“Wearing the robes of officials yet acting like beasts, wearing the robes of officials yet acting like beasts.” Standing at the entrance of the Fuyao Hall, Lu Qian gazed at the sea of purple and red-robed high officials inside, who stood solemnly according to their ranks and titles.
He murmured, “The whole court is full of officials, but they’re nothing but beasts!”
Behind Lu Qian, two young eunuchs dressed in purple robes, tasked with relaying messages inside and outside the hall, suddenly burst out laughing with a soft “puchi” sound.
The eunuchs serving in the Fuyao Hall were all clever fellows who could pretend to be monkeys just by wrapping on a layer of hair.
Lu Qian’s words were ambiguous, but there was a hint of malice lurking in them, and anyone who pondered for a moment could understand the undertone.
One of the eunuchs lowered his voice and whispered quietly, “Master Lu is quite a clever fellow.”
Lu Qian chuckled softly, hands tucked inside his sleeves, leaning casually against a pillar outside the hall.
The Shou Gong Jian was a special secret agency within the inner court, and Lu Qian was an official appointed by them.
By law, he wasn’t qualified to enter Fuyao Hall and participate in state affairs.
But, as a member of this violent force and a close attendant of the Emperor, Lu Qian, along with a group of Shou Gong Jian generals clad in red robes, could stand watch outside the hall, ready to answer the Emperor’s summons at any time.
Once the hall rang out the order, “Drag so-and-so out and punish him with three hundred court lashes,” it was their job to act.
Through the great hall, Lu Qian saw a large gathering of civil and military officials bowing and saluting in dance before the throne and behind it, beyond the thick curtains, to the Empress Dowager.
They shouted loudly, “Long live the Empress Dowager!” and “Long live His Majesty!”
Afterward, the officials straightened up and changed into their grand court robes.
Yin Yuan’s face was flushed with excitement as he suddenly waved his hand vehemently at the officials below. “Enough of this tedious ceremony every time! If you’re not tired, I am.”
Beside him, a solemn-looking official in a red robe cleared his throat heavily.
This was the Court Etiquette Officer, a very troublesome position.
The duty of the Court Etiquette Officer was to speak up whenever the Emperor or ministers lost face during court, and even to punish officials who committed breaches of etiquette.
In some ways, the Court Etiquette Officer’s power within Fuyao Hall could even surpass the Emperor’s.
In the history of the Great Yin dynasty, a grand general once lost decorum and was dragged out and beaten by order of the Court Etiquette Officer!
But times had changed.
The current Court Etiquette Officers at the Great Yin court… well, it was better not to mention.
Yin Yuan turned his head and, looking at the Court Etiquette Officer, said with genuine concern, “Sir, perhaps you’ve caught a chill? If you’re unwell, go home and rest… don’t pass your illness to the other ministers.”
The Court Etiquette Officer’s face turned purple and swollen as he tightly pressed his lips together.
Yin Yuan then laughed again, looking down at the assembled ministers with pride. “Today, we’ve gathered for this court session to discuss several major matters. The first is this: no deed is greater than saving the Emperor.”
His gaze swept over the crowd of ministers, most of whom looked baffled, having no idea what kind of trouble this Emperor—who appeared no more than a couple of times a year—was about to stir up today.
But since the Empress Dowager was here, surely it wouldn’t be anything too outrageous?
Le Wu, standing at the front line of the military generals, glanced back and a general clad in golden armor and draped with a purple Kunpeng-patterned cape, big and burly with a face full of scars, stepped forward and endorsed loudly, “What the Emperor says is correct—no deed is greater than saving the Emperor. That has been the law of many nations throughout the years.”
Yin Yuan smiled brilliantly. “Then, what if someone saved both me and the Empress Dowager at the same time?”
Le Wu slapped his belly and laughed loudly, “In that case, the merit is world-shaking! There is no greater honor than that!”
If it was just the Emperor wanting to reward Lu Qian, maybe Le Wu would have tried to argue or stir up trouble.
But having seen Lu Qian’s miraculous ghost-catching skills with his own eyes last night, and knowing that the Empress Dowager also intended to reward Lu Qian handsomely, Le Wu wouldn’t have any objections.
Not only did he have no objections, he even wholeheartedly supported it.
Yin Yuan nodded in satisfaction. “Generalissimo, your words are wise. Last night, when the Empress Dowager and I faced grave dangers in the Imperial City, nearly trapped with no escape, it was the nation’s pillar Lu Qian who saved us. Such merit must be richly rewarded!”
Lu Dai stood beside Le Wu.
As the Emperor’s close confidant, having quelled the rebellion in the Grand Chancellor’s Mansion the previous night, he had directly entered the palace to report to Yin Yuan.
After the commotion settled, it was already dawn.
As a trusted retainer, Lu Dai had been quietly accompanying Yin Yuan inside Fuyao Hall and had not lined up outside with the other civil and military officials.
In fact, he knew nothing about what had happened in the Imperial City last night.
Yin Yuan hadn’t told him!
Hearing so suddenly that Lu Qian had saved both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, Lu Dai was stunned, raising his head in shock, staring at the Emperor, then turning to look at Lu Qian, who was lazily leaning against a pillar outside the hall, yawning.
Le Wu was already shouting loudly, “What the Emperor says is right! Such a deed must be rewarded!”
Yin Yuan smiled and pointed to Yu Changle standing nearby. “Prepare the edict. I want to confer upon Lu Qing the title of Duke of Tianyang.”
A thunderous uproar swept through the court.
Even the Court Etiquette Officer, forgetting all propriety, raised his head in astonishment, staring blankly at Yin Yuan.
A duke title!
Those shell duchies the Emperor sold off for money didn’t count.
When was the last time the court had a proper new duke?
A few years ago, when the Emperor bestowed the Marquis title upon Tian’en Hou Lu Dai, it had already caused an uproar, and now the Emperor was about to confer a duke title again?
Lu Dai blinked slowly, stroking his long beard silently.
Lu Qian now belonged to the Jingyang Lu clan, and he was one of the Tian’en Marquis’s kin.
Lu Qian being made a duke?
That was quite a big deal.
Regardless of how this duke title was earned, the fact that Lu Qian shared the Lu surname and hailed from the Jingyang Lu clan was unquestionably excellent news for Lu Dai and the Tian’en Marquis’s family.
If Lu Qian could also gain some real power, like overseeing an army like Lu Dai…
A faint, subtle smile crept across Lu Dai’s mouth.
Among the civil officials who knew Lu Qian’s name, and were aware of his grudge with Bai Changkong, they stood dumbfounded, frozen like toads struck by lightning.
After a long while, Bai Changkong twitched his eye and glanced at several high officials from the Imperial Academy among the civil ranks.
Several purple- and red-robed officials frowned, stepping forward to dispute the Emperor’s decision, when Duke of Lai Lu Yu suddenly charged out from the front of the nobles’ ranks like a wild bull stung by hornets.
“Your Majesty, absolutely not! Lu Qian lacks any virtue or talent and is rebellious and insolent…”
Lu Yu was about to give a long speech when Lu Dai strode forward, yelling, “Duke of Lai, you are mistaken! Lu Qian is family of my Tian’en Marquis House. I cannot speak for whether he is talented or virtuous, but if you say he is rebellious and insolent—ha!”
Lu Dai planted himself in front of Lu Yu like an iron tower.
Looking down at Lu Yu, who was two feet shorter, utterly outmatched in aura, and trembling visibly with suppressed aggression, Lu Dai sneered, “I am the head of the Tian’en Marquis family. As for the character of my family’s sons, I haven’t even spoken—Duke of Lai, you’re reaching way too far.”
Lu Yu stood there dumbfounded.
He had been lost in the excitement over Bai Changkong’s outreach and hadn’t noticed Lu Dai, standing taller than most generals in a crowd, looming over him.
Suddenly seeing Lu Dai, Lu Yu froze, then quickly jumped back a few steps, screaming hoarsely, “My—mother! You’re Lu Dai? Have you—have you taken the wrong medicine? How did you get so tall and strong?”
Yin Yuan’s eyes widened and he shot Lu Yu a fierce glare.
He suddenly remembered an old grudge—years ago, when Lu Dai saved him, he was a grateful emperor and wanted to grant Lu Dai a dukedom.
But Lu Yu had stepped up then, using his position as the Lu family head, and fiercely opposed the Emperor’s reward for Lu Dai.
Now once again, Lu Yu was opposing the rewards given to Lu Qian.
Yin Yuan ground his teeth and smiled darkly, “Court Etiquette Officer! Where are you? One who dares insult the Emperor publicly in Fuyao Hall should be punished! What crime must he answer for?”
The Court Etiquette Officer blinked and looked sharply at Lu Yu.
Lu Yu stammered, “Your Majesty, I did not!”
Yin Yuan pointed at him furiously, “You insulted ‘my—mother’!”
Lu Yu froze, waving his hands hurriedly, “I only said ‘my—mother’!”
Yin Yuan smacked the dragon-shaped desk heavily, “You’ve already confessed without a fight! You insulted my—mother! Whose mother is mine? Whose, huh?”
Lu Yu was terrified and stammered, “Your Majesty, I said ‘my—mother’. I did not say ‘you—his—mother’!”
The Court Etiquette Officer’s face twitched.
The faces of the ministers twitched.
Bai Changkong’s eyes reddened with fury—he knew most of Great Yin’s military officials had become useless, but he never expected a waste like Lu Yu to exist in such an absurd way.
Now, no one could save Lu Yu.
The Court Etiquette Officer’s face twisted with rage, eyes bloodshot.
He shouted fiercely, “Where is General Shenwu? Drag out this brazen traitor who dared spit foul words at the Emperor! Eighty slaps!”
Outside Fuyao Hall, standing beside Lu Qian, a line of towering, broad-shouldered warriors clad in red robes and gleaming gold armor, wearing Kunpeng-patterned cloaks, all responded in unison.
Immediately, more than a dozen burly men stormed into the hall and dragged Lu Yu out.
“I am innocent!” Lu Yu screamed hoarsely.
“Roaring in court—fine him ten million coins!” Yin Yuan smiled, tapping the dragon desk as he leisurely issued the decree to Yu Changle.
Yu Changle smiled brilliantly.
Lu Yu’s howls of innocence were entirely undeserved when it came to accusations of rage in court.
Back in the founding days of the Great Yin, someone like Lu Yu would have been taken out and beheaded for this.
But the Emperor nowadays was kind-hearted.
He didn’t like killing people.
He liked money.
As long as Lu Yu paid the fine obediently, there was nothing that couldn’t be resolved.
“Alright, now I say, I want to grant Lu Qian the title Duke of Tianyang. Who agrees? Who opposes? If you oppose, step forward and explain your reasons!”
Yin Yuan looked confidently at the assembled civil and military officials.
(End of chapter)