The story begins with a power struggle among nine princes, but the protagonist doesn't vie for

In the late autumn of the 41st year of the Xuankang era, in the quiet room of the Prince Yu's residence.

Two years have passed since Luo Zhaoheng moved from the Tenth Prince's residence to the new Prince's residence. During these two years, due to Emperor Xuanxi's decree, Luo Zhaoheng rarely went to the palace and spent most of his time cultivating in the Prince's residence.

Autumn rain patters against the eaves outside the window, while sandalwood incense wafts through the room.

Luo Zhaoheng was immersed in comprehending the subtle rhythm of the runes on a newly formed "Concealing Breath Talisman." This regular, calm, and focused state of self-improvement almost gave him the illusion that he could continue like this forever.

"Tap, tap, tap."

The rhythmic knocking broke the tranquility of the quiet room, shattering the illusion. Luo Zhaoheng recognized the rhythm as Qingluo's, but it carried a subtle urgency compared to her usual meal delivery or brief announcements.

"Enter." Luo Zhaoheng flicked his sleeve and put away the talisman paper and ink.

Qingluo pushed open the door and entered, closing it behind her. Her steps were hurried yet steady. In her hands, she carried not a food box, but a thick account book.

Under the lamplight, her delicate face showed a slight frown, and her eyes held a rare anxiety.

"Your Highness." She curtsied, her voice deliberately lowered.

Luo Zhaoheng's gaze fell on Qingluo, and his heart sank slightly. "What is it?"

"Your Highness." Qingluo took a deep breath, placed the account book on the desk, opened it, and pointed to the latest page with ink marks. "Please take a look. This is the record of the Prince's manor's expenses."

"These things have always been managed by you and Lao Qin, haven't they? Why are you showing this to me?" Luo Zhaoheng asked, puzzled, without looking at the ledger.

Qingluo and the others all knew that their prince was focused on cultivation and didn't bother with ordinary matters. But now that he was in trouble, they were helpless and had no choice but to come and report.

"What? No way? The Prince's mansion is out of money? How could it be gone so quickly? Although I was fined three years' salary, if I remember correctly, when we first moved here, there were more than 10,000 taels of silver in the mansion. The palace also gave us some extra money during festivals, plus the income from the farmland and shops. It's only been a short time, and it's all gone." Luo Zhaoheng said in surprise.

"There are quite a few people in the Prince's Mansion, and they need to buy a lot of things after moving here, but isn't spending over ten thousand taels of silver a bit too cheap?" Luo Zhaoheng complained.

Qingluo, standing to the side, listened to Luo Zhaoheng's words and hesitated several times before speaking.

"Alright, Qingluo, have Lao Qin retrieve all the money my maternal grandfather and mother left in the cellar, just in case," Luo Zhaoheng instructed.

"Your Highness, the money left by the old master and the empress has already been retrieved and spent. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to come and bother you," Qingluo said after a moment's hesitation.

"What? That's all gone too? The more than 10,000 taels we brought with us when we moved here, plus the 5,000 taels subsidy from the Imperial Household Department, plus the 50,000 taels left by my maternal grandfather and mother, all of that adds up to almost 70,000 taels. And that doesn't even include the land rent and income from the shops. All of that is 80,000 to 90,000 taels in total. And it's only been two years, right? And it's all gone like that?"

"Could someone have stolen my money? I'm going to find them right now!" Luo Zhaoheng said through gritted teeth.

"No...no! Your Highness!" Qingluo quickly shook her head, her tone resolute. "Qiuyue, Steward Qin, and I, along with several reliable accountants, checked and reconciled the accounts three or four times!"

Every single inflow and outflow of funds, the actual cash in the vault, matches the accounts perfectly. While not exactly perfect, there are absolutely no major discrepancies!

Hearing Qingluo's confident answer, Luo Zhaoheng felt slightly relieved, but his doubts deepened. The accounts were correct, and the money hadn't been embezzled, so where did it go?

"Then how could there be no money?" Luo Zhaoheng pressed, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table. "How many people are there in the Prince's mansion? There's a fixed monthly allowance. Even with some extra expenses, the expenditure shouldn't be this huge, right?"

"Your Highness, the fixed expenses are indeed not outrageous. The monthly allowance for servants, food purchases, daily utensils, plus some necessary repairs to the palace and the cost of carriages and horses, are all fine."

The Prince's mansion has a considerable income, which is more than enough to cover these expenses, and there is even a considerable surplus, but..." Qingluo paused at this point.

"But what?" Luo Zhaoheng asked.

When Luo Zhaoheng pressed for an answer, "But what?", Qingluo's face showed an extremely strange expression, seemingly helpless and somewhat embarrassed. She secretly glanced at Luo Zhaoheng before continuing in a low voice:

"However... the talisman paper, talisman brushes, and special ink powder you need for drawing talismans all day long are too demanding."

"Huh?" Luo Zhaoheng was taken aback, not realizing what this had to do with his "drawing talismans." How much could talisman paper and cinnabar be worth?

Seeing that Luo Zhaoheng didn't seem to realize the "seriousness" of the problem, Qingluo gritted her teeth, flipped to the last page of the account book, pulled out a separate detail page, and pushed it in front of Luo Zhaoheng. Her voice was even lower, almost accusing:

"Ordinary yellow paper is certainly worthless, but Your Highness, you said those were 'crude materials' and told us to 'try our best to find better ones'."

Those things are hard to find, not cheap, and few people use them; many need to be custom-made. Following your instructions, Steward Qin used many connections, and when he couldn't find them in the capital, he sent people to search elsewhere. Look at the price…”

Luo Zhaoheng looked down and saw that the following was clearly written on the page:

"A ream of specially made century-old peach wood core-dried talisman paper is worth eight hundred taels of silver."

"One pound of top-grade cinnabar from Chenzhou is worth five hundred taels of silver."

"Various auxiliary medicinal materials, totaling six thousand taels of silver."

"Five specially made wolf-hair and purple-hair talisman brushes, worth four thousand taels of silver."

"Chief Steward Qin said that these materials are consumed very quickly, especially talisman paper and cinnabar, which need to be replenished continuously," Qingluo said, one sentence at a time.

Looking at the rows of shocking numbers, even with his resolute will, Luo Zhaoheng couldn't help but feel his eyelids twitch.

A ream of talisman paper costing 800 taels per ream? Cinnabar costing 500 taels per pound…

Luo Zhaoheng knew that his standards were high because ordinary talisman paper and cinnabar could hardly bear his faint magical power and the "intention" he had when drawing the talisman. Not only was the success rate of drawing the talisman low, but even if it was barely completed, the effect would be greatly reduced.

So he asked Qin Zhong to find "good materials" as much as possible, thinking that they would only be a few percent more expensive than the market price, but he never expected that they would be so ridiculously expensive!

A ream of talisman paper costs eight hundred taels of silver. In the past two months, Luo Zhaoheng has practiced making talismans and has ruined no less than three reams of talisman paper!

That's two thousand four hundred taels! Nearly two catties of cinnabar were used, another thousand taels! Plus all the other miscellaneous expenses…

The cost of materials for drawing talismans alone amounted to more than 10,000 taels of silver in just two months!

This is just the cost of his practice and experimentation! If he were to begin formally drawing more complex talismans, or attempt the basics of other "cultivation arts," the expenses would...

Luo Zhaoheng suddenly felt his throat go dry. He finally understood why Qingluo had that expression. He also understood why the Prince's mansion's cash was being depleted so quickly.

"Cultivating immortality" is truly an expensive hobby! Especially in this degenerate age of scarce resources and depleted spiritual energy!

The materials consumed in drawing talismans and refining the Dao are practically burning through real money!

No wonder legends say that cultivators need to occupy blessed lands, rely on sects, or search far and wide for rare and precious materials. Without resources, nothing can be accomplished! He can barely afford even the most basic talisman training now!

Seeing Luo Zhaoheng's changing expression, Qingluo whispered, "Your Highness, Steward Qin said that these items are indeed hard to find, and the price won't come down. If we continue with this expenditure... our meager savings are really about to run out..."

If you don't cut back, next month we won't even be able to pay the servants and maids.

Luo Zhaoheng raised his hand, stopping her from speaking. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the embarrassment and shock he felt from the "money-burning" incident.

Luo Zhaoheng never imagined that in his previous life, as a second-generation rich kid, he had never worried about money except at the very beginning.

In this life, as the eleventh prince of the current dynasty, a county prince, he is actually short of money?

Tell me, who can he complain to?

"The materials for drawing talismans... we'll postpone the purchase for now. As for the rest, I'll think about it some more," Luo Zhaoheng said somewhat reluctantly.

"Yes, this servant will take her leave." Qingluo replied and then withdrew.