The Crown Prince is doing quite well now. If he hadn't had that dream last night, he wouldn't know about those things, and he would definitely choose to obediently assist the ruler.

In other words, anyone can be emperor.

Now, the dream is too real, but he cannot speak of it. If he wants to change the outcome of not being invaded, he can only carry out sweeping reforms, but how difficult it is to carry out reforms.

His father, the Emperor, was a wise ruler and decisive in his actions, but he was too concerned about his reputation, which meant that the reforms were destined to be a bloody process.

Even his father, the Emperor, wasn't confident he could get him to order reforms; if the next emperor were his brother, he would be even less likely to do so.

In the end, it seems that Yinzhen only had one choice: to seize the throne.

Once power is seized into one's own hands, policies will be more effective.

But when he thought about the struggle for the throne, Yinzhen couldn't help but think of Yongzheng's exhausting life, and he just wanted to live a comfortable life.

Two dreams left Yinzhen in a dilemma.

Upon returning to the manor, he went directly to Yaocheng Courtyard. Since his wedding, he hadn't spent much time in the front courtyard. Yaocheng Courtyard was large enough, and the study was large enough for two people. He kept many of his books there.

When Tong Cheng'er saw him return, she said, "You're back?"

Yinzhen nodded: "You're back."

Their conversation was as familiar and comfortable as that of an old married couple.

Tong Cheng'er looked up and saw that he looked worried. He was a prince. Could it be that someone had made things difficult for him while he was on duty?

"What's wrong? Did something upset you?"

Yinzhen shook his head: "No, it's just that today was my first day at the Ministry of Revenue, and I looked at a lot of files, so my head is a little throbbing."

Tong Cheng'er understood. It was normal. She also felt dizzy on her first day back at school after the holiday.

In her eyes, Yinzhen was a genius, but she never expected that such a person would have such a "flaw" just like an ordinary person with average intelligence like her.

Tong Cheng'er couldn't help much with this, so she could only feed him well and hope to relieve his headache.

Seeing that it was time for dinner, Tong Cheng'er instructed the kitchen to prepare a meal, including both meat and vegetables, soup, rice, and dishes. The quantity of each item was small, but the variety was complete.

Dinner was ready, and the two sat down to eat together. Su Peisheng served them from the side, watching as the master would occasionally put food on his wife's plate, and the wife would also put some meat and fish dishes on his plate, which the master would put into his mouth without being picky.

He was completely unfazed. After all, he had been doing this for the past few days. He was only surprised for a moment on the first day, but then he thought that this wasn't the first time his master had made an exception for his wife, so there was nothing to be surprised about.

After dinner, since it was still early, the two went to the study together.

Yinzhen planned to continue reviewing the case files, thinking about how to write a statement that would make his father, the Emperor, take the loan seriously. Tong Cheng'er kept him company to pass the time.

Yinzhen was engrossed in thought. Tong Cheng'er looked at the storybook, but it was a bit boring today, so she put it down, walked up to Yinzhen, and asked him, "You seem a little off today. Is the Ministry of Revenue matter very troublesome?"

Yinzhen smiled at his young wife, then pulled her into his arms. The soft touch gave his mind a temporary respite.

"It's not too difficult. There's a problem with the Ministry of Revenue, and I'm thinking about how to write a memorial."

The memorial was not difficult to write; the difficulty lay in getting the Emperor to take it seriously. Allowing officials to borrow money for emergencies was a good intention at first, but as time went on, who remembered the original intention? Everyone was thinking about lining their own pockets for personal gain!

Tong Cheng'er casually asked, "What question could possibly stump you?"

Yinzhen shook his head helplessly: "I'm not a god. There are many problems that can stump me. Look at these files. They are all the amounts of loans from the Ministry of Revenue to the officials over the years. They are more and more each year, and they are all borrowed but not repaid. Father Emperor has become more and more benevolent in recent years. I'm thinking about how to write this memorial so that Father Emperor will take it seriously."

If this continues, the Ministry of Revenue will eventually become an empty shell.

Yinzhen didn't hide anything from Tong Cheng'er and told her directly.

Tong Cheng'er casually picked up the files on the table and started flipping through them.

Seeing that she was looking at him intently, Yinzhen did not disturb her. He knew that the young consort was quite capable; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to get an audience with the Emperor just by saying a few words.

Let her see; maybe she'll have some new ideas!

After reading it, Tong Cheng'er didn't offer any opinions. Instead, she said, "If you were to expose this, you would probably offend quite a few people!"

Yinzhen nodded: "It will indeed offend people."

This was an inevitable outcome; after all, as the old saying goes, cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents.

Tong Cheng'er's advice was: "I don't recommend that you just throw it out directly."

Yinzhen understood the meaning behind her words: he didn't recommend bringing it up directly, but suggested finding a different way to bring it up!

Yinzhen didn't quite understand her thoughts for a moment: "What are your thoughts?"

Why would Father Emperor allow officials to borrow silver from the Ministry of Revenue?

Yinzhen said, "Because some officials' salaries are not high, Father Emperor has granted all officials permission to borrow silver from the Ministry of Revenue for emergency needs."

Tong Cheng'er nodded: "That's right, it's because the salary is low. According to your idea, do you plan to have Father Emperor order all officials to repay their loans, and then cut off the way for officials to borrow money?"

Yinzhen nodded: "Yes."

The system of lending money was a huge burden on the Ministry of Revenue and could easily encourage the greed of officials. In Yinzhen's view, this system was useless.

In the dream, Emperor Yongzheng took the lead in urging loans, which offended many people, but the result was still pleasing.

Tong Cheng'er: "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Since we have cut off one of their sources of income, they will find another. The easiest way for officials to make money is to exploit the people."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!