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Lu Mingzhi looked worriedly at his father. None of the people present were on his father’s side. His father was outnumbered, could he fight against them? Now he realized the difficulties his father faced in the court.
Lu Songli was not worried about her father. Her father must have experienced even more dangerous situations than this. The current situation was within their expectations, and she believed her father could handle it completely.
Lu Songli gave her younger brother a reassuring look, trusting in their father’s abilities.
This Yan Hua, mentioned by her father before, was considered a relatively active censor in the Imperial Censorate. As the saying goes, people in the same profession look down on each other. Although the two occasionally had conflicts, her father always had the upper hand.
As expected, Yan Hua had already been recruited by the Xie family. Lu Songli looked towards Xie Zhan and saw him calmly meeting her gaze, showing no emotions.
Lu Songli guessed right, Yan Hua was indeed now part of the Xie faction. Since the incident with the marriage arrangement between the Lu and Xie families, he realized that Lu Desheng would break away from the Xie faction due to the strained relationship, and he couldn’t allow the Xie family to have this weakness. That’s why Yan Hua was brought in recently.
Sure enough, her father coldly retorted.
Lu Desheng sneered, “You admit he’s outstanding because your own skills as a censor are lacking. In my eyes, he is nothing! Even a firefly dares to shine in front of the sun and moon!” He displayed an arrogant and conceited attitude.
Arrogant and conceited!
The ministers couldn’t help but look towards Emperor Kang Cheng, who was calmly drinking tea, seemingly unaware of what was happening in front of him.
Wei Zili stood aside, silently criticizing in his mind. You all ganged up on Lord Lu, but he pushed back. Do you still expect the Emperor to favor you? Seriously?
Yan Hua was infuriated by his words, feeling like he was deliberately provoking Lu Desheng but believed his assessment of Fan Quan was fair.
“Lu Desheng, you bully the weak with your strength, comparing Fan Quan to yourself is unfair!” he accused.
“Say what you want, you’re all just rubbish!” Lu Desheng lifted his chin, showing no regard for fairness, “I don’t care about martial virtues, what are you going to do about it? Anyone who wants to take my position, I’ll fight them! He adjusted his jade hairpin, as if he had been too excited earlier.
Xie Zhan’s mouth twitched, Lu Desheng really had no manners. Comparing Fan Quan to himself was like comparing a chick to an elephant. But once this elephant sensed a threat, even if it was just a hint, he would immediately attack fiercely, stomping the opponent down and making the threat disappear.
Insulted as trash, Yan Hua was enraged, “Lu Desheng, you are narrow-minded. Your words are unfair and show jealousy of talent, suppressing newcomers and eliminating dissent!”
Lu Desheng sneered, “You act like you’ve never done such things! In the 18th year of Tianxi, where did your talented disciple Zhang Xian go? You sent him to the farthest border to serve as an official.”
“If you don’t value him, let him join someone else. You liked his talent, enticed him to join you, but refused to give him opportunities. Just because he didn’t agree to marry your daughter, you belittled him. Tell me, is this not jealousy of talent?”
Lu Desheng’s series of questions exposed his true nature, leaving him no face.
Lu Desheng picked up the teacup next to him and drank it all in one go. Looking at the flushed face of Yan Hua, he coldly smiled, “Come on, let’s hurt each other. Want to attack me? First, make sure your own hands are clean!”
“You— you—” Yan Hua stared at Lu Desheng, unable to speak. He was so angry, Lu Desheng’s words were too malicious!
He felt like he couldn’t breathe, almost passing out. But he knew he couldn’t faint, he wasn’t as favored as Lu Desheng. If he fainted, he would definitely be taken aside, losing his initiative. He couldn’t let that happen!
Ministers: Let’s fight! Fight!
Bang! Emperor Kang Cheng tapped the table, “Alright, stop arguing.”
The ministers looked disappointed, their expressions full of regret. The back and forth between these two was thrilling, but the Emperor didn’t allow it. Such a pity.
“Your Majesty! Look at Imperial Censor Lu—” Yan Hua couldn’t argue, so he turned to Emperor Kang Cheng to complain. He could feel so wronged when calling out “Your Majesty.”
Lu Desheng took a step forward, pushing Yan Hua aside. “Your Majesty, do you think this old minister is useless?” he asked pitifully.
“How could that be? My dear minister can still serve as Imperial Censor for another ten years.” Emperor Kang Cheng was very tolerant towards his trusted blade. Whether the new blade could be used or not remained to be seen.
“Your Majesty, I only need your words.” Lu Desheng didn’t mention Fan Quan at all, but he said everything.
Fan Quan, as long as I am in this position, you will not have a chance to rise!
“Your Majesty—” Yan Hua called out.
Emperor Kang Cheng glanced at him indifferently.
This glance made Yan Hua’s heartfelt words stuck in his throat, unable to speak.
“Your Majesty, have some tea. The tea here at Hongsheng Restaurant is to your liking.” Lu Desheng was eager to serve the Emperor, seeming to have completely forgotten about Yan Hua.
“Alright, you don’t have to be so busy. After all that talking, aren’t you thirsty?”
Upon hearing this, Yan Hua clutched his heart, feeling like he had been struck by an arrow, deeply wounded. Partiality! This was blatant partiality! He believed that in the matter of Fan Quan, he was recruiting talent for the Emperor, acting selflessly, so why couldn’t the Emperor see that?
As Emperor Kang Cheng spoke, Wei Zili hurriedly interjected, “Oh, Lord Lu, put down the tea leaves. Let us take care of it. You can’t take away our job of serving the Emperor.”
“Alright, thank you, Grand Secretary Wei.” Lu Desheng didn’t argue with him. He knew his tea brewing skills were not as good as Wei Zili’s. He didn’t necessarily have to make tea for the Emperor, but he was willing to show his dedication.
And that was it. Continuing would only make things difficult for himself, offend Wei Zili, and the Emperor wouldn’t even get to drink a sip of tea smoothly. Why bother? As his daughter said, professional matters must be left to professionals.
“Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Wei brews much better tea than I do. If you have better options, I won’t embarrass myself.” With these words, Lu Desheng made Emperor Kang Cheng feel comfortable, like a good minister who always had his best interests at heart.
Being praised, Wei Zili also felt pleased.
Sycophants! The courtiers secretly cursed.