Thief Emperor

Chapter 1062 National Affairs and Family Affairs

Seeing that the emperor's wine cup was empty, Prince Jin quickly got up, refilled the emperor's cup, and said with a wry smile, "Being the emperor is really not an easy job. Among us brothers, only my second brother is capable of handling it."

Li Yun smiled and said, "It's not difficult. If you let Lao Jiu do it, he'll probably be able to do it well."

Upon hearing this, Prince Jin was speechless and said, "If he heard this, he would be terrified."

The two brothers talked for a long time, but in the end, Prince Jin still asked about the assassination attempt last year, and cautiously asked, "Second brother, what exactly happened on the Emperor's birthday last year?"

Li Yun said calmly, "Old Jiu has been personally investigating this matter for the past two or three months. He has already found out many people, but he is still following the clues and has not alerted the enemy."

"After some time, once the people who need to be investigated have been investigated, there will naturally be a result."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "You'll find out then."

Prince Jin said with a wry smile, "Second brother, you should deal with me. I've been terrified these past few months."

Emperor Li patted him on the shoulder and said quietly, "What are you afraid of?"

“We are brothers, just like blood brothers. Ten years after the founding of the country, you have been the Prefect of the Capital for eleven years.”

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor gave a self-deprecating laugh: "If one day even you were to harbor thoughts of harming me, then there would be no point in me being an emperor."

Upon hearing this, Prince Jin was deeply moved. He also tilted his head back and took a sip of wine, saying, "I've been with my second brother since I was a toddler. I would never have any other thoughts even if I died."

"But this matter is ultimately the responsibility of the Jingzhao Prefecture, and I feel that we should give the imperial court an explanation."

Emperor Li thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Very well, I'll have the Secretariat draft a decree to punish you with half a year's salary."

Prince Jin smiled wryly and said, "Let's make it a year."

"Six months is six months."

His Majesty the Emperor laughed and said, "You rascal, besides your salary and the bonuses I give you, you don't have any other income. Now the Prince's mansion is full of people. If I really stop your salary for a year, my sister-in-law will come to the palace to complain about being poor."

"In the end, won't you just be getting the money from my own private treasury?"

Prince Jin scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.

However, Li Yun was right.
Throughout the entire court, so far, only the relationship between the two brothers is truly pure. In a sense, Li Yun's relationship with Prince Jin is even closer than his relationship with his sons.

During his eleven years as the Prefect of Jingzhao, Prince Jin had countless opportunities to embezzle money, but in order to set an example for his second brother in the court and to avoid making things difficult for his brother, he basically did not take any dirty money.

Even if there were any, they had all been informed to Emperor Li beforehand.

Therefore, the Prince of Jin's mansion was not wealthy.

As the two brothers were talking, the eunuch Gu Chang cautiously entered the Ganlu Hall, knelt before the emperor, and bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty..."

The emperor put down his wine cup, glanced at him, and frowned, saying, "We brothers are drinking. Who let you in?"

Eunuch Gu wiped the sweat from his brow and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived."

Li Yun was taken aback, then frowned: "This kid, why doesn't he have any manly spirit?"

Prince Jin coughed and quickly said, "I suppose it wasn't His Highness the Crown Prince who went to complain. If he had, His Highness would have arrived this afternoon, not now. I guess His Highness must have gotten wind of it herself."

Helpless, Li Yun stood up and said, "Let's go, let's go greet her together, so she won't get angry."

Prince Jin nodded hurriedly and followed behind the emperor. Before long, he saw the empress walking towards him.

At this time, Prince Xue had only recently passed away, and Empress Xue had spent most of the month staying at the Xue family home. The affairs of the palace were mostly handled by Consort Liu and Consort Lu. She only rushed over after receiving news that her son was going to Jinling, without even having time to put on makeup.

Upon seeing the Empress, Prince Jin bowed respectfully from afar, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Empress Xue glanced at Prince Jin and forced a smile: "Uncle is here too."

Prince Jin bowed his head and said, "Yes, Your Majesty has summoned your brother to drink."

The Empress was silent for a moment, then continued, "Then you brothers continue drinking. I will come again tomorrow."

Prince Jin quickly bowed his head and said, "The wine is finished, and I am about to take my leave."

After saying that, he bowed deeply to Li Yun, gave Li Yun a look of goodwill, and ran away in a flash.

His Majesty the Emperor then stepped forward, took his wife's hand, and said softly, "Why have you come all this way at this hour?"

The Empress entered the Ganlu Palace, sat on the Emperor's soft couch, and frowned: "It's only with great difficulty that my three children have grown up, and now they all have to be chased out at once?"

She wiped away her tears: "My father has only been gone for less than a month. If my son were to leave, I wouldn't even have anyone to talk to."

Emperor Li tugged at her sleeve and said quietly, "Madam, he is the Crown Prince."

"The Crown Prince must shoulder some responsibilities. This eastern tour marks the beginning of his taking over the administration of the country."

"I will have Yang Xi lead the Imperial Guards to accompany and protect him. There will be no mistakes. By this time next year, he will be back safe and sound."

Empress Xue wiped away her tears, then sighed and said, "I know we're different from ordinary families, but he just had a son recently, and he hasn't been married long. Our daughter-in-law isn't pregnant yet." "Can't we postpone the eastern tour until next year?"

Emperor Li shook his head slightly: "Next year, the important matters in Jiangdong will be mostly settled. Whether he goes or not is no longer important."

"As for the Crown Princess..."

The emperor rubbed his temples: "Perhaps we can travel together."

"She is the daughter of a military family, and her body is not weak; she can also move around."

The Empress sighed: "Then I will go to the East Palace tomorrow to see the couple and ask them about it."

Emperor Li patted his wife's hand and said quietly, "My wife must understand me."

"Over the years, I have tried my best to take care of my family."

Li Yun's words were sincere.

He was different from other emperors, after all.

If it were any other emperor in his current position, even if he didn't neglect the empress, he would most likely have already regarded the adult crown prince as a political enemy.

This is determined by the inherent nature of imperial power, and no one can change it.

Even Li Er, the Heavenly Khan of another world, could not avoid this situation and ultimately forced his eldest son to rebel.

Li Yun had also considered this issue for a time, since the emperor and the crown prince, and even the princes, were natural political enemies.

The crown prince is a natural-born little emperor.

If left unchecked, as the crown prince grows older and his power increases, Li Yun might one day be invited into the harem to become an emperor emeritus, unable to leave his home and forced to associate with women.

Even under these circumstances, Li Yun did not take any precautions against the Crown Prince. Everything he was doing with the Crown Prince was preparation for handing over power or relinquishing some authority in the future.

He wanted to leave behind a beautiful story of unwavering trust between father and son.

But before that, he had to make his new policies work and let the crown prince inherit his political ambitions.

That's why all these things happened.

Empress Xue leaned on the Emperor's shoulder and wiped away her tears: "This imperial family is exhausting. It would have been better if I had just lived with you on Cangshan Mountain and been a chieftain's wife."

Emperor Li held her waist and sighed softly, "If we had really stayed in the mountains, the world would probably still be in chaos, and Xuanzhou would inevitably be affected. Our family would still be unable to avoid being involved in this great struggle."

Since it can't be avoided, we can only look forward.

His Majesty the Emperor held Empress Xue's hand and said softly, "My lady, you must believe in your husband. Everything I have done is for the sake of our family's peace and tranquility, and for the sake of you and our child."

Empress Xue held Li Yun's sleeve, her eyes reddening again: "My father is gone, and I always feel empty inside."

His Majesty the Emperor gently embraced her and said, "It will get better slowly, it will get better slowly."

At this point, Emperor Li looked down at his beloved wife, Rongyao, in his arms and said softly, "After a while, when you're in a better mood, let's try our best to have another child. What do you think, my wife?"

Empress Xue looked up at Li Yun and said in a low voice, "Father has only been gone a short time, this is not good..."

"It will be at least the end of the year."

Li Yun embraced Empress Xue and whispered, "If all else fails, we can wait until the end of the year."

According to custom, when parents die, daughters who live at home must observe a three-year mourning period, just like sons. However, married daughters are different; they only need to observe a nine-month mourning period.

Moreover, Empress Xue was, after all, the mother of the nation, and the birth of her legitimate son and daughter was a very important event. Even within nine months, no one dared to say anything.

At most, it will appear in later historical records with a few words about yin and yang.

Empress Xue glanced at Li Yun, then sighed and said, "I'll do whatever you say."

Li Yun embraced his wife and gently kissed her forehead.

"A young couple grows old together; my wife, you should cheer up soon, from now on..."

"I also want to take my wife to see the sights around."

Empress Xue nodded silently and sighed.

"You're just saying these things to fool people. Once you're in this palace, how will you ever get out?"

Emperor Li embraced her and whispered, "When Yuan'er grows up and is able to oversee the country and govern, the world will be vast."

"Where can't we, husband and wife, go?"

(End of this chapter)