Chapter 278 Situ
The ministers received the order and withdrew. Once the emperor moved, all the civil and military officials in the court had to follow, so preparations must be made in advance.

Li Jiancheng said to Xiao Xuan: "The Queen doesn't know yet, so please go with me, uncle. Well, please be more tactful in your words."

When he played the detailed report just now, he even mentioned that he vomited several buckets of blood, had not eaten any rice, and was extremely emaciated. There was no need to let the Queen know all this in detail.

"Yes, I know my limits."

The two men walked towards the harem one after the other, both with heavy expressions on their faces. The palace maids and eunuchs surrounding them all lowered their heads and made almost no sound when they walked.

At this time, the Queen was calculating the expenses of the harem with the female officials to see where they could save more.

Although the court had recovered from the difficulties at the beginning of the founding of the country, it was not very wealthy after all. As a role model for the world, the queen still wanted to be as frugal as possible.

"The prince and princess are still young and growing fast, so their formal clothes should be made larger, and the concubines should be more frugal. Your Majesty only has four dishes for a meal, but how can such a beauty have more than ten dishes for a meal?"

Just as the queen was taking care of her harem, a female official walked in with a pale face.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty and the King's uncle are heading towards the palace."

"Brother is here?"

Upon hearing this, Empress Xiao stood up with a look of joy on her face, but she soon realized something was wrong. For such a happy event, the female official should have come to report it happily. How could this happen?

She was always smart, and her face immediately turned pale and she was about to collapse. The female official beside her hurried forward to support her: "Madam."

The closest female official hurried forward to persuade her: "Madam, no matter what happens, you must take care of the little prince in your belly."

"Go and ask the doctor quickly."

The Queen leaned against the table and said, "You speak."

The female official who came to report the news cried, "I saw the emperor's uncle in mourning clothes."

The Queen's eyes were filled with tears. Although she was somewhat prepared, she was still extremely sad at this moment.

"Your Majesty has arrived."

The queen struggled to stand up, two lines of tears streaming down her cheeks.

When Li Jiancheng entered the palace and saw this, he knew that she had already received the news, so he could only go forward and hug his wife.

Xiao Xuan bowed and said, "My father has passed away. Please accept my condolences, Your Majesty."

The empress was crying so hard that she couldn't speak. The emperor waved his hand and asked the servants to leave. One of the female officials bowed before leaving and said, "Your Majesty, the queen has been feeling unwell these days."

Li Jiancheng frowned upon hearing this: "The Queen has been feeling unwell for several days. Why didn't you ask the imperial physician to diagnose her earlier? How dare you hide this from me!"

The female official did not dare to speak. The empress shook her head. The emperor waved his hand and said, "Call the imperial physician."

Soon, the imperial physician walked into the hall, took the patient's pulse and bowed, "Your Majesty, the queen is pregnant, and it has been two months."

The hall was silent for a moment, and Xiao Xuan was the first to congratulate: "This is a great joyous event. My father's spirit in heaven must be extremely pleased. I congratulate your majesty and your majesty on behalf of your majesty."

…………

At the court meeting the next day, the emperor first announced that the court would be suspended for seven days for the Prince of Liang, and issued an edict to confer him the titles of Si Tu and Governor of Yongzhou, and gave him a sword, a feathered banner, and a drum. The Minister of Rites was appointed to supervise the funeral arrangements, and he was ordered to be buried with the rites for a prince, and the Ministry of Rites was ordered to decide on his posthumous title.

This kind of posthumous honor is the highest in this dynasty. Looking back on the life of Prince Liang, he was once an emperor. After the fall of his country, he became the prime minister of the Sui Dynasty. After the fall of Sui Dynasty, he became the prince and prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. It can be said to be magnificent.

In private, the emperor also wore plain white robes to express his mourning.

After Li Jiancheng finished handling government affairs every day, he would go to accompany his queen and ordered the imperial doctors to be on standby at all times.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask you a favor." After a few days of grief, the queen gradually recovered from her sorrow. Birth, aging, sickness and death are inevitable. After all, her father was over sixty years old.

Li Jiancheng sat down next to his wife and said, "Why would you and I ask for a name? Just tell me."

"Your Majesty, I am here for my brother's title. I hope my brother can lower his title and inherit his throne.

The title of a county prince is too noble after all. Even the Duke of Wei is only a duke. My brother has ordinary talents and virtues, so it is enough for him to have the title of a duke."

Li Jiancheng shook his head: "My father-in-law has made great contributions, so he was awarded this title, and my uncle has done nothing wrong, how can I demote him without any guilt?

I know what you are worried about, don't worry, everything will be fine."

Xiao Chanyan insisted: "I read history books some time ago, and there are countless cases of relatives interfering in government affairs in all dynasties. My father is still alive, and I am a daughter, so I can't say much. But the future of the family should not be special because of me."

"Everything has its pros and cons. I always need some relatives to rely on. My uncle is a law-abiding person. Don't worry too much."

The queen whispered, "He will always make mistakes. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me then."

Li Jiancheng did not say anything. No matter what, he could not demote his title at this time, otherwise the court would lose the most crucial thing.

If it’s impossible to pass on the family legacy, who would go back to the battlefield to risk their lives?

After this incident, the emperor became worried about the Empress Dowager, so he sent several imperial doctors to Jiangdu.

Fortunately, according to the news from Jiangdu Palace, the Empress Dowager's health has improved significantly in the south.

As for the retired emperor, he became increasingly addicted to alcohol and sex, and his health was no longer as good as before. However, in just over a year, three of his concubines became pregnant.

In other words, the emperor will have more brothers and sisters.

Although the emperor was unhappy, he did not ask anyone to do anything. After all, it would not be a big deal to raise a few children. At most, they could be sent to Liaodong or even more remote places.

A few days later, the emperor returned to Chang'an with his civil and military concubines. The people of Luoyang spontaneously followed him out of the city for dozens of miles, and both the civil and military officials were astonished.

Emperor Yang did not enjoy such treatment in Luoyang for several years, but Your Majesty has won the hearts of the people of Luoyang in just one year.

There were also many caravans and common people who wanted to go to Chang'an to visit relatives and friends, and they followed the emperor. Although the world was peaceful now, it was still safest to follow the emperor.

On the way, Li Jiancheng also met Zhang Gongjin who had rushed back from Liaodong, and obtained the secret account book of Yizhi Wende from him.

Even from his point of view, this is a considerable fortune. After all, it is the foundation of three countries and is far beyond the reach of any wealthy family.

The emperor smiled and said, "My Duke of Lu seems to be the richest man in the Tang Dynasty."

Zhang Gongjin said: "As far as I know, Duke Lu has prepared ten ships of treasures for Your Majesty."

"Oh, then I have to thank him."

Li Jiancheng threw the account book on the imperial desk. If Luo Yi really dared to do so, then he could not blame himself for the future disaster of property confiscation.

In the final analysis, the conquest of Liaodong and the destruction of the Three Kingdoms were due to his occupation of Liaodong City in the previous dynasty, and also due to his strong soldiers and brave generals, which won him a victory in the court.

Luo Yi did have merits, but he was definitely not indispensable. There were many people who could replace him. Moreover, the court had already promoted him to a higher position and granted him land for his merits.

Zhang Gongjin lowered his head and said, "Duke Lu should turn back from his wrong path. Duke Ying seems to have advised him."

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(End of this chapter)