My God of Wealth is a Short-lived Ghost

Half a month seemed to pass in a flash. Today, Zhao Jinghua stood in front of the dragon throne. His eyes swept down the steps and when he saw Zhao Jingtai, his brows furrowed. "Why did the third brother come back today?"

Zhao Jingtai was about to speak when a loud voice came from outside the palace, "Your Highness! The prefect of Hanjiang City has sent a memorial asking you to review it personally."

Zhao Jinghua frowned and looked at Zhao Jingtai, feeling something was wrong. "Show it up." Seeing Zhao Jinghua speaking, Eunuch Wang walked down the steps and took the memorial.

Zhao Jinghua opened the memorial with a frown on his face, veins throbbing on his forehead. When he spoke, his voice was low and filled with suppressed anger, "Zhao Jingtai! What did I tell you? I asked you to bring the people back to the capital! What did you do? Not only did you not do it! You almost turned Hanjiang City into a graveyard for the people!"

Zhao Jingtai sneered and looked at Zhao Jinghua unconvincedly, "I am absolutely not wrong in what I did, Zhao Jinghua! Didn't I just not follow your orders? Is that so important?"

Zhao Jinghua heard this and threw the memorial in front of him. "Look for yourself what the prefect of Hanjiang City said about you!"

Zhao Jingtai was stunned when he opened the memorial. It read, "Your Highness, although the Third Prince has repelled the enemy, the houses in Hanjiang City are now dilapidated, the people are displaced, most of them are dead or injured, and there is constant wailing in the city. I can't bear it, so I let the remaining people stay in my home, but there is a shortage of food for many people, and I am powerless. The Third Prince has always turned a blind eye, otherwise I would not have written a memorial to you, but please don't blame the Third Prince, the Third Prince is still young and inexperienced." Zhao Jingtai frowned and his eyes were full of disbelief after reading it, "Impossible, I clearly defended Hanjiang City!"

Zhao Jinghua's voice was cold, suppressing his anger. "You only knew to rush back to tell me that with your strength you would never let the enemy enter the city again! What I am worried about is whether the enemy has entered the city and set the houses on fire before you arrived! Causing the people to be displaced! Zhao Jingtai, if you could only consider the people! It is you who would be the prince today! Not me!" After a moment, Zhao Jingtai suddenly realized and understood Zhao Jinfang's original intention. Zhao Jingtai quickly restrained his arrogance, lifted his robe and knelt on the ground. "Brother, I know I was wrong. I know I shouldn't ignore the people. Please punish me."

Zhao Jinghua sighed, "Come here, the third prince was disrespectful in front of the palace, and he shall be whipped thirty times!" Soon the commander of the imperial guards walked into Taichu Palace with a whip in his hand, came behind Zhao Jingtai and sighed, "The third prince has offended you!" As soon as he finished speaking, a whip fell!

The flesh on Zhao Jingtai's back exploded instantly, which shows that the commander of the Imperial Guards showed no mercy.

Zhao Jingchen then pleaded for Zhao Jingtai, "Brother, isn't this a bit too much?"

Zhao Jinghua sneered in a very cold tone, "Did he pass? Why don't you do it for him?" Zhao Jingchen lowered his head and said nothing after hearing this.

Soon after the 30th whip fell, Zhao Jingtai's back was already covered in blood, and the ministers in the court were sweating and talking about it, while the three princes were so scared that they kept silent.

The commander of the Imperial Guards put away the whip and bowed to Zhao Jinghua. Zhao Jinghua nodded and spoke in a cold voice, "Zhao Jingtai, remember these thirty whips. The suffering you endured today is far less than one thousandth of the suffering of the common people." Zhao Jinghua sighed and said, "Take the Third Prince down to heal his wounds! When you figure it out, come to see me in the East Palace."

Zhao Jingtai was sweating profusely at this moment. He slowly stood up, bowed and saluted, "My dear brother, remember my teaching today." After that, he was helped away by the commander of the Imperial Guards.

Zhao Jinghua looked at the ministers who were discussing the matter and sighed, "I don't want this kind of thing to happen again in the future. If you do something wrong in the future..." At this point, Zhao Jinghua looked at the left prime minister with greedy eyes at the bottom of the stairs and said, "Even if you are my father's confidant, I will kill you without hesitation!" After saying this, the hall fell silent for a moment.

Eunuch Chen carefully observed Zhao Jinghua's expression, then sighed and said, "If you have something to report, please report it. If you don't, please leave the court."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and bowed in unison, "I'll take my leave, your humble servant."

Zhao Jinghua sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "General Zhong and the Minister of Revenue, please stay and follow me to the East Palace to discuss disaster relief." After speaking, he turned around and strode out of the Taichu Palace.

The Minister of Revenue looked at Eunuch Chen in panic, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Eunuch Chen nod.

"Your Highness, please don't get too angry and get yourself hurt." After saying that, Eunuch Chen followed him out of Taichu Hall.

Eunuch Wang shook his head and walked down the stairs. After picking up the memorial, he looked at the Minister of Revenue and Zhong Su and said, "You two, please come with me."

At this time, the Minister of Revenue could not help but ask, "Eunuch Wang, what happened? What exactly is written in the memorial?"

Eunuch Wang sneered and shook his head. "How can we read this memorial? You can guess the general idea by listening to what the Crown Prince and the Third Prince say. Besides, the Crown Prince will tell you soon. Do you still need to ask us?" The Minister of Revenue nodded and said nothing more.

At the same time, Eunuch Chen continued to comfort Zhao Jinghua, "Your Highness, the Third Prince has such a temper. You know it all. Why bother to be angry with the Third Prince?"

Zhao Jinghua stopped and looked at him sideways. "You should be more sad than me right now, right?" Eunuch Chen was stunned by this question, then shook his head. "Your Majesty was just deceiving the Third Prince at the beginning. You also know how much His Majesty loves you, Your Highness."

Zhao Jinghua sneered and said in a low voice, "Eunuch Chen, if that's what you said, I will take it seriously."

Eunuch Chen lowered his head and smiled. "Besides, even if what His Majesty said is true, the Third Prince is just a reckless man. Why should you worry? Just by raising your hand, His Majesty will not believe that the Third Prince is wronged."

Zhao Jinghua sneered, "Eunuch Chen, don't speak nonsense. After all, he is my third brother. Don't say this again in the future."

"I know I am wrong." Not long after, Zhao Jinghua and Chen Gong returned to the study room of the East Palace. The moment Zhao Jinghua saw Wan Sutong, it seemed as if all his worries disappeared. "I have something important to do today. You go to the side room and wait for me. Today is the Qiqiao Festival. It is very lively outside the palace. I will accompany you to take a look later."

Wan Sutong nodded and took out two bags of cakes and placed them on the table. "Then you go ahead and do your work. I'll wait for you in the side hall." After saying that, she turned around and left.

Zhao Jinghua looked at Wan Sutong's back with a smile in his eyes. After half a month of getting along, the relationship between the two became closer and closer. It was indeed a bit like a modern young couple.

At this time, when Wan Sutong went to the side room, she met Eunuch Wang and his two men. Wan Sutong bowed and said, "Greetings, Eunuch Wang, the two adults."

Zhong Su frowned for a moment before recognizing Wan Sutong. "I was wondering why you looked so familiar. It turned out to be Master Su! Long time no see. I didn't expect you to be His Highness's counselor."

Wan Sutong smiled and said, "If there is nothing else, I will take my leave." Zhong Su nodded and followed Eunuch Wang into the study.

At this time, Zhong Su and the Minister of Revenue knelt down and saluted, "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Eunuch Chen and Eunuch Wang bowed and left the study. When Eunuch Chen left, he met the Minister of Revenue's eyes again. Eunuch Chen smiled kindly and then left quickly.

Zhao Jinghua nodded and said, "Get up. I have an urgent matter for you two to come here. The houses in Hanjiang City are dilapidated, and most of the people are dead or injured. They are displaced and suffering from hunger and cold. I hope that General Zhong can lead the troops to escort the minister and food to Hanjiang City, and at the same time lead the soldiers to repair the houses for the people."

Zhong Su bowed and said, "Yes, I will live up to your trust."

Zhao Jinghua sighed and looked at the Minister of Revenue, "Minister, how many stones did Hanjiang City provide for disaster relief in previous years?"

The Minister of Revenue bowed and said, "Your Highness, in previous years, the allowance was 8,500 dan, but a year ago, 30 refugees arrived, so the allowance should have been increased to 10,000 dan. However, if there were heavy casualties, the original 8,000 dan would be enough."

Zhao Jinghua nodded and looked at Zhong Su, "General Zhong, when you pass through the mountain road, remember not to give the bandits an opportunity to take advantage of you."

Zhong Su bowed and said, "Please rest assured, Your Highness." At this time, the Minister of Revenue slowly spoke, "Your Highness! The treasury is empty now, and repairing the house requires a large amount of silver. I am willing to pay 200 taels of silver."

Zhong Su also saluted and said, "My family can give me one thousand taels of silver."

Zhao Jinghua raised his hand and rubbed his brow. "No need." He took the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Zhou Lang. "Take General Zhong to Fengming Tower to get 30,000 taels of silver."

Zhong Su and the Minister of Revenue knelt down and said, "Your Highness is wise."

Zhao Jinghua stood up and walked to the table to help the two of them up. "When the people are in trouble, I, as the crown prince, cannot just ignore it. The matter of Hanjiang City..." At this point, Zhao Jinghua sighed heavily, "It was my dereliction of duty... that led to such a disaster."