Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 162 I'm Not a Scumbag (Happy New Year)

After Zhang Jiazhen left, Wang Shouyi informed Princess Xue of the matter.

This was somewhat sudden for anyone.

Princess Xue was no exception; she looked at Wang Shouyi with a puzzled expression.

This was because there was absolutely no warning beforehand, considering that the Turkic princess had come as a Turkic prince.

Wang Shouyi didn't know how to explain it either, so he could only say that their son was outstanding.

However, Princess Xue was a member of the royal family and was not unfamiliar with the matter. Moreover, she was well aware of the advantages and disadvantages involved and quickly realized that this was actually entirely beneficial to the royal family. Even if the Tang and the Turks broke off relations, it would not affect the royal family.

There are many examples now. Chang'an is home to many nobles from various ethnic groups. Some of their families were no longer powerful in their own countries or tribes, and some had even fled to Chang'an. However, the Tang Dynasty still treated them with courtesy, just in case they might come in handy later.

If the Tang Dynasty sends troops to help them, they will have the opportunity to return to the grasslands and regain control of their tribes.

Overall, starting with Li Shimin, the Tang Dynasty was better at calculating the costs of war than any other dynasty. They would devise many external strategies and lay many traps beforehand, causing internal divisions and economic difficulties before finally launching military campaigns.

But if the relationship is very good, it's like giving the Wang family an extra layer of protection.

In addition to the previous incident involving Hongxiu, Princess Xue was also eager to arrange for Wang Xicheng to marry into the family to prevent future troubles.

Once Wang Xi gets married, even if he wants to take Hongxiu as a concubine, Princess Xue will certainly have no objection. She only cares that Wang Xi wants to marry Hongxiu, which is something she cannot accept.

Therefore, Princess Xue also strongly agreed with this.

However, they were unaware that Wang Xi already knew about this matter, and since the emperor had not yet spoken to Wang Shouyi, they kept quiet for fear of unforeseen changes.

However, after Wang Xi returned, the couple subtly inquired whether he had any impression of the Turkic prince.

Wang Xi also pretended to be stupid with them.

Because such matters should first be discussed with the parents, but Li Longji favored Wang Xi too much, so he chose to discuss it with Wang Xi first.

The following day, Li Longji summoned Wang Shouyi to discuss the matter.

Wang Shouyi had one condition: Wang Xi must not be allowed to go to the grasslands; a princess must marry into the family, as he only had this one son.

Li Longji practically patted his chest and guaranteed that he would never let Wang Xi go to the grasslands. Even if Wang Shouyi were willing, he wouldn't be able to bear it.

Once it was confirmed, Wang Shouyi and Princess Xue informed Wang Xi of the matter.

Wang Xi naturally bragged a lot, saying that it was perfectly normal for him to be interested in me, nothing surprising.

Princess Xue giggled, then affectionately stroked Wang Xi's head. "Que'er, you're about to get married, you need to be more sensible!"

Wang Xi said aggrievedly, "But I'm still young!"

What's the point of being sensible? It's much more fun to act recklessly.

"Not too young."

Wang Shouyi said casually, "You are the only son of my Wang family. You must get married quickly and have more children to continue the Wang family line."

Wang Xi's eyes darted around. "Father, if you want to have many children, getting married early isn't actually that helpful. The key is to find several more men so that you can have many children."

"You little rascal, you haven't changed at all."

Wang Shouyi laughed and said, "After you get married, you can handle things yourself. Your mother and I won't interfere in these matters."

Actually, they hadn't interfered before, but it was only when Empress Wang encountered a crisis that the couple began to restrain Wang Xi to a limited extent.

Princess Xue said, "Even if she is a concubine, she must come from a respectable family. We cannot bring just anyone into the house."

After all, Wang Xi had been quite outrageous in this regard in the past, but what she meant was that as long as the family background was clean, you could date whoever you wanted.

"I know, kid."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Father, Mother, I want to go and see that Turkic princess first."

Wang Shouyi joked, "What? Are you worried she's mistaken someone for someone else?"

"Of course not."

Wang Xi said, "I just wanted to go and play with her."

"But is this in accordance with etiquette?" Wang Shouyi asked.

Wang Xi asked, "Do the Turks also observe these customs?"

Wang Shouyi was unsure, so he looked to the princess of Xue, who was better at this matter.

Princess Xue pondered for a moment and said, "It's fine to meet them, but don't act impulsively and anger them."

Wang Xi said, "I love her so much, how could I possibly anger the little princess?"

Princess Xue rolled her eyes at him, then shook her head with a smile.

After Princess Xue returned to her room, Wang Xi suddenly approached Wang Shouyi and said with a grin, "Father, when I go to see that little princess, I should bring some gifts, right?"

Wang Shouyi said, "I will have Uncle Fu prepare it, you don't need to worry about it."

Wang Xi scoffed, "What does Uncle Fu know?"

Wang Shouyi said, amused and exasperated, "Do you even understand?"

"Of course I understand."

Wang Xi leaned closer and whispered, "Father, could you get me a few sets of thrifty stockings?"

Snapped!
"Ouch!"

Wang Xi covered her head and squatted down. "Oh my god, how come I haven't developed immunity to this yet? It seems that my skull is my most vulnerable spot."

Wang Shouyi pointed at him fiercely, "You brat, what are you thinking about every day? On our first meeting, you gave her stockings, the kind that's supposed to be thrifty and practical. What will that little princess think of you?"

"Father has misunderstood."

Wang Xi said angrily, "I only wanted to give it to the little princess's father, who is also my future father-in-law, not to the little princess. Do you think I don't understand this?"

"You intend to give those stockings to the Turkic Khan?"

Wang Shouyi almost fainted from anger. "You might as well give him to the little princess. What kind of thing did I give birth to? What was he thinking?"

Wang Xi, however, said matter-of-factly, "Why not? His Majesty likes it too."

Wang Shouyi was taken aback.

Wang Xi said, “We’re all men, who doesn’t like those thrifty stockings? If I gave some ordinary gifts, the Khan wouldn’t care, and might just give them to someone around him. But these stockings, the Khan will definitely keep them for himself, and might even give them to the little princess’s mother. With just one gift, I can please both of them. I’m so clever. Now that I’ve won over the Turkic Khan and the little princess’s mother, they won’t make things difficult for me when I go to fetch the bride.”

Wang Shouyi thought about it and it seemed to make sense. He would definitely like it, but it was really inappropriate for a son-in-law to give his father-in-law this kind of thing. "Are you sure this won't backfire?"

Wang Xi said, "Father, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. If someone doesn't have it, that's the best gift. If I give them some ordinary silk, they won't care."

After much deliberation, Wang Shouyi was actually persuaded by Wang Xi, saying, "Father can help you with this, but if anything goes wrong, you're dead meat."

Wang Xi said, "Father, don't worry, I have experience."

"Where did you get your experience from?" Wang Shouyi asked curiously.

Wang Xi looked at Wang Shouyi.

Wang Shouyi blinked. So that's what I was thinking. It seems that's really true.

An unnamed academy.

"???"

Huangfu Sengnian looked at Wang Xi in astonishment, "You said you want to marry a Turkic princess?"

Just a few days ago he was going to become the dean, and now he's about to become a Turkic son-in-law.

this..

You, my favored minister, have truly risen to great heights!

Wang Xi nodded. "She specifically asked to marry me, but it's her who's marrying into the family, not me moving in as her son-in-law."

"You agreed?" Li Jieman asked anxiously.

“Of course,” Wang Xi nodded. “This will be helpful to His Majesty.”

Li Jieman then asked, "What about the teacher?" Wang Xi replied, "Are these two things in conflict?"

Shameless!
His three friends all gave him disdainful looks at the same time.

Wang Shuang added, "But you can only marry one wife. Do you expect me to make my teacher your concubine? I won't agree to that."

Although they initially sought out Hongxiu simply to experience what it was like to be a female teacher, after spending the last six months together, they genuinely came to regard Hongxiu as their teacher, including Wang Xi himself.

Wang Xi said, "His Majesty has already promised me that he will grant me another marriage, which means I can marry two wives. Aren't you envious?"

Huangfu Sengnian shook his head and said, "How can there be such a shameless person in this world?"

Li Jieman and Wang Shuang nodded at the same time, and then sat down next to Huangfu Sengnian.

"You guys, sigh..."

Wang Xi sighed: "Don't misunderstand me. The reason I act so calm and collected is simply because I'm an optimistic person. Do you think I want to be controlled by others?"

There was no other way. Firstly, this was what His Majesty wished for, and as a favored minister, I could not disappoint him.

Secondly, marrying the Turkic princess would also be of great benefit to my aunt.

"I must first save my life before I can marry my teacher. If I have no power or influence, let alone having three wives and four concubines, I'll have a hard time even getting a wife."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "I didn't say you did anything wrong, I just said you are extremely shameless."

Wang Xi rolled her eyes and cursed inwardly, "This nitpicker."

Li Jieman scoffed softly, "If that Turkic princess weren't so beautiful, would you have agreed?"

Wang Xi immediately replied, "Of course not."

Li Jieman gave this guy a disdainful look and said, "Even if your idea is good, what will the teacher say?"

Wang Xi said, "Of course I'll be frank. I'll go tell the teacher later that I'm just a womanizer, but I'm not a liar."

Li Jie asked, "Can I go with you?"

Wang Xi asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Learn from it."

Li Jie said, "If I encounter this situation in the future, I will know how to handle it."

"roll!"

"Wang Xiaoque?"

Hongxiu was in her office, busy preparing for the opera adaptation of Dream of the Red Chamber, when she suddenly noticed Wang Xi appearing at the door.

Wang Xi rubbed his hands together shyly and asked, "Teacher, are you busy right now?"

"not busy."

Hongxiu smiled and said, "Come in."

Although the incident with Princess Xue had created some distance between them, Hongxiu wasn't the type of woman to hold grudges. Since things had come to this, why bother arguing? She treated Wang Xi the same as always.

"Hey!"

Wang Xi glanced around and then darted inside.

Hongxiu felt a bit helpless, as if it were an affair, and asked, "Is there something you need?"

Wang Xi said, "Teacher, I'm getting married."

Hongxiu stared blankly at Wang Xi.

What are you up to now, kid?

Wang Xi hurriedly said, "Teacher, please don't panic. The bride is not a teacher."

Hongxiu was immediately filled with shame and anger, and spat out, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "It's like this, His Majesty has ordered me to marry that Turkic princess."

Hongxiu looked at Wang Xi suspiciously and said, "Are you kidding me?"

This was indeed too sudden; everyone's reaction was roughly the same.

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "This is not something to joke about. It was just decided yesterday."

Hongxiu was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Then I must congratulate you."

Wang Xi asked, "Isn't the teacher sad at all?"

Hongxiu rolled her eyes and laughed, "This is a joyous occasion, why should the teacher be sad?"

After a slight pause, he added, "Actually, this is for the best. Your mother won't have to think about it so much in the future."

This is actually an implication that you shouldn't overthink it anymore.

Actually, she had noticed Wang Xi's little schemes from the beginning, but she was used to it. She just thought Wang Xi was young, so she was very tolerant of it.

It wasn't until she starred alongside Wang Xi in "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" that she truly felt a connection to the play, and coupled with the story of Shang Gongbu, she was deeply moved.

However, having spent many years in Pingkangfang and witnessed countless romantic encounters, she was still able to restrain herself well and knew how to handle the situation. In fact, from a rational point of view, whether in terms of age or social status, there was no room for imagination between her and Wang Xi.

For her, this was actually a burden.

Therefore, when she learned that Wang Xi was getting married, although she had some strange feelings, she felt much more relaxed and at ease overall.

Wang Xi pursed her lips and said, "Actually, I didn't want to agree, but His Majesty's conditions were too good, so I agreed."

Hongxiu asked instinctively, "What are the conditions?"

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "It means His Majesty promised to overturn the verdict on my teacher's father and clear my teacher's name of that injustice."

Hongxiu was stunned and stared blankly at Wang Xi.

Wang Xi asked, "Teacher, are you alright?"

Hongxiu asked in a trembling voice, "What you just said, was it... really true?"

"of course it's true."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "If it weren't for these conditions, I definitely wouldn't have agreed. The teacher will receive the news soon."

Red tears welled up in Hongxiu's eyes. She bit her lip tightly and choked out, "Actually... you didn't have to do this for me."

Then just offer yourself to me! What are you waiting for?! Damn it! Wang Xi asked anxiously, "So, Teacher, you'd rather I not marry that Turkic princess?"

Hongxiu was slightly taken aback, then lightly stamped her foot. "Of course, of course not. If you keep talking nonsense like this, I won't talk to you anymore."

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "Actually, there's no need for the teacher to be too moved. The student is just thinking of himself. When His Majesty overturns the verdict against the teacher's father, hehe, then my mother's worries will be dispelled. I'm truly a genius, killing two birds with one stone."

Hongxiu, who had been deeply moved, suddenly became annoyed. "So...so you are..."

"Yes Yes."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "I have no intention of following the example of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. When faced with a problem, we should solve it. Taking one's own life is the act of a coward."

"get out."

Hongxiu pointed to the doorway.

"teacher!"

"go out."

"Oh!"

Wang Xi glanced pitifully at Hongxiu, but seeing her glare at him with her phoenix eyes, he left dejectedly.

After Wang Xi left, Hongxiu suddenly took out a jade pendant from her neck, her jade hand tightly gripping the pendant, tears streaming down her face.

And that is the allure of power.

For Hongxiu, this was an impossible task, but for Wang Xi, it was just a matter of a word.

(End of this chapter)