Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

Chang'an, after all, couldn't keep secrets forever. Under the Zheng family's covert investigation, the Li family was quickly exposed. While the Zheng family was furious, they were also puzzled as to how such a small merchant family could be so audacious! Not only the Zheng family, but other people in Chang'an who knew the truth were also curious and wanted to know the background of this Li family. Were they just ignorant fools? If so, they were in for a surprise!

At the Li family's place, the two elders of the Cui family were "kept" by Li Xingzhi for another night.

The next morning, the couple, who hadn't slept well all night, got up early, tidied themselves up, and were about to open the door when there was a knock.

“Young Master Cui, my father sent me to ask if you need anyone to help you wash up. My father invites you both to the main hall. He says it’s time for the newlyweds to pay their respects to their parents and elders.”

Hearing the servant's words, the Cui couple were both amused and annoyed, unsure what to say. Was he truly unafraid of retaliation from the Cui and Zheng families? Was this eldest son of the Li family genuinely audacious, or simply fearless because he had something to rely on? However, at this moment, the couple remained relatively calm. After all, they had already vented their anger. Their only worry was how their daughter was doing...

After dressing themselves, the two went out the door and, guided by servants, walked towards the hall.

At this moment, Li Xingzhi was already seated in the hall. Upon seeing the two, he greeted them with a smile, saying that they were relatives and wishing each other well. His friendly attitude made it impossible for Cui's parents to stay angry.

The two were unaware of Li Xingzhi's plans or how he intended to deal with the pressure from the Cui and Zheng families. Without much thought, they sat down unceremoniously and savored the fragrant tea and pastries. The tea, pastries, and fruits from the Li family were truly unlike anything they could find elsewhere; even though the Cui couple had tasted delicacies before, they couldn't help but eat a few more bites.

Just as the couple was enjoying their tea and snacks, they heard footsteps outside. They both looked up simultaneously and saw a young man, beaming with pride and walking with an air of nonchalance, occasionally stopping to help the woman behind him. A short distance away, close to him, was a young woman, walking with slightly awkward, delicate steps, her face flushed with shyness.

When Cui Zhiwen saw the young woman following behind the young man, his face became expressionless, his brows furrowed slightly, and he seemed to be lost in thought.

Sitting next to Cui Zhiwen, Cui Zhengshi glanced at Cui Ru'er, now a married woman. Seeing her rosy complexion and joyful expression, she felt a little relieved. She then looked at Wang Erlang. Seeing his imposing gait, dashing appearance, and extraordinary good looks, and noticing how he frequently stopped to help the somewhat awkward Cui Ru'er, she felt a surge of satisfaction. However, considering the vast difference in their family backgrounds and the somewhat illegitimate nature of the marriage, her anxiety returned, and her previously relaxed expression tightened again.

At this moment, Cui Ru'er, who had been frowning, also saw the Cui couple, and her face lit up with surprise! But seeing that the two men had no smiles on their faces, the worries she had forgotten returned to her heart. The rosy and joyful face slowly lost its color.

Cui Ru'er was pulled along by Wang Erlang. She brought a bowl of tea and offered it to Li Xingzhi. After Li Xingzhi drank the fragrant tea, they put down the bowl and then brought another bowl to Cui's parents, who were standing nearby.

After a slight hesitation, Cui Zhengshi reached out and took the teacup, taking a small sip, unsure of its taste. Cui Zhiwen, however, maintained a solemn expression, seemingly oblivious to the teacup offered to him.

Li Xingzhi coughed softly, a sound that struck Cui Zhiwen's heart like thunder. Cui Zhiwen shuddered, as if awakened from a dream, and glanced at Li Xingzhi. Seeing Li Xingzhi's smiling face, he suddenly sighed, took the tea, took a sip, looked at Wang Erlang, and said, "You'd better take care of yourself!" He then looked at Li Xingzhi and said, "If your Li family can get through this, what's wrong with me acknowledging him as my son-in-law?!" Finally, he looked at Cui Ru'er and said, "If you want to come back someday, then come back! You are still my daughter, Cui Zhiwen's daughter!"

Upon hearing her father's words, Cui Ru'er's eyes welled up with tears, like water gushing from a still lake.

"Father! I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry to the Cui family!" As she spoke, her body trembled, and she knelt down, kowtowing several times with a loud thud.

Upon seeing this, Wang Erlang lifted his robe, knelt down, and began to kowtow.

Upon seeing this, Mr. Cui turned his face away. Mrs. Cui, however, kept wiping away her tears.

Sitting beside Cui Zhiwen, Li Xingzhi listened to his words, and his opinion of him improved considerably. Perhaps it wasn't that the two were materialistic, but rather that they were forced by circumstances; or perhaps they knew that only marriages between people of equal social standing could last. Even in later generations, wouldn't this still hold true?

Cui's parents did not linger any longer. Li Xingzhi and Wang Erlang, the young couple, saw them off at the gate, and they hurriedly boarded the carriage and headed towards the Cui family home.

At this time, the Zheng family also discovered the Li family's true background. The Zheng family members initially didn't take it seriously when they heard from their steward that the suddenly rising "Yuelai Inn" and the "Library Pavilion," which boasted an inexhaustible collection of books, were actually Li family properties. They were shocked!

Although the Yuelai Inn surprised the Zheng family, they weren't particularly bothered by it. In their eyes, no matter how powerful it was, it was just a lowly merchant. But when they thought of the library, their eyes lit up! These great families all had some kind of bibliophilic obsession, with countless volumes of ancient books hidden deep in their homes, rarely showing them to others.

Originally, these people hadn't bothered to inquire about the library's background. Firstly, the library was a relatively new establishment; secondly, in the eyes of the Zheng family, anyone who could produce so many books must have a powerful backer, so there was no need to pry and risk offending them. They didn't even know what the library's intentions were.

Thinking this, the Zheng family members, who were representatives of scholars all over the world, couldn't help but have their eyes light up, just like a wealthy old man who loved money more than anything else seeing countless treasures!

The white-haired old man standing in the middle listened to the discussions and observed the expressions of the crowd. He slowly said, "This matter needs to be dealt with carefully. I'm sure the other families have also received the news. I wonder what the Cui family plans to do?"

"The Cui family's statements are vague, and we don't know what their attitude is," one of the men said with a hint of disdain.

"I think the Cui family has fallen into depravity! They've actually associated with merchants!" another person nearby said angrily.

The old man in the middle, hearing the crowd's indignation, shook his head. Seeing the crowd quiet down, he pondered for a moment before saying, "The Cui family isn't that short-sighted; they're probably planning to reap the benefits without lifting a finger. After all, the true nature of the Li family is still unclear!" No one knew how the Li family had suddenly risen to power, and what was even more worrying was that they possessed so many rare and precious books and scrolls. It was hard to say whether other forces were behind them.

"The Li family! The Li family!" the old man uttered heavily, and for some reason, he looked towards the central hall of the imperial city.

A middle-aged man standing nearby, his face gloomy, stood up and said, "How could anyone be more powerful than the three noble families of the Five Great Clans?! I've heard that Li Jia's eldest son's sworn brother deserted his military service. If we catch him, the little Li family will be at our mercy!" This man was none other than Zheng Jialang's biological father, who had been the groom yesterday, and he was still indignant. The desertion he mentioned, if dealt with severely, could result in beheading, hanging of the corpse, and the entire camp being implicated. And the Zheng family clearly had the power to get Wang Erlang severely punished in the army.

“Zhongcheng is right. If we don’t teach them a lesson, everyone will think the Zheng family is easy to bully! You, Zhongcheng, will handle this matter!” the old man suddenly said. His words carried a hint of warlike spirit.

……

That noon, a column of dozens of fully armed soldiers stormed into the Li family's residence, heading straight for the central courtyard! They acted with complete impunity!

Just then, a dozen or so burly, naked men, as if cast in bronze, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked the group of soldiers.

The leader of the group drew a gleaming, menacing broadsword with a "snap." "This is official business, you'd better get out of the way!"

A burly man leading the way boomed, "Who goes there! How dare you break into a private residence in broad daylight! If you don't give your name, you'll be beaten to death!"

Seeing the group's menacing approach, the man dared not be negligent. Not wanting to cause further trouble before achieving his goal, he said, "We are officials from Wuhoupu. We saw some thugs breaking into your backyard, so we came in to investigate. Please make way so we can catch the thugs and settle our debts! We promise we won't disturb your peace!"

"Officials from Wuhoupu? Let me see your badge!" the burly man said again.

The foreman handed over the iron badge from his waist. The burly man seemed to take it carefully. He looked at the badge from left to right, up to down, and so on. When the officers were getting impatient, he called over a burly man next to him and asked in a low voice, "What are the characters on this badge? Do you recognize them?" The burly man looked at it and said, "I don't recognize them either. Why don't I go and show it to you, sir?"

Seeing that the burly men were slippery and wouldn't let them pass, the foreman secretly gestured to the dozens of men behind him. The officers understood and slowly reached for their sword hilts, surrounding the dozen or so burly men.

Seeing the expressions on the faces of the officers, the burly man at the head of the group knew that violence was imminent. He squeezed the iron plaque tightly, turning it into a lump of metal, and exclaimed, "Ouch, this plaque is so fragile! It broke with just a squeeze!"

Seeing that the burly man had broken his waist token, the officers were enraged. Following their leader's actions, they raised their knives and slashed at the heads of the burly men, their faces showing smug grins!

"Ding"

A series of crisp, metallic clanging sounds suddenly rang out as the broadsword struck the heads of the burly men! The officers froze, staring as if they had seen a ghost at the chipped iron broadsword in their hands, then at the heads of the men, who were completely unmarked!

Their faces turned deathly pale in an instant!

Seeing this, the leader, his courage waning, still forced himself to stand firm and turned his head, saying, "Do you intend to kill my officers?!"

"When did we say we were going to kill the officials?" The burly man looked at the leader with suspicion, then said, "Your knife felt so good! Give it another hit!" He then patted the smooth, unmarked head of the man.

The officials were frozen in place, unable to advance or retreat due to the "Vajra Arhat" blocking their path; retreating meant losing their hard-earned positions. Finally, the leader gritted his teeth, glanced at the dozen or so burly men, and, knowing the task was impossible, slowly withdrew. In his eyes, life was more important.

After the officials left, Li Xingzhi received the message and came out. He thought for a moment and realized that Wang Erlang's affair had come to light. The Ministry of War had likely already been informed, and the messenger sent to the army was probably already on his way. Moreover, the army might not be able to provide cover for long!

"If it were just Erlang alone, it would be easy to protect him. But if it's the whole battalion, then it'll be troublesome!" Li Xingzhi thought.

That afternoon, just after lunchtime, a giant crane with a wingspan of nearly ten feet soared into the sky from the backyard of the Li residence! A figure appeared and disappeared on the crane's back. The crane circled several times above the Li residence before piercing the clouds and shooting out like an arrow, heading north!

The Zheng family all expected this 'as anticipated' outcome. The various families in Chang'an also watched how things unfolded. By the time Wang Erlang had secretly deserted his post, everyone had lost hope in the Li family and was simply waiting for the 'predictable' result.

The Zheng family's open and aboveboard approach left no room for criticism.

Everyone had heard the rumors. The area in front of the Li family's house gradually emptied out; after several days, hardly anyone came. Cui's father had sent people several times to urge them to take Cui Ru'er home, but Li Xingzhi refused to let them in each time.

Ten days later, the results of the investigation were in. The people sent to investigate encountered Wang Erlang leading over a thousand soldiers in vigorous training in the army! Even knowing that Wang Erlang had deserted without permission, the Zheng family had nothing to say. After all, they hadn't caught him red-handed, and the Zheng family had virtually no power in the army and couldn't voice their opinions.

When the people of Chang'an heard the result, they were all greatly surprised! Everyone wondered what method the Li family had used to send the person to the army so quickly, even faster than the Zheng family's fine steed!

Someone, it seems, suddenly thought of the crane that had circled northwards over Chang'an that day. The person couldn't articulate their guess, and few believed them. After all, things like riding a crane were simply too astonishing. However, it did provide the people of Chang'an with more fodder for gossip, and gave those with a better idea of ​​what to do with their stories. Who knows, perhaps one day, it will develop into a myth or legend!

Since the plan failed, the Zheng family was bound to suffer another humiliating defeat! They were even more unwilling to accept it!

Since the obvious methods have failed, we'll have to resort to unconventional tactics.

Within a few days, the number of customers at Li's cloth shop, Yunlou, dwindled, and government officials even came to patronize it from time to time. Gradually, the shop became unprofitable and was forced to close down.

Seeing this, the various families watching the show in Chang'an shook their heads repeatedly, realizing that merchants were ultimately lowly. The Zheng family had been unable to withstand even a slight attempt at manipulation. Now, they were probably powerless to retaliate!

No one had ever imagined that they would compare the 'lowly merchant family' in their eyes to the prestigious Zheng family on the same level! This was completely unthinkable before!

At this moment, everyone set their sights on the Yuelai Inn.

This inn suddenly appeared and sprang up everywhere, becoming a pillar of the Li family's wealth. If it were to collapse, the Li family would be at the mercy of others.

The Zheng family was planning to cause trouble for this inn, but unexpectedly, they found themselves at a loss! It turned out that the inn was always packed with wealthy and influential people, making ordinary methods ineffective. Secondly, Wang Xiucai had thoroughly implemented the concept of collusion between officials and merchants that Li Xingzhi had brought from later generations. Not only were the profits divided equally, but he had also used various means to bind the Yuelai Inn with local officials and even high-ranking dignitaries, leaving the Zheng family powerless!

The Zheng family is not the royal family after all. Although they usually consider themselves to have a deep foundation and cannot see through the nouveau riche like the royal Li family, whose influence in various aspects is even no less than that of the royal family, they are ultimately just influencing, not completely controlling! When it comes to matters of life and death, they may not necessarily obey orders.

Furthermore, the library was not the Li family's true home. Moreover, given the refined and aloof nature of a prominent aristocratic family, they would never do something as simple as burning books or closing the library!

At this moment, the Li family was like that ugly, hard reef, while the Zheng family was like the vast ocean! Although the ocean was immense and boundless, it was powerless against that small reef! The reef stood alone in the waves, enduring the crashing, yet remaining unmoved!

The Zheng family was now in a terrible predicament. Facing the Li family, they were like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog—unable to find a way to attack. They couldn't very well hire assassins to wipe out the entire Li family, could they? Not to mention the public scrutiny in Chang'an, even the pride and arrogance of a noble family would prevent them from doing such a thing! But to simply slink away like this would be a huge loss of face!

At that very moment, something happened in the Central Plains.

Li Shimin was already deeply dissatisfied with the arrogance and self-importance of the five surnames and seven families. Now, seeing the Zheng family lose face over a small merchant family, he felt contempt for them. He then listed their behavior, saying, "There are four surnames in Shandong (east of Xiaoshan): Cui, Lu, Li, and Zheng. Although they have declined over the years, they still rely on their old territory and are fond of being arrogant, calling themselves scholar-officials. Whenever they marry off their daughters to other families, they demand a large dowry, considering the amount more valuable. They negotiate the terms like merchants in the market, which greatly damages customs and disrupts the rites. Since the demands are inappropriate, reform is necessary. I really don't understand why these four surnames in Shandong are so arrogant, and why people value them so much?!" Therefore, he ordered his senior officials to revise the "Clan Records".

However, for some reason, the compiler ignored the Li family and placed the Fan family of Xingyang first. Li Shimin was furious!

No one knew that the compiler was also somewhat dumbfounded in the face of Li Shimin's thunderous wrath. As the compiler appointed by Li Shimin, he had naturally received Li Shimin's instructions. Although he harbored different thoughts, he was clear about his own calculations. During the compilation, he naturally placed the Li family of Longxi first in the land! He never expected that when he woke up the next day, the rankings had changed; the Zheng family was now prominently ranked first! And the Li family of Longxi was relegated to a lower position than any other family!

Li Shimin ordered the "Clan Records" to be revised again before placing the Li family first.

When this news spread, the whole country was in an uproar! The Zheng family of Xingyang was now in the eye of the storm! Not only did they face suppression from the imperial family, but they also had to contend with the dissatisfaction of other prominent families!

The Zheng family could no longer care about being a small merchant or having any sense of face.

Thank you to last month's top fan "gthzj", the top vote-getter "暗夜乘枫", and the top commentator "黄瓜的觉悟"! (To be continued.)

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