Hua Shunming tapped the date at the back of the memorial. "I merely hinted at my intentions by summoning him back to Shangjing, yet this old fox has already guessed it.
"By submitting this soap recipe, Gu Wenheng is also assuring our Royal Family that he harbors no disloyal intentions and refuses to be dragged into the struggles for imperial power.
"But he still underestimates me, I..."
The words caught in his throat. Hua Shunming felt that he wasn't being quite fair. A few years ago, he had only declined his share of the sea trade profits a few times before happily accepting it.
And as for this soap recipe, the other party had written it into the memorial. He had already read it and was now having the Crown Prince review it, acting as if he had already claimed the item as his own.
He winced inwardly. It truly damaged his image as the Emperor.
But the temptation was too great. Even though he owned the world, he was personally poor, and his private treasury wasn't even full yet.
