Thief Emperor

Chapter 1082 The Ancient Powerful Lord
When you have many brothers, they may not be as close as they used to be.

Two or three, three or four, might be as close as family, but if there are more than five, all sorts of thoughts will naturally arise, especially since the relationship between princes is even more complicated when they are born into the royal family.

Li Yun's harem was relatively simple, but it was still divided into different ranks.

The first rank naturally belongs to the legitimate sons and daughters born to the Empress.

The rest were born to the two imperial concubines.

In the early years of Emperor Li, for a long period of time, he only had three wives with proper titles. As a result, the three sisters had a good relationship, and their children were naturally closer, such as the brothers Li Yuan and Li Zheng, and the eldest princess Li Shu.

The three siblings were like brothers from the same mother.

The third prince, Li Cang, was not nearly as close to them, and in fact... not even particularly familiar with them. They only met once a year at the family banquet and occasionally bumped into each other in the palace.

Privately, we almost never hung out together.

At this moment, both the eldest and second eldest brothers turned around to look at Li Cang.

After being stared at for a while, the third prince also noticed the gazes of his two elder brothers. He braced himself and stepped forward, walked up to his two brothers, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Brothers."

The Crown Prince patted him on the shoulder, said nothing, and instead asked Li Zheng, "Where are Father and Mother?"

"I do not know either."

Prince Yue said with a smile, "I went to welcome my elder brother with Prime Minister Du and the others early this morning. I haven't been to the palace yet, but I guess Father and Mother are waiting for my elder brother in the Taiji Hall right now."

Upon hearing this, His Highness the Crown Prince nodded: "I don't think Father Emperor will be in Ganlu Hall anymore. Let's go directly to Taiji Hall."

The two brothers exchanged questions and answers, and the procession entered the imperial city in a grand manner. At the palace gate, the crown prince turned around and bowed to Prime Minister Du, saying, "Thank you for welcoming us from afar, Prime Minister. My brothers and I will first go to see our father, and then come to thank you and all the officials."

Du Xiangong quickly bowed and said he dared not accept such a greeting.

When he looked up at the Crown Prince again, his eyes were full of satisfaction.

Although His Highness the Crown Prince has only been away from Luoyang for a year, judging from his words and actions, this heir apparent has clearly matured a lot compared to before.

This pleased Prime Minister Du greatly. He pulled the Crown Prince aside, gave him a few brief instructions, and then allowed the Crown Prince to enter the palace.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Yao Zhong watched from the sidelines with a calm expression. Although he was extremely respectful to the Crown Prince, he did not speak to him privately.

Soon, His Highness the Crown Prince, along with his two brothers, entered the Taiji Hall. Inside, His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Empress were waiting for the Crown Prince's return. When all three sons knelt before him, even though he was somewhat prepared, His Majesty the Emperor could not hide his joy and said with a smile, "Rise, rise."

"Sit down."

The three princes all took their seats with utmost respect. Emperor Li looked at His Highness the Crown Prince with great pleasure and said with a smile, "In the past year, you have been alone in Jinling. What is remarkable is that, as the Crown Prince, you have not made any mistakes."

"Your mother and I are very happy."

The emperor smiled and said, "After you have rested for a few days, go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices to our ancestors."

The Crown Prince first bowed his head in agreement, then addressed the Emperor, saying, "Father, in the past year, I have traveled to almost all the prefectures and counties in Jiangdong. The new policies in Jiangdong have been implemented very well."

The Crown Prince paused for a moment, then continued, "Commerce is also significantly more prosperous than last year. It shouldn't be long before Father Emperor's new policies are implemented."

He lowered his head and said, "I think that a five-year trial period is too long. Since Jiangdong has done a good job in this year, we can shorten the trial period to three years, or even start from next year to extend it to other regions."

"In this way, the new policies in each region will be implemented in a few years."

Emperor Li looked at him and shook his head slightly: "In governing a country, one must not be too hasty. If it is said to be five years, then it is five years. There is no need to rush."

"In five years, all the advantages and disadvantages will become apparent. Even the advantages haven't been fully realized yet, let alone the disadvantages."

At this point, the emperor said in a deep voice, "You must get rid of this impatient nature. Some national affairs must be handled urgently, but these major policies cannot be rushed in the slightest."

The crown prince quickly lowered his head and replied, "Yes."

Empress Xue, standing to the side, tugged at Emperor Li's sleeve and said, "Our son has just returned. If there's anything, we can talk to him about it in a couple of days."

Li Yun glanced at the Empress, nodded, and said "okay" with a smile.

Empress Xue then pulled the Crown Prince aside to talk, asking him about his experiences along the way, as well as about the Crown Princess.

After finishing these everyday conversations, Empress Xue began to talk about the Eastern Palace and the matter of the imperial grandson.

Emperor Li glanced at the mother and son, shook his head slightly, then looked at his other two sons and said with a smile, "Today, we are a family reunion, Sanlang."

Li Cang immediately knelt on the ground and bowed his head, saying, "Your subject is here."

"Go out and tell all the ministers that our family is hosting a banquet in the palace tonight, and all officials of the fifth rank and above from Luoyang should come to the palace to attend." Li Cang quickly bowed his head: "Your subject obeys."

The emperor looked at him and said with a smile, "It's already afternoon. The people in the palace may not be able to keep up. If the banquet can't be supplied, you can help out and not embarrass our family."

The Third Prince remained calm and nodded in agreement, saying, "Father, rest assured, with your son here, everything will be fine."

After saying that, he lowered his head and retreated.

The King of Yue looked at Li Yun with some curiosity and asked, "Father, Sanlang doesn't even have a residence outside the palace. Can Sanlang help with this banquet?"

His Majesty the Emperor lowered his head to drink his tea, then glanced at him: "You two are brothers, yet you don't even know what he does on a daily basis, and you have the nerve to ask your father."

The King of Yue scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.

He really didn't know what his third brother did every day. He only knew that his third brother was usually very mysterious and rarely appeared in public, even though he had already moved out of the palace.

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at Li Zheng, who looked completely bewildered, and shook his head slightly inwardly.

My second son is talented in martial arts, but he is lacking in other areas, especially in social skills.

Although Li himself wasn't particularly good at socializing back then, there's a difference between a ruler of a chaotic era and a ruler of a peaceful era.

"Alright, you can go now. Go to the Fei family and invite Minister Fei and your future father-in-law's family to the palace for dinner. You can entertain them then."

The King of Yue quickly bowed his head in response and turned to leave the Taiji Hall.

…………

As evening fell, a grand banquet was held in the palace, brightly lit as if it were daytime.

Emperor Li sat at the same table with the Empress and enjoyed the festivities with his ministers.

His Highness the Crown Prince sat below the Emperor, and ministers would occasionally come to toast him upon his return from the eastern tour.

Several prime ministers also toasted the crown prince in turn. Among them, Prime Minister Du drank with the crown prince and then sat at the same table with him for a long time.

It was probably about instructing His Highness the Crown Prince on some matters, such as what to do after returning to Luoyang, and what to do after the New Year.

Prime Minister Yao Zhong, after offering a toast, silently returned to his seat and drank the wine with his head down.

Sitting next to Yao Xiangong was his eldest son, Yao Shen.

Yao Xiangong is already quite old, and his eldest son Yao Shen is already in his early thirties. Now, thanks to his father's influence, he is serving in the Dali Temple as the Vice Minister of the Dali Temple.

At this moment, Yao Shaoqing looked at the seat where His Highness the Crown Prince was sitting, and then at Prime Minister Du who was sitting next to His Highness the Crown Prince. He couldn't help but feel a little envious. He poured his father a cup of wine and said in a low voice, "Father, His Highness the Crown Prince has returned to court. Why don't you go and get closer to His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Master Yao remained calm and composed, glancing at his son before saying indifferently, "If you want to get close to him, then go ahead. I'm not stopping you."

Yao Shaoqing scratched his head, but dared not speak.

After thinking for a moment, Yao Xiangong said with a smile, "Prime Minister Du is the Grand Secretary of the Central Secretariat, which can be considered the prime minister of this dynasty. His job is to maintain the stability of the court and ensure that the country is not in chaos."

“But I, as a father, don’t have to do these things.”

Yao Shaoqing poured his father a cup of wine and said softly, "Then you don't have to be so honest and not say a word to His Highness the Crown Prince, do you?"

"Shouldn't you also consider your children and grandchildren?"

Minister Yao narrowed his eyes, smiled but said nothing. He took a sip of wine, glanced back at his son, then looked up at His Majesty the Emperor and said slowly, "Instead of getting close to the Crown Prince, it would be better to get close to the young princes who are still in the palace."

Yao Shaoqing stared wide-eyed at his father, looking around as if he were about to lose his mind: "Father, have you gone mad?"

Master Yao glanced at his son indifferently: "Didn't you ask that?"

He handed him the empty wine glass, and Yao Shaoqing quickly refilled it, saying in a low voice, "Father, you've had too much to drink, please don't talk nonsense."

Yao Xiangong took a sip of wine, looked at Li Yun again, and shook his head slightly, saying, "I am just telling the truth, Your Majesty... is too young."

He said slowly, "Moreover, throughout history, there have been many powerful rulers."

At this time, everyone was eating at separate tables. After saying this half sentence, Master Yao looked around to make sure no one was around before looking at his son and whispering.

"Establish more young children."

(End of this chapter)