Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 86 Step by Step
Should we get a different batch?
This was something Li Qiaozhen hadn't expected.

You think this is a brothel?

Let's replace it with another batch.

How abominable.

If I didn't need this kid's help right now, I would have beaten him to death.

Li Qiao glared at the boy, but then patiently and earnestly instructed them that they couldn't mess around. Even if they were to mess around, they had to inform him beforehand. After all, they were just palace prostitutes, and they were going to beg Li Longji to grant them this.

The implication is that you can't get on the train first and buy a ticket later—that would be disastrous. But if you really want to get on the train, you can still buy a ticket and board.

After giving repeated instructions, Li Qiao led his subordinates away.

As soon as he left, Wang Xi's expression changed. He stood in front of the palace prostitutes and began to scrutinize them seriously, much like he did when he was in a karaoke bar.

The junior female students blushed with embarrassment under his gaze.

Seeing that this fellow had revealed his true colors again, Huangfu Sengnian couldn't help but whisper and dissuade him, "Since they are all palace prostitutes, then we really can't do anything reckless. There's no need for us to create this kind of trouble for ourselves."

Wang Xi remained silent, but gave a wink, which Huangfu Sengnian understood, and the two went to the side.

Wang Xi said in a low voice, "I'm not choosing women for myself, but for His Majesty."

Huangfu Sengnian asked in surprise, "You're helping His Majesty choose women?"

Suddenly it dawned on him, "Wait a minute, aren't they His Majesty's women?"

Wang Xi nodded and then asked, "Why do you think His Majesty had my uncle bring a group of palace prostitutes here?"

Huangfu Sengnian pondered for a moment and said, "That must be to make it easier to watch operas in the palace in the future."

After saying that, he seemed to understand something.

"Exactly that."

Wang Xi smiled and said, "So these palace courtesans will have the opportunity to show off their beauty before His Majesty in the future."

Huangfu Sengnian's heart skipped a beat. "You mean?"

His voice trembled slightly. This kid's schemes are getting more and more terrifying!

Wang Xi nodded and said, "In the end, I can only be a favored minister, not a male concubine. Even if I could be a male concubine, His Majesty loves women more. At most, I can only protect myself, but I cannot shake Consort Wu's position. My aunt is not suitable, and your aunt is unwilling to compete for favor. Since that's the case, why don't we take this opportunity to select a few promising junior sisters, train them, and then send them to His Majesty's side to counterbalance Consort Wu?"

Although Huangfu Sengnian had already thought of this, he was still shocked when he heard him say it. "Is this something we can do?" After a moment's thought, he shook his head and said, "Doing this is too risky. People can change, especially the women in the palace. These women may seem innocent, but we may not know if they have ambitions. Even if they don't now, they may change in the future. Besides, if we really succeed, why don't they take care of their own families?"

"you are right."

Wang Xi nodded slightly and said, "But we can select some orphans. In this way, the Nameless Academy will become their home. Even if there is a real risk, the first one to suffer will definitely be Consort Wu."

Huangfu Sengnian had always despised etiquette and social norms, but even so, he still felt that this idea was too audacious. He couldn't imagine it at all, and he didn't know when Wang Xiaoque had become so crazy. This was like reaching into the inner palace. Once Li Longji found out, her whole family would surely die.

There's no hope.

However, he was unaware that Wang Xi, who was knowledgeable about history, was well aware of the importance of controlling the harem during Li Longji's reign.

From Li Linfu to Yang Guozhong, none of them held absolute power without relying on the influence of their harem.

The harem was the biggest hidden danger for the royal family, which was not a risk for Wang Xi, but a necessity.

He had no reason not to accept this generous gift that was delivered to his door.

After struggling for a while, Huangfu Sengnian said, "This is no small matter. If we are not careful, we will all be doomed, and it may even implicate many innocent people. We need to discuss this carefully."

Wang Xi smiled and nodded, "Actually, I just thought of that too, but we can keep an eye on them for now and see which junior sisters have the potential. As for whether to take action, we'll talk about that later. But for now, we have another task."

Huangfu Sengnian asked, "What mission?"

Wang Xi said, "It's about overshadowing the singing competition."

Just then, Wang Shuang called out from the side, "Teacher."

Wang Xi glanced at Hongxiu out of the corner of his eye and immediately straightened up, putting his hands behind his back, looking every bit the gentleman.

Little did she know that Hongxiu had been watching from afar for a long time. Seeing Wang Xi pretending, she rolled her eyes slightly but did not expose him. She walked up to the stage, looked at the girls on the stage, and a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes. "Wang Xiaoque, they are all..."

Wang Xi quickly walked to Hongxiu's side and said, "These are all palace courtesans sent by the Ministry of Rites. They may become our junior sisters in the future."

Hongxiu exclaimed in shock, "A palace courtesan!"

She herself came from the brothel, so naturally she knew what this meant.

This is unbelievable!

"Yup!"

Wang Xi nodded and said, "They will all stay here for the time being, but we may not be able to teach them all. We may choose fifty of the best students to stay. Teacher, we're counting on you to take care of them. After all, it's not appropriate for students and them to have physical contact."

Hongxiu was slightly surprised. A true gentleman? After a moment's thought, she understood. She glanced at the girls again and thought, "If I teach them, I have a reason not to teach spoiled brats. Besides, they are all unfortunate people, and I can take care of them and protect them from being bullied by others."

After careful consideration, she looked up and saw that Wang Xi was still deliberately turning his head away. She couldn't help but tease him, "I'm afraid only these palace courtesans can make you keep your distance from them."

Wang Xi made no attempt to hide it, shaking his head and letting out a few awkward laughs.

Hongxiu smiled and shook her head, then said, "Alright then, I'll teach them myself."

Wang Xi added, "However, students can also assist teachers." Hongxiu nodded slightly.

She is becoming less and less wary of Wang Xi now, because Wang Xi is often very straightforward, saying whatever comes to mind without holding anything back.

After handing the courtesans over to Hongxiu, Wang Xi and his group left, as they had important matters to discuss.

However, as soon as they stepped out of the large classroom, Cui Gu'er, Xue Jun, and the others swarmed around them.

“Brother Que, you really did not disappoint us.”

"Yes! I didn't expect you to actually bring so many courtesans. The brothers are going to be very lucky from now on."

"Wait a moment, I was just about to ask the master to refuse these junior sisters from joining our academy," Wang Xi said expressionlessly.

Xue Jun was furious, "Are you crazy?"

Cui Gu'er asked, puzzled, "Brother Que, why did you do this?"

Wang Xi said in a low voice, "Do you know that those are not ordinary courtesans, but palace prostitutes? They are all the Emperor's women, and you can only look at them, not touch them. What's the point of that?"

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

"Gong Gong, a courtesan!"

Dou E scratched his head, looking slightly annoyed.

"if not."

Wang Xi said, "These are unacceptable."

Han Xiaohu suddenly said, "Actually, we don't lack women. We just thought that having our junior sister as a companion would be enough. It's not like we have to have anything happen between us."

Xue Jun nodded and said, "That's right, that's right, let's keep them for now. It's better to have nothing than nothing, even if... even if we can only look at them."

Wang Xi asked, "Really?"

Everyone nodded.

Wang Xi said, "Then we have to make it clear beforehand that whoever gets into trouble will have to take responsibility themselves, and I won't be involved."

"It's none of your business. Do you think we don't understand the stakes involved?"

"Alright, I'll go report to the master first. You can handle it yourselves. We're all fellow disciples, so it's not unreasonable for us to introduce ourselves."

Before he finished speaking, the group of guys rushed in.

"What a bunch of animals!"

Wang Xi shook his head helplessly, and then went to their private lounge with Huangfu Sengnian, Wang Shuang, and Li Jieman.

Once the door closed, Wang Xi relayed Li Qiao's instructions to them.

“Even if His Highness hadn’t given such an order, we should still have done it to avenge the Imperial Academy’s attack back then. We can’t keep taking hits like this forever,” Huangfu Sengnian said.

Li Jie said, "Of course I want to help my father, but how can I do that? I can't just invite outsiders to come here to watch a play, can I? This is an academy, not a brothel!"

Wang Xi smiled and said, "I already have a plan for this."

Li Jie hurriedly asked, "What's your idea?"

Wang Xi said, "We cannot be too flamboyant, nor can we seek fame or fortune, because these are not in line with Lao Tao's character. Therefore, if we want to promote opera, there is only one way: charity."

"charitable?"

"To be more precise, it was a benefit performance."

Wang Xi said, "By performing outside, we can donate all the money we earn. We don't need the money anyway, and it perfectly fits Lao Tao's persona."

Huangfu Sengnian's eyes lit up: "That's a good idea, but the Imperial Academy represents the court after all. If it's bullied, they might come knocking on our door. We need to think of a way to make the court suffer in silence."

Wang Xi asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "The most important thing for His Majesty right now is to investigate the hidden households. However, the journey of these hidden households back to their original homes will also require money, which is one of the reasons why many hidden households are unwilling to cooperate. If we donate all the profits we make to these hidden households who are willing to return, even if it puts the Imperial Academy under immense pressure, the court will not be able to say anything against us."

Wang Xi opened his eyes wide and thought to himself, "Perhaps I can use this to give my father a push."

Li Jie nodded vigorously and said, "That's a good idea, Monk Nian, you really are a strategist."

"Xiaoman, are you planning to fight two against one?" Wang Xi asked.

Li Jieman chuckled.

Huangfu Sengnian did not argue with him, and said, "But there is another problem. The reason why we were able to succeed in our performance of capturing Cao Fang was that the ministers were familiar with history and could understand the implications."

However, most people lack this knowledge, and if they don't know the characters involved, they'll likely miss out on a lot of the fun.

As a contrarian, he is quite meticulous.

Wang Xi pondered for a moment and said, "That's not too difficult."

Huangfu Sengnian looked at him with suspicion.

Wang Xi laughed and said, "We can tell them the story first, and then start the opera after they are familiar with it. Anyway, we need time to practice, so this way we can achieve twice the result with half the effort. But this time, we won't tell the story of Cao Cao's capture and release; we will tell the story of Dream of the Red Chamber."

(End of this chapter)