After drinking tea to relieve the greasiness and resting for a while, Ye Jing'an's muddled little mind finally regained some clarity.
“It’s not that I don’t deserve it, I just feel it’s unnecessary,” he said.
"Ordinary people only need to farm well. Studying is a waste of money and time for them, and it doesn't make the crops in the fields grow better, so it's meaningless."
"But are farmers only allowed to farm? Can't they have other choices in life?" Ye Jingchen asked him.
"But if they don't farm, where will their food come from?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"Isn't it our incompetence to leave them with no choice but to farm?" Ye Jingchen retorted.
"But...but...if the people have a choice, it will be difficult to control them!" Ye Jing'an hesitated for a long time before finally speaking his true thoughts.
"Heh... Sixth Brother, do you know that when you say that, you really sound like a villain from a storybook or play!" Ye Jinghe couldn't help but mock.
Ye Jingning had been sipping his tea slowly, seemingly lost in thought, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, upon hearing Ye Jinghe's words, he suddenly echoed them with a resounding tone:
"Like a villain!"
Ye Jing'an was quite annoyed by the two of them's back-and-forth banter.
"Am I wrong? If the people are out of control, won't Dayuan fall into chaos?" Ye Jing'an said, feeling his eyes getting hot. He rubbed his eyes hard, and they immediately turned red.
"You're wrong. The root cause of the people's lack of control is not because they have more choices, but because they no longer trust those in power."
"If one day you become emperor and your people no longer trust you as their ruler, then it means you are not far from the downfall of your country," Ye Jingchen said with a smile.
"Brother, don't talk nonsense! How could I possibly become emperor!" Ye Jing'an was quite frightened by Ye Jingchen's "what if" and quickly clarified.
"Don't be afraid, I was just using a metaphor. A person who treats the people as puppets is indeed not suitable to be a ruler," Ye Jingchen comforted him.
Ye Jing'an: ......
This kind of comfort is worse than no comfort at all!
"Father has always loved his people like his own children. Little Six, you mustn't let him know about your less-than-ideal thoughts, or he'll be very angry!" Ye Jingchen reminded him, seemingly out of kindness.
Ye Jing'an's small body trembled.
He felt that his elder brother was saying this on purpose, but even if he had ten more lives, he wouldn't dare to test whether his father truly loved his people like his own children.
“Big brother, I’ve rested enough. Shall we continue shopping?” Ye Jing’an offered.
He couldn't stay at Linyuan Bookstore any longer; he felt uncomfortable even for a moment longer.
"Of course we should buy them! You only know the prices of some pastries; there's much more to learn!"
After leaving the bookstore, Ye Jingchen didn't let them choose a shop themselves; instead, he made the selection himself.
However, the three kids he brought were clearly different from the others. After leaving Linyuan Bookstore, Ye Jingning had his eye on his Luban lock again. Even though he learned his lesson at the pastry shop and dared not buy things randomly anymore, his attitude was still extremely improper.
Ye Jing'an seemed off ever since he left Linyuan Bookstore. He looked preoccupied and absent-minded, probably quite frightened.
As for Ye Jinghe, ever since Ye Jingchen casually pinched his cheek, he has been in a state of excitement.
He was very enthusiastic when he entered the shop, but he was only interested in food. He spent all his copper coins and silver on food, and as for other things, he would only ask about the price but not buy anything.
If it weren't for the four tall, burly guards accompanying them, who looked intimidating, customers like them would have been kicked out of some shops.
After enduring countless eye-rolls, it was finally lunchtime. Ye Jingchen took one that was out of sorts from beginning to end, one that was quite upset, and one that was still excited and sticky despite the eye-rolls to Zuixianlou.
Speaking of which, Zuixianlou was originally owned by the Jiang family and was the number one restaurant in the capital. After the Jiang family fell from power, the restaurant was also nationalized. In recent years, many people have been envious of it, but the emperor is not so easily fooled now. All the families that had such thoughts were reprimanded and taught a lesson by the emperor.
In the largest and most luxurious private room of Zuixianlou, everyone else had arrived long ago, but Ye Jingchen and his group were the last to arrive.
Once everyone had arrived, the waiters immediately began serving the dishes.
Although the dishes at Zuixianlou are not as exquisite and delicious as those prepared by the imperial chefs, they have their own unique flavor. After being used to the imperial cuisine, it is nice to change things up once in a while.
After they had almost finished eating, Ye Jingchen also asked the waiter to bring over the bill for their private room and pass it around for everyone to see.
As the premier restaurant in the capital, Zuixianlou's food and drinks were naturally expensive. This meal, including the cost of the private room, cost a full eighty taels of silver.
They haven't even ordered the Drunken Immortal Wine, which costs an ounce of gold per pot!
"The food here is so expensive!" Ye Jingyu was the first to exclaim.
If someone born with a silver spoon in their mouth can say something is expensive, it means they already know the value of money, so this trip out of the palace can be considered worthwhile.
Ye Jingyu immediately started doing the math: "A dou (12.5 jin) of rice only costs five wen. A person eats at most three he (a unit of weight) per meal. Five wen of rice can feed a family of three for five days! If one tael of silver is used to buy rice, it can feed them for a thousand days! Wouldn't eighty taels be enough to feed a family of three for several lifetimes?!"
When he finally calculated it, he was so surprised that he couldn't stop smiling.
"An ordinary commoner can't save up eighty taels of silver even after several lifetimes," Ye Jingchen reminded him, and also reminded all the youngsters present.
“But we ate so much in one meal! Isn’t that such a waste?!” Yun Shu said.
"It's all because the aristocratic families are too greedy and exploit the common people, making them suffer so much—Gu Beichen, I didn't say anything about your Gu family!" Ye Jingshu was speaking when she remembered that there were also people from aristocratic families present, so she quickly clarified.
“Your Gu family is a scholarly family, so your actions aren’t too outrageous; you’re not beyond redemption,” she added.
Gu Beichen smiled helplessly and remained silent.
He's not a child anymore, so he understands that the wealth accumulated by these powerful families comes from exploiting and plundering ordinary people.
After learning about these things, he questioned his father, but his father told him that the Gu family did not have the ability to live in seclusion. If they did not go along with the corrupt practices, the reputation and prestige that the Gu family had accumulated over hundreds of years would collapse in an instant.
By then, the Gu family will be nothing, and it will be even more difficult for ordinary people in the world to get an education.
Gu Beichen found it difficult to agree with his father's words, perhaps because he was still young and had not yet been corrupted by the world; or perhaps because he saw a glimmer of clarity in the Crown Prince amidst the turbidity of the world.
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