After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

The servants inside the Court of State Ceremonial were startled by the explosion and rushed out.

"Where is the fire?"

"No... the latrine exploded!"

"Quick! Help! There seems to be someone inside!"

"My God! This tastes..."

The constables covered their noses and hurriedly began clearing away the ruins.

Soon, Wang Ao and his two servants were identified.

All three were covered in wounds. The two servants were alright, but Wang Ao was barely clinging to life.

He was already recovering from his injuries, and this time he was hit hard by the explosion. He was so shocked that he almost died on the spot.

"It's Vice Minister Wang from the Ministry of Personnel!"

Someone recognized Wang Ao and immediately panicked.

"Quickly! Get him to the Imperial Hospital!"

"Go and inform Vice Minister Wang's family!"

"What... what's going on? Why is Vice Minister Wang... again?"

The constables were in a flurry of activity, carrying Wang Ao towards the Imperial Hospital.

The news quickly reached the palace, and Xiao Jing dared not delay, reporting the facts truthfully.

The Hongzhi Emperor asked in bewilderment, "Wang Qing's house has been bombed again? And this time it's a latrine?"

Xiao Jing lowered his head and said, "Rumor has it that Vice Minister Wang offended the god of latrines and blew up three latrines in succession. Although I know the rumors are unbelievable, now..."

He paused, then mustered his courage and said, "Should we put the construction of the biogas digester on hold for now?"

The Hongzhi Emperor asked, "How is the matter I was asked to investigate progressing?"

Xiao Jing cautiously reported, "Your Majesty, the Eastern Depot's agents have investigated, and Grand Secretary Liu's words are all true. His Highness the Crown Prince built a biogas digester and charged the thirty-seven households three times the usual amount of silver. Initially, each household made excuses, but unexpectedly, Li Chun, the commander of the Eastern Palace Guards, led a group to their door under the pretext of searching for Northern Yuan spies, causing chaos and unrest. Although those noble officials harbored resentment, they could only grit their teeth and accept it. Now that Vice Minister Wang has also suffered this misfortune, rumors in the capital are even more rampant. Everyone says that this biogas digester is an ominous object, incurring the wrath of the Dung God, and the people are filled with fear."

The Hongzhi Emperor paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back.

He had witnessed the benefits of biogas digesters firsthand: smokeless fire, fueled by excrement, benefiting the country and its people—a truly good thing. However, the Crown Prince's reckless actions, using imperial orders to amass wealth, had drawn criticism from both the court and the public. Coupled with the repeated bombings of Wang Ao, the matter had become quite thorny.

However, what troubled him even more than these unpleasant things was the external threat.

The Northern Yuan prince is pressing forward relentlessly, and the cavalry of the Huoshai tribe are eager to move. The border troops cannot be mobilized in time. If a war really breaks out, the outcome is uncertain, and it will be the common people who suffer.

"Ugh!"

The Hongzhi Emperor felt a splitting headache and pinched his brow hard with his fingers.

Seeing this, Xiao Jing quickly advised, "Your Majesty has been overworked these past few days and is not feeling well. Why don't you return to your palace to rest first..."

"With all these troubling matters, how can I possibly find peace of mind?"

The Hongzhi Emperor's voice was full of exhaustion as he asked again, "Where is the Crown Prince?"

"I have already sent people to look for them, so I suppose..."

Before Xiao Jing could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.

"Father! Father! You were looking for me?"

Zhu Houzhao swept in like a gust of wind.

The Hongzhi Emperor raised his eyelids, looked at his son who caused him so much worry, and asked, "You're covered in sweat, what have you been up to?"

"Your Majesty, I'm currently overseeing the biogas digester project!"

Zhu Houzhao wiped the sweat from his brow and continued, "Father, you don't know, my progress is incredibly fast. The first batch of over a dozen houses has already been repaired!"

The Hongzhi Emperor remained noncommittal, asking in a flat tone, "Haven't you been busy with anything else?"

Zhu Houzhao's eyes darted around, and he chuckled twice, excitedly saying, "Father was right! I've made a great discovery here, and I was just looking for an opportunity to report it to you, Father, and make you happy too!"

The Hongzhi Emperor said with a cold laugh, "I've heard that you've had quite a bit of income lately, earning a lot of silver?"

Zhu Houzhao was both excited and embarrassed. He touched his nose and said, "Father is so amazing, you even knew this?"

"If I still don't know, I'm afraid the entire court will spit in my face!"

The Hongzhi Emperor's face darkened abruptly, and he said coldly, "How have I taught you? As the Crown Prince, you should treat the people with benevolence and prioritize the affairs of the state! I asked you to do some work, but you took the opportunity to plunder and extort money from the people! That silver is the hard-earned money of the common people. How dare you accept it so readily? Immediately return the silver to me!"

"We can't back down, Father!"

Zhu Houzhao panicked upon hearing this and waved his hands repeatedly, explaining, "That silver wasn't easy to collect! It was all... it was all Yang Bandu's idea!"

In his haste, he blurted out that Yang Shen should be mentioned.

To everyone's surprise, the Hongzhi Emperor's anger intensified, and he questioned, "You caused this mess, and now you're trying to pin the blame on others? I ask you, did the money go into your pocket or Yang Shen's pocket?"

Zhu Houzhao tilted his head and thought seriously for a moment, then honestly replied, "It's...it's with your son."

"Since it's in your hands, you should bear the responsibility for the mistake! Go and return the money immediately!"

"Father! Your son didn't mean it... that silver... Yang, the tutor, said it's called taking from... using for... no, it's robbing the rich to help others... no, that's not right either! Anyway, this silver is very useful! It can't be returned!"

Zhu Houzhao tried to explain, but his tongue seemed to be tied in knots, and he became more and more incoherent, sweating profusely with anxiety.

Seeing his expression, the Hongzhi Emperor was both annoyed and helpless. Too lazy to listen to his rambling any longer, he asked directly, "How much silver did you receive?"

"A total of over twenty thousand taels."

"Go back."

No refunds!

Zhu Houzhao stiffened his neck, his stubbornness flaring up: "I'd rather die than back down!"

The Hongzhi Emperor, enraged, laughed coldly: "Fine, fine, Xiao Jing, bring me a rattan cane! I think you're itching for a beating!"

Xiao Jing looked troubled and hesitated without moving.

Zhu Houzhao raised his head, his eyes wide: "Now that the fight's over, do we not need to back out?"

The Hongzhi Emperor was speechless for a moment after being choked by his words. After a long while, he recovered and said with great distress, "You...you, the Crown Prince of the Great Ming Dynasty, do you lack this little bit of silver? What exactly do you want to do with this money?"

"Your subject has no shortage of money!"

Zhu Houzhao, speaking with self-righteousness, quoted Yang Shen's words verbatim: "But Wang Sizhi is already compiling the lists for the second and third batches of biogas digesters. Many families are too poor to afford the repairs. Materials cost money, craftsmen's salaries cost money, and ongoing maintenance costs money. Where else can we get the money if not from these wealthy nobles and officials?"

The Hongzhi Emperor was about to scold him for his sophistry when he heard this, but he couldn't help but pause for a moment.

Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao quickly continued, "Father Emperor previously said he would allocate silver from the national treasury for subsidies, and I originally thought so too. But Yang, the attendant, said that the national treasury is not abundant right now, and there may still be war in the north, requiring money everywhere. If I can solve this problem myself, wouldn't that be relieving Father Emperor's burden? Those meritorious officials have received the Emperor's favor for generations; I heard they spend hundreds of taels of silver on banquets. What's wrong with letting them pay a little? Besides, I didn't receive the money for nothing; the biogas digester was indeed repaired for them!"

Although these words were blunt and crude, they instantly quelled the anger in Emperor Hongzhi's heart.

So this rebellious son... actually had such thoughts?