hsntnovel Chapter 1973 The Secret
Chapter 1973 The Secret
Li Shen was away for a long time this time, so he was a little worried.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will never make any mistakes again this time."
Wang Hongfu assured.
Wang Hongfu has had bad luck in the past two years. Several incidents in Ji Wang Mansion were related to him. Although he did not do it, he was guilty of lax supervision.
Wang Hongfu has always wanted to atone for his sins by making up for his mistakes and behave better in front of Prince Ji.
"Well, there is one more thing you need to do." Li Shen nodded.
"Your Majesty ordered."
“Today in the court, I proposed to build a temple to pray for your Majesty and the Queen, and of course my mother.
This temple was built with funds funded by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the King of Wei, the King of Jin, and me.
The prince will give 200,000 strings of cash, and the three of us will each give 100,000 strings of cash."
"Five hundred thousand strings of cash to build a temple?"
As soon as Li Sheng said this, the four people opened their mouths in surprise at the same time.
Building a temple is different from building a palace. It does not require any decoration or good materials. Simplicity and plainness are the standards for a temple.
A temple, such as Hongfu Temple, would cost only ten thousand taels of silver.
“You don’t understand. The place I’m looking for is the former site of the Wulou Temple of the Sui Dynasty, right at the end of Qujiang Lake. This time, I plan to build a large temple that will occupy half of the area.
It must also be built in a magnificent manner. It must become the largest and most impressive temple in the entire city of Chang'an."
Li Shen explained when he saw the four people's surprised expressions.
"But...but Your Majesty, even if it's just half a block of land, it won't cost 500,000 strings of cash." Wang Hongfu reminded cautiously.
"Bullshit, when did I ever ask you to spend 500,000 strings of cash? I asked you to build it, and I wanted it to be good and cheap.
As for the remaining money, it shall belong to me.
Is it not clear enough for me to express myself?"
Li Shen cursed angrily. Do you have to make me say such despicable words? I can't understand my feelings at all.
"I understand, I understand, I understand." Wang Hongfu nodded in fear. Isn't it just embezzlement? Just say it directly, why beat around the bush?
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince should know the cost of building the temple. Even if you don’t know, you should be able to find out by asking the Ministry of Works.
As for the King of Wei and the King of Jin, they should all know that it cannot cost so much.
Why would they agree to the prince's suggestion?
Will they accuse us of corruption in revenge? "
Wang Xuance thought more deeply than others. It was obvious that Prince Ji was trying to cheat people out of money. That was fine for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but why did Prince Wei and Prince Jin jump in?
He was worried that there was a trick.
Li Shen just chuckled:
"Of course they know that they were tricked by me. Li Tai and Li Zhi, the two little Karamis, were just innocent victims.
How could these two people be willing to be cheated? It was just that the prince nodded in agreement and they had no way to refuse.
If the prince had hesitated for a moment, these two men would never have paid the money.
After all, my target is actually the crown prince. In order to get me to go to Xizhou, he tried every possible means and even ran to His Majesty to complain like a child.
This king is only seeking a small revenge.
The prince also knows it very well, and my excuse is so powerful that the prince has no choice but to jump in. "
This was Li Shen's unexpected surprise. Li Shen originally wanted to disgust Li Tai and Li Zhi, and his main goal was to ask the prince for money.
But the result was better than he had imagined. Li Tai and Li Zhi knew they were being tricked, but the prince agreed, and there was nothing they could do.
You can't just say you don't want to pay in the court. Wouldn't you be criticized for that?
Moreover, Li Shen also said that he wanted to erect a monument. This would be a good opportunity to become famous.
"Your Highness, do you mean that the Crown Prince is willing to be cheated... and willing to pay?" Wang Xuance asked in shock. Although the Crown Prince had a good relationship with Prince Ji, that was two hundred thousand strings of cash.
It was not 20,000 strings of cash, nor was it 2,000 strings of cash. It was a full 200,000 strings of cash. A small-scale battle would cost 200,000 strings of cash.
And those two princes, the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Jin, each contributed 100,000 strings of cash. Their entire year's income was gone just like that. Were these two people willing to do this?
"Do you think he wants to spend this money? He is extremely poor now, and the little salary he gets from the prince every year is barely enough to cover the expenses of the prince's mansion.
Your Majesty is so stingy that he would definitely not give the prince extra money on a normal day.
This prince estimated that this time the prince would have to sell everything he had to come up with the 200,000 strings of cash. This was because this prince had given him so much money before and had not spent it all.
Otherwise, he, the crown prince, would have to go to Suzaku Gate to beg for food."
Li Shen curled his lips. This time he was allowed to have a taste of suffering, and he could also vent his anger.
If you go and tell on me again, I will make you eat coarse food.
“But Your Majesty, if it is so difficult, why did His Royal Highness agree to it, even if it means taking less.
I know it won’t cost that much money to build a temple.”
Pei Mingli asked at this time.
"That's easy. You just don't want to have a bad relationship with me." Li Shen picked up the tea and took a sip to moisten his throat.
Pei Mingli was confused. Shouldn't Prince Ji not want to have a bad relationship with the Crown Prince?
Seeing that Pei Mingli didn't understand, Li Shen waved his hand and said, "Xuan Ce, explain it to him."
Li Shen believed that Wang Xuance should understand the reason, otherwise he would have been following him in vain all these years.
Wang Xuance turned sideways and explained to Pei Mingli:
“Brother Pei, this matter was caused by the fact that the Crown Prince went to His Majesty to file a complaint against the Prince, so the Crown Prince used this to appease the Prince’s resentment.
The Prince and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have always maintained a good relationship, and neither side wants to create a rift over a trivial matter.
There is no conflict of interest between my Ji Wang Mansion and the Crown Prince's Mansion in this matter, so it's just a prank between the two brothers, the Prince and the Crown Prince.
The prince plotted against the prince, and now that the prince has been found, they are even, and both sides have achieved their goals.
The prince went to Xizhou to take charge, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince lost some money, but no one suffered any loss.
Moreover, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was also afraid that if he did not agree, the prince would do something else out of line. Anyway, this prayer would also increase his reputation.
When the time comes, we will publicize it in the newspapers, and we will all be recorded in history, respected by the people, and everyone will be happy.
That is to say, the two princes, the King of Wei and the King of Jin, suffered greater losses and were affected by the disaster."
"So that's it!" Pei Mingli suddenly realized after listening to Wang Xuance's explanation. He didn't expect that there were so many truths hidden in it.
He himself held a low-ranking official position and had never been exposed to competitions of this level.
"Thank you, Mr. Wang, for your help. I have learned a lot from you. I have been doing business for many years and have seen many schemes and intrigues.
But compared with the officialdom, it is simply insignificant. I am really a frog in the well. "
(The frozen pear juice has arrived, it’s a Hong Kong brand, it’s OK.)