Wen Tai was a man who had seen a lot of money before, but he was still taken aback when Zhao Cheng suddenly threw money at him.

He spends millions in one go!

What are you trying to do, kid?

"Brother, what does this mean?"

Zhao Cheng said with a smile, "It's just a small token of my appreciation; there's no reason to visit empty-handed!"

"But this is too much!"

"This is my first time visiting the Prime Minister's residence, so it's only right!"

Zhao Cheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Brother, you must accept it, otherwise you'll be looking down on your younger brother!"

Wen Tai pondered for a moment, then nodded, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Alright! Since you address me as an elder brother, I will gladly accept it!"

At this moment, a chair was brought over. Originally, the servants had placed it next to Wang Yuluan. Wen Tai immediately ordered the servants to move the chair next to Yu Changsi and sit close to him.

Those who hadn't spoken until now were pacing anxiously, inwardly shouting, "Left Prime Minister, don't be blinded by money! This kid is no good!"

He didn't have any direct grudge against Zhao Cheng. It was just that Zhao Cheng was Zhao Huan's son, and also that Zhao Cheng greeted everyone after coming in, but ignored him, as if he didn't exist.

This made him very uncomfortable!

I am, after all, a senior official of the Imperial Court, a dignified fourth-rank official, and a favorite student of the Left Chancellor. How dare you ignore me?

He sneered, "Young Master is certainly generous; it seems the Right Prime Minister's mansion is far wealthier than we imagined!"

Zhao Cheng also gave a cold laugh.

It far exceeded expectations, but it didn't specify whose expectations it far exceeded. Doesn't that clearly mean it far exceeded the emperor's expectations?

This statement is a blatant threat!

Zhao Cheng's ignoring Du Yuhe was deliberate. Back when dealing with Su Wansan, it was Du Yuhe who had been jumping around and nearly ruined his plans. Although Zhao Cheng knew Du Yuhe was conveying Wen Tai's meaning, he couldn't very well take his anger out on Wen Tai, could he?

You're just a fourth-rank official, a mere minor official. What can you do if I ignore you?

"The Prime Minister's family can't compare to Lord Du Yu's!" Zhao Cheng retorted. "My father only has my mother as his wife, unlike Lord Du Yu who has taken seven concubines, five of whom are women from the Western Regions! Lord Du Yu is truly wealthy, and he has a particular fondness for women from the Western Regions..."

At this point, Zhao Cheng slapped his forehead and continued, "I almost forgot, Lord Du Yu is from the Western Regions!"

Upon hearing this, Wen Tai and his nephew both looked towards Du Yuhe.

Du Yuhe's expression changed drastically. It wasn't a secret that he was from the Western Regions, but how did Zhao Cheng know that he had taken five women from the Western Regions as concubines?

Judging from Wen Tai and Wen Hu's expressions, they had only just found out as well.

Du Yuhe really wanted to explain, "Left Prime Minister, Earl of Sha County, it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that there's no need to report this kind of thing, is there?"

Du Yuhe said somewhat excitedly, "Zhao Cheng, you investigated me!"

"I'm so bored!" Zhao Cheng glanced at Du Yuhe and said, "I just sat down in a brothel and heard about Lord Du Yuhe's romantic escapades. I bet Lord Du Yuhe was just showing off to everyone after he got drunk!"

Du Yuhe quickly glanced at Wen Tai and was startled to see that Wen Tai's face had turned ugly.

Showing off after drinking indicates a lack of restraint in speech.

Wen Tai hates this kind of thing the most!

Du Yuhe glared at Zhao Cheng through gritted teeth, his hatred for him burning like a madman.

That guy's words are so nasty!

“My father was an honest official and didn’t own many properties in Yanchuan. As for me… I spend more than I earn! Do you know what the people of Yanchuan say about me? They say I’ve almost squandered the Right Prime Minister’s mansion!”

Zhao Cheng sighed and said with a shameful expression, "But I have no choice. It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality! But even so, I can still come up with 200,000 taels! As for these genuine works, I just relied on my relationship with Master Jin and the others to pull some strings."

"The Right Prime Minister's residence... is poor!"

Zhao Cheng sighed, then looked at Wang Yuluan and changed the subject, saying, "So, General Wang, when are you going to pay me back the money you owe me?"

Everyone was stunned.

What does that mean?

How did it suddenly turn into Wang Yuluan?

Wang Yuluan's face turned ashen, and he lowered his voice, saying, "Young Prime Minister, how can you collect debts from someone else's house?"

Zhao Cheng grabbed Wen Tai's hand and said solemnly, "This is my elder brother's house, not someone else's!"

Zhao Cheng glanced at Du Yuhe again and said, "I wasn't planning to bring this up, but since Lord Du Yuhe mentioned money, I'll just mention it!"

Du Yuhe was nearly driven mad, shouting, "What does this have to do with me?!"

Zhao Cheng ignored Du Yuhe's roar and said sincerely, "Young General, it's really not that I'm forcing you. You know my current situation. I'm about to marry the Princess, and the Right Prime Minister's Mansion is poor. I'm really short of money!"

Mentioning this matter not only angered Du Yuhe, but also Wen Hu.

Zhao Cheng continued, "Originally, I was to be chosen by the Eldest Princess to be her consort, thinking that I would rise to prominence and never have to worry about money again. But who knew... as you all probably already know, it was changed that the Eldest Princess married into our Right Prime Minister's residence!"

"I can't let the eldest princess have an undignified marriage, can I?!"

With a mournful face, Zhao Cheng clasped his hands in a fist and pleaded with Wang Yuluan, "Young General, please, have mercy on me and help me out!"

Wang Yuluan also became anxious and said, "I don't want to owe you anything, but now..."

“Luan’er, it’s only right to pay back debts.”

Wang Ren stood up and walked to Wang Yuluan's side, saying, "Young Prime Minister, my son owes you three million taels of silver, right?"

Zhao Cheng nodded and said, "Yes, yes, we're all acquaintances, I won't charge interest."

Wang Ren said seriously, "My Wang family has never been wealthy. You say your Prime Minister's Mansion is poor, then my General's Mansion is even poorer than the Prime Minister's Mansion. I can only raise 300,000 taels at most right now. I will pay you back first. Please give me some more time. My Wang family will never renege on our debt."

“Three hundred thousand taels…” Zhao Cheng sighed, “That’s only one-tenth of the principal. It’s just a drop in the bucket for me…”

Wang Ren added, "I will definitely raise one million taels before your wedding!"

Zhao Cheng looked troubled and stopped talking.

Wang Ren and his son exchanged a glance, and the more Zhao Cheng remained silent, the more awkward it became for them.

"Look at this embarrassing situation you've created!!" Wen Tai couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "One of you is a dignified general, and the other is the consort of a princess, and you're stuck here over three million?"

"Brother, don't rush the General." Wen Tai grabbed Zhao Cheng's hand and said, "I'll pay the General the money first!"

"Huh?" Zhao Cheng was stunned.

Wang Ren exclaimed in surprise, "Left Prime Minister, how can this be?!"

"What's wrong with that?!"

Wen Tai glared at Wang Ren and said, "Zhao Cheng is my virtuous brother. He brought this up in my house. How can I, as the host and elder brother, just sit idly by?"

Zhao Cheng was overjoyed and deeply moved.

I'm afraid you'll ignore me!