The Good Grandson of the Red Chamber

Chapter 125 The Third Prince's Heart is Smaller Than the Eye of a Needle

The retired emperor and he had a brotherly relationship. If he went to the palace and confessed, perhaps the retired emperor would let him off the hook.

But the retired emperor is getting old, who knows how many more years he can live?

After the retired emperor passes away, will the new emperor cause trouble for his palace?

What if this little guy ascends the throne as emperor in the future? Will he still hold a grudge against their royal family? And will he try every trick in the book to cause trouble for their royal family?

Having incurred the wrath of two emperors, how could his royal residence possibly prosper?

The new emperor is one thing, but judging from this little guy's narrow-mindedness, he's probably not much bigger than the eye of a needle.

Thinking of this, Prince Yihe said, "Zong-ge'er, your sixth grandfather has thought about it and you are right."

"My royal relatives and nobles share the fate of the nation; we share both loss and glory."

"Now that the treasury of our Great Qian Dynasty is in dire need, how can I, as a prince, remain indifferent and sit idly by?"

"Therefore, I am willing to repay thirty thousand taels—no, fifty thousand taels of silver!"

Xia Chengzong glanced at Prince Yihe with a half-smile and said, "I've heard that my sixth grandfather is incredibly wealthy, his riches rivaling those of a nation. I won't even mention his fields and shops."

"There are also more than a dozen merchant ships engaged in overseas smuggling, earning at least several hundred thousand taels of silver a year."

"Your royal residence owes the national treasury only a little over 300,000 taels of silver, and you're unwilling to repay it?"

"I once saw a couplet: 'With surplus behind, one forgets to withdraw; with no way forward, one thinks of turning back.' I would like to share it with my sixth grandfather."

Seeing Xia Chengzong's eyes turn cold and his words become threatening.

Prince Yihe's lips trembled, and after a long while he finally said, "Brother Zong, how about this, Sixth Grandfather will return the two hundred thousand taels of silver first?"

"Although Sixth Grandfather earns a lot, his expenses are also huge! He simply can't afford to spend any more!"

Prince Yihe's negative emotions +10 +10 +10

Two hundred thousand taels of silver?

That number is about right.

If we keep pushing him, he might become desperate and do something drastic, which wouldn't sound good if word got out.

Let's figure out how to build this Prince Yihe Mansion after I ascend the throne!

Thinking of this, Xia Chengzong smiled and said, "Grandpa Sixth, you are of noble character and integrity, I admire you greatly."

"Then it's settled. Sixth Grandfather will pay back 200,000 taels of silver first, but there's one more thing Sixth Grandfather needs to do."

Prince Yihe asked, "I wonder what else Sixth Grandfather needs to do?"

Xia Chengzong said, "Sixth Grandfather is unparalleled in prestige among the royal relatives. Please, Sixth Grandfather, summon the other royal relatives who are indebted."

"Tell them with reason and emotion, and make them repay their debts. If Sixth Grandfather can help me do this, I will remember your kindness."

Upon hearing this, Prince Yihe's lips twitched again.

This little guy really treats me like a beast of burden.

Not only did he demand that my Yihe Prince's Mansion owe me money, but he also wanted me to help him collect the debt from the royal family.

They've all pinned the blame on me for offending people.

Prince Yihe didn't want to take on this task, but he also felt that the little guy was so narrow-minded that if he didn't accept it, the boy would definitely hold a grudge.

In the end, Prince Yihe could only say helplessly, "Brother Zong, it's probably difficult to get them to repay all the debts."

"How about giving us some leeway? For example, only 50% needs to be returned?"

Taking them all back would be extremely difficult, and there's a real risk of causing trouble.

Xia Chengzong never intended to take them all back at once.

However, 50% is still too cheap for them.

Xia Chengzong said, "Sixth Grandfather has already repaid more than 50%. Making them repay only 50% would be too lenient on them. How about making them repay 70%?"

After a moment's thought, Prince Yihe had no choice but to reluctantly agree, "That's how it is. However, Zong'er, you still need to ask those officials for a portion of the debt so they know the consequences before we can proceed."

Xia Chengzong guessed that Prince Yihe was going to use both kindness and severity, and he also wanted to curry favor with the imperial family.

He'll play the bad cop, and she'll play the good cop.

However, having taken on this task, he was no longer afraid of offending anyone.

So he nodded and agreed, "Okay, it's settled then."

Xia Chengzong took his leave, and Prince Yihe did not mention inviting him to stay for a meal again.

After Xia Chengzong left, Prince Yihe, with a gloomy face, ordered someone to go to the bank and withdraw 200,000 taels of silver.

Then Prince Yihe had eight horse-drawn carriages loaded onto the road, and without any attempt to conceal them, they made a grand entrance and headed straight for the Ministry of Revenue.

Along the way, without anyone asking, the servants of the Prince Yihe's Mansion took the initiative to spread the word to passersby.

It is said that the imperial court is currently engaged in war, and the national treasury is empty.

The imperial family and nobles share in the glory and ruin of the Great Qian Dynasty.

After learning of this, the prince searched high and low and raised 200,000 taels of silver to return to the national treasury.

Hopefully, this silver will help the Great Qian Dynasty win the war, drive out the Jie tribe, and restore justice to the people on the border.

The actions of Prince Yihe's Mansion drew cheers from the people of the capital.

Everyone who heard it gave a thumbs up and said, "Well done, Prince Yihe!"

The news spread rapidly throughout the capital.

However, this matter left all the other civil and military officials who were watching in disbelief and astonishment.

Is this still the same Prince Yihe, who is so stubborn and unyielding that he only listens and never listens?

How did she suddenly change her gender, as if she became a completely different person?

After the Third Prince visited his palace, this old prince suddenly became reasonable.

A leopard can't change its spots; no one could believe it.

They felt that the Third Prince must have caught the old prince in some way.

They even considered going to the old shogun and asking him, "Old shogun, have you been threatened? If so, blink twice."

The retired emperor was quite surprised when he learned of the news.

He knew his younger brother's character all too well; relying on his past service to the emperor, he looked down on everyone.

The retired emperor never expected that Zong Ge'er would be able to get money from his palace.

Unexpectedly, Brother Zong succeeded immediately!

He went only once and recovered 200,000 taels of silver.

This made the retired emperor look at Xia Chengzong with even greater respect.

When Emperor Hengchang learned the news, he was both surprised and delighted.

Zong Ge'er was indeed capable. When asked to collect the debt, he recovered more than 500,000 taels of silver in just a few days.

Although it is still not enough to sustain the battlefield, it has greatly relieved the pressure and allowed the front lines to continue to hold out.

For the time being, there is no need to levy additional taxes.

This pleased Emperor Hengchang greatly.

Back at the Prince's residence, Xia Chengzong saw the emotional value entry record scrolling wildly.

His emotional state is rapidly increasing.

In just one day, he accumulated more than 10,000 emotional points.

He has now accumulated over 100,000 emotional points.

However, the few useful supernatural abilities have now all been upgraded to blue level.

To advance to the next purple tier, one million emotion points are required.

We're still quite a distance from reaching one million emotional points.

I'm afraid I'll only be able to accumulate emotional points like crazy after I ascend the throne.

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