Chapter 370: The Sorrow of Being an Emperor
Time flies, and five years have passed unknowingly. Many major events have happened in these five years. Taikang has been prosperous and stable, and there is peace both at home and abroad. Everything seems to have not changed, and yet everything seems to have changed so much.

After the court session that day, Lu Fang thought of what his old friend had entrusted to him. He did not leave the palace, but said goodbye to his brother and went directly to the inner palace.

As soon as we arrived in front of His Majesty’s Jiaotai Hall, the senior eunuch promoted by His Majesty himself came to greet us with a smile.

“Hey, Young Master Lu, why are you here? Do you want to see His Majesty for something?”

Lu Fang nodded, smiled and bowed to the other party, “Greetings, my dear friend. Today I have something to ask your Majesty. I wonder if your Majesty is free?”

The eunuch bowed to Lu Fang in return and said with a smile, “Oh, that’s unfortunate. His Majesty is meeting with the two prime ministers inside right now. I’m afraid he won’t be available for a while.”

“Oh?” Lu Fang raised his eyebrows and pretended to be casual. “So it’s to meet the two prime ministers. Then, do you know what the two prime ministers want to see Your Majesty for?”

“Well…” The eunuch knew it, and he knew it very well!
Thinking that the person in front of him was a trusted minister of His Majesty, even if he didn’t tell him about this, His Majesty would let him know sooner or later, so he leaned over, raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the harem, and spoke in a low voice.

“I won’t hide it from Young Master Lu. It’s not because of anything else. The two Prime Ministers are still talking about the position in the future!”

Lu Fang looked in the direction of the other person’s finger and saw the location of the Pepper Room in the harem, and he understood.

“Oh I got it.”

“Isn’t it so? Actually, this matter… Alas!” The chief eunuch hit his thigh, sighing, feeling infinite emotion in his heart.

Speaking of this matter, it is not easy for his Majesty either.

His Majesty, the woman he likes does not like him; his Majesty has feelings for her, but she is not interested; he wants to marry her but cannot; even though he sits on the supreme throne, he is forced by all the court officials to marry a woman he does not like. In order to balance the court and stabilize the political situation, his Majesty compromises and marries many women, but none of them is the one he loves.

Just take a concubine, but I thought, you can control how I take concubines, but can you control how I sleep? For the sake of court affairs, His Majesty compromised, and except for the vacant position of Queen, the harem was filled with four concubines, twelve imperial concubines, twenty-four noble ladies, forty-eight maids, and seventy-two beauties, all of whom were invited by ministers with ulterior motives and were arranged by them.

His Majesty thought that this would bring peace to his mind, right? No, not at all!
From the moment she entered the harem, this concubine used all means to make the harem restless. The four concubines fought for power and profit, and the court officials in front of him also cared whether he slept with women or had a son!
They kept chattering, talking about benevolence, righteousness, and morality, and how having offspring was of great importance and the foundation of the country was of great importance. This made even this rootless eunuch like him unable to hold back from cursing. His Majesty was still so young, so why would he have to worry about not having an heir?
The emperor is really not in a hurry, bah, bah, anyway, those guys out there have bad intentions!
Poor Majesty, for the sake of maintaining stability in the court, under the coercion of his ministers, he closed his eyes and began to favor the harem. In the following three years, princes and princesses were born in the palace one after another, and the oldest was already three years old. So he was no longer short of heirs.

There is no shortage of offspring now, right? These ministers started to make trouble again, saying that Your Majesty’s position as queen is vacant, and that a country without a mother is not decent, and that the queen should be appointed as the legitimate queen.

My goodness, he has children and concubines, but what does the Queen have to do with him? Are all these ministers just idle and well-fed? They nag all day long and are so annoying. Only his Majesty is magnanimous and tolerant.

But when I think about it, it’s not right! After Your Majesty compromises and appoints the Queen, will these unfortunate guys come to advise Your Majesty to appoint a Crown Prince?
It’s really a hassle. It makes me annoyed just thinking about how he is a eunuch.

It’s just a pity for his Majesty. He is an emperor and owns the whole world, but he can never get a close person. He is all alone and is constantly oppressed by these ministers in the name of doing good for him. It’s so miserable and cold.

What the chief eunuch was thinking was also known to Lu Fang and other confidants.

Seeing the eunuch’s appearance, Lu Fang, who knew the inside story, didn’t say much. He just presented the gift he had specially prepared for the eunuch, which made the other party very happy.

“Otomo has devoted himself to His Majesty and has worked hard for her. This is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you can help pass on the message. Please see if Your Majesty can have time to see me after he has met with the two Prime Ministers. I have something important to discuss with Your Majesty today.”

The eunuch secretly touched the things Lu Fang stuffed in his mouth, and smiled until his teeth were exposed. He secretly thought that the two masters of the Lu family were very sensible and considerate. No wonder they were liked by everyone. He nodded hurriedly. “Young Master Lu, please wait a moment. I will go in and report.”

“Thank you, Otomo.”

After watching the other party enter, Lu Fang didn’t have to wait long outside before the chief eunuch came out and nodded to him, meaning that His Majesty was free. He was then taken to a side hall by a junior eunuch to serve tea. In fact, he didn’t have to wait long, less than an hour, before the chief eunuch came to invite him in person.

“Young Master Lu, please come in. His Majesty has summoned you.”

Lu Fang did not dare to delay, and quickly put down the teacup in his hand, followed the eunuch out of the side hall and into the main hall. When he entered the door, he happened to meet two people coming out. Lu Fang stepped aside and quickly bowed respectfully with his hands clasped together.

When the other party saw him, he had no expression on his face. He snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, and walked away in a bad mood. His attitude was so bad that it seemed that he did not take the two sons of the Lu family seriously.

Fortunately, Lu Fang didn’t care. He smiled calmly, straightened his clothes, and Lord Lu followed the eunuch into the hall in an elegant manner.

When he came in, Lu Fang saw two young eunuchs picking up the memorials scattered on the ground. Looking at the emperor with a gloomy face behind the dragon case, Lu Fang said that the two eunuchs in front might have angered his majesty again.

Yes, in order to maintain checks and balances, they had two prime ministers during the Taikang period. But the result was that the people who were supposed to check and balance each other were unusually harmonious and united in forcing Your Majesty to enthrone the Queen. In addition, their subordinates openly and secretly supported the court officials who were dependent on them. It would be strange if Your Majesty was not furious under such pressure.

Seeing Lu Fang coming in, he lifted his robe and was about to kowtow and greet. Shen Yue waved his hand to prevent Lu Fang from doing so and just watched him as calmly as possible.

“Why is Lu Qing here today? What’s the matter that makes you so anxious to see me?”

Since he came to ask for a meeting, there was no reason for Lu Fang to hide anything. When Shen Yue asked the eunuch to sit down for him, Lu Fang stepped forward and replied respectfully.

“In reply to your Majesty, I came here today because someone asked me to do so. I wonder if your Majesty still remembers the Xinhai Pavilion that day?”

“What’s wrong with Xinhai Pavilion?”

“Your Majesty, back then, Xinhai Pavilion was owned by your Majesty, Miss Li, Doctor Ji, me, and the head of the Gu family who was in charge of the business. Later, the emperor in the south rebelled and Xinhai Pavilion was forced to close. Fortunately, your Majesty pacified the world and the country was peaceful and the people were safe. Xinhai Pavilion was reopened five years ago. Today, the head of Gu has also brought people to Beijing to open a branch pavilion in Kyoto. The reason why I am here today is because the head of Gu found me and gave me the shares of the past five years to pass on to your Majesty.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is!” Shen Yue murmured. He didn’t take it seriously at first and was about to wave his hand. Suddenly, he thought of something. He straightened his body and asked anxiously, “Since she is an old friend and sent a share here, have you asked her if there is any news about Yaoguang? Has her share been taken away?”

It was a pity to say that five years had passed since the incident at the Meridian Gate and he had ascended the throne. Even though he held power and was wealthy, there was no news of her.

When questioned by the emperor, Lu Fang froze. He knew that his majesty was concerned, but unfortunately he didn’t know the details because Gu Qing didn’t say. Now that he was asked, he could only tell the truth.

“Your Majesty, I don’t know the details.” Seeing his superior’s expression, he was afraid that he was too worried, so he wanted to comfort him. In addition, he also wanted to know the news of his old friend. After careful consideration, Lu Fang said: “Your Majesty, if you have any questions, how about I leave the palace and bring the head of the family to the palace for you to ask in person?”

“Okay!” Shen Yue’s eyes lit up when he heard it. He stood up and waved to Lu Fang, “Lu Aiqing, I trust you and I entrust everything to you. Go quickly. I’ll be waiting.”

Lu Fang paused, looking at the nervous emperor above him, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable for him, and bowed respectfully, “Well, I will leave now, and I will return quickly.”

I’m relying on live streaming to survive the end of the world for the new book next door. I’m asking my friends to collect and support it. Thank you.