After surveying the entire area around the imperial city, Li Zhu finally decided to use the nearest prince's residence as an academy, requiring only minor renovations...
Most importantly, there's a large lake next to the palace, and the surrounding land is currently vacant. This is an excellent feng shui location; we could build some villas, a distinctive commercial street, and a few farms...
Turning this place into a mature cultural tourism destination will definitely attract people from the academy to spend money. Anyway, as long as it's expensive, that's fine. If we don't rip off these powerful families, who else will we rip off?
No… it’s not a scam, it’s profit, profiting from these people…
Moreover, these families can also invest, and shares will be allocated according to the amount invested, so everyone can make money together...
Thinking about this, Li Zhu was deeply impressed with his own idea, and couldn't help but think to himself, "How come I'm so smart?"
With that money, he set up two factories downstream of the lake, one for papermaking and the other for movable type printing…
When Li Zhu returned to the Eastern Palace, he was shocked. He never expected the Eastern Palace to be so lively. In the past, civil and military officials would avoid the Eastern Palace like the plague, but now they couldn't even squeeze in...
There's a saying that goes, "Today you ignore me, tomorrow you'll be begging for my attention."
"Get out of the way..."
"Why should we move aside? Can't you see that no one can get in?"
"If I don't go in, then you can forget about getting in..."
"Hey...who do you think you are...?"
The person who spoke had just turned around when he saw Li Zhu's gloomy face. Terrified, he immediately knelt on the ground and stammered...
"Your Highness, may you live a thousand years..."
"Alright, get up..."
Li Zhu disliked these kneeling rituals because once you kneel for too long, it becomes difficult to stand up. He thought of those people in later generations who fawned over the West; they had been kneeling for too long, always believing that foreign things were better and more desirable…
No matter how well your own country does, it's all considered plagiarism and of poor quality. They can always find all sorts of reasons to smear their own country...
But in this era, kneeling is a trend, and it's too difficult for him to go against the tide alone. Now he can only integrate into it and subtly change things...
"Your Highness, I have a thousand taels of gold here, a small token of my appreciation for the construction of the academy. Please accept it..."
"Get out of my way... You think a thousand taels is enough to join the fun? I have two thousand taels here, Your Highness, please accept it, it's just a small token of my appreciation..."
The crowd was pushing and shoving each other, making quite a scene!
Seeing the expressions on these people's faces, Li Zhu knew that his plan had been initially successful. He gestured for everyone to quiet down and then said...
"Alright, I know how you all feel. Let's line up and go one by one..."
Hearing Li Zhu's words, the crowd continued to clamor and push towards him, the chaotic order remaining unchanged...
bass!
Faced with the chaotic situation, Li Zhu drew the knife from Wang Yanzhang's waist without saying a word...
Before he could even raise his knife, the noisy crowd in front of him vanished, replaced by a neat, orderly line, everyone appearing respectful and courteous…
Li Zhu really wanted to say, "You guys are fucking despicable! Can't you talk things out? You have to resort to knives..."
"Open the palace gates and let Yingying and Qingqing come out to register..."
After giving his instructions, he was about to turn and leave when suddenly a young figure appeared not far away…
Li Zhu didn't want to pay him any attention, but the other person looked very familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, which made him subconsciously stop in his tracks...
Bang!
Wang Yanzhang bumped into Li Zhu, and seeing him standing still, he couldn't help but complain.
"They stopped without saying a word..."
The next moment he also saw the young man not far away, and subconsciously said
"This young man looks just like Consort Nangong..."
Li Zhu then realized that the young man looked very much like his mother, which shocked him greatly. Could this be his mother's illegitimate child?
Could it be that her adoptive father dislikes her because her mother has an illegitimate child? Could her banishment to the Cold Palace also be related to this illegitimate child?
Countless thoughts raced through Li Zhu's mind. He wondered how he would face the possibility that this person was truly his mother's illegitimate son...
"May Your Highness be well!"
The newcomer bowed gracefully, giving off the impression of a refined and courteous scholar!
That feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze was the same as the feeling his mother gave him, making people unconsciously feel good towards him. However, the other party looked even more frail than himself, and his whole person exuded a kind of feminine feeling, making Li Zhu wonder if this guy was a woman?
But looking at his flat chest and prominent Adam's apple, I realized I was wrong; this guy might just be genuinely frail...
"Who are you?"
Li Zhu couldn't help but frown and ask!
"Since Your Highness has stopped, you must already have some guesses in your mind. Why ask when you already know the answer..."
Li Zhu was speechless at the other person's words. If the other person was deliberately trying to make him overthink, then if he agreed, it would mean that he had already fallen into the other person's trap!
"How am I supposed to know who you are if you don't tell me..."
Li Zhu wasn't going to tolerate him. No matter who he was, Li Zhu didn't want to have any contact with him. The timing of his appearance was too coincidental. He knew the other party must have some ulterior motive, and he didn't want to be sold out without understanding it!
"Does His Highness the Crown Prince want me to speak here?"
The visitor looked around, indicating that there were too many people around and too much gossip, and if any secrets were revealed, the consequences would be too great!
Li Zhu understood what the other person meant, but he really didn't want to have contact with random people...
However, he was also curious about the other person's identity, and after hesitating for a moment, he said...
"Then come with me..."
The group returned to the main hall of the East Palace. Li Zhu sat imposingly in the main seat, his eyes fixed on the handsome young man who had entered with him!
Standing beside Li Zhu, Wang Yanzhang was secretly delighted, believing that such a handsome young man would surely make Li Zhu shift his attention away from him...
If Li Zhu knew what he was thinking, he would really want to kill his future father-in-law. He really didn't know what this blockhead was thinking all day long...
"Your Highness..."
The man bowed, then looked at Wang Yanzhang, his meaning clear: their conversation should not be overheard by outsiders!
"General Wang, you should go back now..."
Alright!
Upon receiving the order, Wang Yanzhang was overjoyed. Without looking back, he grabbed his gun and left, leaving Li Zhu completely bewildered, wondering what he was so happy about…
After Wang Yanzhang left, Li Zhu looked at the man and said...
"Now you can say what you want to say, right? It's just the two of us left..."
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