Chapter 1076: Disobeying the Imperial Edict
One should not judge a book by its cover. When Lu Zhou first met Xiao Yunhe, outwardly, Xiao Yunhe was rather ordinary. However, Xiao Yunhe’s formerly undamaged 12 Birth Charts and his hexagonal weapon spoke of his past glory.
The problem now was Lu Zhou did not know where Xiao Yunhe had gone. Since the time they parted, he had not heard any news of Xiao Yunhe.
“Do you know of Xiao Yunhe’s current location?” Lu Zhou asked.
Lu Qianshan shook his head, indicating that he did not know.
At this moment, Si Wuya said, “Master, Tower Master Xiao will return to the Black Tower Council sooner or later.”
Lu Zhou nodded. “Send a message to Jiang Jiuli and ask him to pay attention to this matter.”
Si Wuya said, “Jiang Jiuli is just a judge. It’s likely he’s not privy to many matters in the Upper Tower. Apart from that, the Black Tower Council knows of master and Tower Master Xiao’s good relations.h.i.+p, and they probably wish that isn’t the case. I think we can directly approach the Fourth Elder of the Black Tower Council, Lu Si, and ask him to pay attention to this matter. Lu Si was unharmed during the collective demotion of the Black Tower Council. He’s cunning and a notorious conservative. I think he’s the easiest to manipulate…”
“Alright, I’ll leave this matter to you…” Lu Zhou said.
“Understood.”
The collective demotion of the Black Tower Council was all thanks to the Supreme Mystic Card. Now that Lu Zhou did not have the card, he did not feel safe dealing with the Black Tower Council. It was best to let his seventh disciple use his wits to deal with the Black Tower Council.
Lu Zhou looked at the sky outside.
Just as Lu Zhou Was about to rise to his feet and leave, the old butler suddenly rushed into the hall. “Master, someone from the palace is here!”
Lu Qianshan stood up and said angrily, “They’re going too far!”
Lu Zhou had just taken the blue crystal from Lu Qianshan. Most importantly, Lu Qianshan had been extremely cooperative about it. It would be too cruel for him to ignore this matter. Moreover, this was Lu Li’s family, and the Lu clan’s ancestor and he shared a resemblance. It was fate. Therefore, he asked, “What’s going on?”
Lu Qianshan said angrily, “Back in the day, I led an army to the west and fought against the foreign tribes. In those days, I traveled far and wide and subdued many barbarians! Now that the country is peaceful, they want to get rid of me!” After a moment of silence, he calmed down and said with a sigh, “It’s all my fault that the Lu clan didn’t live up to expectations; I can’t blame anyone…”
At this moment, a group of people forced their way into the s.p.a.cious yard outside the hall.
A eunuch’s loud voice rang in the air soon after.
“General Lu, come out and receive the Imperial edict.”
Lu Qianshan ignored the eunuch. He only placed his hands on his back as he looked outside.
On the other hand, the old butler was so anxious that his face grew red. He looked to the left and the right, not knowing what to do.
“General Lu, come out and receive the Imperial edict.”
This time, the voice reverberated through the Lu clan’s estate after being infused with energy.
With this, the guards in the Lu clan’s estate rushed over.
Following that, the members of the Lu clan arrived one after another as well.
When the eunuch saw the elegant and graceful Madam Lu, he said, “Madam Lu, where is General Lu? It’s time for him to come out and receive the Imperial edict.”
Lu Qianshan’s wife, naturally, did not dare to speak on behalf of her husband.
At the same time, the other members of the Lu Clan began to persuade Lu Qianshan’s wife with troubled and anxious expressions on their faces.
“Madam Lu, hurry up and persuade Master to receive the Imperial edict!”
“Our Lu clan can’t afford to offend the royal family. Refusing to receive the Imperial edict is a great crime.”
The members of the Lu clan knew the clan’s status was declining day by day and had already foreseen this situation. However, they did not expect it to come so early.
In the end, Madam Lu looked at the women of the Lu clan and said, “All of you, come with me.”
“Understood.”
With that, the women from the Lu clan began to make their way to the hall. However, before they could enter the hall, a voice rang from inside.
“No one’s allowed to enter the hall.”
Madam Lu and the other women came to a halt immediately.
Following that, Lu Qianshan said, “Eunuch Zhang, you can leave the Imperial edict behind and take your leave.”
“If I don’t witness General Lu personally receiving the Imperial edict, I’m afraid I won’t be able to explain myself. I hope General Lu won’t make things difficult for me,” Eunuch Zhang said rather defiantly despite being just a eunuch.
After a moment, Lu Qianshan walked out of the hall. When Eunuch Zhang was about to read the Imperial edict, he grabbed the Imperial edict and said, “There’s no need for you to read it. I’ve already received the Imperial edict. You can leave now.”
Eunuch Zhang did not get angry. Instead, he chuckled and said, “The Imperial edict represents the emperor. If it weren’t because we have such a good relations.h.i.+p, just this act of yours is enough to sentence you to death.”
Lu Qianshan said, “Eunuch Zhang, do you think I am scared? Are you fiercer than the barbarians I’d faced?”
“…”
“When I roamed the battlefield, you didn’t even have the right to speak…”
Eunuch Zhang said nonchalantly, “General Lu, what’s the point of venting your anger on me? Fine, I’ll leave. It doesn’t matter that I don’t read the Imperial edict as long as you’ve received it. Let’s go!” Then, he waved the horsetail whisk in his hand and turned to this troubled place.
Although Eunuch Zhang was just a eunuch, he would sometimes use his power to bully those below him. However, no matter how the Lu clan had declined, he still did not dare to bully the Lu clan. It would be the end of him if word spread that he had bullied the Lu clan.
At this moment, Lu Zhou’s calm voice rang from the hall.
“Wait.”
Eunuch Zhang was stunned. He was a cultivator as well so he could tell the voice that was laced with slight energy was directed at him. He spun around instinctively and looked at the hall. He watched as two young men emerged from the hall.
The young man on the left walked out with his hands resting on his back while the young man on the right seemed rather respectful of the person next to him when he walked out.
The members of the Lu clan looked at each other in confusion.
“Who are these people?”
“I didn’t know we have guests…”
“They’re both young. Could one of them be a young master of a wealthy family in the capital?”
Fortunately, not many of the members of the Lu clan had seen the portrait of their ancestor. Hence, they did not think anything was strange.
Lu Qianshan turned around and bowed. “Pavilion Master Lu.”
Eunuch Zhang was dumbfounded. There was actually a young man in this world who could make Lu Qianshan act so respectfully? He s.h.i.+fted his eyes to Lu Zhou and wondered about Lu Zhou’s ident.i.ty.
At this moment, Lu Zhou raised his hand casually. The Imperial edict flew out of Lu Qianshan’s hand into his hand. He unrolled it to have a look.
The words were euphemistic, but the message was simple. To sum it up, Lu Qianshan was being ordered to retire, leave the capital, and return to his hometown. The Lu clan’s estate in the capital was to be returned, or more truthfully, confiscated, to the royal family in exchange for a comfortable courtyard in the Annan Province.
After reading the Imperial edict, Lu Zhou casually tossed it into the air and reduced it to ashes with his karmic fire.
Eunuch Zhang was shocked. He wondered what kind of background the young man in front of him possessed that he was so bold as to knowingly destroy the Imperial edict. For a moment, he wondered if the young man was from the white lotus domain.
Eunuch Zhang who was by the emperor’s side all year round knew that cultivators could not be judged by their appearances. The stronger they were, the easier it was for them to disguise themselves. For this reason, he did not dare to underestimate the seemingly young man in front of him.
Lu Zhou said with a hint of haughtiness that was engraved into his bones, “Return and tell your emperor that this old man had received the Imperial edict on Lu Qianshan’s behalf.”
‘This old man?’ Eunuch Zhang was slightly stunned. Was the young man a monstrous cultivator like Lan Xihe?
Alas, the eunuch next to Eunuch Zhang was not as wise as Eunuch Zhang. He said, “Young man, you really don’t know the immensity of heaven and earth. You dare to treat the Imperial edict in such a manner!”
Lu Zhou glanced at the eunuch briefly and called out tonelessly, “Lu Qianshan.”
“Your orders?” Lu Qianshan straightened his back before he faced Lu Zhou.
“Slap,” Lu Zhou said curtly, true to his style of speaking.
‘Slap? Slap what?’ Lu Qianshan was confused. Perhaps, he was so used to enduring that he had yet to adapt to Lu Zhou’s bold style of doing things. However, when he saw the direction of Lu Zhou’s gaze, realization dawned on him immediately.
Swoos.h.!.+
Without any more words, Lu Qianshan flashed in front of the eunuch next to Eunuch Zhang and slapped him.
Smack!
The eunuch was sent flying back. The pain on his cheek was unbearable as he rolled on the ground after landing. Before he could even scream in pain, he had already fainted. Alas, this slap probably cost him half his life.
Lu Qianshan was a martial artist, not a civil servant. He had dreamed countless times about beating up the cunning officials. Therefore, he felt rather moved after slapping the eunuch.
“Lu Qianshan, you…” Eunuch Zhang did not dare to speak to Lu Zhou. However, he knew Lu Qianshan very well. He directed his words at Lu Qianshan and angrily said, “Lu Qianshan, this is His Majesty’s decree. Nothing will change even if you kill all of us! You can’t change the result.”
Lu Qianshan felt as though he had been doused with a bucket of ice water after listening to these words.
At this time, Lu Zhou, who was standing on the steps, said, “I can change it.”
“What?”
Lu Zhou said, “Are you returning to the palace?”
“Now that I’ve pa.s.sed on the Imperial edict, I naturally have to return to the palace,” Eunuch Zhang said.
“Alright, let’s go together.”
Lu Qianshan and Eunuch Zhang. “…”
They both thought, ‘What a direct person!’
“Lu Qianshan, come with me,” Lu Zhou said.
Lu Qianshan was stunned.
When Lu Zhou saw Lu Qianshan hesitating, he asked, “Are you afraid?”
Upon hearing these words, Lu Qianshan said, “Who’s afraid? Let’s go then!”