“Come, bring a seat for Grand Secretary Lu.” Li Qitian commanded in a deep voice.
Li Guanwen immediately acknowledged the order and instructed the young eunuchs to bring over an official hat chair, placing it in the lower position.
Grand Secretary Lu wore formal red official robes. He lifted his robe hem and tremblingly knelt down to perform the grand ceremony: “This old minister thanks His Majesty.”
Seeing that old fox act so respectfully and submissively, Li Qitian’s anger flared up from nowhere. Clearly having no loyal heart toward his sovereign, yet putting on such a display—what was this if not deceiving the emperor?
“You are an old minister and my trusted pillar. Back then, to end the warfare early and for the sake of all people under heaven, the Lu family extended a helping hand, which has always filled my heart with gratitude. Now in my presence, how could there not be a place for Elder Lu?”
Li Qitian smiled warmly, extremely affable.
The elderly Grand Secretary Lu, already advanced in years, was moved to the point that his thin body trembled along with his beard. Emotionally, he bowed and said: “This old minister is willing to go through fire and water for His Majesty, to repay His Majesty’s gracious recognition!”
As he spoke, he was about to prostrate himself again.
Li Qitian gave a look, and Li Guanwen immediately stepped forward to help Grand Secretary Lu up.
Li Qitian said: “Why don’t you help Elder Lu to his seat?”
Li Guanwen smiled and said: “Please sit, Your Lordship. His Majesty’s heart is most concerned for old ministers.”
“Thank His Majesty, thank His Majesty.” Grand Secretary Lu sat down gratefully on half of the official hat chair, tears of gratitude in his eyes.
When he lowered his head, Li Qitian wearily rubbed his temples.
When Grand Secretary Lu raised his eyes to look, Li Qitian still appeared as usual.
“Does Elder Lu know why I summoned you today?”
Grand Secretary Lu nodded and said earnestly: “His Majesty must be concerned about the drought in the south. Your Majesty need not worry—Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor, blessed by heaven. Ever since Great Yan submitted and their territory was incorporated into our Great Zhou, the drought there has already begun to ease. This is all due to His Majesty’s deep blessings being able to benefit the people!”
Grand Secretary Lu was truly advanced in age, yet when speaking, he exerted himself to speak loudly, causing his entire body to tremble. This made Li Guanwen watching from the side feel frightened, fearing the old man might exert himself too much in speaking and fail to catch his breath. If something happened in the imperial study, how would they explain it to the Lu family?
But Grand Secretary Lu’s words were equivalent to pouring another bucket of oil on Li Qitian’s raging fire.
Li Qitian clenched his teeth, barely containing the flames from spewing from his mouth.
What a loyal minister who loves his country!
If he was truly so loyal to the sovereign and loved the country, why did he still indulge his grandson in doing such things!
If it were someone else, those scolding words would have already been spoken.
But facing Grand Secretary Lu’s completely sincere and moved expression, thinking of his status as patriarch of the Lu family, thinking of the calculations hidden within every wrinkle, Li Qitian still forcibly held back, sighing softly without revealing his emotions.
“Although I am blessed by heaven and assisted by capable ministers to establish this realm, Elder Lu also knows that the Northern Ji Kingdom I inherited was already devastated and ruined.”
“Ah, yes. His Majesty has truly worked hard these years.” Grand Secretary Lu also sighed along.
Li Qitian said: “It doesn’t matter if I work a bit harder—what matters are the people of the realm. Now the treasury is empty. The provisions and reward money promised to the Huben Army when they attacked Great Yan have still not been delivered. The south suffers drought, the people are displaced, the northern Tatars eye us covetously. This realm is devastated everywhere, everything needs calculation, everything needs money. But Elder Lu also knows the situation of my treasury.”
Upon hearing this, Grand Secretary Lu cupped his hands and said: “Your Majesty, this old minister is willing to share Your Majesty’s worries. When this old minister returns, I will immediately find ways to raise funds.”
Li Qitian was choked by his response.
These words made it sound like he was crying poverty and asking his old minister for money!
Could his fundraising possibly raise as much silver as that treasure trove!
This old fox was clearly playing dumb and acting confused before him, refusing to acknowledge the wrongs committed by Lu Heng no matter what!
Li Qitian’s patience was nearly exhausted. If not for his imperial dignity, if he weren’t the mud-legged farmer from the countryside anymore, he probably would have already pounced forward to pin this cunning old schemer to the ground and beat him senseless for relief!
Li Qitian’s suppressed rage made Li Guanwen feel so cold he couldn’t help but step back several paces.
Yet Grand Secretary Lu remained completely oblivious, his eyes nearly brimming with hot tears as he pledged earnestly: “Your Majesty, this old minister will certainly find a way to raise the silver!”
This statement was like the final straw that broke the camel’s back!
Li Qitian suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice: “Grand Secretary Lu, I respect you, but don’t push your luck!”
Grand Secretary Lu was stunned by the question and hurriedly knelt down trembling, pressing his forehead to the ground as he said in a shaking voice: “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This old minister, this old minister doesn’t understand…”
“You don’t understand! I think your heart is clear as a mirror! Let me ask you—do you know about my search for the Great Yan treasure?”
“This old minister knows.”
“Then why did you let your grandson escape with my treasure map!”
“Ah?”
Grand Secretary Lu looked up in complete astonishment, then realized that looking directly at the imperial countenance was highly improper. He hurriedly lowered his head again, shaking his head repeatedly: “Impossible! How could such a thing happen? If this old minister’s grandson truly obtained the treasure, he would certainly present it to His Majesty first. How could he…”
“Are you saying I’m falsely accusing your Lu Heng?”
“This old minister wouldn’t dare!” Grand Secretary Lu hurriedly kowtowed: “Your Majesty, could there be some misunderstanding in this matter?”
“Misunderstanding? Just as I learned of the treasure map’s whereabouts and ordered people to search for it, I saw your precious grandson being escorted away from the capital at full speed with the treasure map!”
“This, this this… This old minister didn’t know! That boy never reported this matter. That little rascal! How dare he do such a thing! When this old minister finds out where he’s run off to, I absolutely won’t forgive him!”
“My dear minister means to say that everything he did was without your knowledge?”
“Truly without knowledge!” Grand Secretary Lu was so anxious that tears streamed down his aged face. “That bastard brat! How dare he act this way! It truly infuriates me, infuriates me!”
As Grand Secretary Lu wept, he began having difficulty breathing, his hands shaking as he collapsed sideways on the ground.
Li Guanwen hurriedly went to help him: “Grand Secretary Lu, are you alright?” He looked inquiringly at Li Qitian—at this point, if they didn’t want to cause a great disaster, they should summon the imperial physician.
Li Qitian glared at this old fox through gritted teeth, truly wishing he would just die here and be done with it.
But if the patriarch of the Lu family had an accident in the imperial study, the resulting gossip would be favorable to no one and the consequences would be extremely serious.
Thinking of this, Li Qitian could only ask with deep concern: “Elder Lu, are you alright? Quickly summon the imperial physician!”
“This old minister, this old minister is, is fine. This old minister is truly… that unfilial son really angered this old minister to death!”
Li Qitian watched his loyal minister facade of suffering while not forgetting to curse his unworthy descendant, and nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He simply turned around, out of sight, out of mind.
The imperial physician quickly arrived at the imperial study and examined Grand Secretary Lu.
“Reporting to His Majesty, Grand Secretary Lu is advanced in years and has suffered shock and fright. Rage attacked his heart, his emotions were overly agitated, causing his internal fire to flare, which led to his brief fainting spell. This minister will prescribe a remedy for Grand Secretary Lu to take, and Grand Secretary Lu must frequently pay attention to controlling his emotions and must not become overly agitated.”
The imperial physician was an honest and upright person who didn’t dare look directly at the imperial countenance, so he completely failed to notice that with each sentence he spoke, Li Qitian’s expression grew several degrees darker.
Li Guanwen was already hunching his shoulders, trying his utmost to minimize his presence, afraid of being affected by His Majesty’s rage.
Li Qitian pressed his lips together and silently watched Grand Secretary Lu.
Grand Secretary Lu felt a chill down his spine and hurriedly straightened his kneeling posture, bowing as he said: “Your Majesty, please forgive this transgression. This old minister will immediately command people to capture that unfilial son and bring him back for His Majesty’s disposal!”
Would he really be willing to hand over his most beloved grandson?
This was clearly just going through the motions, trying to put him in a difficult position!
If Li Qitian appeared too harsh, it would make the great families completely defensive.
Being defensive was still secondary.
If the Lu family became fearful and united with the other great families in rebellion, Li Qitian honestly didn’t believe he had the ability to put out that fire.
So even though he was holding back a belly full of anger, he could only swallow this frustration in a pathetic manner.
“Forget it. This matter wasn’t Elder Lu’s fault to begin with. Just now in my great anger, I failed to control my emotions.”
“Your Majesty, this old minister is terrified and ashamed.”
Grand Secretary Lu prostrated himself on the ground, tears streaming down his aged face once more.
Seeing him like this, Li Qitian was truly beyond annoyed, yet couldn’t do anything to him, so could only offer kind consolation.
The final result was that Li Qitian’s attempt to call him to account failed, and he still had to comfort his old minister’s emotions, even ordering his personal head eunuch to personally escort the old minister home, while also bestowing a pile of medicinal tonics and supplements.
Li Qitian sat in the imperial study sulking, refusing to see anyone.
Grand Secretary Lu returned home, politely thanked Li Guanwen, and even gave him a fine red envelope.
After Li Guanwen took his leave, Grand Secretary Lu returned to the rear courtyard’s upper residence.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw Lu Heng—who according to Li Qitian should have left the capital—sitting on the kang by the window, reading a book while eating pastries.
“Grandfather, you’ve returned.” Lu Heng was about to get down to bow.
Grand Secretary Lu waved his hand and sat down opposite Lu Heng, also grabbing some pastries to eat.
“Grandfather, did His Majesty make things difficult for you?”
Grand Secretary Lu smiled: “He wanted to, but does he have the guts?”
Lu Heng smiled gracefully: “If that person heard grandfather’s words, wouldn’t his lungs explode with rage?”
“You didn’t see him just now—he was worried I’d die in his imperial study and it would be hard to explain, just as I was worried he might anger himself into trouble.” Grand Secretary Lu laughed cheerfully, and after a while said: “Tomorrow, once everything is prepared, you can set out. While traveling, prioritize safety above all. Our family doesn’t lack for silver—whether we find that treasure or not doesn’t matter. You just need to return safely.”
“Even if we can’t find it, we can’t let that person find it either. But don’t worry, grandfather. I’ll just treat it as a pleasure trip. I’ll be careful about my own safety.”
Looking at his noble and handsome grandson, Grand Secretary Lu said seriously: “Heng’er, you’re not young anymore. About remarrying…”
“Grandfather, your grandson has experienced the vast ocean and finds it hard to be impressed by mere water; except for the clouds of Mount Wu, no other clouds will do.”