Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 101 Smiling on the outside, cursing on the inside
Imperial City.

noon.

Having just finished the meeting, Li Longji led a group of ministers toward the garden behind the palace.

As he walked, he said with a smile, "Recently, you gentlemen have been working tirelessly to assist me in governing the country. You have all made great contributions. Since tomorrow is a holiday, I have specially chosen today to host a banquet to reward you all."

It's clear he's in a very good mood today.

"This is my duty, and the task is not yet complete, so how dare I ask for a reward?" Yuan Qianyao quickly bowed and said.

Li Longji chuckled and said, "Please let me finish. I also want to take this opportunity to judge whether Dream of the Red Chamber is considered decadent. The people from the Nameless Academy are already waiting in the garden."

Before he could finish speaking, the censor Pan Haoli stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is official business. How can we drink and talk about it in the garden? What kind of behavior is this? If word gets out, it will surely attract criticism."

Recently, the imperial censors have been frantically monitoring the emperor. If the emperor slacks off even for a moment, they will give him a warning, either tactfully or directly.

This made Li Longji somewhat depressed.

It wasn't that he wanted to slack off, but rather that he was very clear in his heart that these ministers were doing this to avenge the grudge of capturing and releasing Cao Cao.

At that time, he really put these ministers through their wringer.

Although he knew this, he had no choice but to endure it because the other side had more people and he had not yet accomplished his great task.

But today, Li Longji was not angry at all. He kept a smile on his lips and, upon hearing Pan Haoli's words, a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes.

Zhang Shuo saw this and thought to himself, "The emperor came here for this very reason. The more you say this, the more pleased the emperor will become."

You want revenge, huh? I'll use the same trick again and make you furious.

This shows that the emperor and his ministers are currently of one mind, and they are just playing tricks and will not actually fight each other.

Li Qiao suddenly stood up and said, "Imperial Censor Pan, there are two sides to this. If His Majesty was resting just now, then what you say is not wrong. But His Majesty was discussing important state affairs with us just now."

Now, even during mealtimes, he's handling trivial matters. Throughout history, such a diligent ruler is extremely rare.

Pan Haoli had never liked these relatives of the imperial family, and seeing Li Qiao's obsequious manner only fueled his anger, though he didn't know how to refute them.

If it were any other official business, then you would be right to say that, but the key is that this kind of official business is best handled during a meal!

Li Longji chuckled modestly, "It's not as serious as Prince Sipu makes it out to be. It's just that the Dream of the Red Chamber incident has caused quite a stir. Although it's not a big deal, I have to deal with it personally. However, I don't want to delay important state affairs because of this, so I can only take advantage of this break to handle it."

Pan Haoli could only say, "Your Majesty must take care of your health."

Li Longji chuckled a few times, his laughter filled with smugness.

The ministers behind him were frustrated.

I knew he was being cunning, but there was nothing I could do about it.

They were all thinking, "Let you be smug now, but we'll have to give that nameless man a good 'welcome' later. We can't bully you, but we can't bully him either."

Upon arriving at the garden, they found Tao Mo waiting there with six students: Wang Xi, Huangfu Sengnian, Wang Shuang, Li Jieman, Cui Guer, and Xue Jun.

Upon seeing Li Longji arrive, the group hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects.

"Sir, how have you been?" Li Longji greeted him with a smile, as if he were meeting an old friend.

Things have escalated to this point, and they are now on the same side.

Tao Mo hurriedly replied, "Thanks to Your Majesty's grace, I have been in good health recently."

"That's fine, that's fine."

Li Longji suddenly looked around and asked curiously, "Does Hongxiu know the future?"

"You pervert, go ahead and covet your own daughter-in-law, but don't even think about my woman, or I'll give you a taste of your own medicine," Wang Xi cursed inwardly.

Tao Mo said, "Your Majesty, Lady Hong has not arrived."

Li Longji nodded, slightly disappointed.

Zhang Jia-zhen suddenly stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, what does this matter have to do with Hongxiu Duzhi?"

Li Longji coughed and said, "I was just asking casually, is that not allowed?"

After saying that, he realized that he seemed to have gotten a little carried away, so he quickly sat down and warmly greeted everyone, "Please sit down, everyone."

Let's quickly skip this topic.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After taking their seats, Li Longji went straight to the point, asking Tao Mo, "Sir, I've heard that you wrote *Dream of the Red Chamber*. Is that true?"

Tao Mo was completely numb to deceiving the emperor. Deceiving the emperor was a capital offense, so there was no difference between deceiving once and deceiving countless times. He calmly replied, "Your Majesty, the main plot of the story was conceived by me, but these students also helped me a lot. It cannot be said that I wrote it all by myself."

As he spoke, he gestured toward Wang Xi and the others standing to the side.

"is it?"

Li Longji glanced at Wang Xi and the others, and said, "Sir, please don't be so modest!"

Huangfu Sengnian muttered to himself, "They really look down on people."

In fact, he deserves great credit for this story. It's impossible for Wang Xi to have memorized the entire Dream of the Red Chamber. He only wrote the outline and some classic dialogues. The rest was almost entirely written by Huangfu Sengnian.

Tao Mo nodded and said, "This humble servant dares not deceive Your Majesty, because the background and characters of the story are not from my social class. Therefore, I often consult my students about many details."

"I see." Li Longji chuckled and said, "Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me. This must be your teaching method, sir."

His words implied to Tao Mo that today they were comrades-in-arms, and he should put on a good show for him.

Zhang said they, of course, understood the implied meaning: "Fine, fine, we're the real enemy!" They were so angry they were practically grinding their teeth. "Exactly."

Tao Mo said, "The students are also very interested in making up stories."

Li Longji nodded and said, "It is said that this story is very well written and has caused a sensation. I have heard of it in the palace."

Tao Mo said, "I am flattered by everyone's kindness. To be honest, Your Majesty, this is far beyond my expectations."

Li Longji continued, "But precisely because of this, we should be cautious about the content to avoid causing a bad influence. Recently, some people have suggested that Dream of the Red Chamber is decadent. I wonder what your opinion is on this?"

Tao Mo pretended to ponder for a moment, then said, "Anyone who can say that Dream of the Red Chamber is decadent must have an extremely profound understanding of it, and I wholeheartedly agree."

Upon hearing this, everyone present was taken aback.

I've seen people confess their crimes, but I've never seen one like this.

And a deep understanding.

Zhang Jiuling couldn't help but frown. He had thought Tao Mo would refute him, but he never expected him to admit it so directly.

Li Longji was immediately dumbfounded. "Brother, don't get me into trouble!"
The most panicked person wasn't Li Longji, but Li Qiao, who was frantically wiping away sweat. He was truly being led by the nose by his son and had no confidence at all.

Standing to the side, Li Jieman muttered to himself, "Look how scared I've made Father."

Wang Xi asked, "So, were you enjoying it?"

"It was pretty fun."

Li Jieman bit his lip, desperately trying to suppress his laughter.

Wang Xi said regretfully, "It's a pity my father didn't come, otherwise we could have scared him together, since he always beats me."

Li Longji's expression changed, and he frowned slightly, saying with displeasure, "Sir, you are a man of great learning and talent. Why would you promote such decadent music? Is it perhaps for the sake of fame?"

If you continue like this, there's nothing I can do to help you.

Tao Mo immediately said, "Your Majesty may have misunderstood something."

"Misunderstanding?" Li Longji said somewhat angrily, "I originally thought there was some misunderstanding, which is why I sent you to the palace to tell me about Dream of the Red Chamber. But now it seems there is no misunderstanding at all."

Tao Mo said, "Your Majesty, what I actually mean is that the story of Dream of the Red Chamber is about decadent music, not that I want to promote decadent music."

Li Longji's mind went blank for a moment, and he asked, "What...what exactly is going on?"

Tao Mo said, "I believe that this decadent music is not in the book, but in the deep mansion."

"In the depths of a mansion?" Li Longji seemed to understand the reasoning behind it.

Zhang Jiuling stroked his goatee and thought to himself, "Wonderful! Wonderful! You are truly a divine man. A single word makes all the difference."

Tao Mo continued, "That's right. In those grand mansions, decadent music permeates everywhere, but everyone is burying their heads in the sand and pretending not to see it."

The story of *Dream of the Red Chamber* depicts the decadent lifestyle within the grand mansions of the wealthy and powerful. My intention, however, is to use this story to warn the world: if such decadent music exists only in books, it is harmless; but if it permeates reality, it will lead to the downfall of the nation.

"I see." Li Longji suddenly realized.

Even Zhang Shuo couldn't help but show a hint of admiration in his eyes.

At first glance, there seems to be no difference between "decadent music" and "talking about decadent music," but upon closer examination, their purposes are completely opposite.

Tao Mo continued, “I have never cared about fame or fortune. It was only by chance that I met a few beloved disciples. I only wanted to teach these students well. It was Your Highness who incorporated my vivid teaching method into the education reform and hoped that I could produce some works to revitalize the culture of our Great Tang Dynasty.”

Therefore, it was only by being a petty person that the Dream of the Red Chamber was created.

Then, the prince thought the story was excellent and hoped to promote it. I was deeply grateful for the emperor's favor and, after discussing it with the prince, I decided to have my students perform it at a restaurant for charity. All the profits would be donated to the court to help those who wished to return to their hometowns.

Firstly, it would repay the Emperor's grace; secondly, it would help care for the people. That's the gist of the whole matter.

Li Longji's expression changed drastically, but he became happy again and laughed, saying, "Sir, your righteousness is truly righteous!"

After saying that, he suddenly looked at Zhang Jiuling and asked, "What is your opinion on this, Zhang Yuanwailang?"

His words were full of provocation.

Zhang Jiuling hurriedly replied, "Your subject is incompetent and failed to see your good intentions, sir."

Li Longji smiled, a hint of appreciation in his eyes. In fact, he knew that Zhang Jiuling had spoken up for Zhang Shuo.

Zhang Shuo knew this in his heart and said, "Your Majesty, this person is standing here. Whether it is decadent music or a performance of decadent music, you will know once you see it."

Li Longji laughed heartily, “Zhang Xianggong is right. There’s no rush to evaluate it. After we’ve seen it, everyone will have their own opinion.”

Then he looked at Tao Mo and said, "Sir, let us see your Dream of the Red Chamber."

"Yes."

Tao Mo said, "Today, I am preparing to have my students Xue Jun and Cui Gu'er perform for Your Majesty."

Li Longji nodded, then suddenly asked, "By the way! I heard there's a song before the storytelling."

Tao Mo hesitated for a moment, then said, "There is a song, and I have brought the singer with me, but I think..."

Li Longji waved his hand and said, "Since everyone is here, let them sing a song. We need to evaluate the song."

Huangfu Sengnian and Wang Xi exchanged glances.

In fact, Qin'er and Linghu Baodi were outside. They did it on purpose to find out Li Longji's true thoughts.

(End of this chapter)