Chapter 42: The Prince of Wei Wants to Buy In

As the saying goes, “Children, do not be greedy; once the Laba Festival has passed, the New Year is near.” More than a month had passed since Li Shen was impeached. The Zhengyuan Festival was almost upon them, and Chang’an was filled with festive cheer. Preparations for the celebration had begun within the palace as well, while Li Shen lounged at the Hall of Great Auspice, admiring the snowy landscape.

The Fine Goods Pavilion’s business had now settled into a steady rhythm, with Wang Hongfu overseeing everything. Both the Fine Goods Pavilion and the distillery at the Great Imperial Estate had hired managers, while Wang Hongfu was responsible for overall coordination and occasionally went to the Great Imperial Estate for inspections. The distillery now employed several hundred workers. Each received a monthly wage of five hundred copper coins, along with bonuses.

Since Li Shen could not leave the imperial palace, he had already instructed Wang Hongfu to give every worker a New Year’s reward of one string of cash, one load of rice, and five jin of meat. The overseers would receive twice as much. He had also ordered Wang Hongfu to take grain from the stores and send every household at the Great and Small Imperial Estates one load of rice and two jin of meat. All the meat came from cattle and sheep raised on the steppe; farm oxen were not to be slaughtered. Li Shen felt that there was still too little meat available and planned to raise some himself the following year.

At that moment, Li Shen was wondering whether he had made all the necessary arrangements. Ever since Xue Rengui had returned, he had been stationed at the Fine Goods Pavilion. Li Shen was a cautious man and never felt entirely at ease with the money stored in its warehouses, so he had ordered Xue Rengui to select twenty strong young men from the two imperial estates. They trained every day and took turns standing guard.

The Fine Goods Pavilion’s holiday gift boxes had already been selling briskly for more than ten days. Because merchants from other regions had placed too many orders, Li Shen had asked Wang Hongfu to commission private workshops to complete the orders that the Directorate of Manufacture could not handle. This would also help preserve and expand the craftsmanship of the common people. Li Shen estimated that sales of the gift boxes for this year’s Zhengyuan Festival would bring him a profit of one hundred thousand strings of cash. The thought alone made him beam with delight.

On the day of the Zhengyuan Festival, Li Shimin’s children who were in the capital would all return to the palace in the afternoon for a feast. The palace was exceptionally lively. Li Shen exchanged a few pleasantries with the Crown Prince before finding a corner to sit in. After all, he possessed the soul of a man in his thirties and had no desire to play with that group of children.

At that moment, Li Lizhi and Changsun Chong arrived as well. Li Lizhi had now become the God of Wealth of the Duke of Zhao’s household. Though the money technically belonged to her, she would sometimes bring out her own funds to help the family in an emergency. In half a year, Li Lizhi had received more than twenty thousand strings of cash in dividends. That was no small sum. The entire Duke of Zhao’s household earned only a little over two hundred thousand strings from all its various businesses in a year. In just six months, she had earned nearly half of that annual income.

“Eldest Sister, Brother-in-law,” Li Shen greeted them first.

“Tenth Brother, I truly have to thank you. You’ve given your sister a wonderfully prosperous year,” Li Lizhi said happily.

“Eldest Sister, there’s no need to thank me. You invested money too.”

“Tenth Brother, I know you deliberately gave me the chance to make money. Otherwise, who could turn five hundred strings into more than twenty thousand strings in dividends? I’m grateful for what you’ve done.”

“Indeed, Your Highness,” Changsun Chong added. “Lizhi has said several times that she wanted to thank you in person. She knows you intentionally gave her the opportunity to earn money. I, too, must offer you my thanks.”

“There’s no need to be so polite, Brother-in-law. It’s only right for a younger brother to treat his elder sister well. I’ve also heard about your situation. I hope you’ll treat my sister well in the future. Otherwise, I, your brother-in-law, will not let you off easily.

“My sister is Father’s favorite child. As long as she is satisfied, you’ll have opportunities everywhere. For a civil career, you can ask Eldest Brother to arrange a position for you in the Crown Prince’s household. For a military career, you can join the Feathered Forest Guard. If you want to enter commerce, you can come to me. I can easily help you earn ten thousand strings a year. I hope you’ll accomplish something worthwhile.”

Li Shen did not actually like Changsun Chong. He lived off his wife’s wealth and still acted as though he had every right to do so.

“Rest assured, Your Highness. Over the past few months, I’ve mended my ways. My father intends to send me to the Crown Prince’s household to assist the Crown Prince,” Changsun Chong said, completely unbothered by Li Shen’s attitude. Every younger brother seemed to harbor some inexplicable hostility toward his brother-in-law; apparently, even people in ancient times were no different.

After chatting for a while, Li Lizhi and Changsun Chong went to greet the others. Prince Wei, Li Tai, then approached and greeted Li Shen warmly.

“Tenth Brother, why aren’t you joining them?”

“I’m not interested in what they’re discussing, so I stayed here. Why aren’t you with them, Fourth Brother?”

“I came to speak with you about something,” Li Tai replied.

“Oh? What is it?”

“To be frank, Fourth Brother wants to partner with you in business. We’re brothers, so naturally I would think of you whenever there’s a profitable opportunity,” Li Tai said ingratiatingly.

“Oh? Then what sort of business do you want to start with me? How much capital will be invested, and how much will it earn each year?” Li Shen asked disdainfully.

“Fourth Brother wants to partner with you in the white-liquor business. Your current workshop is still far too small. I’ll provide the money to build a large distillery outside the city, and we’ll sell the liquor throughout the empire. When the time comes, we’ll split the profits evenly. You won’t need to contribute a single coin. You see? Fourth Brother treats you well.”

“That does sound generous. Does Fourth Brother have a detailed plan? Where will you find the workers? Who will manage the distillery? What exactly will I have to contribute?” Li Shen’s expression darkened. Did Li Tai really take him for a fool?

“You won’t have to contribute anything. Fourth Brother will take care of it all. When the time comes, you’ll simply collect your share of the profits each year.”

“Oh? Then how much do you estimate my annual share will be?”

“There will certainly be at least two hundred thousand strings. Tenth Brother, you won’t need to manage anything, yet you’ll receive two hundred thousand strings every year.” Li Tai grew more excited as he spoke.

“Fourth Brother, I made two hundred thousand strings in profit in only half a year. If we partnered up and I still received just two hundred thousand strings, why would I cooperate with you?”

“Er... You made two hundred thousand strings in profit in six months?” Li Tai was stunned. The aristocratic clans had told him the business would bring in one hundred thousand strings, and he would still have to give Li Lizhi a share.

“Fourth Brother, you didn’t come to me without even investigating the matter, intending to swindle me out of my money, did you?” Li Shen said with open contempt.

“Tenth Brother, how could I? Your elder brother would never do such a thing. What if I offered you three hundred thousand strings a year? Would that satisfy you?” Li Tai raised the offer.

“Fourth Brother, I have no great ambitions. The business is already doing quite well at its present size, and I have no desire to expand it. If another opportunity arises in the future, we can work together then.” Li Shen refused him outright.

“Tenth Brother, I truly want to cooperate with you. We’re brothers—shouldn’t we all profit together? You’re willing to work with Eldest Sister, after all. Fourth Brother is being completely sincere. Or are you looking down on me?”

“Eldest Sister doesn’t have the Cui clan behind her. Fourth Brother, there are some things I didn’t want to say. But since we’ve come this far, there’s no need for me to beat around the bush. Do you think I’m young and easy to bully? Or do the aristocratic clans think I’m a fool? Do you really believe I can’t see through this?

“You came to me because the Cui clan wants the brewing technique, didn’t you? Then the Cui clan would remain dominant as before. Can you guarantee me three hundred thousand strings in profit? Do you truly take me for an idiot?

“Fourth Brother, if you want to compete with Eldest Brother, that’s your affair. You play your game, and I’ll play mine. You know perfectly well that I’m at odds with the aristocratic clans, especially the Cui clan. Yet you’re helping outsiders cheat me out of my technique while repeatedly claiming that we’re brothers.

“Go back and tell those clans not to provoke me. That includes you, Fourth Brother. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”

Li Shen was furious, and his voice rose slightly, drawing the attention of several people nearby.

“Hmph, Tenth Brother. Your elder brother came to you in good faith and offered you the chance to make a fortune, yet you don’t know how to appreciate it. We share the same imperial blood, but you won’t even give your own brother a small favor. You’re getting quite arrogant, aren’t you? You’ve become so utterly contemptuous of everyone around you.”

Noticing that people nearby were looking in their direction, Li Tai deliberately raised his voice as well, attempting to smear Li Shen.

In the distance, Li Shimin had also noticed them. He could see that something unpleasant had arisen between Li Tai and Li Shen, but he did not intervene. He merely watched in silence.

“Remember this: do not provoke me. Don’t think the aristocratic clans’ support makes you invincible. If you anger me, you’ll regret it.”

Li Shen was truly enraged. Li Tai was clearly implying that he had grown rich, arrogant, and contemptuous of his own brothers and sisters.