Top Scholar

Chapter 607 Eunuch Liu is also going to make a big splash.

"Why?" Zhu Shou's expression tightened upon hearing this.

"The previous balance was achieved under conditions of basic stability. Now, the world is in chaos, and popular uprisings are breaking out everywhere. The eunuch faction is incapable of quelling the rebellions and can only give way to the civil officials. Therefore, the trend of the civil official faction's resurgence is difficult to stop, and cannot be stopped..." Su Lu said with a hint of helplessness:

“If the world remains in chaos for too long, there will be serious problems. Therefore, we must select virtuous and capable officials and quell the rebellion as soon as possible. We are still too weak now and cannot let military officials take the lead. So we can only rely on civil officials.”

"Oh..." Zhu Shou didn't want to hear any more annoying things, so he said in a spoiled manner, "It's the New Year, can't we not talk about these things?"

Seeing this, Su Lu softened his tone and smiled, "However, I didn't say that there was no progress in the second step. At least we built upon the foundation of the first step and established the new Three Great Camps capable of paying blood taxes. This force is the cornerstone for His Majesty's reconquest of the world!"

"That's more like it!" Zhu Shou's face immediately lit up with a smile. "It's the New Year, so we should say something happy!"

Su Lu readily agreed and stopped saying anything that would spoil Zhu Shou's mood. The two chatted for a few more minutes, then he rolled down the car window and glanced outside. It was getting dark, and red lanterns were being lit up one after another on the streets. The sound of firecrackers was deafening, and the festive atmosphere was growing stronger.

He turned around and asked, "It's getting late, shall we head back to the palace?"

Zhu Shou leaned against the pillow, his expression ambiguous, and said, "No rush, let's go take a look at another place."

Su Lu then joked, "When did you become so dedicated?"

"It's a new year, we should turn over a new leaf and do something worthwhile," Zhu Shou said, raising his chin as if to appear serious.

Seeing that Zhu Shou practically had "invite me quickly" written all over his face, Su Lu knew exactly what he was thinking.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Why don't you come home with me for the New Year?"

"Okay!" Zhu Shou agreed without hesitation.

"Wow, you actually agreed?" Su Lu said with a wry smile, "Of course I would be more than happy to have you come to my house for the New Year, but what about the two palaces?"

The two empresses were naturally Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Xia in the Forbidden City. This mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had completely opposite personalities... When Empress Dowager Zhang was empress, she was the most prominent woman in the world; while Empress Xia's presence was extremely low. Even after several years of marriage, she remained untouched and had hardly ever met the emperor.

It wasn't that Zhu Shou disliked women; it's just that he had a particularly unique taste, sharing the same preference as Cao Cao, who liked flirtatious and fiery married women...

Of course, the reason why he was so cold to Empress Xia was quite simple—this marriage was arranged by the Empress Dowager, and the Empress was exactly what the Empress Dowager liked, so naturally she was exactly what he disliked.

Moreover, he would have the burden of filial piety if he didn't see the Empress Dowager, but he had no such burden if he didn't see the Empress...

But then again, today is New Year's Eve... Su Lu thought to himself, "Damn it, the two palaces will blame me."

Zhu Shou waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Don't worry about the palace. The Empress Dowager and the Empress can keep each other company. They're already eyeing each other. Besides, I'm not the Emperor. This great general can spend the New Year wherever he wants!"

Upon hearing this, Su Lu remained silent for a long time before finally managing to utter only two words: "Awesome."

"Go and make arrangements with Zhang Yong," Zhu Shou instructed.

"As you command." Su Lu got out of the car.

Zhang Yong followed closely behind the car and whispered to Su Lu, "What's wrong? Need to pee?"

"Stop joking around, it's urgent." Su Lu called him aside and asked in a low voice, "Uncle, what should we do? The Emperor wants to come back with me for the New Year."

Zhang Yong was not surprised to hear this, but smiled wryly and said, "I expected it. The Emperor suddenly said he wanted to visit the disaster victims on the afternoon of the 30th, so I knew he didn't want to go back to the palace for the New Year."

"Alas, you have no idea how much the Emperor has grieved every year on this day since the late Emperor passed away..."

"Take last year for example, the Emperor didn't want to return to the palace for the New Year. No one could persuade him otherwise. In the end, I had to take out your 'The Difficulty of Finding Beauty in the Book' before he finally went back." He sighed, lowering his voice even further.
"Actually, I regretted taking it out... As a result, last year on New Year's Eve, the Empress Dowager had a large group of her family members with her, and the Empress was distant from the Emperor, making the Emperor seem like an outsider. He wanted to leave early, but the Empress Dowager used your invitation to stop him, and he was only allowed to leave after midnight."

Su Lu suddenly realized, "No wonder the Emperor harbored such resentment towards me back then, so that's how it came about!"

"I'm sorry, my dear nephew, I've been meddling." Zhang Yong said apologetically.

"It's alright, Uncle," Su Lu said with a smile. "Every cloud has a silver lining. Otherwise, how would I have met you, young master?"

“Yes, so let’s not upset him.” Zhang Yong said, “Besides, it’s the mighty General Zhu Shou who’s going to the top scholar’s ​​residence for the New Year, not the Emperor.”

Su Lu thought to himself, "Isn't that just pure nonsense? Who doesn't know that Zhu Shou is the emperor's sockpuppet master?"
But one cannot have it all. Now that he has become the most staunch supporter of the emperor, he cannot be like Eunuch Liu back then, still trying not to offend the Empress Dowager...

He nodded and asked, "If someone from the two palaces comes to invite us, we'll have to trouble you, Uncle, to stop them." "Yes," Zhang Yong nodded and said, "The Empress Dowager probably won't do it like last year. I guess if we can't invite her, we'll just give up."

"What about ancestor worship?" Su Lu asked again.

“There’s even less to worry about then. His Majesty never intended to personally perform the sacrifices… He has already ordered the Duke of Yingguo to perform the sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple on his behalf; as for the family temple, three imperial sons-in-law have been arranged to perform the sacrifices on his behalf,” Zhang Yong replied one by one.

"Alright." Su Lu was relieved. He returned to the carriage and smiled at Zhu Shou, "Let's go, brother, home for the New Year!"

Zhu Shou's tense face finally broke into a smile, "Then I'll reluctantly do you a favor."

"Thank you for the reward, General," Su Lu said irritably.

The two men's loud laughter spilled out of the carriage, quickly merging with the sounds of firecrackers echoing throughout the capital...

~~
Ordinary families set off firecrackers, while the rich and powerful set off fireworks.

Which fireworks display in Beijing is the best? The one inside Xizhimen, owned by Liu Jin!
Since the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, fireworks have been a constant feature at the Liu residence. Gunpowder from the palace was continuously delivered to the mansion, and since he didn't have to spend a single penny, Liu Jin allowed the mansion to be filled with revelry and fireworks every night.

Tonight, on New Year's Eve, fireworks are being set off non-stop, as if they're free, with all sorts of fireworks blooming in the night sky... 'Golden Chrysanthemums in Bloom' is like a shower of shattered gold; 'Meteor Chasing the Moon' consists of several silver streaks shooting straight into the clouds, exploding into a shower of stars in an instant; 'A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix' is the most exquisite, where the gunpowder, after burning out, transforms into the shape of a fire phoenix before dissipating after a few moments...

Colorful fireworks illuminated the main hall of the mansion, where Eunuch Liu, dressed in a brocade robe, sat in the main seat, flanked by his entire family. Jiao Fang, Zhang Cai, Liu Yu, and other eunuchs were also present, toasting and drinking, creating a lively atmosphere.

After a few rounds of drinks, Liu Yu raised his glass and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, in previous years, you had to work hard to serve the Emperor on New Year's Eve. Today, you can finally have a peaceful New Year."

"Do you think we wanted this?" Liu Jin took a sip of wine and said with a hint of melancholy, "The Emperor, or rather, the General, has gone to Scholar Su's house for the New Year today."

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent for a moment, no one daring to respond. Only Jiao Fang, whose alcohol tolerance was extremely low and who was already quite drunk, asked suspiciously, "Does His Majesty have some kind of fetish?"

"Shut up! No, don't talk nonsense!" Liu Jin glared at him fiercely, denied it three times in a row, and said in a deep voice, "No one understands the Emperor's preferences better than me. He only loves beautiful women and wild beasts, and has no interest in anything else!"

Jiao Fang was embarrassed by the scolding, but she still couldn't help but mutter, "Then I don't understand. It's one thing for the Emperor and that... surnamed Su to be inseparable on ordinary days, but they even stick together during the New Year. It's too cloying."

Now that Su Lu enjoys the emperor's favor, Jiao Fang no longer dares to use the term "little beast" so casually as before.

Zhang Cai glanced disdainfully at the senile old man who refused to leave, and succinctly pointed out the crux of the matter: "In the end, it's because the Emperor relies too much on Scholar Su. Once a person relies too much on someone, he will mistakenly believe that he cannot live without that person. For the Emperor, Scholar Su is like that for now."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin slammed down his wine cup and sighed dejectedly, "Alas, this year's limelight has indeed been stolen by those young men from the Imperial Household Department. In the future, the Emperor will likely rely on them more and more. If we old folks don't show our prowess soon, we'll probably be overshadowed!"

"Is it really that bad? The Court of Imperial Sacrifices neither participates in government affairs nor has any actual authority..." Many members of the eunuch faction found it hard to believe.

“Wasn’t the cabinet just the emperor’s secretariat back then?” Zhang Cai said quietly.

"They think they're worthy of being compared to the cabinet? Bah!" Jiao Fang was completely drunk.

Liu Jin dismissed it as a drunken tantrum and said to the crowd in a deep voice, "It's not bad for the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to become too powerful, but we can't let them ride roughshod over us, so we have to do something big next year!"

"What important matter is it? Your Majesty, please speak!" The eunuch faction was in high spirits.

"Reorganize the nation's finances and collect all those damned taxes! Always relying on the Emperor for money makes you lose your backbone!"

Jiao Fang, who had already been helped away from her seat by Jiao Huangzhong, turned back and asked upon hearing this:

"Your Majesty, weren't those temples you confiscated the other day? How can you say they were paid for by the Emperor?"

"Can you live off a few dilapidated temples for a lifetime?" Liu Jin finally lost his temper and urged Jiao Huangzhong, "Get your father out of here quickly, don't let him make a fool of himself!"

After Jiao Fang left, Liu Jin glanced at the others and said solemnly, "Don't follow Jiao Fang's example. He's senile and has a grudge against Scholar Su. But you have no grudge against him, so don't offend him unnecessarily!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," the eunuchs hurriedly and respectfully replied.

"And to be fair, his system in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is indeed very well done. With his assistance, the Emperor rebuilt the three major camps, paid their own salaries and raised their own troops, and even distributed land to those soldiers—now, who can interfere with the Imperial Guards? No one can do anything about it! Because those soldiers are now completely devoted to the Emperor, and they would be willing to die for him! Do you believe it or not?"

"I believe you!" Zhang Cai nodded quickly, and the others echoed her sentiment.

They all thought that Eunuch Liu was going to praise Su Lu and find a way to save face, but they underestimated Eunuch Liu. He actually wanted to learn from Su Lu!
(End of this chapter)