With the Crown Prince speaking, the vast majority of ministers naturally had no objections. Lu Xuan noticed that a few ministers seemed to have other ideas, but they appeared to have received some kind of signal from Li Linfu and immediately stood still. Although Li Linfu and the Crown Prince were at odds, his ability to discern the Emperor's intentions was far superior to that of these court officials.
He had long seen that the Emperor favored this barbarian from the Western Regions. He would surely give him a minor official position. The position of County Commandant of Wannian County was merely a low-ranking official of the eighth grade. This rank was only attained because of the Emperor's favor from the capital. In other local counties, it would be at most a ninth grade, or even no rank at all.
He wasn't afraid of the Crown Prince, but a mere county lieutenant had virtually no influence on the court. He wasn't going to risk displeasing the Emperor for such a position. With the Crown Prince's word and the Right Chancellor's lack of objection, the matter was essentially settled. Lu Xuan had inexplicably become the county lieutenant of Wannian County, roughly equivalent to the head of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Well, that's not entirely accurate. Because Chang'an City was divided into two halves, east and west, which were Chang'an County and Wannian County, respectively.
Aside from holding a student council position during his school years, this was Lu Xuan's first real experience as an official, and a 'high-ranking one at that.' This left him feeling somewhat dazed.
Emperor Xuanzong seemed quite pleased with Lu Xuan's bewilderment. He even added a special comment.
"Because you previously said you didn't want to be an official, to prevent you from neglecting your duties, I will have the Secret Service keep an eye on you. If you dare to neglect your duties, I will punish you immediately." He then burst into laughter again. He seemed to be in a very good mood.
The farcical display of rewards finally came to an end. What remained was beyond Lu Xuan's control. Most of the ministers remained, presumably to discuss using the relics to influence the various Buddhist kingdoms of the Western Regions and strengthen the court's control over the region. This was a truly significant national affair, and Lu Xuan was naturally expelled.
It was only then that he suddenly remembered that the emperor had neither bestowed upon him a house nor any gold or silver. The household registration issue wasn't a problem, though. After all, he was now the county magistrate of Wannian County, and registering his household (a duty of the county magistrate) was naturally no problem. The ridiculous thing was, he had no idea where he was going to spend the night.
He had initially thought the palace would make arrangements, but it seemed that wasn't the case. He knew he was overthinking it; only high-ranking officials of the third rank or above could stay overnight in the palace. He, a nobody of the eighth rank, was really dreaming.
Just as he was swaying and preparing to leave the palace via the same route, Gao Lishi rushed over.
"Hero Lu." Lu Xuan had no given name, and Gao Lishi didn't know how to address him. Calling him by his name directly would be impolite. Calling him "Sir" would be too low-ranking (Gao Lishi was not only a eunuch, but also held various high-ranking positions). So he simply called him "Hero Lu" to match Lu Xuan's bravery.
Lu Xuan didn't know how to greet the eunuch, so he could only cup his hands in a respectful gesture. Fortunately, Gao Lishi didn't seem to mind. He simply assumed Lu Xuan was a barbarian from the Western Regions who didn't know proper etiquette.
"Brave Warrior Lu, don't go yet. This is the Emperor's reward." With that, he handed a pile of things to Lu Xuan. Lu Xuan took them, feeling a sense of heaviness in them.
Upon opening it, Lu Xuan found a land deed at the top. Below the deed was a packet of gold and silver beads. It was indeed a gift for the barbarians of the Western Regions.
"This is the courtyard bestowed upon you by the Emperor, and the gold you desired. You can have whatever you want; Lu Zhuangshi, you are truly favored by the Emperor."
Lu Xuan: "...Thank you, Eunuch."
"It's not thanking me, it's thanking the sage."
"Yes, yes, yes... Thank you, Your Majesty." No matter who it is, they've given me a house and money, so I have to thank them.
"That's right. Also, the palace is not like the outside world; there are many rules. If you don't understand them, don't wander around. If you take the wrong path and offend someone important, no matter how great your merits are, they won't save you."
After saying that, he casually handed over a young eunuch and had him take Lu Xuan out of the palace.
After many twists and turns, the two finally emerged from the palace. Lu Xuan took out a silver bead and handed it to the young eunuch as a token of his gratitude. The young eunuch, overjoyed, thanked him profusely and left.
After he left, Lu Xuan suddenly froze.
Where is my new home???
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Chapter Twenty-Six: All good things must come to an end.
The old man and Xiao Si immediately ran over when they saw Lu Xuan. However, these two were even more clueless to Chang'an. Xiao Si kept telling Lu Xuan, "So many people, so many people in Chang'an!" as if he had never seen anyone before.
Lu Xuan thought again and realized that this child really had never seen so many people before.
The old man was also grinning from ear to ear. When he saw the large bag of gold and silver beads in Lu Xuan's arms, he was even more delighted.
"Boss, this capital is enough for us to open ten mutton soup restaurants in Chang'an."
Lu Xuan immediately gave up on asking these two simpletons for help.
Just as Lu Xuan was struggling with his decision, a familiar face approached. It was none other than Cui Qi, who had been with him in the main hall earlier. It seemed that, given his rank, he wasn't qualified to participate in the discussion inside.
"Brother Lu, I haven't congratulated you yet. You've been appointed as the county magistrate of Wannian County. That's a great job."
'What a jerk…' Lu Xuan mentally groaned. He wasn't a complete history novice. He knew that being a county magistrate had never been an easy job, especially in the capital. The streets were full of high-ranking officials and nobles; some were humble and courteous, but many more were arrogant and domineering. The problem was, it was always the case that your superior's family member had gotten into trouble—did you do anything about it?
"I'm alright. I wonder if Brother Cui has some time; I have a small problem here..."
About half an hour later, Lu Xuan finally found his home. It was a triple-courtyard house, roughly estimated to cover five or six acres. If the future Beijing Public Security Bureau chief dared to live in such a house, he would be placed under investigation the very next day.
Cui Qi's face revealed undisguised envy. Clearly, this kind of courtyard was not something an ordinary person in Chang'an could possess.
“Brother Lu, this should be a courtyard that originally belonged to the royal family. It was specially prepared by His Majesty as a reward. Everything inside should have been arranged.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than five servants—two men and three women—came out from inside. They immediately knelt before Lu Xuan, startling him so much that he quickly stepped aside.
"What's going on here?"
“Brother Lu, don’t worry. Didn’t I tell you? Everything in this courtyard is arranged perfectly. You can move in immediately. These servants were originally paid monthly by the Imperial Treasury. Now that the courtyard is yours, they are naturally yours too. Of course, you will be responsible for paying their monthly wages from now on.”
"Oh..." Lu Xuan understood.
"Of course, if you don't want them, you can fire them. Anyway, right now, you're in charge of everything in this yard."
Upon hearing this, the servants panicked even more and burst into tears on the spot.
"Master, master, please don't send us away. We..."
"Stop, stop, stop crying. No one's been fired. Now go about your business. Hey you, go buy me something." Lu Xuan casually took out a silver bean and tossed it to one of the male servants.
"I'm going out to buy a pot of wine and some snacks. I'm treating Brother Cui to drinks today."
"No, no, no, that's unnecessary. Brother Lu, you don't know this. My trip to the capital is on official business. I can't stay long; I must return to camp tonight and set off for Longyou tomorrow morning. Drinking is absolutely out of the question. If you really want to drink, I'll come back this winter and drink with you."
"This winter?"
"Shh, don't make a sound. I just met with my brother. He's been pulling strings for me in the capital for the past two years, trying to get me transferred back. We were supposed to have to wait a bit longer, but this time, thanks to this achievement, things are much easier. He told me that I'll be transferred back to Chang'an before New Year's Eve. Then, we'll have a good drink together."