Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 121 Taking it easy, loafing around
Upon learning that it was inside the academy, Hongxiu got up and followed Wang Xi to the front yard.

"It's so warm."

Upon entering the house, a warm feeling washed over me. Turning my head, I saw that the house was unlike any other in terms of its construction. Inside, there was a large, open stove, with firewood crackling and popping as it burned.

Hongxiu couldn't help but go forward curiously. "This stove is really peculiar. Even though the door is open, the smoke is all rising."

Wang Xi smiled and said, "This was designed by the teacher. Our academy is so big, but only two rooms are equipped with this stove. One is of course for the teacher, and the other is this room."

"I didn't expect you to have such a good place hidden away," Hongxiu said, feigning anger.

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "We didn't know we'd be recruiting so many people. We originally planned to keep them for our own use, but now they're for the teachers."

Hongxiu said, "Let's skip it, lest we upset Xiaoman and the others."

"Don't worry, teacher, they'll leave it to the students to handle."

Wang Xi said again, "Teacher, please sit down, please sit down."

Hongxiu glanced at the oddly styled chair covered in mink fur. "How do you sit in this chair?"

"what?"

Wang Xi was taken aback for a moment, then said, "You can sit anywhere."

After saying that, he plopped down on it, then half-reclined, letting out a groan, "That feels so good."

"How disgraceful."

With a gentle shake of her head, Hongxiu placed a cushion beside the stove, saying, "Teacher, you can sit here."

He knelt on the mat.

Seeing this, Wang Xi could only take a step forward and kneel down beside the stove. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Teacher, how about we have some wine to warm ourselves up?"

Hongxiu frowned slightly and said, "Wang Xiaoque, this is an academy after all. You shouldn't drink alcohol normally."

Wang Xi said, "Our academy has always been known for its drinking culture."

Hongxiu said, "Even the teacher can't control you. You can drink, but the teacher won't."

Wang Xi glanced at the carefully prepared lunch served over a wood fire beside him with a sense of sullenness, and said, "It's no fun for a student to drink alone if the teacher doesn't drink."

A smug look flashed in Hongxiu's beautiful eyes, and she said, "Then let's see if this pinyin will work."

"Oh."

Wang Xi lay on the low table, propping his chin up with one hand, staring intently at Hongxiu.

Hongxiu gently scolded, "Why are you staring at your teacher like that?"

Wang Xi said, "Get ready to study!"

"???"

Hongxiu rolled her eyes at him and patted his arm, "Make way."

Wang Xi sat up straight, and Hongxiu immediately unfolded the scroll on the low table, pointing to the contents, "If you want to study, look at this."

"Oh."

Wang Xi nodded, but his eyes remained fixed on Hongxiu.

Hongxiu said, "If you don't learn, the teacher will leave."

"Study, study, study."

Wang Xi immediately straightened his posture.

An hour later.

"Teacher, you are really amazing. You were able to give each symbol the most perfect tone in such a short period of time."

Wang Xi held the scroll in disbelief.

Hongxiu said dejectedly, "I'm not as good as you. You were able to master it in less than an hour."

After saying that, she added, "Wang Xiaoque, you are actually very talented. If you study hard, you will definitely have a bright future."

Wang Xi immediately said, "Teacher, to be honest, I have always believed that I have extraordinary talent and am one in a million. It's just that those old men at the Imperial Academy don't know how to teach. Now that this has been proven, you are much better than those old men."

Hongxiu said, both amused and annoyed, "It's clearly your own laziness and lack of interest in studying that's to blame the professors at the Imperial Academy."

Wang Xi said, "I didn't dare to drink alcohol at the Imperial Academy, but I drink every day here. How can I still make progress in my studies?"

Hongxiu hesitated for a moment, then said, "That's because the teacher's teaching methods are excellent."

Wang Xi said, "Then how do you explain how quickly I learned from the teacher?"

".?"

Hongxiu was at a loss for words.

It seems that this is really the case.

Wang Xi then said, "Teacher, you must be hungry after teaching for so long. Well, I have prepared some food. Why don't we eat something first?"

He hadn't said anything, and Hongxiu hadn't thought anything of it. But now that he mentioned it, she did feel a bit hungry. She nodded, but then added, "But I won't drink."

She still couldn't accept drinking at the college.

"Then let's have some tea."

Wang Xi quickly brought out the food that had been prepared in advance.

"So lavish."

Hongxiu couldn't help but ask in surprise.

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "The food at our academy has always been plentiful."

Little did Li Jieman and the others expect that their hard-won efforts to oust Wang Xi would give him an opportunity to be alone with Hongxiu.

Not only were they surprised, but even Wang Shouyi was surprised. He felt inexplicably happy thinking about how he was drinking and eating meat at home while his son was outside in the wind and cold.

That kid really suffered.

It really wasn't easy!

Wang family.

"Are you really at ease letting Que'er and the others do it all, without anyone watching them?"

Princess Xue said with great concern.

Wang Shouyi said, "They went there to do good deeds, not to go sightseeing. What could possibly happen?"

At this point, he sighed, "Chang'an is a place full of relatives and friends. If I stand there, many people will come to inquire about the news, and then I will be in a difficult position. Letting Que'er and the others go will make it less likely that something will happen."

Princess Xue nodded slightly. This matter concerned the interests of all the nobles, and the Wang family was a noble family. If Wang Shouyi were to step forward, there was no doubt that many people would come to inquire about the matter. However, thinking of Wang Xi and Li Jieman, she felt that they were very unreliable and worriedly asked, "But can they handle this matter well?"

Wang Shouyi said, "Shangde sent Monk Nian to keep an eye on him. Although the child is a bit stubborn, he is meticulous and should be fine."

Before he could finish speaking, a shout came from outside, "Mother, your son is back."

A moment later, Wang Xi ran into the hall.

"Father, what are you doing here?" "What are you doing here, you brat?"

The father and son exchanged glances and spoke in unison.

Wang Shouyi immediately added, "Didn't you go to the outskirts to do good deeds?"

Wang Xi immediately said, "It was the teacher who asked me to stay at the hospital to assist Teacher Hongxiu in preparing the opera. But Father, our academy is only going there to do good deeds. The matter of the hidden households returning to their original residence is the responsibility of your Anye Bureau. Why are you at home?"

Wang Shouyi didn't know how to explain, so he could only say angrily, "How dare you interfere with your father's affairs? Besides, do you know how important this matter is to your father, yet you don't care at all?"

Wang Xi said, "So I thought Father would come in person. I was afraid that if I went, I would upset Father and cause him trouble, so I decided to stay at the academy."

Princess Xue was utterly speechless at the father and son. She shook her head, stood up, and left the hall.

Wang Xi immediately said, "Father, you've made Mother angry."

Wang Shouyi said, "It was clearly you who caused this?"

Wang Xi said, "How could it be my fault? I was just following your instructions, sir."

Wang Shouyi saw that he couldn't win the argument, so he said, "You dare to talk back? You need to be taught a lesson."

"Father, I'm going to comfort Mother." Wang Xi disappeared in a flash.

He certainly didn't go to find Princess Xue, but returned to his own courtyard and started shouting.

"Hua Daiyu! Hua Daiyu!"

"The servant is here."

Sister Hua quickly entered the courtyard and asked happily, "Young Master, what brings you to me so urgently?"

"Has Fa Cai returned?"

Wang Xi asked hurriedly.

Sister Hua's expression changed, and she raised her voice again, "So it turns out that the young master was in such a hurry to find me because of someone else, so that I would be happy for nothing. Since the young master is thinking about getting rich, why don't you go and ask him about it? I'll take my leave now."

"???"

Wang Xiren was dumbfounded. "Big sister, do I need to ask you when I see Wang Facai?"

Suddenly, a roar came from the other side of the wall: "Fa Cai hasn't come back yet!"

Wang Xi shuddered in fright, breaking out in a cold sweat, "This is terrible!"

Wang Facai did not return to the courtyard until evening.

"Young master, you're looking for me."

"How did things go?" Wang Xi asked.

Wang Facai said, "It's going very smoothly. Now every village is talking about this matter. Many hidden households are very interested. They are now watching to see if those hidden households who have already surrendered and confessed will get into trouble with the authorities."

Wang Xi smiled and nodded: "Well done, you didn't disappoint me."

The father and son spent their days slacking off, which greatly troubled Yuwen Rong, who was definitely the king of slacking off in his time.

He sent people to keep an eye on things every day. Before, he was worried that Wang Shouyi would take his job, but now he was worried that Wang Shouyi would ruin his big plans.

He will definitely take office next year and be fully responsible for reforms.

The worst fear is that Wang Shouyi will make a mess of things and leave him with a mess.

"Brother Yuwen."

"It's the Martial Master."

As Yuwen Rong was leaving the yamen and preparing to go home, he suddenly encountered Wu Xin.

Wu Xin walked over, looked Yuwen Rong up and down, and said, "Brother Yuwen, why do you look so worried? Have you encountered some trouble?"

“I’m not afraid of difficult things. No matter how difficult this matter is, there will be a solution. What I’m afraid of is encountering a foolish person,” Yuwen Rong sighed.

"A fool?"

"It's that Duke Qi."

Yuwen Rong sighed.

Upon hearing this, Wu Xin's eyes flickered a few times, and he said, "I've heard that Wuming Academy has been carrying out a lot of good deeds recently. I wonder how it's going?"

Yuwen Rong said irritably, "A bunch of纨绔 (sons of rich kids) taking palace prostitutes to the outskirts to eat, drink, and have fun, what can you do about it?"

Wu Xin said, "That's unlikely."

Yuwen Rong said, "My men saw it with their own eyes, how could it be false? Those lads all went with cooks and a whole sheep, and they stayed in the house eating, drinking and having fun every day. They came home drunk every day. It is said that only three or four hermits went to each place."

Wu Xin probed, "Didn't the Anye Bureau do anything about it?"

"Then let's not even mention it."

Yuwen Rong waved his hand repeatedly and said, "Anye Bureau is outside the city, but neither Duke Qi nor Huangfu Shangde have ever left the city gates."

After saying that, he lowered his voice and said, "According to what Duke Qi said, he was afraid of offending people, so he thought of letting Wuming Academy handle this matter."

A hint of joy flashed in Wu Xin's eyes, and he whispered, "Isn't this a good thing?"

Yuwen Rong glanced at him and sighed, "I know what you want to say. I was thinking the same thing, but I'm afraid those spoiled brats will ruin my plans. In the end, I'll have to take charge. If they make a mess of things, how will I deal with it?"

Wu Xin thought to himself, "If this really ruins things, that would be great. His Majesty will never use Wang Shouyi again."

This incident shows that the two men had very different goals. Although they had both hoped that Wang Shouyi would make a mistake, Yuwen Rong was afraid that Wang Shouyi would take his job. However, he did not expect that Wang Shouyi would be so useless that he would not even take a look at him. This was outrageous.

Wu Xin only cared about the Wang family; nothing else mattered. The more useless Wang Shouyi appeared, the happier he was.

Just then, a man came running up, panting, "Imperial Censor Yuwen, please wait, please wait."

Yuwen Rong turned around and saw that it was the patrolman he had arranged in the suburbs. He was startled and immediately turned around and walked quickly forward, "Could something have happened in the suburbs?"

The man nodded at first, then quickly shook his head.

Yuwen Rong asked, "What do you mean by this?"

The man then said, "Something has happened, but it's a good thing."

"Good thing?"

“Starting early this morning, a large number of unregistered individuals went to the No Name Academy’s place of doing good deeds to confess their crimes and turn themselves in.”

"what?"

Yuwen Rong asked, "Are you sure this is true?"

"real."

The man said, "I saw it all with my own eyes."

Wu Xin frowned and said, "Could it be that someone deliberately arranged this?"

"No, we were afraid it was a misunderstanding, so we even sent people to investigate. It's just a hidden house nearby, there's no mistake."

(End of this chapter)