Thief Emperor

Chapter 1151: Jingzhao Du Family
His Majesty the Emperor, a tall man, held a grandson and a granddaughter as if they were nothing.

Following behind him, Prime Minister Du watched the scene, somewhat lost in thought.

Back then, when his children came to Jiangdong, Li Yun carried them into Jinling City in the same way he does now, one in each arm.

Now, more than twenty years later, the Du family son whom His Majesty the Emperor once held in his arms has become the Provincial Governor of Jiangnan West Circuit, ruling over a region.

Looking back on today, more than twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Minister Du sighed inwardly, then caught up with the emperor, glanced at the two young grandsons, and followed behind him, saying with a smile, "Your Majesty, it's not close to the palace, why don't you get on the carriage?"

The emperor turned to look at him and shook his head, saying, "How can I see Chang'an City once I'm in the carriage? I'm not old anymore; my legs are still in good shape."

Emperor Li laughed and said, "Last year in Luoyang, I fought several battles with Pei Zhuang and won all three."

He paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "But this old guy has become increasingly formidable in recent years, quite different from before. I reckon he wouldn't dare to beat me."

In his prime, Pei Zhuang was one of the top ten martial arts masters in Chang'an. Moreover, the top ten masters at that time were not ranked; it was just a matter of popular belief. In other words, Pei Zhuang was probably the most skilled martial artist in Chang'an at that time.

Now, more than twenty years have passed, and Pei Zhuang's hair has turned white, but his skills have not diminished. He has truly mastered martial arts and reached a certain level.

Emperor Li was very interested in martial arts, but Prime Minister Du didn't think much of it and didn't discuss the topic. He just smiled and said, "Your Majesty's ostentatious walks around Chang'an will likely attract a lot of attention soon, and it will be difficult for the Imperial Guards to set up defenses."

"rest assured."

The emperor laughed and said, "I won't die."

The two walked and talked for a while. After a while, Li Yun asked, "Brother Shouyi, where is Anrenfang?"

Du Qian paused for a moment, then pointed in a direction: "There."

The emperor smiled and said, "I'll go with you to take a look."

As he spoke, the emperor turned around and looked at the large group of people following him behind him, then waved to Yang Xi.

Yang Xi hurried forward, clasped his hands in greeting to the Emperor, and said, "Your Majesty."

The emperor put his grandchildren on the ground and said with a smile, "Return my daughter-in-law to me. I'd like to take a stroll around with Master Du."

Although it has been quite a while since the King of Qin got married, the two children are only about three years old and don't understand much yet. When they were put on the ground, they looked at Li Yun with a blank expression.

Yang Xi nodded quickly: "Yes, Your Majesty, I obey."

The emperor then turned to Du Qian and said, "Let's go, let's go to Anrenfang together."

Du Qian responded and looked back. He saw that the people from the Prince of Qin's mansion and a group of officials from Chang'an were following behind him expectantly.

He shook his head without saying a word, and simply followed Li Yun as they walked through the streets of Chang'an.

Chang'an City was nineteen li long and eighteen li wide. In terms of scale, it was definitely a capital city, and it was no less than Luoyang City, which had been built and developed by the New Tang Dynasty for more than ten years.

However, even in Chang'an, which was already considered a behemoth in this era, the city's area was actually only so big after entering. It was only a few miles to Anrenfang.

Even Lord Du, following Li Yun, walked and talked for only half an hour before arriving at Anrenfang.

At this moment, the emperor was dressed in a bright red imperial robe, while Prime Minister Du was dressed in purple. The two men, one in red and one in purple, stepped into Anrenfang.

A great fire back then almost burned down most of Anrenfang. Fortunately, after Guanzhong was restored, Chang'an was gradually repaired as well. Today, Anrenfang has been basically restored to about 70-80% of its original state.

The Du family mansion in Anrenfang was personally ordered by His Majesty the Emperor to be restored and returned to the Du family, and it has long since been restored to its former glory.

Standing at the gate of the Du family's residence, Master Du looked up at the gate and was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

The Du family, young and old, had already heard that the emperor had arrived in Anrenfang, and they all came out, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to the emperor.

The first person was an elderly man with white hair. He knelt on the ground and bowed deeply, saying, "This humble subject, Du He, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

It was none other than Du He, the former Minister of Revenue of the Tang Dynasty.

After retiring from office, he returned to his hometown of Chang'an in Guanzhong, to the Du family mansion in Anrenfang, partly to return to his roots and partly to look after the old residence of the former Du family of Jingzhao.

His Majesty the Emperor has decreed that Prime Minister Du will most likely remain in Luoyang, and the Du family of Jingzhao will most likely be inherited by Du He's branch. The Emperor looked at Du He kneeling on the ground, then at Du Qian beside him, remained silent for a moment, and sighed, saying, "Get up, get up."

Du He then led the Du family members to their feet. After standing up, he bowed his head and said, "Thank you for your leniency, Your Majesty."

The emperor glanced at him and said calmly, "The matters of the court back then have been settled. What remains is the struggle for the Way."

"Disputes should not harm harmony."

With that, His Majesty the Emperor put his hands behind his back, looked at Du He, and said with a smile, "However, several years have passed, and now the new policies in Jiangdong have been implemented and are spreading rapidly. I am very curious, Brother Du, have you figured it out yet?"

Du He glanced at his brother, then quickly looked at Li Yun's expression. After a long while, he bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I am old and my mind can no longer function. I am completely baffled by the new policies."

"But the new policy... has surprisingly proven effective."

Du He sighed: "Perhaps I am indeed a muddle-headed and stupid person."

The emperor looked at him, narrowed his eyes, and said softly, "Then what about last year when I exempted the entire nation from all taxes and levies?"

Du He knelt on the ground once again, bowing his head and saying, "This is a great merit of Your Majesty and the new dynasty. After hearing about it last year, I have been bowing to Your Majesty from afar and kowtowing repeatedly."

The emperor looked at him and said with a smile, "It seems that you only acknowledge my achievements, but not necessarily my governance."

He shook his head: "Forget it, there's no point in arguing with you about who's right and who's wrong."

He turned to look at Du Qian, who then stepped forward and helped his third brother up. Looking at Du Sanlang, whose hair had turned white, he sighed, "It's been years since we last met. How come you've aged so much, Third Brother?"

Du He looked at Du Qian, whose hair had also turned quite gray, and couldn't help but burst into tears: "Even Eleven Lang has grown old."

As he spoke, he turned around and looked at the group of younger people behind him. All of them stepped forward to kowtow to Du Qian, some calling him Eleventh Uncle and others calling him Eleventh Grand Uncle.

After Du Qian told them to get up, Du He pulled Du Qian aside and said, "After I returned to Guanzhong, I had people inquire about our lost family members from back then, and in the past two years, we have found the bloodline of Second Brother and Ninth Brother again."

He paused, then said in a low voice, "We've also found Seventeen's son."

Du Shiqi was Du Qian's younger brother.

When Minister Du got into trouble, Du Shiqi was not yet sixteen years old. Later, during the war, they were separated and there was no news of him for many years.

Du Qian's expression changed drastically, and he lost his composure.

"Why didn't Third Brother write to me? Where are the Seventeen?"

Du He shook his head: "Knowing that you were accompanying the emperor, I did not disturb you. Seventeen fell ill during the war years ago and passed away at a young age, but he left behind a son. I have verified this from multiple sources."

"It's most likely true."

He looked at Du Qian and said, "This child is eighteen years old now. I have already taken him into the Du family and let him recognize his ancestors."

Du Xiangong's eyes reddened, and he said "good" several times. He then spoke a few words to Du He before suddenly realizing what was happening. He then led His Majesty the Emperor into the ancestral home of the Du family in Jingzhao.

That day, Prime Minister Du led His Majesty the Emperor on a tour of the Du family ancestral home, and they also dined at the Du family mansion. His Majesty stayed at the Du family mansion until nightfall.

The next morning, as soon as His Majesty got up and opened the door, the Fourth Princess came to greet him, tugging at his sleeve and saying reproachfully, "It's already high in the sky, why are you only just waking up, Father?"

The emperor looked at her and said with a smile, "We've traveled thousands of miles, can't your father sleep a little longer?"

The fourth princess sighed softly, "My second brother's family arrived early this morning, waiting to see you."

The emperor gave a light snort: "Tell him I'll go to the Prince of Qin's residence to find him this afternoon."

"Let him go back and wait."

The fourth princess glanced at her father before lowering her head.

"Okay, I'll go find my second brother right now."

(End of this chapter)