The math teacher had already been taken care of by the kids themselves.

When Wei Yu heard about it, he was still a little stunned.

Something he couldn’t settle even after spending two or three days on it—those two little brats managed to convince the teacher to take them as apprentices in just one evening?

Were they not taking him seriously at all?

Heartbreaking.

The next day, the heartbroken Wei Yu dressed neatly and went into the palace to see his father.

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Wei Yu was “throwing a tantrum” at his father.

“Dad, your son’s journey is long and dangerous. I’ll be facing countless hardships! Just thinking about it is terrifying. What if something happens to me on the way and your precious son can’t come back? What then, huh?!”

Despite someone hanging onto his thigh and howling miserably, Emperor Wei remained completely still.

He sat on the dragon throne reviewing memorials. Even though his leg was being shaken wildly, his hand holding the brush didn’t so much as tremble.

“Dad, I—cough, cough! cough!”

After wailing for so long, Wei Yu’s throat went dry.

A few coughs finally shut him up, and he glanced up at his father’s expression.

Well, great. No reaction at all.

[I’ve been crying my heart out here; could you at least say something, even if it’s just a grunt?]

Emperor Wei snorted coldly and gave him a sidelong glance. “What’s there to say? You’ve been yelling for half an hour, and all you’re trying to do is get money out of me.”

“Come on, Dad, you make it sound so distant!”

Wei Yu clearly didn’t agree with his tone. “Your son’s going to Jiaozhou to handle official business, for the good of the nation and the people, to ease your burdens. People always say, ‘be frugal at home, be generous on the road,’ but I don’t even have travel expenses! How is that right?”

Emperor Wei said, “I remember I already gave you fifty thousand taels of silver.”

“You’re not talking about the fifty thousand taels for setting up my residence, are you?!”

Wei Yu looked shocked. “No way, no way, surely no father sends his son away without travel money and still counts on his son’s house-settlement funds, right?”

Emperor Wei: “…Wasn’t that settlement fund also given by me?”

Wei Yu looked at his father with bitter disappointment. “I thought Royal Father loved me the most. I thought for sure you couldn’t bear to see your son suffer on this trip to Jiaozhou. Alas, it seems I overestimated myself. Sigh, I really am just an unloved child.”

Saying that, Wei Yu stood up looking heartbroken, about to leave.

The overwhelming scent of brewing tea filled the air, making Emperor Wei feel physically uncomfortable.

He glanced at Wei Yu and felt a strange sense of familiarity with this little brat’s performance.

But where had he seen it before?

Emperor Wei thought hard but couldn’t remember, like being stuck right at the threshold of recalling.

“Stop.”

Emperor Wei called him back. “Just say it straight. How much do you want?”

So straightforward!

Wei Yu was overjoyed, but he turned back with a pitiful expression. “Really, Father? I don’t want to trouble you… Maybe just—”

“If you keep rambling—”

“Well, since you insist, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t accept your loving kindness!” Wei Yu immediately straightened up and held up two fingers. “Two thousand taels, plus ten glass bottles. Thank you for your generosity!”

Emperor Wei: “…Glass bottles? What do you need those for?”

“To open up markets, of course!”

Wei Yu explained, “Fourth Brother has opened a glass factory. The goods will eventually need to be sold. If I take some out ahead of time to show them off, others will come seeking them out by name, and Fourth Brother won’t have to send people later.”

Emperor Wei eyed him suspiciously. “Are you trying to follow Fourth Brother into business?”

What kind of nonsense talk was that?

Any modern person would know—you can live without love, but you can’t live without money!

Without money, you can’t take a single step!

Going into business was nothing shameful at all!

Wei Yu said seriously, “Father, if I could, I’d love to be a useless bum who just eats, drinks, and lazes around. But we’re broke! If the national treasury were full, you wouldn’t have to keep squeezing me dry!”

Emperor Wei: …

Stop speaking such painful truths!

“Ahem. Fine. After you leave the palace, go to the official kiln and pick out what you need.”

Emperor Wei called for Li Cheng to fetch two thousand taels’ worth of silver notes.

While Li Cheng was getting the money, Emperor Wei asked Wei Yu when he planned to depart.

“The day after tomorrow.”

The luggage was already packed. As long as the money was in hand, Wei Yu could take off any time!

After thinking about it, Wei Yu asked another question, “Can I take Eighth Brother with me?”

We agreed to stick together through riches and poverty! It wouldn’t be right if he went to Jiaozhou to have fun and didn’t take Eighth Brother along when he could.

Wei Yu had thought his father would nag a lot before agreeing, but unexpectedly, the old man just frowned for two seconds—and agreed right away!

Wei Yu was overjoyed. “Awesome! I’ll go tell Eighth Brother now! Thanks, Dad! You’re truly the best father in all of Great Wei!”

Emperor Wei: …

Ungrateful sons are always so realistic about family affection.

—

With two thousand taels of silver notes tucked safely away, Wei Yu left the palace and headed straight for the Eighth Prince’s residence to tell him about the Jiaozhou trip.

The Eighth Prince didn’t have much objection to going to Jiaozhou. The only thing he wanted to ask about was the “increasing revenue and cutting expenses” that Wei Yu had mentioned in court.

“Tell me, what exactly is your plan for increasing revenue?”

The Eighth Prince was puzzled. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since you brought it up. If we’re talking about making money, the court already monopolizes salt, iron, and tea. Are you planning to work with those? Hmm, but that doesn’t seem right either. If there were still big profits to be had there, someone would’ve thought of it already.”

So it turned out his Eighth Brother had been pondering this the whole time—no wonder he hadn’t seen him much these past few days.

“You’re something else.”

Wei Yu clicked his tongue. “If you wanted to know, you could’ve just asked me earlier. It’s not like I wouldn’t tell you! Instead, you’ve been torturing yourself over it for days.”

“Well, I’m asking now. Tell me.”

The Eighth Prince struck a posture of “ears wide open.”

“Ahem. Increasing revenue is actually very simple.”

Wei Yu said, pulling out a small pouch of candied fruit from his pocket.

“I already said on the court floor, cutting expenses is not feasible. If the court wants to make money, we can’t overhaul taxes too much. After all, the country is peaceful and the people are living well right now. If we tamper with taxes, we’ll just end up hurting the commoners.”

“As for the court’s monopolized businesses, if we want more profit, we either have to improve the products so that people are willing to pay more, or jack up the prices so that those who need them have no choice but to pay more.”

Wei Yu shook his head while nibbling on a piece of candied fruit. “There’s only so much salt, iron, and tea—and only so many people in Great Wei. Instead of racking our brains over those, why not just open up a whole new source of revenue?”

Having grown up together, the Eighth Prince quickly grasped Wei Yu’s point.

He frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked, “Looks like you already have something specific in mind?”

“Of course.”

Wei Yu grinned. “Glass exclusively used by the royal family of Xiqi—just putting that name out there, don’t you think a bunch of self-important folks would scramble to get their hands on it? So, Eighth Brother, what do you think—wouldn’t people buy it?”