Great Tang Idyll

Many thanks go to Jesse for commissioning chapters 08-12!

"Anyone between the age of six to thirteen can participate. This competition is divided into four games. The first game is a new thing called Rubik's Cube. The winner will get five pine flower eggs and a championship medal that is made from a tael of silver. The pine flower egg is a secret food made by the Zhang Manor.

The second game will be a history quiz. The winner will get a gold medal and fifty pine flower eggs. The third game is an intelligence test, and the winner will get a silver medal and ten pine flower eggs. The fourth game is a calligraphy contest, and the winner will get a gold medal and fifty pine flower eggs. If a person wins all four games, then they will also be given a trophy that contains gold. "

The child's voice travelled far and everyone here heard. Other people didn't react, but the older sister who was carrying her brother, and Li Wang'xun's eyes lit up.

The girl's thoughts were simple; if she participated and won, then she would be given a lot of things. She wasn't sure what pine flower eggs were, but she knew that since it was a secret food, it should be worth a lot of money. After she sells it, she can buy pretty clothes for her mom and better food for her so that her younger brother can have more breast milk. She can also buy a beautiful hairpin for herself to wear.

Her younger brother's diaper was already gone; it was ripped a long time ago after countless washings. She can also get some better cloth to make a new one and this would be more comfortable for him to wear. She can save the rest of the money for her younger brother so that he will be just as well off as other families' kids.

Li Wang'xun's thoughts were even simpler. After hearing about these four activities, he felt that he could easily get first place in two of the games. Which children on the manor could compare with him in calligraphy and historical knowledge? That was exactly what he studied. He was originally about to leave, but his interest was piqued at this time and glanced at the person next to him.

Before others reacted, Li Cheng understood what the young childe meant, and shouted out to the children who were about to run pass, "Hey, are the children of the three manors the only ones allowed to participate?"

The little child stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "Nope. Outsiders can also join too, but they need to pay a tael of silver. The Rubik's Cube costs money to make. Uncle, you can't join, you're too old to play."

"Don't leave just yet." Seeing that this child and the other children were about to leave, Li Cheng quickly shouted again, and then he said, "Do you see this person next to me? He's our young childe. He's not thirteen yet; he's only ten. Can he join? When will we be given a Rubik's Cube?"

The little child stopped and looked at Li Wang'xun. He nodded and said, "He looks like he's under thirteen. Okay then. Give me a tael of silver. I'll tell you upfront, it costs a tael to participate in one game. If you don't have money anymore, then don't play. It would be distressing if you don't win anything.

Don't worry about the Rubik's Cube. No one has one right now yet. More can be made tomorrow. Once it's made, go to the Between The Water And Clouds Restaurant to pick one up. Are you done deciding yet? If you're done, then pay the money. I still have to go deliver the announcement to the people of the Ge Manor."

"I'm done deciding already. It's just four taels of silver, right? Take out all the money you all have." Li Cheng was able to become Li Wang'xun's confidant so of course he was not an ordinary person. He knows that the young childe doesn't care about this small amount of money. He asked the people around him, and they took out all of the silver and gold they had. However, there were no copper coins since the coins were all given to that family of four just now.

Li Wang'xun stepped forward this time and placed a gold piece in the child's hand. "I want to join, and this girl will join too. I'll pay for her too. Bring this to the restaurant and ask them to exchange it for money. Tomorrow morning, I'll send someone to get the Rubik's Cube. Let's go."

The little child did not act courteous at all. He took hold of the gold and asked the other people to go on first to make the announcement at the Ge Manor. He ran to the restaurant by himself, and soon returned with some paper written by the manager and also some silver.

Li Cheng took the paper; he didn't doubt the credibility of the document. Even if the three manors didn't admit that the restaurant was run by them, he would eventually find a way. He nodded to the young childe, and the group finally left. They walked towards the newly purchased manor.

After waiting for them to go far, the waiter didn't dare to dawdle. He ran towards the Zhang Manor, and when he got there, he looked for the housekeeper. The concierge knew that the restaurant's waiter had important information to deliver, so they didn't dare to neglect the matter and Housekeeper Zhang was quickly brought over.

"That person has joined the games. His surname is Li, and he goes by the name Li Wang'xun. He arranged for an evacuee family of four to stay at the restaurant. The other two people who were investigating the manors stood nearby to watch, but they didn't come over." The man said all of these lines in a single breath, and then he turned around and ran back.

This information soon reached the ears of Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan. The two were watching the water in the swimming pool gradually settle and become clear.

"Xiao'bao, do you know that person named Li Wang'xun? Who is he? Why haven't I heard of his name before?" Wang Juan was chewing on a piece of orange in her mouth. It was so sour, her puckered, but she didn't forget about asking Zhang Xiao'bao.

"I don't know. I have never heard of this name. Back then, I heard a lot of people talk about history, but no one has ever mentioned that there was such a person in the royal family of the Tang Dynasty. What was his name again? Li Wang‘xun? It's just a small trick. His name is Li Xun1. He's Li Long'ji's second brother's son."

Zhang Xiao'bao thought about it carefully, and finally figured it out. He combined the latter two words into one word. This was a trick that he used a long time ago and he didn't care about using it anymore.

"Oh, I get it now. So he's Li Xian's son, and then he was adopted by Li Cheng'yi. Is he a prince, or...or..."

"Or is he the governor of Prefecture Bin? That's right, it's him. He was given the most important official post--- the first rank Si'tu official position. He's Li Long'ji's brother, so it's no wonder his son ran over here. They heard that an auspicious omen appeared on our manor. This is easy to handle. It's not scary to encounter a powerful opponent as long as we know his identity.

If we don't take advantage of such good circumstances, then I feel like we're disappointing the people of the San'shui County. Didn't he agree to join the games? He wants to have fun, doesn't he? Watch me arrange this. This time, no one can stop me from securing the Zhang family's one hundred household fiefdom. Even the emperor can't. Well, unless he wants everyone in the world to know that he has treated his brother badly. "

Zhang Xiao'bao tapped his face with his fingers and smiled.

"Okay, you can plan it out. Just don't kill anyone. This kid is not bad. He knows to help people who are fleeing the famine. Usually these evacuees would be taken away by the local authorities and sent elsewhere since they still had land. Surprisingly, he didn't care about this, and he directly let them stay at the restaurant."

Wang Juan was afraid that Zhang Xiaobao would use excessive means so she limited the content of his plans. She also praised the adopted child of Li Cheng'yi, Prince Shen, who was also the biological son of Emperor Li Xian.

She believed that if Zhang Xiao'bao was willing, then it would be possible for him to kill Li Long'ji right now, given that she doesn't try to foil his plans. The Imperial Palace might be highly guarded, but can the defense be as high as a certain country's official residence? In the end, Zhang Xiao'bao got the person sick, and after falling ill the person never got up again. The person passed away after two months.

If it weren't for this, there wouldn't be an international arrest warrant issued to catch Zhang Xiao'bao. What happened was that the country didn't allow China to participate in the Olympic Games held in their capital city and they maimed the torchbearer there.

After three days-- just three days later, the prime minister became ill. This action made all of the country leaders want to kill Zhang Xiao'bao to settle the anger in their hearts. Of course, most people didn't know about this since it was an international-level secret. A person like him had money and a perfect organization, so who wouldn't be afraid of him?

When he boarded the plane, people didn't blow up the plane. It wasn't because he was handsome; it was because he actually used the most common and profound name, Zhang Xiao'bao, and he was just a child from an orphanage. Other than his own country, no one else knew any detailed information about him.

Zhang Xiao'bao gave Wang Juan a look to calm her down, and then he said, "Don't think of me as a devil. In fact, I only lack a pair of wings. I am an angel, really."

"Okay, I admit. A fallen angel, right? You're kind since you're willing to help all the people you want to help, and make all of those people thank you for their entire lifetime. You're evil because you can easily kill anyone you want to kill, and make people fear you for their entire lifetime."

When Wang Juan heard what Zhang Xiao'bao said, she pursed his lips and gave Zhang Xiao'bao a conclusion that was not that conclusive.

Zhang Xiao'bao didn't care at all, "That's why I am a real person. I have my shortcomings, my strengths. I understand love and hate, and I have no resentment in this life...I have existed."

"Alright, just don't lie to me. I don't mind killing a liar if necessary."

"Can you bear to kill me? Do you think you can kill me?" Zhang Xiao'bao asked.

"I'll commit suicide." Wang Juan replied.

"Don't. I won't lie to you. If you die, who will I speak the words of my heart to? Liars can feel loneliness too, really." Zhang Xiao'bao compromised. Just like how Wang Juan did not dare to imagine losing him one day, he did not want to lose Wang Juan. This had nothing to do with love. The main reason was that two of them understood the same world. If the other person was gone, who would be there to hear the snapping of a musical string2?

He can't possibly talk to the people here about finance, currency, Murphy's Law, or why gunpowder explodes, let alone discuss idealism and materialism. The saddest thing in the world is to not have a single person understand oneself.

"Okay. You don't need to raise your hand to make the promise; I don't believe in these kinds of things. Hurry up and find someone to make a Rubik's Cube. People are going to come get them tomorrow. If I knew about this earlier, I would have studied weapon engineering, then I'll be able to make a sniper rifle. At a distance of 1,500 meters, I can kill whoever you want to kill. You can be an observer for me."

Wang Juan saw that Zhang Xiao'bao had actually raised his hand to make a promise, and she suddenly smiled. He said he won't lie to her, but he just started to.

"Okay. Here's the arrangement. We can't deal with the kid with just this little move. We still need to bring something else out. Does he think it's easy to cross the Little Bridge?" Zhang Xiao'bao put down his hands and laughed.

1. Li Wang'xun and Li Xun

In Chinese, Wang Xun is written as 王 (wang) 旬 (xun), and when these two characters are joined together, it forms a new character 珣, which is also pronounced as "xun".

2. Hearing the snapping of a musical string

This refers to a poem written by a famous military general. It means "no one understands my heart, so even if the strings of my musical instrument snaps, no one is there to hear it".