Thief Emperor

Chapter 1130 Dragon Unleashed

Li Yun has not yet decided whether or not to abdicate.

But one thing is certain.

He will gradually relinquish power to his eldest son.

Firstly, the Crown Prince has done a good job in recent years and is increasingly showing the qualities of a ruler. Li Yun can rest assured and entrust him with some power without worrying about him causing any trouble.

Secondly, as people get older, their thoughts change, and may even become distorted.

Li Yun is only forty-five or forty-six years old now, and he is in good health and in his prime. At this time, his thoughts are still normal.

If another fifteen years pass, when he's sixty, his thoughts might not be the same as they are now.

What's even more concerning is that, given his current physical condition, there's a high probability that he'll live to be sixty or even seventy years old.

There are even rumors circulating that the current crown prince will not outlive the current emperor.

Of course, Li Yun has not heard these rumors yet, and no one dares to pass them on to him.

According to Li Yun's current plan, for the foreseeable future, he will only have a general grasp of the situation. If there are no problems with the Crown Prince's rule, it wouldn't be out of the question for him to become the retired emperor when he gets too old.

Of course, this is on the premise that his political blueprint can continue to move forward and be put into practice; otherwise, His Majesty the Emperor will most likely have to come in person.

In fact, Li Yun has been doing this since the tenth year of Zhangwu, and this trend has accelerated significantly since the birth of the fifteenth prince, who is Li Yun's second legitimate son.

After the birth of the fifteenth prince, Li Yun began to have the crown prince handle political affairs in the Secretariat, rather than just participating in and discussing politics.

By now, the crown prince has effectively seized control of a portion of the government.

However, military power and popular support are still firmly in the hands of His Majesty the Emperor, and even the Crown Prince's current authority is merely borrowed from his father's power.

Therefore, even now, whether out of filial piety or his own circumstances, the Crown Prince has always firmly opposed any suggestion of abdication, whether it be his father or anyone else.

Even if the emperor himself brought it up, he would oppose it very vehemently.

This is actually a political statement.

No matter when or what the circumstances, the Crown Prince must firmly uphold this political stance.

His Majesty the Emperor personally helped the Crown Prince up, then said with a smile, "I've heard that you've been eating at that small canteen in the Secretariat almost every day these past few years. Don't go there today. I'll take you to the inner palace to see your mother in a little while, and we can have a meal together as a family."

The crown prince responded with a nod.

After His Majesty the Emperor helped him up, he looked him over and shook his head slightly: "Yuan'er, you seem to have gained some weight lately?"

The Crown Prince lowered his head and smiled bitterly, "Father, the affairs of the Secretariat are too busy. The things that Minister Du is giving me are increasing every day. I have no time to do anything."

"therefore…"

His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand and said, "Official business is official business, but your health is your own responsibility. In the future, you should take some time to exercise or find someone to teach you martial arts and boxing to get your health back."

"If there are any problems that can't be handled, just leave them to those old men."

Emperor Li instructed, "Or, just send it directly to the Ganlu Palace."

The crown prince smiled and said, "I am still young, nothing will happen to me."

He looked at Li Yun and asked, "Father, shall we go find Mother now?"

Li Yun hummed in agreement and said, "Let's go. We won't ride in a sedan chair today. We'll walk there together, father and son. Consider it a workout for you."

The father and son walked towards the inner palace, one in front and the other behind. However, the emperor's physique was far superior to that of ordinary people, and the crown prince could not keep up with his walking speed. After walking for a while, the emperor would stop and wait for him.

When the father and son arrived at the central palace, the Empress was preparing a meal. Upon seeing the two of them arrive together, the Empress stood up and welcomed them inside, saying with a smile, "It's rare for you two, father and son, to come to my place together."

The emperor tugged at Empress Xue's sleeve and said with a smile, "When Yuan'er is able to take over most of the political affairs in the future, I won't have to stay in Ganlu Palace all the time. At that time, my wife and I can eat together every day."

After the family of three sat down, Empress Xue had someone take the fifteenth prince, who was only three or four years old, out to play. Then she looked at Li Yun and asked, "Does Your Majesty wish to return to Jinling for a visit?"

Li Yun nodded and said with a smile, "I came here today to talk to my wife about this. This time, let's take a walk together and see what's going on."

"Let Yuan'er stay at home and manage state affairs."

Then Li Yun asked, "Where did you hear that, Madam?"

"My third uncle's wife told me."

Empress Xue glanced at Li Yun and snorted, "Everyone else's wives know, but I don't."

Emperor Li was speechless and said, "It wasn't settled before, but now that it's settled, I've come to find my wife."

Empress Xue smiled and didn't press the matter further. She poured tea for Li Yun, then shook her head and sighed, "I've been in Luoyang for over ten years. It's good to be able to go out, of course. I also want to go back to my hometown of Nanyang for a visit, but my mother's health isn't good right now, and I'm a little worried..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yun glanced at the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince quickly replied, "Father and Mother, please rest assured. From now on, I will pay my respects to my maternal grandmother every three days. If she has any problems, I will have the Nine Departments send a letter to Mother."

Li Yun glanced at Empress Xue.

Empress Xue then nodded gently.

After the family of three had eaten for a while, Empress Xue looked at the Crown Prince and then at Li Yun, asking, "Should we take the fifteenth prince with us?" "Let him take him."

Emperor Li said calmly, "Let him go out for a walk, and bring Cai Mei with him too."

At this point, Emperor Li grunted, "It's better to stay in Luoyang and let those people have designs on Cai Mei."

Cai Mei was the nickname of the Fourth Princess. As the legitimate daughter of the Emperor and the younger sister of the Crown Prince, the Fourth Princess was quite "popular" in Luoyang.

In the past two years, more than one person has come to Li Yun and his wife, wanting to marry the fourth princess.

This even includes Prince Li Zheng of Jin.

Empress Xue was speechless and said, "Cai Mei is of marriageable age. How long can you keep her here?"

"It's not going to work out in the next few years anyway."

The emperor said in a muffled voice, "No one can do it."

Empress Xue rolled her eyes at her husband: "She's reached the age where she should be. There's no point in hiding her anymore. Maybe if you take her to Jiangnan this time, she'll meet some handsome scholar on the way and your good daughter will be kidnapped."

"dare."

His Majesty the Emperor snorted angrily, "I haven't fought anyone in years. If there's any handsome scholar out there, I'll break his legs myself."

Upon hearing this, Empress Xue looked at the Crown Prince, and the mother and son exchanged a glance and both laughed heartily.

The Crown Prince smiled and said, "Fourth Sister is indeed very popular; quite a few people have come to me to propose marriage."

The emperor waved his hand: "No need to pay attention to it."

"Let's eat."

He lowered his head and ate a few mouthfuls of rice, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, where did Cai Mei go today? Why isn't she here with Madam?"

Empress Xue smiled.

"I went to see Sister Lu. They're very close, the two sisters are very close."

The emperor then said "Oh," and then let out a long sigh.

"Time flies so fast."

"In the blink of an eye, my daughters are all growing up."

………………

Two days later, in the Ganlu Hall, Prince Jin, dressed in a purple robe, sat at the same table with His Majesty the Emperor, drinking together. After hearing Li Yun's words, he also became excited.

"I've been wanting to go back to Qingyang with my second brother for a long time. When shall we set off?"

"The emperor's travels are very troublesome."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "It will probably take another ten days or so to prepare. Then we'll pick an auspicious day and head east back to Qingyang for the New Year."

"The affairs of Jingzhao Prefecture are also very important. In the next ten days or so, make sure you have everything arranged properly in Jingzhao Prefecture, and then we brothers will go to Qingyang together."

Mentioning Qingyang, Emperor Li sighed: "Let's first offer incense to Third Uncle, and then we'll go find that brat Zhou Bi for a drink."

Prince Jin first nodded and said "okay," then his gaze shifted and he said with a smile, "Second brother, who from your family is accompanying you this time?"

“Me, your sister-in-law, and Cai Mei and Xiao Shiwu.”

"I won't bring the other concubines."

"The Fourth Princess is coming along too."

Prince Jin chuckled: "That would be perfect."

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at him and immediately saw through his thoughts. He then grunted and said, "You are not allowed to bring any of your boys who are over thirteen years old. You may bring any girls you like."

Prince Jin gave a wry smile: "We're all family, why are you being so wary?"

Li Yun sneered, "You're family, yet you still want to lay a finger on my daughter?"

Prince Jin smiled and said, "One thing at a time."

After exchanging a few jokes, Li Zhengcai asked, "We're going to pay respects at the ancestral tombs this time, so should we bring a few people with us, elder brother?"

Li Yun thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Then you should go to the Chu Prince's residence in the next couple of days and talk to your elder brother. His family said they would send someone to accompany you, so take them along for a stroll."

"It doesn't matter if one or two more people come along."

Prince Jin nodded with a smile.

"Alright, I'll go to the Chu Prince's residence in a bit."

"To take advantage of others."

(End of this chapter)