Chapter 79: Spoiled to the Heavens

Many of the ministers finally realized that Lu Desheng had been so attentive to the Emperor, no wonder he was favored.

However, a small group of them looked at Lu Desheng with disapproval, such as Zhou Chengzhong and others. They knew he was a sycophant, but they didn’t know he was this much of a sycophant. No, he was becoming more and more of a sycophant. Where did he learn this? He wasn’t so shameless before.

Where did he learn it? If Lu Desheng knew, he would say, “It’s in my blood, probably ingrained in my bones.”

Actually, he was inspired by his daughter’s actions. After his daughter became more sensible, she was the most beloved child among the siblings, both by him and his wife. She adored him, and he wanted to give her everything good. He hadn’t even thought about the other children. Of course, he believed that even if his older sister, brother, and younger brother returned, she would still be the top favorite in his and his wife’s eyes.

He was a very good learner, and through observation, he grasped the essence of it.

He was just a little bit more open than before. He learned this set of skills from his daughter’s behavior and applied it to Emperor Kang Cheng, and the results were excellent.

All the ministers: “Tsk, are you sure you’re just a little bit more open?”

Lu Desheng was too thick-skinned, even a knife couldn’t cut through it. The ministers simply ignored him, it was too upsetting. They turned their attention to Lu Desheng’s children behind him, almost wanting to ask directly, “Do you know how obsequious and flattering your father is?”

Some ministers also remembered what their wives had mentioned about the second daughter of the Lu family, and they were quite curious about her reaction.

Didn’t they say that the second daughter of the Lu family was the only good sprout in the family? Didn’t they say that she was annoyed by her father’s constant spraying of people in the court? Didn’t they say that she often worried about her family’s bad reputation? Look, your father is ruining your family’s reputation again, hurry up and despise him!

Naturally, Lu Desheng noticed their gazes. He also remembered that his son and daughter were standing behind him, feeling a little uncomfortable, and secretly looked back at them.

Lu Songli secretly gave her father a thumbs-up. She naturally noticed the gazes of those people, but who cared about them? These ministers despised her father, but in their hearts, they probably envied, hated, and were unwilling to admit it. Some people want benefits but also want dignity, they’re called “eating soft rice but acting tough,” afraid of being choked to death. She was so impressed by her father, how could she despise him? She only admired and felt sorry for him.

As the saying goes in the future, “Making money is not shameful, and gaining power is the same.” The appearance of someone striving for their goal, even if they look clumsy, is still beautiful.

Lu Mingzhi smiled at his father.

The reactions of the two Lu siblings were naturally noticed by the ministers. They were suddenly surprised to find that the Lu siblings were not ordinary people. They thought that seeing their father being so obsequious, they would be ashamed or at least uncomfortable.

However, the expressions of Lu Songli and Lu Mingzhi made the ministers feel that this whole family was abnormal, lacking the proper sense of righteousness, justice, and shame. But they didn’t know why, they felt inexplicably sour in their hearts.

Emperor Kang Cheng was being served comfortably by Lu Desheng, and as if only now noticing Yan Hua kneeling, he asked in surprise, “My dear minister, what’s wrong?”

Yan Hua: …

Did he kneel for nothing?

“Your Majesty, it’s like this—”

Zhou Chengzhong wished he could stab him with a fork. He rushed forward and covered his mouth tightly. “Your Majesty, he’s fine, his knees just itch, he’s more comfortable kneeling. I’ll take him away.”

Emperor Kang Cheng didn’t say anything about it.

Kindhearted as he was, Yan Hua was still struggling. Zhou Chengzhong finally couldn’t help but kick him. This fool, didn’t he notice that the Emperor hadn’t even used his surname when addressing him? What did that mean? It meant that the Emperor was already impatient with him.

Zhou Chengzhong had some connection with the Xie family. Not many people could see through the Xie family’s plan of “praise to kill,” but it was very obvious that the Xie family and the Zhao family were working together to deal with Lu Desheng.

He didn’t think much of the Xie and Zhao families’ plan. Lu Desheng was not easy to deal with. If he didn’t cause trouble for them, they should be grateful. How dare they cause trouble for him? Letting Yan Hua dance in front of him was like “showing off swordsmanship in front of Guan Yu.” And Fan Quan, I’m afraid he wouldn’t be able to withstand Lu Desheng for even one round.

Actually, Zhou Chengzhong had misunderstood. They weren’t arrogant enough to think that Fan Quan, with some basic knowledge, could compare to Lu Desheng just because of that little booklet. Their joint recommendation had failed, so they wanted the Emperor to accept Fan Quan first. He could enter the court first, and then they could take things slowly.

Lu Desheng was also very shrewd. He hadn’t missed any opportunity to accompany the Emperor these days, and Emperor Kang Cheng was very happy to bring him along. They couldn’t find a chance to secretly recommend Fan Quan. They had also prepared for Fan Quan for a while, and they were reluctant not to give him a try. What if it succeeded?

Moreover, Fan Quan was handsome, young and handsome, with the appearance of a young genius. Emperor Kang Cheng also found it pleasing to the eye. It was better than looking at Lu Desheng’s old face with wrinkles, right? They were also thinking of the Emperor.

If Lu Desheng knew their thoughts, he would definitely sneer at them: “Who wasn’t handsome like Xu Gong back then? Cough, cough, even if I wasn’t as handsome as Xu Gong, I was still handsome. Even though I’m old now, I’m still a handsome old man!”

Actually, most officials are good-looking, at least they are not ugly.

“Humph, you think the Emperor will like a young one? The Emperor won’t like him! Think about it, the Emperor takes pills every day to stay vigorous and healthy, would he be happy to see such a young and strong official flaunting around in front of him? Humph, they’ve miscalculated!”

Emperor Kang Cheng did feel a little depressed when he saw Fan Quan, a newcomer. But Lu Desheng’s actions, the feeling of being sought after, made him feel better.

Emperor Kang Cheng, whose mood was still good, waved his hand and let them go.

Yan Hua, who had failed on his first outing, was like he had lost his parents.

Lu Desheng’s appearance had overturned the understanding of many people that ability is the most important thing.

Xie Zhan quietly watched this scene, lost in thought. This was the first time he saw how Lu Desheng interacted with the Emperor. He really knew how to humble himself. Lu Desheng’s ability might not be top-notch, but in terms of understanding Emperor Kang Cheng, no one could compare to him.

The people his father had chosen, their writing, knowledge, and eloquence were all excellent, even surpassing Lu Desheng in some aspects. But they were not as good as Lu Desheng.

Literary men, they all value integrity, they can’t bend their backs, they can’t be flattering enough, even when they flatter the Dragon, they are only subtle. It’s like scratching an itch through a shoe, not satisfying. Look at Lu Desheng, he’s different, he’s bold and unrestrained, he can completely touch Emperor Kang Cheng’s itchy spot.

At the same time, Xie Zhan also understood that it wasn’t just about someone bowing and scraping in front of Emperor Kang Cheng that would make him look at them differently. The conclusion was that Lu Desheng wasn’t easy to replace.

If Lu Songli knew his thoughts, she would definitely agree with him. Her father really had too many advantages.

First, Emperor Kang Cheng acknowledged Lu Desheng’s ability, and he was also very good at handling things. Those who wanted to replace him, those younger than him would prick Emperor Kang Cheng’s heart, which was unwilling to admit aging and afraid of death. Those older than him wouldn’t be able to reach his level of ability, and Emperor Kang Cheng would dislike them. At such an old age, they only have four or five percent of the ability of his beloved Lu, pathetic!

Most importantly, her father was good at pleasing people, he gave Emperor Kang Cheng a lot of emotional value, her father took care of the Emperor’s emotional value. In other words, Emperor Kang Cheng was spoiled to the heavens by her father, he was taken care of by her father and couldn’t extricate himself.

Emperor Kang Cheng had been using him happily all along. Did her father benefit the people? No. Did he have any practical ability? No. Emperor Kang Cheng had many talents at his disposal, he could choose, if one didn’t work, he could switch to another, there were always substitutes, but someone like her father was irreplaceable.