This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Chapter 717 Your Majesty, do you think it could just appear out of nowhere? Zhang Anan smiled but didn't dare to answer.

Just then, a guard appeared at the palace gate, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Your Majesty, Imperial Censor Cheng requests an audience."

Li Shimin had no choice but to close the opened memorial, place it on the imperial desk, and say, "Let him in."

The guard acknowledged the order and turned to leave.

Soon, a tall man, about 1.85 meters tall, wearing a xiezhi crown and a scarlet official robe, walked in carrying a scepter.

"Your subject Cheng Jun greets Your Majesty."

Li Shimin pointed to the side and said to Zhang Anan, "Give Minister Cheng a seat."

After Zhang Anan brought over a cushion, Cheng Jun thanked him and sat down. Then he heard Li Shimin's voice:

"Minister Cheng, you have done a good job this time. I have heard that in just one day, the price of salt in Chang'an has returned to its previous level."

Li Shimin said with a smile, "The prices in the twenty-one counties of Jingji Province are also falling rapidly. In less than two days, the salt price crisis will be quelled. You deserve all the credit."

Cheng Jun humbly replied, "The success in calming the salt price crisis is not solely due to my efforts; the greatest credit belongs to Minister Changsun."

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Your contribution is also significant."

After saying that, he asked directly, "What brings you to me?"

Cheng Jun sat up straight and asked earnestly, "Your Majesty, is the palace's supply of refined salt sufficient?"

Li Shimin suddenly realized, "I had forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it."

"The palace has run out of refined salt for two days; it's time to replenish it."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but complain, "Once you get used to refined salt, eating coarse salt always tastes bitter."

"Minister Cheng, how much refined salt do you have on hand right now?"

Cheng Jun said, "Currently, there are a total of 340,000 jin of refined salt."

Li Shimin asked with some surprise, "So many?"

"That's perfect. Send them all to the palace. With so much refined salt, the palace will have enough to eat for a long time."

Cheng Jun hesitated for a moment and said, "That money..."

Li Shimin stared at him in astonishment: "What money?"

Cheng Jun said seriously, "The money for refined salt."

Li Shimin frowned. "Why do you want money again this time?"

Cheng Jun was also taken aback, not expecting Li Shimin to want to get something for free. His expression turned serious, and he said, "How novel, Your Majesty! Ordinary people in the streets have to pay for salt."

Li Shimin cautioned, "However, this situation is special."

“This time you’ve refined salt from mineral salt, which is different from before.”

"Moreover, this salt was not purchased by you, but provided to you by the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families. You didn't pay a single penny for it, so how can you ask me for money?"

Li Shimin said with dissatisfaction.

Cheng Jun patiently said, "Your Majesty, do you think refined salt can just appear out of rock salt?"

"..."

Li Shimin paused for two seconds, then asked, "How much?"

Cheng Jun blurted out, "It's a total of 34 million coins, or 34,000 strings of cash."

"..."

Li Shimin stared intently at him. "You're supplying the palace with a price of one hundred coins per pound?"

Cheng Jun nodded and said, "This is the price I agreed on with you before."

Li Shimin said, "That was before!"

"The price of coarse salt has already fallen, and since you can also refine refined salt from rock salt, how can it still be 100 coins per catty?"

Cheng Jun argued forcefully, "I said at the time that the price shouldn't be this high, but His Majesty said that this is the price, not a penny more or less. I am strictly following His Majesty's decree!"

Li Shimin glared at him and said, "No, not this many!"

Cheng Jun said earnestly, "Your Majesty, a ruler's word is law!"

"If you don't keep your word, then the words of the ministers in the future will also be invalid. You can't set that precedent..."

"Alright, stop talking!" Li Shimin interrupted him. If he continued, who knew what words he might utter? His good mood today would probably be ruined by his mouth. He turned to Zhang A'nan:

"Ananda, give him the money!"

Zhang Anan hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, the treasury doesn't have that much money..."

Before Li Shimin could speak, Cheng Jun's eyes shot towards him like arrows, and he said:

"Eunuch Zhang, don't you dare deceive the emperor in front of me!"

"How could the palace not have 34,000 strings of cash?"

Zhang Anan explained, "There really aren't that many."

"What nonsense! How could the palace be so poor..." Cheng Jun didn't believe it at all, and looked at Li Shimin, saying, "Your Majesty, I request a thorough investigation!"

"..."

Li Shimin glared at him and said, "What are you investigating? Me?"

“Ananda is the chief eunuch; if he says no, then no!”

Cheng Jun understood. Zhang Anan had seen that Li Shimin didn't want to spend more money, which was why he said that. So he asked, "Eunuch Zhang, please tell me the truth, how much money does the palace have right now?"

Zhang Anan hesitated for a moment, then held up one finger, "Ten thousand strings of cash..."

Li Shimin suddenly asked, "Do you have ten thousand strings of cash?"

Zhang Anan met Li Shimin's gaze and immediately changed her words, saying, "This servant remembers, no!"

The next second, he saw Cheng Jun stand up, and his heart tightened immediately.

Li Shimin then spoke up, saying, "How about this, give him five hundred strings of cash first."

Seeing that Cheng Jun had sat back down, Zhang Anan felt relieved, agreed, left Ganlu Hall, and soon returned with a small box, which he handed to Cheng Jun.

Cheng Jun took it, opened it, and found it was full of small gold beads. He counted them carefully and found there were a total of one hundred.

It was worth exactly five hundred strings of cash.

Cheng Jun put away the small box and said seriously:

"Then...I will supply the palace with a thousand catties of refined salt first."

Li Shimin looked at him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"Okay, as you say!"

"Is there anything else?"

Cheng Jun said, "That's all."

Li Shimin pointed to the door and said sternly, "The door is over there, hurry up and leave."

Cheng Jun promptly stood up, bowed, and said, "Your subject takes his leave."

Li Shimin rubbed his forehead, picked up the memorial, and complained:

"That scoundrel! Anyone else would be eager to send money to the palace, but he not only doesn't send a single penny, he also accepts money and even tries to profit from me!"

Zhang Anan was about to echo this when he saw Cheng Jun, who was walking outside the hall, suddenly turn around and look in their direction. He instinctively said:

"It's good that Imperial Censor Cheng is like this. If he makes money off His Majesty, he won't make money off the common people."

"His Majesty has given him a way to make money; that is called a divine favor. From now on, he will work even harder for the court."

The next second, Zhang Anan saw Cheng Jun smile at him from afar, turn around and leave, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's all you can say."

Li Shimin was unaware of these details; he only felt much happier after hearing Zhang Anan's words.

.............

Five hundred strings of cash, that's like becoming rich overnight...

Leaving Ganlu Palace, Cheng Jun carried the small box and walked happily on the road out of the palace.

With so much refined salt still in hand, there's no need to worry about supplying the palace in the future.

Just then, he caught sight of the outline of the Eastern Palace, and paused, wondering how that brat Li Chengqian was doing...

Cheng Jun thought for a moment, then turned and walked towards the East Palace.