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墨書 Inktalez
In the imperial study, a young boy with a delicate appearance, looking about thirteen or fourteen years old, was curiously rummaging through the bookshelves, followed by several small eunuchs who were trying to keep up with him.
"Causing trouble again!"
The Xun Yuan Emperor feigned anger as he spoke.
Hearing his voice, the boy turned around and, upon seeing the Xun Yuan Emperor approaching, quickly jumped down from the stool and ran over.
"Brother Emperor~ you’re finally here! You have no idea how much I’ve missed you~"
The boy's voice was clear as he gently tugged at the hem of the Xun Yuan Emperor's robe. His lively eyes sparkled as he looked up at him, his lips curling into a slight smile as he playfully spoke.
The Xun Yuan Emperor smiled indulgently at him and lightly tapped the top of his head twice.
"You! Come on, admit it—are you out of money again? Rushing back from Jiangnan in such a hurry, and the first thing you do is come to me. You must be missing me, right? But I think it’s my treasury you’re really after."
Prince Xiao Xuan chuckled, revealing his white teeth, feeling a bit embarrassed as he trailed behind the Xun Yuan Emperor like a shadow. When the Xun Yuan Emperor sat down, he nestled right beside him on the dragon throne, clinging to his arm without letting go.
Eunuch Wu stood nearby, smiling silently. In all the realm, only Prince Xiao Xuan and Mu Xuan dared to sit on the same dragon throne as the emperor.
Their emperor was indeed exceptional; the brotherly bond of the Da Yu Royal Family was envied by many foreign nations—except for Worthy Prince. However, Worthy Prince always maintained a friendly demeanor in front of foreign dignitaries, ready to defend his brothers fiercely if anyone dared to threaten them.
"Not at all! Brother Emperor, you’ve misunderstood me. Am I that kind of person? I clearly heard that Brother Seven was getting married and rushed back despite some unexpected delays. As soon as I finished handling things, I came back to see if there’s anything I can help with."
The Xun Yuan Emperor chuckled softly, a glint of mischief flashing in his eyes. It seemed that just when he was pondering how to coax him into revealing more, Prince Xiao Xuan had already volunteered the information himself.
“Ah, what a coincidence! I happen to have a bit of a headache over something lately…”
“Ahem, um, Your Majesty, I just remembered that I haven’t gone to pay my respects to Mother yet, so I should…”
“Can you really bear to see your Brother Seven and Sister-in-law being bullied by Brother third? Alas, it seems Brother Seven has been wasted on you. Well, it’s just a matter of spending less money. The treasury is tight lately; I was planning to give you a bit more, but it seems I have the intention but not the means.”
As soon as Mu Xuan heard the mention of money, he perked up. This was unacceptable! It was one thing to touch his Brother Seven, but touching money was another matter entirely. Without money, how could he enjoy life? Especially now when he was in desperate need of funds.
Hearing this, he quickly stopped in his tracks but didn’t turn around. Clever as he was, he wouldn’t take on a hard task. Seeing Mu Xuan halt, Xun Yuan Emperor smirked slightly, his tone dripping with feigned helplessness.
“Recently, the Imperial Merchant needs to be reorganized and is in need of a fair and just judge. Even if this judge is fair and just, there will still be those who gamble on luck. However, this money will not be taken back by me; instead, it will serve as a reward for this judge. Oh dear, what a lucrative job this is! What a pity…”
As Xun Yuan Emperor spoke, he glanced at Prince Xiao Xuan and added that this task was quite easy and would also be a great achievement to boast about later, along with additional rewards and so on…
With Xun Yuan Emperor and Eunuch Wu coaxing him from the side, the cash-strapped Prince Xiao Xuan finally couldn’t resist the temptation of money. He chuckled and turned around to say,
“Hehe, it’s not really for these benefits; mainly, I want to help my brother relieve some worries as a way to repay him for his kindness. So then, since you don’t have a suitable candidate, I’ll reluctantly take it on.”
Seeing him fall into the trap, Xun Yuan Emperor deliberately made things difficult.
“Oh dear… seeing your hesitation just now made me think of another candidate. I’ve already written the imperial decree; it’s just waiting to be announced. What are we going to do about that?”
Upon seeing that Xun Yuan Emperor had indeed prepared the decree, Prince Xiao Xuan quickly rolled it up and pretended to be confused.
“What decree? I didn’t see any decree! Eunuch Wu, did you see it?”
Mu Xuan kept winking at Eunuch Wu, who glanced at the Emperor and complied.
"Ah, well... Your Majesty, Prince, this old minister was just seeing things; I didn’t notice anything unusual. It seems there is nothing," he replied.
"Exactly! It’s settled then. It’s my duty to relieve my brother’s worries. Your Majesty, please write the imperial decree quickly; I need to prepare for a bit," Mu Xuan said, turning to leave and casually tossing the earlier decree to Eunuch Wu.
"Handle this for me. I’ll remember your contribution, but don’t let anyone see it," he whispered.
His youthful face paired with a serious expression seemed somewhat comical, and Eunuch Wu nodded with a smile as he saw him off.
The Xun Yuan Emperor quickly drafted the imperial decree and announced it with remarkable speed. Just as Mu Xuan stepped out of the palace gates, the decree was proclaimed.
Seeing how swiftly the decree was issued, Mu Xuan cast a suspicious glance back toward the Imperial Study, feeling that something was amiss.
However, he soon immersed himself in joy because as soon as the decree was announced, many wealthy merchants and officials sent people to him, naturally not coming empty-handed.
Most of them wanted to glean some information from him, but he truly had no idea what to tell them. He couldn’t just admit his ignorance; otherwise, if they discovered he knew nothing, they might not offer him anything at all.
Clever as he was, whenever someone inquired, he feigned mystery and said, "Ah, such confidential matters cannot be disclosed easily. For now, I haven’t received any specific instructions; let’s discuss it again in a few days."
The visitors pondered for a moment and noticed that there were indeed no royal representatives in the Xuan Wangfu. They assumed that what Prince Xuan said was true—the Sovereign had not yet fully issued the decree. After all, this was Prince Xiao Xuan's first time handling such an important task; how could the Emperor not be involved?
Once the gift was given, there was no reason to ask for it back; they could only accept their fate. The others who received the news did not come again but waited for the royal envoy to arrive before inquiring further.
How could Prince Xiao Xuan not know? It was just that losing money made him feel uneasy all over. He furrowed his brows and let out a long sigh, stretching his arms toward the door with a look of anguish.
"Ah, the most painful thing in the world is knowing that money is right in front of you, yet you cannot reach out to pick it up!"
"Someone, spread the word that someone has imitated Liu Xuande's three visits to the thatched cottage, showing their sincerity..."
Soon, the threshold of Xuan Wangfu was crossed once more, and Prince Xiao Xuan's face beamed with joy; at that moment, he felt like the happiest person alive.
The Xun Yuan Emperor, who was dining with the Empress Dowager at the time, could not help but smile widely upon hearing the news.
The Empress Dowager chuckled, her tone slightly reproachful.
"What a little money-grubber you are! How can you treat him like a fool? He is your brother. And that ungrateful boy! After returning, he hasn't even come to see me."
"I will summon him to the palace tomorrow to keep you company."
"Forget it, forget it. Right now, he is too busy collecting money. If we call him over now, he will probably be in pain for several days and won't be able to sleep."
"Hahahaha." The two exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
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