boyutpedia Chapter 13 Summoning Prince Shou to the Palace
Chapter 13 Summoning Prince Shou to the Palace
Gao Chen retreated triumphantly, secretly calculating that Prince Shou would have no chance of escape this time. He led a formidable squad of Imperial Guards, swaggering towards Prince Shou's residence.
As soon as he stepped into the gate of the Prince's Mansion, Gao Chen raised his shrill voice and shouted, "His Majesty has decreed that Prince Shou be summoned to the palace."
Then, in a sarcastic tone, he added, "Prince Shou, come with me!"
At this moment, Gao Chen's face was filled with undisguised smugness.
Li Mao merely glanced at him indifferently, then stretched leisurely and yawned slowly, as if Gao Chen's words had no effect on him whatsoever.
"The king knows."
Li Mao calmly said, then raised his voice, "Someone, prepare a carriage for me."
After saying that, Li Mao strode towards the outside of the Prince's Mansion, without even glancing at Gao Chen once.
Seeing that Li Mao was ignoring him, Gao Chen's face instantly darkened, becoming extremely gloomy.
good very good!
I'll let you be smug for a little while longer. Once you see the Emperor, let's see how arrogant you can still be!
Not long after, the two arrived at the Imperial Study.
Upon entering the main hall, Li Mao immediately bowed and knelt down, respectfully kowtowing and shouting, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
Gao Chen, with a hint of smugness, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this servant has brought Prince Shou here."
Upon hearing this, Li Longji, who was sitting on the dragon throne and concentrating on reviewing memorials, casually looked up and glanced at Li Mao kneeling below.
"I heard you've acquired some cooking skills and even opened a restaurant?"
Before Li Mao could even answer Li Longji's question, Gao Chen, who was standing to the side, eagerly stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, this servant believes that Prince Shou's actions show a complete disregard for Your Majesty, which is a crime of deceiving the emperor. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"
As Gao Chen finished speaking, Li Longji frowned slightly, his eyes filled with a hint of authority, and glanced at Gao Chen.
Feeling Li Longji's gaze, Gao Chen trembled and quickly bowed, daring not to speak again. Then, Li Longji turned his gaze to Li Mao.
Upon seeing this, Li Mao quickly and respectfully began to explain.
“Father, I did not mean to deceive you. I obtained these kitchen utensils by chance.”
"But I believe that the chef presented to Father Emperor must be the best in the world."
"Therefore, my original intention was to train them to contribute to the palace cuisine."
"The purpose of opening the restaurant is to allow these chefs to accumulate experience, and also to let the people taste the dishes on behalf of Father Emperor. I hope Father Emperor will consider this carefully!"
Li Mao's explanation softened Li Longji's previously cold expression somewhat.
Li Longji thought to himself: So that's how it is!
To go to such lengths just to provide me with the finest culinary skills, this Eighteenth Prince is truly painstaking.
Noticing the change in Li Longji's expression, Gao Chen immediately became anxious.
We've waited so long for this opportunity, we can't let Prince Shou escape His Majesty's punishment again! But Prince Shou's words left us with absolutely no room for error...
Gao Chen's eyes darted around quickly, a playful smile appearing on his lips. He glanced at Li Longji's expression out of the corner of his eye, and with a smile, earnestly praised, "Your Majesty, Prince Shou is truly a filial son!"
But then, a subtle cunning glint flashed in his eyes. His smile seemed unchanged, but it carried a hint of coldness.
"However, Your Majesty, although Prince Shou's intention to present you with culinary delights is commendable, it is still disgraceful for a prince to engage in business!"
"Now that Prince Shou has opened so many restaurants, he must have been lining his own pockets long ago. I urge Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"
After hearing Gao Chen's words, Li Longji, whose expression had just softened, pondered to himself.
Gao Chen's words make sense!
Although the Eighteenth Prince was presenting the kitchen to me, as a prince, engaging in commerce would indeed damage the royal family's reputation.
Moreover, with Shibalang owning so many restaurants, it's inevitable that he would use them to seek personal gain and line his own pockets!
Kneeling below, Li Mao keenly sensed his father's displeasure and said directly, "Father, I opened these restaurants not to enrich myself."
"Your subject did this entirely to bestow favors upon the people on behalf of Your Majesty."
After hearing Li Mao's explanation, Li Longji put down his pen and slowly raised his head.
"Tell me about it."
"My son, I obey."
Under Li Longji's intrigued gaze, Li Mao turned his eyes to Gao Chen beside him, his eyes revealing a hint of questioning and disdain.
He retorted, "Eunuch Gao, you keep saying that I opened so many restaurants to line my own pockets. Well then, I'd like to ask you, Eunuch Gao..."
Gao Chen subconsciously shrank his neck, forced a smile, and secretly glanced at Li Longji. Seeing that Li Longji was also looking at him, he replied, "Your Highness, please speak. This servant is listening."
"Those restaurants I own don't have names, do they?"
Gao Chen answered tremblingly, "No...no."
"Because I never intended to use it as a tool for profit. I just wanted to give these chefs a place to practice, so that they could hone their culinary skills and prepare for serving in the court in the future."
Li Mao paused slightly before continuing, "Let me ask you again, are the dishes in these restaurants of mine better than those in other restaurants in Chang'an?"
Gao Chen glanced at Li Longji again, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he only uttered one word.
"Yes."
Then, without giving Gao Chen any chance to catch his breath, Li Mao asked again, "Are the prices of the dishes in these restaurants cheaper than those in ordinary restaurants?"
Gao Chen was flustered. He looked at Li Longji again and saw that Li Longji's eyes were searching, as if he was also thinking about what Li Mao had said. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "What Your Highness said seems to... make some sense."
Seeing Gao Chen's face turn red and white in turns, Li Mao smiled knowingly.
"When I opened this restaurant, the prices were based on the standard of maintaining the basic operation of the restaurant. I did not intend to make exorbitant profits from the people."
"In that case, may I ask, Eunuch Gao, is this something a person who would embezzle funds would do?"
"No, it's not."
Gao Chen lowered his head, not daring to meet Li Mao's gaze again.
Li Longji looked at the two of them thoughtfully, and the atmosphere became somewhat subtle for a moment.
Sensing the atmosphere in the main hall, Gao Chen's smug expression vanished, replaced by panic and helplessness, and he inwardly groaned.
We originally thought we could bring down Prince Shou by dealing with these restaurant issues, but we never expected that Prince Shou would have such a reasonable explanation.
Thinking of this, Gao Chen gritted his teeth, knelt down with a thud, and kowtowed to Li Longji.
"Your Majesty, this servant has misunderstood Prince Shou. This servant deserves to die."
But then, Gao Chen changed the subject.
"But Your Majesty, the restaurant opened by Prince Shou serves excellent food at affordable prices, attracting many people and gathering a large following. If the officials in the court knew about this, who would believe that Prince Shou had no intention of enriching himself?"