Some people are speculating about the role the Li family played in today's dramatic turn of events.

Or perhaps the Emperor simply trusts the Li family...

They didn't have much time to wonder. After the Crown Prince helped the Emperor to his seat, his first words were to bow to Li Er and say, "How has Lord Li been lately? For many years, when I was out observing the people's conditions, it was all thanks to your care."

Li Lao Er hurriedly got up, performed a deep bow, and was extremely apprehensive.

"Your Highness is too kind. I was unaware of your identity at the time and failed to take good care of you. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

The Crown Prince personally helped him up and said with a smile, "Don't worry, my lord, the years at Broken Gold Beach were the most relaxed and happiest days of my life."

Li Lao Er lowered his head, not knowing how to respond, and just kept chuckling awkwardly.

The Emperor waved his hand and smiled as he beckoned to the Crown Prince, "Come and sit down. I was worried about you being outside. Fortunately, the Marquis brought the Li family to Jiangnan, and that's how we got Suijintan. Now everyone envies the wealth of Suijintan, and you've certainly contributed to that."

The Crown Prince nodded and smiled, “Taking advantage of the opportunity to manage the Princess’s business, I have traveled all over the country, seen many local customs and experienced the hardships of the people.”

"Thanks to my father's wisdom, he chose such a good place as Broken Gold Beach for me to settle down."

After listening to the whole story, everyone finally understood what was going on, and their eyes began to turn red as they looked at Li Lao Er!

They were still racking their brains, trying to figure out how to get closer to the crown prince.

As it turned out, the Li family had already taken action secretly.

The Crown Prince grew up in Suijintan and has always managed the business for the Princess!

This can no longer be described as the merit of following the dragon; it's like raising a dragon at home from a young age!

Moreover, the Crown Prince didn't hide anything at this moment, but spoke openly, indicating that he intended to remember the Li family's kindness!

It can be said that, based on this old relationship, as long as the Li family doesn't rebel or put a sword to the emperor's throat, they can roam freely in Tianwu and enjoy wealth and honor at will!

Marquis Dingbei's fists were clenched so tightly that the veins on them were bulging!

The Li family gets all the good things!

He was truly unwilling to accept this!

He rolled his eyes, and as if making a casual joke, said, "I've heard that the princess is extremely skilled in business. Whether it's Baiyun Pavilion, the hot pot restaurant, or the Hundred Fruit Garden, they all make a fortune every day. I imagine His Highness the Crown Prince must have had a lot of trouble before, right?"

These words were clearly ill-intentioned. It was true that the Li family took in the crown prince, but they also treated him like a servant.

If the crown prince is young and cares about his reputation, he might feel uncomfortable because of these words.

If this discomfort continues, his gratitude and protection of the Li family might turn into hatred and disgust.

If the Li family is considered a stain on his past, then perhaps the Li family has no reason to exist.

Several senior officials frowned slightly, displeased with the Marquis of Dingbei's behavior.

But Li Lao Er seemed not to have heard half of it, his eyes still lowered, his smile gentle and humble.

The Crown Prince glanced at the Marquis of Dingbei and replied indifferently, "The Marquis of Dingbei is right. The Princess's business is doing well, so her requirements are naturally strict. Therefore, I must thank the Princess for teaching me a lot of skills."

"In addition, the princess also shared one-tenth of my profits. Even after I resigned from my position as steward under the pretext of going on a study tour, I still received more than a thousand taels of silver every month, without ever losing a single coin."

"The princess is a woman, yet she is so trustworthy. In fact, she is someone many people should learn from and emulate."

"After all, a person cannot stand without integrity, can he, Marquis of Dingbei?"

Marquis Dingbei's face turned red with anger, and he wanted to scream in frustration.

He only said one sentence to test the waters.

The crown prince responded forcefully, even rebuking him for not being qualified to make promises.

This was practically like peeling off his face right in front of everyone!

Li Lao Er remained smiling and silent, and none of the other important officials were willing to help the Marquis of the North out of the predicament.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room became somewhat strange.

In the end, the Emperor was still reluctant to part with the sword of the Marquis of Dingbei, so he changed the subject, saying, "The ceremony for the Crown Prince in a few days, as well as the selection of concubines afterward, will require a lot of hard work from all of you ministers."

"Your Majesty and the Crown Prince are humbled. Serving the Emperor and the Crown Prince is our duty."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Such a momentous event is recorded in history, and we are only able to benefit from the honor bestowed upon Your Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince."

While ability is the most important factor in getting people to their current positions, a silver tongue is also an essential skill.

Before long, the emperor was all smiles.

In fact, there was nothing of great importance to discuss with the people who were kept behind; it was simply to clarify that the Crown Prince had once been a steward of the Li family.

It's much better to say it openly and honestly than to let others speculate wildly later.

Of course, it also laid the groundwork for the Crown Prince to bestow favors upon the Li family in the future.

After chatting and laughing for a while, everyone noticed that the emperor looked tired, so they all took their leave.

After leaving the Imperial Study, we walked towards the palace gate.

Unable to contain their curiosity, someone pulled Li Lao Er aside to ask him questions.

But Li Lao Er had already prepared a response: he listened more, smiled more, and bowed more, but he spoke very little.

No one could pry his mouth open, especially with the Marquis of Dingbei making sarcastic remarks on the side.

So until they left the palace gates, everyone had gained nothing and could only watch helplessly as Li Lao Er got into the carriage.

Before Li Lao Er could even settle in, he was sandwiched between Mr. Wen and Liu Zhiheng. He wiped the sweat from his brow and begged for mercy.

"I've been fussing around all morning, can you at least let me have a drink of water before we talk? Otherwise, you'll be drinking at my grave next year on this day."

Mr. Wen and Liu Zhiheng quickly helped pour cold tea and fan them, wishing they could throw Li Lao Er into an ice hole to cool him down and calm him down before answering their questions.

Li Lao Er drank half a pot of cold tea before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

Liu Zhiheng immediately asked, "What exactly happened, Steward Gu Li? How did he become the Crown Prince? Did your family already know? Why didn't they say anything? I almost jumped up in the court just now!"

Mr. Wen also said, "This is truly amazing, it's like a dream!"

Li Lao Er smiled wryly, "I really didn't mean to hide it from you, because I wasn't sure about this matter before, I only knew a little bit. Even the Marquis might not know the details."

"Think about it, the Emperor has been raising such a large son without the Empress Dowager's knowledge or the rest of the world. How could anyone possibly know? In fact, anyone who does find out is not far from death!"

"That's true!" Liu Zhiheng snatched the remaining half pot of tea, drank it all in one gulp, and still couldn't calm down.

"Don't even mention before, even if you know now, you must pretend you don't know. Your family must keep the Crown Prince's background a secret, otherwise if people find out that the Crown Prince was once a servant in your household, the Crown Prince will lose face, and your family will also be in trouble."

Li Lao Er laughed when this was mentioned.

"There's no need to worry about that for now. The Crown Prince already brought it up in front of the high-ranking officials just now, and he even bowed and thanked me. Marquis Dingbei and the others were practically burning with jealousy!"

"Really?!" Mr. Wen was overjoyed and praised repeatedly, "It is a blessing for Tianwu that the Crown Prince has such a magnanimous heart!"

I'm late again today. I had an injection at noon and a parent-teacher meeting this afternoon, which delayed me until now. I have another injection tomorrow, so I might be late again. I'll definitely be able to update at a normal time the day after tomorrow!