I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 5 The Lu Family
"Hmm~"

Opening his eyes, Liu Miao realized that it was already the next day at Chenshi (7-9 AM).

The servant waited at the door. When he saw that Liu Miao was awake, he immediately went forward and smeared the pulp of crushed soap pods on Liu Miao's face, and then wiped it with warm water to clean it.

After wiping his face, someone brought a basin of hot water to help Liu Miao wash his feet to relieve his drunkenness.

With hot water soaking under his feet, a servant brought Liu Miao willow branches with salt for rinsing his mouth, so that his breath wouldn't be too strong after drinking and make the host think he hadn't been treated well.

He rubbed salt on his teeth, washed them with a willow twig, and finally spat the salt water into a foot bath. Immediately, a servant brought chicken tongue incense and presented it to Liu Miao.

The so-called chicken tongue fragrance is a spice produced in the Kunlun Kingdom and Jiaozhou area, and it also has the effect of freshening the breath.

As Liu Miao recovered from his physical exhaustion, he felt fortunate once again for his decision yesterday.

The Lu family of Wu County is truly wealthy!

Whether I can resist Yuan Shu in the future will largely depend on the gentry of Jiangdong!

After washing up, Liu Miao looked at the neatly folded clothes beside the bed.

This outfit is the same one from yesterday's banquet.

This is certainly not because the Lu family is stingy and unwilling to give Liu Miao new clothes.

As stated in "The Lüshi Chunqiu: Division of Duties": When inviting guests to a banquet, after the wine is flowing freely and music is played, "the next day, one should not bow to the one who entertained him, but to the host, because the host made him do so."

The Book of Rites, "The Ritual of Drinking Wine in the Countryside," also records: "The next day, the guests will wear the village clothes to pay homage to the bestowed gifts, and the host will wear the guests' clothes to pay homage to the recipients."

Although Liu Miao hasn't mastered the awkward dance yet, he has diligently studied these basic etiquette rules.

After all, as a member of the Liu family and a prefect with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), if he couldn't even observe proper etiquette, then he probably wouldn't have a chance to survive in the Han Dynasty!

After putting on his clothes, Liu Miao, along with the head servant, went to pay a visit to Lu Kang's residence.

Lu Kang was well-prepared and knew that Liu Miao would come to pay his respects according to etiquette, so he immediately welcomed Liu Miao into his residence and treated him as an honored guest once again.

"I was drunk and acted ridiculously last night, and I am sorry for my inappropriate behavior. Please forgive me, Zhongyi."

Liu Miao was extremely respectful and apologized to Lu Kang for what happened the previous night.

Lu Kangxu said, “As the saying goes, ‘Guests feel at home, without fear of disasters, bandits, or dryness!’ The more unrestrained the guests are here, the more it proves how well I have treated them. Since I, the host, have treated them so well, what fault have the guests committed? Lord Liu’s outburst last night, isn’t that the greatest praise for me?”

After some explanation, the two became even closer!

When Liu Miao entered Lu Kang's house, he was surprised to find that the person accompanying him in the main hall was not Lu Kang's son, Lu Jun, but someone else entirely—

A beautiful woman.

Who was this woman? Liu Miao felt she looked familiar.

Only when Liu Miao saw the large gold plate hanging around the other person's neck did he realize who the other person was!

Lu Xun's mother... Lady Lu!
Liu Miao stepped forward again and bowed in greeting.

"I was drunk last night and offended you, Madam. I hope you will not take offense."

Meanwhile, Lu Kang was also observing Liu Miao from the side.

Seeing that Liu Miao was not as eager as he was yesterday when facing Lu, and that there was no desire for beauty in his eyes, he nodded repeatedly, feeling gratified.

Liu Miao is indeed just as Sun Luyi said, not an ordinary man, much less the lecherous man that the guests thought he was yesterday!
"Lord Liu, you flatter me."

Lady Lu rose gracefully to bow once more. It was at this moment that Liu Miao finally turned his gaze to Lady Lu herself for the first time.

They have graceful figures and gentle faces, often embodying the gentle and refined qualities of women from the Jiangnan region.

With a slender waist and a full bust, she was a stunning beauty.

Unfortunately, in Liu Miao's eyes, none of these things were as alluring as Lu Yi, the son of the Lu family, and the entire Lu family of Wu Commandery and even the gentry of Jiangdong behind her...

"The scene of Prefect Liu singing 'The Reeds' yesterday was truly unforgettable!"

After confirming that Liu Miao was indeed not a wicked person, Lu Kang also began to believe Lu Yi's assessment of Liu Miao from the previous day.

However, the evaluation of "similar to Emperor Gaozu" was too shocking, so Lu Kang still wanted to test Liu Miao's abilities again!
"Last night, Prefect Liu first spoke of 'concern for the country and its people,' but then became unruly and reckless, which I find puzzling... Could it be that Prefect Liu is a poor drinker, which is why he is acting like such a different person?"

coming!

Liu Miao was surprised that Lu Kang was so direct, asking about the contrast of last night!
This question is similar to the "concubine" issue from last night; if answered poorly, it could lead to serious trouble!
Liu Miao straightened his posture and stopped being hypocritical and polite.

He knew that whether he could gain the full support of Lu Kang, the Lu family, and the Jiangdong gentry depended entirely on his performance in the future!
Lu Kang's significance to Liu Miao now goes beyond that of a colleague and a potential future in-law; he is also Liu Miao's angel investor!
Just as Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang married Empress Lü and used her family's wealth to start his rebellion; just as Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu married Guo Shengtong after arriving in Hebei and received the support of Liu Yang, the King of Zhending; just as Liu Bei would marry a member of the Mi family and receive the help of Mi Zhu and Mi Fang's family wealth, Lu Kang was now a turning point in Liu Miao's destiny!
If he could satisfy Lu Kang, he would gain access to the Lu family's wealth and connections, giving him a foothold in Huainan to fight against Yuan Shu.

on the contrary.

If he can't satisfy Lu Kang, forget about these political resources; even the marriage he pretended to agree to yesterday while drunk will probably be rejected. As for Lu Xun, he'll have no chance with him at all. He'll probably only be able to beg Yuan Shu for favors in the near future...

Liu Miao pondered in a deep voice.

Therefore, it is very important to know how to strike the right balance.

Too vulgar... No, it will make Lu Kang think I have no talent.

Being too highbrow... won't work either! It would make Lu Kang think I'm hypocritical, a person who is outwardly loyal but inwardly treacherous.

It's fine to express one's "concern for the country and its people" spontaneously at a banquet. But to bring it up again during a heart-to-heart talk like this would be to say that Liu Miao is simply treating Lu Kang like a fool.

The best solution to this interview is to cater to Lu Kang's preferences and gain his approval.

Yes! This feels like a job interview to Liu Miao right now!
It cannot be entirely useless, nor can it be pretentious.

Most importantly, you need to satisfy the HR representative on the other end!

really……

Whether it's two thousand years ago or two thousand years from now, laborers will always be laborers...

Liu Miao composed himself, glanced at Lu Kang, but then fixed his gaze on the Lu family—

"Aspiring officials should aspire to be commanders of the Imperial Guards."

"One should marry a woman like Yin Lihua!"

"Now that the great edifice is about to collapse, I am single-mindedly devoted to restoring the Han Dynasty, and I have no other desires!"

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Note 1:

The "Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica," compiled during the Han Dynasty, records: "Long leaves hang down thick with oil. Short leaves have tooth-like shapes. Iron-sealed and abundant. Bundled with bamboo strips, they scatter and release smoke. When used to mix wine, the wind stops. Blue scales live for a hundred years. They remove dirt and remain evergreen." This shows that soap pods were already used as a cleaning agent at that time.

(End of this chapter)