Thief Emperor

Chapter 1099 The Old Man of Jiangdong

Jinling is more than a thousand li away from Luoyang. Normally, Lu Bing could have arrived in five or six days on horseback, but accompanying Zhang Sui, it took them more than twenty days to finally reach Luoyang.

Of course, having lived in Jiangdong for many years, Lu Bing had already moved his entire family there. He also had a large family, so even if he traveled by himself, he wouldn't get there very quickly.

That morning, the two families finally arrived at the gates of Luoyang. Zhang Sui dismounted from the carriage, bowed to Lu Bing who was riding on horseback, and said, "Thank you, Lord Lu, for protecting us all the way. My family was able to return to Luoyang safely."

"Once Zhang has settled his family, he will definitely invite the Marquis to a banquet."

At this moment, Lu Bing was riding his horse, looking around at the scene in Luoyang. When he heard Zhang Sui's words, he turned around to look at Zhang Sui, dismounted, clasped his hands in return, and said with a smile, "We are just colleagues, Zhang Zhongcheng is too kind."

At this point, Lord Lu looked around and pointed to Luoyang City, saying, "It must have been two or three years since Vice Minister Zhang returned to Luoyang. Look at Luoyang now."

Indeed, Zhang Sui only returned to Luoyang once at the end of the eleventh year of Zhangwu to report back to the emperor and discuss the plans for the new policies with him. After that, he took up the post of governor and went to Jinling again, and never came to Luoyang again.

In the blink of an eye, almost three years have passed.

Zhang Sui looked around and then replied, "There seem to be more people than three years ago, and the streets are a bit more lively."

Lord Lu smiled and said, "I think so too. There are just more people. But I heard that land prices in Luoyang have increased by more than 70 or 80% in the past three years."

"Some houses in the northern part of the city have even doubled in price."

Zhang Sui was taken aback, but then he understood what Lu Bing meant. He smiled and said, "This is not a good thing. If we calculate it this way, land prices and housing prices in Jinling have also doubled in the past few years."

As he spoke, he remembered something and said in an annoyed tone, "Years ago, the group of people who were arranged by His Majesty and my mentor to buy land and build houses in Jinling New City made a fortune. I heard that the Zheng family of Xingyang has recovered a lot of their strength through this business."

The Zheng family of Xingyang, located in the Central Plains, suffered a huge blow during the Wang Junping Rebellion. In order to preserve their family, the Zheng family of Xingyang split into several groups, one of which went to Jinling and sought refuge with Li Yun.

At that time, Jinling New City was newly built, and Li Yun tricked the Zheng family into buying land and building houses in Jinling New City, which was still a "bare shell".

At that time, Li Yun needed the wealth of these aristocratic families to build his own base.

Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. The investment made by the Zheng family of Xingyang in Jinling New City has yielded huge returns. The entire family has even been able to "come back to life" thanks to this investment.

Lord Lu remained calm and said, "The Zheng family did contribute to the construction of the new city of Jinling back then."

After saying that, he clasped his hands in a fist and said, "We've been together for a long time. Let's stop here for today. I need to go and settle my family. We'll meet again when I have time."

Zhang Sui cupped his hands and smiled, "Is the Marquis about to go to see the Emperor?"

He bowed slightly and said, "When you meet the Emperor, please remember to speak well of the new policies of Jiangdong, so that I can report back to His Majesty."

Lu Bing shook his head slightly and said, "Like Zhang Zhongcheng, I must first report to His Majesty and wait for His Majesty to summon me."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Sui and said with a smile, "I suppose Minister Zhang would like to go and see Minister Du first?"

Zhang Sui said calmly, "I am also waiting for His Majesty's summons. If I do not go to the palace tomorrow, I will go to visit my mentor first. In the blink of an eye, it has been almost three years since I last saw him."

The two exchanged a smile and said goodbye.

Lu Bing led his family back to their mansion in Luoyang. At this time, only about a dozen servants lived in the house and helped with its maintenance; most of the rooms were empty.

Fortunately, there were always people around, so the house still had some life. After a whole day of work, the family finally settled down.

The next day, Lu Bing still didn't rush to the palace. He took out two exquisite and beautiful pieces of silk from the luggage he brought back from Jiangnan, carried them in his hand, and then asked the people of the Nine Departments in Luoyang for information before finally arriving at General Su's mansion.

Upon arriving at the General's residence, Lu Bing announced his name. Soon, the side gate of the Su family's residence opened, and General Su, dressed in casual home clothes, strode forward to greet him. He clasped his hands in a fist and smiled at Marquis Lu, saying, "So it's Marquis Lu. When did you return to the capital, Marquis Lu?"

Lu Bing quickly bowed in return, saying, "I just got back yesterday."

He looked up at Su Sheng and asked in surprise, "The General didn't go to the Privy Council for duty today?"

Su Sheng shook his head slightly and sighed: "In the past two years, as I've gotten older, my health has deteriorated. In addition, there haven't been any battles recently, and there's not much to do at the Privy Council, so I've taken leave to rest at home for a few days."

Upon hearing this, Lu Bing looked up at General Su.

It was already winter of the fourteenth year of Zhangwu.

The current emperor is almost forty-five years old.

General Su, who is more than ten years older than the emperor, is now nearly sixty years old.

At this age, things are indeed getting worse year by year, and this former young General Su now has a full head of white hair.

In terms of age, he had already surpassed General Su Jing of that time. Lu Bing came from the Nine Departments, and even though he was serving as the Salt Commissioner in Jiangdong, he never lost contact with the Nine Departments and was still aware of some major events in Luoyang.

Therefore, he was very clear that there was no discord between the current emperor and this General Su, nor had he heard of any conflict between them.

In other words, General Su was recuperating at home.

It's most likely that he's just physically weak.

Su Sheng tugged at Lu Bing's sleeve and said with a smile, "We're already at your doorstep, so let's not stand here any longer. Come on, let's go inside and have some tea."

As he spoke, he glanced at the two bolts of silk that Lu Bing was carrying and said with a smile, "Brother Lu, why are you being so polite? You've come all this way, why bring any gifts?"

Lu Bing shook his head and said with a smile, "I wouldn't dare to give a gift to the General."

He paused, then sighed silently: "The General should know that my niece has been very close to me since childhood. She often played at my house when she was little. I have been on business in Jiangdong for the past few years and only came back once, when she got married. Now, in the blink of an eye, it has been four years since her wedding."

"So, after returning to Luoyang, I thought I should come and see her as soon as possible."

Lord Lu looked down at what he was holding, somewhat embarrassed: "I didn't know the General was home. Please forgive my rudeness."

Su Sheng then looked Lu Bing up and down and said with a smile, "Since you're looking for the eldest princess, why don't you go to the princess's residence instead of coming to my house?"

Lu Bing coughed and said, "This morning, I asked some old acquaintances in Luoyang and heard that the eldest princess has been staying at the general's place for the past few days, so I came here."

General Su exclaimed, "Brother, you truly deserve to be called a member of the Nine Departments."

As he spoke, he coughed violently, almost losing his balance. He leaned on a pillar and coughed several more times before recovering: "You really have sharp hearing and eyesight."

Lord Lu was startled and quickly patted Su Sheng on the back, saying, "General, what's wrong? Let me help you to see a doctor."

Su Sheng shook his head: "The old injuries from back then, I didn't pay much attention to when I was young, but now that I'm older, they've all come back to haunt me."

"I'm doing alright today, I can still come out to greet you. Half a month ago, I could barely get out of bed."

He glanced at Lu Bing and said with a smile, "The two imperial physicians are now staying at my house."

Upon hearing this, Lu Bing froze on the spot.

He is not yet forty years old this year, only thirty-eight.

He was still young because he was younger than Emperor Li. When His Majesty the Emperor married Consort Lu, he was still a boy.

However, Emperor Li was too young when he started his career, so many of his former associates from Jiangdong were older than His Majesty.

Even many of the veterans in the anti-theft team are older than Li Yun, now all over fifty years old.

Last year, Minister Fei Xuan passed away.

This year, I heard that Tao Wenyuan, the Minister of Rites, is also terminally ill.

And now, Su Sheng, the number one military leader of the Tang Dynasty, is also clearly getting old.

Seeing Lu Bing's astonished expression, General Su was quite nonchalant and said with a smile, "As the children grow up, many of them are no longer at home, either getting married or moving out, so it's rare for them to get together."

"Now that I'm not feeling well, many of my children have come back to life."

As he spoke, he caught his breath and said, "Brother Lu, you came in such a hurry that I didn't inform my children. They should have received the news by now."

"Let's go sit in the main hall."

Lu Bing stepped forward to help Su Sheng, but Su Sheng waved his hand and declined. As he walked, he said with a smile, "I heard last month that Brother Lu was going back to the capital. I was thinking that when you return to the capital, you should either be the first to see His Majesty or the first to see Consort Shu."

"But I never expected that Brother Lu would be the first to come and see my daughter-in-law."

Lord Lu lowered his head slightly and said, "That child, I watched him grow up from a young age..."

The two quickly sat down in the main hall of the Su family. Just as Lord Lu was about to speak, a woman's delighted voice came from outside the door.

"uncle!"

(End of this chapter)