Inside, Emperor Liu huddled lazily between the soft chairs, his body swaying, and his feet soaked in a basin. It was a medicinal soup specially prepared for him by the imperial doctor, which could dispel dampness and relieve fatigue.
The person serving beside him was Little Concubine Zhou Yifei. She was squatting down with a graceful posture, massaging Emperor Liu with her slender hands that played the piano, drums and harp.
Emperor Liu's face was full of contentment. Obviously, compared to the pot of medicinal soup, Mrs. Zhou could relieve fatigue better, and she felt relaxed and happy looking at her beautiful face.
His skills were a little rusty, but the softness of his jade hands could make people's bones go numb. However, Emperor Liu was not completely immersed in the gentle land. He squinted at Zhang Dejun who was waiting beside him and said casually: "Lu Duoxun
Here we are! He went to see Wang Yinwu?"
"It's time to go back to the official residence! After meeting His Highness the Crown Prince, I went there with a gift. The two of them talked behind closed doors for about half an hour before leaving!" Zhang Dejun whispered, his words full of hints.
Emperor Liu didn't seem to be aware of it, and chuckled: "Oh? This Lu Duoxun is very polite and never comes empty-handed. What kind of rare treasure did he bring to Wang Yinwu?"
"This has never been discovered before!" Zhang Dejun seemed a little frightened and buried his head.
"Okay!" Emperor Liu stretched out his hand and said, "I know about this! It is normal for Lu Duoxun and Wang Yinwu to meet and visit as old friends, so there is no need to make a fuss!"
"Yes!" Zhang Dejun looked very respectful, without any nonsense, as if he was keeping his duty.
He raised his hand to signal him to retreat. Although Emperor Liu acted cheerfully and seemed not to take it seriously, during the silence, his expression gradually changed from sunny to gloomy, and his anxious eyes became sharp for a moment.
Obviously, he didn't care at all about the news reported by Zhang Dejun, but he didn't have a clear idea of how to deal with it.
The friendship between Lu Duoxun and Wang Yinwu is not a secret. They went to visit openly and openly, showing that they were magnanimous and overreacted. Maybe they were making a fuss and it was unnecessary. However, if there was no expression and nothing was done, Liu
The emperor was still unhappy.
Emperor Liu thought he knew Lu Duoxun well. There was no doubt about his ability and talent. He was of low stature, could endure hardships, and could withstand tests. He had established so many achievements in the northwest and made so much money.
Its reputation is a reflection of its comprehensive quality.
However, this person's temperament is indeed arrogant, conceited about his talents, and difficult to tolerate others. He always lacks some tolerance and self-cultivation when serving as an official.
Moreover, Emperor Liu was ambitious and obsessed with power. This was evident to Emperor Liu from his imperial examination entries twenty years ago when he first entered his official career.
Emperor Liu was not surprised by the behavior of forming gangs and cultivating party members in the northwest. The reason why he accepted Zhao Pu's suggestion and transferred him away from Hexi was of course based on this consideration, and it also gave Lu Duoxun a kind of
warning.
But now it seems that this warning did not have an effect, or it did not meet expectations. If we say that in the northwest, Lu and Wang had more frequent exchanges, which is still understandable.
However, the current situation is completely different from that in Hexi. Since ancient times, internal and external collusion has been difficult to truly eradicate.
But what are the identities of the two of them? One is the chief official of Zhejiang and Zhejiang. Furthermore, it may be that the Yin of the two capitals has an affair. It is not impossible to even directly worship the prime minister.
One is the Wu Deshi who is in charge of the huge intelligence organization Wude Division. If the two collude, what kind of impact it will have and what kind of power it will unleash will be uncontrollable. Even with Emperor Liu's current ability,
Everyone will have a fearful heart.
Lu Duoxun and Wang Yinwu obviously haven't realized this yet, otherwise they wouldn't be able to hide anything and they would have to be more cautious.
Therefore, Zhang Dejun's report was effective. Emperor Liu obviously had some ideas about the old pair of Lu and Wang. Of course, in the final analysis, Emperor Liu also had some problems in employing people. In the case of Wude Envoy,
The choice is inevitably somewhat arbitrary.
In the current court, Zhao Pu has quite a few opponents, but among the Taoist officials, Lu Duoxun is the only one who dares to raise his banner to oppose him and highlight his contradictions.
Over the past year or so, Emperor Liu had received quite a few questions from Lu Duoxun regarding some of the imperial policies, which were all implemented under the leadership of Zhao Pu. Although he did not directly criticize the impeachment, it was obviously an eye-opener.
The relationship between the two is somewhat similar to the disagreement between Wang Pu and Prime Minister Li Tao. At that time, one was the chief official of Huaidong and the other was the prime minister of the dynasty, but it was more about political differences. And Lu Duo
The personal grudge between Xun Xun and Zhao Pu is obviously more serious.
Regarding the discord between the two, Emperor Liu has always had the mentality of watching a show, sitting back and watching or even conniving. Although he trusts Zhao Pu and is willing to hand over the government affairs to him, he also needs to find some enemies for him, otherwise how can he bow down with peace of mind?
And cure.
However, if Lu Duoxun himself did not know how to be cautious, Emperor Liu's tolerance would also have limits. Emperor Liu always had a bottom line of trade-offs in his mind. If he felt that the bottom line had been breached, then he would consider removing it.
Official hat, or even head removal.
"Guan, the water is cold, please add some hot water!" Concubine Zhou called softly while she was pondering, which brought Emperor Liu back from his fugue.
Looking at Xiao Zhou's delicate dimple, Emperor Liu stopped contemplating, smiled, shook his head and said, "No need!"
Although he was used to being served by others, Emperor Liu still maintained the habit of wiping his feet. He removed the medicinal soup, wiped his feet, and threw away the rag. He probably felt that Mrs. Zhou was working hard after squatting for a long time, so he pulled her up.
He held her in his arms and felt the tightness of her delicate buttocks.
"You heard Zhang Dejun's report just now, right?" Emperor Liu asked casually, sniffing the intoxicating smell on Xiao Zhou's body.
"Yeah!" Xiao Zhou nodded his head and responded.
"Have you understood?" Emperor Liu asked.
This was probably the first time that Emperor Liu discussed similar issues with her. Xiao Zhou looked at the greasy middle-aged man hugging his slender waist in surprise. He frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and said tentatively: "That Lu Shijun is bringing a gift."
When I visit Wu Deshi, are the officials suspecting bribery?"
Seeing the serious expression on the beautiful lady in his arms, Emperor Liu had a hint of pity in his eyes. He shook his head and said, "If Lu Duosun wants to bribe, he has to hide it!"
"Then why are the officials worried?" The smart little Lady Zhou naturally noticed the strange behavior of Emperor Liu.
Emperor Liu casually moved around the young lady's waist and said quietly: "Compared with bribery, there are some things that are more noteworthy and worthy of vigilance!"
Xiao Zhou was obviously puzzled by Emperor Liu's words, and Emperor Liu had no intention of explaining. On the contrary, he temporarily put aside the interaction between Lu and Wang, and shifted his thoughts to Zhang Dejun.
Although Zhang Dejun acted in a low-key manner just now, and his words were not very clearly targeted, but for some purposes, basic judgments can be made based on behavior alone.
Compared to the past, Zhang Dejun seems to be more cunning now, even planting mines without leaving any trace. Of course, Zhang Dejun was not targeting Lu Duoxun. He was talking about Lu Duoxun throughout the whole process, but his hidden arrow was actually aimed at Wang Yinwu.
Zhang Dejun obviously knew Emperor Liu better than those two people. The closer the two people were, the more suspicious Emperor Liu would be, and something would happen sooner or later.
Zhang Dejun, who had always had a quarrel with Wude Si, was naturally happy to see this. This was probably a conspiracy. Even if Emperor Liu was aware of Zhang Dejun's motives, it would always be effective given his suspicious nature.