Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 187 Your Majesty, You Can Live Another Thirty Years
"Your Majesty, why are you here?"

Upon seeing Li Shimin, Wen He was stunned and somewhat at a loss. She tried to pull her sleeve away from Li Lizhi's hand, but the little maid held on tightly.

"If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have seen this good show. What did you mean by taking Lizhi with you?"

Li Shimin walked over with anger in his eyes. He glanced at Li Lizhi's hand that was tugging at Wen He's sleeve, and his eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

"Elopement!" Li Lizhi said happily, oblivious to her father's furious expression.

Upon hearing this, Wen He explained in a panic.

"Your Majesty, the princess's elopement is not the kind of elopement you understand."

"Huh? Does eloping mean going out to play?" The little girl looked at Wen He blankly. Seeing his frightened look, she immediately turned to Li Shimin and said with displeasure, "Father, don't scare Wen He!"

Li Shimin was taken aback as he watched Li Lizhi standing in front of Wen He, arms outstretched, as if to protect the latter.

He couldn't help but feel a bit amused and exasperated.

He hadn't even announced his daughter's engagement to that brat Wen He, and this girl was already siding with outsiders?
"Yes, the princess said she was going out to play, not the kind of elopement you're thinking of."

Wen He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but when he looked at Li Shimin again, he found that the latter's gaze was becoming increasingly sharp.

"Um, Your Majesty, you must have something important to do by leaving the palace so suddenly. Why didn't you let me in? You've gone to all this trouble."

Wen He chuckled, trying to change the subject.

Li Shimin remained silent, squinting as he scrutinized Wen He for a long time.

He thought to himself, 'When the time comes, I'll bestow a marriage upon Xiaorou and Ke'er. Let's see if you'll still be smiling then.'

"You didn't come to the palace to practice martial arts today. I thought you went to Yong'an Ward. I didn't expect you to be at home. You're quite at ease."

Li Shimin walked over with a smile, but Wen He felt a sense of oppression coming over him, and he involuntarily took a few steps back.

"This is a break from the busy schedule. People can't work all the time; they need to rest, otherwise they'll definitely live...live uncomfortably."

Wen He originally wanted to say that he wouldn't live long, but then he thought of Li Shimin, who was even busier than him on weekdays.

He immediately changed his mind.

Otherwise, Li Er would definitely have lost his temper.

"Comfortable? I think you're far too comfortable." Li Shimin snorted irritably, glanced at the reclining chair where Wen He had been sitting, and then walked over and sat down.

"Father, aren't you going to handle government affairs today?" The little girl came to his side with a smile. Looking at his daughter, the coldness on Li Shimin's face softened a bit.

He patted Li Lizhi's little head and said softly, "Fifth Sister is going to play with Xiao Rou. Father wants to talk to Wen He about something."

"Well."

Li Lizhi's expression immediately fell, and she snorted in dissatisfaction, "Father is naughty."

After saying that, he turned and ran away.

"This little girl." Li Shimin smiled helplessly, sighed, looked up at Wen He, and beckoned him to come forward.

Wen He pursed her lips, somewhat hesitant.

Is Li Er going to hit me?

As if he had seen through Wen He's thoughts, Li Shimin glared at him irritably: "Come here, I won't beat you up."

"Uh, Your Majesty is wise. How could you lay a hand on me?"

Wen He chuckled dryly and cautiously took a few steps forward.

But as soon as he reached Li Shimin, he was slapped on the head.

"The emperor will not beat his subjects, but a father-in-law can beat his son-in-law. You brat, what are you talking about eloping? If you dare to cause trouble with Lizhi, I will hang you on the gate of Wanchun Palace."

"It wasn't me who said that. You should let Lizhi read less of those storybooks," Wen He muttered, rubbing her head.

Li Shimin knew how to use force, and seeing Wen He's serious expression, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"I have important matters to discuss with you."

"Just tell me."

Wen He looked sullen as he saw that Li Shimin had taken his chair, so he simply sat down on the ground.

Li Shimin smiled irritably, ignoring his rudeness, and went straight to the point: "In the future, are you confident that you can help Gao Ming restrain Fu Ji?"

"Forehead……"

Wen He was taken aback; he hadn't expected Li Shimin to bring up this topic.

He was stunned.

Li Shimin did not urge him, but lay there with his eyes closed to rest.

It was clearly a heavy topic, but neither of them said a word.

After a long while, Li Shimin finally spoke up, shouting, "You brat, are you deliberately refusing to answer me?"

He originally thought Wen He hadn't figured out what to say.

But when he turned his head, he saw Wen He staring at two ants.

Clearly, this brat is deliberately refusing to answer.

Wen He looked at him helplessly: "Your Majesty, what are you worried about?"

“Gao Ming is not Li Zhi. He is eight years old this year. As long as you don’t take any elixirs, pay attention to your health, eat less meat, and don’t do that too frequently, you can live for another thirty years without any problem. If you don’t want to be emperor anymore, you can retire and become the retired emperor.”

"With you here, even if Changsun Wuji had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to become a powerful minister."

Li Shimin was worried that the events of history would repeat themselves.

However, Li Zhi was very young when he ascended the throne, and he didn't have many resources at his disposal, so he had to rely on Changsun Wuji.

This is what led to the latter wielding immense power.

However, even after Li Shimin passed away twenty-three years later, Li Chengqian, whom Li Shimin had personally nurtured, was still a promising talent.

At that time, Li Chengqian was also in his thirties.

What can Changsun Wuji use to fight him?

"Snapped!"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shimin slapped him on the head again.

"You brat, those are clearly nice words, but they just sound so awkward coming from your mouth! What do you mean, 'I could live another thirty years without any problem'?"

"Yes, yes, yes, long live the world, live to be ten thousand years from now."

Wen He immediately jumped up and moved away from Li Er, causing the latter's raised hand to miss its target.

"Alright, it's getting late. Go and tell Qingque to slaughter another suckling pig. I'll have my breakfast here today." Li Shimin smiled, a huge weight lifted from his heart.

He had been struggling with the question of whether Li Chengqian could take control of the government and suppress Changsun Wuji after his death.

But they forgot that everything now is different from the history Wenhe knew.

By the time Gao Ming ascended the throne, he was already in his prime.

At that time, there will be no need to appoint any regents.

With that scoundrel Wen He around, it's absolutely impossible for the auxiliary machine to behave the same way as in history.

"You should eat less meat; look at your belly."

Li Shimin had only been on the throne for a short time, yet his belly was noticeably larger.

"Nonsense, this is called robust. Besides, isn't it right for me to eat the pigs raised by my own son?"

Li Shimin gave him a sidelong glance, and Wen He immediately swallowed the words she was about to say.

It seems that Li Erjia has a hereditary high blood pressure. If he wants to live longer than in history, he will definitely have to eat less meat and exercise more in the future.

But he's only twenty-eight, so let's talk about it in a few years.

Although it was called breakfast, it was actually almost noon when we ate.

Amidst Li Tai's reluctant wailing, another pig was slaughtered.

However, this time, the food was much fatter than the last time they ate.

Judging by the timeline, it should take about six months for these pigs to be able to leave the pen.

That will definitely give those Tang Dynasty people a fright.

After the meal, Li Shimin left.

Wen He was just thinking of going back to take a nap.

To everyone's surprise, not long after, people from the Ministry of Works arrived.

He was a physician under Yan Lide. Wen He had met him before; he was Zhao Kai.

“Lord Wen, His Majesty has sent an imperial edict, instructing us to urge you to go to the paper mill.”

Zhao Kai happily greeted her, only to see Wen He looking gloomy.

That Li Er is utterly inhuman!
They don't want me to rest for even a moment.

"His Majesty also said that as long as you report for duty every day, he will give you an extra twenty strings of cash every month..."

"go!"

He was definitely not after money; as the saying goes, life is about movement.

Besides, papermaking benefits people all over the world.

This kind of thing should definitely be done as soon as possible.

Yes, he did it for the Tang Dynasty, definitely not for those twenty strings of cash.

"Are you sure His Majesty said he'd give an extra twenty strings of cash?"

As he boarded the carriage, Wen He confirmed the request several times.

Zhao Kai nodded in surprise: "Yes, His Majesty said so himself, but the money will come from the Ministry of Works."

"Okay, let's go then."

It doesn't matter where it comes from, as long as it gets into his hands.

……

The paper mill began construction yesterday.

All the necessary craftsmen have arrived, but we haven't started yet because some of the necessary items haven't been made.

Especially the waterwheel; the craftsmen are still researching how to build it.

If Wen He wasn't around, they didn't even have anyone to consult.

Moreover, papermaking is not an easy task.

The pulping process alone was extremely complex, completely different from the papermaking technology of the Tang Dynasty today.

Therefore, Yan Lide wished Wen He could live in Yong'anfang.

But not wanting to offend him, she sent someone to the palace to deliver the message.

Unexpectedly, His Majesty acted so decisively that he actually persuaded Wen He.

However, Wen He wasn't particularly busy at the paper mill.

The craftsmen would occasionally come to ask some questions, but the rest they had to solve on their own.

So the next day, Wen He brought the recliner with her, and also took the three new kids and Li Yifu with her to the paper mill.

Let them do hard labor with those workers.

"As the saying goes, you should develop morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically and practically. It won't do if you're lazy and gluttonous at such a young age. So, for your future, I've made the painful decision to let you suffer this hardship."

Wen He said she was very moved.

But Li Tai and Li Ke didn't react at all.

Li Yifu just smiled.

Li You said somewhat dejectedly, "But I'm only six years old."

"Um, you do math problems next to me."

"Really? Sir, you're such a kind person!"

Li You was overjoyed, but he didn't notice the cold gazes of his two older brothers behind him.

When the paper mill was built and the first batch of pulp was produced...

The tea that Wenzhong had previously sent people to the south to purchase has arrived in Chang'an.

Wen He then asked Li Shimin for a few days' leave.

A few days later, he asked Wenzhong to book a tavern in Chang'an for him and send someone to invite the Turkic merchants over.

However, before the Turks arrived, he was greeted by an uninvited guest.

(End of this chapter)