Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Chapter 197: Touching a Tiger! (2 / 2)

The Crown Prince coughed lightly.

He thought the same, to be honest.

“This idea has potential. What do you think, Xu Lang?”

Xu Yanmiao thought it over seriously before responding, “Your subject is not well-versed in commerce and dares not speak rashly. Perhaps it would be better to consult Madam Cen?”

Madam Cen was the wife of the Minister of Works and currently served as an official in the Commercial Bureau. She managed issues related to paper currency for the Emperor and acted as an economic advisor.

The Crown Prince considered this and agreed.

“Specialization matters. For matters involving money, it’s best to consult an expert. Let’s go!”

Xu Yanmiao blinked at him.

The Crown Prince winked back. “After a tiger has eaten, it loses its ferocity. If you want to touch one, now’s your chance.”

For the first time in both his lives, Xu Yanmiao touched the striped fur of a tiger. That night, he dreamed of a big cat cuddling up to him playfully.

As for his grievances about being forced to work overtime? Long forgotten.

After consulting Madam Cen on the money house proposal, the Crown Prince rewrote a memorial on how money houses could stimulate economic circulation and presented it during the Grand Court Assembly for the Emperor’s consideration.

The Crown Prince’s rare enthusiasm to take on responsibilities delighted the old Emperor, who readily approved the proposal. Not only did the Emperor heap praise upon Cui Yi, who had suggested the money house policy, but he also assigned several officials from the Treasury Bureau to accompany the Crown Prince. Among them was Madam Cen.

The Minister of Works: “…”

When my wife was engaged in commerce, I often slept alone. Now that she doesn’t need to engage in commerce anymore, I still end up sleeping alone.

Forget it. I’ll look into how I can support her—maybe designing a money house voucher that’s difficult to counterfeit would be a good start.

The Crown Prince and his entourage quickly set out for a few populous cities, intending to conduct pilot programs for the money house policy. If the results were promising, the plan would then be implemented nationwide.

Meanwhile, when Prince Fu, dragging his two crippled legs, arrived in the capital, he was stunned.

“What did you say? The Crown Prince isn’t in the capital?” he blurted out. “Where could a cripple like him possibly go?”

The informant: “…”

The old Emperor, who received a secret report from the Jinyiwei in the palace: “…”

“No need for a trial. Strip him of his title and send him to guard the imperial tomb.”

A criminal only has the chance to clear their name or curry favor during a trial, appealing to the sympathies of those in power. Denying a trial altogether was the ultimate abandonment.

When Prince Fu received the decree, he was incredulous.

“How can this be? Father, do you have no regard for the bonds of father and son? Father —Father —”

The Jinyiwei Commander stuffed a cloth ball into Prince Fu’s mouth and said coldly, “Quiet, your whining is irritating.”

He personally escorted Prince Fu to the imperial tombs and dismissed all his subordinates.

Though called an imperial tomb, the founding Emperor wasn’t even dead yet. The area was remote and desolate, with no passing merchants. Saying it was a duty to guard the tomb was merely a pretext; it was effectively a soft imprisonment.

Prince Fu: “Mmm—mmm—mmm—mmm—”

“Mm—”

His eyes widened in shock as the Jinyiwei Commander deliberately kicked the leg that still had feeling.

You bastard! This is outrageous! This is—ah!

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, the Commander stepped on his dried blood-stained toenail and ground it underfoot.

The pain made Prince Fu tremble all over, breaking out in a cold sweat.

The Jinyiwei Commander’s face remained impassive.

This scum deserved to be thrown into boiling water to have his skin scalded off! When the Commander had rescued those enslaved dancing girls with bound feet, he’d found his own kidnapped sister among them, drugged and abducted.

Every time he thought of his sister’s broken foot bones, frail frame, and trembling demeanor, his face would grow hot with tears.

He clenched his teeth and vowed: If this man ever has a single peaceful day in the imperial tombs, he would personally resign from his post!

Author’s Notes:

About raising tigers: “To paint tigers, observe them first. Zhang’s beard and aura flow from his brush’s tip. Finishing the eyes, the strokes fly from the paper; under the dark moon and cold winds, the grass shivers.”

—From To Zhang Shanzi, Part 1

(Tiger enthusiast Zhang Shanzi raised two tigers just to paint them vividly.)

Money houses, as they’re just gaining popularity in the story, are inspired by historical references:

In the fifth year of the Wanli Emperor (1577), a well-known Ming dynasty minister skilled in financial management, Pang Shangpeng, submitted a proposal to establish commercial banks. He suggested that wealthy merchants in towns pool their resources to create money houses. Shortly thereafter, along the golden waterways of Jiangnan (the lower reaches of the Suzhou River to the Songjiang area of present-day Shanghai), many large and small money houses were established, leading to the prosperity of these institutions during the Ming dynasty.

By the late Ming dynasty, money houses had become an independent and emerging industry. These institutions were no longer limited to currency exchange; they also handled deposit and loan services. The money vouchers they issued later evolved into something akin to modern banknotes.

—Excerpt from Living the Ming Dynasty Life

At that time, depositing money in a money house had no interest and required an insurance fee:

The most critical point was that deposits at Ming dynasty money houses did not accrue interest. Interest was only applied to loans, and depositors were required to pay a small insurance fee. This fee guaranteed the safety of the deposited funds.

The renowned monetary historian Peng Xinwei wrote in A Monetary History of China:

“China’s money houses developed loan services from currency exchange, but deposit services did not progress during the Ming dynasty. Neither public entities nor private individuals deposited their silver in money houses; instead, they buried it underground in vaults, making it inaccessible for utilization.”

In other words, even if you deposited 10,000 silver taels in a Ming dynasty money house, you would not receive any interest, which was why many preferred to bury their wealth underground rather than deposit it in a money house.

—Excerpt from Living the Ming Dynasty Life