Chapter 73: CH 73

Chapter 73      Chengtian

Lu Heng was promoted to Chief Commander. The first thing a new official did when taking office was taking over the heavy responsibility of escort.

Chen Yin was half retired, and he would probably find a reason to resign when he returned to Beijing. Now the actual person in charge of the Imperial Guards was Lu Heng, and if anything happened to the palace, it would be Lu Heng’s responsibility. This was not a small matter, now there were countless pairs of eyes looking at him inside and outside. Chen Yin was dragged down because of this mistake, Lu Heng couldn’t repeat the same mistakes.

Lu Heng first went to check the six thousand Imperial Guards and the two thousand Guards of Honor. He was too busy familiarizing himself with the manpower and rearranging deployment tasks to be distracted by the necessary socializing. When he finally got some time, the sky was already filled with phoenixes bathing in fire, and the setting sun was melting gold.

Another team sent by Lu Heng also returned. Guo Tao came back and reported. Following the emperor’s instructions, he found a cave in Lingshan, where more than a hundred skinny men were imprisoned. According to the people inside, there were more than two hundred people in the cave at the beginning, but during that period, people continued to die of exhaustion and illness. They could only be piled at the bottom of the mine, and less than half of the people were alive today.

If conditions continued, this half wouldn’t live long.

Under the guidance of the miners, the Imperial Guards learned that this was a gold mine. They brought out all the surviving men, sealed off the mine at the same time, and completely took over the gold mine. At this point, the “truth came to light”. It turned out that the White Lotus deceived the young and middle-aged men into mining in the mountains by spreading their teachings. The gods in the sky discovered that their treasure had been stolen, and Xuan Nu of the Nine Heavens went down to take back the sword and enlightened the emperor in his dream. The emperor sent people to search for the place Xuan Nu spoke about, and they found the trapped people.

Luckily, Liu Shan and Liu Shoufu survived, but Liu Shan was old and lost his body underground in the darkened mine, and needed help even to walk. The Liu family’s mother and daughter-in-law were escorted home by Imperial Guards and met the father and son with big tears. The Liu family cried with each other in their arms, and the other families in Hegu Village were also happy and sad. Their crying was wild for a while.

This tragedy was finally settled by the White Lotus. After Lu Heng received the news, he went to the palace to report the final results to the emperor. The emperor nodded, pretended to scold the White Lotus for a while, and ordered all the state capitals to post notices, publicizing the evil deeds of the White Lotus, warning the people not to believe in heresy, and at the same time exempting Hegu Village from taxes for three years, and ordered people to bury the Taoist priests of the Qingxu Monastery.  So far, the case of the cry of injustice on the Southern Patrol was completely settled.

The emperor had enough rest and gave the order to continue the journey tomorrow. After Lu Heng had sorted out the departure, he finally went home in the dark. Above the moon, the stars were everywhere, and the palace was quiet. While many people had fallen asleep, Lu Heng was just returning.

He pushed the door open, and the first thing he saw was a single lamp burning inside the window, the orange light was warm and quiet, quietly waiting for him to return home. The door of the house was quickly pushed open and a beautiful woman with a snowy appearance appeared at the door. Wearing a dark blue, bamboo and chrysanthemum horse face skirt, a white cardigan with a stand-up collar, and a blue-purple round-neck cotton shirt, she looked like a flower caged in mist, hibiscus that was beaten by rain, and smiled softly at him: “Congratulations, brother, for your promotion.”

This scene satisfied a man’s vanity for beauty and power at the same time. Lu Heng’s all-day scheming and plotting seemed to disappear. He walked up with a smile and held the snow-white catkin: “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“You still haven’t changed your bandage yet, I couldn’t rest.” Wang Yanqing walked into the house with Lu Heng, and said, “Besides, I always congratulate such a big happy event like a promotion in person.”

At noon today, news came from outside that Lu Heng had been promoted again. Wang Yanqing was numb when she heard it, being around Lu Heng always gave Wang Yanqing a feeling that getting promoted was easy. Wang Yanqing sat on the Arhat bed and said: “I heard Ling Xi say, this time you have been promoted from second rank to Chief Commander. My elder brother is only twenty-three years old and holds such a high position. This is really as good as it gets.”

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Lu Heng’s attention was completely on her soft and boneless hands. Wang Yanqing’s body was cold, and her hands and feet were often cold in winter. Even in summer, her skin was cool, and she rarely sweat. Holding her in his arms was like holding a piece of natural cool jade, her fragrance was soft, smooth, and delicate, and it was better than any cooling tool.

Lu Heng rubbed between her fingers and said: “Not quite. For example, I lack a chief commanding wife from the second rank.”

Wang Yanqing froze, embarrassed to answer again. Holding such beauty in the middle of the night but being unable to do anything really tested Lu Heng’s conscience. He played with Wang Yanqing’s hand for a while and gradually moved his mind, moving his eyes upwards, just in time to catch a glimpse of her snowy muscles looming under the cotton. Lu Heng’s Adam’s apple twitched slightly, his eyes turned deep, and he asked: “Has Qing Qing considered it?”

Wang Yanqing blushed and whispered: “It’s only been three days.”

“It’s only been three days?” Lu Heng sighed and said sincerely, “That’s regretful.”

He had always been immoral, but when he had that showdown with Wang Yanqing a few days ago, somehow he had a particularly strong sense of morality, and he even agreed to let Wang Yanqing think for herself and waited for her to think clearly before proceeding to the next step. He didn’t think of himself as a womanizer, but now he felt more and more that he was.

How much did he have to wait to be moral, otherwise, he could suppress her now and do whatever he wanted.

Wang Yanqing felt that Lu Heng’s eyes were becoming more and more unsubtle. Her skin started to heat up when she was being stared at, as if the gaze had real substance, and could penetrate her clothes to touch and invade. Wang Yanqing tensed up subconsciously, and got up to avoid him: “Brother, it’s time for you to change your bandaging. I’m going to get the medicine box.”

Wang Yanqing hurriedly stood up. Lu Heng let her dodge, his eyes following Wang Yanqing. Even with her back turned, Wang Yanqing could feel his eyes sweeping over her body inch by inch. Wang Yanqing regretted wearing a cotton shirt for the sake of lightness and coolness. She should have worn a thick and opaque dress.

Wang Yanqing wanted to avoid his scrutiny, but after standing up, she showed Lu Heng even more of her slim figure. Lu Heng thought to himself that with her waist so thin and her legs so long, they would be very comfortable to hold in his palm. He looked at her unhurriedly for a while and said lightly: “Is there something missing in the medicine box, haven’t you got it yet?”

Knowing that there was no way to stall any longer, Wang Yanqing turned around bravely and walked toward Lu Heng. Wang Yanqing stopped in front of the Arhat bed while Lu Heng sat calmly, looking at her leisurely.

Wang Yanqing hesitated for a while, then said: “Brother, it’s time to change the bandaging.”

Lu Heng nodded, stretched out his hand, and motioned for her to do it by herself. Lu Heng acted like he was giving consent to let her do whatever she needed. Wang Yanqing thought to herself that it was not about taking off his clothes anyway, so she let go and unbuttoned Lu Heng’s shoulders.

Lu Heng was wearing a round-neck robe today. After unbuttoning the concealed buttons and taking off one sleeve, Lu Heng’s upper body was almost completely exposed to the air. Wang Yanqing was about to untie the knot of the bandage when suddenly a force grabbed her lower back. Unexpectedly, she fell down on Lu Heng’s lap.

Wang Yanqing hurriedly tried to stand up, but he grabbed her waist again. Lu Heng tightened his left hand, pressed her waist against his body, and said indifferently: “Continue.”

Wang Yanqing froze for a long time before continuing to untie the gauze with her numb fingers. Some people’s strength and immorality were probably engraved in their bones, even if he was the half-dressed person now, it still looked like he was taking advantage of her.

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Wang Yanqing sat on Lu Heng’s lap, not daring to move, and reapplied his medicine in silence. Lu Heng held Wang Yanqing’s slender waist with one hand and tapped her tight waistline rhythmically with his fingers. Lu Heng thought to himself, this kind of cotton was cool and slippery, and it was really comfortable to stick on the body. Next time, he could buy more, but he would have to change it to a transparent one.

Although, he preferred no fabric at all.

Wang Yanqing was very skilled at bandaging the wound, and quickly applied the ointment and replaced it with a new breathable gauze. She tidied up the gauze and waited for a while, but Lu Heng didn’t respond. Wang Yanqing could only speak to remind him: “Second Brother, it’s done.”

Lu Heng sighed faintly. It was the first time a woman took off his clothes, and nothing happened, so he put them back on again. It would make people laugh out loud if news of this spread. Lu Heng scolded himself for his thoughts again but still raised his arms cooperatively, allowing Wang Yanqing to button his clothes back around his neck.

Wang Yanqing was worried that Lu Heng would take the opportunity to make trouble, but Lu Heng was unexpectedly honest and let her leave his lap. Lu Heng said: “We are leaving tomorrow, so go to bed early.”

Wang Yanqing glanced at Lu Heng in surprise and quickly walked toward her room. Before going out, she stopped, hesitated for a while, then turned around and said: “Brother, you should also rest early.”

Lu Heng’s eyes followed her the entire time, and when he saw her stop, the smile in his eyes deepened. He nodded lightly, with the lights in his eyes rippling like stars: “Okay.”

After the series of accidents in the Weihui Mansion, the emperor’s team continued to move forward in the Southern Patrol. Lu Heng took over the power of the Imperial Guards and paid special attention to safety along the way. Fortunately, there were no storms or waves on the subsequent journey, and they arrived in Anlu smoothly.

Anlu was the hometown of the emperor, and the emperor was very fond of it. In the tenth year of Jiajing, he promoted Anlu Prefecture with the Chengtian Mansion. The county where the mansion was located was named Zhongxiang, meaning to gather auspiciousness. The Chengtian Mansion in Anlu, Yingtian Mansion in Nanjing, and Shuntian Mansion in Beijing were known as the three famous mansions.

Lu Heng’s hometown was also here.

After the emperor entered the Chengtian Mansion, his interest obviously increased. Officials from Chengtian Mansion went out of the city to meet the emperor, with Lu Heng walking on the side. The emperor was so nostalgic that he didn’t want to build a makeshift palace, he wanted to live in the old mansion of Monarch Xing. Before the imperial decree called for the beginning of the Great Ceremony in Beijing, the emperor was here and served as Monarch Xing for two years.

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The emperor received his officials in his former mansion, and the mansion also welcomed a former prince. A small sedan chair stopped in front of the second gate of Monarch Xing’s Mansion, and a graceful and fair middle-aged woman lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and came out. She walked inside familiarly, and after only two steps, she bumped into a group of people.

Seeing his mother coming, Lu Heng walked up to her in two steps: “Mother, didn’t I say I would send someone to pick you up, why did you come by yourself?”

Madam Fan said: “The emperor finally came back to Anlu and I have to hurry to pay my respects. You are not guarding the emperor, what are you doing coming out?”

Lu Heng hurriedly supported his mother and said: “I came to receive you.”

“I don’t need you to receive me. My home is not but a few steps away from here. I am used to coming to Monarch Xing’s Mansion, so I don’t need someone to pick me up.” Madam Fan was a person who was used to going in and out of the royal palace, and she quickly saw that the clothes on Lu Heng’s body were different, “Why are you wearing a python robe?”

The python suit was the highest level of bestowal, second only to the emperor’s dragon robe in terms of etiquette, and only eunuchs yielding prints could be bestowed. Lu Heng was an Imperial Guard, and he received the flying fish robe early on. It was okay to wear the flying fish pattern for all four seasons, but the python suit was beyond the standard.

Lu Heng said: “A few days ago Weihui’s mansion caught fire and my clothes were burned. The emperor gave me a python robe and promoted me to the official position, now I’m the Chief Commander.”

The news of Weihui’s fire had already reached Anlu, but Lu Heng’s promotion was not yet known by Madam Fan. Madam Fan’s understanding of the Imperial Guard’s system was very clear, and it was precisely because of this understanding that Madam Fan was shocked when she heard this.

Madam Fan looked at her son who was already a head taller than herself in surprise, and asked: “How could it be so fast?”

In Madam Fan’s memory, she only received a letter from Lu Heng not long ago, saying that he had been promoted to third-rank commander. In a blink of an eye, he was promoted again to Chief Commander. The speed of promotion made Madam Fan feel that he was making it up.

In front of his mother, Lu Heng tried his best to be upright and harmless: “It is indeed true. The emperor thought that I had done a good job in rescuing him, and in addition to the previous cases, I was promoted.”

Madam Fan’s eyebrows tightened into a frown. Even if she felt that Lu Heng was too sharp and afraid that it might not be a good thing, she couldn’t say it directly. This son had been smart since he was a child as if all the spirit of the Lu family was concentrated on him. It erupted suddenly, and it was so brilliant that it was frightening.

Although Madam Fan in name was his mother, she didn’t dare to discipline her son. Especially after Lu Heng entered Monarch Xing’s Mansion as a companion. Princess Jiang and the Crown Prince liked him very much, and Madam Fan was even more restrained, everything was decided by Lu Heng himself.

Lu Song was stronger than Madam Fan, but it was only to persuade Lu Heng not to cause trouble, and to be careful, he couldn’t give more guidance. In contrast, the eldest son Lu Wen, who was ordinary in talent but loyal in temperament, was closer to Madam Fan.

This time the emperor returned to the Chengtain Mansion to move the tomb. Madam Fan, as an old official of Monarch Xing’s Mansion, of course, had to enter the mansion to see him. Along the way, Madam Fan’s eyes were dazzled by the emperor’s Guards of Honor. Madam Fan became deeply aware that the present was not what it used to be. The quiet and readable young prince had become the ninety-fifth emperor. When Lu Heng stood in front of her, Madam Fan became even more startled. Not only the emperor, but even her son had changed.

They wallowed in the wealth and royal power of Beijing, and they had already become different people.

Madam Fan’s heart was extremely sad. Lu Song died, and Empress Jiang also went this year. They were aging and decaying day by day, and they could no longer keep up with the children’s footsteps. Madam Fan thought for a while, then pulled herself together and asked: “So what is this sister you mentioned in the letter?”

|| Author’s Note:

Lu Heng: Don’t be nervous, let’s carefully fabricate this.

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