Thief Emperor

Chapter 1100 The Undercurrents in the "Eight Trigrams"

Princess Lujiang stood at the door, holding the hand of a child of about three years old, and looked at Marquis Lu sitting in the main seat, exclaiming in surprise.

She strode forward and first called out to Su Sheng, "Father."

General Su stood up and bowed slightly in return, saying, "Your Highness."

At this moment, Su Zhan, the fourth son of the Su family, also walked in. He bowed to his father and called him "Father." General Su did not even lift his eyelids, accepting the greeting.

Su Silang then clasped his hands in a respectful greeting to Lu Bing and said solemnly, "Greetings, Uncle."

General Su, standing to the side, glanced at the two men, uncle and nephew, and said with a smile, "Lord Lu, your relationship with the eldest princess is truly excellent. I have been in the court for over a decade and have never seen anything like it before. A dignified marquis brings gifts himself."

When high-ranking officials and nobles sent gifts, they would send a gift list and then have their servants deliver it.

Someone like Lu Bing, who personally recommended this person, can be considered the purest of the pure.

These words made Lu Bing a little embarrassed. He stood up and coughed, "General, this is what I brought back from Wu County."

"Plus, I just got back to Luoyang and had nothing else to do, so I brought it over."

As he spoke, he pointed to the two bolts of silk placed beside him and said with a smile, "The Tian family silk shop in Wu County has become increasingly famous in the past two years. These are their new designs for this year, and they won't reach Luoyang until at least next year."

"Your uncle brought it to you."

Princess Lujiang was now a married woman with a three-year-old child. Although she was born into the royal family, she still retained some of her former spoiled and willful traits, but she had matured and become much more composed by now.

Even so, the eldest princess's eyes reddened.

"You've been gone for four years and haven't come back. You think you can just give me two bolts of cloth?"

Lord Lu coughed and said seriously, "This is the finest silk."

"Your aunt picked it out for you herself."

General Su, who was standing to the side, laughed and kicked his son, saying, "Why aren't you taking these two bolts of silk?"

After saying that, he patted Lu Bing on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Brother Lu, I'm not feeling well, so I won't talk to you any longer. Please stay at my house for a meal before you leave."

After saying that, he glared at his son who was carrying two bolts of cloth, and the two of them left one after the other.

Lord Lu squatted down, held his three-year-old grand-nephew in his arms, looked him over carefully, and said with a smile, "His name is Su Heng, right?"

"It really does look a bit like me."

Princess Lujiang wanted to laugh when she saw him like this, but she put on a stern face and turned her head away: "When did you come back? Have you seen my father and mother?"

"I came back yesterday."

Lord Lu said with a smile, "I came looking for you early this morning without going anywhere or seeing anyone."

Hearing this, the eldest princess was much happier. She stepped forward, patted Lu Bing on the shoulder, and snorted, "You're smart to know what's good for you."

"We'll have lunch here, and this afternoon I'll accompany you to the palace to see your father and mother."

As she spoke, the eldest princess glanced at Lu Bing and chuckled, "Fifth Prince has grown quite tall now. I heard he'll be leaving the palace next year to establish his own household and be granted the title of King. You haven't been back for several years, so you probably won't recognize him this time."

Consort Lu gave birth to a son and a daughter for His Majesty the Emperor. The eldest daughter is Princess Li Shu of Lujiang, and the second son is the Fifth Prince Li Ling.

Lu Lang, another concubine of the Lu family, gave birth to two princes for His Majesty the Emperor, namely the seventh prince and the twelfth prince, who are still being raised in the palace. However, the fifth prince will soon be granted the title of prince and establish his own residence.

Hearing this, Lu Bing couldn't help but sigh, "That's really fast."

He looked down at the three-year-old child in his arms, pinched his cheek, and said with a smile, "Little one, call him Grandpa."

The little guy blinked, looking at Lu Bing with a puzzled expression.

Lu Bing teased him for a while, but the little guy still refused to call him "Grandpa" until Princess Lujiang took the child away, at which point the child finally uttered the word.

At noon, Lu Bing had lunch at the Su family's house, but General Su seemed to be feeling unwell and did not attend the family banquet. The main guests who entertained Lu Bing were Princess Lujiang and her husband, as well as General Su's eldest son, Su Hong.

In the afternoon, Lu Bing took Princess Lujiang to the Lu family home. After meeting and chatting for a while, Princess Lujiang got into the carriage and smiled at Lu Bing, saying, "Come on, I'll take you to the palace to see Father Emperor."

Lu Bing shook his head slightly: "We need to report this first."

Princess Lujiang, holding her son Su Heng in her arms, said with a smile, "I never need to announce my arrival at the palace."

As she spoke, she pointed to her three-year-old son and said, "He doesn't need it either."

Lord Lu chuckled, boarded Princess Lujiang's carriage, and then asked, "How have His Majesty and my sister been these past few years?"

"My father is still the same, busy with all sorts of things every day, but he has handed many things over to my brother, the Crown Prince, so he has some free time now."

"My mother has even less to do; she's been busy arranging Wulang's wedding lately."

Princess Lujiang smiled and said, "She wants Wulang to marry the daughter of the Duke of Xuan, Li family."

Duke Xuan, Li Qing, is one of the most prominent figures in the court today. After General Su fell ill, the Privy Council was practically in his hands.

Lu Bing thought for a moment, then frowned slightly: "I'm afraid that won't work."

"Ah."

Princess Lujiang said with a smile, "Although Father Emperor did not express his opinion, Duke Li did, so the matter did not come to fruition."

As everyone knows, Meng Qing is the most loyal of the emperor's inner circle. If the emperor doesn't speak on a certain matter, Meng Qing will most likely remain silent.

When the Emperor remains silent on a matter, but Meng Qing speaks, it is as if the Emperor himself has spoken.

"It's good that this didn't work out." The eldest princess said nonchalantly, "I heard that the daughter of the Duke of Li's family is not very good-looking. In my opinion, we were born into the royal family, so there is no need for us to form any powerful in-law relationships. It is more important to find a beautiful wife for the fifth prince."

Lord Lu looked at his niece, smiled, and said nothing.

Princess Lujiang and the Fifth Prince are siblings born of the same mother. In this respect, Consort Shu has already formed a marriage alliance with the Su family.

If the Fifth Prince were to marry General Meng, it would mean that Consort Shu's son and daughter would have married the two most powerful generals in the Tang Dynasty's military.

This is something that not only His Majesty the Emperor would not agree to, but I'm afraid even the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince would not agree to.

Inside the carriage, the eldest princess pulled Marquis Lu along, chattering incessantly about gossip and interesting tales from Luoyang.

Some things that would be earth-shattering secrets of the imperial court to ordinary people are just casual gossip to the eldest princess.

The carriage moved quickly and smoothly into the imperial city. When it arrived at the palace gate, the eldest princess lifted the curtain and glanced inside. The palace guards then let the carriage in.

Once inside the imperial city, the three of them disembarked from the carriage. The eldest princess, familiar with the place, led Marquis Lu towards the Ganlu Palace.

Walking along the road, Lord Lu thought for a moment and asked, "How is His Highness the Fifteenth Prince?"

Upon hearing these four words, even the somewhat carefree Princess Lujiang couldn't help but frown: "The fifteenth prince is alright. Although he is often sick, he has stabilized in the past year."

"But it seems that my mother has developed a chronic illness because of him, and her health has not been very good in the past two years."

The fifteenth prince was the emperor's second son, born to His Majesty the Emperor and His Majesty the Empress.

This child wasn't as strong as his older brothers after he was born, and his health was always poor. He had to take medicine all year round, and now that he's almost three years old, his health has finally stabilized.

Last year, we were officially given our first birthday.

The mortality rate in this era was too high; even the royal family couldn't necessarily preserve its bloodline.

Fortunately, perhaps due to the nation's good fortune, Li Yun's children mostly survived and did not die young.

Upon hearing this, Lord Lu felt a chill run down his spine.

The Empress is not in good health...

This is huge news.

At least he didn't hear a single word from the Ninth Division. Only his eldest niece could tell him such news.

Even the British Grand Marshal Liu wouldn't tell him these things.

As she was deep in thought, the Ganlu Palace was already in sight. The palace servants guarding the entrance recognized Princess Lujiang and bowed their heads to address her as "Your Highness."

Some address her as Princess.

Upon arriving here, even Princess Lujiang became more obedient. She summoned the eunuch Gu Chang and said, "Eunuch Gu, my uncle has returned and wishes to see the Emperor. Please inform him."

Gu Chang lowered his head very low, responded with a sound of agreement, and left respectfully.

Princess Lujiang smiled at Marquis Lu and said, "Uncle, I'm going to the inner palace to find my mother. You take this child to find my father, and then come to the inner palace to find me later."

As she spoke, she handed her son to Lu Bing.

Lord Lu looked down at three-year-old Su Heng, somewhat bewildered.

Soon, the chief eunuch Gu Chang came out again, bowed to Lu Bing, and said, "Lord Lu, please."

Lu Bing had no choice but to carry Su Heng into the Ganlu Palace. Upon seeing His Majesty the Emperor, the child's eyes lit up, and he stumbled and ran over, his voice still childish.

"Grandfather, grandfather."

Emperor Li bent down, smiling as he picked up the child and hugged him, nudging Su Heng's head with his own. He said with a laugh, "Little rascal, what brings you here too?"

Su Heng turned his head and looked at Lu Bing, who was kneeling on the ground with his head bowed deeply. He stretched out his little hand and pointed at Lu Bing, saying, "Uncle...Grandpa."

Lu Bing bowed deeply: "Your subject Lu Bing pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Emperor Li was speechless, and raised his hand to Lu Bing: "Get up, get up, why are you kneeling?"

Lu Bing then stood up and quickly glanced at His Majesty the Emperor.

Four years had passed, yet the emperor's appearance remained unchanged; in fact, there wasn't much gray hair on his head. It seemed that the past four years hadn't left many marks on him.

After Lu Bing stood up, he bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty, I have come to deliver your decree."

Li Yun held the child in one arm, hummed in agreement, and said with a smile, "You've done a good job on the salt route, laying a solid foundation. The successor to the salt route transport commissioner wrote in his memorial that he took over very smoothly."

"These past six years."

Emperor Li shook his head slightly and said, "You've really worked hard."

Lu Bing bowed deeply: "It is my duty."

Emperor Li playfully nudged his grandson in his arms and asked, "How are the new policies in Jiangdong?"

"I do not know the exact number, but in recent years..."

“The entire Jiangdong region, including Jinling Prefecture.”

Lord Lu bowed his head deeply.

"Business has flourished considerably."

(End of this chapter)