Chapter 404

What was supposed to be a glorious conferral of titles turned into a donation.

The top scholar and second placed scholar who were supposed to stand out extraordinarily ended up highlighting the third placed scholar's uniqueness.

No wonder Fang Yuanchun was gentle and mild, no wonder the Fang family was calm and composed.

The original collection of wealth tax was blurred into a donation. The Fang family was forced to act reluctantly, but in the blink of an eye, it became voluntary.

The key was that collecting the wealth tax was difficult. By coincidentally making a one-time donation, they could still get the favor of the emperor. Clever aristocratic families would not refuse.

Such as the Zhu family, the Tao family, the Qiu family, the Zhou family, the Meng family, etc.

Plus there was the Eldest Prince. The Imperial Court could at least accumulate 300,000 taels of silver. It would be enough for the border soldiers to eat their fill, dress warmly and get through the whole winter. It could also explain why he was particularly relaxed and elated today.

The Fang family should have communicated with the Emperor in advance. The aristocratic families that donated were mostly from their faction.

On the contrary, the Jiang family, the Dou family and so on, were all frowning and hesitating about whether or not to follow suit.

If they followed along, all the benefits would be taken by the Fang family. It would be no different than helping Fang Yuan accomplish his goals.

If they didn't follow along, they were afraid of leaving a lump in the emperor's heart. The later they put out money, the less impact it would have.

The Fang family had figured out beautifully how to make enemy families work hard without gaining anything.

Xu Mo lowered his head. The first thing he thought of was not the chagrin of having the limelight taken away or the embarrassment of the Jiang and Dou families. Rather, it was that since the Eldest Prince could make an appearance, it meant that the Fang family's actions were not solely to regain their reputation.

They should also have a backup plan.

The purpose of the Fang family supporting the Eldest Prince was nothing more than to seize the position of Crown Prince, making all the princes lackluster to highlight the only bright star.

Would they strike at the Fifth Prince?

Would the Fifth Prince stand up?

Something he was quite worried about now carried a few more expectations because of this speculation.

At this time, the Imperial Academy scholar had recorded the amounts of money and silver donated by the various families.

As the Heavenly Family looked at the dazzling numbers, his face was full of satisfaction and benevolence. "Hong'er has only set up his household for two years. He doesn't have much family business. These fifty thousand taels must have taken you a long time to accumulate."

The Eldest Prince took the opportunity to stand up from the ground and said vigorously, "It is the duty of the prince to share worries with my father and relieve the Dayu Dynasty of its troubles."

"As the eldest brother, I should set an example for my younger brothers and sisters to follow. Only if I do better can my younger siblings learn from my example and care about our people."

Here he comes. The Fang family was clearly not satisfied with regaining their reputation. They still had to squeeze out enemy families and other princes while they were at it. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.

The Fang family, the Tao family, the Zhu family and others had donated so much silver. The Jiang family, the Dou family, the Yao family and others were somewhat murmuring about whether or not to follow suit.

The Eldest Prince had donated 50,000 taels of silver. As princes, could the Second, Fourth and Fifth Princes really not murmur?

What would the Heavenly Family think? Would he expect his sons to also donate? Or understand that they didn't have money to turn down the request?

The answer was obvious.

"Hong'er's kind intentions deserve praise. Hundreds of thousands of border soldiers will be grateful to you." The Heavenly Family's tone was slow, as if to give the other imperial princes a chance to speak up.

The aristocratic families led by Jiang Jizong were still hesitating about what to do.

Suddenly, Steward Wu took two steps forward and whispered in the Heavenly Family's ear loud enough for everyone to hear, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Second Prince has arrived saying that he is preparing 10,000 taels of silver to show his intentions."

As soon as he finished speaking, he glanced at the side hall and added, "The Third Princess also said that she is willing to jointly donate 10,000 taels of silver with Consort Min."

The Second Prince's mother was not prominent, and he was only half a year younger than the Eldest Prince. He had set up his household two years ago but didn't have many assets. 10,000 taels was his limit.

The Third Princess was not out of the palace yet and had few assets. Fortunately, Consort Min had a powerful family backing her up to take out this 10,000 taels.

The Heavenly Family was clearly very clear about his children's situations and nodded in satisfaction.

But he still did not respond, seeming to be waiting for others to continue donating.

The aristocratic families hesitated, gradually becoming motivated and discussing the amount in hushed voices.

The formerly tranquil Taihe Hall became noisy. The successful examination candidates who were supposed to be the center of attention were completely marginalized.

Some were unhappy and gritted their teeth. "The Eldest Prince and Fang, the examination top scorer, did this on purpose. Donating at this time is deliberately making us unhappy."

Others understood the scheme behind it and whispered, "We were just affected. The real goal of the Eldest Prince and Fang family should be the Fifth Prince."

"Fifth Prince?" Xu Mo blurted out in surprise.

"Yes, the Fifth Prince," the previous person said even more quietly. "The Second Prince's mother is not prominent but has long established his own household. The Third Princess relies on a powerful family. The Fourth Prince's mother is also a Noble Consort. Taking out 10,000 taels is no problem."

"Only the Fifth Prince - not to mention his mother passed away early, even his maternal family has declined. Let alone 10,000 taels, even 5,000 would be difficult."

Even if he took it out, there would still be expenses for food, clothing, housing and transportation in the future, as well as social connections.

He was still a prince after all. He couldn't live worse off than the palace maids and eunuchs.

Just when the Second Prince and Third Princess followed suit, although the Fourth Prince made no moves, he probably couldn't escape either.

As the heir to the throne, still holding the orthodox position, if the Fifth Prince did not donate at least 10,000 taels, it would be indefensible and he would lose popular support.

No matter how hard the Crown Prince tried in the future, he would have no fate with that position.

The Fang family's move was brilliant.

Xu Mo couldn't help but start worrying about the Fifth Prince, even though he had not confirmed it was his young Fifth Brother.

"This scheme is not easy to break," the voice sighed before gradually fading away.

The noisy Taihe Hall also quieted down accordingly. The aristocratic families seemed to have finished their discussion. Led by Jiang Jizong, they had just taken half a step forward when a hoarse, weak voice rang out from the side hall. "Replying to Father Emperor, your son has come late."

The person deliberately suppressed his voice, but you could still hear him panting a little, as if he had rushed over.

This could both explain his anxious lateness and eliminate any displeasure in the Heavenly Family's heart. It also told everyone present that he valued this donation.

Jiang Jizong, who had already decided to donate, drew back his leg, not wanting to compete with the prince to speak.

Everyone in the main hall looked up together, wanting to know how much this prince would donate.

Then they waited and waited, but there was never an announcement of 10,000 taels.

Even the Heavenly Family couldn't sit still and used his voice to remind, "Wu[fifth son], what are you doing coming to the Taihe Hall?"

It was the Fifth Prince!

Xu Mo immediately pricked up his ears. His heart shook uncontrollably as he tried to distinguish a familiar voice.

"Replying to Father Emperor," there was silence over there for a moment before he finally spoke up. "Your son has come to offer a strategy."

"So many aristocratic families have donated money and silver, made contributions to the dynasty. This should be rewarded," the Fifth Prince spoke slowly, still making his usual lead in before refuting. "But the Taihe Hall has limited capacity after all. It can neither recognize the families nor have a celebration banquet. Therefore, your son dares to ask Father Emperor to select an appropriate day to hold a Spring Reward Banquet to specially recognize families willing to make donations."

There was a very clever word choice here - willing to make donations, rather than have already made donations.

As the Fifth Prince said, the Taihe Hall had limited capacity. It could only accommodate first to third rank officials and could not cover all the wealthy households in Fengjing.

The Fang family's idea was ingenious, forcing the aristocratic families to donate.

But the Fifth Prince's idea was even more brilliant - having the entire Fengjing donate money along with them.

You just had to look at the Heavenly Family's instantly brightened eyes to know this reached his heart. The Fang family's clever plan had indirectly helped the Fifth Prince too.

As for the resentment caused by proposing donations...sorry, but it was the Fang family who made the proposal. The resentment should be attributed to the Fang family as well.

If this was not the Taihe Hall, if there were not so many people here, Xu Mo would have applauded and shouted brilliant.

At the same time, he became more and more certain that this person was none other than his young Fifth Brother.

Only at a long banquet could the enemy be made to lose face without any power to retaliate. You just had to look at Fang Yuan and the Eldest Prince's instantly lost smiles to know they were unhappy with this proposal but had no grounds to refuse it.

Because the Heavenly Family was happy. The Heavenly Family agreed to it while they...were just trying to make the Heavenly Family happy in the first place.

"This Emperor has truly given birth to several good princes." The man on the dragon throne was extremely delighted. "As little Wu said, set a date for a Spring Reward Banquet. All you ministers should come as well."

Of course they had to come and donate money.

Some ministers smiled bitterly, some were helpless, and some were satisfied.

Whether willing or not, the conferrals still had to proceed unhurriedly.

The first class was already arranged properly. Now it was the turn of the second class, as well as the third class.

Hundreds of successful examination candidates became the protagonists again. Some kowtowed, some gave thanks, some were excited, and some were moved to tears.

After waiting until it finally ended, Xu Mo could no longer restrain himself and wholeheartedly sought to see the Fifth Prince.