Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2680 Still Vigorous in Old Age 64.0
Seeing Ying Shisan's pitiful look, Shen Haolin and Shen Cha couldn't help but laugh.

"You can't even handle this?" Shen Haolin raised an eyebrow slightly. "In the last two or three years, His Majesty has toned it down quite a bit."

"Have you stopped?" Ying Shisan curled his lip. "The Grand Commander said before that if His Majesty couldn't be found in the palace, he must have run away again. I initially thought that His Majesty would only run away once every few days at most, but I didn't expect him to run away several times a day."

“It’s not uncommon for him to run away every few days, but after a few times, he would disappear for several days, and everyone would have to search the entire capital. However, this hasn’t happened for many years.” Shen Cha looked at Shen Haolin and said, “It hasn’t happened since Brother Xiao Jue ascended the throne. Instead, he goes out many times a day, but he’s not as hard to find as he was when we were kids.”

“Hmm!” Shen Haolin nodded and explained to Ying Shisan, “When His Majesty was young, he was even more lively and energetic than he is now. Back then, he lived in the East Palace and was at the age where he loved to jump around, climb roofs, and trees. Just like Cha’er said, let alone catching him three times a day, we should be thanking our lucky stars if we could even catch him and bring him back.” He shrugged helplessly and looked at Ying Shisan, “You should all have a piece of paper with the names and addresses of some shops in the West Market and North Market, right?”

"Yes, it was given to us by the Grand Commander before he left the capital. He said it was a place His Majesty frequents."

“Yes!” Shen Haolin nodded. “This is the result of years of wits and courage in fighting with His Majesty. Every time he leaves the palace, he goes to the places recorded on the paper and can basically find it. If he can’t find it in one place, he will find it in a few more.”

"When Xiao Jue was young, did he like going to those places?" Shen Cha looked at Shen Haolin curiously. "I know he often went to the West Market because there are many shops run by foreign merchants there, with lots of novelties that could definitely attract Xiao Jue. He was always quite wary of these foreign merchants, feeling that some were honest businessmen while others were dishonest, so he wanted to go and see for himself. Later, a few things proved that his worries were justified; they did indeed catch a few spies from the West Market, right?"

“Yes!” Shen Haolin nodded. “The first time was probably by chance. At first, he himself thought that person was a good person. But after getting to know him a few times, he found that he was indeed harboring malicious intentions.”

“I’ve heard of that too, it’s legendary, but…” Shen Cha stroked her chin, poured herself a cup of tea, took a couple of sips, and said, “What could Beishi possibly have? Rice, flour, cooking oil? Why would he like to go there?”

“He said that to understand the lives of ordinary people, one must naturally start with the most basic necessities. Although he was in the palace, he needed to know the prices of rice, flour, cooking oil, meat, and all the essential items for the people. Knowing these things would prevent him from being deceived by court officials. He not only knew these things, but also how much silver an ordinary family would spend in a month, six months, or a year, and how much it would cost to send them to school, and how much it would cost for girls to buy headdresses, jewelry, rouge, and face powder.” Shen Haolin sighed. “Because of this, we all felt that he would be a good emperor. As it turns out, our premonition was correct. When he was about ten years old, his first job was to audit the accounts at the Ministry of Revenue. As you know, this is not an easy job for a crown prince.” “Indeed, brother, you don’t need to put it so tactfully. It’s not just an easy job; it’s a job that offends people.” Shen Cha sighed softly and said, “However, auditing the accounts at the Ministry of Revenue is something every crown prince goes through; it’s their first job. It’s a routine, isn’t it?”

“That’s right, my uncle went through the same thing back then. Only by passing this test can one be considered a true crown prince and truly involved in court affairs.” Shen Haolin nodded, glanced at Ying Shisan holding a teacup, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said, “During your time by His Majesty’s side, did you feel that His Majesty was exceptionally knowledgeable about things outside the palace? Did you feel that most of the court officials could not deceive His Majesty?”

“This…” Ying Shisan thought for a moment, “It really is true. When I was by His Majesty’s side, I saw some things that made me feel that compared to those high-ranking officials, His Majesty was much more down-to-earth. Vice Minister Fan of the Ministry of Revenue met with His Majesty several times, but he was always left speechless by His Majesty’s questions. Even the questions His Majesty asked were not difficult for us to answer, but these high-ranking officials did not seem to understand them.”

"Oh?" Shen Cha suddenly became interested. She yawned and said, "What did His Majesty ask Minister Fan? Tell me."

"For example, what's the price of rice, oil, and beans in the last ten days? And what kinds of fresh meat are available on the market, and what are their prices?" Ying Shisan sighed, looking at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha. "These kinds of questions are not difficult for the Duke and the eldest son, and even the seemingly carefree Marquis knows them very well."

“Of course.” Shen Cha nodded. “As a local official, these are things I must know. Not only do I need to know these things, but I also need to know what will be in short supply this year, and find ways to make up for it with other things to avoid serious price fluctuations. As for those people in the capital…” She sneered and said, “They won’t care. If scholars were in charge of money, wouldn’t they just reek of money?”

"His Majesty said the same thing, but the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of people's livelihood and finances. They should know these things, not be clueless and so self-righteous." Ying Shisan sighed. "What really angered His Majesty was Vice Minister Fan's attitude. He was very indifferent to His Majesty's questions, even dismissive. He said the Ministry of Revenue didn't care about these things; if prices rose, taxes would be collected according to the rise, and if prices fell, taxes would be collected according to the prices before the fall. As long as the Ministry of Revenue collected enough silver, that was fine. As for what prices the people paid for these things, that was the concern of the Jingzhao Prefecture, not them. However," he thought for a moment, "His Majesty wasn't angry at all, and seemed quite used to it."

“What’s the use of getting angry? Those adults are all the same. We’ve seen through them all over the years.” Shen Cha thought for a moment, then looked at Shen Haolin and said, “If I remember correctly, this Vice Minister Fan is a second-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and has experience serving in other provinces, right?”

“Yes, he was sent away for ten years, and when he came back he entered the Ministry of Revenue.” Shen Haolin sneered, “He ran into His Majesty’s hands. His Majesty hates these kinds of hypocritical scholars the most.”