Chengyang and Wu Mei were going on a diplomatic mission to Silla, but Li Yuanying was stuck in Chang’an. Li Yuanying wasn’t feeling very happy about it.
He had basically brought all the subordinates at the Honglu Temple under his control. He then encouraged Li Chengqian to recruit more people for the Honglu Temple. After all, the International Expo was coming to an end next year and they would need to send the envoys from various countries back home.
As a nation of etiquette (referring to China as a country that prioritizes politeness and courtesy), how could they not properly send their guests home? If these envoys ran into any trouble on their way home or after they returned, the escorting delegation could lend a hand. This way, they would be happy to come back to participate in the expo in a couple of years.
Li Chengqian thought that made sense. In the past, when envoys came to Chang’an, the Tang Dynasty would first present gifts and then send people back with them through the Honglu Temple. This time, they had invited many countries, so there would certainly be a lot of envoys. The Honglu Temple couldn’t be short of people.
The uncle and nephew put their heads together and decided that recruiting four to five thousand people would be barely enough. If a hundred countries came, with four to five thousand people divided, there would be four to five hundred people escorting each delegation. Was that a lot? Not really. If not for the fact that it was too many people, he thought two to three hundred thousand people would be just right.
After listening to Li Yuanying’s analysis, Li Chengqian also thought it wasn’t too many. Together, they went to Emperor Li to discuss the results of their brainstorming.
Emperor Li was taken aback when Li Yuanying, with his outrageous request for five thousand people, nearly made him want to have him thrown out. Did he know how many soldiers there were in the imperial guard guarding Chang’an?
Emperor Li looked at Li Yuanying and then at Li Chengqian, deciding to call Changsun Wuji and the others to come and scold the two scoundrels. He was too tired of scolding. Getting angry too often would damage his liver.
Li Yuanying thought Emperor Li was calling them to discuss it. However, he was quickly bombarded by a group of old men, leaving him speechless. It was the first time he had witnessed the combined firepower of Changsun Wuji and the others. He admired Emperor Li and Li Chengqian, who seemed used to this kind of situation.
Seeing that things weren’t going his way, Li Yuanying reluctantly retreated. “Five thousand is too many, two or three thousand will do. If we have fewer people, our International Expo won’t be grand enough.” He continued to persuade them under fire. “At worst, we can borrow them from somewhere else. After they are trained, they can return to their original posts. Each of them will be a person capable of doing the work of ten. We have a lot of such people in Tengzhou. They have traveled far and wide, experienced the local customs and practices of different places, and are very capable of handling official business and interacting with people. What’s wrong with assigning some of them to the Honglu Temple first? It’s not like they will be permanently under the jurisdiction of the Honglu Temple.”
After intense debate, Li Yuanying left with a discontented expression, only managing to secure the temporary transfer of ten thousand people.
Changsun Wuji, somewhat exhausted by Li Yuanying’s antics, stayed behind to tell Emperor Li that the Crown Prince was too trusting of Li Yuanying, even allowing him to ask for five thousand people! This rascal Li Yuanying was so audacious, not only asking for an outrageous number but also getting angry when he didn’t get what he wanted!
Emperor Li’s expression was calm, revealing no emotion. He let Changsun Wuji talk himself hoarse before saying, “They have the people. Let’s see how he does with them.” He was in his prime, with firm control over power. If Li Yuanying was foolish enough to try to instigate the Crown Prince to use these ten thousand people for something else, it would be tantamount to suicide. He didn’t think Li Yuanying would be that stupid.
Seeing Emperor Li’s response, Changsun Wuji stopped trying to persuade him. He could sense that Emperor Li’s attitude was changing, but he couldn’t figure out how. All he could do was wait and see.
With a mixture of thoughts, Changsun Wuji left the government office and went home. As soon as he entered, he heard people say that Li Yuanying was there, talking to the Prince Consort Changsun Chong. After Princess Chang’le got married, she didn’t move into her own princess’s residence but stayed at the Changsun manor, diligently serving her in-laws. She was a model for all the women in Chang’an.
Upon hearing that Li Yuanying was there, Changsun Wuji felt a pang of apprehension. He knew his son, who had no real ability. He got the position of Zongzheng Shaoqing (Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Imperial Clans) simply because of his title as Prince Consort. While he hadn’t done anything outrageous, he loved to socialize and drink, often getting drunk and being carried home. Changsun Wuji was afraid that one day he would hear news that his son had drowned in a wine vat.
Changsun Wuji always felt that his son’s excessive drinking might be the reason why they didn’t have children. Otherwise, even if Chang’le was frail, she should have had a child by now. What could Li Yuanying be doing here looking for his son?
Changsun Wuji went to see what was going on. He saw Li Yuanying holding his son’s hand, earnestly saying, “I think being the Zongzheng Shaoqing is not very promising. You should come to our Honglu Temple instead. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and you’re the most suitable person for this job!”
Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji’s blood started to boil. Even if being the Zongzheng Shaoqing wasn’t promising, it was still a real fourth-rank official position, responsible for matters related to the imperial clan and relatives. If his son went to the Honglu Temple, the Honglu Temple Minister was already occupied by Li Yuanying. The only remaining position was the Honglu Temple Vice-Minister, a sixth-rank official! It would be a joke if a Prince Consort was demoted.
What was even worse was that he didn’t know what Li Yuanying had said to his son, but his son seemed to be really interested in the offer.
Changsun Wuji couldn’t bear it any longer. He stepped in, interrupting their conversation with a smile. “I wonder what Prince Nascent Soul wants Chong to do?”
Li Yuanying opened his eyes wide and started to change the subject. “Ah, Chong is a grown man now. You still call him Chong’er, it sounds strange. You still treat him like a child. Chong is no longer a child, you should let him do what he likes, don’t restrict him in everything. Let him go out and try.”
Changsun Wuji: “…”
Changsun Wuji really wanted to kick Li Yuanying out.
The father was obviously trying to control his son, standing there refusing to leave. Li Yuanying had to switch from persuading Changsun Chong to persuading Changsun Wuji. The International Expo would definitely need to showcase some of the Tang Dynasty’s treasures, such as Tang Dynasty wines. After giving it some thought, he decided that Changsun Chong was the most suitable person for the job.
When it came to loving wine, Changsun Chong was second to none in Chang’an. Although excessive drinking wasn’t a good thing, he loved it so he might as well let him indulge.
Li Yuanying said, “The exhibition area of our expo will extend from Chang’an all the way to the direction of Luoyang. This route has both water and land transportation, making it very convenient to transport goods. People have been gradually sending in their countries’ intentions to participate, and we are currently allocating the exhibition areas. As soon as the delegations arrive, we will immediately help them build their exhibition halls.”
According to Li Yuanying’s plan, the exhibition halls of the International Expo would be built by generous nobles and wealthy families who volunteered to help. They would invest in building the exhibition halls, and in the future, they would have priority in negotiating related goods with the corresponding countries and also have the right to buy these exotic exhibition halls after the expo at a price.
Since there were foreign exhibition halls, there would naturally be Tang Dynasty exhibition halls. The “wine culture” exhibition hall that Li Yuanying was discussing with Changsun Chong was one such example. They would build a “wine street” around the theme of wine, incorporating everything related to wine, such as the history of drinking, wine poetry and prose, and accompanying singing and dancing.
After reading the preliminary plan Li Yuanying had prepared, Changsun Chong was immediately captivated by the idea. It was like a dream come true for him. He eagerly discussed the plan with Li Yuanying for a long time, suggesting improvements to the plan, which led to Li Yuanying’s attempt to recruit him.
Changsun Wuji only knew that Li Yuanying was assuring him that the court wouldn’t have to pay for it. He didn’t know that Li Yuanying had so many plans. Li Yuanying, inheriting Emperor Li’s style, always did things on a grand scale. The more impressive it was, the better. This “no matter what, I’m going to do something big” attitude was very intimidating, which was why his son was so fascinated by Li Yuanying.
Changsun Wuji smiled and said, “Chong can take charge of this at the Zongzheng Temple, too. There are already enough people at the Honglu Temple. Why do you have to bring Chong over?”
Li Yuanying, upon hearing this, immediately recalled the incident where he was cut down from five thousand people to ten thousand by Changsun Wuji and the others.
Li Yuanying sighed, “The more I talk to Chong, the more I feel like we click. I really want him to come to the Honglu Temple. Then we can chat whenever we have nothing to do. Since you said so, Chong, you’ll have to work hard and take charge of both sides!” Li Yuanying once again took Changsun Chong’s hand and earnestly told him, “Then this ‘wine’ aspect will be entrusted to you. If this exhibition hall is successful, all countries will be so obsessed with our Tang Dynasty’s good wines that they will be jealous and want to come again and again. No matter how expensive they are, they will want to buy them!”
Changsun Chong was the type of person who had always been arranged for by others, never having the chance to make his own decisions in anything. Li Yuanying’s words “let him try” really appealed to him.
Changsun Chong was suddenly filled with passion and determination. “No problem, I’ll take care of it!”
Seeing Changsun Wuji’s constipated expression, Li Yuanying didn’t stay any longer. He said he was going to pick up his wife and have a chat with Chang’le. Changsun Chong was now completely smitten with Li Yuanying, seeing him as a kindred spirit. He eagerly led Li Yuanying to meet Chang’le.
Wei Jiu and Chang’le were getting along well. Wei Jiu was good at calligraphy, and Chang’le was also quite accomplished in calligraphy and painting. Just chatting about these two art forms would never be boring. Wei Jiu was lucky enough to admire Empress Changsun’s genuine calligraphy, but she was sorry she couldn’t see the person in person.
Chang’le was also happy to see Li Yuanying. She praised Wei Jiu’s calligraphy and asked Li Yuanying how his calligraphy was doing.
Li Yuanying snorted. “My calligraphy might not be as good as my dear sister-in-law’s, but it’s pretty good!” After thinking for a moment, he skipped over his nephew, then his third nephew, then his fourth nephew, before finally giving an example. “Anyway, it’s definitely better than Chi Nu’s!”
After they sat down and chatted for a while, Li Yuanying went home with Wei Jiu. Chang’le asked Changsun Chong, “What did Uncle Nascent Soul want from you?”
Changsun Chong told Chang’le about the wine culture exhibition hall. When he mentioned wine, he became animated, completely unlike his usual gloomy self when he had to go to work. After he finished speaking, he finally remembered that Chang’le didn’t like him drinking and had often advised him against it. He said sheepishly, “I have to arrange for this exhibition hall. I definitely won’t drink too much.”
Chang’le, who had been listening to Changsun Chong without interrupting his enthusiasm, finally spoke when she heard him say this. “I believe you.” She let him hold her hand, a faint smile on her face. “When the exhibition hall is built, will you take me to see it?”
Changsun Chong, upon hearing Chang’le’s words, felt a sudden warmth in his heart and immediately said, “Okay, I’ll definitely take you. We’ll be the first to go.”
Meanwhile, Li Yuanying had returned to the Teng Wang Fu with Wei Jiu.
Wei Jiu asked Li Yuanying how his conversation with Changsun Chong went. Li Yuanying naturally boasted about his success, claiming that there was nothing he couldn’t do, but he couldn’t help but grumble about Changsun Wuji. “He treated me like a thief. I just thought Chong wasn’t very satisfied working at the Zongzheng Temple and wanted him to try something new. I think the Honglu Temple is fun now!”
Wei Jiu thought that there was definitely more than just Changsun Wuji who treated Li Yuanying like a thief.
Li Yuanying, completely oblivious to this, said to Wei Jiu after dinner, “Let’s go see Xiao Youyu and the others!” Ever since the little female general, Li Youyu, was born, Li Xiao Yuanqiu’s position in their hearts had been pushed back. They used to say they were going to see Li Xiao Yuanqiu, but now they were going to see Xiao Youyu!
Wei Jiu saw that Li Yuanying was so enthusiastic and refrained from reminding him that Li Tai always wanted to kick them out. She went to the Wei Wang Fu with Li Yuanying.
Yan Shi was naturally delighted to see Wei Jiu and warmly took her aside to chat.
Li Tai, however, was not so happy to see Li Yuanying. His face was blacker than the bottom of a pot. Li Yuanying wasn’t actually there to see Li Tai, but he was amused by Li Tai’s reaction. Seeing that his nephews and nieces hadn’t come yet, he sat down without ceremony and asked Li Tai how the planning of the Wen Shi Guan (Institute of Literature and History) was going, whether the volunteers were working hard or not, pretending to be very enthusiastic, serious, and concerned about the progress of the project.
Li Tai was taken aback by Li Yuanying’s attitude and, although he wanted to kick him out again, he suppressed the urge and patiently discussed some important matters with him. However, he hadn’t even finished speaking when Li Xiao Yuanqiu ran over with his younger siblings, excitedly calling out to Li Yuanying.
Although Li Yuanying had read all the books he could, he had mostly read them as stories. He was still not very proficient in matters related to literature and history. When Li Tai went into more detail, he got a little confused. He thought scholars were so complicated. Why were there so many twists and turns? This wouldn’t do, that wouldn’t do. He was completely baffled!
As soon as he saw the cute little ones, he immediately forgot what he had asked Li Tai, scooped up his great-niece and took his two great-nephews outside to play.
Li Tai: “…”
This was simply outrageous!
Next time, he would have to stop Li Yuanying at the door and not let him step into the Wei Wang Fu again!
**Author’s Note:**
Little Prince: Fourth Nephew’s serious face seems pretty cute, but kids are cuter.
Fourth Nephew: I’m tired, I don’t want to be the villain anymore, I’m so down.
Updated!
The weather is so hot, I’m melting into a puddle.
Little Prince is wreaking havoc in Chang’an today. ✓
**[Note to Readers: Times are changing, free websites are not going to last. Mobile apps with multiple book sources are the trend now. The site administrator recommends this book source switching app. It has lots of voice tones for audiobooks, easy to switch sources, and good for finding books! ]**
**+ Add to Bookmarks +**
Previous Chapter | TOC |