hsntnovel Chapter 2745 Li Yifu's Speculation
Chapter 2745 Li Yifu's Speculation
When the doctor's voice raised a question among the crowd, everyone's eyes turned to him.
The man sat in an inconspicuous corner, but everyone recognized him; he was Li Yifu, the chief secretary of the Prince of Jin's residence.
Originally, Li Yifu was representing Prince Li Zhi of Jin and should have sat in the front seat, but for some reason, Li Yifu chose to sit in the back.
Perhaps it was because the powerful families did not respect Li Zhi, or perhaps Li Yifu himself was of low status and had little influence, so no one cared about his decision.
Anyway, I'll just sit in the back.
Although the aristocratic families have declined, they still retain their former pride. They cannot underestimate Prince Ji, nor will they overestimate Prince Jin.
Because the Prince of Jin is just an ordinary prince, one of His Majesty's sons, and when he takes up his fief, he will also be an unremarkable prince.
But Prince Ji, Li Shen, was different. They dared not underestimate him, for a simple reason: Prince Ji posed a great threat to them.
The reason was simple and straightforward, yet it also stemmed from a lot of helplessness: they were wary of Prince Ji.
"Li Changshi, what do you mean by that?"
The representative of the Yang clan of Hongnong turned around and asked with a frown.
"Hehe, Chief Secretary Li, please speak frankly. If you have any news, please share it with us as well."
I wonder why Chief Secretary Li would have such a thought. Perhaps he knows something?
Choi In-ji chuckled twice and asked with a smile.
Li Yifu slowly stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to those around him. The people here were all from aristocratic families, while he was merely a chief secretary from a humble background.
"Please forgive me, everyone. I just couldn't help asking a question. Please forgive me if I was inappropriate."
"It's alright. I invited everyone here today to hear your opinions. Please feel free to speak your mind."
Choi In-ji shook her head amicably.
After bowing again, Li Yifu said:
"Thank you, Imperial Censor Cui. Now, please allow me to say a few words. I wonder if you all have considered that this matter of spices is yet another trap set by Prince Ji."
As we all know, over the past decade, how many traps has Prince Ji set up? We have all suffered greatly at his hands.
Although we have no evidence of the Divine Pearl incident, various signs indicate that it is related to Prince Ji.
There's also the Wending Chamber of Commerce incident and the linen and silk incident. Which of these wasn't manipulated by Prince Ji behind the scenes?
Prince Ji was exceptionally intelligent and resourceful, unmatched in the business world, a rare talent that only appears once every thousand years.
Everything that has happened now was caused by Prince Ji.
My lord once said that anything involving Prince Ji is not a good thing, and we should be careful.
That's why Li said, "Is it possible that the spices were also a trap set by Prince Ji for us?"
After Li Yifu finished speaking, he sat down silently, picked up his teacup, and drank some tea. He had said everything he wanted to say.
This was something the Prince of Jin specifically instructed him to do when he arrived.
Let him speak on this occasion, because even the Prince of Jin is not sure whether this matter is a trap set by the Prince of Ji.
He wanted to take this opportunity to get these powerful families to analyze the situation, which could also serve as a reminder.
These people are easily swayed by profit, and often get blinded by greed, falling right into Li Shen's trap.
Sure enough, after Li Yifu finished speaking, the entire room fell silent, except for the sounds of breathing and drinking tea.
Everyone was wondering whether what Li Yifu said was true.
They considered many things, but none of them considered whether this might be a trap, because there was no indication that Prince Ji had made any move.
Everyone saw that King Ji was scrambling for spices, and he even deliberately suppressed spice prices in order to do so.
They're all playing by themselves; there's no intention to involve anyone else.
In addition, the Prince's Mansion had not taken any action for so long, which made them overlook this point.
"Chief Secretary Li, is there any basis for your guess?" the representative of the Xiao family of Lanling asked Li Yifu solemnly.
This matter is of great importance; these local powerful families can no longer withstand the machinations of the Prince Ji's mansion.
"Elder Xiao, this is just my guess, I have no basis for it. Perhaps it's because I've suffered too many losses, so I'm being overly cautious."
Mr. Li also hopes he's wrong, but if he is indeed right, it will spare us from significant losses. He urges everyone to be cautious.
Li Yifu replied. He was just telling the truth. If he had evidence, he might not have said anything, and might even have taken the opportunity to profit from it.
Upon hearing Li Yifu's words, the others fell into deep thought once again.
Soon, Choi In-ji addressed everyone:
"It's all my fault for not thinking things through. I didn't realize this matter might be related to Prince Ji. I hope you will all forgive me."
“Imperial Censor Cui, you are exaggerating. The Prince Ji’s residence has been quiet for many years, and we have not thought of it that way either.”
It seems we should consider this carefully.
Lu Chengqing smoothed things over for Cui Renzhi, giving them all a way out.
“That’s right, we were all careless. There was a wild beast lurking nearby, watching us intently,” Zheng Jingsi chimed in.
The others nodded in agreement; the Prince Ji's Mansion hadn't made a move in so long that they had almost forgotten about it.
Just as everyone was discussing this, the two representatives from the Longxi Li clan and the Zhaojun Li clan suddenly nodded to each other and stood up in tacit agreement.
Amidst the curious gazes of the crowd, the elder of the Longxi Li clan spoke up:
"Since we need to discuss this further, I will take my leave now. If there is a result, please just let me know."
“Then I, Li, will take my leave.” The representative of the Zhao County Li Clan nodded.
The two bowed to the crowd and prepared to leave.
"Please wait, gentlemen. What is the meaning of your departure? We are still discussing this. Is there some reason for your sudden departure?"
Choi In-ji quickly called out to the two of them.
The elder of the Li clan of Longxi slowly turned around, glanced at Cui Renzhi, and then his gaze swept over the faces of the other aristocratic family representatives:
“Imperial Censor Cui, please forgive my bluntness, but even if I were here, I could not come up with a useful plan.”
Why waste time here?
The Li family can agree to your suggestion to raise prices, after all, the Li family also has a lot of spices.
But your suggestion to send someone to the Western Regions to transport spices back by sea is rather absurd, not to mention that it would take at least half a year for such a round trip.
It's still unknown how much spice these people will be able to bring back.
With so many of us here, if it's only three or five hundred thousand strings of cash, and each family gets only tens of thousands of strings, how much money can we make?
It's not that my Li family is arrogant, but if someone were to sell spices in large quantities right now, my Li family could easily acquire a million strings of cash.
That's what makes it worth the trouble; otherwise, spending 30,000 to 50,000 strings of cash and half a year is pointless.
Mr. Li said his piece and took his leave.
After saying this, the elder of the Li family turned and left, and the Zhao County Li family followed. However, when the two reached the door, Cui Renzhi called them back again.
"Please stay, both of you."
(What's going on? It's getting later and later. Take him out and send him to a brothel to be tortured to death.)