Eastern Palace, Crown Prince Residence.
Li Jiancheng sat at the head of the table. His face was solemn, but there was a hint of anger in his eyes. The middle finger of his right hand was placed on the table in front of him. His middle finger lightly tapped the table as if he was deep in thought.
After a long while, Li Jiancheng finally recovered from his contemplation. He looked at Wei Zheng who was sitting below and slowly said, "Xuan Cheng, Du Qi now has two sources of income, the tea shop and the restaurant. He earns a lot of money every day and earns a lot of money. Even father has appeared in the restaurant."
"This means that Imperial Father's opinion of Du Qi has increased."
"Du Qi is still young, but his strength is getting more and more impressive. Last time, we called him over and asked him to work for the Eastern Palace, but he refused. Then, according to your plan, we sent Zheng Yanqing from the Zheng Family, but he returned with a nose full of dust. "
"Each time, our plan failed.
"It seems that we've miscalculated. Du Qi has the ability to turn stone into gold. We can't let him go! "
Li Jiancheng said slowly.
He was very jealous of Du Qi.
After all, Du Qi was making a lot of money every day. Whether it was the tea shop or the restaurant, he could make a lot of money.
Wei Zheng asked, "Your Highness, do you still want to recruit Du Qi and have Du Qi work for you?"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Li Jiancheng nodded.
His eyes were sharp. "If we can't make Du Qi work for us, then we can't let him grow. Otherwise, Du Qi will sooner or later become a stumbling block for us against King Qin. After all, Du Qi is Du Ruhui's son. On the other hand, if we can make Du Qi work for the Eastern Palace, then Li Shimin will be wary of Du Ruhui, and may even hold a grudge against him. In a sense, this is a ploy to drive a wedge between us. "
A look of approval appeared in Wei Zheng's eyes when he heard this, and he said seriously. "Your Highness is wise!"
"Reporting!"
At this moment, a black-clothed warrior entered and quickly went to Wei Zheng's side, whispering something to him.
In that instant, Wei Zheng's expression changed slightly.
Wei Zheng waved his hand, and the black-clothed warrior turned around and left. Wei Zheng looked at Li Jiancheng and said seriously, "Your Highness, we can't underestimate Du Qi."
Li Jiancheng asked, "What happened this time?"
Wei Zheng replied, "Before this, everyone in Chang 'an City was discussing the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. This humble one has read it before, and it is indeed a good book. Moreover, the author of this book, Luo Guanzhong, must be an extremely talented person. "
After a pause, Wei Zheng continued, "This humble one had people investigate Luo Guanzhong's situation, but the final clue fell on Du Qi. All the clues show that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was written by Du Qi, a twelve or thirteen year old child. "
"Hiss!"
Li Jiancheng gasped.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was a popular book in Chang 'an City, and even in the surrounding counties.
Naturally, Li Jiancheng also knew about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In Li Jiancheng's knowledge, the author of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was at least fifty or sixty years old. He must have experienced the vicissitudes of life, and was an outstanding person of talent.
But it was Du Qi.
Li Jiancheng really didn't expect that Du Qi, at such a young age, could write such a masterpiece.
Li Jiancheng took a deep breath, suppressed the shock in his heart, and said, "Xuancheng, Du Qi is really not simple at such a young age. If we can't rope in such a person and make use of him, he will be a big disaster. What can we do to deal with Du Qi? "
Wei Zheng's eyes rolled, and he said, "Your Highness, it's not difficult to deal with Du Qi."
Li Jiancheng said, "What do you mean?"
Wei Zheng replied, "We'll use the same method as before. Your Highness, summon Du Qi again. This time, call him to the Eastern Palace. If Du Qi is willing to cooperate and work for Your Highness, then let him go. However, if Du Qi is unwilling to cooperate, then Your Highness can find a random reason and directly execute Du Qi. A Du Qi's death won't make much of a difference. "
As he said these words, Wei Zheng's expression turned cold and murderous.
He was already prepared to be ruthless.
Although Li Jiancheng wanted to deal with Du Qi, he felt that Wei Zheng's method was a bit too direct. He said, "Xuancheng, is there no other way? This method of yours is too ruthless and will easily be criticized by others. "
Wei Zheng said in a low voice, "Your Highness, no matter how ruthless or direct this plan is, it will work. If it works, then it's a good plan. If Your Highness blindly concedes, with Du Qi's slippery nature, it will be difficult to subdue him and make Du Qi work for Your Highness. "
After a pause, Wei Zheng continued, "Therefore, such a ruthless method must be used to intimidate Du Qi. Only such a straightforward method would leave Du Qi with no room to retreat and no way to escape. "
Li Jiancheng was silent for a while after hearing this. He thought for a while and said no more. He ordered, "Chen Dapeng, personally go to the Du residence and have Du Qi come to the Eastern Palace."
Chen Dapeng said, "Your Highness, this requires a warrant."
Last time, Chen Dapeng had gone to see Du Qi. Because he didn't have Li Jiancheng's warrant, he was forced to return to the Eastern Palace to get one. This time, he had learned his lesson.
Li Jiancheng wrote a warrant, stamped it, and handed it to Chen Dapeng.
Chen Dapeng took it and quickly left for the Du residence. Fortunately, it was early in the morning and Du Qi happened to be in the residence. When Chen Dapeng arrived, Du Qi saw Chen Dapeng in the main hall. When he heard that Li Jiancheng had summoned him, he frowned.
Li Jiancheng had summoned him again!
Last time, Du Qi had tactfully rejected Li Jiancheng's recruitment and temporarily avoided Li Jiancheng's harassment. But now, as Du Qi's strength grew stronger and stronger. Even Li Jiancheng couldn't sit idly by, so he sent someone again.
Du Qi looked at Chen Dapeng and ordered, "Wait a moment, I'll go change my clothes."
With that, Du Qi turned and went to the rear courtyard.
He changed his clothes and instructed Liu Jian to stay in the residence. Then, he left the rear courtyard and met up with Chen Dapeng in the main hall. They boarded the carriage and went to the Eastern Palace where the Crown Prince was.
Entering the main hall of the Eastern Palace, Du Qi clasped his hands and bowed, "Junior Du Qi greets Your Highness."
Li Jiancheng said, "Erlang, no need to be so courteous."
Du Qi said, "Thank you, Your Highness!"
Li Jiancheng changed the topic and said, "I heard that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms sold in the Zailai Bookstore was also written by you, Du Qi, using Luo Guanzhong's name. Is that true?"
Du Qi looked certain and shook his head, "Your Highness, you've been deceived!"
Li Jiancheng looked at Du Qi, as if he wanted to find some clues from Du Qi's eyes. His eyes were sharp and he said in a deep voice, "You didn't do it?"
"No!"
Du Qi said with certainty, "Your Highness, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was written by Luo Guanzhong. I only knew the contents of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms after he explained it to me. I was only responsible for transcribing it, that's all. "
He refused to admit it.
It wasn't a good thing to admit it in front of Li Jiancheng.
Li Jiancheng laughed when he heard this. He didn't care whether Du Qi was Luo Guanzhong or not. He changed the topic and said, "The original Zailai Bookstore was on the verge of bankruptcy, and it was difficult to operate. When you took it over, it was full of vitality. Du Qi. Although you're young, you can turn stone into gold. You're really amazing. "
Du Qi said, "Your Highness, you flatter me. I was just lucky. You can't take it seriously."
At this moment, Du Qi understood Li Jiancheng's intention. The reason why he called him over was because Li Jiancheng didn't care about Luo Guanzhong or the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
What Li Jiancheng cared about was that the business of the Zailai Bookstore was booming and it could make a lot of money every day.
This was what Li Jiancheng cared about.
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