Chapter 1587: A Stern Warning

Wandering aimlessly between the palace halls, Emperor Liu remained silent throughout, his footsteps accompanying the autumn wind sounding somewhat heavy. The longer the silence lasted, the more oppressive the atmosphere became, making Lu Duoxun, who was accompanying him, feel increasingly tormented.

After a long while, just as Lu Duoxun could no longer bear it and was about to say something to make a feeble attempt at recovery, Emperor Liu finally spoke: "Do you think the matter of Hou Zhi is merely a problem of misjudging people and improper appointment?"

Hearing Emperor Liu say this, Lu Duoxun's heart sank. He prided himself on his shrewdness, but at this moment he could not help feeling distracted and anxious. Under the suppression of Emperor Liu's "dragon might," he was utterly unable to discern from these ambiguous words what the Emperor was truly thinking.

He could only say nervously: "Your subject is guilty!"

"Heh heh..." Seeing his appearance, Emperor Liu could not help but laugh. His tone did not change much, still calmly applying pressure: "Because of the Yangzhou case, the recent winds in the court—you are in the very vortex of it, surely you have heard, haven't you!

What are your fellow officials saying? They say that you, Lu Duoxun, are indulging in private friendships, appointing only your own kin, using the public instruments of the state to cultivate a faction, and have even promoted a colossal corrupt official!

'What's near vermilion turns red, what's near ink turns black.' Hou Zhi was such a greedy, law-breaking scoundrel—so what kind of person are you, Lu Duoxun, in private? Even I cannot help but wonder whether you and that Hou Zhi are birds of a feather!"

Emperor Liu's words were already very severe, startling Lu Duoxun so much that his heart and liver trembled. He immediately began to defend himself with some agitation: "Your Majesty, please see clearly—these are all slanders and defamations from petty people! Your subject would not dare even in death to corrupt the laws of the state or deceive Your Majesty!"

"Oh? Are there really so many petty people in the court?" A look of surprise appeared on Emperor Liu's face as he questioned: "Don't you all often say that the court is full of worthy men? You, Lu Duoxun, have said such things yourself, haven't you? How is it that you now change your tune?

How is it that so many petty people have suddenly appeared in the court? Just now it was only some remonstrating officials and censors—their words, I could choose to listen to or not.

But in the memorials I have received, it is not only those pure-stream remonstrators. As for what the other officials are saying, do you want to go with me to Chongzheng Hall and see for yourself?"

"Your subject would not dare!" Lu Duoxun kept his head bowed very low, his waist bent very low. Since entering the court and becoming chancellor, this was the first time he had been so humiliated—of course, only Emperor Liu could make him so humble and cautious.

"I can reveal a little to you. People say that you, Lu Duoxun, are arrogant and self-conceited, overbearing and domineering, acting arbitrarily on your own..." Emperor Liu stared at Lu Duoxun and said softly: "These are not good words at all. I wonder what you think of them, but I can tell you my own impression—is your popularity in the court really so poor, Lu Duoxun?"

"Your Majesty!" Lu Duoxun's voice finally grew somewhat louder. He knelt neatly at Emperor Liu's feet and reported solemnly: "No matter how the officials criticize me, I do not care. I only wish to be Your Majesty's loyal minister, to exert my utmost for the court. Even if I am isolated by all my colleagues and become a solitary minister, I would not regret it!"

Hearing this declaration of loyalty, Emperor Liu silently examined him for a moment, then turned and continued walking forward, saying calmly: "Rise and speak!"

"Yes!" Perhaps due to excessive agitation, Lu Duoxun's eyes had already turned somewhat red. He raised his head and looked at Emperor Liu's back through blurred vision, raised a hand to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead, then hurriedly rose and followed with soft footsteps.

"Now, back to Hou Zhi!" Emperor Liu continued walking slowly and speaking unhurriedly: "I do not care what private friendship you two had. He was recommended by you, so if he committed crimes, you must bear joint responsibility!"

"Yes, your subject understands. No matter how Your Majesty punishes me, I will have no complaints!" Lu Duoxun immediately declared.

Emperor Liu paused for a moment, then said slowly: "However, people always have times when they misjudge. Even I sometimes cannot see people clearly. The hardest thing in the world to fathom is the human heart. For instance, right now, I do not know what you, Lu Duoxun, are truly thinking when you make your declarations—whether you truly have no complaints!"

In the past, no matter how others viewed him, from Lu Duoxun's own feeling, Emperor Liu was still "quite easy" to get along with. At least in his communications with Emperor Liu, the ruler and minister were often in harmony, and he could feel that Emperor Liu valued him.

But now, Emperor Liu had completely overturned his established impression. At the very least, he had never experienced such "aggressiveness" from Emperor Liu before, which caught him off guard and made it very difficult for him to cope.

His heart was churning with waves. Perhaps to demonstrate his utmost sincerity, Lu Duoxun said somewhat urgently: "If I could obtain Your Majesty's blade, I would rather cut open my belly to show my true heart!"

"There is no need for that! Why speak so gravely, so bloodily, so cruelly?" Hearing this, Emperor Liu immediately interrupted his passionate performance, his tone still unhurried: "If you want to be Bi Gan, I certainly do not want to be King Zhou of Shang!"

Hearing Emperor Liu say this, Lu Duoxun's face had already turned pale. He was tongue-tied and said nervously: "Your Majesty, your subject—your subject misspoke!"

Emperor Liu waved his hand, appearing unconcerned, and said calmly: "I heard that you once went to the Ministry of Justice prison to visit Hou Zhi. What was it—to interrogate him, rebuke him, or to comfort him, hold secret discussions, and give him advice?"

No matter how Lu Duoxun wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, it would not dry. With Emperor Liu's questioning, it seeped out involuntarily, and the anxiety and urgency in his eyes had already become extremely obvious.

Without waiting for him to answer, Emperor Liu stared directly into Lu Duoxun's eyes, and for the first time his tone turned serious: "Tell me honestly—was the idea of Hou Zhi accusing Yang Kefa your scheme?"

Faced with such an undisguised interrogation, if it were winter, Lu Duoxun would probably have gasped in cold air. Of course, even in this autumn season, it was enough to make him swallow a bellyful of chill.

Emperor Liu's gaze carried an overwhelming sense of pressure. Lu Duoxun did not dare meet his eyes at all, feeling that the air was so oppressive it was suffocating, and his whole body felt wrong.

How could he answer such a question? His heart was endlessly tangled and wildly conflicted. Could he admit it? If he did not admit it, that would clearly be deceiving the Emperor to his face. If he told the truth, that would be asking for trouble, sinking himself even deeper into this muddy water given that the Hou Zhi case had already been characterized.

Lu Duoxun's inner conflict was visible to the naked eye, but Emperor Liu clearly did not intend to give him time to hesitate. Seeing him struggling to speak, Emperor Liu asked with a hint of a smile: "What, is this question so hard to answer?"

Startled with fright, Lu Duoxun instinctively looked up at Emperor Liu, gritted his teeth, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, when I went to see Hou Zhi in prison that day, he did indeed confess to me about the corruption and malpractice in the Huaidong officialdom..."

He still did not dare answer directly, but Emperor Liu seemed satisfied and did not press further. Instead, he turned his head and said leisurely: "Then do you think it is credible? The Crown Prince thinks that Hou Zhi, like a cornered dog jumping over the wall, is recklessly dragging others down to muddy the waters. I think there seems to be some truth to that as well!"

"The Crown Prince is wise, and Your Majesty sees clearly!" A hint of gloom appeared in Lu Duoxun's eyes as he echoed in a deep voice.

"Minister Lu, if I remember correctly, it has been over twenty years since you passed the imperial examination and entered the court, hasn't it!" Judging from the form of address, Emperor Liu had returned to normal conversation.

Seeing that Emperor Liu seemed to be reminiscing about the past again, Lu Duoxun also said with solemn emotion: "Your subject was personally selected by Your Majesty as Tanhua and entered officialdom—indeed, it has already been twenty years!"

"Twenty years!" Emperor Liu said: "Time passes so quickly, gone in a flash. Do you know why, when people said you had the bearing of a Zhuangyuan, I still placed you third, and even sent you to the Three Libraries to read books for several years?"

Lu Duoxun ventured: "Because your subject was too young back then?"

When Lu Duoxun took the imperial examination back then, he was not yet nineteen years old. It could be said he was in the prime of his youth, in the full bloom of his vigor, and people called him "Young Master Lu."

"That is not the main reason!" Emperor Liu spoke frankly: "It is because you are too proud. Even the tedium of the Hongwen Library and the bitter cold of the northwestern winds and sands could not grind away the sharp edges in your bones.

Of course, I also like ministers with character and edge. Otherwise, do you think that in just over twenty years, you could go from a jinshi to entering the hall and becoming chancellor, reaching the pinnacle of officialdom?

Wang Zhu is an old minister of mine and your senior. His loyalty is known throughout the court and the country. When he was also transferred to the central government, why did I still make him rank below you?

A chancellor in his early forties is extremely rare in the Great Han, wouldn't you say!"

Hearing Emperor Liu say this, a look of excitement appeared on Lu Duoxun's face, and a warmth surged up in his heart. He bowed respectfully and said: "Your Majesty's appreciation and promotion are as vast as heaven and earth. Your subject is moved to tears of gratitude and will never forget!"

"Why would I need your gratitude? I promoted you only because you have talent, ability, and usefulness to the court!" Emperor Liu pointed out calmly: "However, you should also think carefully from now on about how you can be useful to the court, rather than fighting for power and position with Zhao Pu in the Hall of State Affairs! No matter what, he is the Chief Chancellor of the Great Han. As his subordinate, respect and dignity are necessities!"

"Remember this: I can protect you once, tolerate you once, but there will never be a third time..."

. wap.