The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

Zhao Lingjun lowered his head, his hands hanging neatly at his sides, standing before the imperial desk like a primary school student caught doing something wrong.

But if you look closely, you'll notice that the corners of the girl's mouth are involuntarily turned up, and there's not a trace of remorse in her bright eyes; instead, they're full of smugness, like she's saying, "Praise me! Praise me!"

Emperor Renzong sat behind his desk, his expression somewhat complicated.

On the table in front of him lay the crooked IOU, next to a thick stack of money that made one dizzy.

Six thousand strings of cash.

This sum of money was by no means a small amount, even for an emperor who possessed wealth across the entire world. Especially since it came from his meager private savings.

"Cough cough."

Emperor Renzong cleared his throat, breaking the eerie silence in the imperial study.

"Lingjun."

"Your subject is here," Zhao Lingjun replied obediently.

"Tell me about it," Emperor Renzong said, pointing to the stack of flying coins, trying to maintain the dignity of a father.

"How did you conjure up six thousand strings of cash for me in just one month? Did you rob the national treasury?"

Zhao Lingjun blinked, looking completely innocent:

"Father, you jest. How could your daughter dare to plunder the national treasury? This is... an investment."

"Investment?" Emperor Renzong raised an eyebrow. "Invest in what?"

"Heavenly Crafted Glazed Glass".

Emperor Renzong was taken aback, then suddenly realized: "Is that the glass that angered the Liao envoy to the point of near death, and is now the whole of Bianjing fighting over?"

Zhao Lingjun nodded vigorously: "Exactly! My daughter has a good eye; she could tell at a glance that this stuff could make money!"

Emperor Renzong remained silent for a while, then tapped his fingers lightly on the table, producing a series of rhythmic sounds.

"What exactly is your relationship with that Jiang Lin?"

Zhao Lingjun's heart skipped a beat, but he still answered honestly:

"Teacher-student relationship. He is my husband, and I am his student."

"You? A student?"

Emperor Renzong nearly lost his composure, his voice rising several octaves: "You are a princess of the Great Song Dynasty! A golden branch and jade leaf! To run off to be a student of a commoner? What kind of decorum is this!"

"Father, please calm your anger!"

Zhao Lingjun quickly explained, and began to employ her art of deception—no, she was reporting the facts:

"Father, please listen to me. I'm not just playing around; I'm doing this to study! I've heard that Jingshi Academy is very famous, so I want to go and see what kind of skills Mr. Jiang has."

"And the result?"

"It turned out that he really is capable!" Zhao Lingjun's eyes sparkled.

"What he taught was different from what the old scholars at the Imperial Academy taught. The Imperial Academy taught how to write essays and how to take the imperial examinations, but he taught how to do things, how to solve problems, and how... uh, how to make money."

Emperor Renzong listened, his expression shifting unpredictably. It went from black to green, from green to white, and finally settled into a strange expression that seemed to want to both laugh and curse.

"Making money? What would a princess like you need to learn about making money?"

"It's always good to have more skills!" Zhao Lingjun said confidently. "Besides, isn't the national treasury always empty? If I learn how to make money, I can help my father in the future! Look, didn't I earn three thousand strings of cash for you this time?"

That was a perfectly timed compliment.

When Emperor Renzong saw the stack of flying coins, his anger subsided by more than half.

He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked around the room twice.

"You are a princess, yet you go and become someone's student, and even steal my private money to invest..."

Emperor Renzong stopped, pointed at Zhao Lingjun, and said sternly:

"Do you know that's called deceiving the emperor? If those old fogies in the Censorate find out, they'll definitely impeach you!"

Zhao Lingjun shrank back and muttered under his breath, "If they dare to impeach me, I dare to pluck their beards..."

"What did you say?"

"No! Your Majesty's reprimand is correct!"

Emperor Renzong sighed and sat back down in his chair.

"but!"

He abruptly changed the subject, his gaze becoming deep and thoughtful:

"You really did make money. Ten times that amount. That's a miracle in the business world."

Emperor Renzong looked at his daughter, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes:

"To be honest, how did you know this business would be profitable? Back then, Tian Gong Liu Li (a type of glasswork) wasn't popular yet, was it?"

Zhao Lingjun thought about it and decided to tell the truth—or at least most of the truth.

"Because my daughter has seen Mr. Jiang do things."

She said earnestly, "He is very methodical in his work, and he plans every step very clearly. Unlike those scholars who only talk big but are clueless when it comes to practical matters."

"My daughter thinks that following someone like that will definitely not be a bad choice."

Emperor Renzong nodded thoughtfully.

"That Jiang Lin... does have some skill."

He recalled the incident with the Liao envoy. A commoner who dared to confront the Liao envoy to his face and even said, "We only give gifts to those who have rendered meritorious service, not to foreign countries," certainly showed some courage and integrity.

"You did a good job refusing the Liao envoy. You made me look good."

Zhao Lingjun seized the opportunity to add insult to injury: "Father, look how good my eye is! I've found you such a capable... uh, business partner!"

Emperor Renzong glared at her: "Stop being so cheeky!"

He picked up the stack of money, looked at the IOU again, and finally sighed.

"Fine, I'll accept the money. As for the interest... I'll gladly accept it too."

"But you'd better remember this—"

Emperor Renzong put on a stern face, his tone chilling:

"If you dare steal my money again, I'll really break your legs! Also, you're not allowed to reveal your identity outside. If I find out you're abusing your princess status..."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!" Zhao Lingjun nodded repeatedly, but in his heart he was thinking: next time I'll borrow more and pay a higher interest rate, then Father Emperor will definitely not be angry.

Just as she was about to take her leave, Emperor Renzong spoke again.

"etc."

"When is it convenient for Jiang Lin to come to the palace?"

Emperor Renzong's gaze was profound:

"I wish to see him."

Zhao Lingjun's heart skipped a beat.

The Emperor wants to see the Master?

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

What if the gentleman is so arrogant in front of the emperor and gets his head chopped off?

But she dared not ask any more questions and could only obediently reply, "Your subject obeys."

Zhao Lingjun came out of the imperial study and let out a long sigh of relief, feeling that his back was soaked with sweat.

Although he was scolded, he kept the money, was unharmed, and even received his father's tacit approval.

This is a huge profit!

She was about to return to her palace to change her clothes when she suddenly heard the voice of the chief eunuch, Zhang Maoze, behind her:

"Your Highness, please wait."

Zhao Lingjun turned around: "Zhang Banban, is there anything else?"

Zhang Maoze strode forward, looked around, and said in a low voice:

"Your Majesty has one more thing to say, but you were too embarrassed to say it to my face earlier."

"What did you say?"

Zhang Maoze cleared his throat and imitated Emperor Renzong's tone:

"His Majesty said that you should study hard at the academy. Now that you're there, don't disgrace the royal family. If you don't achieve anything, don't come back to the palace."

Zhao Lingjun was stunned for a moment.

Then she smiled, a smile even brighter than the thirty thousand strings of cash.

This means that the Emperor agrees to let her continue staying at the academy! He's even encouraging her to study!

"Understood! Please thank Father Emperor for me!"

Zhao Lingjun bowed towards the direction of the Imperial Study, then hopped and skipped out like a happy little bird.

She stopped again before she even left the palace gates.

My father said he wants to see Mr. Jiang...

I need to go back and tell my husband about this right away.

Anyway, she believed that with her husband's brains, he could definitely handle everything. He might even be able to persuade her father to invest as well!

Thinking of this, Zhao Lingjun quickened his pace.

Jing Shi Academy, the princess is back!