The night is as thick as ink, the moonlight is dim, and the stars are eclipsed.
The majestic palace walls stand silently in the cold wind. Looking from a distance, the palace is scattered in heights and shadows. The magnificent place in the daytime now looks inexplicably gloomy, like an indestructible cage, containing the beast of desire.
Lu Xingyue's carriage stopped at the gate of the palace, and he was checked before being put in. Zhou Quan could only wait outside, and he handed the things in the brocade bag to Lu Xingyue.
The guard guarding the door asked: "What is it?"
Lu Xingyue didn't say anything, he just opened the bag of tips and showed it to him.
The guard approached with a lantern, looked down, and suddenly took a breath of cold air. Just as he was about to kneel down, Lu Xingyue put away his bag, "Can I go in now?"
"Master Marquis, please——"
The imperial guard turned sideways solemnly.
Lu Xingyue turned around and walked in. Zhou Quan watched helplessly, sighed and muttered: "Bodhisattva will bless you, Buddha will bless you, everyone will bless you!"
*
The last time he came to the palace was when he left the capital to investigate a case, but it was only two or three months ago. Now that he sets foot in the palace again, he feels as if he has been in another world.
Soon a young eunuch came to guide him and hold a lantern. Lu Xingyue nodded and thanked him. The young eunuch said happily: "Don't worry, Mr. Marquis. Your Majesty heard that Mr. Marquis's leg was cured. Long Yan was very happy. No, he couldn't wait for a moment to get it." See you, this is because Your Majesty loves the Marquis. If it were an ordinary person, how could such a trivial matter be worth your Majesty's troubles?"
Lu Xingyue glanced at him. This little eunuch looked good and was the apprentice of Cheng Jin, the chief steward of the imperial court.
He said that most of this was under the instruction of Cheng Jin. Cheng Jin was a popular figure in the imperial court and was best at interpreting the holy will.
"Thank you, father-in-law, for the suggestion." Lu Xingyue said calmly.
The little eunuch laughed and said, "This slave is just passing on a message. The Marquis is being polite."
After saying this, both of them fell silent and concentrated on walking.
Soon, the two of them arrived outside the imperial study room. Lu Xingyue raised his head and met Cheng Jin's probing gaze.
Lu Xingyue held his hand and said, "Excuse me, father-in-law, please go in and inform me that I, Lu Xingyue, would like to see you."
"The legs of the Marquis look really good!" Cheng Jin laughed, showing even more kindness. He shook his fly whisk and said, "Your Majesty issued an order early in the morning. When the Marquis arrives, he will be let in directly. No need. Notification.”
"Master Marquis, please—"
Lu Xingyue nodded and walked up the steps. Cheng Jin helped him lift the curtain, revealing the bright light in the room.
The lights in the imperial study are brightly lit. His Majesty, Emperor Hui'an, is sitting behind the desk and reading a memorial, his eyebrows furrowed and his majesty commanding.
Although he is over fifty years old, time seems to have left little mark on him.
The bright yellow dragon robe shines brightly under the candlelight, making it dazzling.
Lu Xingyue only glanced at it and then lowered his head, quickly stepped forward and knelt down to salute: "Your Majesty, Lu Xingyue, long live my emperor, long live long live—"
Emperor Hui'an calmly wrote the word "accurate" on the memorial with a red pen, closed the memorial and put it aside before looking up at Lu Xingyue.
"Get up, take a few steps and let me take a look."
"yes."
Lu Xingyue stood up and walked around the imperial study room. He moved freely and there was no sign of lameness.
Emperor Hui'an leaned forward slightly in surprise, "Is your leg completely cured?"
"Yes, my wife recommended a miracle doctor to me and tried her best to persuade me to go and have a look. I didn't believe it at first. Most miracle doctors are just in name. I didn't expect that this miracle doctor lived up to his name. He had superb medical skills and cured my patient's body in less than a month. The leg is completely healed.”
Emperor Hui'an raised his eyebrows, "Who is that miracle doctor who is better than the imperial physician in the palace? I also want to meet him. If it is available, it is not impossible to make an exception and promote him to the imperial hospital."
Lu Xingyue paused and did not answer immediately.
Emperor Hui'an had rarely seen him look so hesitant. He had watched Lu Xingyue grow up. He had heard about it when he entered Jinyiwei. The commander of Jinyiwei often said that he didn't care about his life, he was willing to take risks, he trained the hardest, and he started with The most ruthless and the most delicate.
Therefore, he climbed up quickly in the Jinyi Guards. Even if there was no hunting escort, with his own ability, it would only be a matter of time before he climbed to the position of Beizhen's envoy.
He is decisive and calm, rarely indecisive, otherwise he would not be able to manage his subordinates at such a young age.
Emperor Hui'an felt strange and asked curiously: "What, it's not convenient to tell?"
Lu Xingyue was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised the hem of his robe and knelt down straight, kowtowed and said, "I dare not deceive Your Majesty. There is another hidden reason in this matter. Please listen to what I have to say before you punish me."
Emperor Hui'an was stunned, and his brows slowly furrowed, "Punishment? What are you guilty of? Tell me clearly."
Lu Xingyue knelt straight and said in a deep voice: "I was troubled by my leg disease. I was depressed and withdrawn from the world. My wife (1) couldn't bear to see me like this. She tried every possible means to persuade me. Then she pretended to be a miracle doctor and sat in the medicine hall to diagnose and treat me personally. .”
"What did you say?!" Emperor Hui'an stood up in disbelief, pointed at him and said, "Say it again!"
"My wife is now the miracle doctor of Yangdu. I knew about this from the beginning, but out of my kindness, I didn't reveal it. Unexpectedly, something went wrong later. Someone tied up the miracle doctor and controlled her with poisonous insects, making her useless. She cut off my leg, but her medical skills were superb, and the poisonous insects could not do anything to her, so I stayed awake and dealt with the mastermind behind the scenes, and tried every means to remind me when I came back."
Lu Xingyue's eyes were slightly red, and he raised his eyes to look at Emperor Hui'an, "I knew at that time that I could no longer hide this matter. Fortunately, your majesty summoned me. I am willing to confess my past. I beg your majesty to take into consideration that I am a wife who loves my husband so much that I came out in a moment of urgency." This is the next best thing to do, and I will spare her the crime of deceiving the emperor!"
Emperor Hui'an stood for a while before digesting the causal relationship.
He frowned and stared at Lu Xingyue, with a majestic voice: "Then what is your crime? Covering up? Bullying the emperor?"
"Yes, I knew this was inappropriate but still indulged in it. I failed in my duties as a husband. Your Majesty only summoned you to tell me everything. This is deceiving you. Two crimes are added together. I beg your Majesty to punish me!"
Lu Xingyue kowtowed again, taking all the blame on himself.
Emperor Hui'an lowered his eyes and looked at him. He didn't speak for a long time. A heavy silence spread in the air, making Lu Xingyue unable to breathe.
He didn't dare to get up, so he just knelt down.
After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Hui'an suddenly asked, "You have only been married to that Shen family for less than a month, so why are you trying to protect her? Lu Xingyue, don't forget your identity."
The last sentence obviously carries a bit of warning.
Lu Xingyue's heart tightened, "I am the envoy of Jin Yiwei North Town promoted by Your Majesty. I am also the Marquis of Ming Ying personally appointed by Your Majesty. Your Majesty is so kind and benevolent that I will never forget it. I will never dare to betray you. I deceive you and ignore your superiors." I am sorry to die, but my wife is still young, sincere, and has superb medical skills. She should not be implicated because of my fault——"
"What if I must punish her? You also know that the majesty of the Heavenly Family is inviolable. To fool me is an even greater crime."
Emperor Hui'an's question was loud and clear. Lu Xingyue was speechless. After a while, he took out the brocade bag from his arms, took out the contents, held it up with both hands and said: "Your Majesty has made up his mind, but I cannot watch your Majesty regret it. This is what your Majesty did back then." I will reward you with a gold medal to avoid death (2), and I am willing to exchange it for my wife’s life.”
The gold medal for immunity from death shone brightly under the candlelight. Emperor Hui'an was stunned for a long time and said in amazement: "You actually did this for her?"
——Digression——
(1) This should be the concubine, the concubine Lu Xingyue deliberately called. Concubine, in ancient times, ministers called their wives and concubines to the emperor, and concubines were also called concubines by women, so they called themselves concubines to the emperor every year, instead of concubines! Stop worrying about this.
(2) The gold medal for immunity from death was actually an iron ticket for alchemy in ancient times, but this thing is a bit big and difficult to carry around, so let’s change it here and treat it as a gold medal. It focuses on an exquisite and ancient alchemy book. The number of times the Iron Coupon can save you from death ranges from one to three times. This article will set it once.
