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

Why is it called betrothal gifts in Chapter 185, and not dowry?
Inside the Li Zheng Hall.

Yin Hongzhi, bound hand and foot, knelt down.

Wen He and Changsun Wuji sat on either side of him.

The former was looking at the honey water in front of him, wondering whether he should drink it or not. He had been drinking too much sweet stuff lately and was afraid of getting cavities.

My teeth have been hurting a bit lately, it seems like I'm about to lose a baby tooth.

The latter sat silently, so calm that even his breathing was barely audible.

Li Shimin, seated at the head of the table, gazed at Yin Hongzhi with a slightly cold look in his eyes.

"Didn't you want to see me? Now that you have, why don't you utter a single word?"

Li Shimin's tone was calm, as if he were conducting a simple inquiry.

Upon hearing this, Yin Hongzhi trembled uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty and beg for your forgiveness!"

"Forgive him?" Li Shimin scoffed and turned to Wen He: "He wants me to forgive him. Jia Ying, what do you think?"

Wen He was still looking at the honey water in front of her.

The hall fell silent.

"cough!"

Changsun Wuji immediately coughed, trying to remind Wen He.

However, he was also curious: when did Wen He acquire a written character?

I don't know who gave him that name, and even His Majesty knows about it.

Could it be Kong Yingda, or someone else?

"Ok?"

Wen He looked up in confusion upon hearing the sound.

"You brat! I'm asking you a question!"

A brush washer fell from above and shattered less than five feet in front of Wen He.

Gao Yue, standing above, silently counted in her mind how many this was.

"Ah, you're calling me, no... Oh, right, right, my name is Jiaying, I forgot about that."

The sudden addition of a word caught Wen He off guard, and she wasn't quite used to it yet.

He had heard it just now and thought Li Shimin was calling someone else.

"You didn't even bother to memorize the name I gave you, which shows you have no respect whatsoever. I'm punishing you with half a month's salary and making you pay for my brush washer!"

Wen He hissed and gasped, feeling a pang of heartache.

Half a month's salary just vanished like that?

What kind of brush washer is this? It's so valuable.

"I just asked you, he asked me to forgive him, do you think I should forgive him?"

Li Shimin was worried that Wen He would try to steer the conversation away from the topic by making unreasonable demands, so he asked again.

Upon hearing this, Wen He turned to look at Yin Hongzhi.

The latter had his head down, but was gritting his teeth.

He was in pain; both his legs had been broken. Although the physician had given him anesthetic, he still felt pain in his heart.

"Your Majesty, look at him baring his teeth. He clearly harbors resentment towards me. You don't know, he came in with his men looking like a monster. I was just a young man, all alone in Chang'an. I felt like the sky was about to fall."

"Your Majesty, I'm terrified. I won't dare sleep alone tonight. I'm afraid I'll have nightmares, and who knows, I might even be so scared in a few days that I won't remember anything."

Wen He wiped her eyes with her sleeve, trying to squeeze them open for a long time, but not a single tear fell.

His acting was so bad that not only Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji, but even Gao Yue standing to the side couldn't stand it.

Too fake.

Yin Hongzhi watched in astonishment as he finished performing this scene, and immediately flew into a rage.

"Nonsense! You have those Xuanjia Guards here, and Wu Shiyue brought men. You had them beat me to death, and then you accused me of kidnapping the King of Chu and rebelling!"

"So, did I invite you to my house? And with a sword?" Wen He asked calmly.

Yin Hongzhi was speechless and stood there stunned.

Wen He sneered and continued, "If the Xuanjia Guards weren't here, what would I be like right now?"

"I only intend to take the King of Chu away; I'm just threatening you, I won't actually harm you!"

"But you're carrying a sword."

No matter how many excuses Yin Hongzhi had, they were useless. He stormed into the residence of a court official with a sword in hand.

There was neither an imperial decree nor the right to issue it.

If it weren't for his status as a relative of the emperor, he would probably be in the Dali Temple or the prison of the Hundred Cavalry right now.

"Your Majesty."

Changsun Wuji suddenly spoke up, bowing to Li Shimin and saying, "Although Yin Hongzhi was wrong, Wenxianzi has already broken his legs, so this matter has been punished enough. Let's just let it go."

The Yin family was also part of the Guanzhong region. Although they had declined, they still wielded considerable power in the Northwest.

The family even owns three copper mines and one iron mine.

Yin Hongzhi is the Yin family's representative in Chang'an and also the eldest son of the main branch. If he is killed, the Yin family will likely become irreconcilably at odds with the Li family.

“Brother Changsun, how about I find a few people to break into your house in a few days and shout and kill them? You can break their legs too, and then this matter will be over.”

Wen He asked in a cold voice.

Changsun Wuji was immediately furious and pointed at him, but before he could speak, Li Shimin stopped him: "Fuji, Jiaying is a junior, don't bother with him."

After speaking to Changsun Wuji, he looked at Wen He and said, "Fuji will be your uncle in the future, so how can you call him brother?"

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Yes, Changsun Wuji is Li Lizhi's maternal uncle.

Depend on!
Wen He suddenly realized that marrying a princess might not be such a good thing after all.

How come the generational ranking dropped so quickly?

Changsun Wuji was dumbfounded and looked at Li Shimin in confusion: "Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you about this, Fu Ji. I plan to betroth Wu Niang to him, and we will all be family from now on. However, this matter will be announced to the public after the change of reign."

The reign title will be changed in the first month of the lunar calendar, so it is still the ninth year of Wude.

Changsun Wuji stood there blankly for a long time.

He never expected that His Majesty the Emperor would make this decision without consulting him.

Then all his plans would have been in vain.

He originally planned to have his son, Changsun Chong, marry Li Lizhi in order to solidify his position and strengthen his relationship with Li Shimin.

But that brat Wen He actually intercepted it.

"Your Majesty, regarding this matter..."

“Guanyinbi also agreed to this matter.”

Li Shimin interrupted him again and changed the subject: "Today we're talking about Yin Hongzhi." His eyes narrowed, which startled Changsun Wuji, who immediately understood.

There is absolutely no possibility of further discussion on this matter.

"Your Majesty, please spare my life!"

Yin Hongzhi was truly panicked at this point.

He knew that if Li Shimin truly intended to raise the issue high and then let it go lightly, he wouldn't have bothered to ask Wen He's opinion.

He might not die, but he will definitely suffer a fate worse than death.

Li Shimin looked at him with a somber expression.

at this time!

Suddenly, a palace attendant walked in from outside.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Ai from Wanchun Palace requests an audience."

Wanchun Palace is now Empress Zhangsun's bedroom, so the people coming from there are naturally...

The Empress's people?

Wen He's heart stirred, and she thought of someone.

Yin Hongzhi's powerful backer was Consort Yin Yue'e.

He turned to look at Li Shimin, only to see the emperor casually taking a sip of tea, but his guilty look clearly indicated that he was avoiding his gaze.

"Oh, bring them in."

"promise."

"Hehe, I wonder what brings the Empress here at this hour. But it seems it's getting late, so how about we have a meal together as a family today?"

He glanced at Wen He and Changsun Wuji with a beaming smile, his previous gloomy expression completely gone.

"Very well." Changsun Wuji secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Wen He didn't speak, turned her gaze away, and looked elsewhere, as if she didn't want to pay any attention to Li Shimin.

What does it mean to ask for his opinion?
Judging from Li Shimin's appearance, he had clearly made up his mind before Li Shimin entered the palace.

Empress Zhangsun Wugou must have made a deal with Yin Yue'e.

Shortly afterward, a eunuch entered.

"This slave has met Your Majesty."

"Hmm, Zhang Ai, did the Empress send you here to give you any instructions?"

Li Shimin asked seriously, as if he knew nothing about it.

Even Wen He couldn't help but wonder if she was overthinking things because of his acting skills.

Zhang Ai smiled and bowed, replying, "Just now, Consort De was greatly shocked upon hearing of Vice Minister Yin's evil deeds and immediately went to Wanchun Palace to plead guilty."

"Consort De requests His Majesty to dismiss Vice Minister Yin from his post. She is willing to write a letter home to ask her elders to discipline him strictly. To express her apology, the Yin family is willing to offer three copper mines in Suzhou as a dowry for the son of Gaoyang County."

What a big deal!

Suzhou was formerly known as Jiuquan, and its name was changed during the Sui Dynasty.

There are indeed abundant copper resources there, and more may be discovered in the future.

"Ahem, Jiaying, what do you think?"

Li Shimin turned to look at Wen He.

"Why is it a betrothal gift? Why not a dowry?" Wen He asked with a smile, her gaze fixed on Li Shimin.

The face is gone.

What apology?

In the end, the betrothal gifts still ended up in Li Lizhi's hands. What difference was there between them being in Li Shimin's hands and in Li Lizhi's hands?

"Wen He, don't be presumptuous!" Changsun Wuji shouted softly.

He now understood why Li Shimin wouldn't let Yin Hongzhi go.

It turns out they had their eyes on the Yin family's copper mine.

The Tang Dynasty is currently in dire need of reconstruction, lacking both food and money. With these three copper mines, a money shortage can be avoided for the next ten years, and there will even be surplus funds to do other things.

"I was taken advantage of."

Wen He said indignantly.

Li Shimin was somewhat amused and exasperated, as no minister had ever dared to bargain with him like this before.

However, this matter did indeed cause Wen He to suffer injustice.

"I'll give you 10% every year."

"Fifty percent!" Wen He gestured five with her hand.

Changsun Wuji almost choked on his breath and pointed at Wen He, questioning him.

What do you need so much copper for?

"Making bronze mirrors for fun? So what? I'm willing."

The Tang Dynasty did not allow the private minting of coins, but the manufacture of mirrors, bronze pots, and the like was permitted.

"You're such a jerk!"

Changsun Wuji immediately slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"That's enough, 15%. If you don't want it, then Yin Hongzhi can do whatever he wants with it. I don't want the three copper mines belonging to the Yin family."

Li Shimin gave a shout, then adopted a posture that indicated that if Wen He did not agree, the matter would be dropped.

"Could you cast that 15% copper into coins and then give it to me?"

Actually, Wen He didn't lose out. Anyway, he had already broken Yin Hongzhi's leg and demoted him back home. In the future, let alone becoming an official, he might not even be able to survive in the Yin family.

Although he didn't know how much money 15% of the copper could be minted, it would certainly be enough for him to live a life of leisure and wait for death.

Moreover, his target price was already 10%, so earning an extra 5% was more than enough.

Having too much money is not good for him.

He was haggling because he wanted revenge for Li Shimin's previous attempt to lower his price.

"can."

Li Shimin reluctantly agreed.

However, there are losses in minting coins, so we can secretly take some out later.

Anyway, that brat Wen He doesn't know either.

"Then this humble subject thanks Your Majesty."

"Hehe, you're welcome."

The father-in-law and son-in-law exchanged a smile, both feeling that they had succeeded.

Only Changsun Wuji remained, looking utterly bewildered.

He and Yin Hongzhi, who was heartbroken, burst into tears.

(End of this chapter)