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Chapter 58 Meeting the Saint
As it was inconvenient to reveal his identity, Zhu Yu had to pick up the carriage that was left at the post station later. He had to ride on horseback all the way back to Beijing.

She can ride a horse, but that doesn't mean she likes riding a horse.

Whether in the past or now, this was the first time she had ridden a horse for such a long distance. She originally thought it would be very cool, but after walking for most of the day, she only felt her thighs were sore and her buttocks were almost broken by the saddle.

After finally arriving in Beijing, she thought that she would have nothing to do the rest of the time, but unexpectedly, Lu Qing had no intention of letting her leave alone. She could only continue riding and follow him forward, not knowing where they were going.

As she walked, she vaguely felt that something was wrong.

I saw the road ahead was getting wider and wider, but there was no one on the road at all. It was so quiet around that even the sound of horse hooves was particularly clear.

After walking for a while, Zhu Yu finally understood - they were taking Li Wencai straight to the palace!
Zhu Yu's heart beat faster and he looked down at the black suit he was wearing. He thought he couldn't see anything wrong with it, so he took two deep breaths and finally calmed down a little.

Although his father was also a vassal king and a top figure in Shuo Kingdom, he was indeed not good enough in front of Emperor Jin, the ruler of the world.

What's more, King Shuo Zhucheng is a person with a carefree personality. He is rough but not sophisticated enough. When dealing with him, just be straightforward and there is no need to worry about anything.

Emperor Jin is different.

There are many rumors about Emperor Jin in the outside world, and Zhu Yu couldn’t count the number of them he had heard of on one hand.

No matter how big the discrepancies are between those statements, they all have one thing in common - this person is extremely thoughtful and suspicious, and no one can guess his moods and likes and dislikes.

He may be drinking and chatting with you one moment, and suddenly change his attitude the next moment, and order someone to kill you for finding some fault of yours.

Zhu Yu believed that anyone who could climb over mountains of corpses and seas of blood and finally sit on the throne must not be a simple character. She couldn't help but worry whether it was a good idea for Lu Qing to bring her into the palace like this.

A group of people marched over in a mighty procession. The guards outside the palace saw such a big scene from afar and immediately became alert. When they got closer and saw the golden mask on Lu Qing's face, they calmed down, put back the iron spears they had raised to their sides, and clasped their fists towards Lu Qing.

"Your Excellency, His Majesty has instructed that if you come, you must leave the accompanying imperial guards and the prisoners you have brought back outside the palace gates, and only bring a few of your personal followers into the palace.

His Majesty is waiting for you in the Southern Study." The man guarding the palace gate was a junior official from the Imperial Guards, clad in silver armor. He seemed very familiar with the Golden-faced Censor. After a brief exchange of greetings, the two relayed the Emperor's instructions.

Lu Qing nodded and signaled the imperial guards and the prison cart to stay, and Zhu Yu and the Fu brothers followed him into the palace.

The four of them dismounted at the palace gate and walked in. There were already eunuchs guarding the palace gate. When they saw them come in, they immediately led the four of them to the South Study.

Zhu Yu was finally able to get off the horse and take a walk, which was quite nice. However, he couldn't help but feel doubtful while walking.

She was very sure that from the day before until this journey, Lu Qing had absolutely not sent anyone back to Beijing to report the news in advance in any way, nor had he mentioned to anyone his intention to go directly into the palace.

It was almost midnight, but everyone in the palace, from the Shaoqing of the Weiwei Temple who led the troops on night duty to the eunuchs in the palace, knew that the Golden-faced Censor was coming.

This naturally proved one thing—the mysterious Chifu Guards were no mere name, and certainly not Lu Qing's men. The palace was completely silent, and Zhu Yu didn't dare to relax even a little. He followed Lu Qing closely, and the four of them were quickly led outside the South Study.

The lights in the southern study were brightly lit. In front of the door stood a middle-aged eunuch with a pale face and no beard. He came forward from a distance and saluted with a friendly smile on his face: "This old servant greets the censor!

When the emperor heard that you were coming, he has been reading the memorials here, waiting for you. He also asked me to prepare hot tea a long time ago, just waiting for you!
Your Excellency has traveled hard and must be very tired. It is already late at night. Please help me persuade Your Majesty to rest early. There is no time to finish reading the memorial!"

Zhu Yu looked at the eunuch from behind the mask calmly.

He said this softly, but it was clearly a warning to Lu Qing, telling him not to talk with Emperor Jin for too long, to be tactful and make it short and leave quickly.

This made Zhu Yu curious.

The Emperor Jin was naturally well aware that the Golden-faced Censor was Lu Qing, the Prince of Freedom. But what about the eunuchs who served him? Did they also know about this?

A eunuch actually dared to hint to the Golden-faced Censor, who was personally appointed by Emperor Jin, not to stay for long. In any case, this person was very bold.

Lu Qing didn't say anything. He walked past the eunuch to the door, stepped over the high threshold and walked in.

This southern study was not very big and had a simple layout. There was a huge desk piled with memorials. Emperor Jin, dressed in dark gold casual clothes, was sitting behind the desk, concentrating on reading the first batch. When he heard Lu Qing enter, he looked towards the door with a rather cordial smile on his face.

Lu Qing bowed as a subject, and Zhu Yu followed behind him, imitating the runes and talismans and performing the movements exactly.

"My dear minister, you have worked hard this time. There is no need to be so polite. Come, please take a seat!" Emperor Jin called to the eunuch beside him.

"Your Majesty, I am only fulfilling my duty." Lu Qing's voice behind the mask remained low and emotionless, as if he were completely unfamiliar with Emperor Jin. "This time, I have gained a lot in Qingshui County, which is under the jurisdiction of the Congzhou Prefecture. I cannot wait until tomorrow to attend court. I have hurried to the palace tonight to report to Your Majesty."

As he spoke, he took out the three account books that he had searched out from Li Wencai's study, leaned over slightly, and raised the account books above his head.

Emperor Jin waved his hand, and the eunuch hurried forward to take the booklet from Lu Qing and presented it to Emperor Jin's desk.

Emperor Jin took it and looked through it.

Zhu Yu also took this opportunity to pluck up the courage to look up and secretly take a look at the common ruler of the world.

Although he was sitting, it was not difficult to tell from his shoulder width and body shape that Emperor Jin was very tall, which was probably related to his experience of fighting on the battlefield. Even though he was about fifty years old now, he still looked strong, without any signs of fatigue that were common among older people. He did not look pale like those who had lived indoors for a long time, but had a dark complexion and a pair of bright eyes.

At this moment, he was looking at Li Wencai's account book in his hand, frowning slightly from time to time, with a hint of gloom flashing in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

After flipping through the three account books, Emperor Jin snorted coldly, suddenly raised his hand, and threw the account books hard on the ground in front of the desk. The sound was so loud that it not only scared Zhu Yu who was standing behind Lu Qing, but also made the eunuchs who were serving on the side tremble. Then they hurriedly knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, not knowing what to do.

(End of this chapter)