Chapter 290 Picking up a bargain
Prince Rui's Palace.
Prince Rui looked at the clerk of the Ministry of Revenue in front of him and said unhappily, "Only one thousand taels, isn't that too little? Are you sending beggars to the Ministry of Revenue?"
The official looked embarrassed and said, "Your Highness, the treasury is in a tight budget this year and we really can't come up with any extra money."
King Rui glanced at him and said, "You give the same excuse every year. When has the treasury not been tight? Never mind. I won't make things difficult for you. Since the treasury is tight, I will give you some silver. If you sell Tianyinyuan and Lelailou to me, I will give you 500,000 taels."
The clerk of the Ministry of Revenue looked even more unhappy.
King Rui asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
The clerk of the Ministry of Revenue said honestly: "Your Highness, just now, Prince Gong has offered 850,000 taels to buy Tianyin Courtyard and Lelai Tower."
King Rui showed a look of regret and said, "If that's the case, forget it. You can go back."
The clerk from the Ministry of Revenue breathed a sigh of relief and left quickly.
King Rui sighed and whispered, "It's not ninety-five, it's not one hundred and five, it's eighty-five..."
He looked at the feminine man behind him and said, "Let Mr. Chen come to see me."
Soon, a middle-aged man walked into the hall, bowed, and said, "What instructions does Your Highness have?"
King Rui looked at him and asked, "Mr. Chen, how many years have you been with me?"
The middle-aged man didn't know why King Rui suddenly brought this up, and said, "Your Highness, it's been five years."
Prince Rui sighed and whispered, "Five years, even a dog should be tamed. Why can't you tamed it?"
The middle-aged man was shocked, but he pretended to be calm, forced a smile, and said, "Your Highness, I don't understand what you said..."
King Rui looked at him and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Remember to be smarter in your next life and find a good master..."
…
Ministry of Revenue.
The Minister of Revenue was sitting in his yamen, in a very good mood.
Tianyinyuan and Lelai Tower are certainly cash cows for some people, but they also require a lot of investment and operation. The imperial court does not allow government offices to run brothels, and it is useless to keep them in the hands of the Ministry of Revenue.
Prince Gong was willing to offer 850,000 taels, and the national treasury could be filled up a little in the short term.
He had already had the land deeds, house deeds, and various contracts of these two places prepared, and they would be handed over to Prince Gong as soon as the money arrived.
At this time, an official reported that King Rui was coming to visit.
The Minister of Revenue frowned. What was Prince Rui doing here? Was he not satisfied with the funding given to him?
It's just one thousand taels of silver. He can take it or not. It's best if he doesn't want it. He doesn't want to save even the one thousand taels.
Seeing the figure stepping into the government office, the Minister of Revenue stood up, clasped his fists and said, "Greetings to His Royal Highness Prince Rui. Your Highness has come to the Ministry of Revenue. What can I do for you?"
Prince Rui smiled and said, "To be honest with you, Lord Cui, I came here to buy Lelai Tower and Tianyin Courtyard."
If it wasn't for the funding issue, the Minister of Revenue was relieved and said, "It's really unfortunate that you came here, Your Highness. Lelai Tower and Tianyin Courtyard have been bought by Prince Gong for 850,000 taels of silver..."
King Rui said: "What if I am willing to offer a higher price?"
"Your Highness, please take a seat."
The Minister of Revenue came out from behind the table and said, "Come here, serve tea to His Highness."
After King Rui sat down, he asked, "Excuse me, Your Highness, how much are you willing to pay?"
King Rui said: "One million taels."
The Minister of Revenue raised his eyebrows. He was not in the party of either Prince Rui or Prince Gong. It was reasonable to sell it to whoever offered the higher price. They could not find any problem with it, and the Ministry of Revenue would also give an explanation to the court.
However, Prince Rui offered one million taels, and Prince Gong's second bid might be higher.
He thought for a moment, looked at Prince Rui, and said, "How about this? Three days later, the Ministry of Revenue will hold an open auction for Lelai Tower and Tianyin Courtyard. The highest bidder will win. At that time, Your Highness can send someone to participate..."
Prince Rui glanced at him and said, "Minister Cui is really good at doing business."
The Minister of Revenue smiled and said, "His Royal Highness Prince Rui wants it, and so does His Royal Highness Prince Gong. The Ministry of Revenue can only do this so that we can explain it to the court."
After a moment, Prince Rui walked out of the Ministry of Revenue slowly.
The old fox, the Minister of Revenue, was not willing to take sides between him and Prince Gong.
This was within his expectations. It was just a matter of spending a little more money. In terms of financial resources, he was not afraid of Prince Gong.
Thinking of Prince Gong's expression at the moment, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
At Prince Gong's Mansion, Prince Gong looked at a servant and asked, "Prince Rui sent someone to deliver a message. What message did he deliver?"
The servant said, "The people in Prince Rui's mansion said that Prince Rui invited Your Highness to eat dog meat."
Prince Gong frowned and said, "Is that all? What else did he say?"
The servant continued, "He also said that he had raised the dog for five years, but he could not feed it well, so he slaughtered it and ate its meat. He also asked Your Highness Prince Gong if he wanted to taste it..."
Bang!
Prince Gong slammed his palm on the table, his palm trembling slightly due to the pain, and his face was extremely gloomy.
How could he not hear the hidden meaning behind King Rui's words?
He had always been the one plotting against King Rui behind his back, and he never thought that one day, King Rui would plot against him in return.
He watched Prince Rui grow up.
He was sure that King Rui didn't have the brains to do this. Li Rui was uneducated and impulsive. If it weren't for the counselors around him who kept giving him advice, he would have been eliminated like King Xuan and King Xin...
There must be an expert behind him guiding him.
Unfortunately, the only undercover agent he had planted next to him was also caught, so it would be difficult to know his movements in the future...
At this time, another servant came in and said, "Your Highness, the Ministry of Revenue has just sent someone to inform you that Prince Rui is also interested in Lelai Tower and Tianyin Courtyard. In three days, the Ministry of Revenue will hold an auction..."
…
Li Mansion.
Inside Phoenix's room.
Li Nuo removed his hand from Fenghuang's white and slender ankle and said, "Okay, this is the last massage. From today on, you can move freely."
Phoenix said softly, "Thank you."
Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "You're welcome."
Half of the credit for the harmony in the Li family's inner chambers goes to Fenghuang. Providing her with a few massage services will be considered as a way of repaying her.
After a few days, some subtle changes occurred in his relationship with Phoenix.
Although I lived under the same roof with Fenghuang in the past, we were still quite polite to each other when we were together.
After these few days of close contact, the relationship between the two became more natural.
Fenghuang had to go out for something today, and Yiren went with him.
After leaving Li's house, Song Yiren asked, "Where are we going?"
Fenghuang said, "Let's go to the Ministry of Revenue to do some work first."
…
A lot of people gathered at the entrance of the Ministry of Revenue today, most of them were dignitaries and wealthy businessmen in Chang'an.
The Ministry of Revenue announced a few days ago that Lelai Building and Tianyin Courtyard would be sold through public bidding today. Many people wanted to give it a try. This is the most profitable industry in Chang'an. If you can get a bargain, you can make a fortune.
When the two carriages stopped in front of the door, the noisy crowd suddenly quieted down.
On the curtains of the carriage, there was an embroidered four-clawed golden dragon, which was the prince's regulation.
"Your Highness Prince Rui!"
"His Royal Highness Prince Gong is here too!"
Seeing the two figures getting off the carriage, everyone gave up the idea of bidding.
Sure enough, how could it be their turn to pick up such a bargain?
Prince Rui and Prince Gong came forward in person, and it seemed that they were determined to win this bid.
Come to think of it, if these two brothels are managed well, they are more than just brothels. Not only can they create huge value themselves, but their hidden influence cannot be measured in terms of money.
"Greetings to His Royal Highness Prince Rui!"
"Meet His Royal Highness Prince Gong."
Everyone bowed to the two men. Although the bidding was hopeless, they did not leave.
The two princes who are the regents are here in person, and even if it has nothing to do with him, he can still come and watch the fun.
Prince Gong and Prince Rui looked at each other and were taken into their respective government offices by officials from the Ministry of Revenue.
Soon after, the crowd was brought into the Ministry of Revenue courtyard.
The doctor of the Ministry of Revenue stood in front of the crowd and said, "Today, the Ministry of Revenue will publicly auction Lelai Tower and Tianyin Courtyard. You can bid freely. The highest bidder will win. All the silver earned from the auction will be confiscated into the national treasury. Please do not bid maliciously. Those who do not buy during the auction will be regarded as obstructing public affairs and will be fined 10,000 taels of silver and sent to the Ministry of Justice for accountability..."
He read out the rules first, then said: "The reserve price for this auction is 500,000 taels, and each bid cannot be less than 10,000 taels... Now you can make your bids."
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd fell silent.
Everyone has now understood that today's auction is a fight between Prince Rui and Prince Gong, and they just need to watch the fun.
Although the two princes were repeatedly defeated by Li Xuanjing, it was easy to control them.
Just as everyone was waiting for Prince Rui and Prince Gong to take action, a pleasant voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.
"Five hundred and ten thousand taels."
Everyone was slightly stunned and turned their heads away.
They really wanted to know who was so ignorant as to dare to interfere in such matters.
When everyone saw the two figures standing there, they were stunned at first.
Standing there were two women, two young women.
Not only young, but also beautiful.
Still very familiar.
The people present were either rich or noble, so naturally they had broad knowledge.
They had met the top scholar's wife on the day of the Jinshi parade, and she had a deep memory of her.
As for the man next to the No. 1 Scholar's wife, the Master of Yuyin Pavilion, they were even more familiar with him.
Are they also here to bid for Lelai Building and Tianyin Courtyard?
Doesn’t this mean that the Li family will also intervene in this matter?
This makes the scene even more lively.
I don’t know who will eventually get the money from these two cash cows.
In a government office on the left, Prince Rui was sitting steadily. When he learned the identity of the person who made the bid outside, he immediately stood up with a look of surprise and doubt.
Li Xuanjing also wants to intervene?
These days, he has been studying Li Xuanjing's past and knows him very well.
It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge.
It is not too late for Li Xuanjing to take revenge even after twenty years.
Whatever he wants, he will do whatever it takes to get it.
What you can't get, you destroy.
Even if they could snatch Lelai Building and Tianyin Courtyard from Li Xuanjing, they probably wouldn't be able to run them safely.
King Rui made a decision quickly.
The Minister of Revenue came in from outside and said, "Someone has offered 510,000 taels. Your Highness, it's your turn to bid."
Prince Rui glanced at him, waved his sleeves, and said, "I won't buy it, I'm leaving..."
Inside another government office, Prince Gong's expression changed from gloomy to bright. Finally, he showed helplessness and slowly stood up.
Li Xuanjing is on the rise and the previous incident has just been settled, so it is not appropriate to conflict with him again.
He walked out of the door, and Prince Rui also walked out of the government office opposite.
Prince Gong and Prince Rui looked at each other and left tacitly.
The Minister of Revenue chased out and watched the two men leave, feeling extremely regretful. If he had not been greedy, the one million taels would have already entered the national treasury.
He walked up to the beautiful woman and whispered, "Girl, please add a little more. Five hundred and ten thousand taels is really too little..."
Fenghuang looked at him helplessly and said, "But, I only have this much money..."
(End of this chapter)
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