Thief Emperor

Chapter 1152 Father and Son, Ruler and Subject
On his first day in Chang'an, he did not stay in the imperial palace or his son's house, but instead spent the night at an old friend's house, which naturally caused some embarrassment to His Highness the Prince of Qin.

This is also one of the punishments he received.

Last night, His Majesty the Emperor slept soundly, but this Second Prince probably didn't close his eyes at all.

After the Fourth Princess left, Prime Minister Du, along with his family, came to pay their respects to His Majesty the Emperor. His Majesty the Emperor took Du Qian with him to the Du family's back garden. He took out a document from his sleeve, handed it to Du Qian, and said with a smile, "Good news from the Nine Departments last night. Brother Shouyi, please take a look."

Du Qian took it, opened it, and smiled at Li Yun, saying, "His Majesty is in a good mood; it seems to be good news."

The emperor said with a smile.

"It's good news."

Du Qian glanced at it and exclaimed in surprise, "Yelü Yi is dead?"

"Ah."

The emperor clapped his hands and laughed, "He should have died long ago. Now that he's gone, I can finally rest easy about the situation in Liaodong."

After carefully reviewing the document, Prime Minister Du remarked, "Now, the Northeast can be brought under control."

The emperor smiled and said, "Last night, I sent a letter from the Nine Departments to Luoyang. Soon, the Ministry of Rites in Luoyang will send an envoy to bestow the title of Khan upon Yelü Yi's other son."

At this point, Li Yun sneered, "This fellow came to Luoyang to see me before he died, just to make sure his son Yelü Bei was in the Khanate, so that my Great Tang would not appoint two or three Khans to the Yelü tribe."

"His calculation was very good. If he had lived a year or two longer, his son would have secured his position, and even if he had granted them more Khan titles, it probably wouldn't have made much difference."

"Now, Yelü Beifeng Khan has only been gone for a short time, and he has died just like that. The court is just adding fuel to the fire."

The emperor clapped his hands and laughed, "If his son weren't exceptionally capable, he probably wouldn't be able to control the Yelü tribe."

Du Qian nodded and said, "The Yelü tribe unified the Khitan tribes and destroyed the Bohai Kingdom. Naturally, they were of one mind. However, under Yelü Yi, they suffered a great loss at the hands of our dynasty. In addition, other Khitan tribes became independent, and Yelü Hong surrendered."

"I'm afraid there are also many internal conflicts within the Khitan tribe."

At this point, Du Qian said with a smile, "Let's see if they can produce another Yelü Yi."

Emperor Li sneered, "If another such powerful ruler emerges, I will accept it; it will just mean another battle."

"Let's see how much ability they can have, given that they only have a small corner of Liaodong."

After saying this, the emperor smiled and said, "There is a happy occasion today, and my anger has subsided a lot. However, children are ignorant and need to be disciplined, lest they become less than human in the future."

"Brother Shouyi, will you come with me?"

Du Xiangong naturally knew what Li Yun was talking about. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I will go with His Majesty."

He glanced at Li Yun and coughed, "When it comes down to it, I can still help persuade him."

When adults discipline children, someone naturally needs to be present to control the situation. If His Majesty the Emperor becomes furious but cannot bring himself to use excessive force and lose face, then Du Qian is the only person in the entire city of Chang'an who can help persuade him.

Li Yun nodded and said, "Then let's go together."

After saying that, he walked out with his hands behind his back.

Du Qian followed behind him, and the two quickly boarded the carriage. After traveling for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the Prince of Qin's residence.

Originally, there was an imperial palace in Chang'an that was no less magnificent than the imperial palace in Luoyang, complete with all kinds of buildings. However, the King of Qin naturally dared not live there, so he built a separate palace outside the imperial city.
The Prince's Mansion was not far from Anrenfang. Soon, His Majesty the Emperor and Prime Minister Du got off the carriage one after the other.

The prince, dressed in purple robes, knelt down instinctively upon seeing his father and kowtowed, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty!"

Princess Fei, the wife of the King of Qin, also knelt on the ground and bowed her head, saying, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

The emperor stepped forward and forced a smile at the Princess Consort of Qin: "Get up."

"You have contributed greatly to the expansion of the Li family. I wanted to give you something yesterday, but I didn't have anything good on me, so I had someone prepare it for you today."

As he spoke, the emperor took out a wooden box from his sleeve and handed it to the Princess Consort of Qin.

Princess Qin held the gifts in both hands, bowed her head, and wept, saying, "Father, your humble daughter-in-law dares not accept your favor."

She knelt on the ground, holding the wooden box high in both hands, and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I know that the Prince has made a mistake and angered the Emperor. I beg the Emperor to forgive the Prince."

After saying this, she knelt down and kowtowed deeply.

In this era, women were always dependent on men, let alone a princess like her.

Therefore, regardless of the true nature of their marital relationship, she had to plead for her husband at this moment. The emperor looked at her and shook his head slightly, saying, "Get up quickly."

"When I was in Jiangdong, I met with members of the Fei family. Fei Lian is your uncle, isn't he?"

The Queen of Qin bowed her head and said, "Yes, he is my daughter-in-law's uncle."

The emperor grunted in acknowledgment and gave the fourth princess a look. The fourth princess hurriedly ran up and helped the Princess of Qin to her feet.

Emperor Li then turned to look at the Prince of Qin, and grunted, "Don't just stand there. Whatever it is, let's go inside and talk."

After saying that, he walked into the Qin Prince's mansion with his hands behind his back.

The Prince of Qin breathed a sigh of relief and struggled to his feet. His wife stepped forward to support him and said through gritted teeth, "Weren't you usually so powerful? Why don't you dare say a word?"

His Highness the King of Qin glanced at his own wife, lowered his head and gave a bitter smile, then looked up at his father's back.

"My dad, my dad..."

He shook his head and sighed, "Go inside quickly. If I get beaten up, don't say a word. If my father is about to use weapons, then you can try to stop him..."

The King of Qin inherited some of the Emperor's martial prowess and spirit, but he was far inferior to his father in every aspect. In front of his father, he couldn't even muster the thought of rebelling.

Putting everything else aside, just consider the old father's terrifying fighting skills...

His Highness the King of Qin shook his head, took a few steps, then took his wife's hand and whispered, "In a little while, go and bring Yu'er here. My father likes these little girls. With his granddaughter around, he'll calm down a bit."

Princess Qin glared at him before whispering, "I understand."

The couple walked and talked. When they entered the front courtyard of the Prince of Qin's mansion, His Highness looked around and asked in a low voice, "This old man rarely gives things away. Take a look and see what he gave you."

Princess Qin glanced at him: "Father is in his prime, how can he be an old man? Don't talk nonsense."

The King of Qin said with a bitter face, "I'm about to be executed, and I'm not even allowed to joke around or have some fun?"

"Take a look, if the stuff is good, it means my dad wasn't too angry..."

Princess Qin then took out the box, inside which was a crystal-clear jade hairpin with exquisite carving.

The couple glanced at each other, and His Highness the Prince of Qin breathed a slight sigh of relief, quickly catching up and following behind his elderly father.

Soon, the group arrived at the main hall of the Prince of Qin's residence. His Majesty the Emperor sat in the main seat and glanced at everyone.

Du Xiangong sat in the guest seat.

The King of Qin and his wife stood before the Emperor.

The fourth princess stood beside His Majesty the Emperor, winking repeatedly at the Prince of Qin.

The emperor glanced at the crowd, then looked at Prince Qin, narrowing his eyes: "I heard that your temper has become much worse since you arrived in Chang'an."

"He would hit people at the drop of a hat, and if he hit too hard, he would even kill his servants."

"how?"

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at him and said indifferently, "Is the feng shui of Chang'an City bad? After you arrived here, you were possessed by Wang Junping and Wei Quanzhong, weren't you?"

The King of Qin knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Father, I know I was wrong, I..."

"Your subject drank too much, and I was also feeling rather depressed at the time. Later, your subject has come to terms with it..."

Feeling a bit down?

The emperor looked at him and continued, "I know. I was the one who enfeoffed you in Chang'an. You harbored resentment, so you vented it on those servants."

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor sneered, "Fortunately, your father still has some strength and ability. If this were an ordinary family, at your age, with your temper and mindset, you would probably already be beating your parents!"

"They might even kick me and your mother out of the house."

The emperor slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Think about what your mother's family went through back then, and look at the consequences of your actions!"

"How could you face your mother?!"

(End of this chapter)