Chapter 111: Tricking People
Seeing the two eunuchs in red official robes waiting at the doorway, Lu Yi couldn’t help but have his pupils constrict, clearly the Clan Leader had distinguished guests from the Imperial Palace.
‘Why are there people from the Imperial Palace again?’ Recalling the four Princes outside the Ritual Education Institute, Lu Yi felt something was amiss and stopped in his tracks, preparing to report later.
Before he could turn around, he saw the Great Steward Lu Xiu emerge from inside. Upon seeing him, Lu Xiu smiled and said, “You’ve come at the perfect time; I was just looking for you.”
“Doesn’t the Clan Leader have guests?” Lu Yi asked with a headache.
“The Clan Leader is looking for you.” Lu Xiu gestured for Lu Yi to quickly enter. Lu Yi had no choice but to brace himself and follow him into the Clan Leader’s Courtyard.
The small courtyard had a lush vine trellis providing shade, and goldfish swam in the pond. A pure white bamboo mat was set up beneath the trellis, beside the fish pond, where two elderly men sat, sipping tea and chatting relaxedly.
Seated facing the entrance was the Lu Clan Leader, Duke of An, Lu Shang. The old man with his back to the entrance wore a purple eunuch’s robe, with a jade belt at his waist. From this attire alone, Lu Yi could tell that it was Du Hui, the Grand Steward of the Imperial Service Department.
The two influential elders were reminiscing about their glorious past. Although Du Hui appeared unassuming now, he was once a top-tier Imperial Guard, on par with Zuo Yanqing. At that time, Zuo Yanqing in Eastern Qi and Du Hui in Western Qin were both figures who gave the Founding Emperor’s rebel army a great deal of trouble, causing Lu Shang and others much hardship.
After the two successively surrendered to the Founding Emperor, Zuo Yanqing continued to enjoy prominence, serving the Founding Emperor diligently. Du Hui, however, lived up to his name, acting low-key and biding his time, such that today the world only knows of Zuo, but not of Du. Yet, in the eyes of the older generation like Lu Shang, Du Hui was no less formidable than Zuo Yanqing.
Lu Shang and Du Hui were discussing their past encounters in Eastern Qi. Upon seeing Lu Yi enter, they paused their conversation and smiled, saying, “You’ve come quickly.”
In front of outsiders, Lu Yi naturally wouldn’t bring up the matter of selecting candidates. He respectfully saluted the Clan Leader and Duke Du, then knelt and sat beside Lu Xiu, before quietly asking, “I wonder what instructions the Clan Leader has for your nephew?”
Lu Shang looked at the kindly Du Hui and said, “His Majesty has assigned a matter, and you will handle it for Duke Du.”
“Please instruct me, your Grace,” Lu Yi quickly turned to Du Hui, his mind filled with questions. What matter of the Initial Emperor’s would require his handling, and necessitate Du Hui personally relaying the message?
“Heh, it’s like this,” Du Hui said with a gentle smile. “Your Lu Clan has a young man named Lu Yun. Do you, Steward, happen to know him?”
Upon hearing the name ‘Lu Yun’, Lu Yi felt a splitting headache and inwardly cried out, ‘What is going on today? So many people are coming to support that kid!’
“What, Steward, you don’t know him?” Seeing Lu Yi’s constipated expression, Du Hui asked in surprise. “He was recently at the Summer Palace accompanying His Majesty by imperial decree. I thought your esteemed clan would all know him.”
“I know, I know, of course I know,” Lu Yi steadied himself and quickly nodded. “It’s just that I didn’t expect His Majesty, in his exalted position, to inquire about this young man.”
Hearing Lu Yi’s words, Lu Shang and his son couldn’t help but frown slightly, thinking to themselves, ‘Has this fellow fallen under a spell? Why is he speaking so poorly?’
Du Hui, being the astute person he was, immediately understood that Lu Yun seeking help from the Initial Emperor was not unfounded. It seemed there were indeed people within the Lu Clan who did not want Lu Yun to succeed. Thus, Du Hui emphasized, “He is no ordinary youth. The court was able to solve the river control problem entirely due to his idea. His Majesty summoned him several times at the Summer Palace, and the young man responded appropriately each time, displaying quick wit and impressing His Majesty greatly.”
In truth, Du Hui’s words were somewhat disingenuous. Each time the Initial Emperor summoned Lu Yun, he was solely focused on playing chess and barely spoke anything beyond the game.
However, since Du Hui said so, others could only accept it. Lu Yi also suddenly realized that he had seriously lost his composure. He quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, “He is favored by His Majesty. This young man from my family indeed possesses some exceptional qualities. Our clan is also actively cultivating him and will certainly not disappoint His Majesty.”
“How you treat him is your clan’s own affair; His Majesty will not interfere,” Du Hui said with a slight shake of his head and a smile. “However, His Majesty heard that he will be participating in your clan’s competition and, out of curiosity, wishes to see his writings. ” He then looked at Lu Yi and said, “Please trouble the Steward to retrieve his essay and let me take it back to the palace.”
If Lu Yi were to believe that the Initial Emperor was merely acting out of temporary interest, he would have lived his life in vain. This old eunuch Du, dressed in his grand official robe and accompanied by two high-ranking eunuchs, clearly conveyed to the Lu Clan that the Emperor attached great importance to this matter!
“Yes, this subordinate will retrieve it immediately,” Lu Yi quickly agreed, apologized to the Clan Leader and Du Hui, and swiftly withdrew from the small courtyard.
Watching his hasty retreat, Lu Shang and his son exchanged a subtle glance, knowing that Lu Yi had now regained his senses and would not make any more foolish mistakes.
At the same time, the father and son also developed a strong interest in Lu Yun, the son of Lu Xin. What kind of magic did that sixteen-year-old boy possess? After only a few days at the Summer Palace, he had managed to make the Initial Emperor and his son so actively support him?
.
While Lu Shang and his son were still indulging in idle thoughts, Lu Yi’s mind was blank. He walked a considerable distance in a daze, unsure of what he was thinking.
“Why do you look like you’ve lost your soul?!” A low shout jolted Lu Yi awake. He looked up and saw that it was the Great Elder.
“What, the Clan Leader disagrees?” Seeing Lu Yi’s disheveled appearance, Lu Wen knew something else had happened. He couldn’t help but become angry, cursing him as useless.
“I didn’t dare mention it,” Lu Yi said with a mournful smile, looking at the Great Elder with mockery. “Lu Yun’s reinforcements have arrived. Great Elder, it would be best to avoid the spotlight for now.”
“Nonsense!” The Great Elder’s face darkened. “I’m not even afraid of Lu Shang, so who else could scare me?!”
“Then Great Elder, you may go in. If you dare to disrespect His Majesty, your nephew will gladly accompany you in this gentleman’s act!” Lu Yi had made up his mind, and his heart settled.
“Today, this quota must be Lu Xi’s. I’ll show respect to no one…” The Great Elder said menacingly halfway through, then suddenly froze and stammered, “You said who? His Majesty? Lu Yun’s reinforcements are His Majesty?!”
“Indeed, Steward Du Hui is in the Clan Leader’s Courtyard having tea. He asked me to go back and retrieve Lu Yun’s exam paper. He said His Majesty wants to personally review it,” Lu Yi nodded, actually feeling a wave of relief.
“How is that possible?!” The Great Elder was full of doubt, his brows furrowed like chrysanthemums. “Isn’t His Majesty already troubled enough fighting with the Xiahou Family? Why would he bother with such a trivial matter?”
“My dear Great Elder, please wake up,” Lu Yi said with a bitter smile. “You underestimated them this time. Lu Xin and his son have gone to great lengths for this quota, employing every trick and step with a determined will to succeed. Now they’ve even brought His Majesty into it. Do you still intend to continue fighting?”
“…” Lu Wen’s face was ashen, and he said nothing. He had already realized that someone was scheming against him. He had also thought Lu Shang would secretly help Lu Xin, but he could never have imagined that the father and son would actually involve the Initial Emperor!
“Then, nephew will take his leave. It wouldn’t be good to keep Eunuch Du waiting.” Lu Yi’s mood grew increasingly relaxed. The Initial Emperor’s intervention was actually a great help to him, allowing him to avoid offending the Great Elder while not losing face within the clan.
The Great Elder moved his lips but ultimately did not speak to stop him. After all, the Initial Emperor was the supreme Emperor. Even the Xiahou Clan would never dare to disobey him for such a small matter. What qualification did he, the Lu Clan’s Great Elder, have to contend with the Emperor?
Lu Yi no longer paid attention to the stunned Great Elder and left Sanwei Hall with light steps. This time, he chose to return to the Ritual Education Institute through the main entrance, believing he could act as if nothing had happened… that he was still the fair and upright Lu Clan Steward of Ritual Education!
However, as he passed through the crowd, he was met only with looks of disdain and anger. Some people even gossiped behind his back!
Lu Yi entered the Ritual Education Institute, utterly bewildered, and immediately grabbed a manager. “What’s going on? Why are they looking at me like that…”
“They all know the Steward chose Lu Xi. Perhaps there’s some dissatisfaction…” the manager said softly.
“What?!” Lu Yi was stunned. “Who told them?”
“The two supervising elders…” the manager replied.
“Lu Wen!” Lu Yi’s freshly recovered good mood vanished instantly. Gritting his teeth, he cursed, “You’ve really screwed me over!”
