My Emperor Father Can Read Minds

The meeting with the noble families took place in Yuanyang. Those present included Wei Yu, the Second Prince, and Gongsun Yi.

As far as Wei Yu was concerned, he wasn’t particularly wary of the aristocratic clans of Yizhou.

After all, when it came to cracking down on noble families, he had five thousand years of Chinese history to draw from. Coupled with his naturally noble identity as a prince and having the Emperor as his backing, there was simply a lot Wei Yu could do!

It all depended on whether he was willing or not.

As they say, brute force can break all spells, and technology is the primary productive force. Wei Yu held the most advanced technology. In his eyes, the various noble families and merchants of Yizhou weren’t much different.

As long as things were run properly, even noble families could make money for him!

They were all just tools.

With this mindset, before meeting the representatives of the noble families, Wei Yu had been considering whether he should coax them or deceive them. But in the end, neither approach was necessary.

The two clan heads who showed up had such a good attitude!

Inside the Prefect’s residence in Yuanyang, the Second Prince sat at the main seat. Wei Yu sat on the lower left, and Gongsun Yi on the right. The three of them were watching the two people performing their bows.

“Commoner Sun Xizhao, head of the Sun family of Yizhou, pays respects to His Highness the Prince Chen, and to His Highness the Wise King.”

“Commoner Xie Liang, head of the Xie family of Yizhou…”

Wei Yu had inquired about the noble families of Yizhou before coming, so as soon as he heard their surnames, he knew who they were.

His gaze swept over their respectful faces, and he picked up his teacup to drink on his own.

Right now, his Second Brother was present, so it wasn’t his place to take charge yet.

After the two family heads finished their bows, the Second Prince smiled gently and said, “The two of you have come from afar. It must have been tiring. Please, sit.”

Sun Xizhao lowered his eyes and smiled modestly, pretending to be ashamed as he said, “Your Highness is too kind. Though the journey was long, once we thought about the foolish things we’ve done these past years, we felt so guilty we couldn’t be concerned with anything else.”

Hmm?

Wei Yu glanced at the middle-aged man in blue who looked cultured and gentle. He raised an eyebrow and, using the teacup to cover his mouth, chuckled quietly.

This man wasn’t being honest—he was probably about to stir up some trouble.

Since the opening remark had been made, the Second Prince continued with a mild smile and asked, “Oh? Is that so? Then may I ask, what is it that troubles Family Head Sun with guilt?”

Sun Xizhao sighed, face full of remorse. “It’s shameful to say. Our family is in Yizhou, and for years, all the white sugar consumed by the people of Great Wei has been produced by us. My Sun family and three others had a mutual agreement—we didn’t want the price of sugar to be too high, hoping all people could enjoy it and live peacefully. It was meant as a good deed. But as time passed, naturally there were those with ulterior motives…”

Xie Liang sighed from the side as well. “Indeed. Many produce sugar in Yizhou. We’re just ordinary households—we couldn’t force everyone to abide by our agreement. Back and forth like that, the original rules fell apart.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

The Second Prince smiled as if he understood, but then asked, “Given that, why have you two clan heads come here this time?”

Sun Xizhao smiled respectfully. “Now that the court has taken the initiative to set regulations for white sugar, we are naturally overjoyed…”

Before he could finish, Wei Yu, who had been silent, suddenly interrupted him.

“Overjoyed about what?”

Sun Xizhao paused slightly.

Wei Yu looked at him. His smile, unlike the Second Prince’s calm and mutually understood politeness, held a kind of unrestrained curiosity.

“Your families have no titles or ranks. What does the people’s peace and happiness have to do with you? The court setting a price on sugar—it’s clearly cutting into your profits. You’re not angry, but actually happy? Isn’t that treating me and my Second Brother like fools?”

Sun Xizhao: ?

Blunt.

Too damn blunt!

The rhythm thrown off, Sun Xizhao quietly took a breath. Xie Liang also frowned subtly.

Just now, things had been going smoothly with the Prince Chen—everyone knew what was really going on beneath the surface—so why did the Wise King suddenly jump in, like some chaos-stirring stick? Why couldn’t he follow the usual playbook?

A few rounds of back-and-forth would’ve been fine!

The Second Prince’s mouth twitched.

He glanced at his Ninth Brother and also felt this kid was being too blunt. After all, those two were heads of major families in Yizhou. To tear away their face like this was rather inappropriate.

Thinking this, the Second Prince gently called, “Ninth Brother, don’t be rude.”

Wei Yu turned his head, gave his Second Brother a well-behaved smile, then—as if he hadn’t understood what the Second Prince meant—said to himself, “Second Brother, I just think they’re being dishonest. All the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit. Cutting off someone’s money is like killing their parents. They’re not angry, and even say they’re happy? Clearly fake!”

The two family heads: …

Damn it, since you know that, why are you cutting into our profits!!

The Second Prince was left speechless by this even blunter statement.

“Ah, actually, speaking of the sugar formula, I really do know where it came from.”

This sudden remark stunned all four in the room.

The Second Prince gave him a thoughtful glance, then silently picked up his tea again.

Sun and Xie family heads both sharply turned to stare at Wei Yu, eyes blazing, eager to find out right then who had cut off their profit stream so they could send someone to kill them!

However, Wei Yu acted as though he didn’t notice their reactions. He changed posture and continued leisurely, “But really, the source doesn’t matter much. The court’s sugar recipe is now available to anyone. Whether or not you know the source isn’t important.”

Sun and Xie family heads: !

How is it not important?

Where did it come from, say it already!

Say it and they’d definitely send someone to chop that bastard who gave the court the formula!

Wei Yu, grinning, looked at the two thoroughly disappointed men and suddenly said, “But if it were me, I wouldn’t be this short-sighted.”

Huh?

Short-sighted??

Sun Xizhao almost laughed from anger.

He’d been the family head for years and had never been called short-sighted.

Xie Liang cupped his hands and asked Wei Yu, “This humble one is dull. May I ask what Your Highness means by that?”

Wei Yu glanced at him and held out one hand. “You want to know? Pay up. I never work for free.”

Xie Liang froze again at the gesture, frowning deeply. He couldn’t figure out what this Wise King was trying to do.

They’d never heard much about this prince before, but based on his behavior, he was a reckless brat who didn’t know how to read the room! He acted with no pattern or sense!

While Xie Liang was pondering, Sun Xizhao removed the warm jade from his waist and held it up toward Wei Yu.

“This warm jade is worth a thousand gold. May I ask if it’s enough for Your Highness to clear our doubts?”

Wow!

A thousand gold!

Wei Yu couldn’t help but covet it.

He nodded. “Certainly. Hand it over.”

With the jade in hand, smooth and warm to the touch, delicate and fine—it really was a premium piece.

Wei Yu had already noticed it when Sun Xizhao entered. Now that he had it, he couldn’t help but marvel: noble families really are rich.

Definitely worth sweet-talking a bit.