Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 88 Taking advantage of the situation
Although Wang Xi repeatedly emphasized that there would be no loss, the Bai family father and daughter did not listen. They thought that since it was the master's request and it was a good deed, they should not care about the profit or loss.

I agreed without really understanding what was going on.

Although Wang Xi saw through their thoughts, he was too lazy to explain to the father and daughter anymore; the outcome would speak for itself.

That's why he kept the rare delicacy. It had nothing to do with money; it was because, in crucial moments, having his own territory outside would make many things much easier to handle.

Otherwise, he would have to go and negotiate with other restaurants, which would be a lot of trouble.

No matter how eloquently you, Wang Xiaoque, speak, they wouldn't dare let a bunch of spoiled brats like you perform, let alone pay you. Even if you paid them, they still wouldn't let you perform.

Isn’t it good to be alive?
After leaving Yixianjue, it was already dark, so Wang Xi went straight home.

Despite the wind and rain, Wang Facai still waited at the door, saying, "Young master, the prince has arrived."

"Yeah."

Wang Xi nodded, then suddenly looked at Wang Facai and asked, "Did you come to see me?"

Wang Facai nodded and said, "It seems so."

None of these fathers are easy to deal with. Wang Xi grumbled to himself, then went to the front hall.

It was obvious that Li Qiao's sudden visit to him was not for anything good.

"Your son greets Father and Uncle."

Upon entering the hall, Wang Xi bowed to Wang Shouyi and Li Qiao.

"Why are you so late today?" Wang Shouyi asked.

Before Wang Xi could answer, Li Qiao said, "They have too many affairs in their academy these days, so it's no wonder they come back late. Don't blame Que'er."

It seems something really has happened. Seeing Li Qiao protecting him like this, Wang Xi felt uneasy and cautiously said, "Uncle is right."

"Just right."

Wang Shouyi then said, "Your uncle has something to discuss with you."

Wang Xi looked at Li Qiao with a puzzled expression.

Li Qiao coughed and said, "It's like this. Today, Master Zhang came to see me specifically. He said that the freshmen in your academy are too crazy. They often perform on the street and suddenly start singing and dancing, which frightens many passersby. Also, they go to restaurants every day to practice singing, which has disturbed many shop owners. So he asked you to tone it down."

That's it?

"I thought it was something serious." Wang Xi asked, puzzled, "Uncle, isn't it normal to go to a restaurant to sing? Did they not pay?"

Li Qiao said, "But it depends on how they sing. With their howling and wailing, how could they not scare away the other customers?"

Wang Xi exclaimed in shock, "Are they ghosts wailing and howling?"

Wang Shou nodded and said, "I've seen it too, so it's not an exaggeration at all!"

Wow. Is it that exaggerated? Wang Xi pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand, I will go and tell the teacher tomorrow."

Li Qiao hurriedly said, "Why can't you understand? If it were just a matter of saying it once, would your uncle have bothered to come looking for you? He could have just sent someone to tell the teacher directly."

Wang Xi asked in confusion, "What does my uncle mean?"

Li Qiao said, "Although many people are dissatisfied with this, some of them are just jealous. Nowadays, everyone is talking about your Nameless Academy, which is a good thing. Do you understand?"

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "I don't understand."

"You really are something," Li Qiao said helplessly. "Uncle means that we should restrain ourselves a bit, but not too much, that is..."

He himself didn't know what to say. After all, Zhang had personally come to him, so he had to give him face, but he couldn't refuse. However, he didn't want to do that.

I'm so conflicted!
Seeing his conflicted expression, Wang Xi couldn't help but say, "Uncle, your request is too difficult."

Li Qiao was a little embarrassed, "Then could you help your uncle with this?"

Wang Xi pondered for a while and said, "Then I must ask the master first."

Li Qiao said, "Then you know what to say."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Nephew understands."

"You really know?"

“If Uncle doesn’t believe his nephew, he should go and talk to the teacher himself.”

"Uncle does want to, but the problem is, if Uncle goes to say it in person, it will only backfire. You know what kind of personality the Master has."

It seems that Lao Tao's persona has already deeply resonated with people, great! Wang Xi smiled to himself and said, "Don't worry, nephew knows what to say."

Li Qiao smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course my uncle believes you; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to find you."

Ha! I'm afraid you only came to me because you had no other choice. If you had any other option, you wouldn't have come to me. Wang Xi didn't believe it.

Li Qiao suddenly asked again, "How did you handle that matter?"

"What is it?" Wang Xi asked in surprise.

"Tsk!"

Li Qiao's eyes widened. "It's the matter that your uncle instructed you to do when he sent the palace prostitutes to your academy that day."

Wang Xi immediately remembered, "Oh, nephew remembers, remembers. How could I not remember what my uncle instructed? I have already told the teacher."

"And what did the gentleman say?" Li Qiao quickly asked.

Wang Xi shook his head and said, "Of course, the teacher is unwilling to get involved in this matter. The teacher only cares about our studies."

Upon hearing this, Li Qiao felt a wave of disappointment.

To everyone's surprise, Wang Xi continued, "However, to repay the Emperor's kindness, you plan to have us perform a charity show."

"A charity performance?" Li Qiao and Wang Shouyi said in unison.

Wang Xi nodded and said, "That's right. I recently heard that the court is trying to persuade those who have gone into hiding to return to their hometowns. But you know the suffering of those who have gone into hiding. Who would want to wander around outside instead of going home? And in the process of returning to their hometowns, they will suffer a lot."

Therefore, the gentleman planned to have us perform operas at various shops, and all the profits would be used to help those who had returned to their hometowns and were living in poverty. This was called a charity performance.

Li Qiao's eyes lit up. This wasn't a charity performance; it was clearly a scheme to gain both fame and fortune. If successful, opera would surely flourish, and more importantly, it would leave those in the court with a bitter pill to swallow. It was brilliant! He exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent! Sir, your plan is truly ingenious!"

Wang Xi said, "Uncle, this is a benefit performance, a charity event, not some brilliant plan. You are simply repaying His Majesty's past kindness."

Li Qiao nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, this is charity, a benefit performance. My uncle will definitely be there to support us. Hehe."

Wang Shouyi, standing to the side, rolled his eyes and said, "Since you want to do charity, then your father will definitely give your full support."

Wang Xi asked, "How does Father plan to provide support?"

Wang Shouyi said, "Your clothes will all be provided by your father."

Wang Xi said happily, "That's wonderful! We really do need some clothes."

Wang Shouyi smiled and nodded, "I'll send someone to deliver it after it's done."

The next day, Wang Xi came to the academy and told Huangfu Sengnian and the others about it.

"This won't work, that won't work, this is really going too far." Wang Shuang was very unhappy when he heard the news.

Huangfu Sengnian laughed and said, "This is truly heaven's help."

Wang Xi smiled and said, "That's what I think too."

Li Jieman seemed out of the loop and asked, "What do you mean?"

Wang Xi said, "We just happen to be arranging for people to tell stories, so why not use this as an excuse to arrange for them to do so? They complain that our students are wailing and howling, so let's go openly and honestly. Not only that, we should also make them pay to invite us."

Li Jieman asked with slight worry, "But won't this anger Minister Zhang?"

Wang Xi's eyes flickered, as if he was pondering something.

"We are doing this in accordance with Lord Zhang's orders." Huangfu Sengnian's lips curled up, he was very excited about this. You don't want us to do it, but I'm going to do it anyway.

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Monk Nian is right. I am following Master Zhang's instructions."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "But we still need to persuade one more person."

"Red sleeves."

"Ah."

Huangfu Sengnian nodded.

Wang Xi proposed the idea of ​​opera, but it was Hongxiu who truly improved it. Whether it was storytelling or opera, Hongxiu's support was essential.

"That's simple, just have Lao Tao put on an act. By the way, what's Lao Tao doing right now?"

"It seems like he's doing his schoolwork; he's had a lot of homework lately." Wang Shuang felt a pang of guilt.

Wang Xi said, "I'll get him some tonics later."

After discussing it, they went to find Tao Mo, told him the results of their discussion, and then called Hongxiu over.

“I’ve also heard about this matter,” Hongxiu nodded and said, “Some of those students’ behavior was indeed a bit out of line.”

"I don't see it that way. Going to a restaurant to learn to sing is truly wonderful."

Tao Mo said, "Children are naturally playful and active. If they are restrained in every way, they will be timid and hesitant in everything they do in the future. How can they be of great use?"

Wang Xi said, "But sir, that Master Zhang came specifically to discuss this matter!"

Hongxiu nodded slightly in agreement.

Tao Mo snorted, "They look down on my students! The more they do that, the more you need to achieve something for them."

"Alright, since the Ministry of Rites says we have no rules, then let them follow the rules and go study."

Hongxiu asked curiously, "What do you mean by that, sir?"

Tao Mo said, "Let them go to the restaurant to tell stories, so they can train themselves."

"what?"

Hongxiu was slightly startled and said, "They are all nobles, how could this be?"

Li Jie said casually, "Teacher, we used to sell wine in restaurants."

Hongxiu said, "There are indeed some differences."

Selling alcohol isn't necessarily lowly, but performing in a restaurant is definitely lowly.

The students at Wuming Academy are either relatives of the emperor or descendants of meritorious officials. Are you sure this will work?

Tao Mo nodded, feigning deep thought: "But what if they are doing it for charity?"

"Charity?" Hongxiu was taken aback.

Tao Mo smiled and nodded: "Going to a restaurant to tell stories naturally requires payment, and all the payment will be donated to those poor people."

Hongxiu hesitated and said, "But will anyone be willing to pay us?"

She knows her students quite well.

Tao Mo said, "We can let them try at Yixianjue first. As for whether they can do it or not, that's up to them. In short, I won't restrict my students. After all, they haven't broken any laws or committed any crimes. If they want to sing in a restaurant, then they should do it openly and honestly, and they should sing with style. They shouldn't hide and dodge when they encounter some obstacles. That's the behavior of a coward, and I don't like my students to be like that."

Seeing that the gentleman seemed genuinely angry, Hongxiu dared not say anything more and nodded, saying, "Since it's charity, then Hongxiu will naturally support it."

(End of this chapter)