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

Chapter 254 If you want to express your gratitude, then go and thank His Majesty.

"I am from the residence of Prince Gaoyang. Is my young master here?"

A familiar voice suddenly came from outside the door.

Have someone come to visit?
Wen He was a little puzzled; he hadn't noticed anything unusual when he went out.

"Collect all the wool, then have someone put up notices to recruit people," Wen He instructed, before turning and walking outside.

The man outside seemed somewhat anxious, still trying to reason with the guards: "I really have urgent business with my young master, and..."

"Adong?"

He was speaking when the door suddenly opened, and Wen He looked at him in confusion.

"Xiao Langjun."

Upon seeing Wen He, A Dong acted as if he had met a relative, and immediately stepped forward to pay his respects.

Seeing his agitation, Wen He frowned and said sternly, "Is someone coming to our door again?"

"Uh, no, that's not the case."

Although Adong hadn't arrived when Gaoyangzi's residence was attacked before.

But by then, the story had already spread throughout Chang'an City, and even the Prince of Rencheng had helped Wen He. After that, who would dare to be so blind?

“But something has indeed happened in the manor, and Steward Zhou is unsure what to do, which is why he sent me to find the young master,” A-Dong said.

"Then let's go back to the manor first."

Wen He nodded.

On the way back, let Adong tell you what happened.

"It was people from several estates under the young master's name, as well as some people entrusted by the garrison soldiers near the capital. Manager Zhou initially refused, but they cursed at him and refused to leave, insisting on staying at the gate of the mansion."

"Manager Zhou had no other choice, which is why he sent me."

Adong said with difficulty.

Those people weren't bad people; they were cursing Zhou Fu because they didn't want to be driven away like that.

"Did they bring a lot of other things with them?" Wen He asked.

Adong nodded, his face contorted with worry, and said, “Several large carts, it looks like they’re full of grain, chickens and ducks, and oh yes, three cows. They said they went to Chang’an County to get a deed done, but I don’t know which scoundrel leaked it out, saying that the county magistrate likes to eat beef.”

"..."

Yeah, that bastard told the whole thing.

However, things are indeed a bit troublesome right now.

When he heard A-Dong mention it, he knew that these people must have come to thank him.

But he couldn't possibly accept all of these things.

The carriage entered Yonglefang.

As soon as Wen He entered the gate, she clearly heard someone shouting on the street.

"The magistrate of Gaoyang County is back!"

Well, they've even found out what kind of carriage he has.

The carriage stopped shortly afterward.

"what happened?"

Wen He asked in confusion.

After entering through the gate, it hasn't been long, so it's impossible to get home yet.

Adong outside was silent for a moment, then said with a hint of helplessness, "Young master, why don't you come out and take a look yourself?"

"You little rascal, just tell me what happened, why... I'll go."

He lifted the carriage curtain and saw a huge crowd surrounding his carriage.

There were over a hundred men and women in total. Everyone was dressed simply, with genuine smiles on their honest and kind faces. Among them were a few teenagers who were dressed in thin clothes in the cold weather, their noses running from the cold.

But they were still laughing happily.

Everyone was carrying something in their hands, including sacks of grain, live chickens and ducks, or some kind of wild game.

There were also two men carrying a black pig together.

"Is it Wenxianzi?"

An elderly man at the very front of the crowd asked in a low voice.

"I don't know. I've never met Wenxianzi before, but judging from his age, he should be."

"What about the people from Gejiazhuang? Didn't Wenxianzi grow up there?"

"Yes, where are they? Come and identify them."

Uncle Ge Er and Uncle Ge San, who had been pushed to the back, were struggling with not being able to move forward when the crowd made way for them.

"Is that the man from Gejiazhuang, the one from County Wen?"

"Yes, yes, that's him."

Even though they were at a distance, Ge Er recognized him at a glance.

Several men from Gejiazhuang beside him rushed forward before anyone else could react.

The scene looked as if they were facing an enemy in battle.

By the time the others realized what was happening, they had already arrived in front of Wen He's carriage.

“Ge Er, you are Ge Sanshu, Ge Datian, Ge Damu, Ermu…”

As soon as these people from Gejiazhuang appeared before her, memories of them flooded back into Wen He's mind.

Ge Datian was his neighbor across the street, while Da Mu and Er Mu lived outside the woods at the end of the village. There were others as well; Wen He remembered they were from a farm in Gejiazhuang.

“It’s us, Magistrate Wen. We’ve come to deliver something to you. We don’t have much at home, but the autumn harvest is ready, so we’ve brought it here for you to try.”

It was Uncle Ge who spoke.

In my memory, he was a very fierce person.

Because Wen He's family was the only one from outside the entire Ge Family Village, and the original owner's father was not a soldier, they were always looked down upon.

When he was a child, he was often bullied and made fun of by Uncle Ge's son, but he never expected that in the blink of an eye, that little tyrant had died in Huizhou.

“County lord, I was wronged by you before.”

With a wail, Uncle Ge suddenly knelt down, tears streaming down his face.

"This time you put aside past grievances and arrested that corrupt official, saving my family. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have been able to afford to bury my son. I kowtow to you in gratitude."

Before he could finish speaking, his head slammed heavily to the ground, and Wen He couldn't stop him in time.

"Uncle Ge, please get up. I'm not just doing this for your family's sake, you..."

"We have no way to repay the great kindness and virtue shown to the magistrate of Wen County!"

I don't know who shouted.

Suddenly, more than half of the people knelt down.

May the descendants of the nobles of Wen County be numerous and prosperous!

Wen He suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

Fortunately, the concept of "justice" didn't exist at that time.

Otherwise, Wen He felt that these people in front of her would have shouted, "Your Honor!"

"Please rise, everyone. This time it is all thanks to His Majesty's wisdom in punishing those corrupt officials. I only did a little bit of insignificant work."

Wen He reached out and helped Uncle Ge up.

“Uncle Ge, take all your things back with you. I remember you have two sons, right? Make sure they live a good life and go to school in the future.”

Uncle Ge's eyes were filled with tears as he looked at Wen He and said excitedly, "You don't blame me?"

His voice was trembling slightly.

He had thought that Wen He would come today to settle old scores with him.

He came expecting to be humiliated.

But the past is the past. If he doesn't come to thank me, I will never have peace of mind for the rest of my life.

"Go back to your normal life and don't dwell on the past."

Wen He didn't say anything about forgiving or not, and then turned to look at the others.

"Everyone, please get up. If you want to express your gratitude, then thank His Majesty. I was merely acting on His Majesty's orders."

This is what is called public opinion.

It's a pity; it's better not to place that kind of public opinion on him.

He still wants to live a few more years.

"I'm a bastard, I'm an animal, it was all my fault back then."

Uncle Ge raised his hand and slapped himself in the face several times.

Wen He quickly went up to stop him and calmed him down after a while.

His face was swollen from the beating, and blood was seeping from his mouth.

"Uncle Ge, why are you doing this? Let it go, let bygones be bygones."

Wen He didn't know whether to say that the ancients were straightforward or that they valued propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame too much.

"Everyone, please go back now. If you really want to express your gratitude, go to Chengtian Gate and thank His Majesty. There's really no need to thank me here. I'm just a minor official."

"That brat knows how to say nice things."

In a carriage not far away, Li Shimin lowered the curtain, chuckled, and shook his head.

“Your Majesty, what Wen Xianzi said makes sense,” Gao Yue said with a smile.

"What do you mean by that? If it weren't for him, this matter would probably have been left unresolved."

Li Shimin knew very well that if anyone else were replaced...

Even for Xu Jingzong, this case of embezzlement of military funds would not have gone so smoothly.

He had seen too many of those people's collusive methods.

The reason they didn't cause trouble this time was because the person in charge was Wen He.

“Those people now have people they are wary of,” Li Shimin chuckled.

Gao Yue, who was standing to the side, was completely confused.

However, he wouldn't ask; it's better to pretend he doesn't know.

"Let's go."

Li Shimin said it casually.

Gao Yue asked in confusion, "Is Your Majesty going back to the palace?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin glanced at him indifferently and said, "I'm hungry."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yue immediately realized what was going on and quickly nodded, saying, "Yes, yes, it's getting late. Gao Yangzi's residence is just ahead. Why doesn't Your Majesty have a meal there?"

"Well then, let's go to that brat's house."

(End of this chapter)