Chapter 110: The Outcome Is Set
Actually, from Lu Yi’s standpoint, he was also unwilling to block the path to success for the talented young clansmen. Because as the Steward of Ritual Education, his most important duty was to select and train the clan disciples, then recommend them to the Imperial Court.
In the future, when these disciples soared to success, they would still respect Lu Yi for the grace of recognition he had shown them back then, which would be invaluable connections for him and his descendants.
However, the Great Elder was someone he absolutely did not want to offend.
Although stewards only needed to answer to the Clan Leader and could ignore the Elder Council’s displeasure, the current situation was delicate and incomparable to ordinary times. As a high-level figure in the Lu Clan, Lu Yi naturally knew that the Clan Leader and the Elder Council were about to have a decisive showdown, and at present, the Elder Council had a good winning probability.
Once the Elder Council forced the Clan Leader to step down, a new Sect Master would naturally need to be produced. According to the rules, the Sect Master candidate could only come from the Vice Sect Master or the Eight Great Stewards, but Lu Clan’s Vice Sect Master Lu Xian had already clearly stated that he would not attend to the Lu Clan’s mundane affairs.
As for Great Steward Lu Xiu, who was Lu Shang’s eldest son, if the father fell, the son would naturally suffer as well, so he could be excluded from the candidates. Regarding Third Steward Lu Jian being temporarily relieved of his duties and still under investigation, he could only keep a low profile for a long time and could not be counted on to become Clan Leader.
Therefore, ahead of Lu Yi was only Second Steward Lu Xia. But Lu Xia had always been aggressive and did not get along with the Elder Council. The right to decide the successor Sect Master was largely in the hands of the Elder Council. The Great Elder had already hinted several times that he would not recommend Lu Xia for the position. By this calculation, the position of the Lu Clan’s next Sect Master was very likely to fall on Lu Yi, this ordinarily unremarkable Fourth Steward.
In this situation, how could Lu Yi dare to offend the Great Elder?
The Great Elder had clearly seen through Lu Yi’s thoughts long ago, which was why he had directly proposed to him earlier to give his grandson the only quota. Lu Yi was also happy to do this favor for the Great Elder, so he would have something to say later.
Seeing that Lu Yi was indeed as expected and about to side with the wind, the Great Elder sneered repeatedly and said, “In this world, it’s not just anyone with talent who can rise. For the Fourth Steward to waver so easily, how will you wield greater authority in the future?”
“This…” Lu Yi’s expression changed immediately; how could he not hear that the Great Elder was threatening him.
“By the way, both the Finance Department and the Storage Department have heavy workloads; it’s not a good idea to have Lu Chou shouldering both for the long term,” the Great Elder said darkly again. “So, the Elder Council plans to suggest ending the investigation and letting Lu Jian return to his position.”
“Is that so…” Lu Yi was pressured by Lu Wen to the point of breathlessness and did not dare to bring up letting Lu Xi wait a bit longer or the like.
After giving a heavy slap, he naturally had to offer a sweet date next. Looking at Lu Yi, the Great Elder softened his tone and said, “The Elder Council still thinks highly of you; as long as you don’t make mistakes, who else could compete with you?”
Lu Yi finally nodded with difficulty, reached out to pick up Lu Xi’s article, and sighed deeply. “I’ll go report to the Clan Leader right now and set Lu Xi as first.”
“That’s within your authority; no one can interfere.” The Great Elder smiled somewhat shamelessly as he stood up, patted Lu Yi’s shoulder, and said, “You go first; I’ll follow shortly. If the Clan Leader pressures you, I’ll back you up!”
“That’s great.” Lu Yi nodded, but his heart grew even heavier. In this way, not only would he become the target of all, but he would also completely break with the Clan Leader. For the moment, he could not calculate which side was lighter or heavier and could only take it one step at a time.
Lu Yi pocketed Lu Xi’s article and left the main hall. When he reached the courtyard gate of the Ritual Education Institute, he saw the crowd surging outside and felt a wave of dizziness. He turned and said, “Go out the back door.” Then he turned and headed to the back.
The Great Elder stood in front of the main hall and, seeing Lu Yi’s cowardly appearance, could not help but snort in contempt. He instructed two supervising elders, “You two go out the front gate. If others ask, you may answer truthfully.”
“Yes.” The two elders understood and knew this was the Great Elder’s precaution against Lu Yi going back on his word, to cook the rice before it was fully cooked.
The two then exited the Ritual Education Institute through the front gate and were immediately surrounded by the crowd. Many familiar clansmen eagerly asked, “Elder, has the candidate been decided?”
“It has been decided.” One elder replied casually, “The Fourth Steward has already gone to report to the Clan Leader.”
“Who is it exactly? Can you reveal it?” The crowd asked anxiously.
“This isn’t any secret; it will be announced soon anyway.” The other elder laughed. “No harm in telling you—it’s Lu Xi!” After saying that, he waited to see the crowd congratulating Lu Xi.
“Ah?!” Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the clansmen were mostly stunned at first, then fell completely silent. Only Lu Xi’s group of followers excitedly shouted and cheered there.
“Ha, great! What did I say? It has to be the Young Master!”
“The Fourth Steward really has vision!”
Lu Xi’s face flushed red, and he excitedly clenched his fists tightly.
Lu Bai and the other two were full of doubt, the four princes were dumbfounded, and Huangfu Shi immediately lost his temper, cursing at Lu Xi’s followers, “What do you mean by that? Are you saying we have no eye for talent?!”
“No, no…” Lu Xi’s followers quickly apologized with fawning smiles, but seemed not to take Huangfu Shi’s words seriously.
“You!” Huangfu Shi was about to flare up but was held back by Huangfu Zhen, who scolded him in a low voice, “Third Brother, mind your status!”
Huangfu Shi had no choice but to swallow his words and turn away to sulk. Actually, it was not mainly for Lu Yun, but because that Lu Clan steward dared to call a deer a horse right in front of these princes, completely disregarding them.
But these powerless princes only had influence when others took them seriously. If others did not, they had no means to do anything at present…
Huangfu Xuan walked to Lu Yun’s side and smiled consolingly, “Virtuous younger brother, no need to take such a minor setback to heart. Your talent needs no further proof; believe me, you will soon soar to success!”
“Yes, virtuous younger brother,” Huangfu Zhen also walked over and comforted Lu Yun upon hearing this. “The days are still long; in the future, there will surely be a place for you in our Great Xuan Dynasty!”
“Benevolent brother, now you have time to teach me.” Huangfu Xuan grinned at Lu Yun.
“Come on, let’s go drink alcohol to drown our sorrows!” Huangfu Shi grabbed Lu Yun’s arm and said sullenly, “Sooner or later, we’ll make them pay!”
“No rush.” Lu Yun smiled and shook his head. “Wait until the final announcement.”
“Right!” Huangfu Shi nodded emphatically. “Let’s see how that damn steward has the face to say it!”
At this time, Lu Bai and the other two also came to comfort Lu Yun. The clansmen all felt that Lu Yi had handled things unfairly and cast sympathetic looks at Lu Yun.
Especially those Lu Clan disciples who had taken the exam; after reading Lu Yun’s article, they had long abandoned any fluke thoughts. They felt convinced in losing to Lu Yun, but now seeing Lu Xi as the winner, those disciples felt as if they themselves had been treated unjustly, all indignant. Surrounding Lu Yun, they loudly expressed their admiration for him, venting their dissatisfaction this way; even their fathers and brothers could not stop them.
Although there were also many who wanted to congratulate Lu Xi, with the three young masters and four princes openly supporting Lu Yun, who dared to go to Lu Xi’s side now? Even if they wanted to congratulate him, they would wait until later.
Seeing the result announced and himself cold-shouldered to the side, Lu Xi was practically exploding with rage. He glared resentfully at Lu Yun, who acted as if nothing had happened, and finally could not help but snort lowly, “You won’t shed tears until you see the coffin!”
“Kid, don’t get cocky; you’ll have times to cry!” Unexpectedly, even his small voice was heard by Huangfu Shi, who glared fiercely at Lu Xi and said, “We’ll see about that!”
Although he said that, even Huangfu Shi understood that since the Steward of Ritual Education had already set it as Lu Xi, it was practically nailed down and would not change…
However, Huangfu Shi’s words still successfully made Lu Xi’s mood utterly foul. The script that should have had him revered by the entire clan upon nomination, like Lu Bai and the others, had instead turned into the effect of a street rat, really making him so depressed he wanted to spit blood…
.
Meanwhile, Lu Yi dawdled into Sanwei Hall and arrived at the Clan Leader’s residence in the back.
Lu Yi let out a long sigh, looked up at the courtyard where Lu Shang lived, and suddenly noticed that at the doorway, besides their own guards, there were also two high-ranking eunuchs in red robes standing there.
