Let Me Pursue You

Chapter 21

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Lu Shiqing went to the Purple Palace first. After returning from southern Yunnan, he had been extremely busy for the past few days because of a lot of official duties. After presenting several important documents to the saint, he was asked for suggestions on the new candidate for the Dali Temple.

During his absence from Chang'an, the court convicted Jiang Siqing of a crime, dismissed him for communicating with Lingnan and illegally mining iron ore, sentenced him to exile in Fangling, and stipulated that the Jiang family would not be allowed to be registered as an official for two or three generations. The Jiang family fell into decline, and the whole family scattered overnight. Those who had a little conscience followed Jiang Min to Fangling, and the rest went their separate ways. Although the saint did not prohibit the Jiang family from entering and leaving the capital, those who knew a little about the inside story had long since dared not stay in this place of right and wrong.

After all, the reason why Emperor Huining was so angry had nothing to do with the so-called "private mining of iron ore" on the surface. He was angry because Jiang Min won his favor with sweet words, but secretly helped Prince Ping's power and even dared to touch military weapons. This complete elimination of the Jiang family was also a warning to Prince Ping.

Lu Shiqing recommended the Dali Temple Junior Official for his outstanding ability, but Emperor Huining hesitated and said, "I didn't ask you who is more capable, but who can make me feel more at ease. The Dali Temple is the head of the three judicial departments and is very important to the court. I don't want to see another Jiang Siqing."

"I cannot say who can make you feel at ease, but it is not appropriate to jump the level to a higher position. If you really have doubts about Du Shaoqing, you can only consider Cai Sicheng, which is not too bad."

Emperor Huining nodded thoughtfully.

Knowing that the old emperor was ready to consider Cai Sicheng, he felt relieved.

Cai Sicheng was Zheng Zhuo's secret agent, and considering Lu Shiqing's status in Emperor Huining's mind, he could have directly recommended him. But Jiang Min's incident had obviously sounded a warning bell for the old emperor, and even this "favored minister" of his was also slightly affected. At present, it would be best to take fewer direct actions and take more roundabout ways.

Emperor Huining finished talking about the business, and before he left, he asked, "I heard that Cixian also came to the palace today?"

Lu Shiqing answered "yes".

Emperor Huining smiled slightly and said, "It's best if you can figure it out. With you around, I feel a little more at ease about the Yuan family." What he meant was that he hoped Lu Shiqing would keep a closer eye on the Yuan family for him.

Emperor Huining had intended to bring the two together, firstly to keep them and secondly to keep an eye on them, but Lu Shiqing had always been reluctant, so he didn't want to force them too much. It was not until Yuan Yizhi was about to return to southern Yunnan and saw that Yuan Cixian would leave Beijing if her marriage was not settled that he made up his mind to grant the marriage even if Lu Shiqing still refused.

Fortunately, Lu Shiqing thought it through and took the initiative to propose marriage, so he didn't have to use force to bring them together, which would have been embarrassing for both of them.

Lu Shiqing pretended to say, "It is my duty to share your majesty's worries."

Emperor Huining asked again with concern: "Did the Yuan family embarrass you when you proposed marriage a few days ago?"

He shook his head and said, "I have helped to relieve the distress in southern Yunnan. The King of southern Yunnan has been very polite to me."

"Thanks to you, Yunnan and South Africa have not been able to destroy the Yuan family. I have someone like you around me, so I am confident."

Lu Shiqing smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you are too kind."

Emperor Huining waved his hand at him and said generously: "Hurry up and go to the Ministry of Personnel to do your work. After that, accompany Cixian to the Liushang Banquet. It happens to be Liu Lang's turn to host this time. You should also keep an eye on him for me."

*

While Lu Shiqing was flirting with the old emperor in the Purple Palace, Yuan Cixian was racking his brains to deal with the little guy Zheng Hong.

This five-year-old boy was too naughty and could run too fast. He must have been controlled by Princess Shaohe or Lu Shiqing to study and practice calligraphy. Yuan Cixian was not allowed to use force due to her status, and she also wanted to leave the impression of a "good mother" to the future emperor, so she was restrained and spent an entire stick of incense before she could deal with him.

She looked at Zheng Hong, who was running with a red face and sweating profusely, panting and holding her knees, and said, "Your Highness... If you don't study, your beautiful teacher's wife will accompany you to be punished, do you understand?"

Yuan Cixian sighed in her heart, why did Lu Shiqing dismiss the palace maids? In such a big Hanliang Palace, she didn't even have a helper, how could she expect this little loach to obey her? It was really "Hanliang".

Zheng Hong, however, chuckled with his eyes wide open, and put his hands behind his back, acting like a little adult: "You deserve to be punished!"

Yuan Cixian said patiently, "What do you want Your Highness to do in order to study?"

"You play with me, and I'll study."

She gritted her teeth and said, "Your Highness, do you want to play the game of throwing Qiong?"

*

When Lu Shiqing returned to Hanliang Palace, he saw Yuan Cihan playing dice with Zheng Hong.

Yuan Cixian seemed to have rolled a six and clapped his hands, saying, "I won again. Your Highness is willing to accept the loss. Please recite one for me to hear."

Zheng Hong was so angry that he stretched his neck and glared, and reluctantly recited a sentence to her.

Lu Shiqing narrowed his eyes, stepped over the threshold of the hall, and said, "Yuan Cixian, are you teaching him to gamble?"

Yuan Cixian looked up suddenly when she heard the voice, feeling a little guilty. This method was indeed not a good one, and it could easily lead to people losing their ambition. If she hadn't really been unable to handle it, she wouldn't have resorted to this desperate measure.

She explained: "I can't get him. I thought that the Sixth Prince is good at throwing jade, maybe the Thirteenth Prince will like it too."

It would have been fine if she didn't say this. As soon as she said this, Lu Shiqing's fake anger turned into real anger.

Oh, yes, back then in Furong Garden, Zheng Zhuo cheated by throwing Qiong in order to go on a boat with Yuan Cihan. In order to make things easier for both parties, he even took the trouble to deliberately throw an odd number.

Besides, during the winter solstice, Yuan Cixian played with Wumu with great interest, which was also one of Zheng Zhuo’s hobbies.

Hehe. Lu Shiqing pulled the corner of his mouth, stopped talking to her, turned to Zheng Hong and said seriously: "Your Highness, I am here to test you."

Every time his eyes narrowed, Zheng Hong felt a little scared. He shrank behind Yuan Cixian, tugging at her sleeves and refusing to let go, whispering, "Master's Wife, I call you Master's Wife, you have to protect me."

Yuan Cixian had just forced him to call her "Master's Wife" but failed after forcing him for a quarter of an hour. When she heard this word, her heart suddenly blossomed, and the maternal radiance shone in all directions. She hugged Zheng Hong and said to Lu Shiqing, "Just ask me if you want to, why are you so harsh?"

Lu Shiqing raised his eyebrows slightly: "Then you answer for him?"

Forget it. Yuan Cixian didn't particularly like reading.

She smiled at him, then looked down at Zheng Hong: "Don't worry, Your Highness, he won't dare to do anything to you."

Lu Shiqing sat down across from the two men, pulled out a book, flipped a page and asked, "In the Book of Documents, Lü Xing, it says, 'The scholar controls the people in the middle of the punishment,' 'Only a good judge can judge a case in the middle,' 'If one makes predictions based on the criminal book, all people will be fair and just.' Your Highness, what do the 'in the middle of the punishment,' 'in the middle,' and 'fair and just' mean here?"

Zheng Hong's mouth drooped, he glanced at Yuan Cixian, and whispered: "Master's wife, you didn't tell me this just now."

"..." Is it possible that Yuan Cixian doesn't bear the responsibility for this crime

The opportunity to please Zheng Hong was right in front of her, and she took it without hesitation, saying to Lu Shiqing, "I forgot to tell His Highness, please ask someone else."

Lu Shiqing glanced at her and said, "If he can't answer this question, both of you will be punished."

"Can I answer for him?" she said with a bitter face.

How dare she answer such a simple question

Lu Shiqing's mouth twitched: "Yuan Cixian, how old are you?"

She glared at him angrily, then looked at Zheng Hong: "Your Highness, can you really not answer? He doesn't dare to do anything to you, but he dares to do anything to me. It doesn't matter to you, but your beautiful master's wife is in danger..."

Zheng Hong hesitated for a while and said, "Since my master's wife taught me how to play the game of throwing jade, I will try my best to answer it. The 'in' here..." He glanced at Lu Shiqing, "maybe it means 'in my heart', which means that the criminal law is in my heart. What I think in my heart is what the criminal law is like."

Yuan Cixian choked.

This idea is very dangerous.

When she was choking, Lu Shiqing had already frowned: "Your Highness, who taught you that the criminal law is in your heart?"

Zheng Hong hesitated and said, "I don't remember..."

"Your Highness must remember that criminal law is not something you can do at will. It is not in your heart, nor in anyone else's heart," Lu Shiqing explained.

He blinked: "What does '中' mean here?"

Yuan Cixian rushed to express herself, "The 'middle' here refers to moderation, which means that the execution of punishment must be strictly in accordance with the criminal law, accurate and impartial, neither too much nor too little." After she finished speaking, she smiled at Lu Shiqing, "Am I right, Minister Lu?"

Lu Shiqing glanced at her and did not answer. Instead, he asked Zheng Hong: "Do you remember it?"

Zheng Hong nodded his chest and said, "Remember, I'll keep this in mind."

Yuan Cixian felt that the boy was teachable, and in her joy she forgot that she owed Lu Shiqing a punishment, and said to Zheng Hong: "Your Highness, you just promised me that you would write for me, did you remember it?"

Zheng Hong looked helpless and sighed, "Okay, okay, I'll just write it for you."

Yuan Cixian couldn't help but rub his hands excitedly: "Please don't make any typos, and remember to sign your name."

Lu Shiqing looked at the two of them in confusion, and saw Zheng Hong spread out a piece of rice paper, picked up a brush and wrote a few big characters: Yuan, Master, Mother, is, the, most, beautiful, person, in the whole Zhou Dynasty. Then he signed: Zheng Hong.

"… "

*

Yuan Cixian stuffed Zheng Hong's handwritten inscription into his sleeves and decided to frame it and keep it well after returning home. After all, this thing would be a priceless treasure after he ascended the throne, and he would definitely hang it in front of the gate of Yuan Mansion, oh no, Lu Mansion, so that everyone in the world could come and admire it.

Seeing her behavior as if she had gotten something for nothing, Lu Shiqing felt very complicated. After thinking about it, he decided to ask her to stay away from Zheng Hong, so as not to lead the child into trouble. So he quickly said goodbye and took her out of the palace.

Yuan Cixian's excitement was beyond words. She was planning to get something commemorative next time. When she got into the carriage, she said to Lu Shiqing, "When will you go to teach His Majesty the Thirteenth Prince again? I'll come with you from now on."

He glanced at her: "Do you want to come and be punished by me once?"

She choked and complained, "Did you deliberately trick me today?"

Of course. Lu Shiqing never asked Zheng Hong to read that chapter.

But his face said calmly: "Do I look like such a boring person?"

She looked at him with disdain, thinking that he certainly didn't look like her. She asked, "What do you want to punish me for?"

Lu Shiqing thought for a moment and replied calmly, "Put it on the account together with Wu Mu from last time, and we'll settle it another day." After that, he told Zhao Shu outside, "Go to the Sixth Prince's Mansion in Anxingfang."

The carriage slowly drove towards Anxingfang. Yuan Cixian tried to find out at the last minute, "I've been away from Beijing for many years and I don't even remember how to play the Liushang Banquet. Why is the Sixth Prince hosting the banquet this year?"

She remembered that there was a traditional custom in Chang'an. Every year on the eve of the Flower Festival, which was February 14th, young talents in the capital would take turns to host a banquet and invite all kinds of elegant people to participate. On the one hand, it was to celebrate the blooming of flowers and the beauty of spring, and on the other hand, it was for talented young people to get together and compete with each other.

Lu Shiqing explained: "The rules have been changed in recent years. The person who won the first prize at the Liushang Banquet last year is eligible to host the banquet next year."

Yuan Cixian suddenly realized, and suddenly felt something was wrong: "No way, didn't you attend the Liushang Banquet last year?"

He subconsciously told the truth: "I participated."

"Then why did the Sixth Prince win the first prize? It's too embarrassing for you, the third place winner!"

Lu Shiqing's face suddenly turned gloomy.

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