Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 115 Night Talk at the Wang Family
Wang Xi, who was inside the house, was not disturbed by Wang Facai and Sister Hua outside, because Li Linfu's appearance, to some extent, disrupted his plans.

If it were just Li Linfu appearing in front of him, it wouldn't have made him panic, because he knew such a person existed. The key was that Li Linfu directly entered into his scheme and became Li Qiao's subordinate.

This really caught him completely off guard.

Li Linfu's intentions are not hard to guess; he definitely wanted to hitch a ride on Li Longji's coattails to get closer to him.

For Wang Xi, there are now two choices. First, find a way to kick Li Linfu out. It doesn't matter where you take over, and it can't be stopped anyway, but don't come to me.

Secondly, we should keep Li Linfu.

“These are rivals, and I have no reason to keep Li Linfu here.”

Wang Xi muttered to himself.

The path Li Linfu is going to take is the same path he is going to take; they are definitely colleagues!

But then he thought, "Although Li Linfu is a treacherous minister, he is by no means a fool. On the contrary, he is extremely ruthless. At most, I can only kick him out, but I have no power to stop him from taking the throne."

Rather than kicking him out, it's better to keep him in the Ministry of Rites. Firstly, it can keep him in check. Secondly, we can utilize his talents to help my uncle, since my uncle is far less adept at vying for power than Li Linfu.

Thirdly, Jiang Jiao is her uncle's strongest supporter in court. Removing Li Linfu might incite Jiang Jiao's resentment towards her uncle, which would be counterproductive.

After some deliberation, Wang Xi decided to hold off on any rash actions for the time being and leave Li Linfu to observe the situation for a while. Although he did not believe that he could completely control Li Linfu, he still had to weigh the pros and cons. He had to consider the relationships among the adults, but if he found himself being suppressed by Li Linfu, he would not be able to care about Jiang Jiao.

He has no habit of doing favors for others.

Boom boom boom!
A knock on the door interrupted Wang Xi's thoughts.

"what's up?"

"Young master, it's time for dinner."

Wang Facai's voice came from outside.

Wang Xi looked out the window and was surprised to see that it was already dark. He wondered how long he had been thinking about this.

Once outside, Wang Xi said to Wang Facai, "Why wasn't it Hua Daiyu who came to call me today?"

Wang Facai said, "Sister Huahua came by earlier, and I told her not to bother the young master, so..."

"Angry!"

Wang Xi smiled and said, "This Hua Daiyu is really something."

But then he gave Wang Facai an approving look, "Well done."

Wang Facai remained unperturbed by honor or disgrace, saying, "This is what a lowly person should do."

"Ah."

Upon entering the inner hall, they saw Wang Shouyi and Princess Xue sitting inside. He bowed to his parents and then sat down next to Princess Xue.

"The sparrow is here! Hurry up and bring the food up."

It was a cold day, and since Wang Xi wasn't coming, the food was naturally left on the fire.

"Father, where are Uncle and Uncle Li? Didn't you invite them to stay for dinner?" Wang Xi suddenly asked Wang Shouyi.

Wang Shouyi said, "I wanted to keep them here, but your Uncle Li just joined the Ministry of Rites, and they made an appointment with some officials from the Ministry of Rites, so I didn't keep them any longer."

Then he chuckled and said, "What? You want to keep them here for dinner?"

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Uncle Li is very kind. I feel like we've known each other for a long time."

Wang Shouyi snorted, "What do you know, kid? He's praising you because he's giving his father face. Don't take it seriously."

Wang Xi pursed his lips, "But the tone of his voice sounded very sincere, not like he was just saying polite words."

Princess Xue suddenly said, "Que'er, no matter who the other party is or what they say, you must be careful."

As she spoke, she glanced at Wang Shouyi.

Clearly, these words were meant for Wang Shouyi.

Wang Xi nodded: "I understand."

Wang Shouyi said, "This Li Linfu is Doctor Jiang's nephew, so he should be trustworthy."

Princess Xue said, "Have you ever thought about why he wanted to enter the Ministry of Rites and become an assistant minister? For him, this is not a position with any real power."

Wang Xi thought to himself, "Mother really sees things clearly!"
Wang Shouyi, however, was somewhat dismissive, saying only, "This is ultimately related to Doctor Jiang. Madam knows the relationship between Doctor Jiang and Kaishan, so we shouldn't say anything."

Princess Xue said, "I didn't ask my husband to gossip, but you and your son should both be careful."

Wang Shouyi nodded perfunctorily, then asked Wang Xi, "Que'er, did they get to wear those stockings?"

Wang Xi's eyes darted around. "Here it is! Father instructed me to do it, how could I not take it to heart?"

"That's more like it." Wang Shouyi nodded with a smile, then asked, "Do they like it?"

Wang Xi remained silent.

A hint of joy flashed in Wang Shouyi's eyes, but he said aloud, "They don't like it?"

"like!"

Wang Xi said dejectedly, "Xiaoman and the others all like it quite a bit."

Wang Shouyi immediately laughed happily, "You little rascal, you don't know what's good for you. If the clothes weren't nice, would your father have given them to you to wear?"

Wang Xi said helplessly, "Father, I have a special attachment to these stockings."

"What special feelings? It's just women," Wang Shouyi said irritably.

Princess Xue said, "My husband."

"Please don't be offended, madam. I'm just angry that this boy doesn't appreciate my good intentions."

"No way!"

Wang Xi said, "I have always been very supportive of Father. I am even discussing with Xiaoman and the others how to improve these stockings to make them more suitable for theatrical costumes."

Wang Shouyi said happily, "Really?"

Wang Xi nodded and said, "I already have some ideas."

Wang Shouyi was overjoyed. "What are your thoughts? Tell your father quickly."

Princess Xue said, "Let's talk about it after we finish eating."

Wang Shouyi's expression immediately became more composed. "Your mother is right. Let's talk after we finish eating."

Princess Xue suddenly asked again, "Husband, how's the work at Anye Bureau going?"

Wang Xi immediately turned his head to look at Princess Xue, "Mother, can't you even hide your double standards?"

Wang Shouyi said awkwardly, "Madam, didn't we say we'd talk about it after dinner?"

Princess Xue said, "My husband, you should focus on Anye Bureau instead of thinking about stockings all the time."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Mother is right."

Wang Shouyi first glared at Wang Xi, then said to Princess Xue, "Madam, this is a new government office, still under preparation, and we cannot rush it."

But in his heart he thought, "Isn't this kid a show-off? Then let him show off."

Princess Xue had no idea that Wang Shouyi was planning this, and said, "Then my husband should keep a closer eye on things. His Majesty takes this matter very seriously. If you can't do it well, you shouldn't have taken it on in the first place." Wang Shouyi nodded and said, "I know, I know."

He still prefers the princess who used to ignore him.

But this is not the fault of Princess Xue. She should either stay away from these troubles and protect herself if something happens, but now that she has become involved, she must keep a close eye on Wang Shouyi.

Wang Xi suddenly turned his eyes and asked, "Father, does our family have any hidden households?"

Wang Shouyi frowned slightly and asked, "Why are you asking about this?"

With such a large and powerful family, how could they not have hidden households?

Wang Xi said, "Oh, when I was chatting with you today, you mentioned this matter briefly, saying that for you, Father, the most difficult thing is to set an example."

Wang Shouyi said, "But didn't the master say beforehand that we should only do good deeds and leave all the things that offend people to others?"

Wang Xi responded with an "Oh," and said, "That's what I thought too, but you're worried that others might mention it."

Princess Xue nodded repeatedly and said, "Sir, your concerns are very valid. Even if my husband is only responsible for helping the hidden households, there will inevitably be people who will use my husband to justify their own crimes. Throughout history, it is not uncommon for things to go down in a fight to the death. We must be wary of this!"

After saying that, she looked at Wang Xi and asked, "Que'er, does the master have a solution?"

Wang Xi said, "The master did not say it explicitly, but I think this may be the solution."

"Oh?"

Princess Xue said, "Then tell me about it."

Wang Xi said, "Of course I told the teacher that our family treats the hidden households very well, and there are still many hidden households outside who want to come to our family. The teacher thinks that since that's the case, forcing them to leave would be bad for them, and it would be doing a bad thing with good intentions. By the way, Mother knows that our Wuming Academy has a cooperative winemaking business with Yixianjue."

Princess Xue nodded.

Wang Xi said, "Anyway, what you're saying is that if any of our family members are hiding and don't want to return to their original households, we should let those hidden members go to our winery to brew wine. This way, we can both protect those hidden members and avoid giving others cause for criticism."

Princess Xue nodded and said, "This method is feasible."

Wang Shouyi asked anxiously, "How many people can your little distillery hold?"

Wang Xi said, "Father, please don't underestimate us. We can accommodate as many people as we want. Besides, our Wuming Academy is currently working on a play based on Dream of the Red Chamber and needs manpower. The teacher also said that this can be considered as using industry and commerce to acquire property for the people."

Princess Xue nodded gently.

Wang Shouyi grew anxious, "If all the hidden households leave, who will help us with the work?"

Princess Xue said, “Husband, I think this matter should be handled with caution. Your idea is also feasible. Let’s clear out all the hidden households first, and then let Que’er help us keep those hidden households. We’ll talk about it after this period of time. If we can’t keep them, then we absolutely cannot keep them.”

Seeing that his wife had said so, Wang Shouyi pondered for a while and said, "Alright, I will arrange for Uncle Fu to handle this matter."

Wang Xi said, "Father, why don't we let Fa Cai do it? Uncle Fu is in charge of too many things, and we don't see him for half a month."

Wang Shouyi frowned and said, "Can getting rich help you do this job well?"

Wang Xi said, "He's already talking about getting rich, so he can't go wrong with doing this."

Wang Shouyi said, both amused and annoyed, "You're such a spendthrift! How can you judge something by its name? If you don't handle this properly, our family will suffer huge losses."

As he spoke, he glanced at Princess Xue, but she was chewing slowly and pondering for a moment before nodding and saying, "Alright, let Fa Cai handle this matter."

Wang Xi was secretly delighted. In this way, he would have enough manpower to open a workshop.

After discussing the matter, the three of them focused on eating. Wang Xi, being young, didn't care about manners and ate heartily, quickly filling his belly to a round shape. "Father, Mother, I'm full."

Princess Xue said, "You should go back to your room first."

"Yes."

After Wang Xi left, Princess Xue asked, "Husband, are all our family's lands legal?"

Wang Shouyi's heart skipped a beat. "Why does Madam ask about this?"

The Wang family, the most powerful maternal relatives in the world, the wealthiest in Chang'an, and super landowners—could all of their land be legally owned?

Princess Xue said, "Sir, your concerns are not without merit. Since you are going to set an example, why not do it more thoroughly?"

Wang Shouyi said excitedly, "Everyone does it this way, it's not just our family. They don't intend to hand over the land. We'll see what happens when we find out. There's no need to worry."

Princess Xue said, "My husband should know why His Majesty bestowed so many houses and lands upon our family back then. Now that my husband wants to achieve something, he should also give up some things. Only then will it be fair."

Wang Shouyi argued, "Isn't this just walking into a trap?"

Princess Xue said, "This time, the court is only investigating illegally occupied land, and will not hold the landholders accountable. It is clear that His Majesty also wants to leave room for maneuver. If my husband were to offer up the land, His Majesty would be grateful to him. Besides, our family does not lack that kind of land."

Wang Shouyi frowned, still unwilling.

He used his power to gain wealth and status, and has been obsessed with it ever since, expanding the Wang family's business more than tenfold. He can definitely be called a master of accumulating wealth.

He was already reluctant to hand over even the hidden households, but now he's being asked to hand over the land. Isn't this a death sentence for him?

However, in Princess Xue's view, one cannot have both fish and bear's paw. You used power to exchange for wealth and status back then, but now that you want to return to the court, you naturally have to give up some wealth and status.

But Princess Xue didn't say anything and focused on eating again.

She doesn't like to be aggressive; she always stops short of things. If you don't agree, that's your own business. If problems arise, you'll have to bear the consequences yourself.

Her silence put considerable pressure on Wang Shouyi. After struggling for a while, he sighed, "Alright, let's do as Madam says. I'll have Uncle Fu handle it then."

Princess Xue simply said, "I am thinking of my family, not myself."

Wang Shouyi quickly replied with a smile, "Yes, of course I understand."

That's true. The princess doesn't care. Do whatever you want. If something happens, I can protect myself.

It was around midnight.

"This humble servant greets the princess."

"Ah."

Princess Xue smiled and nodded, "Fa Cai, it seems you've been doing well lately. Que'er praises you highly and even plans to entrust you with important responsibilities."

Wang Facai said, "Your Highness is too kind. In fact, I haven't done anything special lately, just like always."

"I see."

Princess Xue nodded: "In fact, perseverance is also a form of performance. It seems that Que'er is much more mature than I imagined."

Wang Facai said, "I agree with this point as well."

Princess Xue said, "Actually, the reason I arranged for you and Sister Hua to come here to serve Que'er was twofold. First, I hoped that you could keep an eye on Que'er and prevent him from acting recklessly, since the royal family's situation is very precarious. Second, I also hoped that you could become Que'er's right-hand men in the future."

Now that you have completed your first task, you can wholeheartedly help Sparrow from now on, and you will no longer need to report to me.

Wang Facai asked in surprise, "Does the princess trust the young master so much?"

Princess Xue smiled and said, "It's not that I trust him, it's that I have confidence in you. With you by his side, I can rest assured. Before, Que'er was wary of you, mainly because he was afraid that you would complain to me. If he finds out that you continue to report to me, he will definitely not use you anymore."

Wang Facai clasped his hands and said, "Since the princess trusts me so much, I will certainly not disappoint her."

Princess Xue said, "You must remember one thing: Que'er is the future master of the royal family."

Wang Facai nodded and said, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)