Chapter 469 He Dare Not Gamble
In a desperate situation, the wise king thought of a solution: "Is the food still there?"
Yongqing County was short of food, so he used food to exchange for silver.
It doesn't matter whether the food is good or bad.
What he bought for 100,000 taels of silver must be worth 100,000 taels of silver.
"I sold the grain to stem the losses." Zhang Weiping pointed to the wooden box. "The 40,000 taels of silver are all in the box."
"Of the one hundred thousand taels of silver, only forty thousand remain." The wise king's calculations failed, and he was at a loss: "Where am I going to raise the remaining seventy thousand taels of silver?"
As a prince, he should be able to come up with one hundred thousand taels of silver.
In fact, all the profits he made were invested in the Lin family's money shop to lend money at high interest rates.
Once the Lin family fell, his money was also confiscated.
That's why his life is so difficult.
The virtuous king experienced the feeling of being isolated and helpless for the first time, and he regretted it deeply: "Prince Guangling had such a clumsy plot, but I didn't see through it and even got involved in it."
If he had been more cautious and less reckless, he would not have fallen into the trap.
"Your Highness, this isn't your fault. It's simply that Prince Guangling is too cunning. No one could have imagined that he would buy a grain store in Yongqing County and then send his own people to buy grain at exorbitant prices. Not only us, but everyone else has been deceived by him."
Zhang Weiping said thankfully, "Fortunately, we only lost 60,000 taels of silver, no other losses."
What the wise king lacks is money.
"Prince Guangling accused me before the Emperor today, revealing everything Feng Zhihuan and I did in Yongqing County." The virtuous prince slammed the wooden box to the ground, wishing he could tear Zhao Yi apart alive. "The Emperor gave me two oral orders. One ordered me to return the stolen silver within three days and donate ten thousand taels of my own money to the people of Yongqing County. Now that we've lost money on our business, how can we make up for it?"
Zhang Weiping then realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly asked, "What is the other instruction?"
The wise king replied, "Three months' confinement."
Zhang Weiping breathed a sigh of relief. He knew exactly what crime the virtuous king had committed.
The Emperor of Northern Qi simply confined him to his home and ordered him to return the stolen money.
How is this a punishment?
It's clearly a show for those who are interested.
"Every single thing you did would be a serious crime. The lightest punishment would be dozens of strokes of the cane. His Majesty not only didn't punish you, but he also confined you to the palace for your protection. This shows that His Majesty will not make things difficult for you."
Zhang Weiping said disapprovingly, "When the three-day deadline is up, even if you can't come up with the money, His Majesty will use his private treasury to make up for it for you."
After all, among the sons of the Northern Qi Emperor, King Xian had the purest bloodline and the least controversial identity.
He is the only candidate to succeed the throne.
The virtuous king disagreed and insisted on his own reasoning: "Today I asked the emperor for a few days' grace, but he got angry at me. How could he possibly help me?"
Thinking back to what happened in the Yangxin Palace today, the virtuous prince felt even more that he could not count on the Northern Qi Emperor. "Before I left the palace, my father said that as long as I gather the money and resolve the troubles in Yongqing County, he would appoint me as the crown prince."
Although the Northern Qi Emperor had only one son of pure blood, he was not the one who had to inherit the throne.
If he couldn't even handle such a small matter, the Emperor of Northern Qi would definitely be disappointed in him and think that he was not capable of the task.
Perhaps in order to preserve the Chu family's country and people, the Emperor of Northern Qi would choose a qualified heir from the royal family.
Even if the possibility is very small, he dare not gamble.
Zhang Weiping became anxious when he saw that the wise king refused to listen to his advice.
The wise king, who was pacing back and forth in the study, suddenly stopped, as if he had an idea in mind.
As expected, the virtuous king said to him, "Zhang Weiping, there are many ministers in the court who follow me. Take my private seal and ask them to borrow some money."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
