Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 17 Be a Rebellious Son!
The historical records are correct. Li Longji is indeed very ambitious, working hard to govern the country, and he gets up at four o'clock almost every day to review memorials.

It can be summed up in one sentence: Have you ever seen the fourth watch of the night in Chang'an?

But that's precisely where the problem lies.

For the next ten years, Li Longji's goal was to achieve both civil and military success, and he wanted to revive the Tang Dynasty culture that had been dormant for ten years.

This was actually a very correct strategy, because the soft power of the Tang Dynasty was unparalleled, unmatched by any other dynasty in history. It was the pinnacle of feudal history, without exception.

The projection capability of soft power is far greater than that of hard power; soft power is indispensable for expanding territory.

Simply put, soft power is the way to power, while hard power is the way to power. Grasping both is the correct way to expand.

This painting technique was something that had never been seen before. Li Longji actually wanted to use this to convey a message to the court and the people that the court was now beginning to pay attention to cultural development.

An unknown person, simply by creating a painting technique, was able to gain an audience with the emperor—this was an extremely strong signal.

But for Wang Xi, this was absolutely a matter of life and death!

He demonstrated his painting skills simply to correct the foolish strategy of Wang Shouyi and Empress Wang, to avoid breaking the rules set by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and to design aesthetically pleasing clothing using limited materials, especially clothing that was covered up.

Little did they expect that they would gain Li Longji's attention.

Before he left, he ordered his men to summon the ringleaders to the academy.

College.

Wow! Wow!

When Wang Xi saw Li Jieman and the other two, he made a sarcastic remark, "Three filial sons, painting portraits of their father, wow, they are truly exemplary filial sons."

Li Jieman was quite annoyed by his sarcastic tone: "Brother Que, what's wrong with that?"

Wang Shuang added, "Yes! We've been in school for quite a few days, and our parents have been asking what we've learned. The wine hasn't been brewed yet, so all we can do is show off our painting skills. Besides, we're trying to please our parents so we can get some reward money. We've been pretty poor lately."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xi immediately asked, "Did you get it?"

Li Jieman chuckled and said, "They gave us a lot of good stuff, which we can exchange for some money."

Wang Xi said dejectedly, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Wang Shuang immediately looked at Li Jieman, "Xiaoman, didn't you say anything?"

Li Jieman blinked, then shook his head.

Wang Shuang said, "Xiaoman told me this, and I thought Xiaoman had told you as well."

Li Jie said, "You taught us this painting skill. I thought you must have already painted for my uncle and the others."

Wang Xi snorted, "I'm not as clever as you guys, thinking of using this painting to flatter Father."

He has already shown it, except that it was a drawing.

Li Jie said, "Then you really aren't clever enough."

"you!"

Wang Xi then said to Huangfu Sengnian, "Sengnian, I won't talk about those two. You usually look down on painting skills, but I never thought you would secretly learn them too."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "I was forced to do it. If I don't paint it, they will paint it for me, so I might as well paint it myself."

".!"

"Even so, you don't seem like the kind of person who would fawn over his father?"

"This is not flattery."

"Then what's this?"

"Didn't Brother Shuang just say that I've been in school for almost a month, and I have to show my parents some knowledge?"

".!"

Wang Xi was speechless.

Li Jieman suddenly said, "Brother Que, you're making a mountain out of a molehill. Why don't you just paint a picture for your uncle to cheer him up? Why did you have to call us all over here?"

Wang Shuang and Huangfu Sengnian both nodded silently.

Wang Xi said, "Do you think I have nothing better to do than call you here for something so trivial?"

Huangfu Sengnian asked, "What is the reason for that?"

Wang Xi said, "It is your filial piety that has moved Heaven, and even the Emperor knows about it."

"is it?"

Li Jie asked excitedly, "What did His Majesty say?" Wang Xi replied, "Of course he praised you for turning over a new leaf, saying that it is more precious than gold, and that it is a great virtue to know your mistakes and correct them!"

Li Jieman and Wang Shuang were overjoyed to hear this, but Huangfu Sengnian frowned and said with dissatisfaction, "What do you mean by a prodigal son returning home? I have never been a prodigal son."

"Ahem. That's not the point. The point is that His Majesty wants to invite Lao Tao to the palace to paint His Majesty's portrait."

"What? You want this old man to paint a portrait of His Majesty?! Huh?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a scream was heard from the doorway, followed by a thud.

The four turned around and saw Tao Mo lying unconscious on the threshold.

Li Jieman suddenly stood up, "Oh no! Old Tao has fainted from fright."

"Quickly pinch his philtrum," Wang Shuang said urgently.

Wang Xi quickly stopped him, "You guys are being too rough, don't pinch him too hard, or someone's urine will turn yellow and wake him up."

"I."

Li Jieman volunteered to step forward and immediately took off his pants.

"Mozi! Mozi!"

Tao Mo suddenly raised his hand, sat up, tilted his head back, and looked at Wang Xi with a mournful face, "Young master, my painting skills are not as good as yours. If I were to enter the palace to paint a portrait for the Emperor, it would definitely be exposed. This is a crime of deceiving the Emperor, and I don't want to die!"

His cry startled Li Jieman, Wang Shuang, and Huangfu Sengnian, who finally realized how serious the problem was.

The crime of deceiving the emperor?

Wow!

Wang Xi roared at Li Jieman and the others, "Filial piety, filial piety, filial piety has brought disaster upon us now!"

"I'm so unfilial, so unfilial, I'm so unfilial!" Wang Shuang cried helplessly, tugging at Wang Xi's sleeve. "Brother Que, what are we going to do now? We're accomplices too!"

Tao Mo stared at Wang Shuang in shock. "You are clearly the principal offenders, and I am the accomplice!"
However, no one paid attention to his feelings. Huangfu Sengnian said, "If Old Tao were to enter the palace, he would definitely be found out; it would be impossible to hide it from him."

"Yes Yes."

Tao Mo nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice, "With my clumsy drawing skills, I can't hide it at all!"

Wang Xi was furious at his lack of ambition, saying, "I always tell you to study harder, but you just laugh and joke around. You fall asleep when you read, and you slack off when you brew wine. You're neither good at literature nor martial arts. When it comes to last-minute preparation, you can't muster even a shred of strength. You're a piece of trash."

This harsh reprimand almost made Tao Mo revert to a childlike state, leaving him with teary eyes.

Wang Shuang felt a chill run down his spine. "Brother Que, when did you become so good at scolding people?"

Wang Xi snorted, "I get scolded at home every day. Even if I were an idiot, I would still learn it."

Wang Shuang muttered to herself, "I get scolded every day too."

Tao Mo said with a wronged expression, "Young master, I have tried my best, but I am old and my strength is failing me!"

Wang Xi said, "Still talking back. You're the worst artist in the class, what's the point of you trying!"

Tao Mo dared not argue back, and could only ask pitifully, "Then what should we do now?"

"I was just thinking about it."

Wang Xi frowned, then suddenly noticed Tao Mo's legs shaking so badly they were almost blurry. "Can you please stop shaking? You don't even need to say a word; just standing in front of the Emperor will give you away."

Tao Mo subconsciously pressed his hands against his legs, but couldn't stop himself from trembling. He immediately cried out, "Young master, I'm just a wandering doctor. How can I not tremble when I suddenly have to see the Emperor?"

Trembling? Wang Xi's eyes widened. "Then why don't we turn the tables on them?"

Huangfu Sengnian asked, "How can we turn the tables on them?"

Wang Xi suddenly grabbed Tao Mo's wrist. "Why are you trembling?"

Tao Mo said, "I'm scared!"

"No!"

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "You're sick."

"ill?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about that for now. What we need to do now is to get our statements straight and make sure there are no more mishaps."

Realizing the enormity of his mistake, Wang Shuang immediately pledged his loyalty, "Brother Que, don't worry, we'll never be filial sons again, we'll be rebellious sons."

(End of this chapter)