I am a thief in the Tang Dynasty

This grandfather who dotes on his daughter to the point of letting her go is really lucky.

At the same time, the gentlemen sighed in their hearts: Their daughters are all very smart, why don’t they think of letting them learn some strange and clever skills!

Dai Wanwan was stunned by the reward. After meeting Li Shimin's kind eyes, she came back to her senses. She was so happy that she wiped her tears quickly, choked up and bowed, saying:

"Thank you, Your Majesty! I will live up to your trust and serve the Tang Dynasty with all my heart!"

Li Shimin stroked his beard with satisfaction.

Then, his astonished eyes fell on Fang Yiyi, with an undisguised smile of relief on his face, and he spoke briskly:

"Fang Yiyi, you are the third son of the Fang family, Fang Xingzhi. In just a few days, you have brought me another huge surprise and made an unprecedented contribution to the Tang Dynasty! Your contribution will last for thousands of years. I am really having a headache about how to reward you."

Chapter 88: A Family of Two Dukes

Everyone was dumbfounded.

No, this new waterwheel was built by Fang Yiyi, the third son of the Fang family?

When did he learn mechanical arts?

Are you kidding me?

Did the emperor say something wrong, or did they hear it wrong?

These old foxes all cast inquiring eyes on Fang Xuanling, who was also shocked and a little flustered.

They all looked as if they knew nothing.

There was a surge of shock in everyone's hearts.

Especially Du Ruhui and Cheng Yaojin.

One had a dark face, his mouth twitching, and his eyes were full of regret.

He gritted his teeth, pulled hard at his carefully maintained beard, and looked at Fang Yiyi with eyes as if he wanted to eat him!

"Your Majesty, I am so humbled by your praise. I just saw that the people had difficulty getting water, and I had an idea. I discussed it with Yan Xuansui and Dai Wanwan, and I didn't expect that they could actually do it. The two of them contributed the most and should be credited with the greatest credit!"

Fang Yiyi humbly saluted with his arms crossed and bowed to decline the offer.

This humble and polite attitude made the gentlemen look strange.

Fang Yiyi was an uneducated and dissolute man, and everyone in Chang'an knew it.

On that day, Fang Xuanling donated 20% of the coal mines to the emperor and relayed Fang Yiyi's words of great righteousness. They all thought that Fang Xuanling had made them up just to piss off Cheng Yaojin.

But now, they saw it with their own eyes. What Fang Yiyi said was so beautiful!

If you still don't believe that Fang Yiyi has changed his personality and become wise.

That means there is something wrong with their eyes and brains.

Everyone looked at Fang Yiyi with a different look.

This kid is incomparable and will surely achieve great success!

They must change their attitude towards Fang Yiyi and the Fang family.

Du Ruhui had a bitter face, took a quick deep breath, kept himself calm, and comforted himself in his heart:

"It's a foregone conclusion and cannot be changed. Once Er Niang recovers from her illness and moves into the Cheng residence, Cheng Chubi will also have such good fortune!"

"A match made in heaven, my Du family is one of them! Good luck may come late, but it will come. I am not envious, I am not jealous!"

Cheng Yaojin's eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth and whispered:

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! This is all fake!"

"No, mine, all of this should belong to my Cheng family!"

Fang Yiyi married the princess who should have belonged to their Cheng family. What a great fortune!

All of this should belong to their Cheng family!

Thinking that he had lost his good daughter-in-law and his own coal mine, he invented a new waterwheel that would be of great benefit to future generations.

All these benefits and achievements should belong to his son Cheng Chubi!

Cheng Yaojin was envious and jealous!

He lost control of his hands and immediately pulled out a small tuft of his beard, causing him to grimace in pain and tears to flow from his eyes.

Yuchi Gong, who was standing aside, looked at his brother with a strange expression, glanced at him with pity, and warned him in a low voice:

"Yaojin, you must stay calm today no matter what. If you spoil the emperor's mood again, it will not be as simple as just facing the wall and thinking about your mistakes!"

Cheng Yaojin pursed his lips, clenched his fists as big as casserole pots, and nodded heavily.

He was not stupid. No matter how angry or jealous he was, he knew that he could not do anything out of line today.

Seeing this, Yuchi Gong breathed a sigh of relief and at the same time glanced at Qin Qiong and Li Jing.

The three of them formed a pincer attack and blocked Cheng Yaojin behind them.

Li Shimin looked at Fang Yiyi's humility and his eyes showed even more appreciation.

He laughed heartily with satisfaction and said:

"What a good Fang Xingzhi! The name your grandfather gave you is really fitting."

"In that case, since you are not feeling well and cannot serve as an official for the time being, I will confer a noble title on you. To prevent you from becoming proud, you will be a male of Lantian County for the time being!"

"I look forward to your Fang family becoming a family with two dukes!"

Chapter 89 Is this a punishment? It's obviously protection!

Fang Yiyi no longer refused, and smiled as he accepted the credit:

"Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty! I will work hard for Your Majesty's wishes."

Being a fifth-rank baron was a very high honor, and it demonstrated the emperor's high regard for Fang Yiyi.

Moreover, the title is so important that a fifth-rank baron would not be exchanged for a fourth-rank official with real power!

But the credit for improving the new waterwheel is not enough for just one baron.

Think about Yan Xuansui, who, with just his auxiliary contributions, was given a smooth path to the imperial court.

Dai Wanwan even asked the emperor to break the old calendar and let her, a woman, serve as a government official.

Even though Fang Yiyi is in poor health, he is not able to hold any official position for the time being.

But only giving him a fifth-rank county male title was not at all what the kind-hearted and generous Li Shimin wanted.

The gentlemen were all old foxes and they immediately realized that there was something wrong.

However, no one dared to ask Li Shimin in person.

Everyone looked deeply at Fang Yiyi who was calm and composed.

Yan Xuansui, who was standing aside, frowned and wanted to take credit for his brother, but when he saw that Fang Yiyi looked normal, he remembered that he had asked him to watch a play last night, so he waited patiently for what would happen next.

as predicted.

Li Shimin smiled, patted Fang Yiyi's shoulder heavily, and then grabbed him fiercely.

The enormous force made Fang Yiyi's face look painful.

When the emperor is angry, he can dim the sun and the moon.

Li Shimin, who had just been smiling with relief, suddenly tensed his face and the power of the emperor spread out instantly.

The people around them shuddered all over, feeling terrified, and immediately saluted and bowed.

The loud voice was full of displeasure and echoed in everyone's ears.

"Fang Yiyi failed to supervise properly, causing the new waterwheel sketch to be circulated among the people, and leaking royal secrets. He deserves death!"

"Considering his hard work and contribution to the country, his merits outweigh his faults. He shall be punished by being confined to his home for two days and not allowed to serve as an official in the court for one year."

Fang Yiyi immediately begged for mercy in panic:

"Your Majesty, I really didn't mean it!"

"Last night, a demonic wind blew the sketch up into the sky, leaving it among the people. This is God's will, and you cannot blame me."

"I beg the Emperor to show mercy and reduce the punishment. Can I not hold office for half a year?"

"My subject has just gotten married, so he must make achievements and get promoted and given a higher rank!"

Li Shimin pretended to think deeply, but responded decisively:

"You have a heart that cares about the country and a talent for governing it. One year is indeed too long. How about half a year?"

"This is settled. Come, take Fang Yiyi to the Lingyan Pavilion to reflect on his mistakes!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Fang Yiyi bowed with gratitude, and was then 'invited' away by two eunuchs who arrived later.

Everyone in the field had a very strange expression.

What's worse, his face suddenly turned gloomy, and his eyes with hidden resentment swept over Li Shimin and Fang Yiyi.

All those with unfriendly faces were officials from the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families, or people who had close interests in the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families.

Who can't see the poor acting skills of Li Shimin and Fang Yiyi?

Is this a punishment?

It's obviously protection!

They were punished by being sent to the Lingyan Pavilion to reflect on their mistakes for two days, which prevented people from getting angry and doing bad things.

Two days were enough for Li Shimin to calm the anger of all parties and put Fang Yiyi out of danger.

The punishment of barring him from holding any official position for half a year is simply nonsense.

Fang Yiyi is a weak and sickly guy. It may take him a year to recover and become an official. This punishment is just a casual remark, it's nonsense!

Chapter 90 What a crime

The sketch of the new waterwheel was distributed among the people, and then the common people used the new high-efficiency waterwheel.

The aristocratic families wanted to jointly control the water wheel with Li Tang as they did before, so as to control the local water conservancy and use it to imprison the people, but this was futile.

If they directly cut off the river, they would incur the wrath of God and the resentment of the people. Even without Li Shimin taking action, the people would not forgive them.

This move directly won Li Tang countless hearts of the people, even if they wanted to find an excuse to change their surnames and become emperor.

But now the people are in favor of the Tang Dynasty, and the entire country is united in dealing with the Eastern Turks. The military power is in the hands of Li Shimin. Anyone who makes any small move will become the target of public criticism, giving Li Shimin an excellent opportunity to strike hard.

Every one of the five surnames and seven families wanted to eat Fang Yiyi alive.

Yan Xuansui had expected this, but he didn't expect that the show would be so interesting and exciting. He was stunned.

I was even more shocked and admired by Fang Yiyi's fearlessness and lofty ambitions.

By the time he reacted, Fang Yiyi had already been taken away, and he didn't even have the chance to give him a thumbs up.

Li Shimin threw his dragon robe and angrily shouted:

"What a weak and ignorant dandy, he couldn't even hold a piece of paper and it was blown away by the wind. I am so angry."

"Gentlemen, I am tired, please go away!"

After saying this, Li Shimin walked away with a sullen face but his head held high.

Anyone could see from the brisk footsteps that the emperor was in a good mood.

When Li Shimin mounted his horse, his eyes swept over several people before he rode away.

All this happened too quickly and too shockingly, and those people from the Five Surnames and Seven Families had no chance to find fault with Li Shimin.

Everyone looked unfriendly at Duke of Wei Fang Xuanling, who had cold sweat on his forehead and a panicked expression.

The grandfather of the culprit was frightened by those looks. He felt his legs go weak and his back was soaked with cold sweat.

Fang Xuanling cursed in his heart:

"You little brat, you didn't even discuss this important matter with me, your grandfather!"

"You have to make it so big and even drag the emperor into the fun!"