The new lottery has arrived!

Lin Shen stood boldly in front of Hou Junji. A look of generous sacrifice adorned his face. These words left Hou Junji speechless. Even if he didn't have to bear any responsibility himself… Hou Junji wouldn't dare to harm Lin Shen like this. Even without the title of the Prince of Chu, just providing food for the people gave Lin Shen such a "sacred reputation" that no one would dare to openly attack him, not even Li Shimin.

It's a simple example.

If it weren't Lin Shen standing here, but Sun Simiao, an unranked and titleless old doctor, Hou Junji still wouldn't dare to act. Reputation among the common people… even Li Shimin wouldn't dare to touch such a thing. Hou Junji couldn't speak, his face turned even more livid, feeling like he had just caught his wife cheating with thirteen other men.

Lin Shen sneered, "Coward."

Hou Junji didn't dare to argue.

Lin Shen bypassed Hou Junji directly, leading the way to the Ruyi Supermarket. After exchanging meaningful glances with Hou Junji, a few eunuchs followed Lin Shen and left.

Hou Junji stood at the county office gate, his expression changing from dark to light. The stableman beside him dared not speak. He had never seen someone so blatantly disrespecting his master.

"Let's go! Back to the mansion!" Hou Junji waved his hand, his face cold as he spoke firmly.

Lin Shen…

Hou Junji remembered this name deeply. From childhood to adulthood, he had never suffered such a big loss.

The Ruyi Supermarket wasn't far from the county office.

In just a few steps, Lin Shen instructed Chen San to pick up some items from the shops for the eunuchs, even giving each of them a lipstick. The eunuchs took the items with gratitude and went back to the imperial city to thank Li Shimin.

Watching this scene, Chen San felt a bit bewildered. "Boss, what's going on? Why…"

The development of events was beyond his wildest imagination.

"They're the reinforcements you brought in, rescuing you from the county office. But when did you get to know the eunuchs?" Lin Shen smirked.

"It's not that I brought in reinforcements, just made a deal with His Majesty."

"Obtained the title of Prince of Chu."

Chen San suddenly realized, "So you obtained the title of Prince of Chu…"

As the words sunk in, Chen San was puzzled.

"Prince… Prince?!"

At the mention of the title, Chen San instinctively thought of a county lord or a county magistrate. Although it was unbelievable for a merchant to obtain a title, it wasn't impossible given his boss's ability to produce such miraculous treasures.

But what kind of title was "Prince"? Did the Tang Dynasty have princes from different lineages now? Wasn't it only the emperor's sons who could be granted the title of prince… Could it be that his boss was actually a prince?

All sorts of strange thoughts ran through Chen San's mind. It wasn't surprising that he was guessing and speculating like this, as such a reward was truly unprecedented.

"The imperial decree is here, see for yourself." Lin Shen didn't want to explain further, simply tossing the imperial decree to Chen San.

Chen San caught the decree in a flurry, trembling as he opened it. The words on it made his head spin.

Prince of Chu.

It really was the Prince of Chu!

Chen San couldn't help but gasp in shock, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Even as a mere commoner, he knew this wasn't normal.

Other than the prince, who could directly be granted the title of king?

Chen San, holding the imperial decree, approached Lin Shen who was lying on the rattan chair, carefully lowering his voice and said, "Boss, can you give me a clue? Are you the son of the present sage?"

Snap!

Lin Shen raised his hand and gave Chen San a hard knock on the head, causing him to yelp in pain.

Lin Shen spat, "Nonsense, Li Shimin is not my father, we're peers, understand?"

Chen San nodded, then whispered, "So you're the son of the former emperor…"

Snap!

Lin Shen slapped Chen San again, "My surname is Lin, theirs is Li, how could we be family? Use your pea-sized brain to think, this is impossible."

Chen San held the imperial decree, not daring to move. Instead of being upset about being slapped by Lin Shen, he grinned as if he couldn't be happier.

A prince! This was the prince's slap. In the entire Chang'an City, which ruffian born from a rogue background could achieve such a status before the prince?

At best, they could be a bad general, always needing to consider the mood of the ordinary guards.

Chen San carefully rolled up the imperial decree, "Your… Highness… where do you think we should place the imperial decree?"

After hesitating for a while, he finally settled on an appropriate title.

Lin Shen waved his hand, "Anywhere, just find a place to put it."

Chen San said, "Your Highness, this is the imperial decree!"

Lin Shen was puzzled, not understanding why Chen San attached so much importance to this item. "What's so special about the imperial decree?"

Chen San had so much to say but couldn't find the words. If it were him, he would surely treasure the imperial decree… treat it like a treasure. But with so many treasures in their own prince's possession, did they really need an imperial decree to assert their status?

Chen San sighed softly, "So, Your Highness, should I put it in your back room?"

Lin Shen nodded. Chen San couldn't understand Lin Shen's indifferent attitude. Lin Shen lay on the rattan chair, acting as if nothing had happened, holding a book in his hand but actually reviewing the finances of this period. The entire noble circle of Chang'an was in chaos.

Prince of Chu!

Or an unrelated prince!

For the first time ever, the Tang Dynasty had its first prince from an unrelated lineage, and he even had the title of "Chu." Moreover, he obtained this title with achievements almost akin to those of a "sage." Everyone knew what this meant. As long as he didn't rebel, Lord Lin Shen, even if he shouted at Li Shimin every day in the court, the entire Tang Dynasty couldn't touch him and would have to serve him well.

The entire noble circle was about to experience a major upheaval. Of course, their biggest headache right now wasn't this sudden intrusion of the main figure in the noble circle… but rather what kind of gift to present to him.

Money?

Too mundane to mention.

Lin Shen wasn't short of money, with the monthly income of tens of thousands of silver from the Ruyi Supermarket, much higher than the income of these dukes and county lords.

Treasures?

What treasures could they present before Lin Shen? In front of Lin Shen, there was no crystal cup to be seen in the entire Tang Dynasty, and the Ruyi Supermarket had boxes of them taken out. If he was unhappy, he could even smash a few for the sound. The soap, with its performance hundreds of times that of soapnuts… was unheard of. What treasure could compare to those things?

There were also rumors that His Highness the Prince of Chu possessed a divine weapon, a blade worth a hundred coins. Before that weapon, their blades were as fragile as paper. Their weapons couldn't even compare.

Headache!

They wanted to curry favor, but they felt that no matter what they sent over, it wouldn't catch the eye of His Highness the Prince of Chu.