Chapter 96: The Situation
Lu Yun took out the Imperial Seal and examined it carefully for a moment. He flipped through the Imperial Extreme Profound Cave Skill and that black booklet in the box, then put the three things back into the box and restored the seat cushion.
“These deadly things are really too worrisome to keep at home.” Lu Yun frowned tightly and muttered to himself. While at the Summer Palace, he had always been worried about the things hidden at home being discovered. But at that time, he was not yet noteworthy, so the problem should not have been big.
But now, he had become a favorite in everyone’s eyes, and he was about to sprint toward First Rank Official. After learning that his father had become a thorn in the Elder Council’s side, Lu Yun became extremely worried that some uninvited guest might search his room one day. Although he had set up a hidden compartment and stored them in an iron box, since he could find the things Lu Feng had hidden inside the room, others might also find the things he had hidden!
Losing any one of these three things would bring disaster upon his entire family!
“I must change the location! Not a moment to delay!” Lu Yun made up his mind.
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After he took a bath and changed into clean clothes, Lu Xin also returned from the yamen.
Lu Xin was clearly much better at hiding things than Lu Xiang. Seeing Lu Yun, he smiled and said, “You boy, you’ve really done your father proud!” His face showed no trace of worry.
“Father,” Lu Yun bowed to Lu Xin and said with slight surprise, “You’ve only been back in the capital half a day, and the news has already spread?”
“Of course, do you know how many pairs of eyes are watching Your Majesty?” Lu Xin spread his hands, letting the maidservant remove his official robe and change him into home clothes, then smiled at Lu Yun. “Actually, quite a few people already knew about you accompanying Your Majesty at chess a few days ago, but it wasn’t convenient to discuss then. Now that Your Majesty is back in the capital, there’s no need to hold back…”
“I thought they would be discussing what happened this afternoon…” Lu Yun said while pouring tea for Lu Xin.
“Heh, that matter, on the contrary, no one dares to discuss.” Lu Xin waved his hand with a smile, and the maidservant bowed and withdrew. He walked to the low table, knelt down, took a sip of fragrant tea, and said, “That matter is too big; no one dares to predict how it will develop afterward. Who would dare speak lightly?”
“Yes, disaster comes from the mouth.” Lu Yun nodded.
“Let’s talk about your experiences at the Summer Palace instead.” Lu Xin smiled at Lu Yun. In truth, as long as he returned safe and sound, Lu Xin was fully satisfied.
“Yes.” Lu Yun recounted the events again, but this time much more detailed and in-depth. He told Lu Xin everything he couldn’t tell Lu Xiang, all truthfully.
After hearing it, Lu Xin frowned slightly and said, “The court all says Your Majesty has always had a tense relationship with the First Prince and favors the three princes born to Empress Xiahou. Moreover, with the Xiahou Clan’s influence, no one has ever worried that there would be fierce contention for the crown prince position in the future.”
“I cannot believe that Huangfu Yu would be willing to pass the throne to Xiahou Ba’s maternal grandson.” Lu Yun slowly shook his head and said, “The Xiahou Clan already wields power over the court, faintly overshadowing imperial power. If Huangfu Yu lets the likes of Huangfu Zhen inherit the great unity, it probably won’t take a few years for the under heaven to change dynasties.” He sneered mockingly and said, “If he truly could look past all this, why did he bear the infamy of regicide and usurpation back then?!”
“Of course he is unwilling, but things in this world cannot go as one desires?” Lu Xin sighed with a sense of feeling and said, “Even if Huangfu Yu forces Huangfu Xuan to become crown prince, it probably won’t take a few days before Huangfu Xuan dies a violent death.” He emphasized, “The Xiahou Clan is capable of it!”
“As long as he has this idea, the situation will change,” Lu Yun said firmly. “One day, I will give him the confidence to establish Huangfu Xuan!”
“Are you truly determined to stir up the struggle for the throne?” Lu Xin looked at Lu Yun with worry. “That will eventually anger the Xiahou Clan.”
“This is already the safest method.” Lu Yun said in a deep voice, “Right now, though the Initial Emperor is uncharacteristically tough, he won’t completely break with the Xiahou Clan.” He paused and said, “His move against Gao Guangning is more like killing the chicken to warn the monkey, rather than a final battle with the Xiahou Clan.”
“Of course, it’s far from the point of mutual destruction.” Lu Xin deeply agreed and said, “Moreover, the other clans are not pushovers. If it really reaches the point of irreconcilable conflict, the various clans will step in to balance the situation as much as possible.”
“Then let them be too busy to attend to their own affairs!” Lu Yun said firmly. “No one should think of staying out of it; they will all be dragged into the water!”
“This…” Lu Xin was stunned by Lu Yun’s crazy idea and only sighed after a long while. “Leaving aside whether you can do it, even if you succeed, have you thought about the consequences?”
Lu Yun was stunned for a moment. All his thoughts were on how to defeat those invincible enemies; he had never considered what would happen afterward.
“You still need to think carefully, lest you regret it in the future.” Lu Xin looked deeply at Lu Yun and advised earnestly.
“I understand.” Lu Yun nodded. Seeing that Lu Xin was still unwilling to talk about his own matters, he finally couldn’t help but say softly, “Father, Grandfather has already told me…”
“Is that so?” Seeing that Lu Yun hadn’t taken his words to heart, Lu Xin inwardly sighed and could only find another opportunity to talk deeply with him later. Lu Xin still said mildly, “Such a big matter, I had no intention of hiding it from you, but your father is fine and doesn’t need comforting.”
“Yes, for Father, this isn’t entirely bad.” Lu Yun nodded and said, “At least you don’t have to offend the Xiahou Clan right now.”
“That’s true.” Lu Xin nodded with a bitter smile. Before, when Lu Shang was going to demand someone from Xiahou Ba at the banquet, he had been very worried about angering the Xiahou Clan. But with the Elder Council’s commotion, Lu Shang had no face to speak up, and afterward, he no longer forced him to break completely with the Xiahou Clan.
These past few days, Xiahou Bupo had sought out Lu Xin, saying that Xiahou Ba wanted to see him. The Xiahou Clan had clearly decided that Lu Xin had no future in the Lu Clan and had become someone they could fully pull in.
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Lu Yun poured out the already cold tea soup and boiled a pot of water on the small charcoal stove, preparing to brew fresh tea.
Lu Xin watched the leaping flames in the charcoal stove and explained the current situation of the Lu Clan to Lu Yun. “Actually, in this matter, I only lost face. The one truly hit is the Clan Leader.”
Lu Yun nodded; that was natural. The Elder Council actually had little real power, but with many people, it was always considered to represent the clan’s sentiments. Now they all opposed Lu Shang. In the eyes of the clan members, it naturally appeared as the Clan Leader losing all authority and being deserted by his followers.
“What actions has the Clan Leader taken?” Lu Yun asked softly. For Lu Shang, this was now the most dangerous juncture. If he didn’t immediately take measures, the speculation would become reality, and his time as Clan Leader would be up.
But Lu Xin shook his head and said lowly, “The Clan Leader has taken no action, just telling me to remain patient, saying the sky won’t fall.” He paused and said, “However, the Elder Council members are unusually active, linking up everywhere in the clan, as if plotting something.”
“At this point, they have no other path but to bring Lu Shang down.” Lu Yun said in a deep voice. The Clan Leader’s power was immense, not to mention Lu Shang had been in charge for nearly thirty years. Even if he couldn’t deal with the elders, taking action against their family members would be easy. If the elders didn’t want endless unrest from then on, they had only the path of forcing the Clan Leader to step down.
“It’s not that easy.” Lu Xin sneered. “Never mind what kind of figure the Clan Leader is—he’s a hegemon who founded the nation alongside the Founding Emperor! Even in the Elder Council, it’s not monolithic; some are the Clan Leader’s staunch supporters!”
“How could that be…” Lu Yun was stunned.
“It was Great Elder Lu Wen who, together with a group opposing the Clan Leader, tricked the Elder Council to Mount Mang and then forcibly detained them with some ploy!” Lu Xin ultimately couldn’t remain completely unmoved; mentioning this made his brows twitch, his chest filled with suppressed anger. “Upon returning from Mount Mang, many went to the Great Elder to explain that they were completely unaware beforehand.”
“Father, don’t be too optimistic,” Lu Yun said clear-sightedly. “If it were ten years ago, the Clan Leader would be as steady as Mount Tai, but he is already seventy-two this year, at the ancient rare age—people’s hearts are changing!”
“That’s true…” Lu Xin nodded in agreement. This time back in the capital, he had clearly felt that the Clan Leader was no longer up to it, with many people scheming and shifting their sights to candidates for the next Clan Leader.
The father and son talked until dusk, and Lu Ying came to urge them to have dinner, finally stopping the conversation.
