[Comprehensive] Travel to the world of martial arts and raise a boss

Chapter 18

The prime minister's mansion is worthy of being the prime minister's mansion, with a pavilion on the first floor, a tree and a scene, it is extremely luxurious, Lu Chongming knows why the high-ranking prime minister is short of money.

A group of people were separated as soon as they entered the Prime Minister's Mansion. Gu Xichao was taken down to rest, while Lu Chongming was led away to the central hall.

Those who want to see him are waiting there.

Prime Minister Cai Jing is a very ordinary old man, this is Lu Chongming's first impression of him.

Ordinary eyes, ordinary hair, ordinary face, and a fat body, no different from ordinary rich men.

Even the smile on his lips was kind, neither sinister, cunning, nor arrogant, which made Lu Chongming stunned for a moment, and the person in front of him gradually merged with the memory in his mind.

His absence was only for a moment, and no one noticed it so quickly. Human eyes can be deceiving. Of course, he would not really believe that the person in front of him, who has been in the officialdom for decades, can climb to the present position. People in position are simple rich men.

Lu Chongming's vigilance was instantly raised when the other party stood up to greet him in person.

"Zizhou!" Cai Jing took his hand affectionately and said with a smile, "You are finally here, just come back! Just come back!"

Lu Chongming didn't like the closeness of strangers, let alone a stranger with a grudge, he quietly withdrew his hand as a salute, and said, "I've met Prime Minister Cai." I've lived here After so many years, I can talk about other things, but his acting skills have indeed improved greatly.

Cai Jing sighed with a smile: "I haven't seen you for a few years, Zizhou is a little stranger to me, and he doesn't even call teacher."

Lu Chongming is not a person who is good at eloquence, and the other party's implied regret made him unable to refute, so he could only obediently call out teacher.

Cai Jing's smiling, satisfied expression like Maitreya Buddha made Lu Chongming's vigilance reach the highest level.

A servant came in, put the brewed tea on the tea table next to Lu Chongming, and then retreated respectfully, leaving only two teachers and students, one old and one young, in the hall.

Cai Jing took a sip of the teacup and said, "Zi Zhou has done very well in the past few years. Even the officials have heard about your deeds, and they have openly praised you in court several times."

Lu Chongming cupped his hands and said calmly: "The teacher must have contributed a lot, and the students thank you here."

His reaction was a little cold, but Cai Jing didn't take it seriously. Instead, he was satisfied. He just felt that after three years of experience, this student has matured a lot. He is less aloof and conceited than before, and more calm and introverted. This is a good thing, yes. He also paid more attention to it.

"It's because of your own ability," Cai Jing praised, "If you are Adou, no one else can help you up. If you can be appreciated by the officials, I will also be honored."

Cai Jing attached great importance to this disciple of his, and actually explained to him personally the forms in the court, the emperor's likes and dislikes, and the people to pay attention to. If it wasn't for the fact that the two have different ways, Lu Chongming would be willing to respect him like the original owner His, but now, he should stay far away.

Bianliang is not like Yanzhou, it is not a place where he alone has the final say. Above him, there are emperors, relatives of the emperor, and countless people with higher rank than him. The situation is more complicated. He wants to survive here safe and sound. , you must follow the rules here.

For Cai Jing, he is now his backer. If he wants to gain a firm foothold in the court, true alienation is definitely impossible, and he must grasp the scale well.

In three years, he learned to compromise when necessary.

"I have prepared a house for you, and the servants have been settled properly. You don't have to worry, you just need to rest for a few days and go to the Privy Council to officially take up your post."

"Privy Council?" Lu Chongming was a little surprised.

"Deputy envoy of the Privy Council." Cai Jing said indifferently: "The old thing in the Privy Council is almost unable to walk, and he can't live for a few days. Although you are a deputy now, it won't be long before you can become a regular. It's time to come down, I'll have someone send it to you tomorrow."

Lu Chongming frowned slightly, "Aren't the deputy envoys of the Privy Council all served by military men? I'm a civil servant, so I'm afraid it's not appropriate."

"Whether it is civil or military, who will be in charge, everything is up to the officials." Cai Jing finally revealed a deep dark color in his eyes, "And I will persuade the officials to agree."

Lu Chongming was silent, the Privy Council Envoy, it seems that the other party has already planned to extend his hand to military power, this person's ambition is too big.

Cai Jing seems to be in good spirits today, he has always been amiable, and he was taken for lunch as a matter of course, and even asked Gu Xichao to come together.

He didn't complain about the son brought back by his satisfied student and son-in-law, and even liked his smartness and beauty.

In Cai Jing's view, a man should focus on his career, and his children's affair is a trivial matter. He wants to train Lu Chongming to be his right-hand man, so he will not ask how many sons or concubines the other party has before they get married. , even if the other party wants to marry his daughter.

Using marriage to make this satisfied student more loyal to him is his way to win people's hearts.

So, at the dinner table, he said with a smile: "Zizhou is not young anymore. Now that he is back, marriage should be put on the agenda. My fourth mother is also a big girl."

When these words were uttered, not only Lu Chongming frowned, but Gu Xichao, who had been eating quietly all the time, even paused, and a trace of gloom flashed in his downcast eyes very quickly.

After the meal, Cai Jing originally planned to talk to him about the marriage, but was announced into the palace by a decree. Lu Chongming secretly gave a sigh of relief, and quickly took the opportunity to take people back to the mansion that Cai Jing gave him .

He didn't want to marry a woman he didn't know, and he couldn't just say no to marrying, so he could only choose to run away.

It is only a moment to be able to escape.

Cai Jing arranged for him a courtyard with three entrances and three exits, which was exquisitely and elegantly arranged, and he also sent ten maids and twenty servants along the way, which shows how much he is valued.

Lu Chongming never cared about these things, as soon as he handed over all the matters to the old housekeeper, he dragged Xiao Gu away.

Along the way, Gu Xichao looked taciturn, not at all lively as before, quite a bit like when he just met him a few years ago.

Lu Chongming asked with some concern: "What's wrong with Xiao Gu? Don't you like this place?"

Gu Xichao shook his head, and after a moment of silence he asked, "Is father going to marry a wife?"

It turned out to be this!Lu Chongming was stunned, he had been thinking about how to solve this matter, but he hadn't considered Gu Xichao's mood.He thought for a while and asked, "Xiao Gu doesn't want me to get married?"

Gu Xichao's shoulders slumped, and he bit his lips and said stubbornly: "Father always wants to marry a wife, and he will marry if he doesn't now, but I won't call her mother, I have a mother myself."

This child is really precocious!

Lu Chongming sighed, and said seriously: "I won't force you to call someone else's mother."

Gu Xichao blinked, and hugged his waist quietly.

Two days later, the paperwork regarding his appointment as deputy envoy of the Privy Council was completed, and he officially started his daily life as a Beijing official.

The majestic and majestic palace of the Song Dynasty has a shocking beauty in the light of the morning sun.

Today is the day of the Grand Court Meeting. Civil and military officials gathered in twos and threes, talking in low voices. There were also people standing beside Lu Chongming. After all, he was a student of Cai Jing, and he was highly regarded. The deputy envoy can see that there are absolutely very few high-ranking senior officials who have just passed through.

A person who has been praised by the emperor, and has a prime minister who is under one person and tens of thousands of people as his backer, and a person with good abilities and talents, naturally, it is inevitable that people will come forward to make good friends.

So, ever since Lu Chongming stood there, the people who kept coming to him never stopped.

However, his indifferent and reticent temperament made everyone who was thinking about it come to nothing.

"Dangdang——" the distant bell rang, and the civil and military officials who were talking with each other fell silent for an instant, and each of them held a jade board and patted a neat line into the hall.

Lu Chongming stood in his place, slightly lowered his eyes to look at his own shadow reflected on the marble floor tiles, but even so, he could still feel the gazes on him with unknown meanings.

"Lord Gu Lanxi?" A smiling voice whispered in his ear.

Lu Chongming subconsciously turned his head to look, and when he raised his eyes, he met a pair of smiling eyes. He paused, and nodded slightly towards the other party.

It was a middle-aged man in his 40s, with a rosy complexion and a handsome appearance, but the hair on his temples was already stained white with frost.

He tilted his body, subtly cupped his hands towards this side and said: "Your Majesty, Zhuge Zhengzheng, is the head coach of the Imperial Guards. In the future, you and I will be officials in the same dynasty, so you have to give us a lot of advice."

What he said was frank, without the flattery or cynicism of others, which was enough to make people feel good.

But Lu Chongming's heart tightened, he had already recognized that this person was one of the people Cai Jing told him to be on guard against.

The person who can be seen by Cai Jing and ordered to be on guard is certainly not a simple person, not to mention that this person is still knowing that he belongs to Cai Jing's faction, and greets him with a pleasant face, which makes people feel more vigilant.

Not wanting to get too close to him, Lu Chongming only responded lightly, "Don't dare to do it!" and stopped talking.

Zhuge smiled at me and didn't care.

During the morning court, the emperor did not show up for a long time. It was not until the sun had fully risen that a white-faced and beardless eunuch came to inform with a shrill voice that the emperor would not come to court early.

The civil and military officials who had been waiting for a long time were no different, they even looked like they had known this before, and they all dozed off and walked out of the hall.

Lu Chongming followed the flow of people and left together. When he walked out of the hall, he turned around and glanced at the empty dragon chair high above, his gaze gradually became sharper.

Such an emperor, such a country, I'm afraid it won't last long!