"You scoundrel!" Yuan Wei was furious. He'd been bitten; even if he didn't die, he'd be badly skinned alive.
"Your Majesty, this old minister is willing to contribute my meager funds to the national treasury. But someone is trying to slander me! Your Majesty, please do justice for me! I've served Your Majesty diligently and cautiously my whole life, making great contributions. Now I'm being falsely accused! Please, Your Majesty, do justice for me! Ah!" He then fainted.
"Old dog!" Emperor Ling was somewhat annoyed. He really had no way to deal with someone feigning death like this; he couldn't very well expose them!
At this moment, Zhao Hou stepped forward, cupping his hands to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, why not invite General Lu Ming to court to treat the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and hear his advice?"
"Oh? Does Zhao Hou also agree to recommend Lu Ming as the Governor of Liangzhou?" Emperor Ling's voice was somewhat displeased, as if this was different from what had been agreed upon.
"Your Majesty, I have no objection. I am completely ignorant of such matters. I will obey Your Majesty's orders." Zhao Hou was no longer one to take sides; he only sided with the emperor.
Whatever the emperor said went. Who the emperor was was unimportant—this was the thinking of most members of the Han imperial family.
Only Liu Yan's eyes flickered. He was calculating how to begin his conversation to secure the position of governor.
He was considering Jiaozhou and Yizhou, both remote regions.
Jiaozhou was far away, essentially isolated and uncontrolled. Even when the court sent envoys, the roads were difficult to traverse.
Yizhou, on the other hand, was wealthy, a land of plenty, but equally difficult to reach. Its proximity to Chang'an made it a secondary choice.
Those with ability were calculating their future, while those without ability but with foresight were choosing sides. Only those with neither ability nor foresight remained clueless, serving as cannon fodder!
"Summon Lu Ming to the palace for an audience," Emperor Ling ordered. He himself wasn't confident he could subdue Yuan Kui, a situation far more difficult than when his son, Emperor Xian of Han, was in power, highlighting the Emperor's frustration.
Meanwhile, Lu Ming was still in the guild hall, toying with Empress He's sister. Looking at the flushed woman who had just finished with him, performing oral sex on him, he felt an indescribable sense of pride.
Suddenly, He Wan felt an overwhelming nausea. She quickly turned her head, grabbed a basin, and began to vomit.
Waves of nausea made her feel nauseous, but nothing came out.
After a long while, she felt slightly better.
Lu Ming's expression was strange, because he had already seen through the character card panel that He Wan was pregnant.
Less than a month had passed. Her husband, Zhang Feng, was incapacitated, making it 100% certain that this woman had committed adultery with him, resulting in her pregnancy.
"You're pregnant!"
"Really!" He Wan was overjoyed. She was thirty years old and still childless, which would lead to gossip and judgment.
She had always thought it was her problem, and in ancient times, men weren't suspected; the problem was always attributed to women.
This put her in a precarious situation. If her sister hadn't been the Empress, she might have been divorced long ago!
Now, being pregnant and becoming a mother, having her own child, she couldn't be happier!
"Yes, I'll prescribe some medicine for you. Take it; it will help with the pregnancy. Don't worry too much, the baby will be healthy. My child will definitely be fine!" Lu Ming's smile deepened. Getting a married woman pregnant was incredibly exciting and satisfying!
Who could resist a beautiful married woman?
"Thank you, husband." He Wan touched her belly. Although it wasn't showing yet, she was already very happy and content. For a woman, not being pregnant and having a child would be unsatisfactory, incomplete!
"Don't be shy, just rest well, and don't try too hard. We'll have many, many children in the future. I want you to give me lots and lots of babies, until you can't anymore!" Lu Ming whispered in He Wan's ear, a violent urge rising within him.
This was a man's reproductive instinct—the desire to find a suitable woman to mate with and continue the family line!
Upon arriving at the guild hall, Lu Ming saw the eunuch who had come to see him, summoning him to the palace for an audience.
This surprised many of the noblewomen at the guild hall, as men were not usually seen there.
The only man present was Lu Ming. As a doctor, and a renowned physician in Luoyang, he was also skilled in gynecology.
Although he was a man, even the Empress Dowager had treated him, proving his exceptional medical abilities, thus removing any restrictions.
On the way, the eunuch Zhang Bao quietly explained the situation to Lu Ming.
It turned out that Yuan Kui had fainted from anger and distress, and since the topic of disaster relief supplies had come up, His Majesty had summoned him to the palace to treat Yuan Kui and discuss matters.
"Thank you for informing me. I am deeply grateful." Lu Ming took out a gold ingot and slipped it to the eunuch; bribing a eunuch always brought benefits.
At least he knew what was going on, so he could handle the situation calmly.
"Your Highness is too kind. It is a great honor for me to be able to do something for Your Highness." Zhang Bao beamed. Without a penis, a eunuch only had money and power left to pursue.
Upon arriving at the palace, Lu Ming saw all the court officials present, including Zhao Hou and Grand Commandant Zhang Wen. "Your subject Lu Ming greets Your Majesty."
"Rise. The Minister of the Imperial Secretariat is unconscious. Come and examine him." Emperor Ling was somewhat impatient; it was already quite remarkable that he had remained seated for so long.
Lu Ming glanced at Yuan Wei; his face was pale, as if he truly suffered from some hidden ailment. Lu Ming mocked, "This humble servant previously treated the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and after taking the medicine, he was able to walk with incredible speed and tear apart a tiger with his bare hands. Now it seems he was faking illness; this is a crime of deceiving the Emperor!"
With that, he took out a prepared feather, removed Yuan Wei's shoes, and began the standard procedure of the tiger bench. The feather tickled the soles of his feet, and Yuan Wei couldn't bear it any longer, jumping up.
"It tickles! Lu Ming! What are you doing!" Yuan Wei glared angrily, furious.
A person pretending to be asleep is indeed impossible to wake without other methods, and no one would dare treat them like this. Lu Ming's unusual behavior exposed him.
He had no choice but to continue the act!
"Heh, since you're pretending to be asleep and don't believe me, I had no choice but to use this method to wake you up," Lu Ming sneered, then turned to Emperor Ling and said, "Your Majesty, I have completed my mission. May I take my leave?"