The next day, inside Yuanshan Hall.
In the conference hall, which had always been home to only his father, grandfather and a group of staff, today Lu Qi's family and Lu Zhi gathered together. Lu Qi, Li Shi, Lu Bingzhi, Lu Bingxi, Lu Bingzhen and Lu Zhi were sitting around a round table. However, Lu Qi's second brother Lu Ge, who lived with Lu Zhai, and the twins Lu Wulang and Lu Liulang did not appear in Yuanshan Hall.
Lu Qi felt chilled when he saw it. The second brother was obviously close at hand, but because of his low official position, he was excluded from this family discussion. This discussion related to the second brother's ambitions for the rest of his life and even the death of his wife and daughter. In his father's eyes, He was not even qualified to participate and could only passively wait for his father's arrangements.
It is true that His Majesty did not hesitate to put the Ji Dynasty in danger for the sake of power, and the Nuo Empire was in crumbling state, but my father was only slightly better than Your Majesty. For Lu Zhi, every person and thing is a tool for him to continue the glory of the Fanyang Lu family as a noble family.
When he heard that his eldest sister Lu Yun did not die decades ago, but was kidnapped and married to the King of Beidi under the guidance of his father Lu Zhi, at that moment he felt deeply for his father Lu Zhi and even Fan Yang The Lu family's disgust reached its peak.
Others were shocked in place by the news and could not speak for a long time.
"So, father, you were actually hedging your bets by using your sister's marriage. At that time, the new king ascended the throne, the four parties were dissatisfied, and the future of the Ji Dynasty was unclear, so you chose the most powerful King of Beidi as your target, right?"
His son Lu Qi's aggressive question made Lu Zhi frown, "Qi'er, what do you mean? Isn't being a father for the sake of the Fan Yang Lu family? Besides, this matter was your sister's choice."
Lu Qi, who had already seen through his father's character, was not fooled by his father's righteous words. He said coldly, "My son does not doubt that my sister chose this marriage. But, father, I am afraid that my sister will choose to marry the King of Beidi only because of you." Wouldn’t the other options given to my sister be more unbearable?”
The air in the room seemed to be stagnant. Lu Zhi stared at the eldest son in front of him with a cold gaze, without any warmth between father and son.
Suddenly, Lu Zhi relaxed. He leaned on the chair and said lazily, "Then I ask you, father, how do you deal with the fact that His Highness the Crown Prince is about to fight for his father in person? Tell me, how can the Fan Yang Lu family be preserved as much as possible? Own?"
Lu Qi choked, but Lu Zhi did not shut up, but looked at the grandchildren in front of him. He pointed at Lu Bingzhen and asked, "Let Ah Rui just watch over the family and spend the rest of his life praying for His Majesty the Crown Prince to be a vegetarian in his Taoist temple?" He pointed at Lu Bingzhi and Lu Bingxi again, "Should we let them live their lives and be small officials with swords and pens? ?"
Seeing that his son was at a loss for words, Lu Zhi sneered, "It was my father's decades of planning that saved you the rest of your life of prosperity and fulfillment of your ambitions. If you think you have done a bad job as your father, then you should tell me, if you are here What should you do as a father?"
Looking at his son who said nothing, Lu Zhi didn't want to push his son too hard. He, the eldest son, has talents, ambitions, scheming, and skills, but the only thing is that he is not ruthless enough. It is precisely for this reason that Lu Zhi refused to intervene to help Lu Qi stay in the capital in his early years. Instead, he stayed away from the capital and stayed away from the whirlpool of power.
However, Lu Zhi pondered in his heart that it was a good choice to return to the capital now. If he could succeed before the new king ascended the throne, he could preserve the prosperity of the Fan Yang Lu family for the next twenty years.
And if Fan Yang and Lu's family had not made the wrong bet, the prince would be a wise king after he ascends the throne. If his son's temperament and behavior are congenial to his majesty, he might be able to create a story of eternal harmony between the king and his ministers.
As for his son and granddaughter's subtle aversion to the aristocratic family's dominance, Lu Zhi didn't care at all. Of course he cares about the future of the Fan Yang Lu family, but he understands better the principle of killing a gentleman after five generations. Lu Zhi felt that he could only think about the future of the family as much as possible while he was alive and provide a capable successor patriarch for the family. As for what happened after his death, he had no choice but to let it go.
After all, it was in front of the eldest son's wife and children that Lu Zhi couldn't speak too harshly. Seeing that his son remained silent and no longer refuted him, Lu Zhi softened his tone and said, "You can wait until you see Yun'er to ask her carefully about what happened back then. The most difficult thing now is the fact that His Highness the Crown Prince wants to conquer in person. "
Lu Qi's tone was calm, even a little stiff, "Didn't my father already think about it? Let my sister persuade the King of Beidi to jointly attack Hulu Khan, and then let the King of Beidi surrender to the dynasty after the crown prince ascends the throne. This way we can If you make another contribution to His Highness the Crown Prince, you don’t have to worry about someone making an issue about the Crown Prince colluding with the barbarians in the future to criticize His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Regarding Lu Qi's cold attitude, Lu Zhi did not feel dissatisfied. Instead, he laughed loudly and said, "As expected of you, you are my son. One point is enough." Lu Qi asked, "Did father think about this matter too simply? Then the Queen of Beidi is just sitting there reaping the benefits of being a fisherman, so why bother getting between Jin Jinchao and Hulü Khan?"
However, Lu Zhi categorically said that the King of Beidi must agree to this matter. After Lu Qi's repeated questioning, he smiled and said, "Of course it's because the current King of Beidi is your sister's child, your nephew, and your sister can totally do it." influence his decision."
Lu Qi finally understood why her father was suddenly willing to let this daughter, who had been dead for many years in the eyes of everyone, reappear in the capital. It turned out to be because her status had already reached a level where she didn't need to care about other people's opinions.
Seeing that he finally made sense to his son, Lu Zhi turned to look at his grandchildren and overturned Lu Qi's decision a few days ago with just one sentence.
"Tomorrow the imperial army will march northward. Our Fanyang Lu family is also the confirmed Yue family under His Majesty's decree. Tomorrow we will all pack up and go to the Ten Mile Pavilion outside the city to see us off."
Lu Zhi turned to Lu Qi and said, "You have always enjoyed a good reputation in the court, and you will do the same in the future. Just do your duties as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs without being arrogant or impetuous. Your Majesty has lost his mind and gone crazy right now. Don't worry about anything. Provoke him.”
Lu Qi could only say, "Yes, father."
Lu Zhi turned to Lu Bingzhi again, "Silang, you should also read your books carefully in Lushan Academy. Don't rush for the scientific examination. Now that the storm is about to come in Beijing, you don't have much thought. At this juncture, if you are eager to enter the court, you will be disappointed. The person grasped the handle. Qilang, you should follow your father's idea and ask for a shelter, but you don't have to go to any remote place. I heard that Qilang of the Wang family is about to go to the outside of the Great Wall, so you go with him. Make some contribution to persuading the King of Beidi."
Seeing that his younger brother was able to contribute to the family at this juncture, Lu Bingzhi was quite unconvinced. He wanted to say that he had grown up and could share the family's worries, but due to his grandfather's usual intimidation, he could only feel dissatisfied. The ground responded.
Hearing the words "Wang Jia Qi Lang", Lu Qi raised his head and looked at his father Lu Zhi, feeling a little sad in his heart, "Father specially selected Wang Jia Qi Lang's mission because even Wang Jia Qi Lang had a little admiration for his daughter A Rui. We have to take advantage of him. Axi cannot study well and can only take the path of military service. He is truly worthy of being a father."
Just as he was thinking about this, Lu Qi heard Lu Zhi say to Ah Rui in a pleasant manner, "A Rui, after seeing the prince off tomorrow, you will go to the palace to accompany the empress. She is the biological mother of the prince. She will definitely miss you when her son is away on an expedition. Remember to deepen your relationship with her."
Lu Bingzhen nodded and said, "I know, grandfather." Lu Zhi was always satisfied with his knowledgeable granddaughter, and without saying much, he turned to the last person present.
"Ms. Li." "My daughter-in-law is here."
"You have always done a good job in taking care of the house, you are a good son and a good wife. I was not wrong about you back then. It's just that there is one more thing you need to do now."
Lu Zhi paused for a moment, then said, "That is Wuniang's marriage. I promised her to the young son of General Dou who killed the enemy with Qi'er in Xuanhua City on the border."
As soon as this statement came out, everyone present was surprised.
Li, who was named, hesitated and said, "Father, General Dou is indeed a talented general. But after all, he comes from a humble background and has no relatives to help him. I am afraid that he will end up being a general. Even if he is lucky enough to get a title, His youngest son can’t take the title either. After all, Wu Niang is the wife of Fan Yanglu’s family, is she marrying too lowly?”
Mrs. Li had long known from Nanny Feng what the Fifth Lady had done on the day of A Rui’s birthday party. She didn’t know if His Highness the Crown Prince had really heard something that could easily be misunderstood. She was afraid that A Rui would be raped by His Highness the Crown Prince because of this incident in the future. Rubbing. Because of this, Mrs. Li has long hated the Fifth Lady, and would not care whether she married at a low age.
Li asked this question today just to clear the air. If the father and son in front of him regret marrying off Wu Niang in the future, they cannot blame her. She had tried her best to persuade him.
"It's not a low marriage. It's thanks to General Dou's keeping secret about what happened back then. Now Wuniang is acting more and more unruly. Letting her marry far away to Xuanhua City is the best choice for the Fan Yanglu family and herself. General Dou comes from a low background. But act in a measured manner and won't let Wu Niang cause a big mess."
There was another consideration that Lu Zhi did not express. That is, if Wu Niang is married to another family, there is no guarantee that that family will not one day be instigated by Wu Niang and want to threaten the Fan Yanglu family with what happened in Xuanhua City. But General Dou's family can guarantee that they will not do it at all if Wuniang has this idea. General Dou will immediately suppress Wu Niang's thoughts.
Seeing that her father-in-law insisted on doing this, Mrs. Li stopped trying to persuade her. She just looked at her husband and nodded in agreement. "The wife there must handle this matter properly and marry Wu Niang in a glorious manner."
Seeing that the matter was finished, Lu Zhi did not hesitate and waved for them to leave.
Tonight, almost no one in the Lu family had a good night's sleep. They all tossed and turned and had no sleep all night.
