My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 240 The late emperor’s son?

"The weird thing is that he looks exactly like someone...!"

Zhao Zhong still felt frightened when he thought of this.

"Ok?"

"Who does it look like?"

Zhang Rang asked curiously.

"This child is very similar to the late emperor!"

After Zhao Zhong confirmed that there was no one around, he whispered carefully to Zhang Rang.

"W-What!?"

"The former emperor you are talking about is Emperor Huan!?"

Zhang Rang almost jumped up when he heard that, but after he came to his senses, he quickly lowered his body again and asked Zhao Zhong for confirmation.

"It is Emperor Huan!"

Zhao Zhong looked very confident.

"This matter is of great importance. Did you see it wrong?"

Zhang Rang still looked incredulous.

It is well known that Liu Zhi died without an heir.

Otherwise, the throne would not have fallen to Liu Hong, who had nothing in common with Liu Zhi.

But now Zhao Zhong swore in front of him that he had found a young man who looked extremely similar to Liu Zhi. How could Zhang Rang not question this?

"I have served the late emperor for many years. Could I have made a mistake?"

Zhao Zhong couldn't help but feel annoyed when he saw that Zhang Rang still didn't believe him.

"If this matter wasn't of great importance, I would have thought of discussing it with you. Otherwise, would I have run several miles to tease you?"

"Ahem... Brother Zhao, please don't blame me. We naturally trust what you say. However, the late emperor has passed away for many years, and now a young man who looks very similar to him suddenly appears. This matter is a bit too strange."

"Alas! If this person was older or younger, our family wouldn't be suspicious. But I looked up his information and found that his age is just right, so the time is right!"

"That's why our family is in such a panic!"

As Zhao Zhong spoke, he thought of the past and suddenly shed two lines of tears.

"At the beginning, we both entered the palace because we wanted a future. When we first entered the palace, we were both ignorant and often hungry. We could only support each other to survive. If it weren't for the late emperor's pity and protection, how could we live to this day, let alone be granted the title of marquis and the highest position as eunuchs."

"The late emperor passed away in his prime, leaving no children behind. This is all due to the negligence of us servants, who failed to take good care of the late emperor. If the late emperor had no children, how could the throne have fallen into Liu Hong's hands?"

"If so, this boy is really the descendant of the late emperor. Wouldn't it mean that we have handed over the throne to someone else? How can we face the late emperor in his afterlife?"

Loyal and righteous people are usually butchers, while ruthless people are usually scholars!
Although eunuchs such as Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong were greedy for money and power, they were actually quite loyal.

Historically, after experiencing the rebellions of He Jin and Yuan Shao, they knew they could not escape death, but they still did not forget to flee with the little emperor and Prince of Chenliu.

Later, seeing that there was no way to escape, several people jumped into the river and committed suicide.

Before he died, he never hurt the two little emperors.

Even at the moment of life and death, they can do this, which shows the loyalty of the eunuchs.

On the contrary, people like Yuan Shao, who had been favored by the emperor for four generations, took advantage of the chaos and arbitrarily led troops to attack the palace gates, killing everyone inside the palace and all the thousands of eunuchs in the palace in an attempt to completely eliminate the political enemies and dissidents of the eunuch forces represented by Zhang Rang and others, and wanted to monopolize power, which formed a sharp contrast.

"Have you, Zhang Rang, forgotten the kindness shown by the late emperor?"

Zhao Zhong became emotional as he spoke, pointing at Zhang Rang and cursing at him.

"The late emperor's kindness will never be forgotten!"

"If you dare to forget the kindness of the late emperor for even a moment, I will die immediately under the thunder of the nine heavens!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Rang's face immediately straightened and he immediately held out his hand and swore.

"Humph! You still have some conscience!"

Zhao Zhong sat down again after hearing this.

"It's just a done deal, there's no point in saying more!"

"The most urgent task now is to quickly confirm this boy's identity!"

"If it's just a coincidence, then it's fine. But if this boy is really the descendant of the late emperor, we will protect him for the rest of his life even if it means sacrificing our own lives!"

Among the Ten Attendants, Zhang Rang was the most intelligent and Zhao Zhong would usually ask him for advice whenever he had something to do.

As his eyes turned, he immediately figured out the most critical point.

"Brother Zhang is right!"

Zhao Zhong nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

"I have already agreed with him that we will meet again in the West Garden tomorrow. Brother Zhang can stand behind the screen. When you see his full appearance, you will know that Zhao is not lying!"

"That's it!"

Zhang Rang's eyes gleamed when he heard that. He blew away the candlelight in front of him with a whoosh, plunging the side hall back into darkness.

……

"It's pitch dark here, Gao Shun, you can't even light a few more candles!"

In a room in the courtyard, Lu Bu, who was taking a bath in a wooden barrel, complained with some dissatisfaction when he saw the dim light in the room.

"Haha, you fool, you've only had a few days of peace and yet you're already spending money like crazy?"

"Have you forgotten the days when we two brothers were only wearing one pair of pants when we were little, and one of us would go out to play while the other would stay at home naked?"

Before Gao Shun could answer, Lu Yi, who was standing next to Lu Bu, couldn't help but laugh and curse when he heard what he said, and then patted Lu Bu lightly on the head.

"Hey, isn't this what brother is capable of?"

"My brother is frugal by nature. He is so reluctant to throw away even the patches on his clothes. We are the only two brothers who own this huge family business. If I, as his younger brother, don't help him spend some of the money, will I let others spend it?"

Lu Bu was not angry at all after being hit. Instead, he thought of the close relationship he had with Empress Lu Yi when he was a child, and he couldn't help but smile honestly.

"You guy!"

Although Lu Yi was scolding his brother, he gestured to Gao Shun beside him to light a few more candles.

A few newly added candles suddenly brightened the room, and Lu Bu looked at the candlelight and his thoughts seemed to go back to the past.

"Brother, suddenly talking about your childhood, I suddenly thought of a lot of things!"

Lu Bu smiled, but his expression suddenly turned cold.

I don't know if it was because of his great talent, but Lu Bu's development was indeed slow when he was young, and he was always smaller than his peers in Jiuyuan.

Also, because they moved here from somewhere else, they were often bullied by the naughty kids in Jiuyuan.

However, Lu Bu had a stubborn and impulsive character. He could not stand any provocation and would always fight back instead of being convinced.

But the people of Jiuyuan are tough, and even children often use knives when fighting.

If Lu Yi hadn't been protecting him all the time, it would have been difficult for Lu Bu to grow up with such a temper.

"When I was a kid, I was often bullied by those older kids. I was often surrounded and beaten by several of them. A few times, they even pulled knives on me!"

"I remember one time when it was the most dangerous, a hunter's son from another pavilion brought a few older kids to our Jiuyuan Pavilion to set traps and try to steal food from us. I couldn't stand it and argued with them for a few words. Who would have thought that I would have angered the hunter's son? He was so vicious! He chopped me on the forehead with a hunting knife. If it weren't for my brother who blocked the knife for me, even if I was lucky enough to survive, my face would have been ruined!"

"If that kid hadn't been carried away by a blind bear while he was hunting with his father, I would have given him a good beating to avenge my brother!" "I remember that when my brother saw that I was in trouble, he immediately stood in front of me and was hit in the chest by the knife, leaving a palm-wide cut."

"Yes...I remember now!"

"Just chop it right on the sun-shaped birthmark on your brother's right chest!"

As he said this, Lu Bu couldn't help but look at Lu Yi's chest with a guilty look on his face.

There was indeed a palm-wide scar visible to the naked eye on Lu Yi's right chest.

After more than ten years of recovery, the wound has long since healed and the color of the scar has become very light, almost invisible without careful observation.

It is far less conspicuous than the bright red round birthmark below the scar.

"You……"

Lu Yi's memory was stirred by Lu Bu's words, and he touched the scar on his chest with some palpitations.

"If you hadn't insulted someone's mother, how could that person be so angry that he lost his mind and drew his sword against you?"

"Hehe, wasn't it that hunter's son who bullied me first..."

Lu Bu smiled foolishly.

"Okay, it's getting late. We've been busy all day. We need to take a shower and rest. We have to go to Xiyuan early tomorrow morning for some important business!"

Lu Yi and Lu Bu chatted for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, he gave the order.

"understood……"

……

The next morning, Lu Yi brought Lu Bu, Gao Shun and Zhang Xun to the West Garden.

Unlike the first time, this time he wanted to confirm the official status of several people.

Since it was necessary to discuss matters with Zhao Zhong, it would be better for everyone to come together to avoid having to run back and forth.

"Is this Xiyuan?"

When Zhang Xun came to Xiyuan for the first time, he was shocked by its grandeur.

The fortress in his family was already the best in Mayi County, but compared with the Xiyuan in Luoyang, it was just an earthen-tiled house in the countryside and there was no comparison at all.

Not to mention the furnishings in Xiyuan, even the pillars are made of top-quality materials, and their price is equivalent to copper coins of the same weight.

However, Xiyuan and Liu Hong's newly built Nuyou Palace were far inferior. The pillars in Nuyou Palace were all made of golden nanmu wood that Liu Hong transported from Yunnan and other places. A lot of it was consumed, and its price was even higher than the same amount of gold.

The Nuyou Palace was just one of Liu Hong's many palaces.

From this we can see how extravagant and absurd Liu Hong's private life was.

"Humph, they were all built by squeezing the people's blood and sweat, so what's there to be envious of?"

Gao Shun, who had always lived a frugal life, could not help but snort coldly upon seeing this, and it was obvious that he had long been dissatisfied with the corrupt practices of the court.

"Hey...my friend is here!"

"Come in quickly and have a chat!"

To the surprise of Lu Yi and Lu Bu, the process of seeking an audience with Zhao Zhong went very smoothly.

As soon as the few of them stepped into the West Garden, Zhao Zhong, who had received the news, actually came out to greet them in person.

This kind of affectionate behavior not only surprised the brothers Lu Yi and Lu Bu, who had just experienced the efficiency of the Eastern Han Dynasty court yesterday, but also made the other eunuchs in the West Garden whisper to each other. I don't know where this Lu Yi came from, but he actually attracted Zhao Zhong to go out and greet him personally.

Although Zhao Zhong is not Liu Hong's mother yet, she is still one of the Ten Attendants.

He is one of the twelve most powerful eunuchs in the palace.

The status is noble and not something that ordinary people can see.

It’s hard to even meet each other, let alone go out to greet him in person.

Therefore, it is a normal reaction to attract the attention of others.

However, Zhao Zhong didn't care at all.

He received great kindness from Liu Zhi, but before he could repay him, his benefactor passed away.

Therefore, he felt very guilty.

If Lu Yi is indeed the son of the late emperor, there would be no need to go out to greet him.

Even asking him to kneel in front of Lu Yi and lick Lu Yi's shoes would not be a problem.

Besides, he, Cao Jie, Zhang Rang and others took turns guarding the West Garden, and the people they arranged each time were always their own descendants, so their loyalty was understandable.

In addition, only that eunuch witnessed the entire incident yesterday. Today, others only thought that it was some rich and powerful young man seeking an official position, and it was impossible for them to guess the reason.

Liu Zhi had passed away for almost twenty years, and his young descendants had no luck at all to see Liu Zhi's true face, so Zhao Zhong naturally felt relieved.

"How could I have such a lowly person to have caused Eunuch Zhao to come and greet me personally? What a sin!"

Lu Yi acted humble on the surface, but when he thought about Zhao Zhong's even more intimate attitude than yesterday, he couldn't help but feel even more suspicious, wondering what Zhao Zhong was up to.

"To show your courtesy for nothing is to be either an adulterer or a thief!"

"No matter what, we still need to be careful in front of Zhao Zhong today!"

Lu Yi made up his mind, and taking advantage of the opportunity when Zhao Zhong was leading the way, he immediately gave some quick instructions to the three people around him, telling them that he would be the one to answer whatever Zhao Zhong said later. After seeing the three of them nodding seriously, he felt relieved.

"coming!"

Zhang Rang, who was hiding behind a screen in Zhao Zhong's duty room, heard footsteps approaching from afar. He became a little nervous and stared at the door.

The position he is in is very tricky.

He could easily see the direction of the duty room door, but it was extremely difficult for Lu Yi and others to spot them from the outside.

This technique is exactly what Xiyuan did on purpose.

The screen that was originally used only for consultations with counselors came in handy at this time.

Zhao Zhong, who entered first, was naturally excluded by Zhang Rang subconsciously.

He immediately focused all his attention on the door.

The moment Lu Yi stepped into the gate, his appearance was immediately seen by Zhang Rang.

"The late emperor!?"

Zhang Rang was in a trance, as if he had traveled back more than 20 years and saw the young Liu Zhi.

Lu Yi was taller and stronger due to years of martial arts training, while Liu Zhi in Zhang Rang's memory was slightly thinner than Lu Yi because he had been kept in the deep palace for many years.

But apart from body shape and temperament.

Lu Yi's appearance is almost exactly the same as Liu Zhi's.

This level of similarity can no longer be explained by coincidence.

If they were not close relatives, how could they be so similar?

Lu Yi was so similar to the Liu Zhi in Zhang Rang's memory that Zhang Rang almost thought that Liu Zhi was resurrected. His hands, which had been clinging to the screen, trembled slightly uncontrollably due to the huge emotional fluctuations.

Although Zhang Rang's action was slight, it still immediately attracted the attention of Lu Yi and others.

……

(End of this chapter)