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After dealing with Ma Liu and the others, the Lu family of three each returned to their own courtyard. Lu Desheng needed to change out of his court attire, and Lu Songli’s skirt was splattered with some rotten egg liquid and needed to be taken care of as well. However, the two elders asked her to change into clean clothes and come straight to the main courtyard. After the experience just now, the two elders didn’t want to be separated from their daughter for a moment.
What could Lu Songli do? She could only comply with their wishes, what a sweet burden. And she did have some important matters to discuss with her father.
When she arrived at the main courtyard again, her father had already changed back into his regular attire.
The family of three tacitly avoided mentioning what had just happened, just some clowns.
She was curious about what achievements her father had made against the Zhao family.
When Lu Desheng proudly recounted his morning’s achievements, Lu Songli felt like standing up and shouting “666” to her father.
Although she didn’t do that, Lu Songli enthusiastically served her father tea, poured water, and brought snacks, “Father, are you thirsty or tired this morning? Here, have some water.”
Lu Desheng chuckled, took the water handed to him by his daughter, and happily drank it. His daughter was more considerate than before, quite good, not that his daughter wasn’t good before, she was filial before, but now she was more thoughtful and closer to them as parents.
“Father, should we be worried about the Zhao family’s retaliation?” Lu Songli asked pretending to be curious. She asked this question to also gauge how secure their own position was.
Lu Desheng stroked his beard proudly, “Don’t worry, they can’t do anything to me.”
Madam Jiang also chimed in with a smile, “Your father is right, you don’t need to worry. Your father’s political enemies have tried to attack him before, but he has always come through unscathed.”
Thinking of her father’s status as a court orphan, Lu Songli sighed inwardly but smiled on the outside as she asked her father, “Father, don’t you think you have too much political enemies?”
Lu Desheng awkwardly rubbed his nose, “It seems like, there are quite a few.”
Lu Songli heard this and gave her old father a thumbs-up in her heart. Her old father’s heart was truly strong.
As they spoke, Lu Desheng cast a pleading look at his wife. His youngest daughter had never liked his behavior of making enemies everywhere in the court. What did she mean by bringing it up now?
Seeing her husband’s pitiful appearance, Madam Jiang softened her heart, “Daughter, supervising officials and maintaining order is your father’s duty, we can’t criticize him for this. Besides, this is also granted by the emperor.”
Hearing this, Lu Songli couldn’t help but laugh. She quickly straightened her face and said, “Father, I’m not criticizing you, I’m just worried about you.”
“Don’t…”
Lu Desheng couldn’t finish his sentence before he was interrupted by Lu Songli, “Father, let me finish. When they tried to harm you before, didn’t they constantly criticize you and belittle you in front of the emperor, wishing they could bury you in the mud?”
Lu Desheng nodded.
“Father, have you ever thought that they might try a new tactic?”
Madam Jiang smiled and said, “Daughter, they won’t succeed no matter what tactic they use. Your mother remembers once, they invited Grand Tutor Jiang to persuade the emperor to dismiss him from office. Your father was only ordered by the emperor to reflect behind closed doors at that time. Only two months later, your father was called back by the emperor to resume his duties.”
“Father, I know you can’t be brought down by conventional methods. But Father and Mother, have you ever considered what I would do if I were to deal with my father?” She had carefully analyzed the reasons for her father’s success and had formulated a targeted plan.
Lu Desheng and his wife laughed, Madam Jiang said, “Okay, okay, tell us.” The two elders felt that there was still time before dinner, so they would listen to her, just to humor their daughter.
Lu Desheng made a listening gesture. He had always spoiled his daughter and was a person who could take advice and suggestions.
Lu Songli didn’t go straight to the point at first, but said, “Father, I actually admire you very much.”
These past few days, she had carefully analyzed her father.
“Let’s not talk about your past experiences, let’s start from when you were promoted by the emperor to become a Censor in the Imperial Censorate. Since ancient times, China has been a society of human relationships. In the court, many officials value their connections and have some face-saving obligations to certain people. I believe the Censors of the Imperial Censorate are the same. But you, Father, went against the grain and only wanted to do the task assigned to you by the emperor. No one’s pleas could sway you.”
Lu Songli’s words brought back memories of Lu Desheng’s promotion by the emperor. He had finally grabbed this opportunity and naturally had to be loyal to the emperor. Other colleagues? He didn’t care about them.
These people couldn’t win him over, so they started to put obstacles in his way. He was so annoyed that he simply used his words to take care of them. He was worried that the emperor would be angry, but the emperor turned around and rewarded him. At that moment, he understood.
“Father, from that moment on, you became a sharp sword in the emperor’s hand.” He had a precise self-awareness, while he just blindly did it.
Lu Desheng nodded. Although he had done this subconsciously at the time, he only had a clear understanding of it later.
“Father, you also work very hard. Many times, in order to bring someone down, you can lock yourself in your study for days and nights, just thinking about it, then constantly revising and optimizing the impeachment document. This willpower, this perseverance, this dedication to excellence, is truly admirable.”
Madam Jiang: “No, daughter, are you sure you are praising your father?”
Lu Desheng: “This sounds a bit strange. But it doesn’t matter, the important thing is, what my daughter said is right, he is such an excellent person.”
Lu Songli was indeed praising her father. For someone like her father, who was constantly on the path of offending people, it was because of his excellent skills in denouncing people that he didn’t capsize.
“Father, you are also very good at humbling yourself and putting your face aside. You cater to the emperor’s preferences. Whoever he dislikes, you help him criticize. When it’s time to flatter him, you don’t hesitate.” Don’t ask her how she knows. The original owner’s mind has memories of the emperor’s incognito visit to their Lu family. Her father’s performance would make other Censors think he was too obsequious, it would be painful to watch.
Her father, this court orphan, with no faction or friends, is the kind of person who deserves to be his sword, isn’t he? Wouldn’t he be at ease using him? Moreover, her father is capable and can provide extremely high emotional value, so unique, how could the emperor not protect him?
Lu Desheng kept nodding. His daughter had analyzed him so well. He never knew that his daughter was so insightful. At the same time, he pondered his daughter’s words, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.
All along, he had been blindly following. No one had taught him how to be an official. He had done many things based on his intuition. Now, after listening to his daughter’s words, Lu Desheng suddenly felt enlightened.
Speaking of this, Lu Songli had to admire her cheap old father. He had grown up in the wild, relying entirely on intuition. But even so, he was able to take every step on the right path. Was it luck? Or was it due to his animalistic intuition? However, would it be difficult to deal with someone like her father? It would be difficult, but not impossible.