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

Chapter 295 wasn't really anything special; it just involved asking Zheng Gong to betray the Tang Dynasty.
"Why would he go to the Dali Temple to see Zheng Yuanzhu for no reason?"

Inside the Lizheng Hall, Li Shimin looked at the empty hall doors, and his face suddenly darkened.

He had been waiting for Wen He to come to the palace to announce the good news, but instead, he only received Gao Yue, Xu Jingzong, and Su Dingfang.

The teacups on the table had gone cold, but he was completely unaware, his knuckles tapping lightly on the imperial desk, producing a dull sound.

"Has something new been discovered in Zheng Yuanzhu's residence?"

Li Shimin's gaze swept over the three people in front of him, with a hint of scrutiny.

Gao Yue held the account book, her head hanging even lower, like a frightened quail.

He was merely ordered to supervise the confiscation of property; Wen He's thoughts were more complex than the alleyways of Chang'an, how could he possibly fathom them?
At this moment, the only option is to pretend to be deaf and dumb to avoid getting burned.

Xu Jingzong looked completely at a loss, and his palms were sweaty.

He wanted to say a few words in defense of Wen He, but the boy only said he was going to see Zheng Yuanzhu when he left, without even leaving an explanation. He couldn't just make up a story out of thin air.

In a moment of desperation, he secretly turned to look at Su Dingfang, hoping that the military officer would speak first to smooth things over.

But when he turned his head, he saw Su Dingfang standing there, his spine straight, but his face was full of fear and caution, and he didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

Xu Jingzong then remembered that this newly appointed Inspector General of the Hundred Cavalry had only met His Majesty twice in total.

This is his first time visiting a place like the Ritsujeon, so it's no wonder he's nervous.

"Speak! Have you all become mute?"

Seeing the three men remain silent, Li Shimin's anger intensified. He slammed his hand on the imperial desk, and the muffled thud froze the atmosphere in the hall.

"Reporting to Your Majesty."

Gao Yue forced herself to speak, her voice trembling slightly.

"All the property, land, and shops in the residence of the disgraced official Zheng Yuanzhu have been accounted for, and the accounts are here for Your Majesty to review."

He quickly handed the ledger forward, trying to change the subject.

Perhaps if we delay a little longer, Wen He will enter the palace?
He prayed silently in his heart.

Li Shimin's brows furrowed, revealing his thoughts.
But right now he really wanted to know the exact amount obtained from the confiscation, so he snorted coldly and said sharply, "Bring it here!"

"Here."

Gao Yue felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She took small, quick steps to the imperial desk, carefully placed the account book on it, and then bowed and retreated to her original position, not daring to raise her head.

Xu Jingzong and Su Dingfang exchanged a glance, both seeing relief in each other's eyes.

We've managed to escape this disaster for now.

When Li Shimin opened the account book, his pupils suddenly contracted when his gaze fell on the line "total gold and copper amount to 5.27 million strings of cash".

He clenched his fists tightly, crumpling the pages of the ledger into deep creases, then slammed the ledger onto the table with a loud "bang," his face ashen: "He deserves to die!"

The two words carried a chilling aura, causing all three people in the hall to shiver.

Gao Yue lowered her head even further, Xu Jingzong kept his eyes down and his mind at ease, only Su Dingfang was stunned for a moment.

It wasn't until Xu Jingzong quietly tugged at his robe from behind that he realized what was happening and quickly lowered his head.

Li Shimin took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.

He knew that the Zheng family's wealth was just the tip of the iceberg, and that the same was true for all the other five families and seven prominent clans.

But now is not the time to get angry.

He spoke slowly, his tone regaining its calm: "All these assets will be deposited into the national treasury. Xu Jingzong, you will personally oversee the Ministry of Revenue in registering and compiling the records. If there is even the slightest error, I will hold you accountable."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Xu Jingzong hurriedly bowed and accepted the imperial decree, but inwardly he was astonished.
His Majesty's capricious nature is becoming increasingly difficult to fathom.

Li Shimin gave a faint "hmm" and turned his gaze to Gao Yue: "Send someone to wait outside the Dali Temple. That brat has seen Zheng Yuanzhu and his son, and he might just go home to sleep. Don't let him get away."

Gao Yue quickly replied, "Yes! This servant will arrange it right away."

He was also puzzled. At this critical juncture, Wen He had no choice but to go see Zheng Yuanzhu instead of accepting the great credit. Could it be that the old fox still had some leverage over him?
Li Shimin waved his hand, signaling the three to step back.

When he was alone in the hall, he picked up the account book again. Although his eyes were on the contents, his mind was on other things.

"Of course, it's to see you two off."

Inside the Dali Temple prison, Wen He carried a food box and slowly walked to the cell where Zheng Yuanzhu and his son were being held.

After only three or four days apart, the once-glorious father and son were completely different people.

Zheng Yuanzhu's black hair had turned completely white, and his original scarlet robe had been replaced with coarse cloth prison clothes, yet he still sat upright.

Jung Yunho huddled in the hay, his face bearing lingering bruises. His former arrogance had vanished, replaced by a look of utter fear.

If described this way, it would be indistinguishable from the beggars in the West Market of Chang'an.

"Wenxianzi, it's been a long time."

Zheng Yuanzhu slightly raised his eyes, his gaze calmly falling on Wen He. His tone was unreadable, as if he were not in a cold prison cell, but in the main hall of his own mansion.

"It's not a long time, only three or four days."

Wen He smiled and gestured to the jailer to open the cell door.

“It feels like an eternity to be in prison these days. It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” Zheng Yuanzhu said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“Zheng Gong is more composed than I expected,” Wen He said with a smile.

The prison door creaked open, and Jung Yunho suddenly lunged forward like a madman, roaring, "Wen He! You promised me before that you would treat me leniently if I confessed, so why did His Majesty banish us to such a bitter and cold place as Chongzhou!"

Zhang Wenxiao was prepared. He stepped forward and blocked Wen He's path, then reached out and pressed down on Zheng Yunhao's shoulder, pushing him back with a little force.

Jung Yunho stumbled and bumped into the stone wall, wincing in pain, but dared not go any further.

"Demotion is already a lenient punishment."

Wen He entered the cell and gestured to the jailer to bring over a low table.

"Is it not a grace that you have not been struck with the fifty strokes of the cane so far?"

He personally opened the food box and placed two small dishes, a plate of mutton, and a pot of wine on the table.

The aroma of soy sauce mixed with the scent of liquor filled the damp cell, and Jung Yunho's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

These past few days in prison, he's been eating nothing but coarse rice every meal. Having grown up in luxury, he's never seen food like this before.

Little did he know that the food he looked down upon was something that the tenant farmers outside couldn't afford to eat even once a year.

Zheng Yuanzhu remained unmoved, merely looking coldly at the scene: "My son and I will be leaving the capital before the Yuanhui Festival. The county magistrate has come to see us off now, surely it's not just for this little bit of food and wine?"

"Zheng Gong is indeed insightful." Wen He poured himself a cup of wine and drank it all in one gulp.

"I wonder if you two felt any resentment about your trip to Chongzhou?"

Zheng Yuanzhu snorted coldly: "The victor is king and the loser is villain, it has always been so. I am inferior in skill, so I admit defeat."

"Don't say that."

Wen He put down her wine glass, her eyes becoming more serious.

"If it weren't for this incident, I would actually admire Zheng Gong quite a bit. Since Yining, he has been sent to the barbarian lands five times as an envoy, and he debated with Jieli, giving the Tang Dynasty a chance to breathe. Not everyone has this kind of courage."

Zheng Yuanzhu in history was indeed quite capable.

Unfortunately, greed ruined everything.

If he hadn't turned against me back then, there might have been room for cooperation in the future.

Zheng Yuanzhu's eyelashes trembled, clearly not expecting Wen He to say such a thing. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What exactly does the county magistrate intend to do today?"

"It's nothing serious, I just wanted to tell Lord Zheng about some interesting things that happened in the manor."

Wen He smiled and slowly recounted the incident of encountering Zheng Wu Niang performing behind the rockery at the Zheng residence that day, describing in detail how she cried and begged and how she mentioned her younger brother.

Before he could finish speaking, Jung Yunho's face turned deathly pale, and he demanded, "Wen He! What have you done to Fifth Sister? Don't hurt her! Punish me instead!"

"Don't worry, she's fine."

Wen He glanced at him.

"Living in a separate courtyard, with meat and soup every day, is much more comfortable than being in prison."

Looking at Jung Yunho like that, it's as if he's some kind of beast.

With his physical condition, he has ideas but lacks the motivation to act on them.

Jung Yunho paused for a moment, then said, "Then... what about my younger brother? Gulang is only five years old, he can't take any more stress!"

Wen He ignored him and looked at Zheng Yuanzhu: "Master Zheng must have understood that the play that young lady put on was probably the idea of ​​your wife, Madam Lu, right? She wanted her to seduce me and protect Zheng Jiulang's lineage."

Zheng Yuanzhu's expression finally changed completely. He stared intently at Wen He, his knuckles clenched so tightly they were almost digging into his palm: "What do you intend to do!"

"I don't want anything to do."

Wen He picked up the wine pot and slowly poured him a cup of wine.

"Lord Zheng, there's no need to get agitated. To be honest, isn't it your own fault that things have come to this point?"

Wen He sneered; he had never intended to deal with the Zheng family.

On the contrary, they attacked first, and he was forced to retaliate.

Jung Won-soo was speechless for a moment, then turned to look at Jung Yunho and sighed helplessly.

Seeing that he was silent, Wen He smiled and continued.

"I am a good person and I can't help but feel some pity. I just feel that Zheng Jiulang is too innocent. If he really goes to Chongzhou with you, he will not survive the winter in the freezing cold."

He paused, then suddenly laughed, a mischievous glint in his eyes: "However, I've never liked doing good deeds for free. For that, our Emperor once scolded me, saying I'm like a goose that plucks feathers as it passes by, unwilling to suffer even the slightest loss."

Zheng Yuanzhu stared at him with a furrowed brow, his unease growing stronger.

Wen He's self-deprecation could not possibly be merely for his amusement.

"Mr. Wen, you might as well speak your mind."

He said solemnly.

"Actually, it's nothing much, I just want to ask Lord Zheng to rebel against the Tang Dynasty."

His lips were slightly upturned, and his tone was so calm that it was as if he were discussing what to eat tonight.

However, Zheng Yuanzhu and his son Zheng Yunhao were struck dumb and froze on the spot.

The prison was deathly silent, with only the crackling of torches echoing in the empty space.

"W-What are you saying?"

Jung Yunho looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief, almost thinking he was hallucinating.

Wen He actually wanted his father to betray the Tang Dynasty?

Zheng Yuanzhu remained seated, but his cloudy eyes suddenly cleared, fixing intently on Wen He. He did not react, but silently waited for him to continue.

Seeing this, Wen He smiled instead: "I know that Lord Zheng is ultimately a person who cares about the country and the people, but he just made a mistake for a time. Now, there just happens to be an opportunity for you to redeem yourself and turn your fate around."

You want my son and me to become spies!

Zheng Yuanzhu slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly, his voice filled with suppressed anger.

Having once held the rank of Left General of the Martial Guard, how could he not know how many ambitious people were hiding in Liaodong?
Goguryeo and Khitan.

Which one isn't eyeing us covetously?
"Duke Zheng's vision was too narrow."

Wen He shook her finger, a deeper meaning creeping into her smile.

“This is a true man who endures hardship and bides his time. If you agree, I will do my best to ensure that Zheng Wuniang and Zheng Jiulang have no worries about food and clothing in Chang'an. Even if they want to study at the Imperial Academy, I can arrange it for them.”

Zheng Yuanzhu narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them, his voice as cold as ice: "What if I don't agree?"

"That's fine."

Wen He put down her wine glass, her tone light and airy, yet carrying a chilling undertone.

"However, the journey to Liaodong is long and arduous. Over the years, you have made many enemies. Your former subordinates from the Sui Dynasty hate you for betraying the Sui, and your rivals in the court hope for your early death. If there is no one to take care of you, how many of your nine sons will be able to accompany you to Chongzhou?"

This is no empty statement.

It wasn't a deliberate threat from Wen He.

If he abandons the task, the journey will surely be fraught with danger.

When Madam Lu had Zheng Wu Niang perform that play, wasn't it because she saw through this point?

Zheng Yuanzhu himself must have thought about it too.

After Wen He finished speaking, the cell fell silent once again.

Zheng Yuanzhu slowly sat down, his thin fingers tapping lightly on the table, as if weighing something.

After a long while, he suddenly looked up, his eyes blazing, and said, word by word:

"I wish to see His Majesty!"

(End of this chapter)