Chapter 10: How Will Future Generations Judge What I Am About to Do?

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“Filial piety comes first, then knowledge.”

Wen He somehow found a thin vine whip about the size of a little finger and paced behind the three little ones with his hands behind his back.

He would recite a sentence, and the three little ones would repeat after him, then write it down from memory on paper.

Li Chengqian and Li Ke had started school at five years old and could already write hundreds of characters. If there was something they truly couldn’t write, they would ask Wen He.

Luckily, he had traveled back to the Tang dynasty and was dealing with regular script, so Wen He could barely manage.

Had it been the pre-Qin or Western Han period, he would have been helpless.

Li Tai was just beginning his education, so Wen He didn’t make it hard for him. Unlike his two older brothers who had to recite and write from memory, Li Tai only needed to read along smoothly and recite once.

If he couldn’t recite it, then he would have to endure a beating with Wen He’s vine whip.

“The teacher cares for you all. As the saying goes, jade must be polished to become a gem; a person must learn to understand righteousness. What I just taught you is exactly this principle.”

The three little ones turned their heads in unison, tears welling in their eyes with a look of grievance.

They didn’t believe a word Wen He said.

But suddenly, their eyes lit up simultaneously.

“Father! Mother!” The chubby little Li Tai leapt up suddenly, running around Wen He toward the people behind him.

Li Chengqian spread his hands in grievance, deliberately showing his reddened palms to arouse his mother’s pity.

Li Ke imitated him, but not for Zhangsun Wuji; rather, for Emperor Taizong himself.

Only then did Wen He realize that Emperor Taizong and Zhangsun Wuji had arrived. He turned to pay his respects, but when he saw the girl standing to Zhangsun Wuji’s left, timidly clutching her sleeve, he was momentarily stunned.

“Xiaorou!”

“Brother!”

The girl, who had been bowing her head, looked up in surprise at the familiar voices.

Upon seeing Wen He, tears immediately brimmed and spilled from her eyes. She released Zhangsun Wuji’s long sleeve and rushed toward Wen He.

Nearby, another delicate and lovely girl watched curiously, following Xiaorou’s retreating figure with her gaze.

“Brother, are you alright? Has anyone bullied you? Xiaorou is so scared.”

Wen He tossed aside the vine whip and gently lifted the pitiful little girl into his arms.

“No one bullied me, and no one will from now on.” Wen He smiled, rubbing her head.

She must have been terribly frightened.

She hadn’t slept all night and had been crying constantly. That morning, when they left the house, she was still holding back tears.

“Is this what you call playing?”

Emperor Taizong asked, somewhat taken aback, watching Li Tai fall into Zhangsun Wuji’s arms, silently sobbing.

“The uncle who brought me here said you were enjoying life at the Qin Prince’s mansion. The village elder and Father didn’t dare believe it.” Xiaorou looked up at Wen He, clutching his sleeve tightly with her small hand.

“Something like that.” Wen He chuckled, casting a glance at Emperor Taizong before withdrawing his gaze to soothe the girl.

“Are you bullying people?” A gentle voice suddenly questioned, and Wen He felt his sleeve being tugged.

He turned to find a girl standing beside him, angrily staring and still holding onto his sleeve.

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“Lizhì, don’t provoke him; he’s very fierce.” Li Tai, who had just been complaining to Zhangsun Wuji nearby, quickly waved to her in fright.

Lizhì froze, wide-eyed, and couldn’t help but let out a babyish hiccup.

“Are you Lizhì?”

Wen He was secretly surprised as he looked at the exquisite little girl before him.

This was the legendary eldest legitimate daughter of Emperor Taizong, who later married Zhangsun Chong and became the Princess of Changle.

In the grand scheme of things, if one traveled back to the Tang dynasty, these two princesses were must-marrys.

One was Li Mingda, the other was Lizhì.

Unfortunately, this princess’s fate was also tragic—beauty with a fragile life, passing away before the age of twenty-three.

As Emperor Taizong approached to pick up Lizhì, he suddenly caught a fleeting look of regret in Wen He’s eyes.

He was momentarily stunned but decided to suppress the matter for now.

“Eldest daughter, this is the teacher Father found for your brothers; he is not a bad person. You should go find your mother now, alright?”

He gently patted Lizhì’s head, his voice so soft Wen He could hardly believe this was the legendary Emperor Taizong.

It’s said Emperor Taizong doted on the children born to Zhangsun Wuji, and seeing it firsthand confirmed it.

Lizhì cast a reluctant glance at Wen He.

She had no playmates her age in the mansion, and today, when one finally came, they hadn’t even had a proper conversation.

“Ahem, Wen He, let your younger sister and the Guanyin maids eat first. I have business to discuss with you.” Emperor Taizong cleared his throat and gave a solemn look.

Wen He immediately understood this must relate to the hurried meeting Emperor Taizong had just left in the front courtyard.

He nodded and reassured Wen He, telling the girl to eat with Zhangsun Wuji.

Although reluctant, Wen He was more afraid that the fierce-looking man would bully her brother, so she timidly nodded in agreement.

The three little ones were overjoyed—they had finally escaped the tyrant.

He promised to take them to play but ended up making them study, and he was even fiercer than Confucius.

Once everyone had left, the smile on Emperor Taizong’s face vanished instantly.

“Just now, Wang Xu came.”

“Wang Shi?”

The mother of Emperor Wu of Han?

Emperor Taizong took the seat of honor and looked up at Wen He silently.

Under such a gaze, Wen He felt a chill and racked his brain for a moment.

He had studied Tang history thoroughly in his past life, so why couldn’t he recall many details after transmigrating without careful thought?

“Oh, I remember now. The spy you arranged near the Crown Prince, Wang Xu, right?”

So it was Wang Xu.

Noticing the darkening expression on Emperor Taizong’s face, Wen He smiled wryly and shook his head. “Your Highness, you’re still testing me at this point? You don’t still think my identity from the future is fake, do you?”

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As he finished speaking, Emperor Taizong shot him a sharp look.

“I want to know how this matter is recorded in later history.”

“How else would it be recorded? Truthfully, although whether it’s true is another question.” Wen He was tired from teaching the three little ones the Three Character Classic.

People in the Tang dynasty drank tea broth—especially the nobility—often adding pepper and such.

He had sipped some earlier, and his tongue was numb.

Thankfully, the servants had prepared plain boiled water for him.

Finding a place to sit, Wen He picked up the half-full bowl and drank it all.

Only after he finished did Emperor Taizong continue, eyes fixed on him: “Your eldest brother and fourth brother want to kill me!”

“Isn’t that something you already knew?” Wen He shrugged, suspecting Emperor Li Er might be losing his mind.

He recalled the history books mentioning Li Jiancheng even tried to poison Emperor Taizong, nearly killing him.

Li Jiancheng’s hostility towards him was no secret.

“So I had no choice but to fight back. But how would future generations understand me? Would they sympathize with the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi?”

Emperor Taizong’s features twisted in anguish, his fists clenched tightly.

“If I ascend to the throne and become the Heavenly Khan, might future generations overlook what I am about to do?”

He didn’t explicitly say what he intended to do.

But Wen He understood.

Moreover, he knew Emperor Taizong wasn’t seeking answers.

Even if he knew that future generations would judge him harshly, would he stop?

He just wanted some comfort.

A reason to persuade himself to go through with it without regret.

Originally, Zhangsun Wuji provided such a reason, but he was not here now.

So Emperor Taizong came to seek out Wen He.

These ancient people truly lived hard lives.

Always demanding glory in life and after death.

Wen He sighed, shaking his head as he set down the bowl.

“Since Your Highness the Qin Prince is so hesitant, then I must go to the Crown Prince. After all, history is bound to be changed...”

“Whoosh!”

Before he finished speaking, a three-foot sword was suddenly pressed against his throat in the blink of an eye.