As Emperor Wei stepped into the main hall, he glanced in Wei Yu’s direction.

Seeing his unfilial son arrive, Emperor Wei felt satisfied.

Eighth Prince really was his good son, truly on the right track, not in vain that he gave that little advice yesterday.

The morning court session was the same as always, the procedure just the usual procedure, a stream of useless reports in front, making Wei Yu yawn repeatedly.

He glanced at the imperial censors below whose eyes were wandering crazily, staring intently at people, then looked up to his father.

[Dad, I’m so sleepy, I really can’t take it anymore. If you don’t mind, can I nap for a bit?]

Wei Yu stared fixedly at his father’s right hand.

[If it’s okay, could you just raise your right dragon claw a little?]

Emperor Wei: …

Raising his hand was impossible.

Not only did Emperor Wei not raise it, but he also glared at him.

No sneaky moves? So you come out in the open, huh?!

This is the morning court!

Wei Yu was extremely disappointed by that glare.

Having no choice, he could only hunch his back and prop his chin up, looking listlessly at the officials below, eyelids drooping, occasionally letting out a couple of yawns to show he was still alive.

As long as he was awake, that was enough.

Emperor Wei calmly withdrew his gaze from Wei Yu and continued to listen to the officials’ reports.

Qi Tishou, who had been concerned about Ninth Prince for half a year, saw the prince enter the court and quickly took the opportunity to step forward.

“Your Majesty, Ninth Prince has recently returned from Jiaozhou. I dare to inquire about the profit-making matter he mentioned half a year ago!”

Wow.

That shout instantly energized the drowsy Wei Yu.

Ah, this is the real action!

Wei Yu sat up straight, ready to stand on his father’s order.

Sure enough, after Qi Tishou finished speaking, Emperor Wei nodded for Wei Yu to step forward.

“Minister Qi is only concerned with national affairs, no problem. I believe all present still remember the previous matter. If you want to ask the Wise King about his achievements in Jiaozhou, then let him speak for himself, Wise King.”

Wei Yu rose, raised his hand in salute, “Yes, your servant obeys.”

He turned to the officials and said first, “I earned 193,276 taels of silver in Jiaozhou in two months.”

Whoa—

Everyone present was surprised at these words.

Even the Fourth Prince, who had some guesses, thought this was quite a large sum.

Just two months earning 190,000 taels, and this was only the start. One would expect Jiaozhou to continuously generate silver in the future…

Qi Tishou was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and managed the treasury, so he had seen hundreds of millions of silver coins, making 190,000 taels a mere drop in the bucket.

But though the money was small, it depended on the actual situation!

Qi Tishou could disregard 190,000 taels, but he cared about the method of making the money!

His eyes lit up as he pressed further: “Why only two months? What exactly did Your Highness do in the past half year?”

Wei Yu: “Minister Qi, have you heard about the collusion between officials and bandits in Ji Prefecture?”

Qi Tishou was taken aback.

Could this matter be related to Ninth Prince as well?!

Regarding the Ji Prefecture officials-bandits collusion, when the news reached the capital, it caused quite a stir in court.

But by then, the situation in Ji Prefecture was settled. The report was merely to inform the court so the emperor could make the final decision.

When this happened, the Second Prince’s campaign to suppress bandits in Ji Prefecture was also publicly known.

Since only the issue of officials and bandits in Ji Prefecture was settled, and rewards for merit were to be decided after people returned to the capital, no one knew who the actual meritorious officials were.

And because of the Second Prince’s relationship with the Prime Minister, the court unofficially heard only the Prime Minister’s faction praising the Second Prince’s bravery and achievements, so most unaware officials thought the Second Prince was the sole meritorious figure.

Wei Yu was unaware of previous court affairs, so he calmly asked.

The more experienced officials immediately guessed the truth when Wei Yu mentioned Ji Prefecture’s bandit problem.

The old foxes exchanged meaningful looks only they understood.

The Prime Minister’s faction looked displeased.

Qi Tishou cupped his hands and asked, “Could it be that Ninth Prince was also involved in the Ji Prefecture officials-bandits collusion?”

“Yes, when I first arrived in Jiaozhou, I was in Ji Prefecture. It was unstable there, so I spent some time suppressing bandits with my Second Brother. The time accidentally dragged on a bit, so I had to spend the remaining time making some small money.”

So arrogant.

190,000 was “small money.”

Pei Zhi watched Wei Yu calmly and silently shook his head.

Ninth Prince was good in every way, especially that he occasionally came up with good ideas — that was top-notch!

Just a pity about his mouth, it was a bit reckless.

Qi Tishou’s eyes burned, “May I ask what ideas Your Highness used?”

Wei Yu smacked his lips, “Oh, that’s a rather long process. Where to start? Let me think… forget it, let’s start with white salt.”

Just like Wei Yu said, it was a rather long story.

He talked about the harm of poisonous salt to the people, then about packaging white salt in glass bottles, selling it in Ji Prefecture and even Jiaozhou at two jins for 300 wen each. Then he befriended a talented merchant halfway through, and they discussed for three days and nights about forming a trade alliance. Then he talked about the high price of white sugar among the Yizhou aristocrats and about increasing production to liberate productive forces…

Ugh!

Going off-topic.

Anyway, with Wei Yu’s long-winded speech, the entire court became his personal stage.

The officials listened intently, sometimes frowning, sometimes nodding, occasionally baring teeth in disapproval — clearly holding various opinions about Wei Yu’s approach.

Wei Yu didn’t care about their opinions.

He had already done it; if they said no, would he stop?

He would do it anyway!

Looking at the officials’ varied expressions, listening to a few people’s outbursts, Emperor Wei snorted coldly and glanced at Wei Yu’s side profile.

Come to think of it, this brat’s messy, rule-breaking style really fits the court.

Perfect for stirring up trouble at court.

Throw him in, and that muddy water will splash up several big waves!

How entertaining.

“That’s about it. I’m finished. As for how much silver Jiaozhou will bring in going forward, we’ll see the trade alliance then.”

After Wei Yu finished, the court was silent for a while.

The officials hadn’t nothing to say; rather, they had too much to say and needed to organize their words!

For example, Qi Tishou was thinking about the trade alliance.

[This trade alliance involves deep matters. If not strictly controlled, letting those merchants dominate might cause serious trouble later! And cooperating with the Yizhou aristocrats to trade in Great Liang — hss, what does Ninth Prince intend? Could this be the Emperor’s will?]

Emperor Wei was silent.

Ministers really loved to overthink.