As the boy's soft voice faded, the entire hall fell silent.
The eldest prince's sarcastic remark, which he had been holding in his stomach, was stuck in his throat, and he looked as if he was choking.
The emperor's expression was unreadable, though a hint of emotion flickered in his eyes.
The other large and small families were even more shocked, wondering whether they should listen to these words, or even if they could listen to them at all.
Empress Yan passed away five years ago, and the Yan family subsequently fell into decline and went into hiding. It is understandable that the eldest prince would have difficulty moving forward without anyone to help him. Some insiders even speculated that the fifth prince had only a few thousand taels of silver on him.
I knew it was difficult, but I didn't expect it to be so hard. I had to pawn the jade pendant left by the late empress to get three thousand taels of silver.
Is this the treatment a legitimate prince receives?
To put it bluntly, even the illegitimate sons of noble families are richer than this.
Moreover, the Fifth Prince spoke so frankly, without fear of ridicule or mockery, his calm and composed demeanor earning him countless goodwill.
Some soft-hearted ladies couldn't help but whisper among themselves, feeling sorry for the legitimate prince and the late empress.
Whispers filled the Hall of Preserving Harmony. Even Jiang Chengyu pouted and said, "He pawned three thousand taels of silver and donated it all. Does the Fifth Prince plan to starve in the future?"
Even setting aside the cost of clothing, a prince needs money just to reward his servants and buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
Jiang Sheng touched the ten thousand taels of silver notes in her arms and regretted once again not forcibly stuffing them into her fifth brother's hands.
Only the personal guard in the side hall stroked his chin and sighed, "His Highness is really heartless. Not to mention the 40,000 taels he won from betting, he originally had 5,000 taels of silver, but he was only willing to donate 3,000 taels. So heartless, so stingy."
Fortunately, the effect was excellent.
The emperor on the dragon throne frowned deeply, and after a long while spoke, "Has the Court of Imperial Sacrifices not allocated you a monthly allowance in these past five years?"
The so-called monthly salary is the stipend that one can receive each month.
Not only officials in the court had them, but the emperor, his concubines, and even the princes and princesses had them.
According to the laws of the Dayu Dynasty, the monthly allowance for the legitimate prince was three hundred taels, one hundred taels more than that for other princes and princesses. This allowance did not include food, clothing, housing, or transportation, and was only for living expenses, making it quite affluent.
Even though the Fifth Prince was sickly, the ginseng and lingzhi he consumed were all provided by the Imperial Hospital; it was impossible for him to purchase them himself.
Three hundred taels a month, three thousand six hundred taels a year, and eighteen thousand taels in five years.
This does not include holiday rewards, subsidies from the birth mother, or money given to people for favors or requests.
Admittedly, the Fifth Prince did not have these things, but he would not have pawned the jade pendant left by Empress Yan. He could only scrape together three thousand taels.
If this matter isn't clarified today, the integrity of the imperial family will be exposed.
But as soon as he spoke, the eldest prince, who had been stunned, suddenly changed color, and a hint of unease appeared on his fair face.
"Monthly silver?" Chang Yan, ever quick to grasp the situation, looked utterly astonished. "What monthly silver?"
The emperor's face darkened, and he shouted angrily, "Summon someone from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices!"
The Court of Imperial Sacrifices had a Grand Chamberlain and a Junior Grand Chamberlain, who were of the third and fourth rank respectively, and were also included in the Spring Festival banquet.
As the emperor finished speaking, a member of the Yang family stepped forward tremblingly, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and said, "Yang Baomin, Grand Master of the Imperial Household Department, greets Your Majesty."
"Yang Zhanshi, the Fifth Prince has been recuperating in Jiangnan for the past five years. Have you truthfully allocated his allowance?" the Emperor asked in a deep voice.
The people below replied tremblingly, "Yes, yes, we've allocated it, three thousand six hundred taels of silver per year."
"You said you made the call, but the Fifth Prince has never seen him. Did your people from the Imperial Household Department swallow it?" The Emperor slammed his hand on the dragon table. "In front of so many noble families, Imperial Household Department Secretary Yang had better tell the truth."
There is no such thing as silver disappearing into thin air; there are only loyal servants who fabricate facts and masters who line their own pockets.
Chang Yan remained expressionless, coldly watching Yang Zhanshi steal glances at the First Prince, then watching the First Prince turn his head away and remain on the sidelines.
Sure enough, these people were certain he would die in Jiangnan and never return to Fengjing. They even dared to steal his monthly allowance and switch it with his own, and even intercept it.
It's unclear whether it was the eldest prince's idea or Consort Ju's idea, but regardless of who it was, Chang Yan was determined to reveal it at the Spring Appreciation Banquet, severely damaging the eldest prince and the Fang family.
It wasn't for the ten thousand or eight thousand taels of silver, but for Xu Mo.
After a brief silence, Yang Zhanshi realized that the First Prince would not protect him. In despair, he spoke up, "It was His Highness. His Highness said that the Fifth Prince is recuperating in Jiangnan, and it is too troublesome to send him silver every month. Why don't he keep it for him and convert it into silver notes to send over?"
The words were phrased tactfully, but the content was enough to cause an uproar.
Everyone present was shrewd; no one wanted to believe that the eldest prince genuinely wanted to exchange the silver notes for his younger brother. Even if he was truly trying to help, not sending them for five years was far too long.
Even if we take a step back and say that the Fifth Prince has returned, he should at least be given what he owes.
But he didn't.
While his younger brother was recovering from illness, he embezzled his monthly allowance, totaling no more than 20,000 taels, which was less than half of the money he had donated. I don't know what he was after.
It's not so much about greed, but rather about disdain for a weak younger brother and bullying a motherless child.
"You...you're talking nonsense." The eldest prince also realized the seriousness of the situation.
He thought that Yang Zhanshi wouldn't dare to speak up, and that Yang Zhanshi would find a scapegoat in the Zhanshi Mansion. He never expected that he would be betrayed.
At this point, the eldest prince had two paths to choose from.
They could either insist that Yang Zhanshi was slandering them, sacrifice the small family they had climbed up to, and preserve their reputation for brotherly love and respect.
They should either immediately admit their mistake, blame the problem on the thief in the prince's residence, compensate their younger brother, and find the scapegoat.
To everyone's surprise, in his panic, the eldest prince pointed at the banquet and shouted, "You two, are you deliberately conspiring to slander me, thinking you can get rid of me this way?"
Some secretly shook their heads, believing that such a prince would be unable to control the world.
Even Fang Yuan rarely showed disappointment. After exchanging glances with the Fang family patriarch, he quietly lowered his head.
The emperor on the dragon throne frowned deeply and sighed almost imperceptibly.
Chang Yan also felt that something was amiss; things seemed to have gone a little too smoothly.
Just as he was about to bow and offer his apologies, continuing to play the victim, Chief Steward Wu behind the screen suddenly spoke softly, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine... has arrived."
There was only one Imperial Concubine in the entire capital, the mother of the eldest prince, who was also the Ju clan member who competed for favor with Empress Yan back then, and who has been the true mistress of the harem for the past five years.
The Ju family did not hold a prominent position in Fengjing. They were neither as flamboyant as the Fang family nor as powerful as the Jiang family. However, relying on Consort Ju, they were not to be underestimated.
Most importantly, Consort Ju and the imperial family were deeply in love, their relationship remaining unchanged for twenty years. Apart from the position of Empress, she gave them everything she could.
With these foundations in place, it's no surprise that the eldest prince was able to advance smoothly and even become a favorite in the struggle for the throne.
As Steward Wu reported softly, the Emperor, who had been frowning, sighed, and the panicked Crown Prince calmed down.
All eyes, from civil and military officials to wealthy and powerful families, were focused on the center.
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