Lingpu knew he couldn't hide anything now, so he immediately said, "Fourth Master, I recently gambled a few times and lost some money. My mother manages all the money in the manor, and I wanted to win it back, so I did this!"

“You worthless servant, you actually went gambling! Don’t you know that nine out of ten gamblers lose? It’s a bottomless pit. Do you think you can win it all back?” the Ninth Prince said.

"This servant feels confident that we'll turn things around this time!" Lingpu said with a fawning smile.

"How much silver did you lose?" the Fourth Prince asked Lingpu.

"Not much, only fifty or sixty thousand taels!" Ling Pu said nonchalantly.

"What? Only fifty or sixty thousand taels? That's not much?" the Ninth Prince exclaimed. Fifty or sixty thousand taels is not much? Is everyone in the capital that rich? Or are they the only princes and nobles in the entire capital who are poor?

Even though the Fourth Prince appeared calm, he was inwardly shocked. Lingpu actually said that fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver was not much. It seems that Lingpu has seen large sums of silver before. Could there really be a problem with the Imperial Household Department?

Everyone knows that the Imperial Household Department is under the Crown Prince's jurisdiction. If Lingpu has a problem, then what about the Crown Prince?

Does Second Brother know that Lingpu secretly kept the tribute items?

"You people, you all cry poverty when asked to pay back the money, but you don't even care about fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver!" the Ninth Prince said, both amused and exasperated.

"Does the Crown Prince know about this?" the Fourth Prince asked.

"I don't know!" Lingpu answered truthfully.

"Take these things and come with me to see the Crown Prince!" the Fourth Prince said.

Lingpu could no longer refuse, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow behind the Fourth Prince.

As the Fourth Prince passed by the shopkeeper, he said, "Be more careful when accepting things in the future! You dare to accept tribute? Do you have a few heads?"

"I'll never dare to do it again, I'll never dare to do it again!" The shopkeeper was trembling like a leaf.

After leaving the pawnshop, the Ninth Prince said to the Fourth Prince, "Fourth Brother, isn't this matter a bit strange?"

"Why do you say that?" the Fourth Prince asked.

"I feel like everything is too coincidental. We just happened to see Ling Pu, and Yao Dian just happened to come to the pawnshop!"

Having served under the Fourth Prince for some time, the Ninth Prince has grown considerably. Now that it's time to recover the debts owed to the national treasury, he feels that Lingpu's incident was deliberately orchestrated.

In this period, we cannot view anything with the usual attitude.

"It seems that this period of training has not been in vain!" The Fourth Prince said with satisfaction, patting the Ninth Prince on the shoulder.

"Of course!" the Ninth Prince said proudly.

"I was even planning to ask the Emperor to bring you to the Ministry of Revenue!" The Fourth Prince told the Ninth Prince about his plan.

"Will Father agree?" the Ninth Prince asked hesitantly, as he also wanted to share some of the Emperor's burdens, just like his older brothers.

"Don't worry, your brothers are here for you!"

"Thank you so much, Fourth Brother!" the Ninth Prince said gratefully to the Fourth Prince.

“I suspect this matter is targeting the Crown Prince’s second brother. Lingpu is the second brother’s man. If something happens to Lingpu, the second brother will not be able to escape responsibility!” the Fourth Prince said worriedly.

"Why is it that people are always targeting Second Brother? Is it just because he's the Crown Prince?" Ninth Prince felt that even the Crown Prince wasn't as comfortable as him, the bald prince!

“Some people only see the glory of Second Brother as the Crown Prince, but they don’t know what Second Brother has endured!” Fourth Prince said with melancholy.

The Ninth Prince nodded in agreement.

In Yuqing Palace, the Crown Prince's injuries have greatly healed, and he no longer needs to stay in bed all day.

When the Crown Prince heard that the Fourth Prince and the Ninth Prince had arrived, he hurriedly ordered them to be invited in.

He knew that the Fourth Prince and the Ninth Prince were investigating the national treasury loan, and now that they had come over, it must be for a reason.

After the Fourth Prince and the Ninth Prince entered, they exchanged a few words with the Crown Prince. The Fourth Prince then told the Crown Prince about Lingpu's situation.

The Crown Prince was quite shocked upon hearing this; he never expected Lingpu to do such a thing.

"He Zhu, arrange for someone to investigate all of Ling Pu's affairs thoroughly for me, and don't miss a single thing!" The Crown Prince felt that since Ling Pu was capable of such a thing, there was probably more than just this one incident.

"Yes, Your servant obeys!" He Zhu felt that Ling Pu was doomed this time.

Lingpu was the son of his wet nurse, who was arranged for him by his mother, the Empress. He was very close to his wet nurse when he was young. Later, when his wet nurse got old, he specially asked his father for a decree to allow her to leave the palace and live a life of luxury.

Could it be that his closeness and indulgence emboldened them to act so arrogantly?