Thief Emperor

Chapter 1056 The Emperor’s Grandson
In the twelfth month, Su Zhan and Huang Chao, along with the Khitan envoy Yelü Hong, left Luoyang and headed north to Youyan, preparing to take over Youyan and develop Liaodong.

Originally, Li Yun planned for them to travel north after the New Year. However, the newly promoted Huang Chao was an impatient man who kept finding Su Zhan every few days, urging him to set off. Helpless, Su Zhan, a military officer, and Yelü Hong, a Khitan man who grew up on horseback, were forced to ride along with Huang Chao, galloping all the way to Youyan.

Meanwhile, another joyous occasion was being prepared in the imperial court.

That was the marriage between Princess Lujiang and the fourth son of the Su family.

Princess Lujiang, needless to say, was the emperor's eldest daughter and basically one of his most favored daughters, or even one of them.

Princess Lujiang was the only one among His Majesty's many princes and princesses who could freely enter and leave the Ganlu Palace.

Or rather, she was the only one who dared to enter and leave the Ganlu Hall while the emperor was working, and His Majesty the emperor would not blame her.

The other princes did not have the courage.

Most of the princesses were still young and not as bold as this older sister.

At this moment, in the Ganlu Hall, Emperor Li was reviewing the news sent back from Jiannan Circuit. Princess Lujiang, dressed in a green wedding robe, twirled in front of the emperor, then looked at him and asked, "Father, does it look good?"

These are the clothes that a couple wears when they go through their wedding ceremony at dusk, at the moment when yin and yang meet. The man in red and the woman in green exchange vows and become husband and wife.

His Majesty the Emperor put down the documents in his hand, looked up at his eldest daughter, and was filled with many thoughts. He was silent for a while before sighing and saying, "Beautiful, beautiful."

Marrying a wife is naturally different from marrying off a daughter. When Li Yun married the Crown Princess last time, he was in a very good mood. He was all smiles all day and even got drunk.

Now that his daughter was about to be married off, Emperor Li was not so happy. He looked at his daughter and asked, "Have you two gone to see the Princess Lujiang Mansion? How is the construction going?"

According to the old system of Wu Zhou, after a princess got married, she would mostly live in a princess's mansion bestowed by the emperor outside the palace. However, it is worth mentioning that this princess's mansion was not where the princess and her husband lived together.

Instead, the princess lived alone.

The prince consort lived in a separate mansion nearby, and unless summoned by the princess or through certain procedures, he often could not see her.

The couple's social statuses were vastly different.

Once in the heart of the new dynasty, putting aside the other princesses, Li Yun would never mistreat his eldest daughter. As early as when Su Sheng submitted his marriage proposal, the Ministry of Works had already begun constructing the Lujiang Princess's residence, which was completed a month ago.

As for the princess-consort system of this dynasty, Li Yun did not intend to be as strict as Wu Zhou. At the very least, the couple would live together in the princess's residence. As for how the couple should get along...

That's not Li Yun's problem anymore.

If they are willing to live like an ordinary couple, then they should. If they cannot live like an ordinary couple, the princess's residence is very large, and it is their freedom to live separately.

As for having children...

As the founder of a dynasty, Li Yun's sons naturally had to multiply and produce heirs for the country.

As for their daughter, Li Yun wouldn't pressure the couple; she'd let things take their course.

The eldest princess walked up to Emperor Li and said with a smile, "I've been there with Silang. The princess's residence is beautifully built. Thank you, Father."

Emperor Li said with a smile, "Your father had your elder brother from the Zhuo family personally oversee the construction of that mansion. It was originally the residence of a prince of the old Zhou dynasty, but it was converted into a princess's residence for you."

“When your sisters get married in the future, they won’t receive the same treatment as you.”

"The daughter of Vice Minister Zhuo, who was in charge of the construction, knows about it."

The eldest princess looked at Li Yun and said reproachfully, "But in Luoyang, where is there any former Zhou prince's residence? I've only heard of a Wei prince's residence, but that's not yours."

Emperor Li was speechless and said, "Luoyang was the secondary capital of the former Zhou Dynasty. Back then, there were countless princes and nobles, and even more vassal kings. Would your father lie to you?"

Seeing that the eldest princess did not believe him, Emperor Li asked Gu Chang to help search through the documents. They finally found the detailed document submitted by Zhuo Zhong, the Vice Minister of Works. Sure enough, it stated that it was the former Prince Xiang of Zhou's residence in Luoyang.

His Majesty the Emperor pointed at the document, looked at his daughter, and said with a smile, "Look, did your father lie to you?"

The eldest princess stood behind the emperor, wrapped her arms around her father's neck, and said with a smile, "Father loves me the most."

His Majesty the Emperor pulled his daughter aside, coughed, and frowned, saying, "You're always so unruly."

He looked at his daughter in her wedding dress and felt a pang of sadness for no reason. After sighing, he took his daughter's hand and said, "After you get married, you won't live in the Zhou family anymore. It will be more convenient for you to come and go. When you have time, remember to come back to the palace to see your father."

Seeing the Emperor's pitiful state, the eldest princess was also somewhat saddened. She wiped away her tears and protested, "My princess residence is only a short distance from the capital, so naturally I should come back to see my parents often. How can I not come home?"

"As long as Father allows his daughter to enter the capital, his daughter will definitely come back often."

Li Yun nodded and said, "That's good, that's good."

"Alright, go see your mother and your concubine. Your father has other matters to attend to."

The eldest princess responded and bowed to His Majesty the Emperor, saying, "Alright, I'll come to see Father another day."

Having said that, the eldest princess, who was about to be married, went to the inner palace.

The emperor sat silently for a moment, then continued to handle official business.

Time passed day by day, and before they knew it, it was the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. At this point, there were only two days left until the eldest princess's wedding.

That evening, the eunuch Gu Chang stumbled into the Ganlu Hall and almost knelt before His Majesty the Emperor. He bowed deeply and kowtowed, his voice trembling, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Li looked at him thoughtfully, then asked, "What happened?"

"The Crown Prince has just given birth to a grandson!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Gu Chang, panting, beamed with joy: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the birth of your grandson! Our Great Tang now has a third generation!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Li silently put down his brush and looked outside the palace.

Before the Crown Prince's marriage, a maid in the Eastern Palace was already pregnant. Now that the Crown Prince has been married for quite some time, there is still no sign of a Crown Princess.

But this maid had already given birth to a son.

This is the eldest son of the Crown Prince, born out of wedlock.

If the Crown Princess gives birth to a prince in the future, then this eldest son born out of wedlock will have little chance of inheriting the throne. However, if the Crown Princess does not give birth to a legitimate son for the Crown Prince, then this eldest son born out of wedlock is very likely to be the third-generation successor of the Li Tang dynasty!
Upon hearing this news, His Majesty the Emperor could not hide his excitement. He silently stood up and asked, "Has the Empress been informed?"

"Your Majesty, a palace maid has already gone to the inner palace to inform the Empress."

His Majesty the Emperor nodded silently and said, "Prepare the carriage and proceed to the Eastern Palace."

"Yes."

The emperor was of noble status and had a grand air about him. When a prince gave birth, not only would the emperor not go to see him in person, but even if the newborn wanted to see the emperor, he would probably have to ask for an imperial decree. But Li Yun was different after all.

Compared to his identity as emperor, he was more like a living, breathing person. Now that he had suddenly been promoted to a generation and become a grandfather, even after serving as the founding emperor for ten years, it was inevitable that he would feel excited.

Of course he wanted to go see his grandson.

The imperial carriage arrived at the East Palace. Before it even landed, the Crown Prince, accompanied by his wife and a group of palace servants, knelt before the Emperor. His Majesty raised his hand, signaling everyone to rise. Then, he looked around and saw that the Empress's palanquin had already arrived.

Emperor Li looked at his son and daughter-in-law and asked, "Your mother has come too?"

The prince nodded.

With a smile on her face, Crown Princess Qian said, "The Empress Dowager and the Emperor arrived one after the other, and they are currently inside looking after the children."

Emperor Li was speechless. He first glanced at his daughter-in-law and said with a smile, "Good child, you should hurry up and give me and your mother a grandson."

Madam Qian was not intimidated. She simply lowered her head slightly and said with a smile, "Your subject obeys."

Led by the Crown Prince, His Majesty the Emperor entered the Eastern Palace, where he saw Empress Xue, who was holding an infant in her arms. Emperor Li stepped forward, first looking at his wife, and then at the child in her arms.

Seeing that Empress Xue looked haggard, Li Yun felt a pang of sympathy and asked, "Why do you look so haggard, Madam?"

Empress Xue looked downcast, glanced at Li Yun, and sighed deeply.

"Father, Father..."

"I'm afraid it won't last much longer."

Empress Xue looked down at the child in her arms, her heart filled with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy.

"I think I should take this child to see him."

Emperor Li glanced at the woman lying on the bed not far away and nodded silently.

"Okay, I'll go with you tomorrow."

Empress Xue nodded, and Li Yun then said, "Madam, please grant this child a proper title."

Empress Xue nodded silently.

"I've already told Yuan'er that we'll get through this year."

"Then they arranged a title for her."

Li Yun nodded, walked to the bedside, looked at the pale, almost bloodless woman on the bed, and asked softly, "Are you alright?"

The woman, who had just given birth to the emperor's grandson, was so frightened that she stammered and couldn't say a word; she could only keep crying.

For several days, everyone focused on the child, while few paid attention to her.

Upon seeing this, His Majesty the Emperor sighed silently.

"Take a good rest, take a good rest."

(End of this chapter)