreds of thousands of soldiers who risked their lives to fight for the country. It is also inseparable from the unremitting support of Your Majesty and your colleagues in the court."

"Having said that, the roles of others are not irreplaceable after all. Only the prince can lead our army to such a victory."

Empress Dowager Ning said with emotion, "In the past six months, I have discussed with the officials in the court. The prince's extraordinary achievements are enough to confer the title of prince. Originally, I wanted to grant him the nine gifts, but Prime Minister Xu said that this might be the cause of disaster, so I did not insist."

"Your Majesty, the title of Prince is an unprecedented favor. I am very worried and dare not have any more extravagant hopes."

Lu Chen's answer came from his heart. The title of prince was enough for him to set up a government office and train a team of outstanding talents. The Nine Gifts were just empty gifts and just a show. What was the point of him doing it now?

Not to mention those who received the Nine Gifts...

It only caused criticism from the world.

Queen Mother Ning smiled slightly, nodded and said: "Your Highness, there is no need to be so modest. I have thought about it and found that the title of Prince alone is not enough to reward your contribution. Now that the homeland has been recovered and everything is in ruins, the Prince is going to implement new policies, which is a good thing for the country and the people. I am just a woman in the harem, and I feel powerless in governing the country. The emperor is young and cannot rule the country himself, so he will have to rely on the assistance of the Prince. Therefore, I would like to discuss with the Prince. After you are conferred the title of Prince, I will grant you the power to rule the country for a period of ten years. During these ten years, all military and political affairs of the court will be decided by the Prince, and after ten years, the Prince will return the power to the emperor. What do you think?"

Ruolan was shocked and used all her strength to control her expression.

Queen Mother Ning looked at Lu Chen expectantly, her eyes gentle and kind.

Lu Chen lowered his head slightly and fell into a long silence.

(End of this chapter)