Thief Emperor

Chapter 1057 Conquering Tibet
On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor's eldest daughter married the fourth son of the Su family in Luoyang, causing a sensation throughout the city and creating an extremely lively scene.

This is not just a marriage between children, but also the first marriage between the Su family of the Duke of Wei and the Emperor's family, which means that the two families will be more deeply bound together.

From then on, the Su family, a powerful military clan, would find it difficult to separate themselves from the royal family, whether in terms of interests or other aspects.

On the surface, this marriage was a "free love" between the eldest princess and Su Silang, but in the final analysis, it was because the pairing of these two children would benefit both families, and the adults of both families tacitly approved of the matter.

Otherwise, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly, and Emperor Li might not have been so easy to talk to.

As this was the first time an imperial princess had married, the imperial clan held a grand and lively event. Prince Chu, Li Feng, along with everyone in the clan, worked for several days to ensure the emperor's daughter's marriage was a magnificent affair.

When it came time for the wedding ceremony, His Majesty the Emperor, accompanied by the Empress and Consort Lu, personally attended to congratulate the newlyweds.

After the ceremony, His Majesty the Emperor raised his wine cup, drank a cup of wine with everyone, then stood up and glanced at Su Sheng.

General Su immediately understood and hurriedly stepped forward, bowing his head: "Your Majesty, what is it?"

The emperor sighed silently and said, "Today is a good day. We brothers should have a drink together, but I have something to attend to and must take my leave first. Please take care of things here, brother."

Upon hearing this, Su Sheng hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Is it from Prince Xue's place?"

Xue Song was on his deathbed yesterday, but he was just holding on. Now that the eldest princess's wedding is over, Li Yun should go and see her, both out of courtesy and reason.

The emperor nodded silently.

Su Sheng thought for a moment and then said, "Shall I go with His Majesty to take a look?"

"Don't go, don't go."

The emperor shook his head at Su Sheng, and then, together with the empress, silently left the princess's residence.

As evening fell, in the Prince of Nanyang's mansion, Master Xue finally felt a little better. He gave his final instructions to his two sons and a group of grandchildren, and then looked at his daughter and son-in-law, sighing, "Second son, shall we have a talk?"

Li Yun immediately nodded, stepped forward and sat down beside Master Xue's bed, and said, "Father-in-law, please speak freely."

Master Xue looked at his family and called his children and grandchildren over. Once his family members were close, Master Xue took Emperor Li's sleeve and said with a smile, "In these twenty years, I have truly seen too much. My life has been quite eventful."

"Now that I'm in my sixties or seventies, I can be considered to be living a long life. As for myself, I have no other desires."

He looked at Li Yun and sighed silently: "From now on, Erlang, please be a little more lenient and don't overwork yourself. The fate of hundreds of millions of people and all living beings rests on your shoulders."

Take good care of yourself.

He said in a low voice, "The Li family is still not prosperous enough. It will take another ten or twenty years before they can completely secure their position as royalty. Until then, you will have to support them all by yourself. You must not make any mistakes."

Emperor Li said quietly, "I understand."

Upon hearing this, Master Xue breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the Xue family members and continued in a low voice, "Our Xue family hasn't achieved much in the past twenty years. Second Master has already treated the Xue family very well. After I go..."

His voice weakened: "The Xue family's favor should not be increased any further."

He looked at Li Yun, seemingly suddenly losing all his strength: "At most, the Xue family is... a Duke."

Prince Xue's voice grew weaker and weaker: "Xue Shou, Xue Shou... You can't disobey orders... Disobeying orders will lead to reinstatement."

"Xue Gui, Xue Gui..."

His voice gradually faded into inaudibility, and Emperor Li leaned closer to hear his last complete sentence.

"No, we mustn't promote him too quickly..."

After saying this, Master Xue had no more strength left and could not say another word.

From the moment he came into this world, the Xue family was the one with whom Li Yun had the deepest bond. Therefore, after the establishment of the new dynasty, the Xue family received far more treatment than their peers.

For example, after Master Xue "retired," Li Yun bestowed upon him the title of Prince of Nanyang.

The other hereditary dukes, such as Duke Su Sheng of Wei and Duke Du Qian of Qin, as well as the other dukes, will all be posthumously granted the title of Prince of the County after their deaths.

As for Master Xue, he was a prince while alive, and after his death, he will probably be posthumously granted the title of prince.

Given this bond, and considering the close relationship between Li Yun and Empress Xue, the Emperor might actually allow Xue to inherit the title of Prince after Master Xue's passing.

Another issue is the matter of being reinstated after being deprived of his post.

After Master Xue passed away, his sons were all required to resign from their official posts and observe three years of mourning. They could not be reinstated unless the emperor issued an edict to revoke their mourning period.

This is a relatively strict system, which on the one hand emphasizes filial piety, and on the other hand is a way for the court or the imperial power to control the power of the subjects.

Officials typically don't serve very long; most will observe a period of mourning during their official careers, at which point they must resign. Their reinstatement depends on the emperor and their superiors' attitudes. Xue Shou is already the Minister of Revenue; with his passing, Li Yun will likely reinstate him despite the mourning period.

As for Xue Gui, there's no need to say more. Having grown up with his uncle, Xue Gui's rise in the court is now not far behind that of his father.

Emperor Li held Master Xue's hand and remained silent for a long time before sighing, "Father-in-law, why be so cautious? Do you think I can't protect the Xue family?"

Master Xue was speechless; he simply held Li Yun's hand and stared intently at his son-in-law.

Emperor Li remained silent for a long time before slowly nodding: "I agree."

Master Xue breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at his two sons and the Empress Xue who was already sobbing uncontrollably, and finally looked at Madam Xue, who was silently shedding tears and whose hair had turned gray.

After looking around, he glanced at his grandchildren and finally closed his eyes reluctantly.

That night, Prince Xue Song of Nanyang passed away.

It was the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month in the ninth year of Zhangwu, three days before the end of the year.

In the end, Master Xue was unable to make it through the year.

The entire Nanyang Prince's Mansion was filled with the sound of weeping.

Emperor Li stayed at the Xue family's residence for a long time before taking Empress Xue's hand and walking outside.

Outside, His Highness the Crown Prince had been there for quite some time. When he saw his parents come out, he quickly stepped forward, kowtowed, and bowed, his face also covered in tears.

"Father, Emperor, Mother."

He bowed his head and wept, saying, "Please, Mother, take care of yourself and don't harm your health."

Empress Xue helped her son up, looked back at her husband, and finally buried her face in Li Yun's arms, bursting into tears.

His Majesty the Emperor patted her on the back, looked at his son, and said quietly, "Order the Secretariat to suspend court for three days. Before the end of the year, the court shall not handle any political affairs. After the Lantern Festival, the court shall resume its operations."

His Highness the Crown Prince quickly bowed his head and replied, "Yes."

Emperor Li looked at his eldest son and said quietly, "Spend the next few days here with your mother. After the New Year, there will be some matters concerning the court."

"It will gradually be handed over to you to handle."

His Highness the Crown Prince paused, then looked up at his father.

His Majesty the Emperor patted him on the shoulder.

"From now on, remember the good things your maternal grandfather did for you."

Upon hearing this, His Highness the Crown Prince couldn't help but tear up again.

"Your child will never forget."

…………

New Year's Eve, Chengdu.

His Highness the King of Yue sat in the warm pavilion, looking at the Tibetan envoys before him, and said with a smile, "You have all met me, but I have not yet met your Tibetan princess. After the New Year, you must bring the Tibetan princess over so that I can see what she looks like."

He inherited his father's physique and facial features, but also bore a resemblance to Empress Liu. He was tall, handsome, and exceptionally good-looking.

Upon hearing this, the Tibetan envoys exchanged glances. One of them, who could speak Chinese, said, "Your Highness, we need to first paint a portrait of you and then bring it to our princess."

"That's too much trouble."

The Prince of Yue frowned and said casually, "How about this, after the New Year, you take me with you to Tibet to meet your Tibetan princess. If I take a liking to her, I'll bring her back to Luoyang to meet my father, the Emperor."

Several Tibetan envoys were surprised to hear this. The leader looked Li Zheng up and down and said, "Isn't Your Highness afraid of becoming a hostage in Tibet?"

"What are you afraid of?"

His Highness the King of Yue tilted his head back and took a sip of wine, displaying great boldness.

"My father is invincible."

He laughed and said, "If you kidnap me, I'll just die. That will give him an excuse to send troops and destroy Tibet."

(End of this chapter)