Started out getting scumbags, but then invested in the invincible Empress.

Chapter 136 We lack everything, but we don't lack money!

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Nanzhi walked in hand in hand with a beautiful woman.

The beautiful woman was dressed in an indigo brocade palace gown, her hair was styled in a high bun, and she had a dignified demeanor. Although she was over thirty years old, her skin was in no way inferior to that of a young girl, and it was fair and rosy.

She walked in quietly, exuding a calm and gentle aura, giving people a sense of dignified grace, like an empress ruling the world.

Li Wudao was slightly taken aback, but quickly recognized him.

Wang Wan was the principal wife of Prince Rui, and also his concubine.

"Big sister, what brings you here...?"

Upon hearing the scolding, Li Jianyuan turned around with a start. Just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed, and he quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Mother Consort."

"Meet the princess!"

The guards panicked and immediately put away their weapons, standing trembling to one side.

Wang Wan's eyes flashed with displeasure as she coldly glanced at everyone. Then, her eyes lit up, and she quickened her pace toward Li Wudao, leaving Li Jianyuan standing there.

Li Jianyuan remained in a bowing posture, his face stiffening, but he dared not straighten up on his own.

Li Nanzhi glared at him fiercely, then frowned and looked at the steward: "Uncle Tian, ​​what exactly happened? Didn't I specifically instruct you to take good care of my cousin?"

Uncle Tian sighed softly and honestly recounted what had happened.

Upon hearing this, both Li Nanzhi and Wang Wan's pretty faces turned much colder.

"Li Jianyuan, how dare you touch my honored guest? Did you give me too much face before, huh?!"

Li Nanzhi smiled coldly and, without the slightest hesitation, raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

The clear sound of a slap echoed throughout the hall.

Li Jianyuan was stunned. He covered his cheek with one hand and pointed at Li Wudao with the other, exclaiming in disbelief, "Big sister, you actually hit me for an outsider?"

"outsider?"

Li Nanzhi shook her head and sneered, then said in a deep voice, "My cousin Wudao is my mother's own nephew, while you... are just a concubine's son born out of wedlock. Understand your place, understand?"

Li Jianyuan's face flushed with resentment and humiliation, yet he was unable to refute it. Especially when he saw Princess Rui conversing intimately with Li Wudao, his fists clenched tightly.

I almost forgot, this country bumpkin has a princess aunt, no wonder he was so arrogant before.

"Those eyebrows, those noses, they really look like Xiaoyun..."

Wang Wan walked up to Li Wudao, examined him closely, and was lost in thought for a moment.

After a while, she came to her senses, took the latter's hand, and said with heartache, "Child, you have suffered all these years. How have you been doing out there? Has Li Jing taken good care of you?"

Li Wudao felt a warmth in his heart, and a smile appeared on his lips. "Thank you for your concern, Aunt. These years have been very good, and my father has taken good care of me."

In this world, if we talk about blood relatives and in-laws, besides his father Li Jing, perhaps only Wang Wan truly cared for him.

"That's good."

Wang Wan breathed a sigh of relief, pulled Li Wudao's hand and sat down, smiling as she said:

"Wu Dao, did you suddenly come to the capital because you missed your aunt? You must stay a few more days this time so that your aunt can properly show you hospitality."

Without waiting for the latter's reply, he instructed the servants, "Go, prepare the best guest rooms, and also throw a grand banquet to welcome my nephew home..."

Seeing the princess and Li Wudao chatting happily, Li Jianyuan felt extremely uncomfortable and immediately made an excuse to leave.

However, Wang Wan insisted on keeping her there.

"I haven't settled the score with you for what happened earlier. Where are you going? You'd better serve Wudao tea and water at the dinner table and apologize properly, or I, the Princess Consort, will not let you off easily!"

Li Jianyuan felt a chill in his heart, as if he had lost his parents, but he could only nod.

Not long after.

The servants had prepared a family feast with more than twenty delicacies, all made from the finest ingredients, and all were delicious and tempting.

The green-haired turtle clamored to be on the table, but Li Wudao naturally refused.

As a guest, how can I possibly overstep my bounds and usurp the host's role?

But the green-haired turtle wouldn't listen and kept cursing. He had no choice but to use his trump card, threatening it with the 'Moon Lotus' and offering ten more strings of candied hawthorns, before an agreement was reached.

To be honest, he really couldn't understand why a turtle would like to eat candied hawthorns; it was quite bizarre.

The dinner table.

The princess always wore a gentle smile, asking Li Wudao about his experiences over the years while constantly putting food on his plate, saying, "It's the time when you're growing, eat more meat."

"Mother, how can you be so biased? I'm your own daughter, aren't I?"

Looking at the mountain of meat piled up in Li Wudao's bowl, Li Nanzhi felt a pang of jealousy.

The princess glared at her and scolded, "You child, how can you compare them to Wudao who hasn't visited in so many years?"

Li Nanzhi stuck out her tongue and smiled mischievously.

However, Li Jianyuan, sitting at the table, could not feel happy at all; he felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles.

Seeing the two of them so enthusiastic about a former good-for-nothing, he felt utterly worthless and resentful, his jealousy almost driving him mad!

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pour my cousin some tea!"

Li Nanzhi kicked him, her face full of displeasure.

"Yes......."

Li Jianyuan gritted his teeth, struggled to his feet, suppressed his resentment, and poured Li Wudao a cup of tea.

When he saw the other person drink it expressionlessly without even glancing at him, he wanted nothing more than to beat him up on the spot. It was simply too much!

It's one thing for the princess and the county princess to treat him coldly, but what right does a good-for-nothing like Li Wudao have?

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he said with a playful tone, "Li Wudao, you've come all this way to see the Princess, you wouldn't be coming empty-handed, would you?"

Seeing that he did not respond and only kept eating, he couldn't help but sneer and mock, "No wonder you're from the countryside, you have no manners at all."

"Li Jianyuan! If you dare to provoke me again, this princess will make you regret it!"

Li Nanzhi frowned and warned sternly.

Given the fighting prowess Li Wudao displayed at the restaurant, how could Li Jianyuan possibly provoke him?

If he angered his cousin, even if the people of the Zhennan Marquis's mansion killed him directly, why would they care about his status as the fifth young master of the Rui Prince's mansion?

The princess was unaware of all this, and simply waved her hand and smiled, "It's alright, it's all just formalities for outsiders. I'm just happy that Wudao came."

Li Wudao put down his chopsticks, glanced at Li Jianyuan indifferently, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

As expected, this guy was going to cause some trouble, but he was destined to be disappointed.

He pondered for a moment, rummaged through his storage ring for a while, and then took out a beautifully packaged jade box.

The Ninth Grade Spirit Tea – Purple Jade.

This is feedback from a meal I had a few days ago when I invested in Green Turtle; it would make a very suitable souvenir.

"It smells so good! What kind of tea is this? I've never seen it before!"

Li Nanzhi's beautiful eyes widened in surprise.

Inside the jade box are pale purple bamboo leaves, each one distinct, crisp and glistening, with a unique, refreshing fragrance that fills the air and soothes the soul.

Li Wudao casually mentioned the name of the tea, then brewed a pot of tea and personally poured a cup for the princess and her cousin.

"Tch, what's with the attitude? It's just a box of tea, how much could it be worth?"

Upon seeing him take out tea leaves, Li Jianyuan's expression stiffened, and he gave a cold sneer.

Previously, he had mocked Li Wudao for not being worthy of drinking the top-grade Jade Bee Tea in his hand. Now that the latter had taken out a box of tea leaves, his intentions couldn't be clearer!

It's obvious they're targeting him!

However, he didn't believe that the tea the other party brought could compare to his first-grade spiritual tea.

Li Wudao looked at him quietly, then said something shocking: "Buying this palace shouldn't be a problem."

The whole audience was silent.

Li Nanzhi was the first to snap out of her daze and exclaimed, "Cousin, you're not kidding, are you? Is this box of tea really that valuable?"

"That's hilarious! A mere box of tea dares to boast about buying the entire Prince's mansion?"

"Do you know that the Prince Rui's mansion covers ninety acres and is located in one of the most prosperous areas of the capital? To buy the entire mansion, you would need at least three million taels of gold!"

Li Jianyuan was overjoyed, never expecting Li Wudao to be such a good actor. He quickly added insult to injury by mocking, "You don't actually think a box of tea of ​​unknown origin is worth three million taels of gold, do you?"

Even though the princess had seen a lot, she was still a little flustered. She smiled gently and said, "It's alright. I'm already grateful that Wudao has such a kind intention."

Just as the atmosphere became tense, Li Wudao casually asked, "Is three million taels of gold a lot?"

Regardless of the value of the previous investment returns, the two inheritances they received are not from people who are short of money.

Putting aside everything else, even a single King-level weapon is priceless.

You could say he lacked everything except money.

"Shameless talk!"

Li Jianyuan was somewhat amused and sneered, "You're just a country bumpkin from a remote county. Do you even know what three million taels of gold means? Even the four great families of the capital city would have a hard time coming up with that much money all at once. How dare you say that?"

Li Wudao shook his head and chuckled, then lowered his head to drink his tea, too lazy to argue anymore.

Times have changed, our identities and perspectives are different now, so there's no longer any need for that.

He is, after all, a guest, and he should give his aunt some face; he doesn't want things to get too tense.

"You can still laugh? You're shameless!"

Seeing him leisurely drinking tea, Li Jianyuan was furious. He immediately picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup. He was so angry that he talked until his mouth was dry.

The moment he took a sip of tea, he turned and spat it all over the ground, cursing, "Ptooey! What rotten tea! It tastes awful!"

At this point, he looked at Li Wudao, his tone extremely mocking: "This kind of trashy tea is worthless, even a dog wouldn't drink it, how dare you give it away?"

He had taken to heart the latter's earlier sarcastic remark that even a turtle wouldn't drink his Jade Bee Tea, and now he finally had a chance to get revenge.

"Li Jianyuan, that's enough!"

Li Nanzhi frowned and slammed her hand on the table, feeling a headache coming on.

She had tried her best to save her mentally challenged brother, but to her dismay, he was completely ungrateful and eager to die.

Li Wudao gently put down his teacup, and his gaze toward Li Jianyuan subtly turned cold.

This person has provoked him three times, and there is no longer any need to tolerate it.

"boom--"

Just then, the door was pushed open forcefully.

A middle-aged figure with a powerful stride strode in.

The middle-aged man wore a black robe with gold-embroidered python patterns. His body was as upright as a rock, and beneath his high brow bones were a pair of sharp, hawk-like eyes.

His hair was neatly combed, his lips were thin and defined, and his jawline was strong and resolute, exuding a stubborn and tough feeling.

"I've met the prince!"

The servants quickly bowed.

"Father, didn't you say you were going into seclusion to recuperate? Why are you out of seclusion now?"

Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Li Nanzhi's eyes lit up with joy, and she affectionately stepped forward and took his arm.

Li Wudao hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, gave a slight bow, and said, "Greetings, Uncle Wang."

The middle-aged man before them was Prince Rui, Li Long, the head of the royal palace, the younger brother of the Emperor of Dayu, and a powerful figure in the dynasty.

Li Long stood with his hands behind his back, exuding an aura of authority without anger. He looked at Li Wudao, who was bowing, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

After a few breaths, he slowly opened his mouth and said in a reprimanding tone, "It's been a few years since we last met, and you've certainly grown some guts. You even dared to kill one of the Marquis of Zhennan's men when you first arrived in the capital. You have quite the nerve!"

"Dad, why are you questioning me as soon as you arrive? Besides, this isn't my cousin's fault; Meng Yan started it first..."

Li Nanzhi, her pretty face filled with anxiety, shook Li Long's arm and recounted in detail what had happened at the restaurant that day.

However, Li Long remained cold-faced and snorted, "Even if Meng Yan was in the wrong, that's no excuse for him to kill the guards of the Marquis of Zhennan's mansion! Not to mention, he almost killed the Marquis of Zhennan's only son!"

At this point, his face turned somewhat grim, and he said in a deep voice, "Just now, the Marquis of Zhennan's men sent word that I must give an explanation for this matter and hand over the murderer within three days, or they will take it to His Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, the princess and Li Nanzhi tensed up, their faces turning pale.

"A life for a life, that's only right!"

Li Jianyuan, however, was extremely excited, his depressed mood vanished, and he said urgently, "Father, what are you waiting for? Quickly arrest him and send him to the Marquis of Zhennan's residence!"