The Host is Clearly A Scumbag (Quick Travel)

Now that Emperor had Jiang Meimei, who could discern luck, he wanted to thoroughly examine the royal families and see who among them possessed luck surpassing his own and the Crown Prince's.

Even if they were of the same bloodline, if they posed a threat to the country, he would not let them off easily.

At this moment, Emperor Li revealed the ruthlessness befitting a sovereign.

He acted swiftly, and soon, using the Empress's birthday as an excuse, he summoned all the royal family members in the capital to enter the palace to attend the birthday banquet, and he also specifically said that he wanted to meet the descendants of each family.

Jiang Meimei was stationed at a small window in an underground chamber opposite the palace banquet.

Beside her, a highly skilled imperial physician monitored her pulse through a suspended silk thread. As long as she lied, her blood flow would quicken, and her pulse would become erratic, which is something the imperial physician would immediately detect.

This was Shangguan Shi's idea, and it completely cut off any chance for Jiang Meimei to spout nonsense.

After the banquet was over, Emperor Li received Shangguan Shi's report. Learning that no one's luck surpassed his own, Emperor Li finally let out a slow breath of relief.

Now, he only worried about two things, which are the black streak in his own luck, and the Crown Prince's insufficient luck.

'What should I do?'

Emperor Li was deeply troubled.

Crown Prince Li Sheng was worrying himself gray over him. After he recovered, he went to find Mingting as soon as possible.

This time, the Emperor was worried that something might happen to the Crown Prince again, so he secretly assigned highly skilled shadow guards to protect the Crown Prince.

Under the escort of palace guards, Li Sheng, accompanied by a young eunuch, knocked on Mingting's door.

"All of you, stay out of sight. Don't let anyone see you."

Li Sheng had just dismissed the guards when the door opened.

"Brother, I'm here!"

Perhaps because they had swum in the river together and he had even worn Mingting's clothes, Li Sheng didn't stand on ceremony. He treated Mingting like one of his own.

After saying that he wanted to thank Mingting, Li Sheng brought a very practical gift, a thick stack of silver notes, each worth a thousand taels.

Most of his personal belongings bore imperial markings, and Li Sheng, having finally met a peer he could talk to, didn't want to reveal his identity. Thus, silver notes were the best way to express his gratitude for the life-saving favor.

"Saving someone was just a small act. Brother Li, you don't need to do this. If it were anyone else, I would have done the same."

Mingting told Li Sheng about how Jiang Xiao'e had once saved him, explaining that his willingness to risk himself for others was rooted in his family's teachings.

Mingting's refusal to seek profit and his strong sense of righteousness moved Li Sheng deeply.

Not long after he was born, he was named the Crown Prince. Many people approached him with ulterior motives, flattering him for his status.

Never before had there been someone like this… someone who disregarded Li Sheng's status, acted purely out of moral conscience to do what was right, and sought nothing in return…

'How could such a good person exist!'

"Brother, you saved my life, and you are my benefactor. If you are willing, how about we become sworn brothers?"

Thinking of the sworn brotherhood written in the book he had read recently, Li Sheng looked at Mingting with eager excitement.

"Sure!"

Mingting immediately prepared an incense burner, wine, and chicken blood, setting up the ritual with proper solemnity. The professional display only made the young Crown Prince even more thrilled.

"I, Li Sheng (Jiang Mingting), today swear brotherhood..."

The two burned incense, drank wine, knelt in reverence to heaven and earth, and finally pledged the oath: "We seek only to die on the same year, same month, same day."

"This is amazing! Absolutely amazing! Brother Ting!" Li Sheng clapped Mingting on the shoulder, "From now on, your big brother will take good care of you!"

"Thank you, big brother!"

Mingting finally understood why Li Sheng was easily killed by the original owner in the original timeline.

Perhaps because the Emperor only had one son, Li Sheng had grown up in a sheltered environment, free from much intrigue, making him a rather guileless person. Once he trusted someone, he gave his faith completely.

In the original timeline, the original owner had gained Li Sheng's absolute trust precisely because he had saved the young Crown Prince and then stayed by his side like a devoted friend.

Even when others warned that the original owner was a treacherous eunuch, Li Sheng had still believed in him and shielded him.

This kind of temperament really wasn't suited for a ruler.

Seeing Li Sheng cheerfully call He Gu 'Foster Mother', Jiang Xiao'e 'Elder Sister' and Wang Zhi 'Brother-in-law', and even declaring that Daya and Xiaosong were his nephews, while the family warmly welcomed him as one of their own, with He Gu dotingly fussing over him and even pressing a red envelope into his hand...

Mingting couldn't help but massage his temples.

When Li Sheng's true identity was eventually revealed, he wondered if his family would be terrified.

A Crown Prince with such an… exuberant personality was quite alarming in its own way!

After swearing brotherhood with Mingting, Li Sheng stopped acting like an outsider altogether. In his free time, he often dropped by Mingting's home.

This time, when Li Sheng arrived, the courtyard was piled high with coal cinders, and Mingting and his family, dressed in rough work clothes, were busy shaping coal briquettes.

"Brother Ting, what is this?"

Li Sheng had never seen coal briquettes before and found them utterly novel.

After washing his hands, Mingting introduced Li Sheng to the honeycomb briquette stove he had commissioned.

"Heating? Coal briquettes? And honeycomb briquettes?"

After watching Mingting demonstrate the stove by boiling water, Li Sheng was astounded, "This is a fantastic idea!"

In winter, people usually burn charcoal for heating, but charcoal was too expensive for ordinary or poor families to afford. If honeycomb briquettes could replace it, the cost would be much lower.

When Mingting explained that each honeycomb briquette cost only a few copper coins, Li Sheng nearly dropped his jaw in shock.

"So, Big Brother, what do you think? Interested?"

Mingting nudged Li Sheng with his elbow, "Winter is coming. If we can buy a coal mine, and produce these stoves and briquettes, we will definitely make a fortune."

Li Sheng's thoughts ran even deeper. If they could promote these stoves and briquettes on a large scale before winter arrived, commoners wouldn't have to fear the harsh snows this year.

However, this was Mingting's invention, and asking Mingting to hand it over outright would be too much.

Even as the Crown Prince, he couldn't strong-arm someone like this.

Besides, Mingting still didn't know his true identity, and Li Sheng didn't want to lose this sworn brother.

He thought about it and decided to cooperate with Mingting to make money.

At that time, he could hand his share of the earnings over to his father.

"Big Brother, if you have any well-connected friends, you can also bring them in. We can make a fortune together and get rich together." Mingting added.

"Otherwise, with the two of us, we might not be able to protect this business."

"No need. My father still has some influence, and I can handle the protection myself." Li Sheng shook his head.

As the Crown Prince, who would dare compete with him for business?

The two discussed the plans for a long time, and in the end, Li Sheng would provide 90% of the starting capital, while Mingting contributed the technology and 10% of the funds.