I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

"You? What? You have other ideas?"

Li Shimin glanced at Li Shen as he saw him volunteer.

This guy is the kind of person who won't get up early for nothing. If there's no benefit to him, he won't get involved in anything, not even matters of the imperial court, let alone private ones.

The fact that they're now taking the initiative to do this must be suspicious; there's no smoke without fire.

"What ideas could I possibly have? It's just that this was brought up by my son, so naturally I have to handle it well."

I can take a look at the book first, and then discuss with him how he should revise it.

Li Shenyi shrugged, indicating that he was innocent.

"Is that really the case? Didn't you plan to print them out and sell them yourself after you finished making the changes?"

Li Shimin saw through Li Shen's thoughts in a single sentence, which surprised even Li Shen greatly.

How come you can see right through me now? Do you really need to know me so well?

"Uncle Aye laughed. Books are very expensive. We don't even know if his book is any good. If it doesn't sell after printing, wouldn't he lose money?"

Li Shen argued. He would never allow Zhou Bapi, the skinflint in front of him, to exploit him for even a single penny.

"Is that so?" Li Shimin looked at Li Shen with a half-smile, making Li Shen feel extremely uncomfortable. Suddenly, Li Shimin spoke:

"Then tell me about your use of soybeans to extract oil. Don't try to get away with this. Do you think you can get away with this from me?"

"Huh?" Li Shen was startled by the sudden change.

We were just talking about the book, why did the channel suddenly switch?

"What? You really intend to do it yourself, without me?"

Seeing Li Shen's expression, Li Shimin immediately became angry.

He had nothing to do in the deep palace because he followed Li Shen's advice and let Li Chengqian take over the reins of the country ahead of schedule to train him.

It made him so bored every day. If he didn't find something to do with Li Shen's amusement, he wouldn't know what to do all day.

Every day is just eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating.

Li Shen was away for most of the day, and he was almost bored to death. Otherwise, he wouldn't have wasted public resources by using the post station to be pen pals with Li Shen and banter with him from afar.

Now that Li Shen finally had something fun to do, this rebellious son refused to include him. How could Li Shimin not be angry?

"Father, please calm down. But, Father, you can't always get something for nothing. You have to offer some bait, right?"

My son has given my father quite a few shares over the years, at least... *sobs*

Before Li Shen could finish speaking, Wang De, at Li Shimin's behest, covered Li Shen's mouth.

Li Shimin gave Li Shen a warning look.

With so many sons here, especially three poor relatives, what if they asked him for money? This was Li Shimin's true thought at that moment.

These three poor relatives were not doing very well. The eldest was alright; although he was dirt poor, he sometimes received help from others.

The other two still owe the imperial treasury money, and it's been so many years.

If he weren't Li Shimin's own son, he would have confiscated his property and demanded money long ago—that would have amounted to hundreds of thousands of strings of cash.

"Pah, pah, pah, did Old Wang wash his hands after using the toilet?"

Li Shen spat a few times and even took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands. Old Wang's grip was too strong.

If you cover your mouth and nose, you'll suffocate.

"Tell me, how many do you want?"

Li Shimin stood up and went to Li Shen's side. Li Chengqian quickly stood up and gave up his seat for his father.

“One hundred…” Li Shen was about to speak when Li Shimin continued.

"Think it over carefully before you speak. I want to invest in the oil pressing business, not in your Prince Ji's mansion."

"Damn it!" Li Shen was stunned. A threat, an absolute threat.

They even want to invest in my Prince Ji's mansion. Why don't you just execute my entire family?

"Then fifty..." Li Shen was about to change his mind when Li Shimin spoke again:

"Tenth Prince, I heard you've changed the feng shui of your residence. How about I bring your mother to stay with you for a while sometime?"

This would also be a good opportunity to help repair the harem.

This harem really needs some renovations; it feels so gloomy and cold. I reckon the renovations will be finished in a few months.

"What?" Li Shen's eyes widened immediately. Were they just about to raid the house?

If I let my father stay at the Prince Ji's mansion for a few months, wouldn't my treasure trove be emptied out?

“Father, I’m going to Xizhou after the New Year, which might not be very convenient.”

Li Shen quickly and tactfully declined.

"It's alright, I will issue an edict so that you don't have to go to Xizhou." Li Shimin sat opposite Li Shen, looking at him so closely, and the smile on his face made Li Shen a little scared.

"Three hundred thousand strings of cash, that's the lowest I can go. Give Father a 50% commission, but the court's old grain needs to be sold to me at ten coins per dou." Li Shenyi gritted his teeth.

"No, the imperial court needs to reserve funds for disaster relief and to deal with sudden disasters."

Before Li Shimin could answer, Li Chengqian suddenly shouted.

“Father, if you kill him, you can reduce the amount by 100,000 strings of cash.” Li Shen angrily pointed at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian was startled, mainly because his father actually turned around and looked at him.

"Forgive me, Father." Li Chengqian quickly bowed.

Li Shimin turned his head back and then shook his head:

"No, Tenth Prince, you're being too presumptuous. Your elder brother is the Crown Prince, after all. How can he only be worth 100,000 strings of cash?"

"Huh?" Li Chengqian was initially relieved that his father had spoken up for him, but he never expected such a big reversal. It turned out that Li Shen had been shortchanged.

If I pay too much, my dad is prepared to beat me to death.

“Then add another 100,000,” Li Shen said seriously.

“That’s still not enough.” Li Shimin shook his head seriously as well.

"Father, he's only worth 200,000 strings of cash. Apart from his reputation, what else is he worth?" Li Shenyi curled his lip in disdain.

"The Eastern Palace alone is worth at least 500,000 strings of cash, and with the position of Crown Prince, it's worth at least a million strings of cash."

No one expected that the usually serious Li Shimin would start bargaining with Li Shen, and the commodity was none other than the Crown Prince.

Li Chengqian stood to the side, his face a deep purplish-red; these two really didn't treat him like a human being.

But he dared not lose his temper. If it were only Li Shen, Li Chengqian could teach him a lesson, but the other one was his own emperor father.

Even if you gave him a hundred lives, he wouldn't dare. Not to mention there are guards here, his own father could beat him to a pulp.

Not to mention, there was also a highly skilled martial artist named Li An in the corner, his hand always resting on the hilt of his knife.

Having experienced the Xuanwu Gate Incident, his father was extremely cautious.

The two brothers, Li Tai and Li Zhi, who were practically invisible, were so amazed that their eyes almost popped out of their sockets. This was so different from the father they usually saw.

Is this still the wise, mighty, and domineering emperor they remember?

How could they joke about the Crown Prince like that? Is the position of Crown Prince so worthless now?

Just as the two were arguing, Li Shimin suddenly said something that almost scared Li Shen to death.

"Alright, 800,000 strings of cash, and I'll sell you the position of Crown Prince."

(No wonder it's hard to do business in physical stores. Things are too expensive offline now. I went to look at a vegetable sink, and it cost several thousand yuan, which is enough for me to buy a household appliance.)

The better ones online are only around 1,000 yuan, the difference is huge.

He actually dared to ask me for over two thousand yuan for a faucet, a stainless steel one at that? He's not crazy, I am.