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

Chapter 216 You seem to look down on me?
Wen He flipped the table.

In a practical sense.

He never expected that Li Daozong would actually bring out "Hu Wuren".

Ever since Li Shimin made this poem widely known, Wen He has tried his best not to mention it in public.

He felt rather embarrassed.

Recently, this matter has been no longer discussed in Chang'an.

I never expected Li Daozong to mention it here.

Wangchun Tower was a place of pleasure and entertainment, where countless literati and scholars came and went every day. Many people wrote poems here in order to make a name for themselves.

Take Changsun Chong on the third floor, for example. He writes poems here, has people compose music and have singers sing the lyrics, and soon his poems will begin to circulate throughout Chang'an.

This is actually not much different from the so-called promotion in later generations.

It's just that information travels more slowly in this era.

"Little one, don't be shy. I'm making you famous by doing this." Li Daozong thought Wen He was just shy.

The latter felt helpless, glared at him, gritted his teeth, and said, "I really have to thank you."

"No need to be polite, it's just what I should do."

In other words, Li Daozong did not know the meaning of the phrase "your grandpa".

Wen He sighed helplessly.

And this moment.

On the third floor, Changsun Chong's expression was somewhat solemn.

“Hu Wuren, isn’t this what that country bumpkin wrote? Father used to say that he was just copying others’ ideas and had no real knowledge or talent.”

"No way, Wen He is only ten years old, but that person's voice was deep and resonant, not like a child's?"

The young man who had just spoken up asked in confusion.

Changsun Chong nodded, then said towards the second floor, "As far as I know, this poem by Hu Wuren was written by Ziwen He of Gaoyang County. For you to come here and use someone else's poem, isn't that a bit shameless?"

This is an insult to Li Daozong, calling him shameless.

But what he said is indeed true; he really is a bit shameless.

“Jiaying, look at this Changsun Chong, he’s so arrogant. You must stand up for your brother.”

Li Daozong did not retaliate, but instead turned to Wen He and asked for the Dao.

The latter narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the somewhat obsequious Li Daozong.

"Do you have a grudge against Changsun Wuji?"

"No, how could that be? What grudge do I have against him?"

"Then why did you specifically drag me here to deal with Changsun Chong?"

Do you really think he's a child?

Do you really think he can't see something so obvious?

Li Daozong clearly knew that Changsun Chong would be coming today, so he specially sent him here.

They even gave it the fancy name of a poetry gathering.

"Hehe, well, how should I put it?"

His hesitant and evasive attempts to conceal his true intentions were far too obvious.

Wen He rolled her eyes at him and got up to leave, but Li Daozong quickly grabbed her sleeve.

"Good, good, good, my good brother. Last time I came here I wrote a poem, but it was overshadowed by a young man next to Changsun Chong."

"If someone hadn't stopped me, I would have given them a good beating. But this is a civil matter; using force would be a poor choice."

Fortunately, he knew that violence was not an option.

However, Li Daozong's literary talent was quite good; the poem he wrote in Huizhou was also quite presentable.

Changsun Chong is only fifteen years old this year. Although he will be in charge of court music and etiquette in the future, that is a matter for the future.

No one knew who the person next to him was, yet he was able to easily crush Li Daozong.

Do you know who he is?

"I forgot, I only remember that her name was something like Shangguan."

"Shangguan?"

Wen He frowned, thinking of someone, but perhaps that person hadn't been reincarnated yet.

Her father...

"Shangguan Yi?"

Wen He suddenly remembered him.

"Oh, right, you've heard of him too?" Li Daozong asked, somewhat surprised.

Unexpectedly, Wen He, who usually keeps to himself and rarely goes out, also knows about what's happening in Chang'an.

"Hehe, I know him too well."

A fence-sitter and a sucker.

In the first year of the Linde era, Wu Meimei, for reasons unknown, suddenly brought a Taoist priest into the palace to perform witchcraft, which was reported by the eunuch Wang Fusheng.

At that time, Emperor Gaozong of Tang was often suppressed by Empress Wu Zetian and was already dissatisfied with her. He intended to demote her to a commoner, so he secretly summoned Shangguan Yi to discuss the matter.

Shangguan Yi said, "The Empress is tyrannical, and the people are disappointed. She should be deposed to appease the people."

Emperor Gaozong then ordered him to draft an edict to depose the empress. Wu Zetian received the news and appealed to Emperor Gaozong in her defense.

Emperor Gaozong was reluctant to depose Empress Wu, and fearing her resentment, he said, "This was all taught to me by Shangguan Yi."

However, it is very likely that this was a frame-up.

Because Sister Wu had no motive whatsoever.

Furthermore, this series of events is strikingly similar to the witchcraft case during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

This incident also made Wu Meimei hate Shangguan Yi.

In the same year, Wu Mei instructed her confidant Xu Jingzong to falsely accuse Shangguan Yi and Wang Fusheng of conspiring with the deposed Crown Prince Li Zhong to plot a rebellion.

Shangguan Yi once served as a military advisor in Li Zhong's Prince Chen's mansion and served Li Zhong along with Wang Fusheng, which led to him being falsely accused.

Soon after, Shangguan Yi was imprisoned and executed along with his sons Shangguan Tingzhi and Wang Fusheng. Their property was confiscated, and Li Zhong was forced to commit suicide in his place of exile.

However, compared to Shangguan Yi's fame in later generations, his granddaughter seems to be a cut above.

When Shangguan Yi was murdered, his granddaughter Shangguan Wan'er was still an infant. She and her mother, Zheng, were taken into the inner palace and made into official maids.

She was intelligent by nature and gradually gained the favor of Wu Zetian, becoming a trusted female official in charge of imperial edicts.

Later generations also had rumors that there were some unspeakable things between her and Sister Wu.

He even specially selected male concubines for Wu's sister.

When Wen He heard the name "Shangguan", the first person she thought of was Shangguan Wan'er.

It was thanks to this good granddaughter that Shangguan Yi was later exonerated.

If you calculate the time now, he should only be eighteen years old.

Wen He remembered that Shangguan Yi had entered officialdom through the imperial examination.

By the way, Li Shimin has just ascended the throne. After the reign title is changed, the imperial examination should be held in spring. Shangguan Yi will definitely participate in it.

So, the reason he followed Changsun Chong was probably because he was an elder in his family, and he was specifically asked to get closer to the Changsun family.

"Little one, what are you thinking about?"

Seeing him lost in thought, Li Daozong gently nudged him.

Wen He came to her senses and exclaimed "Ah!" before replying calmly, "It's nothing. Shangguan Yi is indeed a man of great literary talent. You should take a step back. As the saying goes, taking a step back opens up a vast expanse."

"Does your Excellency feel ashamed?"

Just then, a mocking laugh suddenly came from the third floor.

"Indeed, although Hu Wuren's work is wonderful, I know that it is nothing more than Wen He picking up scraps from someone else's work. I don't know where he copied it from, but he is just a peasant boy, a descendant of a lowly commoner. Do you really believe that he can produce such a masterpiece?"

"Go to hell, Changsun Chong, have you lost your mind? Or did your mother throw you away when you were born, keeping only the placenta? I'll f*** you!"

Li Daozong stood there stunned for a long time, watching Wen He suddenly kick the screen away.

What happened to the saying "taking a step back opens up a whole new world"?

That's quite an ability to use foul language.

Even those street thugs seemed much more civilized compared to him at that moment.

On the third floor, Changsun Chong's face was ashen, and he glared at Wen He, trembling all over. "I'll kill you!"

He suddenly sprang up and threw a stool down below.

Unfortunately, his strength was not enough to hit Wen He.

Who are you going to kill?

Li Daozong suddenly appeared beside Wen He. Upon seeing him, Changsun Chong and Shangguan Yi on the third floor changed their expressions.

However, given how Wen He had just humiliated Changsun Chong, he naturally wouldn't care about Li Daozong's feelings at this moment.

“Prince Rencheng, we were impolite just now, but this brat dared to insult me, my mother, and my father. He deserves to die!”

Changsun Chong wished he had a knife in his hand at that moment, and rushed forward to cut Wen He into eight pieces.

"When you were humiliating him just now, didn't you think you deserved to die? You kept calling him a lowly commoner. He's a resident of Gaoyang County, and what are you anyway!"

Li Daozong glared angrily.

Wen He has a noble title and an official position. Although he comes from a humble background, all the powerful families respect him, and all the people he associates with are important officials in the court.

Changsun Chong, who only got a minor official position by relying on Changsun Wuji, actually dared to insult Wen He here.

The head of the Ministry of Rites may seem to have real power, but matters concerning foreign affairs are generally handled by the Court of State Ceremonies.

At most, they are responsible for some miscellaneous tasks in meetings.

I have plenty of free time on weekdays.

Otherwise, Changsun Chong wouldn't be here at this time.

And someone of his status dared to spout such nonsense.

If they hadn't been some distance apart, Li Daozong would have already taught them a lesson.

"He is Wen He!"

Changsun Chong then realized.

Shangguan Yi, standing beside him, stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

In their circle, talking badly about others behind their backs is nothing unusual; everyone has cursed others before.

But you bring up his background in front of others.

He is still the most favored person in front of His Majesty the Emperor.

"What I said was wrong. You, Wen He, come from a peasant family and have now been promoted. You even have the audacity to ask for the princess's hand in marriage. You are utterly shameless!"

Changsun Chong refused to back down.

With so many people watching, if he bows his head today, then tomorrow the whole of Chang'an will know.

So even if he offended Li Daozong, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it.

At worst, I'll just get a scolding from my father when I get back.

However, he did indeed hate Wen He.

His father had told him long ago that his family would definitely be linked to His Majesty through marriage in the future.

Given his status as the eldest son of the Changsun family, only Li Lizhi was a suitable match for him, and their ages were also similar.

However, Wen He suddenly appeared.

This is the hatred of having one's wife taken away.

Wen He remained silent and walked up the steps.

Li Daozong frowned and then followed behind him.

"What? You uncouth man, you still want to make a move? Don't think that just because you have His Majesty's favor you can act recklessly. My father is the Empress's brother, the Emperor's brother-in-law. You, what do you want to do!"

Changsun Chong was astonished to find that Wen He, who had come up to the third floor, was carrying a wooden stick.

The guards behind him immediately gripped the hilts of their swords and came to his aid.

Upon seeing this, the madam on the first floor was so frightened that she almost lost her mind.

She can't afford to offend any of these people.

If anything happens to her, she'll be in deep trouble.

"Hold your hand, hold your hand! This is a civilized place, please don't resort to violence."

The madam called out.

Many people around them began to have designs on it.

Now that Changsun Wuji is very popular, they naturally want to curry favor with Changsun Chong.

Upon seeing Wen He make a move, someone immediately looked up and reprimanded him.

"Stop! You are a nobleman of the court. How can you cause trouble in broad daylight? This is a place for romantic conversation. If you are not convinced by Young Master Changsun, why don't you have a contest of literary talent with him!"

After saying that, the man was slightly smug, feeling confident that he could make Wen He feel ashamed.

Those around them couldn't help but cast admiring glances.

"That makes sense."

"That's right. The vulgar words spoken by the man from Gaoyang County were simply unbearable to hear. This makes us wonder whether the poem 'Hu Wuren' was written by him."

"Heh, so you mean His Majesty deceived you?" A cold laugh came from the third floor.

Wen He looked down and scanned the people discussing below.

The reason why Hu Wuren was able to spread the news in Chang'an was because of an imperial decree issued by Li Shimin.

The crowd, who had been arguing so vehemently just moments before, were suddenly taken aback.

He quickly lowered his head.

"This only proves that His Majesty has been deceived by you!"

Just then, Changsun Chong was heard criticizing.

Wen He gave him a cold look, then suddenly smiled kindly: "The Changsun family is so wealthy, your family's doctors must be very skilled, right?"

"You, what do you mean?"

Changsun Chong's lips twitched involuntarily.

“Prince Rencheng, you are a prince, are you going to bully the weak?” Shangguan Yi stepped forward and questioned Li Daozong.

Both he and Changsun Chong believed that Li Daozong was brought up by Wen He on purpose to support him.

They were naturally not afraid of Wen He, who was just a ten-year-old child.

But if Li Daozong stood up for him, the two of them combined wouldn't be enough to cover the former's hand.

"Where did you come from, you maggot? I've already taken action, why are you being so nosy!"

Li Daozong already disliked Shangguan Yi, and this shout stunned the latter.

"Aren't you going to help him?"

Changsun Chong was overjoyed and immediately pushed aside the guards in front of him, walking towards Wen He.

He began learning martial arts at the age of ten, practicing boxing every day with the guards hired by his family.

If he can't deal with Li Daozong, can't he deal with Wen He?
"You seem to look down on me?" Wen He looked at him with a smile.

"That's just a humble country cottage. I doubt he's even learned the Six Arts. He's just occupying a place... Ah!"

Before Changsun Chong could finish speaking, Wen He suddenly rushed forward and swung his stick heavily at Changsun Chong's knee.

The former suddenly felt a sharp pain and his body shrank downwards. Just then, Wen He suddenly leaped up and slammed his knee into the face.

Changsun Chong's body suddenly fell backward.

Wen He immediately stepped on him and smashed the wooden stick down on his head.

The guards behind Changsun Chong didn't even have time to react before Li Daozong was already standing in front of them.

"You are proficient in the Six Arts, right? You are talented in literature, right? You come from a wealthy and powerful family, right?"

"Hiss, that's ruthless."

Li Daozong couldn't help but marvel.

Shangguan Yi, who was standing to the side, was stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted: "Guards! Guards!"
Just as they were about to rush up to the third floor, they saw an even more ferocious person standing at the top of the stairs.

"I am here, who among you will come up?"

Li Daozong tightened his cuffs and waved to them.

The guards were suddenly caught in a dilemma.

All they could do was listen to Changsun Chong's shrill screams from upstairs, feeling anxious and helpless.

(End of this chapter)