Chapter 28: I Will Devote Everything to the Crown Prince
"No need for gifts."
Li Chen said faintly, "Since you took the initiative to meet me, then the things are already prepared?"
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Li Chen took the priceless letter and examined it carefully.
You don't know until you look, but when Li Chen looked, he was really taken aback.
Liu's family fortune, it turned out, was far greater than that of the Hu and Chen families.
After the confiscation of assets, the two families had only a little over 1.3 million taels of silver in total, while the Liu family alone had nearly nine million taels.
This is still silver. In terms of other documents like land deeds, property titles, and business contracts, Liu's family possessed more than Chen's or Hu's families.
Therefore, in terms of wealth, it is the first among the three.
After reading the entire document, Li Chen looked up at Liu Sichun and said, "All of the Liu family's shops and land will be handed over to the imperial court free of charge immediately, but the current silver will be paid in two installments. Two million taels will be delivered by the end of the month, and the remaining seven million plus will be delivered by the end of the year. Is this your final proposal?"
Liu Sichun lowered her head and said, "Yes."
Li Chen leaned back in his chair and said calmly, "But before that, you promised this palace that you would hand over all your property without reservation to the imperial court all at once. This palace gives you one chance to explain, only one. If this palace is not satisfied, you will never be able to speak again."
Even with a composed heart, Liu Sichun couldn't help but feel some anxiety when facing the prince who could raise his sword and kill people on a whim.
She took a deep breath, suppressed the unease in her heart, and said with a desperate gamble: "The court couldn't possibly send people to manage those shops. Besides, the success or failure of a shop depends on a whole series of factors like supply, clerks, cashiers, etc., to ultimately decide its fate. For businesses like restaurants, if the head chef were to change, most customers would likely disappear. Therefore, these shops and other industries could be immediately handed over to the court by the Liu family because the court would inevitably still need the Liu family to continue managing them."
As for the silver, my humble self had previously requested His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to allow me to participate in the salt trade. This business requires a substantial sum of money. If we were to lose our funds, the Liu family would be unable to carry it out and would ultimately face ruin. Therefore, after much deliberation, I mustered my courage and drafted this plan.

Li Chen said neither coldly nor warmly, "You're quite clever. You figured out the court would let you continue to manage Liu family's assets. So hand over these assets first. It's just a nominal donation in name, there's no real change. The most important thing is the silver, and you find reasons to delay. In the end, you get everything done, the court gets nothing, and you still keep the salt transportation rights?"
Liu Sichun immediately said, "Your Highness, the commoner's plan is not as you think. In fact, if Your Highness agrees to the commoner's plan, there may be little benefit to the court in the short term, but for Your Highness, it would be greatly advantageous."
“All ownership of those industries will be transferred to the imperial court, but the truly important current silver and annual profits will remain untouched by me. They will be sent directly to the East Palace of the Crown Prince without fail. The salt-running industry is incredibly profitable, and with just one year, I can double my current silver and send it up.”
Li Chen waved his hand and said: "The imperial court and this palace are one and the same, what difference is there?"
“Of course there’s a difference.”
Liu Sichun saw that the Crown Prince had acknowledged her words, and knew there was hope for the matter. Her eyes glistened as she addressed Li Chen: "Even though the Crown Prince has not yet ascended to the throne, he is already distinguished from others. And even if the Crown Prince ascends to the throne in the future, the emperor still has a private treasury separate from the national treasury. What more could be said about now?"
Liu Sichun's words made Li Chen smile.
"Interesting."
"Do you mean, that you want this palace and you to conspire together, and seize the benefits of the court?"
Liu Sichun said firmly: "Whatever the prince says is how it is, but this woman only knows that she wishes to dedicate everything to the prince."
Li Chen stood up and walked to Liu Sichun's side.
Liu Sichun stood still, not moving an inch, allowing the Prince to approach.
Looking at her, Liu Sichun's beauty with a unique personality was right before his eyes. Li Chen raised his hand and gently lifted her delicate chin. One of the greatest advantages of women in this era was that they were completely natural, without the artificiality that existed before Li Chen's time travel.
"Are you certain, willing to dedicate everything to me?"

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