There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 116 The vest is coming off

Young Master Bai smiled: "Miss Li is intelligent. After she becomes a cripple, the Emperor will surely appoint me as the 'General Who Shakes the World'."

Li Shuchen pressed forward: "Being a 'Great General Who Intimidates' isn't so easy. Are you willing to fight for the dynasty to the very end, even if it means dying on the battlefield?"

Young Master Bai said calmly, "Miss Li need not worry about that. If you help me, you can take 20,000 taels of silver first, and another 80,000 taels of silver after the matter is settled. How about that?"

Li Shuchen leaned back in his chair and said, "Young Master Bai, this matter cannot be resolved with just 100,000 taels of silver. The position of 'General of Deterrence' is worth far more than 100,000 taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, Young Master Bai looked at Li Shuchen with a disdainful smile, as if looking at an insatiable and greedy person.

"How much does Miss Li want?"

Li Shuchen said calmly

One hundred thousand taels

"gold"

(Equal to one million taels of silver)

The man in white scoffed, "Miss Li, you're certainly asking for an exorbitant amount."

Li Shuchen raised an eyebrow and began to deceive, "You get what you pay for. If she finds out about me and tries to poison her, I'll lose my life. It's not worth it for less money."

The man in white threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Hahaha, deal!"

Li Shuchen narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. Giving away 100,000 taels of gold so easily—this kid must have a lot of money. He wondered what his background was.

"I need a deposit of 50,000 taels of gold."

Young Master Bai: "Okay."

Li Shuchen: "When will you give it to me?"

The man in white said, "Retrieve it here at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow."

Li Shuchen smiled slightly and said, "Okay, it's a deal."

Once outside the private room, Li Shuchen felt the stench had dissipated and began to breathe freely.

Inside the 888 private room

"Young master, what if she informs Liang Yuying?"

The man in white chuckled: "No, didn't you see the look of determination in her eyes when she heard about the 100,000 taels of silver? Who can resist the temptation of money?"

"Your Highness is wise."

Li Shuchen returned to Huashang Pavilion to fetch Grape.

Grape quickly looked her young mistress up and down, and only relaxed when she saw that she was alright.

The two returned to the Three Treasures Hall together. Liang Yuying was drinking tea when she saw Li Shuchen return. She poured her a cup of tea and asked...

"Where did you go? Why are you so late?"

Li Shuchen smiled calmly and replied, "I delivered some clothing patterns to the Flower Garment Pavilion. There's going to be war, so I made you a few clothes to take with you."

Liang Yuying: "You always care about me so much."

Li Shuchen took a sip of tea and said, "This is nothing. How did your discussions with the Ministry of Revenue go?"

Liang Yuying: "The Ministry of Revenue has already sent people to Huimin Street to solicit donations."

Li Shuchen nodded: "That's good."

"Li Shuchen, look what good stuff I brought you!"

A hurried voice rang out

Li Shuchen: "Changning is here, I'll go open the door."

"What good stuff is this? Let me see it!"

Princess Changning proudly pulled out an item: "Look, a vintage rose gold mirror. The wealthy young master came to my Precious Pavilion this morning, and I knew he would definitely come."

Li Shuchen praised, "Wow, amazing! Princess Changning is incredibly insightful!"

Liang Yuying: "Who is this wealthy young master?"

Princess Changning: "When I traveled south this year, I heard about a young master who was tall, handsome, and wealthy. I've never met him, but all the goods he sells are rare, exquisite, practical, and unique."

Liang Yuying nodded: "That's certainly mysterious."

Li Shuchen noticed that Princess Changning's scent was different from usual; it had a faint camellia fragrance. He then asked, "You didn't use incense today? This isn't like you."

After hearing this, Liang Yuying said, "It is indeed different from before."

Princess Changning smiled and replied, "I didn't use any incense today, but I did wear camellia perfume, which was brought by the wealthy young master. How does it smell?"

Li Shuchen raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. He hadn't even smelled the perfume she sold yet; it was so fragrant and wonderful. He replied...

"It smells nice; I thought it was your natural scent."

Princess Changning's eyes lit up: "If Ziying says so too, I'll spray it every day from now on. From now on, I'll be a beautiful princess with a natural noble fragrance."

Li Shuchen laughed heartily: "Good, good, beautiful princess. By the way, why didn't Ziying come?"

Princess Changning: "She said she had to go discuss business and make money, and didn't have time to come over."

Li Shuchen suddenly realized: "Oh, Ziying is a very busy person."

Princess Changning suddenly smiled mysteriously: "There's something else you definitely don't know."

Li Shuchen, intrigued by the gossip, leaned closer and asked, "What is it? Tell me about it."

Princess Changning: "The wealthy young master donated 70,000 taels of silver to the Ministry of Revenue's donation office."

Liang Yuying: Is the news true?

Princess Changning: "Absolutely true. He entrusted Manager Meng of my Precious Pavilion to donate it this morning."

Liang Yuying frowned and said, "I only discussed the fundraising with Lord Gu at noon today. He entrusted it to Manager Meng this morning. Where did he get the information?"

Princess Changning paused for a moment before replying, "So, according to you, he has arranged for people to be near us?"

Hearing this, Li Shuchen broke out in a cold sweat. Could they really let them discover her like this? She still wanted to make more money using this identity.

Quickly start to cover up the truth

"Perhaps the wealthy young master knew that the dynasty's treasury was empty, and since Yu Ying was about to lead troops into battle, he anticipated that the court would need to raise funds. He also had a considerable amount of money, so he took pity on the situation and donated silver."

"Just think about it, if our dynasty falls, how will he make money then?"

Princess Changning nodded: "That makes sense, as long as it doesn't harm us."

Liang Yuying nodded slightly.

Li Shuchen finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh my god, that was terrifying! My disguise almost fell off!"

Then, changing the subject, he asked, "By the way, Yuying, when will the recruitment and fundraising end?"

Liang Yuying: "The 19th, at 5 PM (酉时)"

Li Shuchen: "Okay, I'll go with you to check on the recruitment situation tomorrow afternoon."

Liang Yuying: Okay

Princess Changning rose and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll return to the Precious Pavilion to see how the goods brought by the wealthy young master are selling."

Li Shuchen said, "It's already this late, let's have dinner before you leave."

Princess Changning immediately sat back down on the stool: "Okay."

Li Shuchen?

She agreed so quickly; it's clear she doesn't intend to leave.

***********

On the morning of the 18th

Li Shuchen went out after having breakfast.

Liang Yuying: "Where are you going so early?"

Li Shuchen answered frankly, "There were some problems with the blueprints I sent to Huachang Pavilion yesterday; I need to go and revise them."

Liang Yuying: "I'll go with you."

Li Shuchen earnestly advised, "You should rest at home. Your wound hasn't fully healed yet. I'll always worry about you if you keep going through all that trouble."

Hearing this, Liang Yuying felt a warmth in her heart and replied, "Okay, then I'll stay home and wait for you to come back."

Li Shuchen: "Okay, Grape, let's go."

Grape: "Okay, miss."

Arrived at Flower Pavilion

Li Shuchen: "Grape, wait for me here, I'll be there in a bit."

Grape immediately realized that the young lady bringing her out was just a ruse to deceive Miss Liang.