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

Chapter 170 This brat is so hesitant and timid, unlike me.
"Your Majesty, are you going to make a deal with them?"

If I'm not mistaken, the people Li Shimin mentioned were from Guanzhong, which is why Wen He was so surprised.

He remembered that Li Shimin later compiled the "Clan Records" in order to suppress them.

However, the effect was not good. It wasn't until Li Zhi came to power that he united with the Shandong gentry, and the five clans and seven prominent families came to suppress Guanzhong.

This allowed the small group led by Changsun Wuji to gradually fade from the court.

However, this also allowed the aristocratic families to gradually gain a foothold in the court.

"The Tang Dynasty still needs them, but I also want to take some things back from them."

Li Shimin was well aware that the Tang Dynasty still needed these small groups, and he even had to win over the Shandong gentry.

It's just a pity that the people of the Five Clans and Seven Families look down on the Li family.

There is even a saying among the common people that it is an honor to marry a woman from one of the five most prestigious families.

Therefore, they became even more arrogant and rude.
Lady Cui was willing to marry Cheng Zhijie, but she did not want any of her family's women to marry into the royal family.

Privately, they even said that the Li family had Hu (non-Han) blood, which is absolutely hateful and deserving of death!

But he was helpless, as almost everyone in the government and the public was one of their people.

To ensure his stability on the throne, he cannot be hasty; it is best to gradually dismantle their power.

If Wen He could produce cheap paper, coupled with his printing technology, both the Guanzhong and Shandong gentry would have no choice but to bow down.

What they fear most is not the pressure of soldiers or powerful figures.

Their biggest concern was the dissemination of books.

Li Shimin, however, was concerned with money and provisions.

Li Shimin did not tell Wen He what he wanted, and the latter was too lazy to care.

Seeing that he was sitting there without moving, Wen He finally asked, "When will Your Majesty return to the palace?"

"You've been sleeping for three hours already, and you still want to sleep?"

"Forehead……"

Has it been that long?
Wen He was puzzled.

Unfortunately, there were no alarm clocks or cell phones in this era, so he didn't know what time it was.

"Get up, I want to eat that damn boiled vegetable."

"You mean hot pot? It's so late at night..."

"I have already ordered people to make preparations, and I'm just waiting for you."

Li Shimin glared at him irritably, then stood up and walked outside, leaving Wen He sitting there in astonishment.

Watching his departing figure, Wen He couldn't help but think to herself, "Whose house is this anyway?"

When he got dressed and went out...

Wenzhong had already arranged for someone to bring the pots and dishes up.

"Not separate tables?"

Seeing that it was just a hot pot, Wen He asked Wen Zhong, puzzled.

The latter bowed and explained, "His Majesty said that since we are all family, there is no need to eat separately; it will be more lively if we all eat together."

"What family?"

Wen He pursed her lips, her heart skipping a beat.

'Is Li Er setting his sights on Wenrou?'

He would never allow Wenrou to enter the palace.

If Li Chengqian dares to marry Wenrou, he'll definitely hang him up and beat him to a pulp.

"Tch."

Li Chengqian, who was sitting next to Li Shimin, sneezed for no apparent reason.

"It's not cold today, but did you catch a chill in the west?" Li Shimin asked with concern upon hearing this.

Li Chengqian smiled and shook his head: "It's just that my nose suddenly got itchy, I'm fine."

"Yes, although it is hot today, none of you should indulge in cooling, especially you, Qingque, who has used the most ice in previous years."

Li Shimin glanced at Li Tai, who nodded repeatedly in awe.

He then turned his head to look at Li Lizhi and Wenrou: "If you ladies are afraid of the heat, use more. If you don't have enough, tell Wenzhong and ask him to go to the Inner Palace to get some more."

"And Sanlang, why are you sitting so far away? Come sit next to Wuniang. As the elder brother, you should take good care of them." Li Shimin suddenly said to Li Ke, and then pointed to the seat between Li Lizhi and Wenrou, telling him to sit down.

Li Ke was taken aback, and his body stiffened involuntarily.

He just walked in the direction next to Li Lizhi, but not close to Wenrou.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up!"

'This brat, so hesitant and timid, is unlike me.'

Back when I first met Guanyinbi, I was exceptionally proactive.

"Yes," Li Ke replied, forcing himself to sit down next to Wenrou.

"Brother Ke, are you cold?" Wenrou felt him shiver a few times as he sat down.

It's so hot!
"I'm not cold, I'm hot."

"Oh, then I'll share some of my ice with you from now on." Wenrou grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth.

Unlike Li Tai and Li Chengqian, Li Ke was only concerned with raising pigs, and the other rarely spoke to Wenrou.

He would often secretly bring food for Wenrou, and it's fair to say that the little girl has gained a lot of weight, largely due to him.

Therefore, Wenrou did not address Li Tai and Li Chengqian as "Your Highness" as she did with them.

"Cough, um."

Li Ke feigned composure and gave a nonchalant reply.

This scene, witnessed by Li Shimin, made him think that Li Shimin was spineless.

"Where's that brat Wen He? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Seeing that most of the food had been served, Li Shimin urged them impatiently.

At this moment, Wen He slowly walked over from behind.

He first scanned the area and found that Sister Wu was not there.

It seems that Li Shimin deliberately made her step down.

After all, he couldn't eat his meal in front of someone who would one day usurp power.

He then went to find where Li Chengqian was, and seeing him sitting opposite Wenrou, his gaze immediately turned hostile.

“Well, that’s brilliant. You go sit next to the princess, I’ll take care of His Majesty.” As he spoke, he walked behind Li Chengqian and, before Li could react, lifted him up.

"What are you doing, you brat?"

Li Shimin wanted to get closer to his son, so why did this brat pull Gao Ming away?
He had deliberately reserved the seat next to Li Lizhi for Wen He, but he never expected that Wen He would actually sit next to him.

"Your Majesty, I am hungry. Let's begin the meal."

Wen He acted as if nothing had happened, looking at him and chuckling.

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then suddenly understood something.

'Does this brat think I'm going to matchmake Gao Ming and Xiao Rou?'

'You little rascal, you've miscalculated.'

"Alright, let's begin the meal."

With Li Shimin present, there was an extra amount of mutton and beef on the table.

Wen He thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

The three little ones seemed a bit uneasy, while Li Ke kept scooping meat into the pot and then, when Wen He wasn't looking, he put it all into Wenrou's bowl.

"Ugly girl, eat more, and you won't be ugly anymore."

"Hmm!" Wenrou looked up and glared at him, but considering how much meat was in the bowl, she let it go.

After eating for about half an hour, Li Shimin finally left, satisfied.

He also took Li Lizhi and Li Chengqian with him.

"Gao Ming will stay in the East Palace from now on. Remember to clock in every day and go to teach him. Don't be lazy."

Before long, Li Chengqian will change his identity.

Given his status as the crown prince, it would be somewhat inconvenient for him to stay at Wen He's house.

This will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among some people, leading to continuous impeachments against Wen He.

Wen He understood, but when asked to go to the East Palace to report for duty, he just wanted to shout, "I can't do it!"

Anyway, Li Shimin is currently inside the Taiji Hall.

I'll go a little later, it shouldn't be a problem, right?
"Remember this: if you arrive late, I will send the Imperial Guards to fetch you!"

Seemingly sensing Wen He's thoughts, Li Shimin made a special remark before leaving.

This has cut off all of Wen He's escape routes.

He also had to feign a willing expression: "Your subject obeys the decree."

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction and got into the carriage.

After seeing him off, Wen He was surprised to hear suppressed laughter coming from behind her.

He turned around and saw Li Tai covering his mouth.

"Aren't you happy that I'm going to clock in?"

Wen He smiled kindly.

Li Tai was taken aback, and dared not laugh any longer. He quickly shook his head and said, "No, absolutely not. I am just regretting that the teacher has gone to the East Palace and can no longer teach me and Sanlang."

"Oh, so that's it."

Wen He raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled, "It's alright, I'll make arrangements for you before I go to the East Palace. You've relaxed for a month now, it's time to start being strict."

"gentlemen!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ke called out.

"What, you have an opinion?"

When Wen He cast that threatening gaze, Li Ke, who was about to speak, immediately swallowed back what he was about to say.

"No, sir, you are right."

"Li Ke!" Li Tai gritted his teeth, he never expected Li Ke to betray him like this.

The latter completely ignored him.

If Li Tai hadn't been unable to control himself just now, he wouldn't have had to suffer like this.

……

The next day, Wen He was woken up by Wen Zhong while she was sleeping.

He slept for three hours yesterday, so even though he woke up at 9 am today, he didn't feel sleepy.

"Young master, a man named Li Yifu has arrived outside, saying he has come to pledge his allegiance."

When Wenzhong brought over the warm water, he said something.

"When did he arrive?" Wen He took the bottle, sipped it, and asked.

"At Chenshi (7-9 AM), I've been standing outside for an hour."

Wenzhong was somewhat curious.

He knew that Wen He didn't have many friends in Chang'an, so it was indeed strange that someone suddenly came to serve him.

And if he really wanted to serve the country, why didn't he go to the residences of those vice ministers and ministers, but instead came here?

"Yes, you can go and tell His Majesty that Li Yifu will be a pillar of the state in the future and can be used by His Majesty."

Wen He knew that it wouldn't be long before Wen Zhong would relay his meeting with Li Yifu to Li Shimin.

Wenzhong, this name suits him quite well.

Wen Zhong felt awkward and didn't reply. He simply nodded and left.

He knew that what he had done could not be hidden from Wen He, but being exposed so directly made him feel a little embarrassed.

Not long after, another person brought Li Yifu.

"Student Li Yifu greets Magistrate Wen."

A thirteen-year-old boy, in front of a ten-year-old child, calls himself a student.

If this gets out, I'm afraid not many people will believe it.

“I am not preaching or answering your questions, so you don’t need to call yourself a student.”

Wen He knew very well that Li Yifu's humble posture was just for show.

If Wen He acknowledges his student status, then he can use that title to refer to himself in the future.

"I have come before you today to serve you, and I will certainly follow your lead in the future. It is only right that I call you my student."

He was referring to the unspoken rules of officialdom.

In officialdom, the teacher-student relationship is not about whether or not the teacher imparts knowledge and answers questions.

For example, Yan Liben was the one who promoted and recommended the latter, so the latter regarded himself as a student.

Li Yifu did this so that he could be promoted by Wen He for the sake of the future.

This also means that he automatically branded himself with the "gentle" mark.

He shouldn't know this at his age, so it must have been his father who taught him.

This is also what gives Wen He the biggest headache.

He was unwilling to take office because he did not want to form factions.

But this still happened.

Fortunately, in Li Shimin's view, the people Wen He has befriended are all future prominent figures of the Tang Dynasty.

It wasn't that he actively wanted to get close to them.

"Fine, since you insist, let me make this clear first: what you become and how far you go in the future depends on yourself. I can't help you with that."

Wen He calmly offered a reminder.

Li Yifu's expression remained unchanged; he simply bowed his head and said, "This student understands your meaning, sir."

"Well, in that case, you can stay by my side and be my page for now."

Wen He was worried that leaving him alone at home would cause him to get close to Li Tai and Li Ke.

Since he is to be trained by Li Chengqian, let's keep him by our side for now.

"Yes."

Li Yifu was overjoyed; he had genuinely thought he was to be brought here as a servant.

Being a pageboy is great.

That would make it easier to get close to the King of Zhongshan.

"Let's go, it's time to report to the East Palace."

Wen He let out a long yawn.

Li Yifu cupped his hands in greeting and then followed behind him.

Wenzhong had gone to have a carriage prepared early on. As soon as the two of them arrived at the door, someone brought over a mounting stool.

Before Wen He could even get into the car, he heard an urgent shout from not far away: "Wen County Magistrate!"

Upon hearing the sound, Wen He turned around and was immediately at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

(End of this chapter)