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

Chapter 199 Li Er, you son of a bitch, what are you up to now?

"Ideas? Your Majesty, you're putting me in a difficult position. I can talk to you about the future, but to ask me to devise strategies is to humiliate me."

What is Li Er doing? Doesn't he have the ability to strategize and make decisions?

Even if all eighteen scholars are left, can't we still help him?
During this period, wasn't Lao Xu being used quite skillfully by Li Shimin?
He must have a solution.

"This matter should not be publicized."

Li Shimin coughed lightly and glared angrily at Wen He: "Don't refuse again, or I'll send you to accompany the Retired Emperor."

"Fine, I'll go. I'm quite relaxed at Da'an Palace, eating, drinking, and sleeping as I please... Oh dear!"

Before Wen He could finish speaking, Li Shimin's wooden sword had already struck him on the buttocks.

"Let you eat, drink, and sleep as you please."

"You were the one who said you would send me to Da'an Palace!"

"How dare you talk back to me!"

"Your Majesty, can't you be reasonable?!"

Wen He ran ahead, and Li Shimin chased after him.

But the former couldn't outrun the latter at all, and was constantly being caught up, either getting kicked or getting hit on the buttocks with a wooden sword.

The four little ones watching this scene from a short distance had different expressions.

However, one of them was laughing particularly happily.

"So he's afraid of being hit too! Father should give him a good beating to avenge me!"

Seeing Wen He's current disheveled state, Li Tai couldn't be happier.

Ever since he met Wen He at the Prince of Qin's mansion, he's been beaten quite a bit.

Seeing his father beat Wen He, he suddenly felt a sense of relief.

He didn't notice that Li Ke beside him had a worried look on his face.

"Do you think that after Mr. Aye beats you up, he'll take his anger out on the three of us when he gets back?"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai's smile vanished abruptly.

Li You, who had just joined, was taken aback: "He... he can't be that unreasonable, can he?"

Li Ke turned his head, glanced at him indifferently, and said nothing.

However, Li Tai nodded with a look of horror: "He's just that unreasonable."

I do not know how long it has been.

Wen He was too exhausted to run any further and squatted down, panting heavily.

Seeing Li Shimin walk over as if nothing had happened, as if he were strolling leisurely, he was speechless.

An adult chasing a child? Li Shimin is simply inhuman!

However, he only dared to mutter these words to himself.

"Alright, that's about enough practice for today."

Li Shimin waved towards the distance, and a guard ran towards him. He handed him a wooden sword and then gestured for the guard to step back.

He then sat down next to Wen He.

"I will take responsibility for this myself. Du Caigan wants to be a loyal subject of the Retired Emperor, so I will..."

"Wow, the weather is so nice today! Your Majesty, doesn't that cloud look like a beautiful flower? The world is so wonderful, the sky and earth are so vast, and the air is so fresh."

Li Shimin silently watched Wen He get up and point at the cloudless sky as if she had a fit of hysteria.

He genuinely dared not listen to what Li Shimin was about to say next.

Li Er deliberately didn't want him to have any peace and quiet, so he had no choice but to pretend to be crazy.

"You brat, get out!"

Li Shimin stood up and kicked him in the buttocks.

After a stick of incense.

With a footprint on her robe, Wen He and the three little ones left the palace.

Li Tai and Li You, standing behind him, covered their mouths and tried their best to suppress their laughter, neither of them daring to make a sound.

But Wen He had already seen their commotion.

"Just you wait, if you don't do your homework until tonight, I'll change my name!"

The four had just arrived at Xuanwu Gate.

A squad of imperial guards ran out from inside.

In such a sensitive place, a troop of imperial guards suddenly appeared, and Wen He instinctively shielded the three little ones behind her.

Li Ke and Li Tai behind him were both taken aback and looked up at the man's back.

"Is there an ambush?"

This place is very eerie, which is why Wen He was subconsciously worried.

But soon, he saw a familiar figure.

Xu Jingzong led his men out from inside, and behind him, a hundred riders were escorting several people who were wearing shackles and covered in blood.

"I want to see the Empress! I want to see the Empress!"

One of them screamed wildly, his chains held tightly by two riders, preventing him from breaking free.

"My dear brother, are you leaving the palace?"

Upon seeing Wen He, Xu Jingzong immediately dismounted and came over to greet him. Only when he got closer did he discover Li Tai and the other two.

However, he did not recognize Li You, and only bowed to Li Tai and Li Ke.

This greatly displeased His Highness the King of Chu: "I am the King of Chu!"

Xu Jingzong, who had just stood up, was taken aback. He glanced at Wen He, who smiled and nodded at him: "Yes, he is the Prince of Chu."

"I have met His Highness."

Upon hearing this, Xu Jingzong quickly bowed to Li You, which made the latter raise his head in satisfaction and smugly.

However, apart from Xu Jingzong, no one present paid any attention to his identity.

"Are all these people connected to Li Xiaochang? How did they get brought here?"

The prison for the Hundred Riders is currently borrowed from the Dali Temple and is not located in the Imperial City, so they will not enter through the Xuanwu Gate.

And it was done in such a grand and ostentatious manner.

"His Majesty wishes to see them."

Xu Jingzong said in a low voice.

If anyone else asked, he wouldn't dare to tell them even if he had ten lives.

"I want to see the Empress!!!"

Among that group of prisoners, the others struggled to even breathe and needed to be pulled along by a hundred riders to walk, but this man's voice was still so loud.

Moreover, Wen He observed that he did not appear to have been tortured; his outer robe had been removed, and he had some bruises on his face.

"This person seems to be my maternal uncle," Li Tai said, squinting, somewhat incredulous.

"Is he Changsun Anye?"

Upon hearing Li Tai's words, Wen He immediately remembered his identity.

Xu Jingzong smiled noncommittally.

This confirms his identity, but it cannot be stated explicitly.

But that doesn't make sense.

Li Xiaochang hadn't even conspired with him to rebel yet, so what crime could Li Shimin use to arrest him at this point?
Seemingly noticing Wen He's surprise, Xu Jingzong assumed he was astonished that a member of the imperial family had been imprisoned, so he whispered something in his ear.

"His Majesty ordered a hundred cavalry to investigate. Several years ago, he was drunk and caused trouble, killing five people and abducting three respectable women. Most importantly, he had a lot of grievances against His Majesty and the Empress."

Well then, now it's no longer necessary whether he was involved in the rebellion.

He was lucky to have a sister who was the empress; if it were anyone else, they would have died long ago.

If nothing unexpected happens, Li Shimin will probably exile him as in the original history.

However, the journey to exile was long and arduous, and there was no telling when a band of bandits might appear.

"The rest were either embezzled or disorderly conduct, which His Majesty said were capital offenses. However, before they die, His Majesty wishes to see them one last time."

Xu Jingzong sighed helplessly, feeling that it was somewhat unnecessary.

Why not just hand it over to the Ministry of Justice for sentencing?

I have no idea what His Majesty the Emperor is planning to do.

“Especially that Du Caigan, His Majesty actually said he wanted to see him alone. Such a traitor should be executed on the spot.”

Xu Jingzong was somewhat indignant.

He owes his current status entirely to Li Shimin.

Now that someone wants to overthrow the emperor he is loyal to, he will make sure that person dies a horrible death.

Wen He glanced in the direction Xu Jingzong pointed and saw the person at the very front who was no longer human and was completely supported by a hundred riders.

He suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Li Yuan will definitely ask about this later.

The thought of facing that old man's wrath gave Wen He a headache.

Forget it, forget it.

Let Li Er explain this himself.

It's best for him to avoid going to Da'an Palace for the time being.

After saying goodbye to Xu Jingzong, he left with the three little ones.

On the way, Li Tai looked somewhat depressed. He secretly glanced at Wen He several times, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"If you have something to say, just say it."

Wen He was getting a little impatient with his gaze.

"Um, sir, is my uncle going to die?"

Li Tai was somewhat timid, and his voice became much softer.

Wen He looked at him questioningly: "Are you two very close?"

There is no historical record of the relationship between Li Tai and Changsun Anye.

Moreover, since Changsun Anye drove Changsun Wuji and Changsun Wugou out of the house, the Li brothers should have disliked this maternal uncle.

“My relationship with him is not good. My uncle said that this uncle is a scoundrel. I am worried that my mother will be sad. What she fears most is the death of her relatives.”

Li Tai's eyes were a little red.

I never would have guessed that this kid was so filial.

That makes sense, though, since Empress Zhangsun was alive, there were almost no major conflicts between him and Li Chengqian.

He only began to fight with Li Chengqian after Empress Zhangsun passed away.

"Don't worry, your uncle won't die."

Wen He reached out and rubbed his head.

"Sir, why?" It was Li Ke who asked. He looked at Wen He and asked, "Master Kong said that the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners, and even members of the imperial family should not be punished..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Tai glared at him.

"What do you mean? Do you want to make your mother sad?"

“I didn’t mean to upset the Empress Dowager. I just felt that this shouldn’t be the case, and that the law should govern everyone.”

Li Ke looked stubbornly at Li Tai.

Li You, who was still a little confused, blinked blankly.

Watching the two brothers confront each other.

Their standoff was broken by Wen He's soft laughter.

"It shouldn't be like this, but they don't care, and there's nothing we can do to change it."

Wen He's face was somber.

He didn't have the courage to risk his life for a stranger.

It was already quite an achievement that he was able to survive in the Tang Dynasty.

Li Ke was somewhat depressed, and Li Tai was also somewhat sullen.

When they got home, Xiao Wenrou, who was happy to greet Wen He, thought they had quarreled.

I gave the three little ones a good scolding.

Li You, the only one who was still somewhat happy, was innocently caught in the crossfire and became depressed as well.

The atmosphere was noticeably tense during lunch.

Just then, Wen Zhong rushed in, looking so anxious that he even forgot to bow.

"Young master, someone from the palace has arrived and requests your immediate entry!"

Wen He was stunned and so angry that she was about to smash the bowl.

Damn it, I just got home!

But before he could speak, Wenrou shouted indignantly from the side, "Brother just got home, he can't leave!"

She hadn't seen her brother for several days.

Why is it that His Majesty the Emperor is making him leave again so soon after he just got home?

But Wenzhong seemed about to cry, and hurriedly said, "The Prince of Zhongshan has been forced to kneel by His Majesty!"

"what!"

Wen He suddenly stood up and walked outside without hesitation.

'Li Er, you son of a bitch, what are you up to now!'

(End of this chapter)