Time Travel: I am the idle king Li Shen and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty

"I see, this... Your Highness, please forgive me, I didn't expect it to be like this either."

Upon hearing Shi Tou's explanation, Cheng Chusi suddenly understood.

No wonder Prince Ji was so angry; he was afraid that His Majesty would divide the money. But how could an outsider like him know about matters between father and son?

After Shi Tou's interruption, Li Shen calmed down considerably. Indeed, this matter could not be entirely blamed on Cheng Chusi; it was because he had not explained things clearly at the time.

It's quite remarkable that Cheng Chusi was willing to deceive the emperor for his own sake.

"Sigh, never mind, this is not your fault. Perhaps it is fate. Life is full of disappointments, this is the way of heaven."

It was destined that I, the king, would face this calamity.

"You have kept my secret, and I will remember it well and repay you handsomely in the future."

Li Shen sighed, waved his hand, and looked very downcast.

"Your Highness, perhaps His Majesty won't ask you for money? His Majesty is wise and mighty, why would he care about such money?"

Cheng Chusi offered words of comfort.

"You think..." Li Shen started to say, but then swallowed his words. After all, he was his own father; he couldn't speak ill of his father in front of outsiders. That was a matter of good manners.

"Alright, I know what to do. You still have official duties to attend to, so I won't keep you any longer."

"Yes, then I'll take my leave." Cheng Chusi bowed and withdrew.

"Stone, see General Cheng off for me," Li Shen ordered.

Shi Tou nodded and followed Cheng Chusi out. When he returned a moment later, he found Prince Ji still slumped in his chair, motionless.

"Your Highness, the young master of the Cheng family has already left," Shi Tou reported in a low voice as he approached.

"Yes, remember to remind me tomorrow to tell Duke Lu about Cheng Chusi's debt of 800,000 strings of cash."

"This child is in need of education, so I'll give him a big gift." Li Shen nodded listlessly.

"This...isn't this a bit inappropriate? The prince just said he wouldn't pursue the matter further."

Stone reminded him that Prince Ji was indeed vindictive and treacherous. He had just said that nothing was wrong, but now he was going to complain and get his father to teach him a lesson.

"Hmph, what's wrong with it? It's all his fault. Who knows how much His Majesty will ask for tomorrow?"

Li Shen snorted, then stood up and walked towards the inner courtyard.

"Your Highness, if you ask me, why don't you offer it to His Majesty yourself? That way, His Majesty might not ask for so much."

Stone followed behind, offering suggestions.

"Nonsense! That's my father! How could I not know him? Even if I gave all ten thousand catties of gold to my father..."

He would always say the gold wasn't pure, and make this bastard make up for it.

Hmph, you could say they're insatiable.

I really don't know why my Li family produced such a greedy emperor. How am I supposed to explain this to my ancestors when I offer sacrifices?

It's really my home... Waaah~~~~

Before Li Shen could finish speaking, Chunxiang covered his mouth, and then Chunxiang, Dongmei, and Shitou began to secretly observe.

Two guards and some servants stood not far away, along with servants who passed by from time to time.

Li Shen removed Chunxiang's hand and said with dissatisfaction:

"Xiangxiang, why are you covering my mouth?"

"Your Highness, be careful what you say. If this gets to His Majesty's ears, Your Highness will be punished according to family law again."

Chunxiang gently reminded him.

"What's there to be afraid of? There are no outsiders here." Li Shen looked around.

The Prince Ji's mansion had over a thousand servants, divided into a front courtyard and a back courtyard. The front courtyard housed daughters of respectable families who came from the fiefdom to work there.

They usually sign a two-year contract, and when they reach marriageable age, they are released to go home and get married.

The backyard contained the maids and eunuchs released from the palace that Li Shen had taken in. These people had nowhere else to go, so Li Shen took them in.

The Prince Ji's mansion will arrange the marriage for those who get married first, and then release them to receive a settlement allowance.

Therefore, Li Shen believed that these people should be loyal to him.

“Your Highness, walls have ears,” Stone said.

"Nonsense! The entire Qinrenfang belongs to me. The house next door is my sister's. She can't possibly harm me."

Li Shen wasn't so gentle with Shi Tou, and he scolded him.

There's no point in hiding it. The Prince Ji's residence is full of the Emperor's spies; he's used to it.

Putting aside his emperor father, if he gets into any trouble, these people around him will always tell his mother.

"Your Highness, you made this money by taking advantage of His Majesty's influence. It's not unreasonable to share some with His Majesty. Please don't be angry."

Dongmei tried to persuade him from the side, knowing that their prince valued nothing but money.

But it's very strange that Prince Ji is generous to everyone, but he's extremely stingy with His Majesty.

"Dongmei, tell me how much I have done for the court? Disaster relief, road repair, and tax payment."

I spent another six months guarding Xizhou, and even went to suppress the rebels for the sake of the court. I have truly devoted myself to Your Majesty.

What a fool! Don't forget, I, the king, receive no salary.

You might say that even if I haven't done anything meritorious, I've still put in a lot of hard work.

If I cannot make amends to my father, I will find no peace of mind.

Li Shen gave a heartfelt explanation, feeling incredibly wronged.

How many things have I done in a year, all for the sake of the imperial court? What's wrong with me making some money using the imperial court?

The three were rendered speechless by Prince Ji's words. They knew it was fallacious and heretical, but they were powerless to refute it.

In the end, they could only remain silent. It was all a matter of love and hate between a father and son, and they, as servants, had no right to interfere.

Back in the backyard, Li Shen went to Xiaoyao Pavilion, which was Lu Dingniang's main hall.

"My lord, will this look good on me when I enter the palace tomorrow?"

As soon as Li Shen entered the bedchamber, Lu Dingniang came to him, circled around him, and asked him questions.

She wore a formal dress adorned with jeweled hairpins, with wide sleeves, a double sash around her waist, and shoes. Her head was adorned with a crown with nine jeweled hairpins and a hair ornament with nine sparkling gemstones.

She wore a floor-length skirt with a long knot tied at the waist, which hung down to her armpits.

“It looks good, it would look even better in summer,” Li Shen replied with a smile.

“Then I will wear this to the palace tomorrow,” Lu Dingniang said happily.

"My lady, isn't this a bit too formal?" Li Shen asked, looking at the hairpins and ornaments on Lu Dingniang's head.

“My lord, shouldn’t we be more formal? Tomorrow we’re going to a banquet at the palace.” Lu Dingniang was taken aback; this outfit was equivalent to a prince’s royal robes.

The nine-jeweled hairpin crown was not something anyone could wear casually; only a princess consort could wear it. Other noblewomen only wore three or five jeweled hairpins.

"My dear wife, tomorrow is just a family dinner, so I think you should dress casually. Look at this huge gemstone."

If the other sisters and sisters-in-law see this, they will think we are showing off to them. As I said, we should keep a low profile when we enter the palace and be considerate of other people's thoughts.

Do you agree with what I said?

Li Shen pulled Lu Dingniang down to sit and explained in a soft voice.

“What you say makes sense, sir. But when we meet His Majesty and the Empress tomorrow, we can’t be too casual, lest we be impolite.”

Lu Dingniang nodded.

Seeing that Lu Dingniang understood, Li Shen immediately said:

"Don't worry, the simpler you dress, the better."

(Friends, what do you all think about the fact that the average person on the internet now has a million-dollar account?)