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Lu Chen left the Spring Sound Court and made his way to the study.

The weather was nice today, with the first clear skies after the snow. When Lu Chen arrived at the entrance of the study, he didn’t immediately enter but stood in the courtyard to bask in the sun for a while.

In the recent half month, he had either been cultivating his relationship with Yelv Nanyan in bed, teaching Xiao Wenyao how to ride a horse, or practicing spear with the Grandmaster Bai Qingqing. It had been a long time since Lu Chen had the chance to enjoy the sun.

As Lu Chen was soaking up the sun, a maid approached and said, “Prince, Lord Li is requesting an audience.”

Lu Chen indifferently responded, “Let him come over.”

Soon after, the maid led Li Rui to Lu Chen.

Li Rui greeted him, saying, “Greetings to the Prince, may the Prince live for thousands and thousands of years!”

Lu Chen, while sunbathing, replied, “Hmm, dispense with the formalities.”

“Speak, what’s the matter.”

Hearing Lu Chen’s words, Li Rui hesitated for a moment without speaking.

Seeing that Li Rui remained silent, Lu Chen, curious, turned his head to look at him, “Why has Lord Li become so indecisive today?”

Li Rui coughed before saying, “Prince, the issue I have come to discuss with you mainly concerns officier salaries.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen paused, then inquired, “Officer salaries? What’s this, the officials in North City want to raise their salaries?”

Li Rui replied, “That’s not it.”

“It’s just that…”

Li Rui stopped mid-sentence.

Seeing Li Rui speaking so hesitantly today, Lu Chen immediately said, “Lord Li, speak your business. If you have nothing else, go back to your duties.”

Seeing that Lu Chen seemed displeased, Li Rui quickly said, “Previously, the salaries of officials in North City were provided by the court, but according to the court’s regulations, the salaries of the officials in the Seignior’s territory are to be paid by the Seignior himself.”

“The court has already stopped the disbursement to North City half a year ago, so…”

Li Rui did not continue speaking but looked up at Lu Chen.

His meaning was simple and clear: North City was out of money, and it was up to the North Prince Mansion to pay the officials’ salaries.

When Lu Chen heard what Li Rui said, he laughed and then spoke, “Doesn’t North City collect taxes every year? I remember, according to the court’s rules, the Seignior does not need to pay taxes to the court for the first ten years after being enfeoffed.”

“Could it be that the taxes in North City are not enough to support the officials there?”

Li Rui said, “Your Highness, North City is impoverished, and since you came to North City, you have waived much of the taxes, so indeed there is not much silver left in the coffers.”

“I’ve calculated, and if we disburse this year’s salaries to the officials, there will likely be no money left to complete the Hall of Political Affairs.”

The finances of the North Prince Mansion and the Prefectural Government were separate, with the North Prince Mansion’s money always managed by the Mansion itself, while the tax revenue of North City was managed by the Prefectural Government.

Without the court’s disbursement, the modest sum managed by Li Rui would quickly deplete, and what’s more, the funds for building the Hall of Political Affairs were also coming from the coffers of the Prefectural Government.

Having waived so many taxes in North City and without the court’s disbursement, the finances managed by the Prefectural Government were essentially only dwindling, with money going out but not coming in, and naturally, this could not be sustained for long.

After hearing Li Rui’s words, Lu Chen fell silent for a moment as if pondering something. After a while, he asked, “How much more is needed for this year’s officer salaries in North City?”

Li Rui cautiously replied, “Your Highness, no more than one hundred thousand silver.”

At that, Lu Chen’s brow furrowed and he continued, “Give me the exact amount.”

Li Rui answered again, “Around fifty thousand taels or so.”

Just fifty thousand taels, certainly the North Prince Mansion could afford that.

But this was only part of North City’s officer salaries; maintaining the Black Cavalry and the Barbarian Tribe captives also cost Lu Chen an unknown sum of silver each month. Although the North Prince Mansion had many profitable businesses, if expenditures were excessive, the earnings would definitely not keep up with the spending.

Lu Chen then told Li Rui, “You go back first. The household accounts are not managed by me. I need to consult with the Princess Consort first. As for the officers’ salaries, I will make the disbursement in a few days. You don’t need to worry about it.”

With Lu Chen’s words, Li Rui was reassured. He knew that the North Prince Mansion was not lacking in funds, for the businesses that the Mansion was engaged in were very lucrative, easily netting over a hundred thousand taels of silver in a month.

The key was the attitude of the North Prince. Some Seigniors often delayed the salaries of officials upon reaching their fiefdoms, something that occurred in every territory. Initially, Li Rui’s main concern was that Lu Chen might deliberately delay officer salaries.

If Lu Chen were to delay officer salaries, then the officials of North City would first think of complaining to him, the Prefecture Governor, not to Lu Chen, the Prince.

Fortunately, Lu Chen had no intention of delaying the salaries.

Li Rui then said, “I take my leave, Your Highness.”

After Li Rui left the Prince’s Mansion with peace of mind, Lu Chen didn’t proceed to the study but went straight to the main courtyard to find Mu Zixuan.

Mu Zixuan was sitting on a wooden chair in the main hall. Although most people in Great Sum still preferred to kneel and sit, Lu Chen was worried that such a posture might affect a fetus, should his concubines become pregnant, so he had specifically commissioned craftsmen to make many chairs.

Mu Zixuan was showing signs of pregnancy, with her belly a bit rounded, though not very noticeable, mainly due to her loose clothing.

After arriving at the main hall, Lu Chen saw Mu Zixuan examining account books. He immediately brought a chair over to sit beside her, then wrapped an arm around her slender waist and whispered in her ear, “My love, you’ve worked hard.”