Chapter 531 I Just Want a Little Nephew (Update 2)
Lu Zexu first went to the Dali Temple to meet the Third Prince. Last time, he went crazy in the Jiangnan officialdom. In addition to asking the First Prince to lead troops to escort the confiscated property, he also invited the Third Prince to help.
As for what help?
Of course, it was to confiscate the property.
Yes, among all the princes, only the Third Prince inherited the essence of the young prince's confiscation of property, and the main strategy was to leave no grass behind like a locust passing through.
During the trip to Jiangnan, it seemed that the young prince was going crazy there, but in fact, there was a tacit cooperation between the First Prince and the Third Prince.
You know, the silver from the disaster relief this time, but it filled the Ministry of Revenue after the disaster relief in the two places.
Don't ask why the silver money seized from the house was not used directly at the beginning. It was naturally for transportation, and some antiques had to be auctioned off, and then stored, recorded, and waited for the interrogation of these officials. Naturally, it took a lot of time.
A generation of officials in Jiangnan were dismissed, and 8 million taels of silver alone were seized. It is conceivable how much these officials embezzled!
The little prince is very sensitive to data. For the silver seized, he has a rough number in his mind without the Ministry of Revenue delivering the news.
I just don't know how much can be seized during this trip to Shandong.
The third prince is accompanying the princess. There are a lot of cases in the Dali Temple. He originally had no time to rest. In addition, when the little prince went to Jiangnan, all the officials in Jiangnan were dismissed.
Each of them had to be examined and files had to be written. The prison of the Ministry of Justice was almost full, and some important prisoners had been transferred to the Dali Temple.
The third prince finally breathed a sigh of relief and could go back to the mansion to accompany the princess and spend some time alone. But just three days later, the little prince came.
The moment he saw the little prince, his heart skipped a beat and he had a bad feeling.
Lu Zexu was not shy at all. When he saw the Third Princess was about to pay her respects, he quickly waved his hand, "Sister
-in-law, you don't have to be so polite. We are all family. Third brother, don't you agree?" The Third Prince looked at the Princess who was asking questions and smiled at her, "It
doesn't matter. Your Highness doesn't care about these false formalities. You can go and rest first. Just ask someone to bring tea and snacks." When the little prince heard about resting, his eyes lit up and he looked at the Third Prince expectantly, "Is it..."
"No, no, don't think about it."
The Third Prince refused three times in a row, fearing that the little prince would ask directly if the Third Princess was pregnant.
That would be too embarrassing.
The young prince sighed in disappointment, "I'm just asking, why are you reacting so strongly?"
The third prince rolled his eyes at him, "Do you think it's necessary? You don't want the position of crown prince so much? You can even think of such a ridiculous method of training your little grandson!"
The young prince rolled his eyes even more unceremoniously in response, "You want it to be given to you?"
The third prince quietly moved to the side, away from the throne to ensure safety. Life is so beautiful, he hasn't lived enough yet!
"Then you should still look forward to your eldest sister-in-law. She is almost three months pregnant. I estimate that your eldest brother will announce it in the next few days."
The little prince was delighted, "My eldest sister-in-law is almost three months pregnant! Why hasn't your eldest brother said anything?"
"I heard that it is best not to announce a woman's pregnancy in the first three months, which is conducive to preserving the fetus."
The third prince explained. Although he did not think that this rule was useful, since it was passed down by the elders, there should be some explanation.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince naturally did not know the rules passed down by the elders without his mother's reminder.
The little prince was already imagining how he would train his eldest brother's eldest son once he was born. As long as he trained his nephew to be a talent, he would be freed from the position of crown prince!
The third prince shook his head helplessly, "Please take that expression off and stop laughing. We don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet? What if it's a legitimate daughter instead of a legitimate son?"
The little prince glanced at him, "You really know how to pour cold water on others!"
He changed the subject and smiled, "But if the eldest brother gave birth to a legitimate daughter, then you still have it. You will always have a legitimate son."
The third prince: "..."
Okay, it seems that this man wants to make raising the emperor's grandson his lifelong career.
"How is your relationship with your uncle Chen Chu?" The little prince suddenly asked, and for a moment, the third prince didn't react.
He looked a little confused.
The young prince reminded him emphatically, "Chen Chu, the governor of Shandong, is your mother's younger brother."
"It's just a normal family relationship. We were very close before, but we haven't had much contact in more than a year. We will exchange New Year gifts during the Chinese New Year."
The third prince came back to his senses and answered carefully, "Why are you suddenly asking about my uncle? What's the matter?"
The young prince looked indifferent, "Oh, I was thinking, if I let you raid your uncle's house, would you abuse your power for personal gain?"
The third prince: "..."
The third prince was full of questions, "Did you say it wrong, or did I hear it wrong?"
The young prince picked up the teacup nonchalantly and took a sip, "Shandong is suffering from a severe drought, and there are starving people everywhere. The disaster relief silver has been allocated a long time ago, but it has no effect. I just saw a group of disaster victims outside the city gate."
"1.5 million taels of silver were transferred to Shandong, but the disaster victims were forced to go to other places to make a living. Third brother, do you think there is a problem with the Shandong patrol?"
The third prince's face darkened. He knew about the severe drought in Shandong and the court's disaster relief. However, he was busy with criminal cases in the Dali Temple recently and did not pay much attention to this aspect.
The hall suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of the little prince eating snacks.
The third prince really couldn't imagine that his uncle was actually a selfish official who used public funds for personal gain and was corrupt and lawless.
"If you can't do it, I can do it myself. I am still very willing to confiscate the property, but you should understand that it is different for you to handle it yourself when I handle it."
The little prince finished the last piece of snack and continued.
The Third Prince finally recovered from his shock. He naturally understood the good intentions of the Crown Prince.
As a prince, his uncle's wanton squandering of money and disregard for the lives of the people would definitely affect his reputation.
The Crown Prince took action to rectify the situation and improve the administration.
If he personally took action, it would be a sacrifice of personal loyalty, telling everyone clearly that the Shandong Patrol's embezzlement of disaster relief funds had nothing to do with him, and that he was not the one who ordered the Shandong Patrol to do so, and he was not the Shandong Patrol's backer.
The two have completely different meanings.
The third prince stood up from his chair and saluted the little prince very formally, "Your Highness, thank you."
The little prince was slightly stunned, and then showed a brilliant smile, "So formal?"
The third prince said seriously, "It should be."
This is related to his reputation before and after death, and it is really very important for him, a prince who does not want to compete for the throne.
"In this case, then work hard and give me a little nephew, which will really help me a lot!"
The little prince said seriously, pinching his face.
The third prince: "..."
He didn't want to thank him.