Thief Emperor

Chapter 1039 Taking up a fief and Parental Favor

Master Xue is seriously ill, and Li Yun has visited him several times already. Logically, his son should also go, or at least visit him.

In fact, the King of Yue had already made several trips there during this period.

After all, when Master Xue was tutoring the Crown Prince, the Prince of Yue soon reached school age and attended classes there for a few years, so he could be considered to have been tutored by Master Xue.

Although the King of Yue did not pay much attention to his studies from a young age and preferred military affairs, there was still some affection between them.

Moreover, Princess Liu, the mother of the Prince of Yue, was the goddaughter of Master Xue. During this period, Princess Liu had visited the Prince of Nanyang's residence several times, not to mention Prince Li Zheng of Yue.

Emperor Li valued relationships highly. Among his children, those born to Empress Xue and the two imperial concubines were very close to each other, and there was not much difference between them and those born to his own siblings.

If it weren't for the imperial throne, they would truly be like brothers and sisters.

However, with an emperor in the picture, the brothers inevitably harbored some ulterior motives.

His Majesty the Emperor sent the Prince of Yue to the Prince of Nanyang's residence first, intending for him to lower his stance and at least make His Highness the Crown Prince feel more comfortable. This way, when he goes to contact the Tibetans, at least the Eastern Palace will not have any objections.

Seeing that the King of Yue was about to leave, His Majesty the Emperor called him back and said, "Be smart."

His Highness the King of Yue looked back at his father, scratched his head, and then quickly lowered his head again: "Yes, I understand."

Having said that, he left the Ganlu Hall.

Emperor Li watched his retreating figure, shook his head slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said quietly, "Third son, it's almost time for him to leave the palace."

According to the new dynasty's regulations, princes could leave the palace and establish their own residences at the age of fifteen. The current third prince, Li Cang, is also approaching that age.

However, Li Cang came from a less than ideal background.

His mother was a woman who was temporarily brought to serve Li Yun by Liu Zhiyuan, the then governor of Chenzhou, when Emperor Li attacked Chenzhou. They had a night of pleasure together and she gave birth to Li Cang.

At that time, His Majesty the Emperor was still in the process of establishing the dynasty and did not have time to have many children. It was not until after the founding of the dynasty that he began to have many children and fill the harem.

Basically, only these three sons were born before the founding of the country; all the other offspring were born after the founding of the country.

The third son, Li Cang, is almost fifteen years old this year.

His mother was also promoted to one of the Nine Concubines by Li Yun because of this prince, but her rank was still below that of Lu Lang, the younger sister of Consort Lu.

His Majesty the Emperor picked up a brush and began to write and draw on the paper. He was considering this son…

Should we still grant him the title of Prince?

If this son leaves the palace to establish his own residence and is granted the title of Prince, it means that any of his subsequent descendants who leave the palace to establish their own residence will also be Princes.

Li Cang, whose maternal family came from a humble background, could be granted the title of Prince of the Second Rank at the discretion of the court. This would mean that subsequent princes, and even princes throughout the entire Tang Dynasty, would have the possibility of being demoted when they were granted titles.

After gesturing on the paper for a long time, His Majesty the Emperor finally put the pen back and silently stood up.

The eunuch Gu Chang hurriedly stepped forward, bowed his head, and asked, "Your Majesty, where are you going?"

That concludes today's business.

His Majesty the Emperor, with his hands behind his back, said, "I need to go see Consort Qin."

Each prince was raised by his birth mother. The third prince lived in Consort Qin's palace. Li Yun's trip was to visit his third son and, incidentally... test him.

Let's see what kind of title we should bestow upon him next year.

…………

On the other side, after leaving the palace, Prince Yue did not go directly to the Prince of Nanyang's residence, but instead sent his men to guard the entrance of the Prince of Nanyang's residence.

It wasn't until His Highness the Crown Prince's carriage arrived at the gate of the Nanyang Prince's Mansion that the servants of the Yue Prince's Mansion immediately returned to report to the Yue Prince. The Yue Prince quickly changed into a neat set of clothes, took the things he had prepared in advance, and went to the Nanyang Prince's Mansion.

He was a prince, of noble status. Upon arriving at the Xue family, they immediately opened the main gate to welcome him. Xue Shou himself went to the gate to greet him. Li Zheng quickly waved his hand, took Xue Shou's arm, and entered the Xue family through the side gate. As they walked, he said with a smile, "No matter how you look at it, you are my uncle."

"Please consider yourself a junior visiting."

Li Zheng said, "You don't need to treat me like some kind of prince."

Xue Shou glanced at His Highness the Prince of Yue and said helplessly, "This is truly a breach of etiquette."

"correct."

Xue Shou glanced at Li Zheng and said quietly, "What a coincidence, His Highness the Crown Prince is here today as well."

"I know."

Upon hearing the King of Yue's reply, Xue Shou was taken aback and lost in thought. Just as he was about to speak, the King of Yue pointed to the door and said, "When I came in just now, I saw my brother's carriage."

After saying this, he looked at Xue Shou, bowed slightly, and asked, "Uncle, how is my maternal grandfather now?"

At this moment, among all the princes, perhaps only the Prince of Yue could rightfully call him "uncle" and "maternal grandfather."

Even the princes of Consort Lu would be unlikely to use such a title.

Xue Shou tugged at the sleeve of the Prince of Yue, shaking his head slightly as they walked, saying, "Not quite right."

He sighed, "I was fine last year, but I suddenly fell ill this year."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the inner courtyard. Just as they entered, they saw His Highness the Crown Prince, who was speaking to his cousin Xue Gui. Xue Shou was about to speak when the Prince of Yue tugged at his sleeve, strode forward, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to His Highness the Crown Prince, saying, "Elder brother!" After calling out, he bowed to Xue Gui and said, "Cousin."

Xue Gui quickly returned the greeting.

His Highness the Crown Prince stepped forward, patted the Prince of Yue on the shoulder, and said, "Second Prince has come today as well."

Although the two brothers had some ulterior motives at this moment, they had been close for many years and were still family. He looked up at the Crown Prince and said with a wry smile, "In a few days, I may have to leave Luoyang. I don't know when I will be able to come back. My maternal grandfather taught me to love me since I was a child."

"Of course I have to come and take a look."

Upon hearing this, both the Crown Prince and Xue Shou were somewhat taken aback. The Crown Prince looked at him and frowned, saying, "Didn't Erlang just return from outside? Where are you going again?"

"Go to Jiannan Road."

The King of Yue remained silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "My father probably wants me to take up my fief."

"The Tibetans are restless."

Upon hearing this, the three people present reacted with varying expressions.

Xue Shou felt a pang of pity and asked, "Does His Majesty intend for Your Highness to be sent to guard Jiannan?"

"I do not know."

The King of Yue shook his head slightly and said, "Father did not say it explicitly, but I guess that's the gist of it. The Tibetans are making frequent unusual moves, and Father wants to send someone from his family to keep an eye on things there."

Over the years, His Majesty the Emperor has been working hard to expand the family line, partly to strengthen the Li family's power. It is not surprising that he has sent his sons to guard key locations.

Hearing what the King of Yue said, even the Crown Prince felt a little reluctant.

If the King of Yue were to be enfeoffed in Shu and sent to guard Jiannan, the two brothers would really not see each other very often in their lives.

“I will go and tell my father.”

The Crown Prince shook his head and said, "Second Prince is not yet twenty years old. There is no need to rush to take up his fiefdom. Besides, Jiannan Road is too far away."

“If we are to be enfeoffed, we can either be enfeoffed in the Central Plains or simply in Chang’an, where we brothers will be closer to each other.”

"So that we can meet again in the future."

The two share the same father, and their mother is their god-sister. Over the years, they have been like sisters, truly like brothers.

At this moment, what everyone present was saying was indeed from the bottom of their hearts.

The Prince of Yue shook his head: "My father has worked hard for twenty years to achieve what we have today. Now that I have become a prince, I should do something for my father."

He stepped back, cupped his hands to the Crown Prince, and said, "Elder brother, if I am unable to return for an extended period of time in the future, I will trouble you with the task of caring for our parents."

The crown prince frowned and helped him up.

"How did it get to this point?"

King Yue took a deep breath and said, "I have loved martial arts since I was a child, and this time I have put my skills to good use."

"My mother..."

"Brother, when you have some free time, please go and take a look for me as well."

His Highness the Crown Prince put his arm around the Prince of Yue's shoulder and shook his head, saying, "This won't work. You're only seventeen years old. How can you go to such a far place to take up your fiefdom?"

"Don't worry, I will definitely speak to my father!"

The King of Yue shook his head and said, "I'll go see my maternal grandfather first, and then I'll come out and have a detailed chat with my elder brother."

After saying that, he walked past everyone and came to Master Xue's bedroom. When he saw Master Xue lying on the bed, Li Zheng's eyes reddened. He knelt down by the bed and kowtowed, saying, "Grandfather, your grandson has come to see you."

Master Xue opened his eyes, looked at Li Zheng kneeling by the bed, and then suddenly widened his eyes.

"Quick, get up."

Master Xue forced himself to sit up, then had Prince Yue sit by the bedside. He took Prince Yue's hand, sighed, and said, "These old bones of mine should have died long ago. How could I let you father and sons take turns coming to see me?"

His Highness the Prince of Yue looked at Master Xue and wiped away his tears with his sleeve.

"Whether others come or not is their business, but shouldn't I come to see you?"

Upon hearing this, Master Xue took the Prince of Yue's hand and sighed, "Your mother is a pitiful person. Over the years, she has always treated me and your maternal grandmother as her own parents."

“She has been staying at the Xue family’s house for the past few days.”

At this point, Master Xue said quietly, "From now on, you must take good care of her."

The Prince of Yue wept uncontrollably: "I know, I know."

"If your maternal grandfather passes away, you should try to persuade your mother."

Master Xue let out a long sigh.

"Tell her not to be sad."

(End of this chapter)