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

Chapter 229 This brat isn't trying to allude to me, is he?

“Lord Wen, I know what you’re trying to say. Even if my grandfather came from the Wen family of Taiyuan, it was only a branch of the family, and it was all decades ago. I have no intention of returning to the Wen family.”

Wen He's eyes were firm, and her tone was resolute and unwavering.

He recalled those difficult years when the original owner of this body was in trouble, and the Wen family avoided him like the plague.

When he and Wenrou were starving and struggling to get enough to eat, the Wen family never appeared.

Now that they have suddenly come knocking on his door, how could he not feel resentful?

Upon hearing this, Wen Yanbo burst into hearty laughter: "Ah, back to the Wen family? Oh, Jiaying, you've misunderstood."

He stepped forward with a smile and gently patted Wen He's shoulder. "How could I force you to do something like this? I just wanted to ask if your sister is old enough to attend a girls' school? I happen to know a female scholar. If you're willing, I can introduce your sister to her studies."

Wen He stood there, stunned, and an embarrassed look immediately appeared on her face.

He inwardly complained that Wen Yanbo was talking too long and deliberately, making him think that the other party was there to force him to return to the Wen family. He didn't expect it to be about Wenrou.

"Uh, no, no, thank you." He quickly waved his hand in refusal, his voice tinged with a hint of panic.

"In that case, I shall take my leave. There is no need to see me off. Please stay."

As Wen Yanbo spoke, he hurriedly walked towards the door, looking as if someone was chasing him away.

Seeing this, Wen He felt a little strange, but assumed that he might have suddenly remembered something urgent at home, so she only saw him to the door.

As Wen Yanbo's carriage gradually disappeared at the end of the street, Wen He's doubts did not dissipate.

Meanwhile, Wen Yanbo, sitting in the carriage, breathed a sigh of relief, a smug look on his face. He stroked his beard and secretly rejoiced: "This Wen Jiaying is so young, yet so perceptive. Luckily, I didn't say those things out loud, otherwise, being rejected by a junior would have made me lose face big time. Fortunately, I reacted quickly."

After Wen Yanbo had been gone for a long time and everyone in front had dispersed, Li Shimin slowly walked out from behind the screen in the backyard.

After taking his seat in the main hall, Wenzhong immediately and respectfully served him a cup of steaming hot tea.

"What did Changsun Huan and Wen Yanbo say to you just now?"

Li Shimin picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and looked intently at Wen He.

Those eyes seemed to see right through people's hearts, making them dare not hide anything from each other.

Wen He's heart stirred. Since Li Shimin had asked, he went along with it and told him everything about Changsun Huan.

He knew that, given Li Shimin's years of understanding of Changsun Wuji, he would surely be able to determine whether there was a trap involved in this matter.

After hearing this, Li Shimin paused for a moment, then sighed helplessly, "It seems Huan'er is in a hurry. In that case, we might as well grant his wish."

His voice carried a hint of weariness and helplessness, and his expression was gloomy, as if he were thinking about something.

Perhaps because he was also the second son, he empathized with Changsun Huan's situation and recalled his own past.

Wen He was startled and quickly said, "Your Majesty, this is not appropriate. After all, the Hundred Cavalry is a secret."

He didn't spell things out too clearly, fearing that Li Shimin might misunderstand him as trying to sow discord. But he knew the importance of the Hundred Cavalry and couldn't just send people in arbitrarily.

Li Shimin glared at Wen He with annoyance, his tone tinged with reproach: "You brat, although Fu Ji is a bit impulsive, he would never use a relative to put them in a trap, and he would disdain doing such a thing."

"As you said, he didn't do anything extreme afterward because he didn't want to hurt his nephew. So Huan'er's matter is not a big deal."

Wen He was extremely anxious. He felt that Li Shimin seemed to trust the Changsun family too much, treating the Hundred Cavalry as a refuge.

"Your Majesty, the Hundred Cavalry are involved in core matters. If they are assigned arbitrarily, wouldn't that make us no different from other government offices?"

He reminded him again, hoping to persuade Li Shimin to change his mind.

Li Shimin looked up, smiled with satisfaction, and then said meaningfully, "That's why we should let Huan'er join the Hundred Cavalry. He has always made many friends and often travels with those young men from Guanzhong. Since you are not at ease with him, you can let him take charge of the affairs of Guanzhong."

His gaze was deep, as if he could already see the future situation.

“Some things cannot be avoided simply by taking precautions. And you’ve overlooked one point: if this matter was indeed orchestrated by Changsun Wuji, then refusing Changsun Huan would only prove that I am wary of him.”

Wen He remained silent. He knew that since Li Shimin had already made his decision, there was no point in refusing. After a long while, he finally gave a faint reply: "Yes."

His voice was full of helplessness.

Li Shimin noticed Wen He's displeasure, took a sip of tea, smiled, and got up to walk over to him.

"You shouldn't hold a grudge against the Changsun family because of Chong'er. You have such a temper."

He smiled and shook his head, tapping Wen He's head with his finger, and said earnestly, "You must learn to be tolerant. There is never anything that is simply black and white. You must remember that."

His biggest worry was that Wen He would act impulsively.

This brat seems to be very cautious about everything, but deep down he still has a bit of arrogance. Otherwise, he wouldn't have acted so impulsively about the Changsun Chong incident.

Wen He raised her head and looked into Li Shimin's concerned eyes, feeling a mix of emotions.

He knew that Li Shimin was thinking of the bigger picture and was also doing it for his own good.

However, the vigilance and wariness he felt towards the Changsun family deep down could not be eliminated in a short time.

Seeing this, Li Shimin said nothing more, gave a few instructions, told Wen He not to forget about writing the book, and then left.

Speaking of publishing a book, Wen He stroked his chin. Since he had nothing to do in the afternoon, he might as well get started.

That way, Li Er won't urge him when the time comes.

"Wen Zhong."

"Yes, this old servant is here."

Wen Zhong, who had just seen Li Shimin off, walked over with a smile.

"The craftsman who delivered the paper earlier hasn't left yet, has he?" Wen He asked.

"Not yet, they're being settled in the right courtyard right now." Wen Zhong guessed that Wen He would definitely need the craftsmen for something, so he didn't let them leave.

When the craftsmen delivered the paper earlier, Wen He specifically asked them a question.

"Do you know how to cut it?"

The craftsmen all nodded and said, "Of course we can. We all need to make a living with our skills."

When Wen He heard this, he didn't say much, but simply asked Wen Zhong to take them away.

"Young master, would you like this old servant to call them over?"

"Yes, let them come over."

Since I'm going to write a novel, the scrolls that are currently used in the Tang Dynasty are no longer very convenient.

This will allow thread-bound books to be published ahead of schedule.

This kind of thing only appeared in the Ming Dynasty. I wonder if that's why there are so many novels from the Ming Dynasty.

After all, if you write a novel on a scroll, the finished book would almost need a horse-drawn carriage to carry it.

Soon after, three craftsmen from the paper mill came with Wenzhong.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Wen He asked with a smile.

This surprised the three craftsmen.

Although it wasn't the first time they had met Wen He, they had hardly interacted before at the paper mill.

They were quite unaccustomed to such a kind and gentle person as a nobleman.

"It's not hard work at all, young man. You've worked hard."

The speaker was a seemingly honest-looking man with a dark tan face, dressed in a gray-blue short-sleeved shirt.

"what's your name?"

"You scoundrel, Ah Si."

His voice was a little stammering.

They were already feeling uneasy when they were left behind.

They were worried that something might go wrong with the batch of paper that had been delivered.

Being suddenly summoned to the front yard at this moment naturally made them even more nervous.

"Don't panic. You haven't done anything wrong. I don't want you to do anything dangerous. I just want you to help me cut paper and, by the way, I want you to research a new skill."

A thread-bound book is not simply a book that is sewn together with thread.

Printing semi-finished products, sorting materials (collating), (cutting) folding, collating, checking and aligning, flattening, aligning columns, punching holes, inserting paper staples for shaping, gluing covers, cutting books, wrapping corners, sealing edges, punching holes, sewing books, gluing bookmarks, printing book root characters.

Just thinking about all this made Wen He feel a little dazed.

As for the specifics of how to do it, he could only provide guidance from the sidelines and let the craftsmen figure it out on their own.

"New techniques?"

The man named Ah Si scratched his head blankly, and his two companions behind him were also puzzled. "Well, I'll give you a general overview of how to do it, but you'll have to figure out the specifics yourselves."

Wen He never thought that the wisdom of the ancients was inferior to that of later generations; they were simply limited by the limitations of their time.

Moreover, although many technologies in later generations can realize the skills of the ancients, they cannot understand how the ancients created them.

Even in a technologically advanced future, won't there still be many things that cannot be replicated?
After Wen He finished speaking, A Si and the others did not react.

They had previously encountered many influential people who wanted them to develop new skills.

In the end, they either fizzle out or all they create is amusement.

They worked hard for a long time, only to receive a few words of praise in the end.

Seeing that they didn't move, Wenzhong angrily scolded, "Young master is speaking to you, why don't you respond!"

Ah Si and the others were startled and quickly bowed, trying to admit their mistake.

But Wen He said, "Wen Zhong, don't scare them. As the saying goes, you get paid to do things. I just asked them to do things, I didn't say how much money I would pay them, so they definitely won't react."

“Young master, if we don’t reprimand these lowly people, they won’t know their place. You’re being too kind.”

Wenzhong replied with a smile.

"Who is the master of this house, you or me?" Wen He looked at him and asked calmly.

Wen Zhong was taken aback, then chuckled dryly twice: "Of course it's the young master."

Wen He snorted and turned to look at A Si and the others: "You don't need to be afraid. Just do your job well, and I will reward you accordingly."

"Yes, yes, I understand."

Ah Si and the others immediately beamed with joy.

He waved his hand, signaling Ah Si and the others to go cut the paper first.

Let's get some ready so he can write his novels; as for the thread-bound books, there's no rush.

Waiting until next year is fine, but before he can sell books, he probably needs to open a bookstore.

Wen He stroked his chin, thinking that he would need to find an acquaintance to help him with this matter.

"Young master, should this old servant go and prepare something?" Wenzhong asked.

Wen He raised an eyebrow slightly, tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table a few times, and looked at him, asking, "How much money is left in the manor?"

"Well, this old servant didn't ask today, but there's probably still over a thousand strings of cash left," Wenzhong said with a smile.

"Only a little over a thousand strings of cash?"

That number is wrong.

He had no expenses today.

Seeing his confusion, Wenzhong smiled and explained, "The expenses for the craftsmen in the manor have been relatively high recently, so the money is less."

Upon hearing this, Wen He's eyes darkened slightly, but when she looked up, she regained her composure and smiled, "Alright, thank you for your hard work, you can go now."

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhong bowed and withdrew. As he turned around, he did not notice that Wen He's gaze was fixed on his back.

Surveillance is one thing.

How dare you embezzle my money!
court death!

In the afternoon, Wen He locked herself in her study.

"What new thing is the master going to create this time?"

The three little ones and Wenrou sat together outside, while the four of them squatted down, resting their chins on their hands.

"I don't know. My brother said he's going to write a book and show it to His Majesty," Little Wenrou pouted, dissatisfied.

She also wanted her older brother to play with her.

"Write a book?"

Li Tai and Li You both turned to look at him in surprise.

Seeing this, Li Ke narrowed his eyes and suddenly moved forward, blocking their view.

"Sir, your writing is exceptional; writing books is nothing special."

"..."

Li Tai immediately rolled his eyes at him.

Even Li Ke himself probably wouldn't believe these words.

"So, do we still have classes this afternoon?"

Li You asked.

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Tai and Li Ke both turned to look at him.

"Have you learned the equations?"

"Have you finished copying the Analects ten times as instructed by your teacher?"

"At your age, why are you still thinking about playing?"

"If you make us both get punished with copying again, I'll smash your dog head in!"

Stared at by his two older brothers, Li You immediately lowered his head.

"Don't bully him, or let's go out for fun this afternoon."

Wenrou also felt sorry for Li You.

Why am I being bullied every day?

“He’s not pitiful. He’s just being playful and didn’t finish the homework the teacher assigned.” Li Ke’s gaze toward Li You became even more hostile.

She nodded gently, still a little bewildered: "Then I was indeed being naughty."

"Then we won't take him out to play."

“Wenrou, I…” Li You was about to defend himself, but when he saw Li Ke’s cold and sharp gaze, the words he wanted to say were swallowed back.

"I'm going to do my homework."

“I’m not going either. A few pigs have gotten sick recently, and I have to stay and take care of them.”

Li Tai let out a long sigh.

Raising pigs is really not easy.

They had to prevent the pigs from getting sick, and they also had to worry that their own pigs would come and eat them.

Seeing this, Wenrou worried that Li Ke wouldn't leave either, and pitifully tugged at his sleeve a few times.

“Brother Ke’a.”

Li Ke froze instantly, nodding stiffly with his neck rigid.

"I'll take you out."

"Brother Ke is the best."

Gentle and joyful, Li Ke couldn't help but blush as he looked at her.

The two of them, surrounded by guards, went out and played for an afternoon.

Fortunately, he returned before Wen He was cleared out of the country.

Li Ke also specifically instructed Wen Zhong not to tell Wen He about this matter.

Wen Zhong hesitated for a moment, but fortunately, Wen He did not ask about it after she came out.

He handed him a stack of manuscripts and said, "Send these to the palace for His Majesty to see."

He didn't write much, only twice.

The first two chapters of "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" are about Yang Guang.

There's a lot of slander in it; it all depends on how Li Shimin views it.

Before long, the two drafts were delivered to Li Shimin's desk.

When he picked up the first manuscript, he saw the chapter title: "The Sui Emperor Raises an Army to Attack Chen, and the Prince of Jin Establishes Merit to Seize the Throne."

He couldn't help but frown.

'Is this brat trying to allude to me?'

(End of this chapter)