Chapter 206 Lord Shen really knows how to make money!
How the hell could he accept that?
The thought of being surrounded by a group of concubines in the future, while a peerless master, capable of slapping him to death at any moment, sat in the main hall, sent shivers down his spine.
"You have to accept it, whether you like it or not."
Madam Li's tone was unyielding.
"Tomorrow, I need to accompany Lord Shen to Yan State as his personal guard.
That trip will take at least one or two months.
While I'm away, someone needs to look after you."
"What?"
Li Hui was startled again, "You're going to Yan State with Lord Shen?"
Only then did Li Hui understand. No wonder Madam Li had mentioned Lord Shen earlier; she was going to be Shen Yulou's guard.
"Yes."
Madam Li nodded, a hint of gratitude in her eyes.
"Lord Shen's kindness to us is as vast as a mountain. It's naturally unacceptable for him to go on this diplomatic mission to Yan State without a top-tier master guarding him.
His Majesty won't let Song Hu go, nor will he let you go. Only I am suitable, which is why I'm telling you the truth today."
Li Hui fell silent.
Though his heart was filled with a million reluctances, the thought of Shen Yulou's kindness to him and his wife, coupled with the future of his own son, ultimately led him to nod heavily.
"Madam, please be careful on your journey."
"Don't worry, my strength is above yours. Are you still worried about me?"
"Alright."
Madam Li smiled enchantingly, taking his hand, "It's getting cold, let's go home."
Home?
Li Hui glanced at the top of the tower where they stood, then at the brilliant night view of the Imperial City below.
The scene of Shen Yulou embracing Yue Yao and being "mad for love" here last night instantly flashed through his mind.
An opportunity to put his learning into practice had arrived!
He suddenly scooped Madam Li into his arms, and the delicate body in his embrace visibly stiffened.
Li Hui, imitating Shen Yulou's style, cleared his throat and said in a deep voice.
"Tonight, we'll spend the night right here!"
Madam Li's pretty face flushed, and she playfully punched him, a little embarrassed.
"Oh my, what are you doing! We're an old married couple, what kind of behavior is this here? What if someone sees us?"
"I think it's better to go home!"
Li Hui's lips curled into a smile.
"I don't care what you think, I care what I think."
...After a passionate night.
Li Hui, contentedly holding his beautiful wife in his arms, felt as if he had finally regained some of his masculine dignity.
He decided to redouble his efforts and fully implement Lord Shen's secret techniques for wooing women.
"Madam, the night is still long. Shall I tell you a story?"
He began to vividly recount the stories he had heard from Shen Yulou that day.
"Three Courts Interrogate Yu Tangchun," "Liang Hongyu Beats the War Drums at Jinshan," and "Du Shiniang Sinks Her Treasure Chest in Anger."
These stories from Lord Shen had moved Yue Yao to tears.
Li Hui had taken notes very quickly, and he could now recite these three stories backward and forward.
At the most emotional parts, he even squeezed out a few tears, ready to receive his wife's adoring and moved gaze.
However, what he received was the gradual stiffening of the delicate body in his arms.
Madam Li sat up, looking at him with a strange, unsettling gaze.
"Husband, why do you only tell stories about women of the world?"
"Have you been to the Brothel too many times?"
Li Hui's heart sank, sensing trouble.
He quickly waved his hands in explanation: "Madam, you've wronged me terribly! These are all stories I heard from Lord Shen! How could I have the spare money to go to the Brothel!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Madam Li slowly clenched her fists, producing a series of crisp "crack crack" sounds.
"I don't believe a word you say!"
"Don't blame Lord Shen for every little thing! I bet you've been there plenty! You enjoyed having your bones loosened just now, didn't you! Now I'll loosen your skin!"
Before her words finished, Madam Li stopped pretending and directly threw a punch.
"Ouch!"
"Madam, have mercy!"
"I'm telling the truth!"
"Don't hit my face! Ah—"
"Madam, please spare me, I'm no match for you!"
At the top of the tall tower, Li Hui's shrill screams echoed.
The previous second on the fengyun ranking died here.
This one... was also half-dead.
Li Hui was truly on the verge of tears.
What the hell was going on?
How could Lord Shen use this trick to fool even the most beautiful woman in Wulin Kingdom?
Why, when he tried it, did he get a beating from his wife?
...Returning to the Imperial Academy, Shen Yulou felt like he had walked into an antique market.
That old fellow Zhou Kui's house truly had a lot of good stuff.
Paintings and calligraphy from several centuries ago, luminous pearls from the South Sea, all sorts of rare treasures... piled up haphazardly in a courtyard. These were all 'Governor's Carefully Selected,' so there would definitely be no fakes.
Shen Yulou sat with his legs crossed, sipping tea, watching the Ninth Imperial Prince Zhao Heng, accompanied by a few young eunuchs, meticulously counting the spoils of war.
"Mr. Shen, everything has been counted."
Zhao Heng wiped his sweat, handing over the ledger, extremely excited.
"A rough estimate shows that if all these things were converted into silver, it would be at least sixty or seventy thousand taels..."
By the end, his voice was almost floating.
Sixty or seventy thousand taels!
Even he, a profligate prince with considerable family wealth, considered this a huge sum.
He had boasted to Lord Shen before, claiming to have considerable family wealth.
But now, he saw that Lord Shen was truly rich!
Mr. Shen goes out, makes a bet, confiscates a house, and comes back with so much?
This money was too easy to earn!
"Hmm, later, find a reliable channel to convert all these items into silver notes and deposit them into the Imperial Academy's budget."
Shen Yulou took a sip of tea, calmly instructing.
"However,"
He changed the subject, "the five thousand taels of silver for renovating the Imperial Academy still needs to be done. Lest His Majesty comes to inspect, the superficial work must be sufficient, so he doesn't think we embezzled the money."
Shen Yulou pulled out a one-thousand-tael silver note from his embrace and handed it to Zhao Heng.
"I'll give you one thousand taels; make it look like five thousand taels of work.
Make it look as expensive as possible, understand?"
Zhao Heng, holding the thin silver note, scratched his head.
"Mr. Shen, one thousand taels for five thousand taels of work? How do I do that?"
Shen Yulou glanced at him.
Why was this child so slow-witted?
"Use your little brain.
We're renovating, not rebuilding.
Find some cheap laborers, paint the walls white, repaint the pillars, plant more flowers and plants in the flowerbeds, clean up inside and out—how much money can that cost?
I estimate it won't even use up five hundred taels!
But it will look like a huge project was undertaken, understand?"
Zhao Heng was stunned, then suddenly enlightened.
"What about the remaining five hundred taels?"
"The remaining five hundred taels are your hard-earned fee."
Shen Yulou said as a matter of course.
"Mr. Shen, I'm making a net profit of four thousand taels in private funds from this, so I can't let you work for nothing, can I?
If I eat meat, I should at least let you have some soup."
Zhao Heng: "..."
He almost burst into tears on the spot.
He still had to learn from Mr. Shen.
Mr. Shen was truly ruthless when it came to making money...No sooner had he sent off the Ninth Imperial Prince, that cheap labor, than Bai Yu rushed in, blushing as he presented an application.
"Lord Shen, Her Majesty the Empress misses Princess Qionger and wishes to visit the Imperial Academy."
Shen Yulou took the application, didn't even look at it, and with a flourish of his brush, signed the word "approved" in a sweeping, elegant script, then casually stamped it with the "Imperial Academy Steward" seal.
Visiting the princess was a pretense; missing her man was the truth.
He understood, he understood everything