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

Chapter 235 This matter concerns the future of the Tang Dynasty
"What kind of look is that?"

When he came to the East Palace for class and saw Li Chengqian, he noticed that the boy was looking at him strangely.

Li Chengqian coughed lightly, looked at Wen He with a strange smile, and even forgot to bow with his hands behind his back.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Brother-in-law."

"What did you call me?"

Wen He narrowed her eyes slightly and asked in an unfriendly tone.

Li Chengqian chuckled, tilting his head slightly, and said, "If Fifth Sister were to get engaged to you, then you would be my brother-in-law, and naturally I would call you sister..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wen He raised her hand and slapped him on the head.

Upon seeing this, the eunuchs serving Li Chengqian quickly lowered their heads and pretended not to have seen anything.

"Brother-in-law, right?"

Wen He grabbed his collar and gave him a "kind" smile.

Li Chengqian felt a sudden pang of anxiety and hurriedly shook his head in panic: "No, no, no, I was wrong, sir, sir, hey hey hey, sir, spare my life!"

After being whipped five times, Li Chengqian was forced to sit down, sobbing pitifully as he copied "The Book of Lord Shang".

“Sir, this is what Father and Mother said.” Li Chengqian muttered, turning his head cautiously, but seeing Wen He’s sharp gaze, he quickly smiled and said, “Of course, I have always respected you, sir.”

"Stop talking nonsense. If you don't finish copying Lord Shang ten times today, don't even think about eating."

“Well, sir, I am the Crown Prince!” Li Chengqian felt he had to regain his dignity.

Wen He glanced at him indifferently, and he immediately shrank his neck: "I am also the teacher's student. The teacher is right. What the teacher said makes sense."

"Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense. I'll take you out of the palace later and we'll have dinner at my house."

"real!"

Li Chengqian's eyes lit up with joy.

Wen He chuckled and patted his head.

Having been trapped in this small world for so long, they must have wanted to get out long ago.

His eyes were shining when he left the palace a few days ago.

"They've left the palace?"

After Wen He led Li Chengqian away from the Eastern Palace, Li Shimin received the news.

"That brat, he took the Crown Prince out of the palace without even consulting me."

He grumbled, but he wasn't actually angry.

"Your Majesty, is it not somewhat inappropriate to take the Crown Prince out of the palace without permission?"

Changsun Wuji frowned and stood up to speak.

Li Shimin chuckled and said, "Jiaying has told me about this, and I gave my permission, so it's alright."

Changsun Wuji was taken aback upon hearing this.

His Majesty's demeanor just now clearly indicated that he had just heard about it.

But he actually helped Wen He explain.

“Vice Minister Changsun, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Gaoyang are both teacher and friend. Moreover, I, the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, have not even spoken. You have overstepped your bounds.”

A cold snort came from not far away.

Looking at him, Changsun Wuji's facial muscles twitched a few times, and he cursed inwardly, "You old scoundrel!"

"Alright, Jiaying will know what to do regarding the Crown Prince. Let's continue with the autumn harvest. Have the tax grains from various regions arrived as expected?"

Li Shimin interrupted the impending argument and shifted the topic to serious matters.

Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji bowed to Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, except for Jiangnan, Lingnan and Jiannan, the autumn taxes of all other provinces have been deposited into the treasury."

"Lingnan and Jiannan are far apart and the journey is rugged, so it will be a little later. This is the inventory after the autumn tax is calculated."

Changsun Wuji took out a document.

Gao Yue took it and handed it to Li Shimin.

The latter glanced at it carefully, but his expression didn't show much joy.

He simply nodded slightly, put the note aside, and continued to ask, "How was the harvest in Gejiazhuang this year?"

He looked up at Changsun Wuji, who seemed rather awkward.

He knew that Li Shimin was asking about the grain produced from the fields that had been fertilized.

But he never inquired about this matter.

He didn't even think Li Shimin remembered this.

"Your Majesty, I was newly arrived at the Ministry of Civil Affairs and was dealing with too many government affairs, so I neglected my duties. However, I think I have already gained a lot."

Changsun Wuji immediately found a way to save face.

Li Shimin glanced at him indifferently and said expressionlessly, "Thank you for your hard work, Auxiliary Machine."

"I don't dare."

"Ministry of Rites."

An elderly man, about forty years old, came out of the classroom.

This is Lu Kuan, the new Minister of Rites who replaced Tang Jian.

"Has the messenger from the Ring King's side returned? How much longer until the grain supplies arrive?"

"Your Majesty, the envoy and the grain will not be able to return to the capital for more than a month. Before leaving his post, Vice Minister Tang had already sent a letter urging them to hurry up."

Lu Kuan replied.

"The matter of grain seeds concerns the people of the whole country. Although Minister Lu has just arrived at the Ministry of Rites, he should still pay attention to it."

Li Shimin seemed to be reminding Lu Kuan, but his words might also have been a warning to Changsun Wuji.

Li Shimin had reminded him about composting many times before, but he still forgot.

"Your subject will remember this."

Lu Kuan bowed and then withdrew.

"My lord is guilty!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Changsun Wuji confessed his guilt to Li Shimin.

How could someone as shrewd as him not understand the meaning behind Li Shimin's words?

"It's alright. You have the talent to assist Zhang Liang. It would be difficult for you to be Xiao He." Li Shimin waved his hand with a smile, giving Changsun Wuji face in the process.

Comparing him to Zhang Liang and Xiao He is somewhat of an exaggeration.

But he was also telling the ministers present that Changsun Wuji was still his confidant.

"Alright, I've been sitting in the Lizheng Hall for too long these past few days. I haven't left the city in a long time either. How about today, all of you, come with me for a spring outing?"

Li Shimin put down his pen and smiled as he surveyed the crowd in the hall.

Everyone was taken aback.

Changsun Wuji was even more shocked.

He knew that Li Shimin's sudden suggestion was because he wanted to visit Gejiazhuang.

The first to react was Du Ruhui, who immediately echoed, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. The Tang Dynasty is now full of vitality, and it is time to go out and see. As far as I know, Gejiazhuang is not far from Chang'an, so we can go and inquire about this year's harvest."

"Your Majesty."

Just then, Wei Zheng suddenly stepped forward.

"Rest assured, Minister Wei, I am traveling in simple attire and will not make a great fuss."

Before Wei Zheng could even speak, Li Shimin already knew what he was going to say.

The concern is that his travels are too elaborate.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zheng remained expressionless, but he still offered a rare compliment to Li Shimin: "Your Majesty is wise."

"This matter concerns the future of the Tang Dynasty, and I must be cautious. By the way, this composting was done by that scoundrel. Gao Yue, go and have that scoundrel... along with the Crown Prince, the Prince of Han, the Prince of Wei, the Prince of Chu, and Xiao Rou accompany him."

He probably hadn't seen his three sons in a long time.

I miss you dearly.

'I wonder if Ke'er and Qingque have gained or lost weight; they must have grown quite a bit taller too. I've been so busy with official duties lately that I've neglected them.'

Soon.

Wen He, who was preparing a barbecue at home, saw Zhou Fu.

Upon learning that Gao Yue was coming, he glanced reluctantly at the marinated beef, then angrily went to the front yard.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian and the three little ones secretly rejoiced.

They all thought that Li Shimin had only summoned Wen He.

“The gentleman will be going to the palace and won’t be coming out until very late.”

"So we don't have to go to class today?"

Li Tai and Li You were so happy they almost jumped up on the spot.

Li Chengqian, standing to the side, sighed helplessly and also got up. With his master entering the palace, he certainly couldn't stay any longer.

"Take some beef back with you."

Li Ke suddenly mentioned it.

Li Tai and Li You were also stunned for a moment, then turned to look at their brother who had a worried look on his face.

"What's there to sigh about? Just take some back and eat it secretly, as long as Father doesn't find out." Li Tai pursed his lips.

She was secretly relieved that she had been sent out of the palace.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to even get a bite of beef.

Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun were exceptionally frugal, so Li Chengqian's meals in the palace were not even as good as those of the three children in Wen He's household.

For ten days or half a month, you definitely won't be able to eat a single bite of beef.

Wen He took him out of the palace today, and specially prepared this barbecue for him.

"Never mind, Father and Mother haven't had beef in a long time." Li Chengqian swallowed.

"Keep pretending. Can't you take it back to your father and mother?" Li Tai rolled his eyes at him.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian chuckled and said, "That would make the gentleman angry."

"Then just say we ate it," Li Ke said dismissively.

Li Tai nodded in agreement.

Only Li You muttered worriedly.

"But won't the master punish us for this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Tai and Li Ke both turned to look at him.

He was so frightened that he quickly shook his head: "Even if the master punishes us, I will not say that my brother stole it."

His words calmed Li Tai and Li Ke down.

"Alright, stop being stubborn. It's like Mr. Li will really blame you for just a little bit of beef. Take it all away before he comes back, and then we'll say that Li You ate it all."

Li Tai grinned, while Li You, standing beside him, stared in astonishment, his mouth agape.

"No, why are you blaming me?"

"Because you are the King of Chu."

"Huh? What, what's the connection?"

Li You couldn't figure it out.

“No contact, but think about King Chu, that’s Xiang Yu, a man of unparalleled righteousness and immense strength, capable of lifting a tripod. What’s this little thing to you?” Li Tai said, trying to fool him.

Li You blinked, pondered for a moment, and said, "Actually, I'd rather be Guan Yu. I secretly had someone forge a Green Dragon Crescent Blade for me."

“Alright, as long as you accept this, you’ll be Guan Yu from now on.” Li Tai raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah."

This silly boy was completely fooled.

While Wen He was still away, Li Tai and Li Ke took a food box and poured out almost two-thirds of the beef that Wen He had just marinated.

Li Ke put another third of it into another bowl.

"Why did you leave some behind?" Li Tai asked, puzzled.

Li Ke simply said, "Sir and Xiaorou haven't eaten yet."

"hehe."

Li Tai rolled his eyes at him, then said to Li Chengqian.

"Give this to your personal attendant and have him secretly put it on the carriage. Make sure the master doesn't find out."

"What do you mean, 'don't let me find out'?"

Just as Li Chengqian and the three little ones were preparing to secretly carry out their plan.

Wen He appeared behind them like a ghost.

The four little kids couldn't help but shiver.

"What are you doing, sneaking around like that?"

Wen He scrutinized the people in front of her.

In fact, he had already noticed that the beef next to him had disappeared.

Li Chengqian now had an extra food box in his hand.

Needless to say, it must have been these four kids who conspired to steal his beef.

"Sir, what brings you back?"

Li Chengqian gave a dry laugh.

Li You stood up abruptly, about to speak, but Li Tai grabbed him, saying, "This was my idea!"

He stiffened his neck and stared directly into Wen He's eyes.

"Snapped!"

Wen He looked up and slapped him on the head: "What are you so smug about? Eating a little beef is like you're doing something wrong. Do you think your husband is that stingy?"

The four little ones nodded in unison, almost instinctively.

"what?"

"No, no, sir, you are too kind."

"Yes, yes, the teacher is the best teacher in the world."

The four little ones quickly changed their tune.

Looking at their expressions, Wen He was both amused and exasperated.

Leaving aside Li You, when did the relationship between Li Tai, Li Ke, and Li Chengqian become so good?
They actually dared to team up and fool themselves.

"Alright, have someone take this beef back, but remember, tell outsiders it's mutton, understand?"

If the crown prince were to lead the way in eating beef, the censors would likely become quite uneasy.

"Thank you sir."

Li Chengqian was deeply moved.

"Look how wronged you look. If you're ever craving something sweet, just come out. But you really can't eat too much beef, it's too expensive."

There has been a significant increase in beef production in Chang'an recently, due to the large number of cattle captured during the Battle of Huizhou.

Those oxen can't plow the fields, so they can all be killed.

But a pound of beef costs about five strings of cash.

Seeing his pained expression, the four little ones couldn't help but chuckle.

After being glared at by Wen He, they swallowed their words.

Without hesitation, he slapped all four of them on the head.

After finishing, he felt refreshed and clapped his hands, saying, "Alright, you all get ready and come out with me."

"Going out, isn't that going back to the palace?"

Li Chengqian asked in surprise.

The three little ones also looked puzzled.

"It's out of the city. Your father suddenly felt like going out for a stroll today and wanted to take me and you all with him."

Since returning from Huizhou, Wen He has not left Chang'an again.

This time we went to Gejiazhuang again. I wonder if Xiaorou wants to go back.

"Oh, right, someone go and call Xiaorou over."

“I…I’ll go get someone,” Li Ke said.

Li Ke appeared calm, so Wen He didn't take it to heart and nodded.

While Li Ke went to find Wenrou, Wen He led Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and Li Youxian to the front yard.

Upon seeing the princes, Gao Yue quickly stepped forward to pay her respects before saying to Wen He, "Prince Gao Yang, the Holy Family has already left the palace, so we must hurry."

He was a little anxious.

We can't keep His Majesty the Emperor waiting for them.

"understood."

Not long after, Li Ke and Wenrou came out.

Upon learning that she could return to Gejiazhuang, the little girl was so happy she could hardly stop smiling.

She has never returned since she arrived in Chang'an.

In a few days it will be the Double Ninth Festival, and she was thinking of going back to pay respects to her parents. She never expected that she would be able to go back today.

Once everyone was present, they headed outside.

Just as everyone was about to get into the carriage, they suddenly heard the sound of hooves not far away. A fast horse was galloping towards them.

(End of this chapter)