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

Chapter 80 Your Highness, it's been a long time.

Outside the Duke of Ying's residence.

The three women, Yang and the Wu sisters, looked extremely embarrassed.

They never expected that, after only a few days in Chang'an, they would be reprimanded by the Crown Prince.

It was not uncommon for empresses to reprimand the families of their officials in the early Sui Dynasty; Empress Dugu herself did so on several occasions.

This was the first time in the Tang Dynasty that the Crown Princess had reprimanded them.

However, after hearing the imperial decree, both Yang and Wu Shun were completely bewildered, not knowing what mistake they had made.

The imperial decree only stated that they were "uneasy in their homes, disregarded etiquette, and were arrogant and presumptuous."

But no matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn't figure out when they had offended the Crown Prince.

Yang and Wu Shun naturally did not believe that the Crown Princess would make such a big fuss over a mere county magistrate.

Only Wu Erniang, standing to the side, glanced intentionally or unintentionally at the door across the street.

Two little heads popped out from inside, looking at this side curiously.

Before she could see clearly, the two girls were pulled back.

"Is it him?" Wu Erniang wondered to herself, wondering whether she should remind her mother and elder sister. She saw Yang Shi accept the imperial decree and take out a purse from her sleeve, intending to hand it to the eunuch who delivered the decree.

The eunuch didn't even glance at it before turning and leaving.

"What does this mean?" Madam Yang asked, somewhat puzzled.

She remembered her husband saying that the eunuchs in the imperial city were the most troublesome, and that she had to be careful.

She didn't know what she had done to offend the eunuch.

"Mother, how can you just give it to me like this in public?" Wu Shun glared at Madam Yang, annoyed.

The latter then realized that the people listening to the commotion were all standing outside.

If that eunuch accepts this purse, wouldn't that be blatant bribery?

Madam Yang slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Mother was wrong."

Wu Shun sighed, once again confirming in his heart that he could not rely on his mother for his future.

She turned her head to look at Wu Erniang beside her, and seeing her staring blankly ahead, she rolled her eyes again.

"I can't rely on my sister either, I can only rely on myself."

"If I could become the Crown Prince's consort, then I would be the Crown Princess and then the Empress!"

She pursed her lips, lost in endless daydreams.

She didn't notice the meaningful glance that Wu Erniang gave her.

"What's so interesting about this? Mind your own business."

Inside the Wen residence, Wen He carried Wenrou and Li Lizhi, one in each hand, and walked inside.

A small, black and white, furry dog ​​was running around him.

This dog looks like a Pekingese.

I just heard from Li Lizhi's maid that this dog comes from the Kingdom of Fulin, so it is called the Fulin Dog.

He remembered the Kingdom of Fulin, which seemed to be the Eastern Roman Empire of later generations, also known as Byzantium.

During this period, they seemed to be in the process of transforming from the classical Roman Empire into a monarchical state, and were in the midst of internal strife, posing little threat to the Tang Dynasty for the time being.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we talk to Li Er about things abroad?"

While Byzantium to the west was not a threat, the Abbasid Caliphate was not idle, and there was also Tibet.

Although his abilities were limited, he at least wanted to change the future tragedy of the Anxi Protectorate.

We must never again allow a situation like "a lonely city thousands of miles away, filled with white-haired soldiers" to happen.

However, Li Er is currently busy with the aftermath, so let's wait until he has some free time before discussing it further.

He was taking a break.

But to his surprise, Li Shimin didn't give him that chance at all.

A few days later, after Wenzhong bought the piglets, the people sent by Li Shimin arrived.

The person in charge turned out to be an acquaintance.

The servant named Atu from the Prince of Qin's mansion was the one who helped Wen He with disinfection before.

Look at what he's wearing...

"You've entered the palace?" Wen He asked in surprise.

Atu nodded sheepishly: "Thanks to the young master, I was able to enter the palace and become a minor eunuch."

"Uh..." Well, judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to care at all about the few ounces of flesh he's missing.

After all, he is now considered a ninth-rank official.

However, Wen He soon learned from his words that he had already passed away when he entered the Prince of Qin's mansion as a child.

It wasn't that Wen He looked down on eunuchs; the five thousand eunuchs in the Forbidden City at the end of the Ming Dynasty were far more manly than those so-called upright gentlemen.

However, because these people lack something, their minds are prone to becoming twisted.

In the late Tang Dynasty, the eunuchs controlled the government, leading to the loss of imperial power and even the deposition and installation of emperors.

In the subsequent Ganlu Incident, eunuchs held the emperor hostage and threatened officials, resulting in the deaths of more than a thousand people.

However, it cannot be said that all eunuchs were bad people. For example, there was Zheng He, who made seven voyages to the Western Ocean, and Zhang Anan, the only eunuch who was buried with Li Shimin.

However, precautions should still be taken.

The group of eunuchs was far more dangerous than powerful ministers.

A-Tu accompanied Wen He to a side courtyard of the mansion. Along the way, he only noticed that the latter's gaze was a little strange, but he didn't think much of it.

"Your Excellency, the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works and two eunuchs from the palace's castration department who are in charge of castration have also come today. They are all at your beck and call."

Atu was exceptionally respectful to Wenhe, his smile even bordering on obsequious.

He knew in his heart that even if he entered the palace, he, who came from a servant background, would have to start from the lowest rank of eunuch.

But because he helped Wen He once before, His Highness remembered him and when he entered the palace, he went directly to the Directorate of Palace Attendants in the Inner Palace Department. Now he has more than a dozen eunuchs under his command.

"Alright, let's get started."

Wen He clapped his hands and gave an order.

The craftsmen began digging and construction.

However, those two eunuchs were in a bit of a predicament.

They used to butcher people, they'd never butchered pigs before.

Most importantly, after today, they may never be able to return to the Imperial Household Department.

They certainly won't be well received when they go back.

Noticing their embarrassment, Wen He comforted them and promised to ask Li Shimin to let them stay in the mansion afterward.

Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.

"Actually, I don't know how to do it either. Just do it the way you used to do it. But you have to disinfect before cutting and disinfect with alcohol after cutting."

This alcohol was leftover from when we gave it to Jing Junhong, so we'll use it on these piglets.

And you know what? This black pig is really strong; those two eunuchs couldn't even hold the tiny piglets.

Having no other choice, Wen He had to ask the Xuanjia Guards in the manor for help.

The most elite soldiers of the mighty Tang Dynasty were hugging pigs in this pigsty.

For several days in a row, the way they looked at Wen He was filled with resentment.

When this reached Li Shimin's ears, he was both amused and exasperated, saying, "This brat is utterly absurd."

But he did not blame him. Instead, he selected some strong men from the palace and sent them to his residence.

Before long, the news of Wen He raising pigs reached the ears of the three little ones in the East Palace.

Li Chengqian and Li Ke both remained calm, while Li Tai shouted that he wanted to raise pigs, only to be severely whipped on the buttocks by Li Shimin more than a dozen times.

He dared not complain about Li Shimin, so he placed all his resentment on Wen He.

"It's all his fault, otherwise I wouldn't have suffered such injustice!" He groaned twice as he lay on the cushion.

The expressions of Li Chengqian and Li Ke, who were opposite him, suddenly became somewhat strange.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? Don't you think Wen He is a bastard?"

"Brother, why are you blinking? Are your eyes uncomfortable?"

Li Tai was puzzled, then noticed that Li Ke had turned his head to look at the sky outside the window.

He immediately sensed something was wrong, but before he could react, he suddenly saw a familiar figure squat down in front of him.

Wen He's "kind" face suddenly appeared before him.

"Your Highness, it's been a long time."

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(End of this chapter)