Yun Ye and Li Tai supported each other as they ran to a pile of fodder. Their legs so weak they couldn’t walk any further, they plunged headfirst into the haystack and didn’t move. The violent beating of their hearts seemed audible.

Yun Ye’s hand reached under Li Tai’s neck to feel his pulse, while Li Tai’s hand reached under Yun Ye’s neck to do the same. After checking, the two exchanged glances and lay in the haystack not daring to move. What just happened was truly too frightening—their hearts were still pounding like drums. Still in shock, they saw Li Ke also limping over. Unable to jump up, he softly leaned against their feet.

“Xiao Ye, Qingque, I have something to tell you—don’t laugh. I wet my pants.” Li Ke said quietly with a dark expression.

Funny? Not funny at all. If the two of them hadn’t walked away quickly, they wouldn’t be in much better shape right now.

“Let’s lie here and wait for my eldest brother. I estimate the torment he’s enduring is more than ten times worse than ours. I swear, even if Father Emperor passes the throne to me in the future, I won’t do it. A few more times of this, and what wise king will I become? More like a wise ghost.”

“Qingque, I just want to live a life of romantic pleasure, prosperity, and peace. Do you believe me or not?”

“I believe you. Why wouldn’t I? Is that position fun? Only eldest brother has that inclination. Whoever among us wants it is the world’s biggest fool.”

Yun Ye listened to these two brothers confessing their innermost thoughts to each other—he truly wanted to cry but had no tears. This was a natural reaction after suffering severe fright. Li Er had chosen his timing well! Originally, this matter had nothing to do with him whatsoever, but Li Er deliberately kept him there to say these things in order to break through everyone’s psychological defenses. If he didn’t know when to advance or retreat, his fate would probably be miserable.

Because he was the first to withdraw, he gave the other two an excuse to retreat, finally leaving Li Chengqian alone to be thoroughly disciplined. These past days, Li Er must have learned about all the circumstances of his three eldest sons through various channels. Tonight he did it deliberately.

“You two bastards, suffering like this is understandable because you’re princes. What am I? Just being used by His Majesty as an example. Next time I need to stay far away from you—too dangerous.”

With trembling hands, Yun Ye pulled out his wine flask from his robe, took a gulp himself, then gave it to Li Tai. Li Tai tried twice to get it to his mouth but couldn’t aim properly. Finally grasping it with both hands, he gulped down a large mouthful. Still panting, he passed it to Li Ke at his feet. Li Ke had just taken it but hadn’t had time to drink when they heard Li Chengqian’s trembling voice: “Don’t finish it—leave me some.”

After all four of them had drunk wine, they finally felt somewhat better. Li Chengqian unbuttoned his clothes, exhaled deeply and said, “You all ran away. I was like being in a furnace, suffering torment! Father Emperor said to me…”

Halfway through his words, three palms covered his mouth. Li Tai said irritably, “Don’t say it out loud. Just keep it to yourself. Better that you alone are unlucky than all four of us being unlucky together.”

Li Chengqian angrily pried the three hands off his mouth, panting heavily without speaking. After a while, he started spitting, asking as he spat, “Whose hand was on the bottom just now? Why does it smell like piss?”

Yun Ye and Li Tai chuckled without speaking. Li Ke said quietly, “I was so scared I wet my pants earlier.”

Li Chengqian nodded to show he understood. Wetting one’s pants at this time really wasn’t shameful. If he himself hadn’t experienced battlefield combat, he might have wet his pants too. That passage Father Emperor spoke with such warmth was truly too frightening.

“Are we still going to do our business? If you three are backing out, I’m planning to return to my Sichuan fief to recuperate for a while. I don’t want to stay in Chang’an anymore.” Li Ke suddenly asked irritably.

“I don’t know what those two will do, but I’m planning to go home and seclude myself to farm, keep my wife company, and try to have another child this year.” Yun Ye said lazily. Now he had completely figured it out—he was just the Emperor’s shill, used to test and discipline his sons. Actually, there wasn’t much danger. That speech had nothing to do with him.

“I’m planning to go down into the underground of Wude Hall and not come out. Eldest brother, you’re on your own. No, I’m going down tonight.” Li Tai struggled down from the haystack, called over his guards, and was helped to his carriage. Li Ke also followed and left. Only Yun Ye and Li Chengqian remained on the haystack looking at the moon.

“Stop looking. We’re not heavenly dogs—no matter how much we look at that moon, it won’t be missing a piece. Think of a solution! This can’t go on. I don’t care about when I become Emperor, but if I can’t do things, then what am I living for? The currency matter has just been rolled out. If I don’t watch over it, there might be trouble.”

“Shut up! Do you think you’re the only capable person in the world and everyone else is useless? Believe it or not, many people have been pushing this matter from behind to make it what it is now. Your Father Emperor isn’t worried about his throne at all. You three brothers together aren’t enough for him to chew on.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we four are already the four most capable people in the world. Haha! I go on campaign and beat Goguryeo until they’re pissing themselves. The currency you created is very beautiful and meets standards. Money houses have spread throughout prefectures. Qingque first created the textile machine and is now presiding over gunpowder. People who don’t know think Qingque does nothing, but those who know the inside story understand how important Qingque’s position is. Little Ke reduced the palace’s expenses by thirty percent with one move. Hahaha! Truly four outstanding ones. Outsiders might think that if these four join hands, even His Majesty would have to yield three parts.”

Li Chengqian rolled up with a start and said sternly to Yun Ye, “The money house and currency reform are my life’s work. I must carry them through. Such a good thing—I can’t let it never see the light of day.” After speaking, he pulled out a handful of coins from his robe, spread them in his hand for Yun Ye to see.

Looking at the tearful Li Chengqian, Yun Ye knew he had already submitted. If he hadn’t submitted, his expression at this moment should have been resolute instead.

“Listen to me. Hand the money house over to the Ministry of Revenue, hand the currency over to the Minting Bureau. I’ll hand the fleet over to Liu Renyuan. We two will go farm. This year we’ll harvest lots of potatoes, corn, plus the pumpkins at my house. Forgot to tell you—I also planted over a hundred acres of melons. Not to mention things like sesame. We’ll have plenty to keep us busy. Tomorrow I’ll go home, you attend court. Hand over the matters in your hands clearly. Bring your group of wives and live at Yushan. You don’t like living in the Eastern Palace anyway. I guarantee no one will criticize you this time.”

“The Ministry of Revenue doesn’t understand how to measure currency quantities. This requires calculating gold reserves at the money house before issuing currency. If they make too much, it won’t benefit the people—it will harm them, worse than war.”

“You’re overthinking it. The Ministry of Revenue will handle it well. Write up all the details of the matter into documents and hand them over. Also send over all the materials from these years. Don’t hold anything back yourself. Of course, don’t mention some of our speculative results. Those are all immature ideas—handing them over will just invite ridicule. This is called hiding one’s inadequacies.”

“It’s all your Li family’s foundation. You don’t want these people messing around either, right? Explain everything clearly, and we’ll go farm, row boats, sing songs, hunt, and live the happy life of farmers. You only have one son right now—too few. You need at least three. Hou Shi has been dragging my wife around to worship at nearly every temple and Daoist monastery in Chang’an. Can you give her a child? Stop her from constantly bothering my wife and interfering with my family having children.”

Li Chengqian began rolling around on the haystack, tossing the horses’ fodder everywhere. Finally, with a forehead full of dry grass, he said viciously, “Fine, I’ll hand it all over, not keeping a bit. If they turn things into a disaster for the country and people, I won’t let any of them off.”

“Stop bragging. The Minister of Revenue is your uncle. If he messes up, can you touch a hair on his head? Once you let go, don’t think about it. This year we brothers will compete at having children. One child passes, two children is excellent, three children is perfect. That’s it. Go back to your Eastern Palace. Your father left long ago. If he doesn’t leave the palace gate open for you, that would be terrible.”

Watching Li Chengqian leave through the camp gate, Yun Ye cradled the back of his head and returned to his tent. There were still people in the tent—Liu Fang was playing chess with Wu She, both waiting for Yun Ye. Today’s homecoming celebration had finally truly concluded.

“I saw His Majesty leave alone. Not one of you saw him off. What happened?” Wu She asked Yun Ye slowly. Based on his experience, Wu She could tell that tonight’s conversation between Li Er and the four of them hadn’t been very pleasant.

“His Majesty taught us a discipline called ‘Success Studies.’ He said that as long as you think it, you can achieve it. It scared us senseless. Li Ke was so frightened he wet his pants. I spent half the day calming down on the haystack before I had the strength to walk back.”

Liu Fang put down his piece and looked up to ask Yun Ye, “So what do you plan to do after you go home?”

“What else can I do? Give the soldiers half a month’s leave. After they return, they’ll all roll down to Lingnan to demand grain from the natives. Making a few more trips would be good. I’ll go home to teach and farm. For several years, I don’t plan to leave Yushan.”

Liu Fang and Wu She exchanged glances, nodded, and put away the chess board. Hunching their bodies, they went back to their own tents to rest. Yun Ye’s response had no errors whatsoever. They had worried for nothing.

This night, he slept very soundly. The military camp was completely quiet. In the morning, when the rooster had only just crowed once, the kitchen staff had already begun preparing breakfast. When Liu Jinbao brought breakfast to Yun Ye, he was still sleeping sweetly. Not daring to wake the Marquis, because whenever the Marquis returned to Chang’an, his bad morning temper flared up terribly—whoever woke him got beaten.

The soldiers finished eating early and all stared eagerly at the camp gate. The money house manager had promised to come to the camp today to cash the soldiers’ exchange notes. The rooster had already crowed three times and there was still no sign of anyone.

“Sixth Brother, they’re not coming, are they?” a new recruit asked the veteran anxiously. The veteran, who was slowly trimming his nails with a knife, rolled his eyes and said, “Only you’re impatient. Look what time it is now. Chang’an’s city gates haven’t even opened yet. How can the money house people get out of the city gate?”