The old emperor gave Zhu Zhi a cold, sidelong glance and said to Yang Shiqun, "Get up. I didn't say you embezzled money from the national treasury. Crown Prince, watch your words!"
"Oh." Zhu Zhi found it strange. Wasn't he being sarcastic? Shouldn't Yang Shiqun be holding a grudge against Zhu Yu? It was as if he had said something extraordinary.
Bu Feizhang resisted the urge to kick Zhu Zhi in the butt.
The Minister of Works wavered again about his decision to side with the Crown Prince.
The old emperor said to Lu Xiaoyun, "Continue."
Lu Xiaoyun said, "The Northern Qi's plan involves a total reparation of two million taels of silver. It was clearly stated when the alliance was signed that every penny of this money must be given to the families of every fallen soldier and the wounded soldiers. This cannot be changed."
Zhu Zhi wanted to interrupt, but Bu Feizhang gave him a sharp look, and Zhu Zhi shut up.
Lu Xiaoyun glanced at Zhu Zhi indifferently, and then said, "As for disaster relief, as Minister Qiao of the Ministry of Works said, the people are the foundation of the country. The people cannot go hungry for a single day, nor can they be cold for a single day. Therefore, I am willing to donate 100,000 taels of silver for disaster relief."
The old emperor's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. He knew that his son had some money. Consort Duan had given him seven or eight shops. Now that he was the Prince of An of the Great Zhou, he also had his own businesses. He figured that these small shops must have made him a little money over the years.
Therefore, it was the right thing to do to have Zhang Zhongwei notify him to come over.
Unfortunately, Consort Duan was not good at business. Before entering the harem, she was from a wealthy merchant family, but after her mother's shop was handed over to her, the business gradually declined within a few years.
In the end, only a few shops were left that were barely surviving. It was only after the Empress Dowager spoke to her that she reluctantly gave the remaining shops to the fourth prince.
The fourth brother is good at business; he has people keeping an eye on those shops, and the profits are quite good.
But with 100,000 taels of silver being spent, the Prince An's mansion probably won't have much money left.
He looked at the others.
Since Prince An has said so, everyone present must contribute silver.
Zhu Zhi's eyes widened suddenly. Ten thousand taels of silver was nothing to princes like them, but the key was that he had no money.
Besides, he's the crown prince; he can't be any less shabby than Prince An.
The old emperor's gaze fell on his face: "Crown Prince, and what about you? You are both the eldest brother and the heir apparent, how much will you receive?"
Zhu Zhi glanced silently at Bu Feizhang, and with tears in his eyes, said two hundred thousand taels.
But where would his Crown Prince's residence get so much money?
Maintaining advisors costs money, and getting his subordinates to follow him also costs a lot of money. He himself is already tightening his belt, yet he still needs money.
Zhu Zhi hated Zhu Yu to death; what terrible ideas he came up with!
The Third Prince, Zhu Chen, touched his nose, a slight smile playing on his lips, and almost burst out laughing.
I thought Zhu Yu, that brute, would tolerate it, but sure enough, he couldn't and is taking revenge here.
Tsk tsk, I wonder how Zhu Zhiwei will deal with Zhu Yu.
I reckon everyone present must hate Zhu Yu to death.
Suppressing his laughter, Zhu Chen joined "Prince An" in reporting 100,000 taels of silver.
The remaining 100,000 taels were divided equally among the three prime ministers and the Duke of England, each receiving just over 30,000 taels, which was a pittance for them.
So, the old emperor accomplished two things without spending a single penny.
Today, something happy finally happened.
"In that case, once the money is raised, Chen'er, you will personally go to Mu City to oversee the disaster relief efforts."
Zhu Chen should be the one.
After the matter was settled, it was lunchtime.
The old emperor was in a great mood after resolving two years' worth of major issues, so he invited the emperor to stay for a meal.
Zhu Zhi ate without tasting his food, his eyes pleadingly fixed on his maternal grandfather, Bu Feizhang.
Bu Feizhang didn't even glance at Zhu Zhi. He couldn't handle him anymore. If he could, he really wanted to dig his daughter out of the imperial tomb and put this grandson back into his daughter's womb to be remade. He was afraid that if he had been born a few days earlier, his brain would have been left in his daughter's womb.
After the meal, everyone left the palace to prepare the silver.
On the palace road, Zhu Zhi chased after Bu Feizhang: "Grandfather, wait for me! Why are you walking so fast?"
Zhu Chen touched his nose and chuckled twice. He knew Zhu Zhi was stupid before, but he didn't expect him to be this stupid.
Bu Feizhang quickened his pace angrily, not wanting to pay him any attention.
Zhu Zhi ran a few steps and grabbed Bu Feizhang's sleeve: "Grandfather, why are you running?"
Bu Feizhang was so angry his mouth almost twisted: "Your Highness, this old minister is not your maternal grandfather, you are this old minister's maternal grandfather, alright!"
Zhu Zhi was baffled: "Grandfather, what are you saying? I don't understand. Can the generations be reversed?"
Bu Feizhang was so angry that his beard almost flew off his feet.
Zhu Chen couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.
Zhu Zhi glared at Zhu Chen: "What are you laughing at? What's so funny? If you're so good at laughing, why don't you offer two hundred thousand taels of silver?"
Zhu Chen covered his mouth and laughed foolishly, which was infuriating: "Your Highness, I recently took a concubine. She is a wealthy merchant from Jiangnan. My 100,000 taels is just a drop in the ocean for her."
Zhu Zhi's brow twitched. All the women in his backyard were taken in by his maternal grandfather. Their maternal families were all officials, not wealthy merchants.
He looked at Bu Feizhang with resentment in his eyes, and when he saw Bu Feizhang glaring at him, he shuddered.
Could it be that my maternal grandfather wants him to take a merchant's daughter as a wife?
But it won't work. He can't even handle all those women now. Every time he returns to the Crown Prince's residence, he feels like those women are looking at him like he's prey, their eyes gleaming with lust.
If another woman is brought in, wouldn't he be drained dry?
Oh, and that woman, Ren Yong'an, will also be entering the Crown Prince's residence in a few days.
He knew that woman; she was incredibly promiscuous.
The last time he saw her at the Bamboo Garden of Ganlu Temple, he even took some aphrodisiacs, and it took him several days to recover afterward.
What a terrible thing to do!
Zhu Chen leaned closer to Zhu Zhi and said, "Brother Crown Prince, why don't you consider taking a wealthy concubine? In any case, Consort Ren will be entering the mansion in a couple of days, so it wouldn't hurt to take in another woman."
"Women are just objects. Placing them in the backyard is pleasing to the eye and can also help you solve the problem of being short of money. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"
Zhu Zhi gritted his teeth; Zhu Chen had a point.
Bu Feizhang gave Zhu Chen a cold look: "Your Highness the Third Prince makes the idea of living off a woman sound so elegant and refined. This old minister is impressed."
Zhu Chen cupped his hands and smiled, "Thank you for your praise, Right Prime Minister."
Bu Feizhang snorted coldly and walked towards the palace gate. Zhu Zhi had no choice but to jog a few steps to catch up.
They were pulling and tugging at each other, and Zhu Chen didn't know what they were saying.
In short, he was in an extremely cheerful mood.
After leaving the palace and getting into the carriage, Zhu Zhi followed Bu Feizhang into his carriage: "Grandfather, I really don't have that much money. Please help me think of a way."
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