Chapter 273 Not everyone has a brain.

Seeing the emperor's furrowed brow, the third prince felt even more uneasy, and a fine sweat broke out on his back. However, under Lian Xiuheng's tutelage, he knew how to conceal his emotions. He straightened his back even more and looked respectfully at the emperor to show his respect.

The emperor lowered his eyes, his gaze lingering on the memorial for a moment, before deciding to give his son a chance. He said, "The Duke of Chu wants to consolidate the shares of the money shops for the court. Once this is accomplished, the court will have more liquid funds. Tell me, where should these liquid funds be used?"

He looked at the Third Prince and saw that he was nervous and his brows furrowed slightly. Then he looked away and looked down at the memorial in front of him.

The third prince sat upright, but his heart was as desolate as wild grass. On the way here, he had guessed several questions the emperor might ask and given what he thought were perfect answers, but he never expected the emperor to ask this question.

For a moment, he didn't know how to answer, how to answer in a way that wouldn't displease the emperor, and how to gain the emperor's recognition of his talent. But the more he couldn't think of an answer, the more flustered he became, to the point that he even broke out in a sweat.

The emperor did not look up, his head bowed as he read the memorials, awaiting his reply. Standing to the side, Zhao Fuquan sighed inwardly upon seeing the Third Prince's demeanor.

"Your subject believes that the money in the money shops belongs to the people. Although the court owns shares in the money shops, the money still belongs to the people and should not be confiscated by the court."

After saying this, the Third Prince breathed a slight sigh of relief. He felt this was the perfect answer. The money didn't belong to the imperial court to begin with; if the court used it, what would happen when the people needed to withdraw their money?

Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression changed from disdain to praise, as if he had accepted his son's mediocrity.

He put the vermilion brush aside and said, "Hmm, I understand. You may go back."

The Third Prince was taken aback, then immediately rose, bowed to the Emperor, and carefully withdrew from the Imperial Study. The Emperor watched his retreating figure, sighed softly, and then said to Zhao Fuquan, "Summon the Fourth Prince."

Zhao Fuquan immediately went out and sent a young eunuch to the Fourth Prince's residence to deliver the imperial decree. Upon arriving at the residence, the eunuch was taken directly to the martial arts training ground, where the Fourth Prince was sparring with a guard. Although the eunuch was ignorant of martial arts, he could tell that the Fourth Prince, aside from his great strength, was considerably weaker in other areas.

"Your Highness, someone from the palace has arrived!" the steward shouted to the Fourth Prince, but the Fourth Prince seemed not to hear him and continued to fight the guard with loud shouts.

The steward, growing anxious, stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor summons you to the palace."

The fourth prince was engrossed in the fight when he heard the steward's words and impatiently said, "Wait a moment."

housekeeper:"........"

The steward could only give a signal to the guard fighting the fourth prince, and the guard stopped his attack. The fourth prince, not satisfied with the fight, punched the guard in the chest. The guard staggered back a few steps and fell to the ground, which made the fourth prince feel a little better.

"What does Your Majesty want with me?" the fourth prince asked the young eunuch.

"This servant does not know," the young eunuch replied.

The fourth prince grunted in response, went back to his quarters to change his clothes, and then rode into the palace. Upon arriving at the imperial study and meeting the emperor, he bowed respectfully and said in a deep voice, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

The emperor looked at his tall, burly son and felt much better. He said, "Sit down."

"Yes." The fourth prince walked to the side and sat down with an air of authority, then asked, "What business does Father have with me?"

The Emperor wasn't displeased by such a direct question. He liked this son because of his simple nature. However, such a person wasn't suitable to be an emperor. Nevertheless, he still asked, "Are you aware of the Duke of Chu's reform of the money exchange?"

The fourth prince nodded, "I know, the Duke of Chu also used the relatives of the Prince of Yong as a warning to others."

The emperor smiled and asked, "Who told you about making an example of someone to warn others?"

Fourth Prince: "Your Maternal Grandfather."

The emperor nodded, presumably because it was General Ji Huai who had told him. He just didn't know what Ji Huai's purpose was in analyzing these matters with him.

"Did Ji Huai tell you about the Duke of Chu's plan to have the court invest in and expand all the money shops?" the emperor asked again.

"No," the Fourth Prince answered briskly. "I went hunting yesterday, and it was already dark when I returned. The steward told me that my uncle had come looking for me."

The emperor nodded, guessing that the Ji family had also received the news and wanted to analyze it with his son, but hadn't been able to catch them. He recounted what Jiang Yu had done, then asked, "The Duke of Chu wants to consolidate the shares of the money shops for the court. Once this is accomplished, the court will have more circulating silver. Where do you think this circulating silver should be used?"

The fourth prince didn't understand this for a moment, and after thinking about it impatiently, he asked, "So, if the Duke of Chu succeeds in getting things done, the national treasury will have a lot of silver?"

The emperor nodded, and the fourth prince's eyes lit up. He then said, "Father, immediately expand the army and attack Lingnan. Kill that scoundrel, the King of Lingnan."

emperor:"......."

He shouldn't have had any illusions about this son.

"Yes, I understand. You may return," the emperor said.

The fourth prince stood up and asked, "Father, when will the Duke of Chu be able to get this done?"

The Emperor: "...I don't know either."

The Fourth Prince nodded. "Yes, I will go and ask the Duke of Chu to expedite the process."

Emperor: "...No need, just do your job."

He can't bear the shame.

The fourth prince turned and left. The emperor rubbed his forehead. At that moment, he truly missed the crown prince, and his second son who had already passed away. He had always thought he had many sons, and losing one wouldn't matter much. Now he knew that not everyone had a brain.

"Summon the Fifth Prince."