The Tang Dynasty: Wu Zetian made me her imperial tutor

"Imperial Edict: Lu Jun, the Attendant Gentleman of the Palace and Left Reminder, is of refined and far-sighted knowledge, quick-witted and insightful in his studies. He serves in the Left Secretariat with diligence and dedication. He recently presented three volumes of the Classic of Tea, which meticulously analyzes and elaborates on the origins and development of tea. This not only demonstrates his ability to recount ancient practices but also deserves commendation. Therefore, he is hereby appointed Attendant Gentleman of the Palace and continues to serve as Left Reminder."

Because Lu Jun was an honest official, his promotion was decided personally by the Empress Dowager and did not need to be reviewed by the Wenchangtai (the official in charge of literature and literature).

The draft was prepared by the inner court officials, submitted to the Phoenix Pavilion for decree and the Luan Terrace for approval, and then returned to the Empress Dowager for imperial edict.

The speed of the process was within Lu Jun's expectations; what she didn't expect was...

The inner attendant came in person.

Perhaps it was because the Empress Dowager's preface to "The Classic of Tea" was also brought along at the same time, which she also wrote.

Shangguan Wan'er, dressed in a scarlet scholar's robe, was elegant and graceful, standing gracefully in front of the door.

His voice was clear and bright when he read the imperial edict, but he became somewhat reserved and his eyes flickered afterward.

"Please allow me to speak in the main hall, Your Excellency. Let me serve you a cup of tea to express my gratitude for Your Excellency's imperial decree and the preface you have presented."

Upon hearing Lu Jun's invitation, Wan'er glanced at the carriage driver, nodded, and followed him inside.

After all, receiving the imperial envoy who came to deliver the imperial edict was a matter of proper etiquette for a subject.

Yan Niang and Ying Niang, who were watching from outside the main hall, knelt in a corner while whispering among themselves:

"Is she Consort Shangguan? I heard she also came from the Imperial Harem, and is extremely talented, much favored by the Empress Dowager."

"Wow, she's so beautiful, with such long legs and such a great figure..."

"She has a plum blossom on her forehead; I don't know if it's from a thorn or painted on, but it's so alluring. I want to learn how to do it too..."

"So you want to learn this so your husband can see it? Yan Niang, I knew you had this little scheme in mind!"

"Yingniang, shut up! Who is it that sings every day to entertain their husband and make him unable to leave you?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down... Do you think Consort Shangguan will be able to get married in the future? Will she marry into our family?"

"What are you thinking? She's a concubine in the palace!"

Upon seeing the palace visitors, the two whispered and chatted amongst themselves, completely forgetting to serve tea to their guests.

Wan'er was an imperial envoy. After being welcomed to the seat of honor, she was embarrassed and didn't know what to say when she saw that the host hadn't offered her tea.

Suddenly, he saw Lu Jun bowing down to him and respectfully kowtowing several times.

"Ah, why is Shiyi performing such a grand ceremony? Didn't you already express your gratitude outside the door?" Wan'er exclaimed in surprise.

It's getting increasingly cramped.

Lu Jun straightened up: "Previously, I was trapped in the prison. If it weren't for the help of my attendant, Lord Shen, Vice Minister Li, and the princess would not have known, and I would not have been able to get out."

Wan'er was taken aback, her brows furrowing slightly: "How could this Minister have said it out loud!"

She had instructed Shen Quanqi not to reveal her secrets, lest the Empress Dowager find out and bring disaster upon him.

The prevailing account at the time was that the minor official first consulted Lu Jun's classmate and the Jinwu Guard of Wuhoupu, and then Shen Quanqi analyzed and deduced the information.

Throughout the entire process, she only relayed Shen Quanqi's guesses, so no one else would notice anything strange.

Unexpectedly, Shen Quanqi couldn't keep his mouth shut...

Lu Jun smiled slightly: "Master Shen didn't say."

Wan'er exclaimed, "How did you know?"

"Two reasons," Lu Jun said, extending her index finger.

"First, it's difficult to connect the cruel official and the Lijing Gate based solely on the information obtained from the minor officials in the Examination and Evaluation Department."

"I set off as soon as the gates opened that day, but I did not arrive at the capital for a long time. From this, I can only deduce that I may have seen someone or encountered something. That's all."

"On the eve of the imperial examination, I met with the Prince of Nan'an. How could a lowly official like myself possibly guess that it was related to cruel officials?"

"Since they couldn't guess who the cruel official was, why would they specifically go to Wuhoupu to ask about the Imperial Guard's carriages?"

There is a logical gap in the entire chain of actions of the minor official.

Even if he were shrewd and capable, he would at most ask Cui Jing and Lu Yuan in detail, but he never thought he would ask Wuhoupu.

Unless he assumes that Lu Jun was kidnapped, he will not actively seek more evidence.

"And the second reason?"

Shangguan Wan'er listened to Lu Jun's meticulous analysis and couldn't help but want to hear him continue explaining how he discovered his own secret.

"Secondly, the Imperial Guards couldn't possibly recognize the carriage as belonging to the prison." Lu Jun then extended her middle finger.

"When I came out of the prison, I observed the carriages parked at the gate, and they did indeed have the special markings of the Judicial Office."

"But the markings were just black letters painted on the side of the carriages, without any separate flags or tokens, making them difficult to identify."

"The Imperial Guards wouldn't even notice the markings, and even if they tried to observe them carefully, it was still dark when the gates opened, so they couldn't see them clearly."

"At that time, I could barely distinguish passersby, let alone the Imperial Guards standing on the watchtower!"

Lu Jun concluded: "Therefore, I deduce that Lord Shen must have been hiding something at the time, because he was protecting someone, and given the circumstances, it could only be a retainer."

call--

Shangguan Wan'er sighed: "You really are clever."

Suddenly, her eyes flashed with reproach as she glared at me: "If you're going to thank me, why were you staring at me so rudely when we were drinking tea in the palace that day?"

Lu Jun's gaze swept over her chest at the time, and although she managed to cover it up, she was still vaguely angry when she thought about it afterward.

"Because you are so handsome, I couldn't resist... I apologize to you." Lu Jun bowed deeply.

"You..." Wan'er flew up in a burst of light.

She wanted to get up and leave, but hadn't even had a sip of tea. Resentful, she pouted, "Don't talk nonsense like that! Aren't you afraid someone will hear such frivolous remarks?"

"Does the Master mean that it's okay to speak if no one is listening?" Lu Jun asked with a smile.

"Tsk! How frivolous!" Wan'er rolled her eyes at him, but a sweet feeling secretly arose in her heart.

She was originally lively, but she was suppressed in the deep palace and was always careful in her words and deeds, for fear of making mistakes and being punished.

Seeing Lu Jun's exceptional talent and witty conversation, she couldn't help but want to see him often, but she couldn't show it and could only restrain herself even more.

Hearing him praise her beauty and joke with her, she felt relaxed.

Lu Jun pointed to her forehead: "You didn't originally have a plum blossom between your eyebrows, did you draw it on yourself?"

"Isn't this your fault?"

After Wan'er finished speaking, she secretly regretted being too relaxed and saying such things. How could she explain it...?

At this moment, Yan Niang finally brought the tea. She caught a glimpse of Wan'er's rosy face and quickly retreated to a distance.

What did her husband do to make Lady Shangguan so embarrassed?

Wan'er picked up her teacup and took a sip. Before Lu Jun could press further, she changed the subject: "Um... why is trade always effective? Will foreign tribes follow the rules?"

He lowered his eyes, wondering what question he wanted to ask.

Lu Jun was taken aback and scratched his head: "Is Your Excellency really interested in this question?"

"Hmm, your discussion is very interesting, but there are some things I don't understand..." Wan'er brushed it off.

Actually, I don't know why, but after taking a sip of tea, I thought of the tea-horse trade and just asked casually.

"That's right. Historically, there's a pattern among nomadic peoples: whenever the Central Plains dynasties are powerful, the grasslands tend to unify..."

"For example, after the Qin and Han dynasties unified China, the Xiongnu, who were not very powerful before, suddenly unified the northern desert."

"After the Northern Wei unified the sixteen kingdoms in the north, the previously chaotic northern desert was conquered by the Rouran."

"After the Sui and Tang dynasties reunified the country, the Turks rose up again in the once-declining northern desert."

"Does the servant know the reason?"

"The attendant? The attendant?"

Lu Jun called out several times to confirm that the other person was not asleep.

"Cough cough..." Wan'er forced a sip of tea. "Shiyi, please continue. I don't know the reason, but I'm listening to you..."

She started speaking out of nowhere, and then became so engrossed in the lecture that she lost herself in it.

Lu Jun then continued:

"The reason is that the nomadic peoples of the grasslands needed the Han people's food, cloth and other daily necessities. Before the Central Plains were unified, all the forces were willing to do business with the nomadic peoples in exchange for their support."

"When the Central Plains were unified, trade was often restricted, leaving no grassland tribes with resources and unable to compete with the Central Plains."

"Since the tribes could not defeat the Central Plains, they could only fight among themselves for territory. In the end, a new grassland overlord was always born."

"Therefore, when the tribes split, the court's planned opening of trade routes actually prevented them from merging."

"For tribes that do not abide by the rules of trade, close their checkpoints and only do business with those who do."

"Each tribe fears weakening and being swallowed up by other tribes, so they have no choice but to accept trade."

"I see!" Wan'er finally understood.

Her pretty face was filled with admiration as she exclaimed:

"Shiyi is truly knowledgeable and has a broad perspective. No wonder the Empress Dowager trusts him so much; he's been promoted two ranks in just one month!"

"From what I've seen over the years, apart from cruel officials and sycophantic ministers who offer auspicious omens, you've risen the fastest."

Lu Jun laughed heartily: "Actually, in the end, wasn't my promotion and reward also due to presenting auspicious omens?"

*Pfft*

Seeing his honesty, Wan'er couldn't help but laugh: "How can you talk about yourself like that! You clearly offered many good strategies, I heard them all clearly."

I felt relaxed and comfortable chatting with him, and I didn't want to finish the cup of tea in my hand and put it down.

Now that the conversation had started, her previous restraint vanished, and she asked, "With such talent, what are your future aspirations?"

Lu Jun pondered for a moment before replying, "Actually, I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe... it's just that I don't want to live an ordinary life."

How far it can go, it doesn't know.

But the moment he wrote the policy document, his only thought was to forge ahead bravely, take big strides, and never look back.

Wan'er nodded: "So you want to achieve great things, be ennobled, and become a high-ranking official, right?"

This ambition is not surprising; given Lu Jun's abilities, she felt that day was not far off.

"It is not necessary to be granted a title or a high-ranking position."

Lu Jun smiled and said, "I really want to ask the Empress Dowager, what kind of merit is required to marry this lady?"

I've met quite a few women these past few days, and in terms of figure, appearance, and temperament, the woman in front of me is truly outstanding.

Moreover, he saw her on his very first day in the Tang Dynasty, and it seemed like they were destined to meet.

If it's negotiable, things like being granted titles and high-ranking positions could really be exchanged...

Wan'er was wearing a light crimson robe of the fifth rank, but at this moment her pretty face was suddenly covered with purple satin, which was much more intense than her clothes.

The teacup crashed to the ground, spilling tea onto the mat.

She jumped to her feet, glaring fiercely at Lu Jun: "I'm leaving, lest you get me killed!"

Before leaving the house, he quickly fanned himself with his sleeve, but he couldn't shake off the sunset glow on his face.

She rolled her eyes at Lu Jun again.

As he stepped his right leg over the threshold, he suddenly remembered something:

"By the way, the Prime Minister and the Vice Minister of War have both been advising the Empress Dowager these past few days to postpone the military campaign to avoid being unprepared and suffering a defeat. Would you like to try and persuade her as well?"

"You came up with the strategy. If everyone else tries to advise you but you don't, you'll be criticized in the future..."

Lu Jun shook her head: "Thank you for the reminder, but I will visit Minister Li tomorrow and accept the scolding directly."

"I'm just reminding you unnecessarily!" Wan'er said with a light reproach.

Her eyes curved into a smile.