Thief Emperor

Chapter 1155 Is the Imperial Court Still the Same?
The emperor and Prince Su chatted for half an hour before Prince Su bowed, took his leave, and departed.

He had just stepped outside when the King of Qin grabbed him.

At this point, the King of Qin, who had been depressed for several days, finally recovered somewhat.

After all, the confinement his father imposed on him wasn't the kind of strict confinement. The strict confinement sometimes involved building several walls and locking the person inside, where they ate, drank, and relieved themselves.

Such confinement would only last a few months or half a year before death.

His confinement only meant he was not allowed to leave the Qin Prince's Mansion, which was converted from the old Zhou Prince's Mansion and expanded to occupy almost half of the neighborhood, so his activity range was still quite large.

This kind of confinement isn't uncomfortable.

Moreover, abolishing the title of King of Qin did not abolish the hereditary system or his title. As long as he does not make any more mistakes in his life, he will still be the King of Qin.

However, their descendants will be less successful.

After being sad for a few days, he has now come to terms with things. At this moment, he grabbed one of his brothers' arms, pulled him aside, and asked, "Fourth brother, what did Dad say to you?"

The King of Qin looked around and whispered, "Is he in a better mood?"

Prince Su thought for a moment and replied, "It looks much better now."

At this point, he glanced at the King of Qin and sighed, "Second brother, don't worry. Father has always liked you very much, and the Imperial Concubine is also very much liked by Father. When Father returns to Luoyang in a while and sees the Imperial Concubine, she can try to persuade him."

"After a while, when Father Emperor calms down, your hereditary title might come back."

As he spoke, he smiled bitterly and said, "Among our brothers who were enfeoffed as kings, only my second brother was granted the hereditary title of king upon his enfeoffment. Even my fifth brother did not receive the title of 'hereditary title'."

The King of Qin looked at his brothers and shook his head, saying, "I don't know about others, but you, the fourth brother, as long as you do well in the Northwest, you will surely be able to inherit the position indefinitely."

"I know this."

Prince Su sighed and shook his head, saying, "Even if I were granted the title of 'Wang Ti' (meaning 'unyielding' or 'unchanging'), it wouldn't be because Father Emperor likes me, but because the Northwest needs a Prince Su who can govern for generations."

"Much worse."

The King of Qin sighed and said, "If every generation of Kings of Qin were to be a prince, then even the sons of concubines would be princes of the same rank."

He looked at the fourth prince, Li Tong, and murmured, "It's a far cry from hereditary succession."

The title was hereditary and perpetual. In addition to the Qin King being the only one in each generation, the sons of these Qin Kings would also be granted the title of Prince of the Commandery, so that each generation consisted of one Qin King and a group of Princes of the Commandery.

This is far more valuable than a regular hereditary succession.

He sighed, pulled his brother to sit down under a pavilion, and asked, "Fourth brother, what did Father Emperor say to you? You must tell your second brother the truth. Your second brother can't make the same mistake again."

Li Tong quickly replied, "Of course. In the past six months, my second brother has taken me all over the place, which has broadened my horizons considerably."

He paused, then continued, "My father said that we should stay in Chang'an for another month or two, until the weather cools down, then he will return to Luoyang to arrange some things."

"correct."

Prince Su looked at his elder brother and said, "Father said that I should learn from my second brother's lesson and, after I take up my fief, fulfill my duties diligently, treat my servants well, and be kind to the soldiers and civilians under my rule..."

He also said that after returning to Luoyang, he would establish regulations for the imperial clan…

Upon hearing this, His Highness the King of Qin gave a wry smile: "So this is all for your second brother."

He sighed: "In the future, my brothers and their descendants will be bound and punished by the rules set by our father. I'm afraid they will start to criticize your second brother behind his back as soon as possible."

King Su patted King Qin on the back and said, "Second brother, it is right to restrain the royal family, otherwise it will not last long."

His Highness the King of Qin continued to sigh. He pulled the Prince of Su to his feet and said, "From now on, we brothers will probably have far fewer opportunities to meet. Let's take advantage of the time we can still meet now. Come on, your second brother will take you out for a drink."

Prince Su shook his head and said in a low voice, "Second brother, Father is here. You'd better not drink. If you drink too much and something else happens..."

The King of Qin sighed, "You overestimate your second brother."

"Don't say you drank too much."

He pointed to his nose and said helplessly, "I've lost my mind. Would I dare to cause trouble in front of Father Emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Su chuckled and said, "If you've had too much to drink, who cares about all that?"

The King of Qin chuckled and said, "In this world, what thing can change one's temperament so drastically after drinking? To put it bluntly, most people just pretend to be crazy under the guise of being drunk, using the excuse of being drunk to do things they wouldn't dare to do or say things they wouldn't dare to say under the guise of being drunk."

"Your second brother's daughter and son are still young, they haven't lived enough yet."

Prince Su said speechlessly, "Very well, I'll accompany my second brother to have some wine."

The King of Qin tugged at his brother's sleeve and sighed deeply. "I haven't been able to leave the King of Qin's residence for the past three years. When you go to your fiefdom, if you pass through Chang'an, remember to come and visit me."

"rest assured."

Prince Su said solemnly, "I will definitely come."

…………

Spring goes and autumn comes, and August arrives in the blink of an eye.

His Majesty the Emperor has been in Chang'an for almost two months.

For the past two months, he spent most of his time at the Prince of Qin's residence, occasionally staying at the Du family's residence for a day or two. The rest of the time, he traveled to various parts of Guanzhong with Du Qian and Prince Su.

Sometimes, he would even go to the Chang'an Army camp to inspect it and stay there for a day or two.

In August, the weather in Chang'an had cooled down, at least not as hot as when Li Yun first arrived.

That day, in the study of the Prince of Qin's mansion, Prime Minister Du handed a document to Li Yun and said, "There were no problems with this year's spring examination. A few days ago, someone reported to Xu Ziwang that there was cheating in this year's spring examination. Xu Ziwang brought this matter to the Council of State Affairs for discussion. His Highness the Crown Prince and several prime ministers of the Secretariat did not dare to make a decision."

"It was delivered here overnight."

The first imperial examination of the new dynasty was in the first year of Zhangwu. This year is the sixteenth year of Zhangwu, which is the sixth imperial examination of the Li Tang dynasty.

His Majesty the Emperor raised an eyebrow, took the document, glanced at it, and then said with a smile, "Didn't we just deal with a batch of people a few years ago? It hasn't been that long, and some have already gotten bolder?"

Minister Du lowered his head slightly and said, "This matter is somewhat complicated. Some people say that the examiners accepted bribes and that the imperial examination was unfair."

"Some people say... that someone sought refuge with the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince readily granted them preferential treatment..."

"In any case, rumors are flying everywhere, and I have no way of making a judgment at the moment, but Your Majesty..."

He looked at Li Yun and shook his head slightly, saying, "It has been a full nine years since the corruption case in the seventh year of Zhangwu."

The emperor frowned and said, "This year's imperial examination is the only one since the founding of the dynasty that I was absent. Even the palace examination was presided over by the crown prince. What reason does the Eastern Palace have to cheat?"

"That's not true."

The emperor shook his head and said, "If I were here, this might be possible. But I'm not even in Luoyang. If the Eastern Palace wants to place people, there's no need for such trouble."

Du Qian nodded and said, "That's what I think too."

"Perhaps someone is afraid of taking responsibility and wants to muddy the waters."

"It's also possible that those unsuccessful scholars were resentful and made baseless accusations and false complaints."

He looked at Li Yun and continued, "I'm afraid His Highness the Crown Prince is also worried about the taboos involved, so he dared not handle it and rushed it to His Majesty."

The emperor read it again, tossed it aside, and said indifferently, "Brother Shouyi, you should contact Luoyang first and have the Three Judicial Offices investigate. We'll talk about it after we've found out the truth."

As he spoke, he glanced at the sky outside and muttered to himself, "Unbeknownst to us, autumn has already arrived."

The emperor rose, turned to look at Du Qian, and said with a smile, "After two months in Chang'an, Brother Shouyi's homesickness must have been alleviated, right?"

Du Qian also stood up and said with a smile, "Is His Majesty preparing to return to Luoyang?"

"That's almost it."

The emperor looked up into the distance: "There are still many things in Luoyang that you and I need to handle, and there are also many matters of state that need to be handed over to the Crown Prince."

He looked at Du Qian and said with a smile, "This trip has lasted almost a whole year. Let's go back and see if the court can function as before, without you and me around for a year."

"Won't it have completely changed its appearance?"

Du Xiangong understood the implication in Li Yun's words. He looked at Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty should not be too hasty."

"I am not in a hurry."

The emperor laughed and said, "I'm as lively as a bird, what's the rush?"

"Go back, go back."

The emperor, with his hands behind his back, said, "I miss home too."

Du Qian immediately lowered his head.

"Your Majesty, I will go and make the preparations immediately."

(End of this chapter)