Chapter 402: Chapter 224: Emperor Meets Lu Yuan; Empress Meets Su Liyan’s Mother
The lead Jinyi Guard, with his Brocade Spring Saber at his hip, walked before the other Jinyi Guards. Facing Lu Yuan and his party, he had a commanding presence, clearly a man from a military background.
"Which of you is Lord Lu, the Prefect of Dongchang?" the lead Jinyi Guard shouted.
Before Lu Yuan could speak, a middle-aged Daoist beside him spoke up first. "This is the sacred ground of a Royal Daoist Temple. Shouting is forbidden."
The lead Jinyi Guard lifted the Brocade Spring Saber from his waist, held it in his hand, and cupped his fists, saying, "By verbal decree of the Emperor, Lord Lu, Prefect of Dongchang, attend the order."
Lu Yuan walked down the steps in front of the temple gate, approached him, and said, "Who are you?"
The lead Jinyi Guard said, "I am Wang Xiaojie, East Guard Thousand Households of the Northern Town Patrol Department."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan remembered it all too well. A few days ago in Taiping City, wasn’t the one who delivered the verbal decree summoning him for an audience with the Emperor an East Guard Hundred Households of the Northern Town Patrol Department?
’The junior one hasn’t even reached the Imperial City, and now a senior one is here to deliver another verbal decree.’ Lu Yuan thought.
Wang Xiaojie, the East Guard Thousand Households of the Northern Town Patrol Department, looked at the young man before him. He seemed even more green than the intelligence reports described. He really couldn’t understand what abilities this kid possessed.
’For someone so young to be so highly valued by the Emperor... had he been training with the Beast Race for two and a half years or something?’
Wang Xiaojie lowered his voice and said, "Lord Lu, you may remain standing to hear this. By His Majesty the Emperor’s verbal decree, you are to enter the palace for an audience the day after tomorrow at 7:00 AM."
"And?" Lu Yuan pressed.
"That’s all!"
Lu Yuan then turned to bid farewell to the Grand Elder of Le Shen Temple and the others. The Grand Elder said, "Elder, take care!"
After saying his goodbyes, Lu Yuan prepared to return to the Post House with his mother-in-law.
Lu Yuan walked a few dozen paces, and the squad of Jinyi Guard behind him followed for a few dozen paces.
Lu Yuan didn’t think much of it. ’They’re probably just going the same way.’
Lu Yuan and his group reached the stables where they had left the date-red horses that morning. Lu Yuan had asked for the horses from Le Shen Temple, mainly for the convenience of leaving the city and returning to the Post House.
Lu Yuan and the others mounted up, slapped their horses’ rumps, and headed back to the Post House.
But to his surprise, the squad of Jinyi Guard also mounted their horses and followed behind Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan said to his mother-in-law, "Mother, you go on ahead. I’ll go ask the Jinyi Guard behind us why they’re following us."
"Son-in-law, talk to them nicely. Don’t start any trouble!" said Su Liyan’s mother.
"Don’t worry, Mother," Lu Yuan said. He then pulled on his reins, stopping his horse in the middle of the road.
A dozen or so seconds later, the Jinyi Guards caught up.
Lu Yuan was the first to speak. "Lord Wang, why are you following us? Afraid we’re going to run for it?"
Lu Yuan was already in the Imperial City’s territory; of course he wasn’t going to run.
East Guard Thousand Households Wang Xiaojie said, "Lord Lu, it’s a misunderstanding. We are under orders from the Jinyiwei Commander to protect you and not leave your side until 7:00 AM tomorrow."
Lu Yuan laughed and said, "Lord Wang, the last person who said that seemed to be one of your subordinates. I wonder where he’s following us from now."
Wang Xiaojie was annoyed, gripping his reins tightly. He didn’t retort, but his attitude was much milder than before. "Rest assured, Lord Lu. We won’t lose you this time."
After Lu Yuan returned to the Post House, a confidant who had been stationed there ran to his room and asked, "Young Nephew Master, why are there so many Jinyi Guard outside?"
"It’s nothing to worry about. They say they’re here to protect me!" Lu Yuan said, taking off his boots and touching the hot water in the basin with the sole of his foot.
"Oof... this water is a bit hot," Lu Yuan added.
The confidant said, "Shall I add some cold water for you, Young Nephew Master?"
Lu Yuan refused, "Hotter is better. It improves circulation. Soaking your feet is incredibly comfortable."
Lu Yuan slowly lowered both feet into the wooden basin, tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath. "Ah, so comfortable~"
"Young Nephew Master, should I still arrange for men to stand guard tonight?" the confidant asked.
Lu Yuan said, "Arrange it as usual. I don’t trust this bunch of Jinyi Guard."
"Understood, Young Nephew Master. I’ll go arrange it now," the confidant said.
"Go on!" Lu Yuan said.
Lu Yuan sat on the bed, rubbing the grime off his feet, and sighed, "My wife’s not here, so there’s no one to wash my feet for me. It’s only been a few days, but I miss her so much."
In Taiping City, Su Liyan was holding Bengbeng and sneezed several times in a row. She pulled Bengbeng’s clothes a little tighter and said, "Bengbeng, after this story is over, Mommy will hold you and we’ll go to sleep, okay?"
Bengbeng, clutching a small radio in both hands, shook it and said, "Mommy, I want to hear another ghost story."
Su Liyan pretended to be angry, placing Bengbeng on the warm kang bed. "Don’t push your luck, now. You’ve almost finished the entire long story of Xu Xian and Lady Bai. Why do you still want to hear a ghost story!"
Bengbeng said, "Mommy, does Xu Xian not love Lady Bai? Why did he make her drink realgar wine? And that Fa Hai, what’s with him using the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon?"
Su Liyan, spreading the bedsheets, said, "Those are just folktales. They’re fictional."
Su Liyan stopped what she was doing mid-sentence and asked, "Daughter, that Great Mighty Celestial Dragon you just mentioned... is it followed by ’World Honored One Ksitigarbha, Prajna Buddhas, Prajna Paramita’?"
Bengbeng put down the radio, sat up, and clapped. "Mommy, you’re so cool! You know Fa Hai’s Magic, too!"
Hearing this, Su Liyan cursed playfully in her heart. ’So, that’s how it is, "Brother." You actually tricked a good girl like me. Last time you gave me a massage, you were chanting that "Great Mighty Celestial Dragon" thing, saying it was an ancestral massage technique that had to be paired with a Mantra. You were treating me like Lady Bai! "Brother," just you wait. When you get back, I’ll show you what it really means to be entangled by a great white snake!’
Under the protection of the Jinyi Guard, Lu Yuan and his party remained in the Post House and did not go out again.
「On the day of the Emperor’s summons.」
Lu Yuan had planned on going to the palace for his audience alone, but he learned that Su Liyan’s mother was to go with him.
This came as quite a surprise to Lu Yuan. His mother-in-law never got involved in Court matters; she had only come to the Imperial City for fun.
Su Liyan’s mother wrung her hands and asked, "Son-in-law, what are we to do? Why am I being summoned to the palace, too? I’ve heard there are so many rules there. What if I do or say something wrong?"
Lu Yuan patted his mother-in-law’s hand and said, "Mother, I’m here. Just follow me in a little while. Do whatever I do, and you’ll be fine."
His mother-in-law nodded.
Escorted by the Jinyi Guard, Lu Yuan and Su Liyan’s mother entered the Imperial Capital, their path completely unimpeded.
After entering the Imperial Capital, a gaggle of eunuchs scurried out—or more accurately, two gaggles of eunuchs.
A Chief Eunuch said, "Lord Lu, Madam Su, the Emperor and Empress will see you both separately. Lord Lu, please come with me. Madam Su, please go with this gentleman."
Su Liyan’s mother was instantly at a loss, and she looked toward Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan stepped forward, protectively moving his mother-in-law behind him, and asked, "The Empress wants to see my mother-in-law? What’s going on?"
The Chief Eunuch smiled and said, "Please rest assured, Lord Lu. The Empress is kind and benevolent; she will not make things difficult for Madam Su."
Empress Ma was known in history as a virtuous empress, so the Chief Eunuch wasn’t wrong.
Lu Yuan was still uneasy. He sent a sound transmission to his mother-in-law, "Mother, if anything happens, send a sound transmission to me. I will definitely come and rescue you."
From behind Lu Yuan, Su Liyan’s mother tugged on her son-in-law’s sleeve and sent a sound transmission back, "Alright. Empress Ma probably won’t make things difficult for a member of the Half-demon Race like me. You shouldn’t worry too much either, Son-in-law."
The Sound Transmission Skill was something Lu Yuan had learned from a few pages in the middle of *Celestial Master*. Having nothing to do yesterday at the Post House, he had taught his mother-in-law how to use it.
The Sound Transmission Skill was good, but it had a limited range. It worked up to a distance of two or three thousand meters, but it was no good any farther than that.
’At the end of the day, a brick phone would still be better.’
Seeing this, Lu Yuan said to the Chief Eunuch, "In that case, please lead the way, Eunuch."
And so, Lu Yuan and Su Liyan’s mother were separated by the two gaggles of eunuchs, one going to see the Emperor, the other to see the Empress.
Lu Yuan noticed that the path they were taking was different from the last time. It didn’t seem to be the way to the Imperial Study. He asked the Chief Eunuch who had come to greet and guide him, "Eunuch, where are you taking me?"
The eunuch said, "Lord Lu, you’ll know when we get there."
Lu Yuan sneered internally, ’How mysterious you’re trying to be!’
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