Jing Zhe was speechless in the face of Yu Sheng's ingenious ideas.
I was just short of shaking his hand and saying, "Your writing is absolutely brilliant; it's a bit of a waste of your talent to live in this era."
Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then pointed at Xiong San: "Did you say you were the head of the student life department when you were introduced earlier?"
Xiong San sat up straight and nodded earnestly, saying, "Yes."
"Alright, then tell me if my opinion is correct? Do you have anything to add?"
Xiong San wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "Lord Yu, I am indeed the Minister of the Lifestyle Department, but I feel that what you've said is inappropriate for the Lifestyle section; it should be placed in the Entertainment section! So I have nothing to add..."
Yu Sheng was stunned for a moment, then cursed, "Get out!"
He looked at Jing Zhe again: "President Jing, the minister you chose isn't good either; he can't say anything. So what do you think?"
"Duke Yu, these matters concern Grand Tutor Bai. Without evidence, it's best not to say too much, and certainly not to have them published. What if Grand Tutor Bai finds out and says that our newspaper doesn't follow the facts and writes nonsense, and His Majesty shuts it down?"
Yu Sheng said "It's nothing," but didn't bring it up again. Instead, he asked, "Since you didn't come here for this, what did you ask me for advice about when you came in?"
Jing Zhe then told Yu Sheng about the Zhang family's winery. Seeing Jing Zhe's serious expression, Yu Sheng also put away his joking thoughts and listened carefully.
After finishing his explanation, Jing Zhe said, "Lord Yu, I am still too young. Although I know that the other party did this on purpose, I am helpless and have no idea where to start. So I would like to ask for your advice!"
Yu Sheng was quite satisfied with Jing Zhe's attitude.
“You’re right. Even if we know about this kind of theft of craftsmanship, what can we do? It’s just a matter of a word. We can’t find any evidence. Even if we take it to the authorities, it will all be dropped in the end.”
Jing Zhe nodded, and Yu Sheng continued, "However, I can remind you of a few things."
"Please speak, Duke Yu!"
"As you said yourself, Zhang Xuehou is addicted to gambling, and the laws of Da'an explicitly prohibit gambling. For small bets, the gambling money is confiscated, and then a fine is imposed before he is sent home. But for large bets, not only is the gambling money confiscated, but the participants are also thrown into jail! Think about it, if he's already in jail, how can he still be the manager? He has no children, only an older brother. Who will inherit this huge business?"
Upon hearing this, Jing Zhe was delighted and immediately asked, "Duke Yu, how much silver is considered a large bet?"
"If the amount involved in a single bet exceeds fifty taels, or the total amount wagered exceeds two hundred taels, it's enough to send him to jail!"
After listening, Jing Zhe's face lit up with joy, and he asked one last crucial question: "But, that winery actually belongs to the Prince of Jin's heir. If he wanted it..."
"Hehe, you're still too young. You should take some time to study the laws of Da'an!"
Yu Sheng laughed loudly, then said, "The laws of Da'an stipulate that princes and their sons are not allowed to own private property!"
Upon hearing this, Jing Zhe immediately understood.
As a prince, he has a fiefdom and a title that provides him with a salary, so he has no worries about his life. If he were to acquire private property, what would he be after?
To put it simply, they felt the government's salary was too low and wanted to earn more money to live a more comfortable life.
But on a larger scale, isn't making so much money a way to recruit soldiers and plot a rebellion?
"However, the Prince of Jin's heir had previously purchased the design for Zhang's winery, and His Majesty didn't say much about it..."
"Hehe, His Majesty didn't say much, but without even asking, he directly ordered the Prince of Jin's heir to return the distillery. This can be considered a warning to the Prince of Jin's heir. After all, at that time, we thought he was just doing it to please that Miss Zhang, and it was just a small matter. But if he monopolizes all the liquor business in Anguo, then this is no small matter!"
Jing Zhe's eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands towards Yu Sheng, saying, "May I ask Duke Yu, what is the red line for a prince to acquire private property?"
"Two thousand taels of silver!"
After being enlightened by Yu Sheng, Jing Zhe suddenly understood.
No wonder Su Xinping moved out of the East Palace this time and didn't dare to show his face in person, only sending the fool Zhang Xuehou to lead the way. He was probably afraid that others would find out!
These are turbulent times. Su Moyan said that the Prince of Jin is not behaving honestly in Jinxi, and has repeatedly interfered in the affairs of Tongtianque and various sects. Moreover, his son has set up private businesses to amass wealth for him...
Hehe, Su Xinping probably did it unintentionally. If it really blows up, he'll probably deny it to the death. So let's play along and make him suffer in silence!
Jing Zhe stood up, cupped his hands to Yu Sheng, and said, "As expected of Duke Yu! I racked my brains over this matter but couldn't come up with a good solution. Duke Yu's reminder made everything clear! It seems that I should visit the Duke of Huguo's mansion more often in the future and ask Duke Yu for advice!"
"Haha, no problem, no problem!"
Yu Sheng had a good impression of Jing Zhe, so he was quite pleased to hear him flatter him like that.
"In that case, I'll take my leave now!"
After he finished speaking, everyone else stood up and prepared to leave.
Yu Sheng originally wanted Jing Zhe to stay for dinner, but then he thought that since Jing Zhe had come here after leaving the East Palace, he would probably go to the Grand Tutor's mansion, so he didn't insist on keeping him and got up to see them off.
...
Just then, whether Yu Haixing was deliberately feigning injury or not, he stumbled in from outside. Before he could even catch his breath, Jing Zhe stood up and pointed at him.
"Lord Yu, I just beat him up!"
"..."
Everyone present was a little stunned, especially Yu Haixing himself.
He had seen people complain about others to their faces before, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone complain about themselves to their face!
I wasn't ready yet, and you've already sued yourself. What am I supposed to say?
This unconventional approach left Yu Haixing speechless for a moment.
"Oh? Why did you hit my nephew?"
Yu Sheng was in a good mood, but since it involved his nephew, he could only put on a serious face and ask.
"Discipline and discipline him on behalf of the Duke of Yu!"
Jing Zhe pointed indignantly at Yu Haixing: "I met him for the first time a few days ago. He had just come from Ruzhou and brought so many high-quality gifts to give away. Of course, I couldn't accept them! But he insisted on giving them to me, and I couldn't refuse. Helpless, I had no choice but to accept them with a heavy heart..."
Later I heard that he hadn't brought a single gift for Duke Yu, so I was furious. How could there be such an unfilial descendant? So I disciplined him on behalf of Duke Yu and gave him a beating!
Then he looked at Yu Sheng and asked, "Does Duke Yu think this shouldn't be punished?"
Yu Sheng nodded: "Yeah, he deserved it. I heard about this from Ze Cheng, and I already beat him up—but I heard you beat him up at Wuxian Garden the other day, why are you beating him up again today?"
"..."
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