Zhenguan Xiaoxian Wang Li Shen Li Shimin

"Puff~~cough cough~cough cough~~"

King Li Tai of Wei spat out a mouthful of wine and started coughing continuously. Seeing this, Wang De hurried forward to help Li Tai pat his back.

The people at the table were all stunned.

People like Li Xiaogong and Li Daozon are Li Shen's uncles. As royal family members, they would definitely come to support such occasions.

There were also Li Fu, Prince of Zhao, Li Ming, Prince of Cao, and two younger brothers.

In addition, there were three other people. One of them sat at the first seat at the bottom. He was very old, probably in his sixties or seventies.

There were two people sitting below him, who looked older than Li Shimin. From their facial features, one could tell they were members of the Li family.

He is somewhat similar to Li Shimin.

The three of them were also wearing royal robes, but the patterns were slightly different. Li Shen knew that these three were princes.

But Li Shen had never seen these three people, mainly because he rarely attended court and only knew how to eat, drink and have fun.

At this moment, after hearing Li Shen's words, everyone looked at Li Shen, the young man who had just completed the coming-of-age ceremony.

"I say, Old Ten, aren't you being too perfunctory? The Book of Rites doesn't say that.

And do you know how many guests came today? There are more than a hundred people. If each of them gets a hundred taels of gold, that would be ten thousand taels of gold.

A return gift of more than 100,000 strings of cash at a time, isn't that a bit too much?"

After Li Tai finished coughing, he asked in order to cover up his gaffe.

Everyone else agreed with Li Tai's statement. How could one return a gift like that? No one would give a hundred taels of gold, but a thousand strings of cash.

There are more than a hundred officials here, with a total of more than 100,000 strings of cash.

Regardless of whether it is a costly thing or not, isn’t this a bit too wasteful?

Li Shen remained calm and smiled:

"Fourth brother, what can express gratitude better than gold?

Those who came today are all important officials in the court, and they are loyal ministers of Aye. They are devoted and have always assisted Aye and my elder brother.

They have made great contributions to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. So what if we take the money as a reward to them?"

"But...but...that..."

Li Tai was speechless for a moment. He really wanted to say, "What about the King of Jin if you give such a reward? Is this your share or the share for both of them?"

"Your Majesty, I think what His Royal Highness Prince Ji said makes sense. These officials have indeed made contributions to the court. It is not excessive to reward them on this occasion."

This is the old man sitting in the first seat at the bottom.

"What the King of Xiangyi said is true. However, even so, today we are returning the gift. Second son, this action is not in accordance with the Book of Rites. I am afraid that outsiders will laugh at you."

There was no expression on Li Shimin's face. He had already guessed Li Shen's purpose, which was to embarrass Prince of Jin Li Zhi in public.

He felt somewhat uncomfortable. He hadn't yet settled the score with him for what happened outside the palace, but now he was doing this in public.

Li Shimin felt that Li Shen had gone too far.

“Your Majesty, I think what Uncle Wang said makes sense. These ministers are all meritorious officials, and now they are close to Yuanzheng.

Since they are here to show respect, why not reward them with some money, and regard it all as a reward from Yuanzheng."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I think the same as you do."

The other two people also echoed.

King of Xiangyi? Why does it sound so familiar? Li Shen sat there with his head down and frowned in thought.

He remembered hearing the name, but couldn't place it.

Moreover, he didn't know the other two people and definitely had never seen them before.

"King of Longxi, what King of Bohai said does make some sense."

Li Shimin said after thinking for a moment.

There are two more names, but Li Shen has definitely never invited them.

But Li Shimin didn't say anything, maybe this rebellious son had another trick up his sleeve.

"Then I wonder if Brother Nine has prepared a return gift?"

Sure enough, Li Shen suddenly said this, and the atmosphere on the field suddenly froze.

Everyone's eyes turned to Li Zhi.

Yes, today is not just Prince Ji’s coming-of-age ceremony, but also Prince Jin’s.

Originally, this return gift should have been organized and prepared by the palace.

But just now Li Shimin asked Li Shen if he was prepared, which meant that he was prepared.

Now that Prince Ji has given ten thousand taels of gold as a return gift, if Prince Jin still gives jerky and pickles, wouldn’t that be a bit too shabby?

Li Zhi's eyes were blazing with anger. He had not prepared anything. The palace only informed him that he would have the coming-of-age ceremony today.

Everything else was arranged by the palace, and he was not told to prepare a return gift.

And the damn Li Shen actually gave back a gift of ten thousand taels of gold, worth more than one hundred thousand strings of cash.

This is more than the annual salary of Prince Jin’s Mansion. Is Li Shen crazy?

Looking at everyone's eyes, Li Zhi wished he could kill Li Shen on the spot.

“Okay, the return gift for Prince Jin has been prepared in the palace.

Originally, if you, Prince Ji, had not prepared a return gift, I would have prepared one for you.

But since you have already prepared it, you don’t need the one I prepared.”

Just when Li Zhi was feeling extremely embarrassed, Li Shimin on the side spoke up.

"Your Majesty is very thoughtful."

Everyone then realized that when His Majesty asked Prince Ji whether he was prepared, he actually had already prepared everything.

But Prince Ji didn't know, so he prepared one for himself.

"Thank you Aye."

Li Zhi stood up and bowed to express his gratitude.

When Li Shen saw Li Shimin looking at him with anger, he knew that today's matter had to end here.

If we continue, it will be too much.

So he stopped talking.

“Your Majesty, I think that since the two princes are having their coming-of-age ceremonies at the same time, you can just give one in return.

No, Your Majesty, give me two copies.

Otherwise, if the two return gifts are different, it will easily cause criticism from the ministers. "

Changsun Wuji spoke at this time.

"Your Majesty, I also think that what Duke Zhao said is very true. We can hold the coming-of-age ceremony together and give a return gift.

There is no need to give two gifts in return, otherwise it will be hard to say what the difference is. "

The older King Xiangyi also spoke, and his meaning was very clear, he was afraid of losing the reputation of the royal family.

"Whose gift is this? Is it Prince Ji's or His Majesty's?

These two return gifts are quite different.

King Ji's gift is gold, so his subjects will naturally be grateful.

Of course, I am not saying that your Majesty's return gift is not good, it's just that gold will make them more grateful."

"Yes, Brother Wang is right. Gold is better. Everyone likes it."

The two men known as the King of Longxi and the King of Bohai seemed to prefer money.

The implication is to choose Li Shen's gold as a return gift.

"Aye, I also think that ordinary return gifts are not as good as the gold from Old Ten. Why not choose Old Ten's gold?"

Li Tai stood up and saluted, then followed suit.

Li Shen frowned immediately.

What do these people mean? It sounds like I have stolen the limelight from His Majesty.

That's not what he meant. He just wanted to compete with Li Zhi, but not with Li Shimin.

He suddenly felt a little passive.

Li Shimin had a blank expression on his face at this moment. He knew exactly what the person in front of him meant.

I was somewhat dissatisfied with Li Shen's behavior.

(Thank you for your affirmation of my paintings. I will continue to work hard and create more brilliance. Thank you)