"Congratulations, Your Highness, King Qin!"

As soon as Li Jue came out of the East Palace, he saw Zhang Gui step forward with a big smile and bow, addressing himself as His Highness the Prince of Qin.

This really startled Li Jue. He thought to himself, "How can this thing make such noises? If that stingy Li Er finds out, he'll skin me alive!"

"Shut up!"

"The title of Prince Yong was once used by His Majesty; how can it be used on me so casually!"

"Your Highness may not know this, but His Majesty, moved by your generosity, has officially bestowed upon you the title of Prince of Qin!"

"ah?"

Li Jue was stunned upon hearing this, and then asked cautiously.

Have I done anything generous?

"Didn't Your Highness say that you would give all the money from the sale of houses in Qunxianfang to His Majesty to support his eastern expedition?"

"I……"

Did I say that?

"That's what Princess Gaoyang said!"

Hearing this, Li Jue finally understood why Gao Yang had asked him that question; it turned out that this guy had this in mind.

Is the Prince of Qin of the Tang Dynasty really that cheap? He only exchanged a few houses for it.

"Keep a low profile!"

"It doesn't count until there's an official imperial decree!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gui nodded in understanding and then gave Li Jue a thumbs up.

"Your Highness is wise!"

Having spent over a decade in the palace, Zhang Gui had witnessed many things and deeply understood Li Jue's concerns.

Matters within the imperial palace cannot be considered valid unless they are written down in black and white!

After learning that he had been appointed as the King of Qin, Li Jue did not change at all. He went to the Eastern Palace to study every day. Occasionally, Li Er would call him over to test his studies. From time to time, Li Er would drag him over to be a silly boy and recite for a group of old men.

Although this kind of childish life is shameful, when you're under someone else's roof, you can only force yourself to bow your head.

While Li Jue was living a life worse than death, the officials of the Tang Dynasty were living quite comfortably. Especially after learning that Li Jue had given the property in Qunxianfang to the Emperor, they were even more eager to prepare a lavish feast.

Changsun Wuji had long had his eye on the houses in Qunxianfang. Although he didn't know why the houses here were so expensive, as one of the most capable money-makers in the Tang Dynasty, he naturally couldn't turn down money.

Therefore, when His Majesty officially assigned the houses in Qunxianfang to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for disposal, he immediately found Yang Shidao, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and briefly explained his requirements.

"Yang Shidao, His Majesty has entrusted you with the management of the houses in Qunxianfang. You must make sure to keep a close eye on things for His Majesty!"

"Rest assured, Lord Changsun, this humble subject will do everything in his power to generate as much military revenue as possible for Your Majesty!"

Changsun Wuji nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this, then changed the subject.

"By the way, some of your Ministry of Civil Affairs officials don't have a place to live yet, do they?"

"ah?"

Yang Shidao was completely stunned when he heard this, thinking to himself, why is Changsun Wuji suddenly concerned about the accommodations of the Ministry of Civil Affairs officials?

"What do you mean by this, sir?"

"It's nothing, just showing concern for the newly promoted officials."

"Although these newly promoted officials hold low positions, they will all become pillars of the Tang Dynasty in the future. How can we allow them to be homeless and wander around?"

"Therefore, I have an idea: why not offer some of the houses to them for free..."

Upon hearing this, Yang Shidao's eyes lit up. Changsun Wuji's use of the word "borrow" was very clever. It not only guaranteed the property rights of the house, but also provided accommodation for the officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It was a win-win situation!

"Your insight is brilliant!"

"But if His Majesty were to hold this against us..."

Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji burst into laughter.

"Your Majesty loves the people like your own children, a fact known to all."

"Aren't the officials of the imperial court His Majesty's subjects?"

"Besides, you didn't embezzle or seize His Majesty's property for yourself; you simply lent it to officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs for temporary use. If His Majesty is truly angry, he can simply order them to return it!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Shidao thought to himself, "Once this thing is lent out, it will be extremely difficult to get it back."

After all, His Majesty couldn't afford to break off relations and let his officials demand houses!

However, Changsun Wuji's suggestion was indeed good. As long as this matter was accomplished, he, the acting Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, could become a real and official Minister.

Moreover, officials at all levels of the Ministry of Civil Affairs would greatly support him and regard his words as the standard.

More importantly, this move doesn't cost him a single penny; it's entirely thanks to His Majesty and his eldest grandson's generosity. Why not do it?

After leaving the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Changsun Wuji went to the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Personnel.

With the Tang Dynasty's political stability, many new officials were promoted in recent years. However, not everyone was born into privilege; many were born into poverty, and their lifelong pursuit was simply to live a peaceful and prosperous life.

However, this need might be easily met elsewhere, but in Chang'an, rice was expensive, making it difficult to stay for long.

Therefore, many officials in the capital rented houses and did not own any permanent property.

Of course, it's not that they weren't hardworking; it's just that Li Er's salary was too low, not enough for them to buy a house in Chang'an.

Changsun Wuji talked to each of the ministers in turn, and each minister was very interested. Then he went to the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to borrow a house.

As a result, before the houses in Qunxianfang were even officially put on sale, hundreds of units had already been "borrowed" by officials from the six ministries of the Ministry of Personnel.

Why would Changsun Wuji be so kind as to think of helping newly promoted officials in Chang'an to seek personal gain?

The answer is that only by letting a select few take the lead can these true gluttons make their appearance!

The Changsun Wuji family controlled the largest private iron smelting workshop in the Tang Dynasty, and naturally had no shortage of merchants under their command. He casually introduced a few merchants to Yang Shidao, the Minister of Revenue, and they easily acquired hundreds of properties.

Moreover, the price of each property is incredibly low, less than a hundred guan!

The six ministers took the lead, and other officials were not to be outdone, sending their servants and stewards to the Minister of Civil Affairs to buy houses.

Yang Shidao sold out all four thousand houses in Qunxianfang in less than ten days!

Even the original houses of the people of Qunxianfang were not left; they were all sold by him at a high price of one hundred guan per house!

"Your Majesty, Yang Shidao, the Minister of Civil Affairs, requests an audience!"

When Li Shimin heard that Yang Shidao had arrived, he immediately became excited.

"Yang Shidao must have sold all the houses in Qunxianfang and came here specifically to report the good news to me!"

"Summon him to the palace immediately!"

"promise!"

Before long, Yang Shidao entered the main hall and was about to bow to Li Er when Li Er excitedly interrupted him.

"No need for formalities!"

"Has Minister Yang come to bring me good news?"

"yes!"

"Your Majesty, the houses in Qunxianfang are so popular that I sold them all in less than ten days!"

Li Shimin became even more excited upon hearing this, his face flushed with excitement.

"Tell me quickly, how many did you sell?"

"Your Majesty, a total of 370,000 strings of cash were sold!"

"How many?"