If I had known this day would come, I would never have agreed to come to Return to Dragon City to assist Emperor Zi'an in the first place.

Just as he was feeling worried, a young man wearing the eunuch commandant's uniform walked into Zhuozheng Pavilion and gently knocked on the door of the inner chamber.

Seeing Wang Shizhao looking up, he slightly bowed and saluted, "Little master."

"Commandant Ji, please don't tease me," Wang Shizhao said with a helpless smile. "This 'Little master' is not an official title. You should call me Wang's Order instead."

His official position is actually the head of the Three Talents Section, Grade Four. But he spends all his time at Emperor Zi'an's Zhuozheng Pavilion and rarely goes to the Three Talents Section.

"Yes, Wang's Order," Commandant Ji smiled.

Although Emperor Zi'an was not present, his attitude towards Wang Shizhao remained very respectful. With his head lowered, he reported, "A eunuch just came to report. Your father sent a letter from the northwest. Since it was urgent and you weren't home, it was sent directly to the palace."

Under normal circumstances, an official's private mail would never make it past the palace gates. However, Wang Shizhao's extraordinary status meant that the eunuchs and guards managing the palace gates wouldn't dare be so blind.

"A letter from father?" Wang Shizhao's eyes brightened. "Quick, let him in."

Soon, the soldier of the Wang family delivering the letter was ushered in.

Wang Shizhao took the envelope from him, quickly read the letter inside, and immediately showed joy on his face: "Great! My father sent me five million Immortal Crystals."

His father, Wang Zong'an, now oversees the northwest Grand Canal, the capital west Grand Canal, and the newly opened Dala County. These three are Da Qian's cash cows.

There's no need to mention the two canals; ever since ancient times, canals have been traffic hubs and moneymakers.

As for Dala County, it was once a lifeless great desert but has been transformed over the past century into a vast prairie.

Nowadays, it's Da Qian's largest ranch, exporting massive quantities of beef and lamb each year. The fire crystal grapes and various spices produced there sell exceptionally well and contribute substantial tax revenue to Da Qian annually.

Wang Zong'an oversees these regions and is naturally quite well off.

Eldest son Wang Shizhao wrote to him asking to borrow money, and he readily lent five million Immortal Crystals, equivalent to five billion Qian Gold.

"With these five hundred million Qian Gold for emergencies, I should be able to get through the next few months. After the autumn harvest, this year's taxes will come in, and we'll be able to hold out for a long while again," Wang Shizhao thought, counting the Immortal Crystal tickets and feeling assured.

He now understood that Emperor Zi'an couldn't be trusted with money.

Without money, he could settle down quietly and proceed step by step. But once he got money, he would begin to drift, eager to complete all planned projects immediately.

But in this world, what can be accomplished in one fell swoop?

Even his grandfather, with his remarkable ability to make money, took a step-by-step approach to projects—five-year plans, ten-year plans, twenty-year plans, hundred-year plans—all methodical.

In his grandfather's words, "Haste makes waste."

As Wang Shizhao counted the money, muttering internally, Commandant Ji's respectful greeting sounded out from outside Zhuozheng Pavilion, followed by hearty laughter.

"Hahaha~ Shizhao, look what I brought back!"

Accompanying the laughter, Emperor Zi'an, in a green regular suit, strode in.

"Your Highness, you're back?" Wang Shizhao paused in his money-counting, instinctively stashing the money away, then looked at him with full curiosity. "Could it be, Your Highness, that you really got the money?"

"Hahaha~ Of course! Do you know who I am? When I, the Emperor's son, personally set out, how could the money not be obtained? Look, look, look at this! A full ten million Immortal Crystals!" Emperor Zi'an pulled out a stack of Immortal Crystal tickets, waved them at Wang Shizhao with a proud smile. "Didn't you say I certainly wouldn't get the money? Humiliated, right?"

The term "humiliated" was something he learned from the younger members of the Wang family. And indeed, using it in this context felt particularly fitting and satisfying.

"Your Highness truly is amazing."

Wang Shizhao looked at the exceedingly smug Emperor Zi'an for a moment, then suddenly reached out to take the stack of Immortal Crystal tickets and swiftly stowed them into his own storage ring. He slowly spoke, "Since that's the case, I will accept this money. Rest assured, Your Highness, I will use every penny wisely and ensure that not a single Copper Coin is wasted where it shouldn't be."

"..." Emperor Zi'an was dumbfounded.

...

Around the same time.

Main Residence of the Wang Family, Idle Man's Residence.

After class, Wang Fugui, with nothing to do, was video chatting with Yun Mengyu through the crystal screen.

The idle Wang Lixian sat nearby, helping relay signals while leafing through the newly released "The Daily Life of the Overbearing Princess," Volume Four. Two extra branches protruded from her sleeves, one holding drinks and the other snacks, appearing quite leisurely.

"Fugui, our Royal Family School is simply boring," Yun Mengyu's complaining voice came through the crystal screen. "The Clan School teacher is so old-fashioned, with too many rules. Most importantly, the learning progress is so slow. At this rate, I'll have to stay in this school for fifty years. The exam content is also repetitive and uninteresting..."

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