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

Chapter 306 Mother, there aren't many Jieli left.
"Then let Lizhi learn from you. When the time comes, set up a screen and have the Empress accompany her."

Li Shimin looked at Li Lizhi with a hint of expectation in his eyes. This was the best arrangement for the time being.

Empress Zhangsun's illness was not serious, and with the screen separating her from the wool fibers, she would not be bothered.

The Empress's intervention not only rallied public support but also further solidified her prestige within the court and among the people.

Lizhi followed along to learn hosting skills, which not only taught her how to conduct herself but also earned her a reputation for filial piety.

This can be described as killing three birds with one stone.

Moreover, she is a woman, so even if she gains fame in the army, she will not be feared by Li Chengqian in the future.

Li Er played this move brilliantly.

"Lizhi, you will stay here and study diligently with Wenhe for the next two days. Do not be playful and neglect your duties."

Li Shimin rarely spoke to Li Lizhi in such a solemn tone, his eyes filled with unwavering seriousness.

"Don't worry, Father, I will definitely study hard!"

Li Lizhi quickly agreed, but secretly she was delighted.

As long as I can stay in Gaoyangzi's residence and don't have to return to the palace, I'd be happy even if it meant learning to knit sweaters.

At least I can be with Wenrou every day, which is better than being stuck in the palace with all those rules.

"You little girl, don't let personal matters interfere with public duty."

Empress Zhangsun saw through her daughter's thoughts at a glance and shook her head helplessly.

This child is good in every way, except that he is too playful.

Li Lizhi nodded repeatedly, her little hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, afraid that her parents might change their minds and take her back to the palace at any moment.

"Well, it's getting late, cough cough."

Li Shimin glanced at the sun outside the courtyard, then suddenly coughed lightly, stopping halfway through his sentence.

Everyone was somewhat bewildered; why did His Majesty suddenly hesitate to speak?

Wen He, however, pretended not to understand.

If His Majesty truly wished to return to the palace, he would not be so hesitant to speak.

Gao Yue, ever quick-witted, immediately stepped forward to smooth things over: "Your Majesty, it is getting late. If we return to the palace now, we might miss lunch. Why don't we have a simple meal at the residence of the Prince of Gaoyang County today?"

This sounds reasonable, but everyone present actually knows the truth.

Your Majesty and the Empress have always been frugal, eating only two meals a day as ordinary people do. Breakfast has already passed and dinner is still early, so how could it be considered a delay in eating?

It was Gao Yue who saw through His Majesty's thoughts and gave him a way out.

"Ahem, well then, let's give this brat some face and let him stay for dinner." Li Shimin pretended to ponder, not forgetting to give Gao Yue an approving look, as if he was really doing it reluctantly.

Wen He silently chuckled twice to himself.

This Li Er is quite the actor.

"I heard that His Majesty used to eat pork here often?"

Empress Zhangsun smiled and looked at Wen He, her tone tinged with curiosity.

Clearly, the Empress had long heard of the reputation of the pork from Gaoyangzi's residence and wanted to try it.

Just as Wen He was about to agree, Li Tai, who was standing to the side, became anxious. His little face scrunched up as he hurriedly said, "Mother, there aren't many Jieli left!"

"Huh?" Empress Zhangsun was stunned for a moment, her face full of confusion.

"What nonsense is Qingque spouting? What Jieli?"

Li Shimin chuckled, pointing at Li Tai and explaining to Empress Zhangsun, "This kid calls those piglets in the backyard 'Jieli.' I don't know why he chose that name, and he keeps saying he wants to 'fatten them up before slaughtering them.'"

"I see." Empress Zhangsun suddenly realized, and couldn't help but chuckle. She reached out and pulled Li Tai in front of her, gently tapping his forehead with her fingertip.

"You child, you're being too reckless. If this name gets back to the Turks, won't it cause trouble?"

Li Tai, however, just shrugged nonchalantly, clearly not taking those words to heart.

Li Shimin chuckled and waved his hand, "It's just a child's joke, nothing to worry about."

But he had other plans in mind.

Even if the Turks found out, so what?
Now the Tang Dynasty's treasury is gradually becoming full, and its soldiers and armor are plentiful; the only thing it lacks is food and supplies.

Once the provisions were ready, he ordered Li Jing to lead the army north to attack the Eastern Turkic court, capture the Khan alive, and bring him to see the "little Khans" in the backyard!
In truth, Empress Zhangsun didn't really care what the pigs were called; she was just worried that Li Shimin would blame Li Tai for it.

Seeing that His Majesty was not only not angry, but even found it amusing, he realized that he had been overthinking things. He then said no more and just shook his head with a smile.

"Then it's up to Jia Ying to decide." Empress Zhangsun looked at Wen He with a smile.

Wen He nodded and instructed Zhou Fu, "Have the kitchen slaughter a pig, stew some braised pork, and roast the rest of the meat."

Upon hearing this, Empress Zhangsun gave Zhou Fu a special instruction in a gentle tone: "No need for extravagance, just a simple home-cooked meal will do."

Zhou Fu glanced at Wen He, and seeing his young master nod, he bowed and withdrew to give instructions.

Although it was just a simple meal, he dared not make it look shabby.

After all, it is His Majesty and Empress who are here, so we must be dignified.

“This brat doesn’t like eating separately, so let’s sit together today.” Li Shimin waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit around a large table.

Apart from Li Chengqian's absence, this is the most people present today.

He specifically asked Wen He to prepare extra food, which he would pack in a food box and send to Li Chengqian after returning to the palace.

Empress Zhangsun had previously said she wanted to try pork.

But faced with that table of greasy stewed meat, she didn't eat much.

One dish in particular, "pig-killing dish," featured pig blood and intestines. Empress Changsun hesitated for a moment before ultimately deciding not to eat it.

On the contrary, Li Shimin ate with great relish, and ate at least most of the pork on the table.

Wen He even suspected that she might have discovered some strange taste in Li Er.

Little did he know, Li Er simply loved to eat meat.

But he was always frugal, and since mutton was expensive, he couldn't bear to eat it.

Now that he had this cheap pork, although it was fattier than mutton, it satisfied his craving. If Empress Changsun hadn't stopped him, he would have eaten the whole pot of stew.

"Once these pigs are all out of their pens, send some to the palace." Li Shimin ate with grease dripping from his mouth, completely oblivious to Li Tai, who was staring at a pig's trotter with a wronged expression.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

After the meal, Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun prepared to return to the palace.

Before leaving, Empress Zhangsun pulled Li Lizhi aside and gave her detailed instructions, telling her not to act recklessly and not to leave the mansion at will.

Only after receiving her daughter's assurance did she reluctantly follow Li Shimin away, turning back every few steps.

No sooner had the emperor and empress left than Li Lizhi eagerly grabbed Wen He's sleeve, her eyes full of anticipation, and asked, "Wen He, where are we going to play?"

Wen He said helplessly, "Princess, have you forgotten the Empress's instructions just now?"

"Please don't call me princess."

Li Lizhi gently shook his sleeve, pouting her little mouth and acting coquettishly.

"Fine, then don't play. But teach me how to knit wool quickly, and once I've learned, you can take me out to play, okay?"

She shook him even harder, as if she wouldn't let go until Wen He agreed.

"Okay, okay, I promise you." Wen He had no choice but to nod, unable to resist her pestering.

Li Lizhi jumped up with joy, her excitement barely concealed. Wen He sighed inwardly as she watched her.

It seems she was really bored in the palace; she can be so happy about such a small thing.

"Shall we start learning now?"

Li Lizhi pulled Wen He towards the study, like a happy little sparrow.

Wenrou followed behind, carrying a ball of light pink yarn in her hands: "Brother, I want to learn too!"

Wen He was dragged along by the two girls, and staggered into the study.

Looking at the bamboo needles and yarn on the table, he suddenly realized that the days ahead might not be very leisurely.

His vacation!
I wonder if it's because they want to go out and play as soon as possible.

Li Lizhi studied with exceptional seriousness.

Unfortunately, she was too young and couldn't hold the bamboo sticks steady. It took her a lot of effort to weave a small piece.

"That's already great," Wen He said encouragingly, not wanting to upset the little girl too much.

"really?"

Li Lizhi, who had been hesitant and depressed, suddenly brightened up, looked up and blinked.

"of course."

"Then I'll give this to you." She grinned, revealing a set of big white teeth.

Seeing the piece of wool cloth she handed over, and facing her expectant gaze, Wen He had no choice but to accept it.

It's so small, it seems like it can only be used to make a glove.

I can't exactly keep it as a handkerchief, can I? A wool handkerchief, just thinking about it makes my mouth feel prickly.

However, this can be considered as her completing her apprenticeship.

After all, she was just a child, and Wen He didn't expect her to actually be able to knit a garment.

"Can we go out and play now?" Li Lizhi ran over and tugged at Wen He's sleeve again.

Wenrou quickly stood up as well.

The two little girls stared directly at them.

Those big, watery eyes made it hard for Wen He to refuse.

"Okay, I'll take you guys out to play."

Then Wen He asked A Dong to prepare the car and took the two little girls to the East Market.

"Gao Yangxianzi's new Romance of the Three Kingdoms, chapters 10 to 20, is fresh off the press! Come and listen!"

Outside a teahouse.

A waiter was seen shouting loudly.

Upon hearing this, many people on the street headed towards the teahouse.

Before long, the room was packed with people.

"Wen He, did you write Romance of the Three Kingdoms?" Li Lizhi asked, her gaze immediately turning to Wen He upon hearing the words "Gaoyang County Magistrate."

"It was written by my elder brother."

Before Wen He could admit it, Wen Rou quickly nodded.

"I want to hear too, hurry up or there won't be any seats left."

The two little girls dragged him toward the teahouse.

Fortunately, this teahouse is not small, and there are also private rooms reserved for distinguished guests on the second floor.

Otherwise, with so many people, Wen He would definitely refuse to go in.

After they arrived at the private room and sat down, and all the tea and snacks were served, a storyteller dressed in a scholar's robe walked up to the high platform downstairs.

"Today we will talk about the tenth chapter of Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Ma Teng raises an army to support the royal family and Cao Cao raises an army to avenge his father."

"Last time, we talked about how Li Jue and Guo Si captured Chang'an, seized the emperor, and plunged the country into chaos. It was said that the two traitors, Li and Guo, wanted to assassinate Emperor Xian..."

The storyteller's narration was vivid and engaging, but Wen He found it somewhat boring.

Without a gavel and without the opening poem, storytellers of this era still need to improve.

However, the two little girls listened attentively.

They probably just listened to the Three Kingdoms stories for entertainment.

(End of this chapter)