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

Chapter 208 Could Wen He possibly perform magic tricks?

Regarding the matter of sending aristocratic families overseas, Li Shimin summoned those people once again.

This time, he did not involve Wen He.

Wen He naturally felt that this matter had nothing to do with him.

For him, it was finally a time of peace.

Every morning, he would go to the palace to practice martial arts with Li Shimin, then go to the Hundred Cavalry to train those three unlucky guys, and then go to the paper mill.

The rest of the time, he either sleeps, spends time with Li Lizhi and Wenrou, oh, and Wu Meimei, or teaches the three little ones.

The good news is that Li Ke and Li Tai have barely reached the level of elementary school graduate in mathematics.

The bad news was that Li You arrived late, and being young, he couldn't keep up with the first two at all. Wen He had no choice but to repeat what she had taught the first two before.

"Teachers everywhere have such a pitiful heart."

Wen He sighed deeply, looked down and saw Li You looking at him with a wronged expression, then pointed to the question he had just mentioned.

Mathematics doesn't lie to you, because if you don't know it, you simply don't know it.

Unlike Li Tai, who was a rascal but genuinely intelligent, Li You was more like an ordinary child.

Therefore, the two had different educational approaches.

Just give Li Tai a beating and that'll be the end of it; he'll be obediently studying in a little while.

You need to appease Li You first.

"It's okay, no rush, take your time to think. If you really can't figure it out, go play first."

Wen He raised her hand and patted his head.

Li You nodded, recalling what Wen He had taught him.

But when it comes to learning, the more anxious you are, the less you can think of anything, and the less you can think of anything, the more anxious you become.

Seeing how worried he was, his face was contorted in a grimace, so Wen He simply stopped him from going to school.

"I'll take you guys to play football."

This era may not be able to produce football, but let's not forget that the origins of football were born on this land.

Upon hearing the word "play," Li You immediately became interested.

Just a moment ago, they were all frowning, but now the sun has come out after the storm.

"I want to play too!"

Li Lizhi excitedly pulled Wenrou along as well.

"Um, a girl..."

"If you don't play with me, I'll tell my parents." Li Lizhi pouted, hands on her hips.

"Yes, yes, tell the Empress." Even Xiao Wenrou's side was turning inward.

Wen He had no choice but to agree.

He looked up at Wu Meimei behind the two girls.

Seeing this, Wu Erniang smiled and shook her head: "I'm still too young to join."

"Ok."

Before long, Wenzhong brought out a Cuju (ancient Chinese football), and Wenhe explained some rules about the later era. Regardless of whether they understood or not, they began to play.

Not far away, Wu Erniang sat on a stool, her small feet dangling gently in the air.

A slight smile played on her lips, as if she were appreciating the serene beauty of the moment.

However, this peace was not long before it was shattered.

"gentlemen."

Li Yifu rushed in.

This morning, Wen He asked him to help the doorman watch the gate.

As part of his homework, he observed the various people passing by on the street.

Upon seeing him enter, Wen He launched a volley that flew over Li Tai's head.

"Wen He scores a point!" Li Lizhi clapped her hands in delight, ran over, hugged Wen He, and jumped for joy.

Wen He chuckled and patted her little head.

"The Yi family needs to see me. You guys go ahead and have fun."

Under Li Lizhi's resentful gaze, she released her grip on Wen He and watched him walk away.

"Someone's come to the door?"

Wen He asked in confusion.

Li Yifu nodded: "He's a Japanese man who calls himself Little Wild Horse. He brought a lot of boxes."

"Oh?"

Wen He's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.

I didn't expect the Japanese to be so fast; they delivered the silver so quickly.

Unfortunately, the money only passed through his hands before it had to be sent to Li Shimin.

"Go to the east side of the front yard and call those people over."

To avoid arousing suspicion from the Japanese, Wen He had already arranged for all the people who were to be sent to Japan to stay in his own home.

Apart from him, even Wen Zhong didn't know the identities of these people.

Wenzhong also sent this matter to the palace, but after it went unanswered, he knew that His Majesty was aware of it.

"Here."

Li Yifu bowed and left as Wen He had instructed.

He sent a servant to the front and told Wenzhong to call someone to invite Xiao Yema in.

He went to change his clothes first.

By the time he got to the front yard, Little Wild Horse had already drunk several cups of tea.

"I have met the magistrate of Gaoyang County."

Upon seeing Wen He arrive, Xiao Yema Zi quickly stood up and bowed.

"How have you been, Ono-kun?" Wen He said casually.

There wasn't even a return gift.

However, Little Wild Horse was already used to his indifferent attitude and didn't take it to heart.

"It is truly impolite of me to come here so abruptly today, but I am here because of the urging from within the country."

The little wild horse immediately apologized, trying to shut Wen He up.

But he forgot that Wen He was never a reasonable person. "So you know you've been rude. Don't you know I have many affairs to handle for His Majesty every day? You didn't even send a visiting card. If it weren't for the fact that you're bringing money today, I would have kicked you out long ago."

Wen He snorted coldly, her face full of anger.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yema's lips twitched a few times.

He had only been being polite, but Wen He actually scolded him so rudely.

It's fortunate that he knew he was there to deliver money.

"Alright, alright, since you've already come here acting like an unwelcome guest, I won't hold it against you. Is the money all ready?"

Wen He asked coldly.

The little wild horse girl handed over the gift list with a forced smile.

"These are all treasures of our Japan."

"Ah."

Wen He took it and glanced at it casually.

He was amazed.

This Japanese devil is incredibly rich.

It's a pity that Li Shimin is currently pursuing a policy of appeasement towards Japan; otherwise, he really wanted to lead troops there and take everything back from them.

Despite Japan's poverty, its upper-class nobility still had everything they needed.

For example, gold and silver artifacts, and some other items that their ancestors brought back when they were sent as envoys to the Han Dynasty.

Wen He naturally accepted everything, but still maintained an indifferent attitude.

"What about silver?"

The young woman was still waiting to get closer to him.

He had another purpose for coming this time.

He couldn't say it before at the Court of State Ceremonial, but he waited until today to talk to Wen He in private.

But the latter didn't give him any room to talk about anything else; he just asked for money.

But he couldn't refuse.

"I brought all the money; it's right outside."

"Then why don't you move in? Do you expect me to go in person?" Wen He said coldly.

Little Wild Horse quickly said she wouldn't dare.

"The foreign minister personally went to summon someone to bring it in."

"Alright, Wenzhong, go and call the family accountant over, and have them count everything to make sure nothing is missing."

Seeing Wen He's indifferent expression, the little wild horse's heart was instantly filled with anger.

But when he turned his head, he saw a group of burly soldiers standing at the door, and his anger was extinguished by the chill in the air.

"It should, it should."

The little wild horse forced a smile and nodded in agreement.

I was secretly glad that I hadn't lost my temper.

Otherwise, he would definitely have been kicked out of the house, which would have ruined everything.

Wen He took a sip of tea, seemingly oblivious to the flash of anger in the little wild horse's eyes just now.

He couldn't help but think to himself, 'How can this little Japanese devil be so patient? I was hoping to find an excuse to beat him up, but it seems I won't have the chance.'

Seeing that her hopes had been dashed, Wen He stopped putting on a stern face.

After Wenzhong had the silver carried in, he seemed like a completely different person. He smiled and said, "You've prepared so much silver so quickly. Not bad, not bad. I appreciate your country's sincerity."

Little Wild Horse was taken aback by the speed at which Wen He changed her expression.

'Could Wen He be a magician? Her expression changes so quickly!'

However, these were his true feelings; on the surface, he still greeted Wen He respectfully.

"This is what a foreign official should do, and it is also an apology for the past conflicts."

"Hmm, very good. If you had the same attitude before, those conflicts wouldn't have happened. After all, we in the Tang Dynasty are very friendly to our neighbors."

Wen He nodded without changing his expression.

Little Wild Horse echoed, "Yes, yes, you're right, Gao Yang County magistrate."

Before long, Wenzhong had almost finished counting, and he came in to report.

Wen He then sent someone to summon Li Yifu and his men.

All the 100 riders who went to Japan underwent some basic training.

Although they knew nothing, in order to answer the Japanese inquiries, they had memorized some basic knowledge of metallurgy perfectly.

Moreover, in order to make them more in line with the image, they were sometimes hungry and sometimes full, and spent their free time basking in the sun.

I strive to be like a real blacksmith.

When they all arrived, Little Wild Horse carefully examined their appearances and was immediately delighted.

He thought to himself with delight, 'Although Wen He is extremely annoying, he is still quite trustworthy. With people like him, our Japan can be like the Tang Dynasty, possessing powerful weapons and armor.'

"These were all transferred to you from the Ministry of Works. Some of them were obtained by doing favors for me. They are all skilled craftsmen who manufacture swords and armor."

Wen He deliberately mentioned it, her face revealing a greedy expression.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yema was somewhat skeptical, but she still took out a small box.

"You've gone to so much trouble, sir of Gaoyang County. This is a small gift from me."

After what happened last time, he dared not say it was just a small gift again, lest Wen He throw him and his belongings out.

Wen He took the box and weighed it in her hands. It was indeed quite heavy.

When he opened it, he was immediately struck by its beauty.

Then a pearl the size of a fist came into his view.

"This pearl is a treasure of Japan. It was specially given to the prince by Minister Soga as a gift representing friendship."

Wen He didn't believe a word of this.

But he still had to accept the gifts.

“In that case, I’ll accept your offer without hesitation.” Wen He casually put it into his sleeve, then looked kindly at the little wild horse: “It’s getting late. Since everything is done, I won’t keep you for dinner.”

The little wild horse, who was about to speak, suddenly felt as if she had swallowed a fly.

The magistrate of Gaoyang County was about to send him away, but he still had something to say!

(End of this chapter)