When Cao Rui asked this, Sima Yi looked at Guan Lu thoughtfully and said, "How can there be Xu Fu in a peaceful world? This man is at most a Dongfang Shuo."
Cao Rui nodded, then looked at Man Chong again: "What do you think, General Man?"
Man Chong replied coldly: "Back then, the fortune teller Zhu Jianping was famous in Luoyang. I once submitted a petition to the late emperor suggesting that he be executed. This man used his fortune telling to confuse the people, so he should be executed."
The sound of the conversation between the emperor and the two important ministers was not concealed at all, and it reached the ears of the group of officials in the palace.
Guan Lu's father Guan Cheng wanted to plead for mercy, but he didn't dare to say a word in such a situation. He knelt on the ground, sweating profusely, and didn't even dare to move his eyes. His usual prestige at home was of no use at all.
When Cao Rui listened to Man Chong speaking, his eyes were always fixed on Guan Lu.
Guan Lu seemed to be smiling absentmindedly, kneeling on the ground with his upper body straight, looking at the ground with soft eyes, not affected by Man Chong's words at all.
Cao Rui became interested and chuckled, "Guan Lu, you two should stand up and talk. You heard what General Man said just now, so why aren't you worried that I will order you to be killed?"
Guan Cheng and Guan Lu slowly stood up, and Guan Lu calmly bowed: "Your Majesty, I can tell the divination, so I can also know my own life span. My life span should be forty-eight, this is a fixed number."
Cao Rui wanted to tease him, so he said, "If I kill you today, you will die and deceive the emperor. How will you explain it?"
Guan Lu was not at all nervous: "People all over the world know that your majesty is a ruler like Yao and Shun. How can the common people worry that Yao and Shun will harm the people?"
Cao Rui laughed loudly, pointed at Guan Lu, and said to Sima Yi: "Sikong's words are indeed correct. This person is exactly like Dongfang Shuo."
Sima Yi bowed and said: "Although Dongfang Shuo behaved in an unruly manner, he was also a well-educated man. I just don't know how talented he is."
Cao Rui raised his hand and beckoned towards Lu Yu: "In terms of learning, among the ministers around me, Prince Yong should be the best. But Prince Yong is in Luoyang to observe mourning, and the next one is Lu Qing. Since this person is proficient in Zhouyi, divination, and numerology, Lu Qing, test him for me."
"According to the order."
Lu Yu asked three questions from the Book of Changes from the simplest to the most complex. Guan Lu was not at all flustered. In front of the emperor and a group of ministers, he answered them one by one fluently without any pause.
"Your Majesty, this man is indeed proficient in the Book of Changes. As for other matters such as divination and numerology, I am not proficient in them and have no right to ask."
Cao Rui nodded: "Lu Qing, please go ahead. I will ask him later."
"Yes, sir." Lu Yu walked aside.
"Guan Lu," Cao Rui looked at the plain-looking young scholar in front of him, "Minister Fu has seen countless learned men, but he still highly praised you in his memorial to me. Just now, Minister Lu also tested your Zhouyi knowledge and found nothing wrong with it. I am very pleased."
"Since your divination is so accurate, I have three questions for you."
Seeing that Guan Lu's father Guan Cheng was already shaking with nervousness, Cao Rui smiled and added:
"Whether you answer well or not, I will not kill you. The Wei Kingdom is big enough to accommodate strange people and things, as well as a few scholars who have gone astray, so you don't have to worry about your life."
Guan Kechang bowed and said, "I thank your majesty for your grace."
Cao Rui said calmly: "The fortune teller Zhu Jianping died at the end of the Huangchu period. When Emperor Wu was Duke of Wei, he was summoned to be a palace attendant. His fortune telling was often accurate."
"The late emperor, the Minister of the Chancellery Xun Gongda, the White Horse Prince Cao Zhuhu, the Right Supervisor of the Privy Council Wang Wenshu, the General of the Guards Wang Yanyun, the General of the Right Winged Guards Cheng Shenbo, and the former Minister of the Court Wang Ziyong, all of these people have been read by Zhu Jianping. Some of them have worked, while others have not yet come to fruition."
"I have never met Zhu Jianping, but I am curious about physiognomy. Guan Lu, please come forward and read my face."
Just as Guan Lu was about to agree, his father Guan Cheng, who was standing beside him, knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. How can an ignorant subject read the face of the most noble Son of Heaven in the world? I hope Your Majesty will have mercy on me!"
Cao Rui and Guan Lu looked at each other and said with a smile: "Didn't I just agree? You don't understand your son's talent, just watch from the sidelines."
"Come before me!"
Guan Lu bowed and said, "As you wish!"
After saying this, Guan Lu slowly walked forward and stood one step away from the emperor. At the same time, the commander of the Central Army, Guanqiu Jian, also came and stood beside Guan Lu to supervise him.
Guan Lu looked at it carefully for a few moments, then stepped back three steps, clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have memorized your face, and I still need to deduce it for a while."
"Okay." Cao Rui said.
In the Feiguang Hall on the Bronze Sparrow Tower, all the ministers held their breath and stared at Guan Lu, who was frowning slightly and looking at the ground.
Sima Yi, who was standing by, also began to feel a little nervous.
Sima Yi personally saw Zhu Jianping reading Cao Pi's face, when Cao Pi was still the General of the Five Officials. Zhu Jianping gave Cao Pi a conclusion that he would live to eighty, but would have some misfortunes at forty.
At that time, Cao Pi was not yet the emperor.
But today in Yecheng, Guan Lu can actually read the emperor's face. This kind of thing is rare in a century.
After about thirty breaths, Guan Lu's brows became even more furrowed.
With a "pu" sound, a stream of blood spurted out of Guan Lu's mouth, startling everyone present. After Guan Lu spurted blood, he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.
Guanqiu Jian was so frightened that he pulled out his sword from his waist. When he saw Guan Lu kneeling down, he put the sword back in. Cao Rui sighed: "Why, even you can't figure it out?"
Guan Lu kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty has the appearance of a dragon and a phoenix, and the appearance of the sun and the sky. You are already a true dragon. After seeing this, I wanted to deduce it in detail, but my heart ached and I was unable to think any more."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
Guan Lu's blood spraying could not be faked, and the emperor's status was naturally extremely noble, which could not be faked either. Putting the two together, Guan Lu's words became credible.
Cao Rui felt somewhat bored. This person might be trying to escape by trickery. How could he be so mysterious and mysterious?
Looking at Guan Lu who was kneeling and kowtowing, Cao Rui said, "I keep my promise and will not punish you. Stand up now."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Guan Ke stood up and saluted, blood still oozing from the corners of his mouth.
Cao Rui frowned: "Come here, give Guan Lu a piece of cloth! I have two more questions to ask him."
Seeing that Guan Lu had wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, Cao Rui asked again: "Guan Lu, Minister Fu said that you can use the wind horn for divination. How do you do it?"
Guan Lu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have brought the Fengjiao divination tools. They are with the warriors outside the palace. Please send someone to get them."
Cao Rui nodded: "Come here, bring in Guan Lu's equipment!"
While waiting for the divination tools to be brought in, Sima Yi coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say. Do you remember how the first Party Imprisonment Disaster originated?"
Cao Rui nodded: "I know about this matter. It originated from the eunuchs' followers framing Henan Yin Li Ying for forming a clique to disrupt the government."
Sima Yi added: "The eunuchs framed Li Ying because of the divination technique called Fengjiao."
Cao Rui glanced at Sima Yi and said, "Sir, please tell me! Don't keep me in suspense."
"Yes." Sima Yi bowed and said, "There is a man named Zhang Cheng in Hanoi who is on good terms with the eunuchs in Luoyang. He used the Fengjiao technique to predict that the court would soon issue a general amnesty, so he ordered his son to kill someone and was convicted. Later, the court was indeed amnesty."
"When Henan Yin Li Ying learned about this, he was furious and, despite the amnesty order, arrested and killed Zhang Cheng's son. The eunuchs used the excuse that Zhang Cheng's son had died unjustly and began to frame him."
"This is the real source of the Party and Faction Persecution."
Cao Rui knew about the Party Imprisonment Disaster, but he didn't know the details. After hearing this, he sighed slightly and said, "The art of medicine is just a minor art. If everyone in the court knew how to be loyal and cautious, how could it cause trouble to the people and disrupt the government?"
"This is not Fengjiao's fault!"
Sima Yi nodded and said no more.
The Tiger Guards had already brought the instruments Guan Lu used for divination. Guan Lu introduced:
"Your Majesty, please look at this. This is the instrument I use for divination by the wind horn."
Guan Lu held a long, thin wooden pole in his hand, the end of which fell far down on the ground: "This pole is five meters long, symbolizing the five notes of Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng, and Yu. There are eight ounces of chicken feathers on the top of the pole, symbolizing the wind coming from all directions."
"To use the wind angle for divination, first observe the wind direction, then listen to the sound of the wind to determine the five tones, and then infer the wind conditions based on the time and direction of the wind."
"Your Majesty, this is the process for the common people to occupy the corner of the wind."
Cao Rui sighed and asked the ministers beside him, "Is this another one of those prophecies of disasters and anomalies that Jing Fang of Jing's Book of Changes said?"
Lu Yu bowed and replied: "This kind of divination by wind angle originated from Jing Fang."
Cao Rui asked Guan Lu, "Can you tell fortunes with the wind right now? Right here?"
Guan Lu replied with some difficulty: "Your Majesty, there are clouds but no wind in Yecheng today. Fengjiao's divination cannot be made without strong and unusual winds. I am really powerless to do anything."
Cao Rui felt even more bored: "Forget it, I won't use this wind horn anymore."
"I have one last question for you. I am going to Liaodong this time. Please divine the military situation for me."
Guan Lu nodded in agreement, then took out a pile of neatly stacked yarrow from his sleeve. In front of everyone, his slender fingers moved quickly left and right, and one could almost see some afterimages.
If Cao Rui was not impressed by the physiognomy and horns just now, he was really surprised by Guan Lu's quick technique now.
To be honest, it can even be called a miraculous skill.
Today in Feiguang Hall, the ministers who accompanied the emperor to the meeting had their eyes opened and had a double experience of vision and psychology. Not only did they see the emperor's face being read, but they also saw such a wonderful performance.
Just as everyone was staring at Guan Lu's rapidly moving fingers, perhaps because he didn't hold it firmly or something went wrong, Guan Lu's hands suddenly shook, and the fifty yarrow stalks in his left and right hands fell to the ground, forming a large pool in front of Guan Lu.
Cao Rui was shocked. On the one hand, he didn't know what Guan Lu, the charlatan, was up to, and on the other hand, he didn't know whether this sign was a good or bad omen.
Before Guan Lu could say anything, Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "This is really boring. Come on, let them all leave. Your Majesty, this is the end of your visit today." (End of this chapter)
