Chapter 36: Li Shimin, Weary at Heart

On the other side, Li Lizhi returned to the Imperial Palace in a daze, sitting blankly on her own bed.

She even forgot to report to Li Shimin.

Whenever Chen Yan's line 'Lovely beauty eclipses past and present, lotus flowers blush at her jade-like face' came to mind, she couldn't help but blush.

The maid beside her, Autumn Moon, looked at her with a bewildered expression and couldn't help but push her, saying, 'Princess, Princess!'

"Ah... ah! What's wrong?"

Li Lizhi snapped back to reality, hastily rising to her feet like a student caught misbehaving by his teacher.

Autumn Moon asked concernedly, 'Princess, what exactly is wrong with you?'

"Why, after returning from the Marquis of Weinan's mansion, do you look so absent‑minded?"

"If you're feeling unwell, shall I have the servant summon the imperial physician?"

On the way back, she had seen Li Lizhi often spacing out, saying nothing, her complexion constantly shifting.

She truly worried that Li Lizhi might have some physical problem.

"No... no need, this palace is in perfect health!"

Li Lizhi let out a long breath, patted her face, and recovered her usual composure.

"Really nothing wrong?" Autumn Moon doubted a little.

Just now, the princess looked anything but fine, didn't she?

Li Lizhi's complexion looked somewhat unnatural as she explained, 'This palace truly is fine; you needn't worry.'

"By the way, Father Emperor should have finished morning court by now, right?"

Seeing that the princess indeed seemed fine, Autumn Moon relaxed considerably and replied, 'Your Highness, His Majesty has already finished morning court; he should presently be in the Hall of Two Instruments.'

"Come on, let's go to the Hall of Two Instruments."

Li Lizhi tidied her appearance slightly, then led Autumn Moon all the way to the Hall of Two Instruments.

At that moment, inside the Hall of Two Instruments.

Wushe presented a bag of salt to Li Shimin's desk, saying, 'Your Majesty, following your orders, I secretly sent men to Weinan County to dig up some poisonous salt ore, then purified it according to the Marquis of Weinan's method.'

"However... the salt we are producing now, though much better than before, is not as fine as that made by the Marquis of Weinan."

"I believe it's because the workers below are still unfamiliar with the salt‑making technique; once they gain experience, they will surely be able to produce better salt."

Li Shimin pinched some salt, examined it, and nodded in satisfaction.

Although the salt Wushe brought back is not as fine as that brought by Chen Yan, it is already very pure, with no trace of impurity.

Li Shimin rose to his feet and paced back and forth.

After a moment, he said in a low voice, 'Go, summon Cheng Yaojin to the palace at once.'

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Wushe slowly withdrew.

Before Li Shimin could sit down again, a young eunuch hurried in, bowed, and said, 'Your Majesty, Princess Changle requests an audience.'

Li Shimin's face lit up with joy, 'Quickly, admit her!'

Not long after, Li Lizhi walked gracefully into the Hall of Two Instruments, saying, 'Your servant pays respects to Father Emperor!'

Inside the Hall of Two Instruments, she was not as casual as in private; she observed all the proper etiquette without omission.

Li Shimin hurried to her in three quick steps, asking anxiously, 'How is it? Did that boy agree?'

Li Lizhi smiled, 'Father Emperor, I promised the Marquis of Weinan a tavern plus a thousand strings of cash; he agreed to let me become a partner and gave me forty percent of the profits.'

"Forty percent?"

Li Shimin felt delighted; this profit share was considerably higher than he had anticipated.

Despite spending an extra thousand strings of cash, he believed that as long as Chen Yan didn't mess things up, this amount would be recouped in at most one month.

Compared to the returns, this expenditure is clearly within his means.

Li Shimin was very pleased, praising, 'Excellent, truly worthy of being Father Emperor's good Changle; this time you have done him a great favor.'

Li Lizhi said somewhat embarrassedly, 'Actually, I didn't do much; the Marquis of Weinan and his associates were already discussing opening a tavern with Elder Brother and Cheng Chumo and the others.'

'I merely brought it up, and then the Marquis of Weinan agreed.'

Li Shimin clicked his tongue in amazement, 'I never expected that boy not to be joking; he really intends to bring Elder Brother and Cheng Chumo and the others to make money.'

"He does have a sense of righteousness."

Speaking of this, Li Lizhi nodded in agreement, 'Yes, the Marquis of Weinan truly values loyalty and righteousness; Elder Brother said he doesn't want to take a share of the profits, yet the Marquis of Weinan still wouldn't agree.'

For some reason, the image of that white‑clad youth appeared again in her mind, and a flush rose to her cheeks.

However, Li Shimin, preoccupied with his happiness, didn't notice and casually asked, 'What share of the profits does Zi An take? And what about Cheng Chumo and the others?'

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Weinan takes twenty‑five percent, Cheng Chumo, Yu Chi Bao Lin, and Qin Huai Dao each take five percent, and Elder Brother takes twenty percent."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's stance faltered, 'You said Cheng Qian takes twenty percent?'

Seeing Father Emperor's displeased expression, Li Lizhi felt a bit puzzled but answered honestly, 'Yes, the Marquis of Weinan said Elder Brother should contribute three hundred strings of cash plus some manpower, and in return receive twenty percent of the profits.'

"Cheng Chumo and the two others each contribute one hundred strings of cash, each receiving five percent."

The excitement faded, and Li Shimin, lost in thought, then asked, 'Did Zi An guess that I sent you?'

Upon hearing this, Li Lizhi hesitated a moment, 'I suppose... he must have figured it out.'

"When I paid a visit, I said I was coming to see Sizi; after the discussion, when I wanted to leave, the Marquis of Weinan asked me......"

"What did Zi An ask you?"

Li Lizhi bit her lip, somewhat embarrassed, and said, 'The Marquis of Weinan asked me why I didn't say a word to little Sizi before leaving.'

Li Shimin: '......'

Suddenly, he felt that the older his daughter grew, the more foolish she seemed.

Lizhi was clearly very clever when she was young, wasn't she?

How did it become like this now?

Early this morning, someone said they were going to see the younger sister, but from start to finish they didn't say a word to her.

You really just 'look'?

Li Shimin felt a bit weary, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything to his daughter. After a moment of silence, he said: "Go to my inner treasury and take a thousand strings of cash, then deliver the land and house deeds of the tavern to Zi An."

After saying that, he seemed to recall something: "Right, in seven days it's your mother's birthday banquet; tell Zi An to remember to come attend."

Li Lizhi froze for a moment, then nodded and agreed.

Watching his daughter's departing back, Li Shimin suddenly let out a laugh.

"This kid, really not simple."

"........."