Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 79 If Auntie can't do it, I'll do it!
As soon as he entered the back hall, Tao Mo rushed up and grabbed his arm tightly, saying excitedly, "Young Master, you are truly a genius! I admire you to the core. From now on, if you tell me to go west, I will never go east."

Huangfu Sengnian, who was sitting inside, shook his head speechlessly.

"What if I asked you to eat shit?"

Wang Xi looked at Tao Mo with a kind smile, revealing an innocent and harmless expression.

"Uh."

The fawning expression on Tao Mo's face froze instantly, and a hint of hesitation appeared in his eyes, showing how deeply he was poisoned.

Just then, someone behind him said with a smile, "He really does that."

Li Jieman and Wang Shuang walked over arm in arm.

"just kidding!"

Wang Xi glared at the two guys, quietly broke free, and gently patted Tao Mo's shoulder, "Old Tao, you're so cute, how could I bear to let you eat shit?"

Tao Mo's fawning expression immediately became lively again, and he jumped around excitedly, "Young master, you flatter me. It's all thanks to your excellent teaching."

"Alright, alright, let's not stand on ceremony, master and disciple."

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "Go and rest for a bit. You must be tired today."

"Yes, yes, thank you for your concern, young master. This old man will take his leave now."

Tao Mo nodded. He was indeed tired, mainly due to the immense mental pressure.

After Tao Mo left, the four senior brothers sat in the hall.

Huangfu Sengnian asked, "What exactly happened? Now you can tell me."

Previously, Wang Xi had only confidently stated that this play would definitely satisfy the emperor, but he did not explain the specific reasons.

"Hehe. It's actually very simple, just cater to their preferences."

Wang Xi's expression changed, and he made up a story in a serious tone: "Because I know from my aunt that His Majesty is very interested in music and opera. In addition, His Majesty especially likes Cao Cao. My play has both of these points, which is enough. In fact, all you need to do on the Prince's side is give His Majesty a high-sounding reason. That's not the key."

The key is whether His Majesty will see this performance. Therefore, we must escalate the matter to the point where His Majesty must personally intervene. If His Majesty sees this performance, then we have succeeded.

This was certainly not said by Empress Wang. He knew that Li Longji was the patriarch of Peking Opera, and that he would definitely like this opera. Judging from Li Longji's behavior, he had both a ruthless side and a very affectionate side.

If it's true love, he can love you to the point of obsession.

Therefore, the ultimate goal of the entire script is to win Li Longji's favor. All the talk of civil and military achievements is just bait to lure Li Longji in.

Li Jieman rested his chin on his hand and asked curiously, "Since you know that His Majesty likes Cao Cao, why did you portray Cao Cao as so vicious? Isn't that deliberately trying to make His Majesty unhappy?"

Huangfu Sengnian nodded.

"Too shallow!"

Wang Xi laughed and said, "Xiaoman, if you think like that, then you're being simplistic."

Li Jie looked at Wang Xi with suspicion, "Really?"

Wang Xi suddenly looked at Huangfu Sengnian and asked, "Sengnian, let's stick to the facts. Do you think this play maliciously smears Cao Cao?"

Huangfu Sengnian said calmly, "Has Cao Cao killed few innocent people? He was a great hero of his time, how could he be so merciful? Besides, it is extremely inappropriate to describe these people as good or evil."

"correct."

Wang Xi snapped his fingers. "Even you know this. How could His Majesty, who is well-versed in history, not know it? Yet why does His Majesty still like Cao Cao so much? Why can't you all think that perhaps His Majesty admires Cao Cao for this very reason?"

Huangfu Sengnian nodded and said, "I understand."

Wang Shuang asked, puzzled, "But His Majesty was clearly very angry just now?"

Wang Xi said, "Perhaps His Majesty was somewhat angry when he heard your father and the others scolding Cao Cao, which is understandable. However, His Majesty should have deliberately used this as an excuse to argue with the prime ministers afterward."

Li Jie asked, "How so?"

Wang Xi said, "If the information I received from my aunt, the Empress, is accurate, then His Majesty must have been thinking about how to protect Wuming Academy and this opera. So after the performance, His Majesty's actions, whatever they may have been, were all because of this. Therefore, I was not flustered at all at the time."

Li Jie said, "But just now, before His Majesty left, he told Lao Tao that he couldn't play Cao Cao like this again in the next scene."

Wang Xi laughed and said, "Cao Cao is a shrewd and ambitious man, not a bad person. If we only play the bad side, His Majesty will naturally be unhappy. More importantly, His Majesty had a fight with the prime ministers, so of course he hopes to see a positive image of Cao Cao next time."

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Sengnian couldn't help but sigh, "If you were a minister, you would surely be a treacherous one."

Wang Xi frowned slightly, as if he had made a decision. He took a deep breath and declared, "I don't want to be a treacherous minister; I want to be a favored minister."

Upon hearing this, all three looked at Wang Xi in astonishment.

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Brother Que, you're not joking, are you?"

Wang Xi said with a serious expression, "Of course not. I have thought about it again and again. No matter how much I do, it will be difficult for my aunt, the Empress, to win His Majesty's favor. This is almost an unsolvable situation. The only way is for me to step in."

Wang Shuang exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Que, are you going to become His Majesty's male concubine?"

Li Jieman held Wang Xi's hand, tears welling in his eyes, "Brother Que, I can't bear to part with you."

"roll."

Wang Xi cursed, "Who said I wanted to be a male concubine? I want to be a favored minister, just like Doctor Jiang, to become His Majesty's confidant. As the saying goes, a thousand women are easy to find, but a true confidant is hard to come by. Only in this way can I stand against Consort Wu."

Huangfu Sengnian never expected that Wang Xi would come up with such a plan. It was truly earth-shattering. Even if he were given a hundred more chances, he still wouldn't have thought of it. But after thinking about it carefully, he felt that this plan seemed to be the only solution. He asked, "So what should we do next?"

“Of course we’ll go all out, go all out!” Wang Xi laughed.

Li Jieman said, "Go all out?"

"It's about expanding recruitment. Now that this path is fully open, we can expand recruitment without any worries. By bringing in more courtesans, we can stage more plays to win His Majesty's favor."

Li Jie asked, "How many?"

Wang Xi asked uncertainly, "Fifty? One hundred?"

"Sparrow!"

Li Jieman immediately pounced on him, letting out a sweet, coquettish cry. "This time I'm set for life!"

"go away!"

Wang Xi had to push and kick to get the fat man away.

"If that's the case, do we still need to train a father?" Wang Shuang asked.

Wang Xi immediately replied, "Of course it is necessary, and it is of utmost importance. If even our father doesn't have the power, then I alone will be unable to support the family. These two things complement each other and neither can be lacking."

Last time, he originally wanted to help Li Qiao get into the Ministry of Rites, but Wu Xin was also promoted and even surpassed Li Qiao. This made Wang Xi very unhappy. He had set a trap, but the enemy had gained the upper hand.

It was around that time that Wang Xi gradually realized that no matter how much he helped his aunt, the Empress, it would be difficult to change Li Longji's feelings for Consort Wu. In addition, his aunt, the Empress, was getting old. Although she still had her charm, she unfortunately married the wrong person. Li Longji was not like Li Zhi, who did not like mature women and preferred young girls. The more time went on, the more she would suffer.

Ultimately, the Wang family will likely face certain death.

This is almost a dead end.

This is why the Wu family has always maintained the initiative in these several confrontations.

Wang Xi certainly wouldn't sit idly by and wait for death. He came here to enjoy life, not to die. However, it would take time to cultivate Wang Shouyi into a capable person. After all, Wang Shouyi had been idle for many years, and it wouldn't be easy for him to start working hard again. After thinking it over, Wang Xi came up with only one solution: he would take over first.

If you can't compete in love, you can only find another way, starting with finding a soulmate.

From this perspective, the real protagonist of this grand drama is actually Wang Xi himself, not Li Qiao and the others; they are all just a smokescreen.

Wang Shouyi was not present today, but he was even more tormented than Li Qiao, who was there. He was restless all morning, pacing back and forth in the yard, muttering to himself, "Why isn't that brat Wang Xi back yet? Doesn't he know I'm waiting for news at home?"

However, instead of Wang Xi, he was greeted by Li Qiao.

"Opening up the mountain."

Wang Shouyi immediately went over and asked, "How is it?"

Li Qiao said in a questioning tone, "It went very smoothly."

Wang Shouyi's face lit up with joy at first, but seeing Li Qiao's strange expression, he couldn't help but ask, "Since everything went so smoothly, why are you still so unhappy?"

"Hey."

Li Qiao sighed, "It's just that everything is going too smoothly, so I'm afraid there might be something else going on."

"What do you mean?" Wang Shouyi was completely confused.

Li Qiao told Wang Shouyi everything that had happened.

Upon hearing this, Wang Shouyi said, "There's nothing wrong with that!"

Li Qiao said, "You weren't there, so you don't know the atmosphere at the time. I suspect that His Majesty acted impulsively because he was arguing with Minister Zhang and the others. I dare not take it seriously now. What if His Majesty changes his mind later?"

“That’s true.” Wang Shouyi nodded slightly, then said, “Then go ask Doctor Jiang; perhaps he knows what His Majesty is thinking.”

Li Qiao nodded and said, "I wanted to consult with Doctor Jiang earlier, but Doctor Jiang was with His Majesty. I'll go and ask him again tomorrow."

Meanwhile, Wu Xin, just like Wang Shouyi, was anxiously waiting at the Imperial Academy.

But what he received was devastating news.

Wu Xin exclaimed in shock, "Is that vivid teaching method really that powerful?"

"No! No!"

Jiang Yanbo waved his hand and said, "To be fair, the acting was really good and the story was well-written, but it's not as mysterious as the Prince of Sipu said. If we're talking about education, then it's nothing, let alone any talk of civil administration or military achievements."

Blame it on those two Zhangs! They insisted on arguing with His Majesty about Cao Cao's character, which angered His Majesty so much that he directly supported Prince Sipu. It's driving this old man crazy!

"What kind of character did Cao Cao have?" Wu Xin was completely dumbfounded.

Jiang Yanbo immediately recounted the entire process truthfully.

Wu Xin was stunned. He had considered all sorts of outcomes, including failure, but he never expected that Cao Cao would ruin his grand plan.

this..

I almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Wu Xin completely broke down.

This is such an unfair loss!

The crucial point is that he can't go and settle scores with Cao Cao!
That afternoon, Jiang Jiao suddenly arrived at Li Qiao's house.

When Li Qiao saw Jiang Jiao, he was both surprised and frightened. He had planned to go to see Jiang Jiao first thing the next morning, but Jiang Jiao took the initiative to come to his door. Was it good news or bad news?

"Dr. Jiang, what exactly happened?" Li Qiao asked anxiously.

Jiang Jiao chuckled and said, "It seems that even Your Highness doesn't have confidence in himself!"

"This king!"

Li Qiao gave an awkward smile.

Jiang Jiao laughed and whispered, "You've really hit the jackpot this time! His Majesty really loved that lively teaching method. Before leaving, he even sang a song with me. When we got back to the palace, he discussed the musicality of the opera with me, pointing out its shortcomings and highlights."

Therefore, in my opinion, His Majesty was actually using you to protect this vivid teaching method.

This was something Li Qiao never expected, because Li Longji was furious and couldn't help but open his mouth wide, "Doctor Jiang, is this really true?"

"It's true."

Jiang Jiao said, "To be on the safe side, I deliberately advised His Majesty not to act rashly. Who knew that His Majesty thought that you might be thinking the same thing, so he ordered me to come here to tell you that you must provide support to Wuming Academy."

Li Qiao was dumbfounded.

So I was the one making the excuse!
Ah this!

(End of this chapter)