"Lu Liangsheng from Qixia Mountain greets His Majesty!"
The clear voice echoed back, and in the brightly lit Xuanzheng Hall, the emperor who was talking with Yang Su, the Duke of Yue, stopped talking, and the two smiled at each other.
"This plan really works."
Yang Jian waved his sleeves and ordered someone to open the palace door. He went down the imperial steps and went over with his cousin Yang Su. When he saw the scholar more than ten steps away from the door, he burst into laughter and stepped forward to greet him with outstretched arms.
"Sir, there is no need to be so polite. Please come into the hall!"
On the other side, Lu Liangsheng knew he was tricked, but he didn't show any anger. He bowed to Yang Su, who returned the greeting. As both of them were cultivators, Yang Su stroked his beard, nodded, and said with a smile, "Daoyou Lu!"
Then, he made a "please" gesture and invited Lu Liangsheng to enter the Xuanzheng Hall together.
Inside the hall, the lights of several bronze lamp holders were flickering. Not long after Lu Liangsheng entered the hall and sat down on the right side, a palace maid carrying wine and dishes walked through the lights and filled his glass of wine.
Looking at the ripples on the surface of the cup, Lu Liangsheng turned his gaze to the imperial steps, raised his glass with a smile and toasted.
"Lu Liangsheng came to the palace late at night to thank His Majesty for the imperial decree. I thought it was abrupt, but I didn't expect it was a plan of His Majesty."
On the imperial steps, Yang Jian raised his glass and clinked it with the other party's. He took a sip and started laughing too.
"If you were kind enough to ask, I wouldn't have resorted to this."
As he said this, he put down the cup, stood up, shook his sleeves, and bowed to Lu Liangsheng.
"I am the emperor, but you have eliminated evil for the people, cut off the scourge, and benefited the Sui Dynasty. I thank you on behalf of the people there."
Seeing his cousin stand up, Yang Su also hurriedly stood up and saluted.
"Me too!"
The two brothers sang the same tune, and it seemed that they were determined to pull him into the Sui Dynasty today. Lu Liangsheng looked calm, but in fact, he admired the Sui emperor to some extent.
It’s not because the demon spirit that was sealed showed up as a real person, but because of the wise methods that the other party has shown for a long time.
But he had finally figured out a path of his own. If he accepted this edict and used the dynasty's energy to practice, then the cause and effect of the path ahead would both aid his practice and become obstacles.
But once the dynasty is established, Lu Liangsheng will no longer be a casual cultivator, but will have the same status as those famous and orthodox sects...
What a difficult choice.
Lu Liangsheng thought for a moment, put down his wine glass, looked at Yang Jian and Yang Su with sincere eyes, and pursed his lips.
"I am not being hypocritical. Your Majesty has invited me twice, including the Second Prince coming to Mount Qixia in person. I feel ashamed to accept the invitation."
The words paused here, and the dense lights swayed gently. Lu Liangsheng stood up and bowed to the emperor on the Dragon Court.
"Please accept Lu Liangsheng's greeting."
"Sir, are you really not accepting my reward?"
Hearing Lu Liangsheng's polite refusal, Yang Jian looked at his cousin who was sitting on his left, sighed, put down his wine glass, stood up, and helped the bowing scholar up, his eyes not as majestic as usual.
His beard trembled slightly and his tone was gentle.
"I have no shortage of civil and military talents, and no shortage of people to govern the world. My cousin Yang Su is a man of few talents in the world when it comes to using troops and martial arts, but the only person in the world who cares about the people and is selfless is you, Mr. Yang."
After he finished speaking, he bowed and raised his hands in front of the palace maids, eunuchs, and guards in the hall.
At the side, Yang Su's mouth twitched and his heart almost boiled with blood.
"Brother, even if you can persuade me, why did you bring me in?!"
Over there, Lu Liangsheng fell silent, staring straight at the emperor in front of him with white hair on his temples. Just like when he first met him, his eyes were bright and full of grandeur, overlooking the country.
"Your Majesty..."
After a long while, Lu Liangsheng finally uttered these two words. He clenched his hands into fists in his sleeves. Under the light, memories surged up like a tide.
Heavy rain, pavilion, figures in the rain wiped water stains off their faces, and their voices were clear.
"Mr. Lu! You are well-read and care about the hearts of millions of people. Are you going to abandon them just like that?"
He raised his hands and bowed down in the rain.
"Jian, I will never let you down!"
…
The world is like the tide, and it is hard to find a true friend.
What about Bole.
Lu Liangsheng clenched his fists, curled his fingers one by one, looked in front of him, bowed, and slowly closed his eyes. He had studied hard for several years to get an official position, but in return he got a "show me a magic trick."
If Chen Shubao had been as respectful and courteous as Yang Jian, the Chen Dynasty would never have perished.
"His Majesty!"
After regaining his composure, Lu Liangsheng helped the emperor to his right position. His tone was neither light nor heavy, but there was no otherworldly words in it.
"Your Majesty's kindness, Lu Liangsheng accepts it, and I will also accept the imperial title. However, my cultivation is too low to take on a big responsibility. Please allow me to hone my cultivation before returning to Chang'an."
Yang Jian could naturally hear from the words that Lu Liangsheng had already agreed. Since he nodded, it meant that the other party would not go back on his word, and he looked quite happy.
"Sir, you have come to my Great Sui, great things are not far away! Don't worry, Sir, no matter how you want to practice, even if you want a magic pill, as long as you point out where it is, I will send troops to get it. No matter if it is a demon or a devil who dares to stop us, the army will defeat them everywhere."
"That's not necessary. If necessary, I will get it. Your Majesty, Duke Yue, please sit down and drink and talk."
Since a step had been taken, Yang Jian and Yang Su were naturally satisfied and were in no hurry to press the issue. The three of them sat down again and asked the palace maid to pour wine. Perhaps it was because they knew that the scholar in front of them was a great master, or because of the scene of the emperor bowing just now, the palace maid who was pouring the wine became a little nervous, and her hand holding the wine pot trembled slightly, and the wine splashed out.
However, the wine stain that slanted out of the rim of the cup seemed to know where to return to. It ran back and forth around the rim of the cup and fell back into the cup, shocking the palace maid who was pouring the wine.
After she realized what was happening, she quickly bowed and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: "Thank you, sir."
"No need, just pour more next time. I'm not a cannibal."
"Haha, Fellow Daoist Lu said that his cultivation was low. Such subtleties are not something that ordinary cultivators can do."
Yang Su saw this scene clearly. To make the spilled wine return to the cup without a drop falling out requires not only magical powers but also a delicate mind.
In Yang Jian's eyes, he didn't care about the use of magic power. On the contrary, what was precious was not letting the palace maids be punished.
He held the wine glass in both hands and raised it to his chest: "I respect you, sir."
Lu Liangsheng responded with a light peck, then waved his hand to let the blushing palace maid beside him leave. Thinking back to when he was in Chang'an, he saw the large-scale construction projects in the east, and he couldn't help but feel curious.
"Your Majesty, when I came here, I saw porters and donkey carts coming and going on the south bank of the Wei River southeast of Chang'an. Are they building a city?"
Yang Jian, who was drinking and picking up food, stopped eating with his chopsticks, was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"That's right. I found Chang'an too small, the population was increasing, and the canals in the city were seriously polluted. So I ordered Yuwen Kai to build another Daxing City to connect with the old city, so as to show the prosperity of our Great Sui Dynasty! What do you think, sir?"
"This is a political matter. I don't understand it, so I won't speak up. However, regarding the city construction, there are some places that I can do as a way of repaying the imperial favor."
Although he agreed to enter the court because of Yang Jian's favor, he was unwilling to be affected by the imperial decree. However, in order to make equal merits in return, Lu Liangsheng just happened to think of a way.
He stood up and cupped his hands towards the emperor sitting on the dragon throne on the steps.
"Please allow me to paint in the palace, Your Majesty."