Thief Emperor

Chapter 1028 Going through the back door

Master Xue's illness was indeed serious. The once vigorous old man seemed to have had his life force drained away by someone. Even Li Yun, who was used to seeing life and death, couldn't help but be moved.

After all, Mr. and Mrs. Xue held extraordinary significance for him, far exceeding the simple meaning of being his parents-in-law.

When he first came into this world, the first elders he met were Master Xue and Madam Xue. If you count carefully, it has really been almost twenty years since the third year of Xiande.

Twenty years have passed, and the former magistrate of Qingyang County is now very old.

Li Yun stayed at the Prince of Nanyang's residence for a full hour, waiting until the imperial physician examined him and prescribed medicine. Only then did he call Empress Xue aside and sigh, "Madam, there are too many matters to attend to in the court. I really can't leave. You will stay at the Xue family's residence for the next few days and do your best for me."

Empress Xue sighed and nodded, saying, "I'll be staying here with Cai'er these next few days. You don't need to worry too much; the imperial physician said she should be able to pull through..."

Cai Mei was the second child of Li Yun and Empress Xue. She was born after the founding of the dynasty and ranked fourth among the princesses, making her the fourth princess of the current dynasty.

This fourth princess's full name is Li Ying, and her nickname is Cai Mei. She is only seven or eight years old this year. Because she is a legitimate princess, she is also very much loved by the emperor and empress.

She can be said to be one of the most favored princesses. Besides the eldest princess, the third princess, Afu, and the fourth princess, Caimei, were the most loved by His Majesty the Emperor.

Li Yun hummed in agreement, then sighed and said, "I'll have Gu Chang leave one or two people here. If anything unusual happens, remember to inform me immediately."

"I'm coming right away."

Empress Xue responded with a forced smile, "Birth, aging, sickness, and death are all the same, my husband..."

"Go do your thing."

She was the youngest daughter in the family and the most loved by her parents. Originally, this comforting remark should have been said by Li Yun to her, but now it was the other way around.

Emperor Li hugged his wife, sighed, and then turned and left the Nanyang Prince's Mansion.

Xue Shou saw them off again. When the two reached the door, Emperor Li turned to look at Xue Shou and sighed, "I have too many things to attend to. Please take good care of things at home, elder brother."

"If you can't leave your home during this period, you can ask the imperial court for leave."

Xue Shou silently shook his head: "Don't worry, Erlang, I can manage."

Just as Li Yun was about to speak, he suddenly heard a loud announcement from behind him: "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived..."

Emperor Li immediately frowned and turned around sharply. He saw an apricot-yellow sedan chair coming to a steady stop outside the gate of the Prince of Nanyang's mansion. Outside the sedan chair, a palace servant dressed as a eunuch was shouting loudly.

The palace servant had just finished shouting when he suddenly saw that the gate of the Prince of Nanyang's mansion was already full of Imperial Guards. When he looked up again, he saw His Majesty the Emperor, dressed in black, quietly looking at him from the gate of the Prince of Nanyang's mansion.

Upon seeing Li Yun, the palace maid was nearly scared to death. She knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, this servant...this servant did not know Your Majesty was here...this servant deserves to die, this servant deserves to die."

The Crown Prince, who was in the sedan chair, was quite frightened when he heard the noise outside. He quickly got out of the sedan chair and looked up to see his father and maternal uncle standing at the gate of the Prince's Mansion talking. He hurriedly stepped forward, knelt down and bowed: "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

At this point, he bowed his head again and said, "Greetings, Uncle."

Xue Shou quickly stepped aside, not daring to accept the Crown Prince's courtesy.

Emperor Li looked at the Crown Prince and frowned, saying, "Your maternal grandfather is ill, why did you only arrive now?"

His Highness the Crown Prince lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I just found out, and I came here immediately after I found out."

Emperor Li glanced at the attendants of the Eastern Palace behind him, remained silent for a moment, then stepped forward to help his eldest son up and asked, "Did you come because you knew your maternal grandfather was seriously ill, or because you knew your parents were here?"

Li Yuan quickly lowered his head again and said with a wry smile, "Father, what do you think of me? During the day, I was in the Secretariat learning how to govern with several ministers. When I heard that my maternal grandfather was ill, I rushed over immediately."

Li Yun frowned slightly, said nothing more, but stepped aside and said, "I'm going back to the palace. You and your uncle can go in and visit him."

As he spoke, Emperor Li patted his shoulder and sighed, "Your mother and fourth sister are inside. When you see your mother, say a few nice things to her and coax her."

His Highness the Crown Prince quickly bowed his head: "Your subject obeys."

Li Yun then turned to look at Xue Shou, nodded slightly and said, "Brother, you've worked hard. I'll head back now."

"If anything happens, send someone to the palace to report to me."

With a third person present, Xue Shou changed his form of address, bowing respectfully and saying, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Emperor Li put his hands behind his back, got into his carriage, and the carriage slowly drove away with him.

Once the emperor's carriage was far away, His Highness the Crown Prince finally breathed a sigh of relief. He glared at the palace servant who had just shouted and yelled, "You scoundrel, even my father, the emperor, couldn't see you here!"

His Highness the Crown Prince was so angry his face turned red: "You must be blind!"

The palace servant knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, not daring to speak. Xue Shou, who was standing to the side, spoke up, "Your Highness, His Majesty is not one to dwell on such trivial matters. There's no need to take it to heart."

His Highness the Crown Prince took several deep breaths before turning to look at Xue Shou and said with a wry smile, "With so many people watching, I'm afraid an imperial censor might impeach me, saying that I offended His Majesty."

He sighed and said, "Uncle, you don't know, being the crown prince isn't easy. Every day, countless eyes are watching your nephew."

"If I make even the slightest mistake, someone might immediately report me to the Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Xue Shou did not dare to reply, but simply turned to the side and said, "Your Highness, please."

"it is good."

His Highness the Crown Prince strode into the Nanyang Prince's residence, sighing as he walked, "Just a few months ago, my maternal grandfather was perfectly fine, how could he suddenly..."

…………

Inside the Ganlu Hall.

Li Hu, the Vice Minister of War, sat before the Emperor and reported to him on all matters concerning the Ministry of War after Zhao Cheng left Luoyang.

With Zhao Cheng gone from Luoyang, he naturally couldn't remotely control the Ministry of War. Therefore, the affairs of the Ministry of War could only be managed by Li Hu, the Left Vice Minister of War.

Fortunately, Li Hu was quite capable, and in the past few months, the Ministry of War has not experienced any chaos and has been managed in an orderly manner.

After reporting on the Ministry of War's affairs, Li Hu lowered his head and said, "The supplies that the Ministry of War escorted to the front lines have all been delivered to the various military units."

"The third and fourth batches will be sent to the front lines soon."

Emperor Li nodded silently, then looked up at Li Hu and praised him, "Well done."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "Minister Li is quite capable; he has no problem serving as Minister of War."

Li Hu quickly stood up, bowed his head and clasped his hands, and said with a wry smile, "Your Majesty is making fun of me. I was just following Minister Zhao's instructions and was barely managing to handle the affairs of the ministry."

Li Yun said with a smile, "Zhao Cheng isn't here, so why are you afraid of him?"

Li Hu coughed and shook his head again, saying, "I am indeed inferior to Minister Zhao."

Emperor Li joked with him a few times and encouraged him a few times before letting him return to his post in the Ministry of War.

After Li Hu left, another cup of tea's time passed before Prime Minister Du Qian was invited to the Ganlu Hall. Upon entering the hall, Du Qian bowed to His Majesty the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty."

Emperor Li beckoned him to come closer and sit down. After Du Qian was seated, Emperor Li asked, "Brother Shouyi, how are your preparations for this autumn's imperial examination going?"

Du Qian, confident of success, immediately replied, "Your Majesty, preparations are basically complete. We can only wait until the appointed time to complete the task smoothly."

"I will personally oversee this imperial examination. If any problems arise, I am willing to pay with my life."

His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand and said with a smile, "How could a single imperial examination take Brother Shouyi's life?"

"Let's not talk about anything else."

Emperor Li smiled and said, "If Brother Shouyi wants to arrange for someone to enter the court, without the need for an examination, I will grant it."

Du Qian shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty has once again flattered me to the point of ruin."

"Okay, okay, no more joking."

Emperor Li waved his hand and said, "I asked Brother Shouyi to come over because I have something to entrust to you."

"About this scientific expedition."

Du Qian was taken aback, then lowered his head and said, "Whatever Your Majesty commands, I will certainly obey."

Li Yun looked at him and said quietly, "I want to use Brother Shouyi's connections to arrange for an extra candidate to participate in this scientific examination."

Du Qian was taken aback, then, as if deep in thought, asked, "Whom does Your Majesty wish to appoint?"

Emperor Li remained calm.

"Prince."

(End of this chapter)