Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 20 The Empress Aunt
quiet!
The hall suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone present is shrewd and capable; they all understand Wang Xi's little schemes.

He deliberately used this as an excuse to force Li Longji to include Empress Wang in the painting as well.

This is a major taboo for relatives of the emperor, and it can be extremely dangerous.

Anyone with a modicum of intelligence wouldn't do that, because it would only annoy Li Longji.

Wang Shouyi was trembling with fear.

His mood was like a rollercoaster when Wang Xi was painting. He had just breathed a sigh of relief after seeing how well Wang Xi painted, but little did he know that the real challenge was yet to come.

You'd be better off believing a sow can fly than trusting this kid won't do anything wrong.

Zhang Jiazhen also sensed something was wrong. It wouldn't really matter if the painting wasn't good, but he didn't dare to say it aloud.

Gao Lishi thought to himself that his previous judgment was completely wrong. This kid was not a little fox, but a fool. The rumors were true.

Those present each harbored their own ulterior motives, and all secretly glanced at Li Longji out of the corner of their eyes.

Li Longji glanced at Wang Xi's still-childish face without saying a word. After a while, he suddenly chuckled and said, "At such a young age, Que'er already knows how to be both loyal and filial. I am gratified. So, as you wish, I will include the Empress in the painting as well."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Wang Xi made no attempt to hide his delight, "That boy will go and help the Empress Aunt with the painting now."

Li Longji was taken aback. "What? Are you afraid I'll change my mind?"

Wang Shouyi's lips twitched, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. This kid was really flirting with death.

Wang Xi asked blankly, "Then when will that boy go to help Aunt Empress with her painting?"

Li Longji was also stumped by the question, "Alright, whatever you say."

Having said that, he actually summoned someone to take Wang Xi to the inner palace. Although men were generally not allowed to enter the inner palace, Wang Xi was the Empress's nephew, so of course he could meet him.

Of course, Tao Mo, Li Jieman, and the others also withdrew.

As soon as they left, Wang Shouyi immediately stepped forward to apologize, "My son was rude and offended Your Majesty. Please forgive him."

Your heart is unpredictable.

Heaven knows what the emperor was thinking. He might have suspected that this was a setup by them, and even allowed Wang Xi to go just to test Wang Shouyi.

Although Wang Shouyi was illiterate, he remained vigilant in political struggles, after all, he was a person who had lived through the era of Wu Zetian.

Li Longji laughed and said, "Que'er's filial piety has moved me deeply. What crime has she committed?"

real or fake?

Everyone was speculating about what the emperor was thinking.

Only Gao Lishi understood.

Those words just now were indeed a grave taboo for a subject. If it were any adult, they would be dead for sure, if not today, then someday.

Because everyone could see that Wang Xi was standing up for the Empress.

Ordinary people might be unhappy, let alone the emperor.

However, Wang Xi was not a subject; in their eyes, he was still a child.

When a child sees their aunt being wronged, standing up for her is a very innocent reaction, and Li Longji also had this feeling.

He not only didn't dislike it, but actually liked and appreciated it more.

Of course, he didn't know that everything that happened today was part of a script, and that Wang Xi was both the director and the screenwriter of this play.

Now that things had come to this, Wang Xi knew he was bound to make his appearance, so he might as well take the opportunity to give the Empress some support, since the fate of the Wang family depended entirely on the Empress.

Wang Xi deliberately used his childishness to bravely stand up for his aunt. If he had expressed himself in a slightly more tactful way, it would have aroused Li Longji's suspicion and resentment.

If you're not a professional extra, you really can't get the part right.

The key point is that everyone knows about Wang Xi's fight with Wu Chongwen over Empress Wang, which is enough to prove that he cares about his aunt very much, and there are clues to this.

This made Li Longji completely believe it.

In short, fortune favors the bold.

Meanwhile, Wang Xi finally met his aunt, the Empress.

Empress Wang and Wang Shouyi were twins, and the two siblings did bear a slight resemblance.

As expected of the Wang family of Taiyuan, the Wang family's genes were quite good. Wang Shouyi was a handsome man, and Empress Wang was naturally a great beauty. She was also very tall, half a head taller than Wang Xi, probably around 1.7 meters. She had an oval face, arched eyebrows, and phoenix eyes with piercing gaze. The heroic spirit between her brows was like two sharp swords. Although she wore a simple ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), she was still very dashing. Judging from her appearance and temperament alone, she was a woman who was not inferior to men.

But she gives the impression of being more of a heroine than an empress who embodies the dignity of the nation.

Before Empress Wang met Wang Xi, she knew what had happened, because she was also curious as to why the Emperor would send Wang Xi to see her.

Upon seeing Wang Xi, Empress Wang immediately launched into a tirade of "reprimands".

“Silly child, how could you be so reckless? His Majesty asked you to paint his portrait, so just paint it properly. Why did you mention your aunt?”

Even so, her eyes were full of tenderness.

Wang Xi snorted, "Nephew did it on purpose. Nephew just wanted to paint a portrait of Aunt and the Emperor as husband and wife so that those rumors would be dispelled."

"You silly child!"

Empress Wang patted Wang Xi's head affectionately. "You're still young. You don't understand the affairs of your elders. Besides, you yourself said that they are just rumors. Why do you still take them to heart? His Majesty treats your aunt very well. Don't try to be a hero again, or your father will make you kneel as punishment when you get back."

"Really?" Wang Xi asked, "Is His Majesty really good to Aunt?"

A hint of sadness flashed in Empress Wang's eyes, but she still nodded slightly.

"I knew it."

Wang Xi suddenly jumped up, "Aunt is so generous and has helped His Majesty manage the harem so well. The ministers all respect Aunt very much. How could His Majesty not like Aunt?"

Empress Wang laughed and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Wang Xi insisted, "Aunt, I'm not making this up. I have evidence."

Empress Wang asked with great interest, "What evidence?"

Wang Xi said, "They are my father and mother!"

Empress Wang looked at Wang Xi with suspicion.

Wang Xi said, "Take my father for example. He has more concubines than his nephews have maids, but my mother never cares. She lets my father go off and fool around. When my father gets tired of playing outside, he still has to obediently return to my mother's side."

My mother doesn't usually speak, but whenever she does, my father usually listens.

It's like flying a kite; you can't hold it too tight, nor too loose. As long as you get the tension right, you can keep it in control.

Empress Wang exclaimed in shock, "Que'er, where did you hear such twisted logic?"

"This is not a fallacy."

Wang Xi said, "This is the way I've figured out how my father and mother get along. And, hehe, no man understands this better than me. I'm still young, but Aunt, let me tell you, in many things, my father is just like me. Men are always like children. The more you pressure them, the more they resist. If you let them be, they'll remember your kindness. Hehe."

"You kid."

Seeing his smug look, Empress Wang couldn't help but pat him on the head, saying, "You don't learn anything good, you only learn crooked and evil ways."

Even so, she was pondering Wang Xi's kite theory, which seemed to make some sense.

This was actually the main reason why Wang Xi wanted to see his aunt this time. He knew that his aunt could not compete with Wu Jieyu for the emperor's favor, and he was afraid that she would act impulsively. In the current situation, he had to keep things stable and not have any conflict with Li Longji.

As long as Empress Wang doesn't make any mistakes, it won't be so easy for Li Longji to depose her. The only fear is that Empress Wang herself will hand over the knife.

Compared to Wang Shouyi's slap, Empress Wang's touch was merely a gentle pat. Wang Xi chuckled and said, "Aunt, let your nephew draw your portrait."

Empress Wang was taken aback, then nodded and smiled, "Alright! Your aunt would also like to see how well you paint."

Half an hour later.

Empress Wang stood before the easel, staring blankly at the painting, tears of emotion welling in her eyes.

"Auntie, how did your nephew do with the drawing?" Wang Xi asked smugly.

Empress Wang, regaining her senses, looked at Wang Xi and said, "This, this is what you drew."

"How could it be fake? There's no one else here," Wang Xi said, shaking his head.

Empress Wang said in disbelief, "Que'er, your painting is better than that of the world's greatest painters."

Wang Xi chuckled and asked, "Then what reward does Auntie plan to give her nephew?"

Empress Wang was taken aback, then felt both amused and exasperated. "What reward do you want?"

Wang Xi said excitedly, "If Aunt could reward me with a few pretty maids, that would be wonderful."

(End of this chapter)