Chapter 217
217
When Cheng Zhao entered the palace to study, there were many more people in the school than when he left. Except for the teacher who was still famous for his poetry, he did not feel familiar with the rest.
The Fourth Prince was very cold towards him and did not take the initiative to talk to him. During the years since he left, the Fourth Prince was brainwashed by the new Queen. She was a small concubine before and thought that Cheng Yeran was an important minister valued by the Emperor. So she wanted the Fourth Prince to curry favor with Cheng Zhao, maybe to let Cheng Yeran assist the Fourth Prince to become the Crown Prince.
But later she found out that Cheng Yeran was on the side of the Second Prince. In addition, Cheng Yeran was demoted and she was promoted to Queen, so she began to look down on the Fourth Prince.
Cheng Zhao wrote a letter to the Fourth Prince, but she told him not to reply and not to care about the Fifth Prince, saying that he was the future emperor and everyone should kneel at his feet instead of him following behind Cheng Zhao like a little brother.
At first, the Fourth Prince did not understand what his mother said, but as time passed, his thoughts changed and he no longer looked down on Cheng Zhao.
Even though Cheng Zhao is back and Cheng Yeran is reused by the emperor, he still looks down on Cheng Zhao and even regards the memory of treating Cheng Zhao as his elder brother as his own black history.
On Cheng Zhao's first day at school, he was planning to bully Cheng Zhao after class and to embarrass Cheng Zhao in front of the princes and eunuchs. However, as soon as the get out of class was over, the emperor called Cheng Zhao over for dinner without even calling the Fourth Prince.
The emperor doted on Cheng Zhao like his own son. The fourth prince went back and told the queen about this. The queen thought of a previous rumor that Cheng Zhao was actually the emperor's child, but it was quickly dispelled.
However, this rumor happened too long ago, and everyone only remembered the content of the rumor, and had completely forgotten the content of the refutation. In addition, the emperor's attitude towards Cheng Zhao made the queen suspicious.
The Queen told the rumor to the Fourth Prince, asking him to treat Cheng Zhao as his rival and be careful to prevent Cheng Zhao from taking his throne.
It was even more impossible for the Fourth Prince to be friends with Cheng Zhao, but because of the Emperor's attitude towards Cheng Zhao, he did not dare to do anything to Cheng Zhao openly, and could only compete with Cheng Zhao secretly.
After Cheng Zhao entered the academy, the princes here all surrounded the Fourth Prince, as if they wanted to isolate him on purpose. Fortunately, he was accompanied by his four younger brothers, and he was also of a very cold disposition, so he didn't care about these things.
Cheng Yeran worked as an examiner and selected a group of good talents. Later, he became the prime minister. He had no time to feel happy about his promotion. He was busy every day. He felt that the emperor didn't want to do anything anymore. The emperor used to review memorials, but now he pushed them to him.
He is second to none and possesses supreme power. Many people try to curry favor with him, but he does not feel happy. Instead, he is worried about the future.
In addition, the emperor could never see Cheng Zhao. Sometimes the emperor would invite Cheng Zhao to the palace for dinner, and sometimes he would let Cheng Zhao stay overnight in the palace. He even allocated a courtyard for Cheng Zhao. If Cheng Zhao stayed in the palace, the four adopted sons had to stay as well.
The rumor that Cheng Zhao was the emperor's child was spread again, which made Cheng Yeran very unhappy. He was 100% sure that Cheng Zhao was his child, but others did not believe it after hearing the rumor.
The last time this rumor went viral, the emperor severely punished those who spread it, but this time he just ignored it.
Cheng Yeran naturally could not guess that the emperor was a lazy man. The lazy man always treated Cheng Zhao as his own son. Although the lazy man had never contributed any effort, he felt that this son was closer to him than any other prince.
When Cheng Zhao was not at home, the four adopted sons were also not at home. Only he, Shen Yuntang, and a little girl were left at home. It was not as lively as before, and he was still a little uncomfortable.
Shen Yuntang was very worried. He asked Cheng Yeran, "Does the emperor not trust you? Although he handed the power to you, he is afraid that you will seize power and rebel, so he keeps Xingxing as a hostage in the palace? His Majesty is also afraid of pushing you too far, so he occasionally lets Xingxing come back?"
Cheng Yeran: "I think His Majesty is planning this, and he is also using sugar-coated bullets on Xingxing. Do you think he will sow discord between us father and son? Or has he discovered Xingxing's talent and wants Xingxing to serve him in the future and treat him as his own father?"
Shen Yuntang couldn't help but sigh. If other people's children were favored by the emperor, he would be overwhelmed with joy, but when it came to his own children, he couldn't help but feel worried.
Cheng Yeran was feeling very angry, but at this moment the emperor asked him to hand over the recipe of white sugar.
The emperor wanted white sugar to be like salt, so that only the court could sell it and white sugar could not be sold privately.
mutter
The emperor only informed him and left him no room to refuse. Anyway, this white sugar was not invented by Cheng Yeran, so it didn't matter if he handed it over. However, Cheng Yeran was dissatisfied with the emperor making sugar something that only the official could sell, and also greatly increased the price. How could ordinary people afford it?
He only sold sugar at a high price in the first two years after it was produced, and later he made a popular version that most people could afford.
But now, ordinary people dare not even think about the taste of white sugar, and the emperor has exported sugar to several countries and made a lot of money.
The money was not used for the people, but for the emperor's enjoyment. He built luxurious palaces and enjoyed himself with beauties every day. Even the number of times he attended court was reduced.
This made Cheng Yeran very worried, but it was very difficult for him to see the emperor. When he advised the emperor during the court session, he was severely criticized by the emperor. Others were even worse off, some were dismissed from office and some were exiled.
Cheng Yeran felt that the emperor might have been possessed by another spirit. Why was there such a big difference between before and after? He was a wise ruler before, how come he has become a tyrant now? Taking elixirs and drugs every day and getting high?
What he didn't know was that when the lazy man first traveled through time and space to become the emperor, he was afraid of being exposed, so he worked diligently to govern the country every day. Later, he discovered the benefits of power, and coupled with his long-term desire for revenge since childhood, he became a wise ruler.
But he was born lazy. He was very smart in studying when he was young, but later he fell behind in his studies and was ridiculed by others. He stopped going to school and lay at home every day. Being ridiculed was just an excuse for his laziness.
Now that he has been the emperor for so many years, he feels that he has worked hard enough and has accomplished so many achievements with his own abilities. He deserves to enjoy himself.
Sometimes court officials advised him not to indulge in pleasure and beauty, but he felt that he had been busy for so many years and had become the emperor, so wasn’t he able to enjoy himself? What's the point of being an emperor if you don't enjoy yourself?
At first, he only spent a small part of his time enjoying himself, but later he found that enjoying himself was much easier than handling state affairs. In addition, Cheng Yeran was also a capable person, so he felt at ease to hand over the state affairs to Cheng Yeran, and so he became what he is now.
If it were just like this now, it would be fine, but the emperor actually wants to export cement and sell it to several other countries.
Cheng Yeran thinks cement is very important, especially in ancient times. In addition to building roads, it can also be used to reinforce city walls.
If a war breaks out someday, the cement roads they built can transport food and fodder more quickly and can also be used to reinforce city walls, which is a secret weapon that gives them a strategic advantage.
But the emperor actually sold it as soon as he said it would, and he even bypassed them, as if he was afraid that they would stop him. Although he and most of the court officials would stop him, it also proved that everyone understood the importance of cement.
What they know, others will also know. If a war breaks out in the future, they will no longer have the advantage. He is also a little worried. What if other countries also develop the formula?
He remembered that the emperor was a wise ruler. He could think of what they could think of, and what they could not think of. But why was he so confused about this matter? Is it possible that the national treasury is no longer sufficient to support the emperor's expenses for enjoyment?
He wanted to stop the emperor, but the emperor excitedly mentioned another thing to him.
The emperor wanted to go on a tour and specifically mentioned that he wanted to visit Cheng Yeran's hometown.
The emperor had been looked down upon by the villagers in the past. Now that he was the emperor, he often thought of his previous life in the village. He inevitably had resentment towards the villagers, so naturally he had to go back and accept the villagers' worship to show his current status.
Cheng Yeran found it even more strange. Why did the emperor go to a small village instead of a wealthy place when traveling? There was nothing special to see there.
In the past, when the emperor was still a wise ruler, if he wanted to visit remote areas, he would think that the emperor wanted to see the sufferings of the people, but now he would not have such an idea.
Cheng Yeran now feels that he is exhausted. He has to deal with so many official duties every day, and he also has to accompany the emperor on outings. He also has to take official duties with him when he goes out for outings. He regrets that he should not have returned to the capital, or should not have been the prime minister.
When he first became an official, he just wanted to be a lazy person, go to get off work and leave on time, do everything he was supposed to do while at work, and not even look at his work after get off work.
Sometimes he would go home and review memorials until late at night, and he would hold Shen Yuntang in his arms and cry, "I shouldn't have shown my intelligence to the emperor. I should have slacked off with the officials in the Hanlin Academy."
Shen Yuntang rubbed his head, not knowing how to comfort him. Even if he advised him to slack off, he would not let go of the responsibilities in his hands. He just said so.
"I'll go back with you this time, and take Xingxing and the others with me. I told Xingxing about our life in the village before, and he was quite curious." Shen Yuntang hasn't been home for a long time. This is a rare opportunity. Otherwise, he doesn't know if he will have the chance to go back in this lifetime.
Before, Shen Yuntang sent money to his family to build a new house, but he kept his own house in its original state. He just wanted to keep those memories so that if he went back one day, he could recall the good memories. Although his second brother no longer lives there, he would regularly ask people to repair and clean the house. The last time his second brother came back, he also asked that the house be kept the same as before so that they could go back to see their parents when they have time.
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