Only one person in the court and public circles of Chu State proposed to negotiate peace with Song State. Moreover, when his memorial was presented to the King of Chu, Song State's peace treaty letter had not yet arrived.

This man's surname was Lu Mingxiu. He was a waiter at Linjiang Restaurant. He served in the army of King Sheng during the Seven Kings of Chu. When King Hui of Chu, Lin Ying, was in power, King Chu You exempted the Lu family from Qingtian, Linjiang from entering the court for ten generations. "As an official", and left two posthumous edicts to Lu Xiu for safekeeping.

After the current King of Chu ascended the throne, he had not summoned Lu Xiu yet. Lu Xiu only returned the public edict to the library of Zhaohuang Palace. And in his hand was another edict appointing Dongfang Cun to the throne of Chu, just like Qianqiu. It is the same as the second posthumous edict in the library. I don’t know whether it was secretly hidden or destroyed.

Shu'er had known Lu Xiu well since childhood and knew that he was loyal to the Chu State. He also heard from his own mouth that he wanted to serve as an official in the court and benefit the people. So after he withdrew King Hui of Chu's edict, he used it to make up for his military exploits and to be loyal to the king. On the grounds of filial piety, he was given a position as a history editor in the library.

Today, he learned of the secret summons from the King of Chu. Not long after, Lu Xiu limped from the Library Pavilion to the Wutong Hall. To his surprise, King Anyi Dongfang, who was supposed to be far away in the Song Dynasty to conquer the city, made a mistake. At that time, I was also in Wutong Hall.

There were no waiters in the Wutong Hall, only the King of Chu and his younger brother, and a small official who wrote history.

The civil servant saluted and said: "Lu Xiu pays homage to His Highness and pays homage to King Anyi."

Shu'er raised her hand slightly and said in a gentle tone: "Brother Xiao Lu, you are here."

Lu Xiu saw that Shu'er's eyes were dull, as if she wanted to look at him and speak, but couldn't see where he was standing. He couldn't help but feel sad for her, and sighed: "How is Your Highness doing lately? How is the little princess?"

Shu'er nodded. "We are fine. How is sister Yun? How is your eldest brother? Is the second child born?"

Lu Xiu hadn't seen Shu'er for a long time. Thinking of her appearance as a child, and hearing the familiarity and concern in the greetings, he couldn't help but choke up. He choked up because of the unpredictability of the world, and choked up because of the various situations in life. He had never thought about it. , the little homeless girl who appeared in Linjiang Restaurant back then would one day become the "His Royal Highness" in his mouth.

He once thought that "His Royal Highness" should be aloof and cold-blooded people. Unexpectedly, the former King Chu You caused the decline of his family, but today's "His Royal Highness" has appointed him as an official and is so familiar with him.

Lu Xiudao: "They are all well too. The second child is born, a girl. If your highness has time, can you give me a name?"

Shu'er thought for a moment and said: "I remember that the late king gave your eldest brother the name 'Zhe' in the hope that he would be tireless in his studies and become knowledgeable. Naturally, a younger sister cannot lose to her elder brother. How do you like the word 'Min'?" Minxiu and clever."

Lu Xiu gently wiped away his tears: "The word 'Min' is really good. It is very similar to His Highness's childhood. I wonder what His Highness and Anyi Wang Zhaochen's purpose is when they come here?"

Shu'er said: "Brother Xiao Lu, do you remember that one time when King Yu was still alive, the late king, my brother and I went to Linjiang Restaurant for dinner. What did you say to us?"

Lu Xiudao: "The memory is still fresh. At that time, His Highness asked me what I would like to do most in my life if I didn't have to make a living in this restaurant. My answer was..."

Shu'er said: "Your answer is still fresh in my mind. You said you want to be an official, and you want to be a good official like your great-great-grandfather and grandpa who speak out and give advice. You want the world to be peaceful and never go to war. You want Chu to be a good official." All good men in our country can run and jump. Don't be like you, who returns from the army and is disabled for life."

Lu Xiu was surprised and amazed that Shu'er could remember every word.

Shu'er added: "Later, the late king asked you what other wishes you had. You said that you wanted to help the Chu State reopen the Zhaohuang Age, so that the Chu State would no longer harm the loyal and the good, and there would no longer be a coward like King You."

Lu Xiu replied: "This is indeed what I answered. My wish has never changed."

Shu'er said: "Brother Xiao Lu, I heard Aunt Yan read your memorial three times. I haven't replied to you for a long time because I don't know what King Anyi who is far away in the Song Dynasty thinks about the peace negotiation. Now the Song Dynasty When the peace treaty was handed over, the plague was rampant and the army invaded. King Anyi also believed that the attack on the Song Dynasty should be postponed. However, all the princes in the court opposed the peace negotiation and wanted to take advantage of the situation to destroy the Song Dynasty. If King Anyi and I insist on negotiating with the court Don…”

Before Shu'er finished speaking, Lu Xiu had already understood: "Your Highness, I am willing to do my best to help negotiate peace. I understand that Your Highness and the King of Anyi can stop the war together, but Your Highness and the King of Anyi are close relatives, and Your Highness and the King of Song It is also implicated. If His Highness and the King of Anyi join forces to oppose the Three Gongs and Nine Ministers, it will inevitably be full of thorns in politics in the future. Your Highness will make use of my memorial. If Your Highness still wants me to do something, I will do my best. for."

Shu'er said: "No one in the court knows that I have known you since I was a child. I want to entrust you with a heavy responsibility. As long as you can prove your ability, no one will think that I am partial. The most important thing is that your family has been doing this for generations. The Chu State was extremely loyal, and there were also important ministers who were ranked among the Three Dukes. Although your family fell apart during the reign of King You, you yourself studied hard, had lofty ambitions, were upright, and had a harmonious family, so you can set an example for the future generations of the Chu State."

Lu Xiu lowered his head and said, "Your Highness has given you such praise."

Shu'er smiled warmly: "I have no praise. When I was a child, I saw you huddled in a corner to read in your free time when you were working in a restaurant, minding your own business and enjoying yourself. Aunt Yan has said before that you are hiding in the market. of uncut jade.”

Lu Xiudao: "Thank you for your appreciation, Your Highness."

Shu'er said: "Actually, the person who treasured this piece of rough jade and gave it to me is the late king. The person who remembers your wishes and ambitions word for word is also the late king."

Lu Xiu was silent, wrapped in silence with surprise and regret. King Hui of Chu Lin Ying only met him a few times...

Shu'er continued: "King Chu You's surname is Lin. Since he issued a decree prohibiting members of your family from joining the court as officials, the only person who can disobey this decree is King Chu of the Lin family, so he will not attract criticism. So my father can’t do it, and neither can I. Only the late king can. Thanks to the late king for obliterating King You’s decree, our court can use you.”

Lu Xiu was speechless with emotion, but he didn't know whether it was because of the kindness he received from the late king, or because of Lin Ying's care for Shu'er.

The late king personally told him the contents of the two edicts...

It was raining lightly that night, and the Lu family's wife fell asleep early. Lin Ying came in disguise, and Lu Xiu was cleaning up by the stove.

Lin Ying handed the two sealed volumes of edicts to him with her own hands and said softly to him: "Brother Xiao Lu, I may put myself in danger in a few days. If anything happens to me, these two volumes of edicts will be my legacy. You must help me put it away."

Lu Xiu held the two volumes of edicts noncommittally and listened carefully to the King of Chu's instructions: "This volume is wrapped with two circles of white silk, and the content inside is for Prince Sui to succeed the King of Chu. This volume is wrapped with two circles of red silk. , the content inside is for Shu'er to succeed the King of Chu. Do you remember it?"

Lu Xiu nodded: "Remember. The white ribbon means that the prince has succeeded to the throne, and the red ribbon means that the princess has succeeded to the throne."

Lin Ying said: "Brother Xiao Lu must also know the past dynasty practices of our Chu Kingdom. In order to prevent the falsification of the posthumous edict, all the kings of Chu would place their posthumous edicts in three places when preparing them. One place is under the Dragon Throne, and the other is under the throne. There is another place in the archives of the Library Pavilion, which is handed over to a commoner who is far away from the government and deeply trusted by the King of Chu. The edicts under the dragon chair and in the Library Pavilion may have been exchanged, but the edicts in the hands of ordinary people are very rare. It is difficult to be discovered. Therefore, the two edicts in your hand are the most important to the State of Chu."
Chapter completed!