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

Chapter 299 This is no leisure trip, it's clearly a mini-court assembly.
"gentlemen."

When Li Chengqian saw Wen He, his tense shoulders suddenly relaxed, as if he had found his pillar of support.

Although he was the crown prince, he always had to maintain a certain composure in front of Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun. He was both reluctant to reprimand Wu Shun for her sticky and indecisive tone, and he was really annoyed by it. He was feeling quite uncomfortable.

"you!"

Wu Shun hadn't seen Wen He for a long time, and now that he had suddenly bumped into him, the humiliation he had suffered in front of him before immediately came flooding back to him.

She had intended to act obediently in front of Li Chengqian, but she didn't expect to be interrupted by this young man. She immediately curled her lips and glared at him angrily: "What business is it of yours that I'm talking to His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"hehe."

Wen He scoffed, making no attempt to hide his mockery.

No wonder historical records say that she even dared to provoke her brother-in-law, ultimately causing her children to lose their lives.

I initially thought he lost his sense of propriety because he was blinded by power, but I never imagined that he would be so blatantly stupid at such a young age.

"How about I call His Majesty and your father here and ask them if I have anything to do with this matter?"

Wen He stood with her hands behind her back, not even bothering to lift her eyelids. Her contemptuous expression made it seem as if even glancing at her was superfluous.

Wu Shun choked until his face turned pale and his lips turned bright red.

She only dared to approach Li Chengqian because she was far away from Li Shimin and his wife, hoping to secretly curry favor.

If His Majesty and her father, Wu Shiyue, were summoned, she wouldn't dare to be so presumptuous even if she had ten times the courage.

"Wen He!"

A clear, crisp voice suddenly rang out, and Li Lizhi, like a cheerful little sparrow, ran towards them, lifting her skirt.

Not far away, Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun, who were talking to Wu Shiyue, turned around when they heard the sound and noticed that Wen He had already come out with the three little ones and Wenrou.

"Little Rou!"

Li Lizhi originally wanted to throw herself into Wen He's arms, but when she got closer, she remembered that there were many people around today, so she stopped abruptly, then turned to Wen Rou and opened her arms to rush over.

"I miss you so much! You haven't left the palace in so long. How is Big White? Is it too fat to run anymore?"

She greeted them with a gentle smile, and the two little girls held hands and twirled around, their eyes shining with joy.

Li Lizhi said happily, "I missed you too. Da Bai chewed up your book the other day and was punished by you by not being allowed to eat meat. He's lost so much weight now!"

"Then next time I'll bring its favorite jerky to see it!" Wenrou whispered in her ear, glancing furtively at Wen He out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that he wasn't paying attention to her, she lowered her voice and said.

Li Lizhi nodded her head quickly and whispered, "My mother has gotten a new kind of candied fruit in her palace. It's sweet and sour. I'll secretly pack you a bag next time."

"Really? Then I'll share half of the sweet cakes my brother made with you."

The two little girls huddled together, chattering incessantly, talking about everything from embarrassing incidents involving the Pekingese to snacks, completely oblivious to everyone else around them.

When Li Chengqian saw Li Lizhi arrive, he took the opportunity to step back half a step, distancing himself from Wu Shun, and gave Wen He a look that said, "Thank you for coming to my rescue."

Li Tai and Li You then approached Wen He, with the former asking in a low voice, "Sir, why does that young lady from the Wu family keep bothering my elder brother, the Crown Prince?"

Wen He didn't reply, but just stared at Wu Shiyue not far away.

He was talking to Li Shimin with a big smile on his face, but his eyes kept glancing over here. When he saw that Wu Shun was standing still and not coming forward, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Shimin had obviously noticed the situation just now, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. He then smiled at Empress Zhangsun and said, "It's quite lively with these children all together."

Empress Zhangsun followed his gaze to Wen He and saw that the young man was patiently listening to Li You talk about something, nodding in agreement from time to time, with a faint smile on his lips. She said softly, "Jia Ying is sincere, so these children like to follow him."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but nod.

As they were talking, Wen He had already brought the three little ones over and greeted Li Shimin and his wife.

Wu Shun quickly followed and bowed respectfully, completely suppressing his previous unruly behavior. However, the look in his eyes as he secretly glared at Wen He still carried a hint of resentment.

"Now that everyone is here, let's go to Qujiang Pool."

Li Shimin waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally settling on Wen He.

"I heard you told them about the snow today; it was quite interesting. Tell me more about it on the way."

Although Wen He was reluctant, she couldn't resist Li Shimin's half-pulling and half-dragging, and had no choice but to get into the carriage.

The group headed towards Qujiang Pool in a grand procession.

Li Lizhi and Wenrou held hands and insisted on riding in the same carriage with Changsun Wugou.

Wen He was pulled by Li Shimin and squeezed into another carriage with the four children, Li Chengqian, Li Ke, Li Tai, and Li You.

The Samurai family followed at a distance, in their own carriage.

The charcoal fire burned brightly in the carriage. Wen He recounted the connection between the snow, drought, and locust plague that she had just told the four little ones, from preserving moisture in winter snow to preventing locusts in spring drought, and even explained in detail how to repair the reservoir.

Li Shimin listened attentively, nodding occasionally: "What you've said is exactly what has been troubling me lately. Although some water conservancy projects have been completed in Guannei Circuit, I'm afraid they won't be enough if a severe drought were to occur."

"However, these things cannot be rushed."

Seeing his furrowed brows, Wen He smiled and offered some words of comfort.

"Your Majesty, since you're out for a stroll today, please put aside your worries for now."

He also wanted to take the opportunity to relax.

Ever since Li Er ascended the throne, he had hardly had any leisure time. At this moment, he felt that even if he was confined to his quarters, it would be good to be able to sleep until he naturally woke up.

Li Shimin was amused by him and tapped his forehead with his fingertip: "You little rascal, you know how to persuade people."

As they spoke, the carriage arrived near Quchifang, and further south was Qujiangchi.

A cacophony of voices drifted in from outside the car window. Wen He lifted the curtain and gasped in astonishment.

The roadside was crowded with people, all of whom had come for the cultural event.

"Get off and walk."

Li Shimin opened the car door.

"There are too many people, the carriage can't get in."

As soon as Li Lizhi jumped off the car, her eyes lit up like stars when she saw the surging crowd in front of her: "So many people!"

She loves excitement and her little body jumped up with joy.

Wenrou nodded vigorously, her little face full of curiosity, but she still obediently held onto the hem of Changsun Wugou's clothes, not daring to run away.

Although the surrounding area was crowded, it was clearly divided into distinct zones.

The common people crowded on the outer perimeter, while a path had already been cleared for Li Shimin and his entourage by the Imperial Household Department. Wen He caught a glimpse of Gao Yue standing outside the crowd and suddenly realized, "No wonder I didn't see Gao Shi earlier, it turns out he came here early to make arrangements."

Gao Yue quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said with a smile, "Young master, you flatter me. I was afraid that if I arrived late, there would be too many people and spoil the fun, so I came ahead to make arrangements."

His words carried a hint of self-aggrandizement.

Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction: "Lead the way."

"Here."

Gao Yue responded and led the way, followed by a group of plainclothes guards who discreetly kept the unauthorized personnel away.

When the local people saw this, they simply assumed it was a noble family traveling together and found it unremarkable.

Today, there is a literary gathering at Qujiang Pool. Those who can enter are all powerful and wealthy.

Even an ordinary person with immense wealth may not be able to take a single step into the world.

"Sir, look! It seems that young lady from the Wu family has been beaten." Li Tai had somehow slipped behind Wen He and pointed to the Wu family not far away, lowering his voice.

Wen He looked in the direction he pointed and sure enough, she saw several finger marks on Wu Shun's originally fair cheek.

It seems he was beaten by Samurai Go because of what happened earlier.

"Why are you staring at her?" Wen He chuckled. "Could it be that you're interested in her?"

Li Tai was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly, shaking his head like a rattle drum: "No, no! Absolutely not! I wouldn't want a girl like that!"

He glanced at Li Chengqian and whispered, "But she kept getting close to my elder brother, the Crown Prince, who knows what might happen in the future..."

"Snapped!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was struck hard on the back of the head.

This time, however, it wasn't Wen He who made the move.

Li Chengqian turned around at some point, his face cold, and with the air of an elder brother, he glared at Li Tai and said, "If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll have the teacher punish you by making you copy the Analects a hundred times, and send all the pigs in your pigsty to the palace to serve as a special meal for Father Emperor!"

Li Tai covered the back of his head, pouted aggrievedly, and dared not utter another sound.

Li Ke watched from the side and laughed, while Li You leaned close to Wen He's ear and whispered, "Sir, is the Crown Prince afraid that the young lady from the Wu family will really get entangled with him?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Chengqian glared at him fiercely, his eyes clearly saying, "Try saying another word." Li You stuck out his tongue and quickly shrank back.

In the midst of the commotion, Wenrou suddenly came running over with her little steps, tilting her head up and asking, "Brother, can Wu Erniang play with us? Lizhi also said she wants to talk to her."

She deliberately brought up Li Lizhi as an excuse, her little face full of anticipation.

The four children reacted differently upon hearing this.

Li Chengqian frowned slightly, Li Tai looked curious, Li Ke remained calm, and Li You huddled next to Wen He to watch the excitement.

But after hearing that it was Wu Erniang, they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

They were all afraid that Wu Shun's clingy nature would spoil their good mood for the day.

“Go ahead,” Wen He nodded in agreement.

Wenrou doesn't have many friends her age in Chang'an, and Li Lizhi is often constrained by palace rules. Since she likes Wu Erniang, it wouldn't hurt to let them become friends.

Moreover, he chuckled inwardly, thinking that with him around, there would probably never be another Wu Zetian who could stir up the winds and clouds. The two daughters of the Wu family would likely just be ordinary noble ladies.

"Thank you, brother! You're the best!"

Wenrou smiled gently, her eyes crinkling like a plum blossom touched by snow, so sweet that Wen He couldn't help but smile back. After thanking her, the little girl skipped off to find Wu Erniang. The latter hesitated for a moment, and with Wu Shiyue's tacit approval, timidly followed Wenrou to Li Lizhi's side.

Wu Shun, who was standing to the side, had red eyes, her nails dug deep into her palms, and her lips were bitten until they turned white.

Why?
Why did that quiet, reserved girl win the favor of Prince Wen and the princess?

"Jiaying, what are you dawdling for? Come here."

On the other side, Li Shimin's voice came, and Wen He was being pulled by him towards a teahouse not far away.

The four little ones followed closely behind.

As soon as Wen He stepped onto the second floor, she was taken aback.

Good heavens, this is no leisure activity, it's clearly a mini-court assembly!

Needless to say, trusted ministers such as Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui were present, as were former officials of the previous dynasty such as Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, and Yuwen Shiji. All the ministers of the six ministries were present except for Li Jing.

To his surprise, the members of the five surnames and seven prominent families were also seated at the table, each dressed in fine clothes and exuding an air of elegance.

This scene was even more lively than a court assembly.

Wen He instinctively wanted to bow and recite the official titles in his mind, but Li Shimin pressed down on his shoulder.

"Today we're just here to enjoy ourselves; there's no need for formalities."

Li Shimin waved his hand casually.

Seeing this, the others naturally didn't want to put on airs and all smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

Wen He smiled slightly and sat down in the empty seat next to Li Shimin.

As soon as he sat down, he heard Li Shimin ask the old man of the Lu family not far away, "When will this literary gathering begin?"

The old man, with his white hair and beard, stroked his beard and smiled upon hearing this, saying, "I didn't know that Young Master Li would be here today. We have already chosen our own topic, using winter plum blossoms as the subject of our poems. The scholars are currently working on their ideas, and I imagine they will soon have some excellent works."

"Oh? That's quite a good time."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Today, many talented people have gathered here. Is there anyone outstanding among them?"

Although he was dissatisfied with the arrogance of the Five Clans and Seven Families, he also understood that there were many talented people among these scions of noble families.

Beside Elder Lu, an elderly man dressed in a dark brocade robe spoke up: "If we are talking about young talents, Shangguan Yi of the Shangguan family should be the one. This young man's poetry is extraordinary, and he is a rare talent in recent years."

Upon hearing this, Wen He couldn't help but glance at the old man a few more times.

The man looked unfamiliar, but the person sitting behind him was none other than Cui Dunli.

In that case, this person is probably the new spokesperson sent to Chang'an by the Cui family of Boling.

Seemingly noticing Wen He's gaze, the old man smiled gently at him and nodded slightly, with a hint of deliberate goodwill.

Wen He paused for a moment, then nodded in return, but a question lingered in her mind.

Shangguan Yi?
He was from a prestigious family, so why would the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families specifically recommend him?
As Wen He was pondering, a clear shout suddenly came from the plum grove downstairs: "I've got it!"

(End of this chapter)