Ye Jingchen counted the gifts the Ji family had given him, and his private coffers were more than doubled in size.

Besides the Four Treasures of the Study, ancient books and paintings, and trinkets made of gold, silver, jade, and emerald, the most dazzling item was a small cartload of gold bars, so bright and shiny they could blind a dog.

He kept a few for himself to play with, and then reluctantly sent the rest to Chengqian Palace.

There's no way around it; jealousy has completely distorted his father's character. If we don't comfort him with gold bars soon, his fragile heart might just turn black.

"Jingyu is a filial and good child. When he comes back, he will definitely be filial to you!" Ye Jingchen comforted the emperor, who still looked sour after receiving the gold bars.

This is a classic case of wanting what you have while eyeing what you don't!

"Then tell him to come back quickly and say that his mother misses him!" the emperor said to Ye Jingchen.

Eight truckloads of gifts, if they were all gold bars, would amount to more than three years' worth of tax revenue for the national treasury!

Ye Jingchen: ......

“Father, since you miss Jingyu, you should let him know. He will be very touched!” Ye Jingchen said with a smile.

He would never aid and abet evil!

"He has always respected you, his elder brother, the Crown Prince. Call him that!" The Emperor's smile was also very gentle.

Doesn't he have any shame?

"Actually, we don't need to rush to call Jingyu back now. They will definitely be able to get back before my birthday!" Ye Jingchen assured him.

This was their agreement.

He will go to the northern frontier after his birthday, and before that, he must plan out the path they will take next.

"You can make it back for your birthday, but I can't? That means they don't care about me at all!" the emperor said coldly, his heart filled with bitterness.

“Father, your birthday is less than a month away. They are still in Yongzhou. It would be too tiring for them to rush back. Besides, it’s a pity that they have to come back so soon after their rare trip. Anyway, those eight carts of gifts won’t be lost in Weiyang Palace. What difference does it make whether we present them to you sooner or later?” Ye Jingchen coaxed him with great patience.

"Was it for those eight cartloads of gifts? I miss Jingyu!" the emperor corrected him righteously.

"Yes, yes, yes! I was wrong! I was judging you by my own petty standards!" Ye Jingchen quickly replied.

A baby who is over 400 months old is much harder to soothe than a baby who is over 40 months old!

The conversation between father and son came to an end, but Ye Jingchen knew that the emperor coveted the gold and silver among Ye Jingyu's eight cartloads of gifts, so he sent a letter to Ye Jingyu.

Therefore, on the emperor's birthday, the imperial concubine presented him with one hundred gold bars as a birthday gift.

Then, the Imperial Concubine delivered one hundred gold bars on behalf of Ye Jingyu.

Although gold bars are considered vulgar, the most so among the congratulatory gifts received by the emperor, they are practical. When the emperor saw those gold bars, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

He would love for everyone to give him gold bars, which would be much better than those things that look valuable but are actually just for decoration!

Unfortunately, the emperor's courtiers could not understand his thoughts, nor did they dare to.

After all, with the meager salaries of court officials, how could they possibly afford to send gold bars?

On the emperor's birthday, Ye Jingchen not only cooked him a bowl of longevity noodles with the little brat who was still in the capital, but also gave him a design blueprint for a waterwheel.

This drawing depicts a very ingenious dragon-bone waterwheel, which would be much more convenient, time-saving, and labor-saving than the waterwheels commonly used in Dae Yeon today if used for farmland irrigation.

Ye Jingyu and his group saw this waterwheel in Shanggui County. They felt it was a pity to only promote it in Shanggui County, so they asked the Ji family for the complete blueprints of the waterwheel structure and sent them to Ye Jingchen.

After reviewing the blueprints, Ye Jingchen, based on the experience and theories of his predecessors and with the help of the skilled craftsmen of the Tiangong Pavilion, further improved the blueprints, making the waterwheel suitable for both plains and mountains, and making it lighter and more convenient than before. Only then did he present it to the emperor as a birthday gift.

Of course, he also sent a copy of the improved blueprints to the Ji family. It felt so good to use their things to do a favor!

In an era lacking heavy industry, where light industry was rarely shared, and commerce was underdeveloped, agriculture almost determined everything.

For ordinary people to improve their quality of life, they can only rely on their small plot of land, so any invention that benefits agriculture is invaluable.

The emperor was very satisfied with the birthday gift, and even more so with the addition of the two hundred gold bars. He began to smugly show off the bowl of longevity noodles to his court officials.

After the emperor's birthday, Ye Jingchen began preparations for his trip to the northern frontier.

His birthday is in the ninth month of the lunar calendar. By the time his birthday is over, winter will be approaching in the northern frontier. Once winter arrives, the northern barbarian army may arrive. He must arrive in the northern frontier before the war begins, so he cannot linger in the capital for too long.

He will be staying in the northern frontier for at least two years this time, so all the necessary arrangements in the capital must be made before he sets off.

Otherwise, if he goes to the northern frontier and causes problems in the capital, it would be a loss for him!

First, there were the palace servants of the Eastern Palace.

In fact, Fangfei and the others had long reached the age to leave the palace, and Ye Jingchen had long said that he would let them leave the palace, but only a few people were willing.

If they linger in the palace any longer, they will become unwanted old maids. Being unwanted is secondary; the main issue is that they cannot be trapped in the palace for their entire lives.

The palace is large, but if you were to be trapped here for your entire life, it would be very small.

If we are born as human beings and come to this world, it would be a great pity if we could not see a wider world and live the life we ​​want!

Moreover, many of them had families before entering the palace. After being separated for ten or twenty years, they may have wanted to reunite with their families, get married, have children, and start new families.

Ye Jingchen instructed the chief eunuch of the Eastern Palace to gather all the palace maids and eunuchs who had reached the required age and to offer them generous resettlement fees upon leaving the palace. Many second- and third-class palace maids and eunuchs agreed this time, but none of the first-class palace maids of the Fang generation were willing to leave the palace.

"Isn't it good to be free and unrestrained after leaving the palace?" Ye Jingchen didn't quite understand.

Do they want to be slaves and servants to others for the rest of their lives?

"We are doing well now, and we know that even if we leave the palace, we will never have a better life than we do now!" Fangfei said to Ye Jingchen with a smile on behalf of all her sisters.

Although they were not born into wealthy and noble families, they were lucky. As soon as they entered the palace, they were chosen by the Empress to become the Crown Prince's maids.

His Highness is kind and benevolent, and never scolds or beats them. They don't have much to do every day, and they are treated with special regard because they are His Highness's maids. Their food, clothing and daily necessities are no less than those of ordinary young ladies. How could they possibly give up such a good life?

These words left Ye Jingchen speechless.

Indeed, in terms of material conditions alone, their lives after leaving the palace would never be as comfortable as they were inside. Ye Jingchen didn't want them to suffer after leaving the palace, but—

The girls in his palace are beautiful, well-mannered, and literate. It would be a waste if they stayed in the Eastern Palace as maids!