Zhenguan Xiaoxian Wang Li Shen Li Shimin

The two men stood up and bowed to Li Shimin:

"Your Majesty, then this old minister will go and collect his share of the profits."

Li Shimin glared at the two men, his eyes filled with disdain and a hint of jealousy:

"You two want to get involved in the affairs of the younger generation? Don't you think that's a bit disrespectful to your elders?"

"That's right, look at me, when have I ever gotten involved in the affairs of the younger generation? I would never ask for my son's hard-earned money."

Tang Jian also expressed his disdain.

However, Li Shen rolled his eyes. This old man was just saying nice things; if someone didn't know better, they would really be fooled by him.

Tang Shanshi told him that his father had also confiscated their money.

"Hmph, old fool, what do you know? What belongs to the son belongs to the father. They have acquired such a huge sum of money at such a young age, so of course I should help them keep an eye on it, otherwise they will squander it all."

"When they marry, have children, and establish their own households, I can return them to them then."

Cheng Yaojin snorted, ignored Tang Jian, and walked out with Yuchi Jingde.

Li Shimin turned his head and glanced at Li Shen, causing Li Shen to tremble all over:

“Father, your son has already married, had children, and started his own household. Also, Father, I don’t only have one son. I heard that Ninth Brother made a lot of money this year, as did Fourth Brother.”

"Why don't you go and check on their wealthy merchant friends?"

"Hmph!" Li Shimin snorted.

Outside, the Cheng brothers and the Yuchi brothers all looked ashen-faced, as if their father had died.

They stood behind, watching their fathers eagerly preparing to step forward, sign the papers, and receive their money.

"Brother, didn't Prince Ji say he would open a bank account for us? Why are they starting to distribute money again?"

In the corner, Cheng Chuliang looked at his older brother with a wronged expression.

"That's right. We came up with this football money-making idea because our family had taken all our money."

Why is it like this again this time? Yu Chi Baoqi nodded in agreement.

"How should I know? This is probably all the money we have for today. We must make sure to speak well with His Highness Prince Ji next year. We can't let things continue like this."

Cheng Chusi shook his head.

"It looks like we're going to suffer another year. We only get a dozen or so coins a month, not even enough for drinking."

I don't want you to still have a monthly salary, brother.

Cheng Chubi complained.

Several fellow sufferers complained from behind, watching helplessly as their father squeezed into the crowd.

A moment later, Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde came out happily with several sheets of paper in their hands.

"Haha, it's over 100,000 strings of cash in total." Cheng Yaojin laughed loudly as he looked at the list.

"Sigh, I should have had more sons. I only have a little over 50,000 strings of cash." Yuchi Jingde shook his head and sighed. This old Cheng is really something, every child he has is a son, and he's had six in a row.

"Let's go, let's hurry and get the money," Cheng Yaojin said anxiously.

"Let's go and bid farewell to His Majesty first." Yuchi Jingde still maintained a sliver of rationality.

"Yep."

Cheng Yaojin nodded vigorously, and then the two returned to the private room.

"Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now and transport the money back to my residence."

The two bowed in greeting.

"Okay, go ahead." Li Shimin nodded. These two have been making him angry, so he should hurry up and let them go.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After the two thanked him, they turned to leave when they heard a loud shout:

"Wait!"

Ok?

The two turned around in confusion and saw that Prince Ji, Li Shen, had already stood up.

"Is there anything else, Your Highness Prince Ji?" Yuchi Jingde inquired.

“Of course I have something to attend to. Please don’t leave yet, I still have some scores to settle,” Li Shen said.

"Settle accounts? What accounts? I don't know what Your Highness Prince Ji means by this?" Cheng Yaojin looked at Li Shen warily.

He wondered what tricks Prince Ji was up to this time.

"Hehe, of course I'm settling accounts with you. It's only right to pay back debts. Doesn't Duke Lu intend to pay back the money your Cheng family has owed over the years?"

Or is it that the Duke of Lu's mansion is now so powerful that it has exceeded the law and is trying to renege on its debts?

Li Shen sneered twice.

"This..." Cheng Yaojin was speechless for a moment. His family did owe someone a debt, not because they didn't want to pay it back, but because they couldn't afford to.

They only borrowed three thousand strings of cash, but in just a few years the amount increased dozens of times. They're practically taking advantage of their family.

That's why he's been delaying paying it back.

Unexpectedly, Prince Ji brought up this old matter again today.

"What? Does Duke Lu really not want to repay the money?" Li Shen raised an eyebrow.

"No, no, since debts must be repaid, how much does Your Highness Prince Ji want from this old minister?"

Cheng Yaojin quickly shook his head. He had also come to a decision. Since he owed the money, he might as well pay it back in one go to avoid being constantly criticized by Prince Ji and losing face.

Li Shen calmly extended his fingers and counted, as if chanting a spell. After a while, he looked up and said:

"It's already been calculated; the total is 107,000 strings of cash."

"One hundred and seven thousand strings of cash!!" Cheng Yaojin almost bit his tongue off. "Your Highness Prince Ji, my son only borrowed three thousand strings of cash from you, why is he repaying so much?"

Does His Highness Prince Ji perhaps think this old minister is easily extorted?

Before, it was just a number, and Cheng Yaojin didn't really care. But today, when he was dealing with real money, he immediately realized how much it was.

"What a joke! Three thousand strings of cash is just the principal. You've borrowed it for so long, shouldn't there be interest?"

Li Shen said angrily.

"But, but the interest rate is a bit too high. Your Highness, could you please reduce it?"

Cheng Yaojin argued. If it were anyone else, he would have already swiftly slashed and killed that person.

"Not a single penny can be shortchanged. This is what your eldest son promised, which is why I lent it to him."

"I believe that Duke Lu is not the type to go back on his word."

Li Shen put one foot on the chair and looked at Cheng Yaojin with a forced smile.

It's a pity he didn't see the toothpick, otherwise it would have been even more enjoyable to have one in his mouth.

"This... Your Majesty, please plead for this old minister. I am old and frail. Please reduce the sentence for me, considering the bond we have shared through thick and thin."

Cheng Yaojin wasn't stupid either; he immediately looked at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin felt incredibly bitter. These two were usually unreasonable and stubborn, like a piece of meat that wouldn't listen to reason.

Every official in the court was annoyed by the two of them, yet they couldn't do anything about them. Even they themselves felt a headache just looking at them.

These two men are prone to committing minor offenses but never major ones, and they're shameless. But as the saying goes, evil people need evil people to teach them a lesson, and they can only suffer in the hands of their own son.

"This... Zhijie, it's not that I don't want to help you, but as you've seen, Prince Ji has already established his own household and government offices."

It's not convenient for me to interfere in matters concerning his household.

Moreover, even if I were to speak, this rebellious son would not listen. Since he owes a debt, I think you should just pay it back.

That way, I won't be blackmailed by him every time.