Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 7 Finding a Way to Survive
The third watch.

"Madam, why haven't you rested yet?"

Wang Shouyi saw the princess sitting at the table, one hand supporting her chin, her eyes filled with sorrow.

Princess Xue sighed softly, "My husband, with so many things happening at home lately, I'm feeling quite uneasy."

Wang Shouyi quickly comforted her, "Madam, those are just rumors. His Majesty has already stated that he has no intention of deposing the Empress."

That being said, however...

Princess Xue turned her head to look at Wang Shouyi, "How about I go to the temple tomorrow to pray for our family's well-being for three months?"

Wang Shouyi was about to nod when he heard the following question, "Does it really take three months?"

Princess Xue said, "If we are not sincere, how can Buddha bless our family? Let alone three months, as long as our family is well, I am willing to wait a year or two."

Wang Shouyi glanced at the princess furtively and said, "How can that be? I can't bear to let my wife suffer such poverty."

Princess Xue said, "What's so hard about it? Besides, you have to go to the palace to work every day, and Que'er has to find another academy. Who else can I send besides myself?"

Wang Shouyi frowned, reluctantly saying, "In that case, let Lian'er and the others go."

Princess Xue's expression shifted, and she asked again, "Are you willing to part with it?"

“What’s there to be reluctant about? Besides,” Wang Shouyi said, tears welling in his eyes, “this is for their own good.”

Princess Xue hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, I'll arrange for them to go to the temple to pray for our family tomorrow."

The next day.

Today, the scene in front of the Prince's Mansion can only be described with one phrase: desolate, miserable, and forlorn.

"Don't worry, my lord, I will pray to Buddha at the temple to bless you."

"I truly cannot bear to part with my beloved."

"My lord, you must take good care of yourself at home. Waaah!"

Wang Shouyi's beloved concubines were all weeping, their faces streaked with tears. They spoke words of farewell, but their eyes were full of reluctance and even a hint of pleading.

Wang Shouyi was naturally reluctant, but he had no choice. He waved his hand and said, "Don't cry, don't cry. When the time comes, I will bring you back."

Princess Xue rarely interfered with Wang Shouyi, basically letting him do as he pleased, whether he came home at night or not.

This is the first time.

However, the princess's attack was ruthless and precise, leaving Wang Shouyi speechless with bitterness.

It's not that Wang Shouyi was afraid of his wife, but at this time, it was impossible for him to let the Li family leave, because that would give outsiders endless speculation.

The controversy surrounding the deposition of the empress had barely subsided when the princess went to a temple. To outsiders, this might seem like the princess was distancing herself from the royal family, perhaps hinting that the empress's position was in jeopardy.

This signal is extremely dangerous.

Wang Shouyi was very clear about Princess Xue's thoughts: she wanted him to improve himself and stop indulging in wine and women.

He had no choice; if these concubines didn't go, the princess would have to leave.

Wang Shouyi watched the carriage carrying his four concubines disappear into the distance, his eyes filled with reluctance. Suddenly, he felt someone pat his shoulder. He turned his head but saw no one. Then he heard someone say from the other side, "I understand Father's pain all too well."

Wang Shouyi immediately turned his head to look at the other side, where he saw Wang Xi sighing with an old-fashioned air, "We are both wanderers in this world, why should we need to have known each other before?"

At this point, Wang Xi suddenly looked at Wang Shouyi and said, "Father, you must pull yourself together, turn your grief into strength, strive for progress, and create new glories!"

"You brat, this is all because of you."

Upon realizing what was happening, Wang Shouyi immediately gritted his teeth.

Wang Xi said with a wronged expression, "Father, isn't this what you wanted?"

"you."

Wang Shouyi was so angry he was practically spitting fire. "Fine, fine! We'll work together, father and son. I'll go to the yamen to work right now. You should also work hard and find an academy to take you in. If you can't find an academy to take you in within a month, you'll be in big trouble."

Wang Xi asked in astonishment, "Father, where am I supposed to find an academy?!"

"Work hard! Work hard! Work hard!" Wang Shouyi clenched his fist a few times, shouted hysterically, and then turned and left.

Wang Xi was left standing in front of the door, looking bewildered. "Has Old Wang gone mad?"

Yong'anfang.

"Sparrow, over here."

Li Jieman stood in front of a tavern, waving to Wang Xi, who had just stepped down from a carriage.

Just as Wang Xi was about to walk over, he suddenly glanced at Wang Facai, who was about to follow, and said, "You're not planning to come with me, sit next to me, embrace my courtesans, and drink and chat with me, are you?"

Wang Facai was taken aback and hurriedly said, "I wouldn't dare. I will wait here for you, young master."

"Humph!"

Wang Xi glanced at her sideways and thought to himself, "It's really because you're the princess's man. If you were Old Wang's man, I'd make sure you were destroyed. You're so naive."

Approaching Li Jieman, Wang Xi gently patted his shoulder, "Good brother, you're loyal, you didn't betray me." Li Jieman chuckled, "Am I stupid? If I betrayed you, I'd be finished too."

He knew the truth, but the fat man was also very clever and followed Wang Xi in accusing Wu Chongwen of murder.

It should be noted that they did not coordinate beforehand; it was all based on tacit understanding and loyalty.

The two whispered a few words to each other before entering the tavern.

"Wow, how did we end up in such a shabby place?" Wang Xi looked around the small tavern, which was clearly a place frequented by peddlers and laborers.

Li Jie sighed, "Few people here know us. We're all criminals now, so it's best to keep a low profile."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "That's true."

"Here, here."

In the corner sat two spoiled young men. One of them, a dark-faced boy, waved to him, while the other was handsome with fair skin and red lips, truly a gentleman of jade, making Wang Xi feel a little pressured.

This dark-skinned fellow was Wang Shuang, the youngest son of Wang Maozhong, a favorite minister of Li Longji. The fair-skinned young man beside him was Huangfu Sengnian, the nephew of Huangfu Deyi, one of Li Longji's concubines.

The two of them were also close friends of Wang Xi, because their elders had followed Li Longji when he was still the crown prince, and they were both meritorious officials in the two coups of Tanglong and Xiantian, so their friendship was naturally very good.

They were also involved in the fight in front of the Imperial College. Now that the incident has finally passed, they have been confined at home for several days and have only been able to come out for some fresh air in the last two days.

"I'm so sorry to have dragged my three brothers into this. I'll punish myself with three drinks first."

Wang Xi sat down and saw that they still had bruises on their faces, so he raised his cup to punish himself.

Wang Shuang said nonchalantly, "No need. I've disliked that guy for a long time, but I just haven't found an excuse yet."

Huangfu Sengnian frowned slightly and said, "I was prepared for being punished for fighting, so I can't blame you. But next time, you'd better inform us first so we can bring our weapons. I don't want to fight like this."

They did suffer a loss in the last fight, after all, the other party was a year or two older than them and had the advantage in numbers.

"Oh." Wang Xi nodded blankly.

Li Jieman suddenly said indignantly, "What's most hateful is that it was clearly Wu Chongwen's fault, but the Imperial Academy only expelled a few of us and not Wu Chongwen."

"What?" Wang Xi exclaimed in surprise, "Wu Chongwen wasn't expelled?"

Huangfu Sengnian sneered: "Wu Chongwen's father is the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, how could he possibly expel his own son?"

Wang Xi said angrily, "Is our father stupid? He didn't even go to the Imperial Academy to argue with them, and just let them humiliate him."

Wang Shuang sighed, “Don’t say anymore. The four of us often failed the exams and made mistakes frequently. We’ve only been in school for a little over two months and we’ve already accumulated a lot of major demerits. Meanwhile, Wu Chongwen has excellent grades and knows how to curry favor with those scholars. The Imperial Academy gave him a chance because of this, which caused my father to beat me up again.”

"Cough cough!"

Huangfu Sengnian suddenly coughed twice, "It's just that the three of you often fail."

Li Jieman curled his lip, "How much better can you be? You've never passed an oral exam."

Huangfu Sengnian frowned and said, "That's because the teacher couldn't argue with me, so he failed me."

Actually, this guy has excellent grades, but he's disobedient and often argues with teachers. To be honest, Jiang Yanbo and the others actually prefer Wang Xi. Wang Xi is just naughty and a bit dim-witted. He doesn't think things through. If you scold him a few times, he can still laugh it off and act like nothing happened.

Wang Xi snorted, "This damn academy, we might as well not study here."

Li Jie said dejectedly, "The problem now is that no academy is willing to accept me. My dad said he plans to send me to study at my second uncle's house. Sigh... If I really go to my second uncle's house, you may never see me again in your life. My second uncle is notoriously strict."

After this incident, anyone with a sound mind wouldn't take them in. This isn't about education; it's a matter of life and death.

Wang Shuang said, "At least you have a second uncle. My father even planned to send me to the grasslands to raise horses."

Wang Xi had just picked up his wine glass when he put it down again. "Wow, is it really that exaggerated? Don't scare me."

"Why would I lie to you?" Wang Shuang snorted. "My father is in charge of the emperor's horses. If I don't raise horses, what else can I do?"

Wang Xi then looked at Huangfu Sengnian and asked, "And you?"

Huangfu Sengnian remained silent, his expression slightly embarrassed.

Li Jieman chuckled and said, "His father plans to send him to a temple to become a monk."

"study!"

Huangfu Sengnian glared at him and said, "But I would rather run away from home than go to the temple and hang out with those bald monks."

Wang Xi asked curiously, "So you also don't like the name 'Seng Nian'?"

Huangfu Sengnian ignored him.

Li Jieman suddenly asked, "Brother Que, didn't your father help you find a place to go?"

Wang Xi said, "My father told me to find the academy myself. If I can't find it, he'll settle this score with me."

Wang Shuang said "Oh": "Then your dad is just deliberately looking for an excuse to beat you up. If even our dad can't find one, how can we manage?"

It would be best if I couldn't find one. I don't want to go back to school, but at this age, not studying seems unlikely. What should I do?

Wang Xi blinked, then suddenly had a brilliant idea. He perked up and said, "Hey, three brothers, what kind of people are we? Do we need to lower ourselves and beg for help? If they won't accept us, then we'll just open our own academy. That way, we'll never be expelled, and we can do whatever we want."

(End of this chapter)