Chang'an.
"Dad, how did you get hurt this badly?" Li Chu stared anxiously at Roland's wounds. "There's actually someone in this world who can hurt you?"
"I'm fine now," Roland said. "I just need some time to heal."
"Really?" Li Chu was still worried. He certainly didn't look fine.
"Don't worry yourself over nothing." Roland ruffled Li Chu's hair. "What about you? Now that you're ruling in your own right, is there anything you're having trouble with?"
"There is, but I can handle it myself," Li Chu said. "While you were away these past few years, I got a few things done too—
It wasn't easy, but I managed."
"That's good." Roland nodded. The An Lushan Rebellion had been put down, the peoples around Great Tang had been subdued, and the empire even had an army comparable to the Astartes. All that remained was to let the country recover and leave the common people in peace.
"Anyway... I'm doing fine." Li Chu paused. "Dad, are you sure those wounds aren't serious?"
"I'm sure."
"Good. I was planning to treat you to a Shaowei Feast at noon, so I'm glad you're up for it."
"A Shaowei Feast?" Roland blinked. "Wasn't that abolished under Emperor Xuanzong of Tang?"
The Shaowei Feast had been a popular celebratory banquet in the Tang dynasty. Criticized for its extravagance, it had gradually fallen out of use after Emperor Xuanzong took the throne.
"My grandfather was the previous emperor. I'm the emperor now, so what I say goes," Li Chu declared.
"And anyone who disagrees gets sent to meet the previous emperor, is that it?" Roland rapped Li Chu on the head.
"Ow! I didn't mean that." Li Chu covered his head. "You're the one who taught me to talk like this."
"You've been emperor for years,