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As soon as Emperor Kang Cheng left, Lu Desheng wanted to sneak away, hiding his accomplishments and reputation.
However, just as he was about to leave, he was quickly grabbed by Yao Songwen, who said, “Songwen thanks Brother Lu for his straightforwardness earlier.”
Lu Desheng quickly pulled his hand away, “Just talk, don’t touch me!”
Several officials from the Yao family surrounded them.
“Brother Songwen, congratulations.”
“Lord Yao, congratulations.”
…
With this group surrounding him, Lu Desheng found himself in the middle.
As the ministers left, they all passed by Lu Desheng.
Each of these ministers couldn’t help but glance at his old face as they passed by, wondering if he had grown three heads and six arms, able to please Emperor Kang Cheng so much.
In particular, Zhou Chengzhong couldn’t help but wonder, as fellow officials of the Imperial Censorate, what was the difference between them?
What kind of look was that? He didn’t sprout flowers on his face. Lu Desheng felt a chill.
As people and Yao Songwen expressed their joy and extended invitations to Lu Desheng.
“Lord Lu, there’s a great barbecue restaurant at the end of Zhuque Street, would you like to try it together?”
“Lord Lu, my son has always admired your talent, shall we have a drink together tonight?”
“Alright, stop surrounding me, the person you should be surrounding is him!” Lu Desheng was impatient, pointing at Yao Songwen, “Make way, I’m going home for dinner!”
Thinking that he couldn’t see through their intentions, they just wanted him to give more benefits to the Yao family? He would never agree!
Yao Songwen saw that Lu Desheng was not interested in dealing with them at all, so he said, “Alright, let’s make way for Lord Lu.”
Then, Lu Desheng left without looking back, without any nostalgia.
His steps showed an air of indifference.
Yao Songwen and the others watched him leave with a smile, thinking to themselves that Lu Desheng was not easy to approach.
This scene was also reported back to Emperor Kang Cheng by the palace attendants. After hearing it, Emperor Kang Cheng nodded, thinking that Minister Lu was still very sensible.
The way they looked at Lu Desheng was extremely friendly. Although Lu Desheng often lashed out at others, sometimes he could really get along well.
Xie Mingtang couldn’t control the commotion behind him, he just wanted to hurry home at this moment. Then, as he was about to leave the palace gate and turn a corner on his way back to the Xie residence, he was stopped by someone.
Seeing the person who stopped him, Xie Mingtang felt a headache, and quickly said, “Brother Ji, I’ve already sent someone to call A Zhan, don’t worry, our Xie family will definitely handle this matter and give you an explanation.”
Hearing this, Ji Yongqing, who had been tense, finally relaxed a little. Yes, there was the eldest son! “Then, Lord Xie, please go back, I won’t delay you.” He stepped aside.
The Ministry of Personnel
Xie Zhan currently held a position in the Ministry of Personnel, but he was only a minor official, not eligible to attend court.
As soon as he finished his shift, before he even left the office, a colleague informed him, “Lord Xie, you haven’t left yet? Your servant is waiting for you outside the office, it seems urgent, you should go out quickly.”
Xie Zhan nodded upon hearing this, thanked his colleague, and then said goodbye to his superior, “Lord Wang, I might have an urgent matter at home, I’ll leave first.”
His superior waved his hand, “Go, go.”
Before leaving the office, Xie Zhan was still calm, but when he saw the urgency on the servant’s face, his heart sank inexplicably.
The servant saw him and wanted to speak, but Xie Zhan stopped him with a look.
After getting on the carriage, he summoned the servant and questioned him.
Upon hearing the servant’s report, Xie Zhan almost stood up, “Failed? Impossible!”
He had been pondering this scheme against Lu Desheng for almost a year, considering all aspects. Before implementing it, anyone would have thought it wouldn’t fail! Joining forces with officials to recommend Lu Desheng for promotion, not demotion, shouldn’t be difficult, right? How could it fail? What was his father doing?
The servant didn’t know the details, and Xie Zhan didn’t ask further, only urging the carriage to go faster.
Back at the Xie residence, he went directly to his father’s study in the main courtyard. His father was indeed waiting for him there.
As soon as Xie Mingtang saw Xie Zhan, he said, “A Zhan, our joint recommendation of Lu Desheng has failed. The Emperor, I don’t know when, bestowed a life-saving token on the Lu family! The Emperor and Lu Desheng both refused the promotion.”
“Father, tell me about the court session in detail.” Xie Zhan remained relatively calm.
Seeing this, Xie Mingtang also calmed down and began to recount the events of the court session.
Xie Zhan didn’t expect such a sudden change! Was his former father-in-law such a clear-headed person? Did he have such an understanding? He didn’t think so. Excluding this point, Xie Zhan quickly realized that there was a wise person beside Lu Desheng. Not only did he point out Lu Desheng’s own weaknesses, but he also anticipated them and blocked this weakness, or rather, prevented it from being exploited.
This was equivalent to anticipating his plan and taking targeted precautions! What a formidable person! Who could it be? Was it the Qin family? Qin Heng? No, the timing didn’t match. This person must have been by Lu Desheng’s side before he obtained the life-saving token. At that time, the relationship between the Qin family and the Lu family shouldn’t have been too close. Besides, the Qin family needed a life-saving token more than the Lu family. If they had the ability to obtain it, why didn’t they get it themselves and help the Lu family?
Soon, Xie Zhan ruled out the Qin family.
Xie Zhan didn’t think of Lu Songli. Previously, Lu Songli had already shown impressive brilliance in the Zhao Bin incident, and he didn’t think she could do what that wise person did.
Xie Mingtang was a little dejected, originally ready to go all out, but he was met with an unfavorable start.
The biggest blow to him was that Lu Desheng had actually been granted a life-saving token! It was incredible, such big news, the Lu family kept it so well hidden!
If he had previously felt a change in his view of the Lu family due to Lu Songli’s decisiveness and ruthlessness, even feeling some regret. This time, he truly regretted it, his heart ached. Lu Desheng, you had a life-saving token, you should have said so earlier! There was no need for their two families to go through the process of breaking off the engagement and then getting married separately! Then the Qin family would have been deprived of such a great benefit!
“Father, don’t regret it.” Xie Zhan analyzed, “The time Lu Desheng received the life-saving token might not be in the past, it should be recent.”
Hmm? Hearing his eldest son’s explanation, Xie Mingtang’s remorse lessened slightly, but he still regretted it. If the Xie family hadn’t intended to break off the engagement, then they and the Lu family would still be in-laws, and with a little effort, they could have shared this life-saving token.
Xie Zhan had already figured out the key point. That night in the Palace, the Empress Dowager left in a hurry, probably because Lu Desheng had just obtained the life-saving token. No wonder Her Majesty was so flustered. He explained his guess to his father.
Upon hearing this, Xie Mingtang felt even worse. In this way, wasn’t it their Xie family and the Zhao family who had helped Lu Desheng?
Compared to the life-saving token, Xie Zhan was more concerned about the wise person behind the Lu family. The other party’s ability to think three steps ahead made him very wary. After all, objects are inanimate, but people are living beings. With that wise person, the Lu family could achieve anything they wanted.
Could it be said that Xie Zhan wasn’t regretful? He was, but his father had already made his move, and if he showed any regret, it would only add to his father’s troubles.
“Should we continue with the plan?” Xie Mingtang asked, was there any point in continuing?
Xie Zhan nodded and said coldly, “Continue.”
“Alright, A Zhan, we still have a chance, right?” Praise and then kill, praise is just a means, the killing is the key. What if Lu Desheng avoids praise, as long as he can’t avoid the fatal blow, he will still be eliminated by us.
Xie Zhan remained silent. There was a chance, but the odds were slim. Had his father forgotten? Lu Desheng was granted a life-saving token, which showed how much Emperor Kang Cheng trusted him.
The reason he wanted to continue with the plan was simply because the stage had been set, and the play was halfway through, how could it end abruptly? Also, Fan Quan was just a small pawn, throwing him out could also verify whether his guess was true. If it went smoothly, it would also be a good opportunity to place Fan Quan by the Emperor’s side.
“A Zhan—”
Hearing the call, Xie Zhan, who was thinking about the problem, looked up at his father. Seeing his father’s hesitant expression, his heart sank, “Father, is there anything else?”
“That, A Zhan, we lost the position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice, not the position of Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice.” Xie Mingtang said with a hint of guilt.
Xie Zhan’s forehead suddenly started to ache, his father! He had said before, use the position of Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice to lure him! The position of Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, a rank four official, was just right. If the plan didn’t go smoothly, they could still afford to lose a Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice.
But he took the initiative to make arrangements, arrogantly using the rank three position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice as bait! Now it’s good, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice, which had been in the hands of the Xie family, was lost!
The Yao family is not easy to deal with! Xie Zhan felt exhausted for the first time. At this moment, Xie Zhan finally realized that a family cannot have two voices!
Moreover, there was one thing he hadn’t mentioned earlier. His father’s ability to react on the spot was too poor, he was actually caught off guard by Lu Desheng and the Yao family. His father handled this matter too crudely! In the grand scheme of things, once he realized that it was impossible, he should have taken steps to minimize losses. His father should have immediately recommended an official from their Xie family to take over the position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice!
Xie Zhan began to consider his own entry into court. He had originally planned to spend a few years in the Ministry of Personnel, carefully planning and managing, to open up a new path for the Xie family. Now, it seems impossible.