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

Chapter 132 My father has always been pragmatic.
July 22nd, the ninth year of the Wude era.

This day is ordinary; it is suitable for weddings but not for funerals.

The people of Chang'an continued to live their lives as usual, treating the previous fight between the Turks and the Japanese as a source of amusement during their leisure time.

Ordinary people wouldn't know.

At this very moment, outside the Da'an Palace.

Xiao Yu, Yuwen Shiji, and others were leading the officials in paying their respects outside Li Yuan's sleeping quarters.

Li Yuan, who was suffering from a hangover, was now perfectly sober.

Although the people outside didn't say anything, he knew they were there to force him to resign.

They said they came to request an audience, but weren't they really just trying to get him to abdicate?

He knew this day would come, but when the moment actually arrived, he hesitated.

"Your Majesty, the trend of the times is inevitable. The Turks are now eyeing us covetously. The Tang Dynasty must not allow itself to fall into chaos."

Inside the sleeping quarters, besides Li Yuan, only Pei Ji was present.

He was the only one who was allowed to enter by Li Yuan.

But the latter never expected that his former best friend would now stand on the side of his good son.

"What did he promise you? I've already handed over all the power to him, and he's still not satisfied? He just wants the throne!"

Li Yuan was also afraid.

He feared that after abdicating, he would die mysteriously in the Da'an Palace.

“Your Majesty, you will truly be in danger if the Crown Prince does not ascend the throne,” Pei Ji’ai advised.

He worried that Li Yuan might impulsively do something foolish.

Now, the Crown Prince has long since taken complete control of Chang'an, and Li Yuan's decrees cannot even leave this palace.

Li Yuan's pupils darkened slightly as he gazed at Pei Ji, whose face was full of sorrow. After a long silence, he finally relented with a long sigh.

"Fine, let them in."

Li Yuan sighed deeply.

That brat is probably getting impatient waiting in the Eastern Palace right now.

"Your Highness, why aren't you in the Eastern Palace waiting for the crowd to urge you to ascend the throne? What are you doing here?"

In the backyard of Wenhe Mansion.

Wen He looked helplessly at Li Shimin, who was leisurely sipping tea to the side.

He knew perfectly well that someone would go to the Eastern Palace to urge him to ascend the throne today, but he went to his own home and was drinking tea.

I'm afraid even Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling couldn't have imagined this.

At this moment, those people must have assumed that Li Shimin was still waiting for news in the Eastern Palace.

Li Shimin took a sip of tea, savoring the burst of pepper in his mouth.

He closed his eyes and nodded in enjoyment, then gently pushed off with his feet, causing the rocking chair beneath him to sway.

"You little rascal, you certainly know how to enjoy life. This recliner is so comfortable, why didn't you send me one? I'll take this chair with me in a bit, you can make another one for yourself."

His words sounded like a reproach.

But Wen He knew he was deliberately changing the subject, so she didn't pay him any attention. She knelt on the table and looked at the intelligence about the Turks that the Hundred Cavalry Command had sent.

"You little rascal, are you only doing this because I'm here?" Li Shimin was half-believing and half-doubting, as this was the first time he had seen Wen He so attentive.

"It's all because you exiled me to Jingzhou. Without learning more about the Turks, how would I know how to deal with them?"

Wen He was furious; these were things he shouldn't have been doing in the first place.

Who knew that Xu Jingzong and Huang Chun would both push the task onto him?

If he weren't worried about being ripped off by the Turks when he went to Jingzhou, he wouldn't bother with all this.

"Not for my own sake, but for Gaoming's sake, so that I won't be completely clueless when he asks about the Turks in the future."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin raised an eyebrow with a smile.

"Gao Ming and the others have been with you for almost a month now, haven't they come looking for you?"

He didn't know where the interest came from, but he suddenly steered the conversation toward Li Chengqian and the others.

Wen He put down the intelligence in his hand, shook his head, and looked up with a half-smile, saying, "I have to say, Li Ke and Gao Ming are indeed very composed. As for Qing Que, that kid is only thinking about raising pigs right now, so he probably doesn't have the mind to think about so many other things."

"You've guessed what I'm thinking." Li Shimin chuckled and exchanged glances with Wen He.

"You didn't ask them to leave before asking me about this world and the future, wasn't it because you wanted to tell them?" This was something Wen He later realized.

Li Shimin had not consulted him beforehand.

The former also knew that when he talked about the future, he would always let slip some information.

But he insisted that the three little ones listen in from the side.

"You mean Ke'er, he..."

"I don't know, don't ask me. Anyway, I only recognize Gaoming as the crown prince. If anyone else has this idea, I don't know what I would do."

Before Li Shimin could finish speaking, Wen He interrupted him.

He wanted a stable future, which meant ensuring the next generation of the Tang Dynasty lived peacefully.

If it were a competitive process for appointments, then whoever would sit in that position would inevitably face turmoil and instability.

"You brat, what do you think you're doing to my son!" Li Shimin roared, slamming his teacup onto the table.

Wen He stared at him and asked in return, "What does Your Highness intend to do to your own son?"

The two remained silent and stared at each other for a long time before Li Shimin finally smiled and said, "With your words, I am relieved. I was worried that you would not be able to distinguish between public and private matters in the future and would act impulsively."

Wen He was somewhat confused.

"Gao Ming and Li Ke are both my students. Isn't it the same whether it's for public or private reasons?"

He felt that Li Shimin seemed to be implying something in his words.

Upon hearing this, the latter chuckled dryly twice, picking up his teacup to conceal the cunning in his eyes.

"Your Highness, you're not trying to trick me, are you?" Wen He scrutinized him.

Li Shimin glared at him unhappily: "What nonsense are you talking about? I just think that when the children are all grown up, it's best not to interfere in some things, don't you think?"

"Uh, yes."

Wen He was completely bewildered; Li Er's words seemed utterly nonsensical.

However, before he could figure it out, Li Shimin changed the subject again.

"However, you should still try to guide Ke'er's mind. If you have the chance, you should tell him about your identity."

"Aren't you afraid he'll be upset?" Wen He asked in surprise.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin fell silent again. After a long while, he sighed and said, "Fine, then let's wait a few more years."

Wen He pursed her lips, thinking that Li Shimin must have lost his mind today.

He suddenly came to my house and said all this for no apparent reason.

Is he so excited about becoming emperor that he's gone mad?

"Are you secretly criticizing me?" a question suddenly rang out, and Li Shimin's eyes flashed with a fierce light.

Wen He quickly shook her head, forcing a smile: "No, absolutely not."

"I'm sorry you don't dare either."

After saying that, Li Shimin stood up, stretched, glanced at the wisps of smoke rising from the chimney not far away, and asked curiously.

"How long will it take to slaughter the pig? I came here today because I heard you were going to slaughter a pig."

“Qingque cried for a long time yesterday when she heard that a pig was going to be slaughtered. How can you, as her father, bear to eat it?”

Thinking about what happened yesterday, Wen He couldn't help but laugh.

He went to check on the pigsty and found that the first batch of pigs had already gained weight.

He was going to Jingzhou again in a while, thinking he would kill one to try.

Who knew that when Li Tai found out, he hugged the pig and burst into tears. In the end, Wen He had the Xuanjia Guards pull him away.

"Qingque is just being genuine. Besides, isn't he supervising the pig slaughterers for me right now?"

Li Shimin disagreed.

Seeing his carefree demeanor, Wen He was truly curious.

"Your Highness, aren't you at all concerned about urging him to abdicate? What if His Majesty doesn't agree to the throne?"

He really didn't know why Li Shimin was so patient.

Upon hearing this, the latter's gaze suddenly deepened.

"My father has always been pragmatic."

(End of this chapter)