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

Chapter 197 You brat, how dare you call me a scoundrel!
"The Great Emperor?"

Wen He leaned over the door frame, peering inside.

The once messy bedroom had been cleaned up and was now spotless.

Li Yuan sat in the middle, with a chessboard in front of him. Wen He looked closely and couldn't help but marvel.

The chess piece was actually made of crystal.

It looks much more high-end than the wooden one he used to have.

'So Li Yuan sent me here to play chess with him?'

"No way! He was just throwing a hysterical tantrum, and now he wants to play chess with me? Is there a trap?"

Looking around, it didn't seem like they were hiding from anyone.

He cautiously walked in, still holding the knife that Li Yuan had thrown to him earlier.

"Come here now!"

Li Yuan suddenly turned around and shouted a curse.

Wen He was taken aback, gave a dry laugh, and said, "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

Li Yuan stared at him without saying a word, but simply pointed to the spot in front of him.

He knew Wen He was asking a question she already knew the answer to.

However, seeing the latter's timid appearance, his mood improved considerably.

'So this brat does know fear after all.'

Seeing this, Wen He was thinking of refusing.

Li Yuan is such a terrible chess player; there's really no point in playing chess with him.

But he seemed to see through Wen He's meaning, toying with the chess pieces in his hand, and sneered, "If something happens to me here, what do you think Erlang will do...?"

"How could I refuse Your Majesty's request to play chess? It has been many days since I last played with Your Majesty, and my hands are itching to play."

Before Li Yuan could finish his threatening words, Wen He quickly walked over.

But in his heart, he couldn't help but mutter, 'Damn it, if you've got the guts, then really die!'

After sitting down, Li Yuan launched a scathing attack without saying a word.

That's all he has left.

There has been absolutely no improvement compared to before.

Wen He then took the next step in a perfunctory manner.

Li Yuan snorted and moved the chess pieces.

The two continued playing chess in silence.

Meanwhile, an uninvited group of guests arrived outside the Da'an Palace.

"Where's Wen He? Why are you all here?"

Yuchi Gong, who arrived with his troops, looked at the Hundred Riders and Xuanjia Guards outside the door and immediately questioned them with dissatisfaction.

Zhang Wenxiao, who was in charge of guarding the gate, quickly stepped forward, bowed, and reported: "Reporting to Duke Wu, the young master is playing chess with the Emperor Emeritus. The Hundred Cavalry and the Xuanjia Guard are now under my command."

"Playing chess?"

Li Daozong, who had come with him, couldn't help but be curious. He looked at Yuchi Gong and said, "In that case, I'll trouble Duke Wu to take charge of the escort. I'll go in and take a look."

Without waiting for Yuchi Gong's response, he dismounted and headed towards the Da'an Palace.

Upon seeing this, Yuchi Gong snorted and waved his hand, signaling the soldiers behind him to enter the Da'an Palace.

at the same time.

A palace attendant rushed towards Li Yuan's bedroom in a hurry.

In his haste, he didn't watch his step, tripped over the threshold, and stumbled into the bedchamber.

"Haha, General!"

Li Yuan shouted and captured Wen He's general.

Sitting opposite him, Wen Heqiang clapped his hands and exclaimed with a smile, "The Emperor Emeritus's chess skills are superb, I admire him greatly."

"Snapped!"

Li Yuan raised his hand and slapped him on the head, angrily cursing, "Don't think that just because I'm being lenient with you, I can't see that I don't want to argue with you."

Li Yuan knew Wen He's chess skills; with his ability, it was absolutely impossible for him to lose to him in such a short time.

This kid is clearly hiding his true abilities.

"Yes Yes Yes."

Wen He was helpless.

He originally planned to let Li Yuan win a round so he could slip away.

Unexpectedly, the old man didn't appreciate it at all.

He rubbed his head as he set up the chess pieces under Li Yuan's watchful gaze, while the latter also noticed the eunuch.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Has someone broken in, or has the sky fallen?"

The eunuch, his face covered in blood, rose shakily, not daring to wipe the blood from his face, and said to Li Yuan, "Reporting to the Emperor Emeritus, the Prince of Rencheng and the Duke of Wu have led their troops into the palace."

Upon hearing the name Duke of Wu, Li Yuan was taken aback.

He still hasn't forgotten how Yuchi Gong stormed in with a murderous look on his face back in Xianchi.

He glanced at Wen He, who calmly set up the chess pieces and explained, "Chang'an City has been unsettled recently. His Majesty is worried about the safety of the Emperor Emeritus, which is why he sent the Duke of Wu and the Prince of Rencheng with their troops. The Emperor Emeritus need not worry."

"You seem to have a better perspective than I do. Fine, as long as that bear doesn't come to see me, I'll let him be."

Yuchi Gong cast a significant shadow over Li Yuan.

He feared that if he saw Yuchi Gong, he would have nightmares from then on.

"Get out of here and don't disturb my chess game!"

Li Yuan gave a shout, and the eunuch quickly bowed and withdrew.

No sooner had the eunuch left than a burst of laughter came from outside.

"Your Majesty has quite the refined taste. May I come in, nephew?"

Hearing the voice, Wen He's lips twitched involuntarily.

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow and sneered, "In Chang'an, there are only two people as reckless as you: Cheng Zhijie and you, Li Daozong. Get in here!"

"Nephew obeys the decree."

Li Daozong lightly jumped over the threshold and entered with a beaming smile, like a blooming flower.

"Hey, little one, it's been a long time." The two hadn't seen each other since he last went to Wen He's house to help out.

He has been in charge of the defense of Chang'an recently, so he has not even attended the morning court session.

Wen He was about to greet him, but when he called her "little kid" again, she immediately turned her head away, picked up a chess piece, made a move, and captured Li Yuan's piece.
"Wait a minute, no, I was disturbed by that scoundrel just now and made a mistake. This step doesn't count, it doesn't count."

Li Yuan quickly stopped Wen He from taking the chess piece back, then took back his move and changed the position of the piece he had just placed before laughing heartily.

"Hey, that's right."

"Are you sure? No changes?"

Wen He looked at him calmly and asked.

Li Yuan, who was originally full of confidence, hesitated again after being asked this question.

He looked down at the chessboard and began to ponder.

Li Daozong, who was standing not far away, felt somewhat embarrassed as he was ignored by the old man and the young man.

He coughed lightly, trying to get their attention, but no one paid him any attention.

Not long after, Li Yuan said, "You brat, you're trying to scare me. I'll just go with this."

"Row."

Wen He nodded dismissively, and three steps later, his chariot charged into Li Yuan's formation.

"General."

"You, you, this doesn't count, it doesn't count. It's all because of Li Daozong's recklessness, this round doesn't count."

Li Yuan angrily waved his hand and got up to snatch the general from Wen He's hands.

The latter stepped back, rolled over, and dodged.

"Your Majesty, you can't act like a scoundrel."

"Hey, you brat, how dare you call me a scoundrel! You're asking for a beating!"

"If you keep doing this, I'm not playing chess with you anymore."

"Then I command you to obey. If you dare not obey, I will go to Erlang and complain that you are mistreating me."

"Your Majesty, you're being unreasonable!"

"I'm not going to be reasonable anymore!"

The old man and the young boy were chasing each other in the bedroom, leaving Li Daozong completely astonished.

He had previously worried that Wen He would be made things difficult for Li Yuan.

Seeing this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

'It seems the little boy and the Emperor Emeritus have a good relationship. No wonder the relationship between His Majesty and the Emperor Emeritus has improved considerably. It's just a pity that those who were blind to the situation insisted on coming to their deaths.'

The city of Chang'an is destined to be turbulent today.

Huang Chun led a hundred cavalrymen straight to the post station.

Inside a private room on the second floor of the inn, Li Desheng was raising a wine glass to toast the middle-aged man in front of him.

"Brother Du's talent is as numerous as the stars. No wonder the Emperor Emeritus relies on him so much. He is truly the envy of others."

Indeed, the middle-aged man in front of him was Du Caigan.

A few days ago, Li Desheng wanted to visit Li Yuan, but was turned away at the door.

He had intended to bribe the eunuchs of Da'an Palace, but instead he encountered Du Caigan.

He had been trying to make contact with them these past few days, which led to their meeting today, so he set up a banquet here.

Du Caigan just wrote a poem, and Li Desheng naturally wanted to praise it.

“My mere writings and poems are not worth mentioning. Your Majesty appreciated me back then, but now I am unable to help Your Majesty out of this predicament. As a subject like this, what face do I have to remain in this world?”

He raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp, then slammed the glass down on the table.

"Nowadays, treacherous officials are in power, and rebellious sons are rulers. It is hateful that the people of this world are all blind and deaf. Prefect Li is the governor of Weizhou and has received the Emperor's favor. Why do you not act loyal to the Emperor?"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Desheng broke out in a cold sweat.

He hadn't realized what Du Caigan meant by "His Majesty" yet, and thought that Du Caigan was referring to Li Shimin.

But now he understands.

Du Caigan has gone mad!
"This, this, Lord Du, I suddenly feel a little unwell, I'll go to the restroom first, please go ahead."

He dared not stay any longer and suddenly got up to leave.

Upon seeing this, Du Caigan immediately sneered: "After hearing what I said today, do you think you can get away with it? If things are exposed in the future, do you think you can clear your name?"

Li Desheng was taken aback, and then he understood why Du Caigan had accepted his invitation so easily.

So that's where he was waiting.

He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the door to the private room was suddenly opened.

Remembering Du Caigan's words, and fearing that these people had overheard, he asked tremblingly, "Who are you, daring to eavesdrop on Lord Du's speech here!"

With those words, he managed to extricate himself from the situation.

"One hundred riders!" Huang Chun uttered the two words calmly.

Li Desheng's eyes widened in horror, and he took a few steps back. He saw a group of people dressed in cavalry uniforms file in, and Huang Chun was behind them.

"Who are you?"

Staring at Li Desheng, Huang Chun asked.

Seeing that he was dressed in the robes of a palace eunuch, Li Desheng was filled with fear and said, "I am the lowest of the low, the Prefect of Weizhou."

Since the incident with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the reputation of the Hundred Cavalry has already spread throughout Chang'an.

Anyone with a guilty conscience isn't afraid of them.

"presumptuous!"

Du Caigan suddenly stood up, slightly drunk, and staggered a few steps. He pointed at Huang Chun and scolded, "How dare a mere eunuch be so insolent!"

"Snapped!"

Huang Chun went up and slapped Du Caigan without hesitation.

The latter was stunned and stared at Huang Chun in disbelief: "You dare to hit me?"

"Shh!"

Just then, Huang Chun drew the sword of one of the hundred riders beside him and held it to Du Caigan's neck.

"You traitorous scoundrel, everyone has the right to kill you! I not only dare to hit you, I dare to kill you!"

(End of this chapter)