Thief Emperor

Chapter 994: Upstarts and Upstarts

The Li Garden in Jinling was the house given to Li Yun by Mr. Zhuo of the Zhuo family after Li Yun took over Jinling.

Li Yun's family lived there for a long time. Even Li Yun's crown prince Li Yuan, second son Li Zheng, and eldest daughter Li Shu were all born in this mansion.

Li Yun's family has deep feelings for this mansion.

Later, when the new city of Jinling was completed, Li Yun and his family moved to the new city. Later, Li Yun was named King of Wu, and after the palace in Jinling was completed, Li Yun and his family moved to the palace.

After that, Li Yun gave Li Garden to his father-in-law and his family to live in, and it became the property of the Xue family until today.

This mansion can be said to be the deepest bond between the Li family and the Zhuo family, and also the deep affection between the two families.

Now, Li Yun wants to return the house.

The meaning is self-evident.

Even a military commander like Zhou Liang would understand the emperor's hidden meaning. He first bowed his head slightly, responded with a "yes", and then said, "Your Majesty, the Zhuo family of Wu County..."

Li Yun looked at Zhou Liang and smiled. "This is something between me and their family. It has nothing to do with Uncle San. I just asked Zhou Bi to run some errands."

"I heard."

The emperor snorted, "I heard that the Wujun Zhuo family is now very powerful. Ordinary governors and prefects may not be able to enter their home. Let Zhou Bi go there. I want to see if Zhou Bi can enter their home."

Zhou Liang then lowered his head and responded, then walked to the door and asked someone to call Zhou Bi over.

Zhou Bi had been accompanying the emperor, and was not far from the door at this time. When he heard the call, he immediately trotted into the inner room, bowed his head and saluted to the emperor: "Your Majesty."

He bowed his head to Zhou Liang again and said, "Father."

Zhou Liang said, "Your Majesty has something to ask you to do."

Zhou Bi quickly half-knelt down and bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty has ordered."

His Majesty the Emperor briefly explained the matter to him, and then instructed: "Explain clearly to the Xue family that I did not take the house deed and land deed for nothing. I will compensate them with Qianyuan in Xincheng, where my family used to live."

Zhou Bi stood up and said with a smile: "The Xue family has no one in charge in Jinling, but their things are no different from my second brother's things, so they won't say much."

Zhou Liang, who was standing by, widened his eyes when he heard this and said in a low voice, "How can I address your Majesty without any rules?"

Li Yun quickly took Zhou Liang's hand and said with a smile: "There are no outsiders here, so it's more intimate to call him that. Zhou Bi has been with me for a long time, so he knows the limits."

"Besides, he's already this old, Uncle San doesn't need to restrict him too much."

Zhou Bi scratched his head, and did not dare to talk back. Instead, he lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I will ride my horse to Jinling right now."

Li Yun said, "You go ahead and say hello to Yang Xi and ask him to assign you a few Yulin soldiers to accompany you. Don't let anything go wrong."

Zhou Bi smiled and said, "It's the new dynasty now, nothing will happen. If the people of the Zhuo family dare to embarrass me."

"I will die right in their house!"

After that, he clasped his fists and said, "I will leave now!"

After saying that, Zhou Bi first stepped back, then turned around and strode away.

Zhou Liang looked at his son's back and sighed, "This kid has received too much care from your majesty."

Li Yun smiled and said, "When we were doing business, no one knew what the future would be like. Zhou Bi has always been able to follow me and is devoted to me. He has never been careless in his work. For me, he is also a very good helper."

At this point, he pulled Zhou Liang's sleeve and said, "We haven't seen each other for a long time. It's a rare meeting today. After I go to pay respect to the ancestral tomb, we can have a good drink together."

His Majesty the Emperor asked with a smile: "Uncle San is still in good health and can he still drink?"

"Nothing else works."

Zhou Liang also smiled and said, "But even if I die drinking with Your Majesty, I will be happy."

"it is good."

The emperor pulled Zhou Liang's sleeve and walked out, smiling and saying, "Today we are going to the ancestral tomb, and my third uncle will accompany me."

Zhou Liang responded, and the two of them walked hand in hand to the front yard, where they happened to meet Princess Lujiang coming towards them. Princess Lujiang stepped forward and called him "Dad", then looked at Zhou Liang with curiosity.

Zhou Liang bowed his head quickly and said, "I greet Her Royal Highness the Princess."

He was about to bow, but was held back by Li Yun. Emperor Li said to Princess Lujiang sternly, "This is your third uncle."

"You have to call me uncle."

Although Princess Lujiang didn't understand when her father had a third uncle, she was still sensible. She quickly bowed and called him uncle.

Zhou Liang was so scared that he turned sideways and waved his hands repeatedly: "Your Majesty and I have some friendship in the past, and I absolutely do not deserve such a great gift from the princess."

Princess Lujiang didn't take it seriously and said with a smile: "You are my father's elder, so you are also my elder." Then, she stepped forward to support Zhou Liang and said with a smile: "Let's go, uncle, we are leaving."

The eldest princess was smart and shrewd. She made Zhou Liang smile with just a few words, and soon the two of them got into the car hand in hand.

His Majesty the Emperor also shook his head slightly, called Yang Xi over, and ordered: "Let's go, let's set off for the ancestral mausoleum."

…………

On the other side, Zhou Bi was already riding a fast horse, with only two of his followers, all the way to Jinling.

Of course, his horse riding speed was much faster than the dragon chariot. It only took one day, and by noon the next day, he had arrived in Jinling.

After arriving in Jinling, he simply had a meal on the roadside and then, without any further delay, headed straight for the Xue family. After arriving at the Xue family, he asked the housekeeper who was left there to manage the affairs of the Xue family, only to find out that the house deeds and land deeds had been taken to Luoyang by Mr. Xue and his family.

But it's not a big deal.

Zhou Bi first wrote a letter to the Xue family and asked the Nine Departments of Jinling to send it to Luoyang and explain the situation to the Xue family. Then he immediately went to Jinling Prefecture and found the current Jinling Yin of Jinling Prefecture.

The current Yin of Jinling is an old acquaintance of Zhou Bi.

It was none other than Zhang Sui, a student of Prime Minister Du Qian and the former Shao Yin of Jingzhao Prefecture.

Zhang Sui served under Prince Jin for six years and served two terms as the Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture. He was transferred to Jinling and served as the governor of Jinling Prefecture a year ago.

He is a young official in the court and a student of Prime Minister Du. In addition, he has an extremely impressive resume. If nothing unexpected happens, he can serve one or two terms in Jinling Prefecture and then return to Luoyang to the level of Vice Minister of Six Ministries.

At the beginning, when Zhou Bi was Li Yun's follower, Zhang Sui also followed the army to work as Li Yun's clerk. The two not only knew each other, but also worked together for more than a year. Seeing each other again, Zhang Lingyin was very excited. He bowed to Zhou Bi and smiled, "When did you return to Nanjing, brother Zhou, without even saying hello?"

"correct."

He asked, "Brother Zhou should have come with the emperor. Where is His Majesty now? When will he arrive at Jinling Mansion?"

Zhou Bi took a look at Zhang Lingyin and said with a smile: "I haven't seen you for many years. You, a big-headed scholar, have become successful and a big shot."

"Just now I was worried that Jinling Yin was not easy to talk to. Now that I see you, it will be much easier."

Zhou Bi briefly explained the situation, but did not say that it would be returned to Zhuo. He only said that the emperor needed Li Yuan's house deeds and land deeds.

"This house has been uninhabited for a long time. Your Majesty wants to give it to someone else. Please help me, Jinling Prefecture."

Zhou Bi said with a smile.

"Please ask the government to issue me a new house deed and land deed."

Zhang Sui certainly did not dare to neglect the emperor's oral order. He worked very quickly and re-issued a completely "reasonable and legal" house deed and land title deed that afternoon and handed it to Zhou Bi.

Zhou Bi took the two documents, clasped his fists, and said with a smile: "Thank you for your trouble. I will treat Brother Zhang to a drink when I come back!"

Zhang Sui was speechless and said, "It's rare to hear you call me brother."

He asked, "Brother Zhou, you haven't told me yet, when will His Majesty arrive at Jinling Mansion?"

"How can I reveal the whereabouts of the Son of Heaven?"

Zhou Bi patted Zhang Sui on the shoulder and said with a smile: "When His Majesty arrives at Jinling Prefecture, Brother Zhang will know. I have the Emperor's order and will not stay any longer."

"When I finish my mission, I will come back to Jinling to find you!"

After saying this, he said goodbye to Zhang Sui, then rode on his fast horse again, starting from Jinling, heading south to Wujun.

It was more than 400 miles from Jinling to Wujun, but Zhou Bi and his companions rode fast horses and reached Wujun in just two days. When they arrived in Wujun, it was already evening. Zhou Bi and his followers rested in an inn in Wujun. Early the next morning, he took two followers to the Zhuo family.

Arriving at the gate of Zhuo's house, he could see that many people were sending visiting cards to the gatehouse. Zhou Bi stepped forward, knocked on the door, and said to the gatehouse in a deep voice: "Zhou Bi from Qingyang Prefecture, I have been ordered to come and visit the head of the Zhuo family."

The concierge glanced at Zhou Bi through the doorway and lazily extended a hand: "Give me the note."

Zhou Bi didn't have the visiting card at all, so he felt around in his arms, took out the Privy Council badge, and handed it over directly.

"Give it to the head of the Zhuo family and tell him that Zhou must ask for a meeting."

The doorman took the sign and looked at it carefully. He realized something was wrong and hurried in to report it.

After a while, Zhuo's side door opened wide.

Zhuo Guangqing, the current head of the Zhuo family, who is also Mr. Zhuo's brother, came out to greet them with a smile on his face.

"Why is the young master here? Come in, come in."

He stepped forward and saluted, his face full of smiles.

"Please come in quickly."

(End of this chapter)