Chapter 649: Business TaxChapter 110 This Palace Painted

Half an hour later, Liu Sichun, dressed in plain clothes and without makeup, came to Xizheng Hall to see Li Chen.

"The commoner Liu Sichun pays her respects to His Royal Highness the Prince, a thousand years of prosperity."

Liu Sichun was still a little nervous.

She thought Li Chen was going to ask her about the progress of salt transportation recently.

But in fact, the progress of this business is not very smooth.

This was the first time in history that a private individual had interfered with an officially monopolized business. Despite having the prince's decree, she still encountered many difficulties in the details.

Liu Sichun understood the saying "it's easy to see the King of Hell, but hard to deal with little devils," so he didn't act arrogant just because he had a royal decree. When encountering situations that required connections, he was willing to spend money and offer women, as long as the business could be done. Liu Sichun didn't care about the methods used, only the results.

Even so, Liu Sichun still encountered great difficulties. Just when he didn't know what to do, Li Chen's summons arrived.

Li Chen glanced at Liu Sichun and casually asked, "Come to this palace."

Liu Sichun was stunned. Could it be that His Royal Highness wasn't asking about business, but plotting against me!

Thinking back to last time, he almost walked right into a trap. Liu Sichun felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

The Crown Prince is currently in charge of the regency, which is something I cannot possibly resist.

"What are you doing"

Li Chen looked at Liu Sichun standing there, hesitant. He frowned and said, "Have you ever seen this kind of plant"

Liu Sichun, hearing this, suddenly realized.

It turns out, it turns out that the Crown Prince doesn't have such thoughts after all.

Liu Sichun, embarrassed by his own rich inner monologue, hurriedly went up and came to the table, looking at a newly drawn sketch.

"At just a glance, Liu Sicun frowned and said, “This painting is truly rough. I can't make out anything from either side, the common woman doesn't recognize it.”

"This was painted by me," Li Chen said expressionlessly.

Liu Sichun's face turned pale, and he was about to kneel down and plead guilty, but Li Chen waved his hand and said, "I just drew a few strokes based on memory. You travel all over the place, meet many people, and experience new things. It's possible that you know him. If you have met him, bring him to me, and I will reward you handsomely."

Liu Sichun did not dare to neglect it. After saluting, he took the paper and examined it carefully.

"The leaves seem rather small, but the petiole is long and thick. This large root system... Could it be a sweet potato"

Liu Sichun's words made Li Chen's eyes light up.

"Have you seen"

Liu Sichun did not dare to conceal the truth and said, "My father went to the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian many years ago. Because they were close to the coast, he had frequent interactions with Westerners. Back then, my father heard that local farmers had obtained some strange plant seeds and diagrams from Westerners in exchange for ceramics and silk, including something called sweet potatoes."

"I heard from my father that this thing is not well-received, so there are very few fruits and vegetables seen. How did the Crown Prince know about it"

Li Chen's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed excitedly: "There really is such a thing No matter what, you must find a way to get some seeds of this thing over here, and then send them to the palace as quickly as possible. The palace will offer a generous reward."

Liu Sichun keenly noticed that this seemingly insignificant thing could make Li Chen so excited, there must be something extraordinary about it.

But she was smart and didn't ask for more. She simply said, "This woman also learned from her father. Since Your Highness needs it, this woman will do her best to find it and offer it to Your Highness."

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!the empress's decree and return to the East Palace. Then, he could find an opportunity to rely on the Su family's military power."But what's astonishing is that he actually found a possibility in the...