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

Li Shen and Ashina Liang spent most of the meal chatting.

Ashina Ling could not restrain his admiration for Prince Ji.

What he saw in Prince Ji's mansion today opened his eyes.

The extremely precious colored glass outside is just an ordinary ornament in Prince Ji's mansion.

All the cups used for drinking are glass cups.

Even in this winter, green pines can still be seen in Prince Ji’s Mansion.

He also noticed that the servants in the backyard of Prince Ji's mansion all wore fine silk with cotton jackets underneath.

This outfit is not inferior to that of an ordinary small aristocratic family.

This shows how strong the financial resources of Prince Ji’s Mansion are.

I'm afraid that even if all the Ashina tribes were added together, they would not be able to compare to the Ji Wang Mansion.

This is also the reason why he admired Li Shen. He was so talented and was able to make the Prince Ji's Mansion so big by his own efforts.

After dinner, Ashina Ling said goodbye and left. He wanted to go back to Duke Xue’s mansion to visit his parents.

After Ashina Ling left, Li Shen took Lu Dingniang and his three giants back to the study.

After entering the study, Wang Hongfu knelt down.

"I am guilty, and I hope His Royal Highness Prince Ji will punish me."

Li Shen got on the bed, rested his head on Lu Dingniang's legs, and asked casually:

"What are you guilty of?"

Wang Hongfu kowtowed:

"The villain has the sin of recommending others.

I recommended my cousin Wang Wencheng, but I didn't expect that Wang Wencheng would cause such a huge disaster, not only causing huge losses to the Prince Ji's Mansion.

It also brought great trouble to His Royal Highness Prince Ji.

This is all because I didn’t know the right people and hired Wang Wencheng, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many problems.”

"Well, you are right. It is true that you are not good at judging people.

This king does not mind you appointing people based on personal connections, at least I know their backgrounds well, but you trust the people you recommend too much.

You are the chief treasurer of Prince Ji's Mansion and have the authority to supervise all parties. Wang Wencheng's incident was caused by your negligence.

Wang Hongfu, the Ji Wang Mansion is no longer as weak as it was in the past. Now the Ji Wang Mansion is spread all over the country.

One Wang Wencheng caused such a big trouble, what about ten Wang Wenchengs or a hundred Wang Wencais?

My Ji Wangfu is spread over ten prefectures, four hundred states, and more than one thousand six hundred counties, except for the remote Anxi and Qinghai.

Our Ji Palace has businesses in various places.

If everyone is like Wang Wencheng, then wouldn't my Ji Palace be doomed to fall and never recover?"

Li Shen's tone was calm, but Wang Hongfu could hear the anger in Prince Ji's words.

Especially when he saw Prince Ji's emotionless eyes, he shuddered.

"I was wrong. I am willing to accept any punishment."

Wang Hongfu prostrated himself on the ground again.

“Forget it this time, I don’t want something like this to happen again.

You must remember that everything you have is given to you by me, and I can take it back at any time, including your life.

Get up."

Li Shen nodded to Shitou who had returned a long time ago. Shitou understood and stepped forward to help Wang Hongfu up.

"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Ji, for your kindness." Wang Hongfu was grateful.

"As a punishment, I will deduct your bonus for this year. Do you have any objection?"

"I have no objection. I am also willing to bear the cost of inviting the Ashina tribe this time. I hope Your Majesty will grant me permission."

Wang Hongfu bowed deeply.

He had already thought about it, and this time he would pay for the cotton cloth that he had promised to give to the Ashina tribe.

The Ji Palace cannot be asked to bear the responsibility.

Because of Wang Wencheng, Prince Ji's Mansion has suffered a lot of losses.

This is also to show one's loyalty.

"Are you sincere?" Li Shen glanced at Wang Hongfu.

"I am absolutely sincere and can swear on my ancestors." Wang Hongfu immediately raised his hand.

Hearing Wang Hongfu's words, Li Shen waved his hand.

"Oh~~~Forget it, there's no need to swear, as long as you are sincere, this king never believes in any oaths.

Since you have this intention, I will grant your wish.

Just treat it as a punishment for you and take it as a warning.

Old King, I have always regarded you as my confidant and have never doubted you. You followed me the earliest.

Since I left the palace as a child, you have been with me for more than ten years.

You have made an indispensable contribution to the present status of Prince Ji’s Mansion, and I will always remember you.

This king really doesn't want to punish you for your momentary confusion, do you understand?"

"Your Highness, I understand. I was wrong. I deserve death. I have disappointed Your Highness."

After hearing Prince Ji's heartfelt words, Wang Hongfu prostrated himself on the ground again, moved to tears.

Prince Ji not only recognized his talent, but also saved his life. The past events kept resurfacing in his mind.

When he was at his wit's end, he was fortunate to meet King Ji, who not only saved him from danger, but also kept him by his side to work.

They have gone through many ups and downs and experienced all kinds of external conspiracies and tricks to get to where they are today.

The present state of Prince Ji's Mansion was hard-earned, but it was almost destroyed due to his own negligence.

Li Shen waved his hand, and Shi Tou stepped forward again to help Wang Hongfu up.

Li Shen sat up and looked at Wang Xuance and Xue Rengui again.

"And Xuan Ce and Ren Gui, the same goes for you two, the three of you are my eyes and ears.

Today, Prince Ji's Mansion is not only mine, but also yours. I hope you can protect it like your own child."

"I swear to follow His Royal Highness Prince Ji until death, and do everything for Prince Ji's Mansion."

The three of them saluted at the same time.

"Well, I believe in you, Old King, you..."

"Your Majesty, the items brought back have been roughly counted."

A report from outside interrupted what Li Shen was about to say.

Shitou went over and opened the door of the study, and Wu Meiniang walked in, followed by two accountants.

"I have met the prince and the princess."

"Well, no need to be polite, Mei Niang, come here and warm up here."

He waved to Wu Meiniang, and Wu Meiniang walked over.

"Oh, your hands are so cold, come up quickly and I will warm them up for you."

Holding Wu Meiniang's hand, Li Shen said with concern.

Wu Meiniang smiled slightly:

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will tell you after I finish reporting the matter."

Then he opened the notebook in his hand and began to report:

"There were four hundred carts of treasures, four carts of gold, eighteen carts of precious herbs, and seventy-eight carts of spices.

The rest are some calligraphy and paintings, and copper coins."

Wu Meiniang briefly reported the quantity, and the specific count would take a long time.

There needs to be someone to supervise, there needs to be an accountant to register, and there needs to be appraisal and evaluation by the owner of the boutique.

When Li Shen heard these numbers, his face turned pale.

He actually embezzled so many things from me, and I heard that this was only a part of it.

Wu Meiniang continued to add:

"Your Majesty, all the items have been put into Vault No. 1. The detailed inventory will not be conducted until tomorrow, and it is estimated to take a long time.

I just took a look and found that the treasures are of various kinds and have different values, so they cannot be estimated together."

"Well, don't worry. We have Ashina's carriage now. Let's start transporting the money to the palace.

This is the money I used to buy the imperial edict, and I cannot go back on my word.

Shitou, you go to the palace and find Wang De and meet with him.

Remember the 200,000 strings of cash. Give a little less when weighing. It's good to save a few copper coins. Go ahead and do it."

Li Shen felt extremely distressed.