I, the Prince, Am Forced to Pretend to Be Poor and Pitiful

Originally titled: Having a Treasury at Home Is Such a Pain

Also known as: Me, a Prince, Working for Free to Fill the Treasury???!!!

What a Disaster, My Private Treasury Was Seized, and Now I Have to Pretend to Be Poor

Me, a Prince, Getting My Money Stolen

Pretending to Be Poor Is the First Step to Getting Rich

Reporting to Your Highness: The Treasury Is Empty, and Your Dad Has Already Collected Taxes Fifty Years into the Future

After spending ten years in the imperial harem, constantly on edge (and having a grand old time), Xiao Zhuoyu had been counting the days until he could leave the capital to travel and study at ten years old. At last, the day arrived.

Rubbing his hands together, ready to go, he was determined to make a fortune on this trip and become a carefree, wealthy prince in name and deed.

Unfortunately, fate was against him. His family had a treasury that had never known what it meant to be "full," and was empty every day.

The moment he stepped out of the capital, the savings he had amassed over the first half of his life were confiscated.

A letter arrived from the capital: "The bank drafts have been redeemed. You'll be paid back someday."

(╬ಠ益ಠ)

Xiao Zhuoyu's blood boiled. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he roared at the heavens, "You dared touch my little nest egg? Just you wait!"

He swore he would storm back to the capital and protect his little treasury.

He thought that if he made money fast enough, the empty treasury would never catch up with the speed at which he saved.

One day, a thunderous voice cried, "Are you stupid?" and the words suddenly enlightened him.

And then...

Xiao Zhuoyu understood.

"Look at that guy. Even his clothes are hand-me-downs nobody else wanted."

"That pauper mooches off everyone for food and drink every day. At this rate, he'll be begging in the street before long."

After hearing what people thought of him, he stroked his chin and pondered for a long while, then slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That's a great idea!"

After returning to the capital, he dressed in his princely robes and begged on the street. He avoided the main roads packed shoulder to shoulder with pedestrians, choosing instead the quiet streets in front of high officials' mansions.

Before long, all the court officials gathered at the Hall of Diligent Governance to impeach Fifth Prince Xiao Zhuoyu, demanding that the emperor confine him again. Their reason: he was damaging the dignity of the royal family.

At that moment, he stood outside the residence of the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, curling his lip in disdain. "As expected, everyone at the Censorate is a pauper. They can't even lend this prince three thousand taels to renovate his princely residence."

Xiao Zhuoyu, who had made poverty stylish and stinginess an art

In public: I'm poor~ I have no money~ Don't come looking for me~ [So poor I'm drinking the northwest wind].JPG

In private: I am the carefree, wealthy prince!! I have free time and money!!! The super-rich kind!!! [Wearing a thick gold chain and laughing with hands on hips].JPG

To stop his little treasury from being confiscated, he would occasionally nag the Crown Prince (the new emperor): Having a treasury at home is such a pain. I have to pretend to be poor and miserable just to save a little pocket money.

PS:

1. The protagonist, Xiao Zhuoyu, transmigrated into a fetus and was a woman in her previous life, but is now a man.

2. A lightly ensemble-cast story.

The third volume of a future series: Westward, Through the Passes, Gazing Toward Chang'an

After becoming the richest man in Great Qi in just five years, Xiao Zhuoyu finally achieved his ultimate goal in life: becoming a carefree, wealthy prince.

His business was thriving, his health was excellent, and his secret identity was safe. Every day he either rode horses and sailed on lakes in the outskirts of the capital, or listened to stories and drank tea in the city. He had money and leisure, a life even immortals would envy.

But he forgot that walking the night roads too often would eventually bring you face to face with a ghost.

Word got out that Young Master Yu, the richest man in Great Qi, was actually Fifth Prince Xiao Zhuoyu. To make matters worse, rumors also spread that Lin Yu was an alias the Fifth Prince had used.

Overnight, Fifth Prince Xiao Zhuoyu became a role model for the sons of officials and the most eligible bachelor among the noblewomen of the capital. Whenever he went out, he caused traffic jams. His handsome, elegant bearing even inspired an upgraded version of the old fruit-throwing custom: people threw fruit so enthusiastically that they injured others.

Emperor Taikang, who had been worrying himself sick over his youngest son's marriage, seized the opportunity to announce that any woman who caught the Fifth Prince's eye could become his principal consort, regardless of her birth.

To escape marriage, Xiao Zhuoyu climbed over the wall and fled the capital in the middle of the night, riding west toward the northwestern frontier.

He had traveled along the southeastern coast, as far as Qiongzhou, the southwestern borderlands, and the northeastern frontier in recent years. It was about time he saw the scenery of the northwest, too.

Xiao Zhuoyang, who had been stationed at the border for years, was astonished to see him. "Didn't you write earlier this month that you planned to laze around in the capital until the end of your days?"

Xiao Zhuoyu raised a hand to his forehead as if shielding his eyes from the sun and admiring the scenery. "I came to see you, and take in the sights of the northwest while I'm at it."

To have an excuse to stay in the northwest long-term, Xiao Zhuoyu traveled thousands of miles to submit a memorial: "Until the lands of Hehuang are restored to the Son of Heaven, I shall not turn my gaze toward home."

He began developing the impoverished frontier: composting to improve the fields, expanding the pastures, and building villas out of bricks and concrete...

Before he knew it, the border city had become a prosperous stronghold famous throughout Great Qi, and tribes ruling the Qinghai and Turpan regions submitted petitions asking to become vassal states of Great Qi.

Xiao Zhuoyu: ...

I did hope to expand the territory and unify the peoples, but I didn't expect it to happen this quickly!

A farming novel coming soon: My Cunning Husband, Please Add It to Your Favorites

Liu Zijin had known since birth that her parents were no ordinary people.

How were they unusual?

Just look at her mother, with her skin like jade and her slender, graceful figure, and her father, handsome and distinguished as a pine tree.

And yet this pair of celestial beings lived in Daliuwan, one managing the household and the other working as a tutor.

With parents so unconventional, their legitimate daughter was naturally bound to follow in their footsteps.

When it was time for her to marry, she set her sights on Chen Dongyu, the famous older bachelor of the neighboring villages.

Overnight, she became the peony blooming on a pile of cow dung, famous throughout the area.

And that wasn't all. Less than ten days into her marriage, she was forced into mourning and saddled with a reputation for being ill-fated and bringing death to her relatives.

In the eyes of her cousins, all genuinely wealthy and beautiful peonies, Liu Zijin was brainless and had no taste, throwing herself at a poor peasant.

Only Liu Zijin knew how pleasant married life was.

On their wedding night, her husband handed over control of the household finances. She had a huge dowry and never had to worry about money. Her parents-in-law were on her side, and she could openly sleep in a separate room from her husband. When she felt like baking, she was showered with praise; when she felt like loafing around, she could sleep until late morning without anyone bothering her.

When the village started gossiping that the Chen family had married a lazy wife, her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law were the first to storm over and curse them out.

What a comfortable life.

Of course, even a comfortable life had its troubles. After they married, her clumsy, plainspoken husband suddenly seemed like a different person. The usually thrifty Chen Dongyu never seemed to have enough spending money.

And in her bedroom, a new pot of flowers would appear one day, and a pair of earrings in her jewelry box the next.

Liu Zijin watched Chen Dongyu hold out his hand for money. She turned around, rummaged through the box containing the family's funds, and handed him five coins. "From now on, your daily allowance is reduced to five coins."

Chen Dongyu protested. "What can five coins buy? It isn't even enough to get you a bowl of sweet soup and cake."

Her almond-shaped eyes flashed like knives, and Chen Dongyu immediately fell silent, trying to placate her. "My dear, my dear, your husband was wrong."

Liu Zijin said, "Speak properly."

Chen Dongyu said, "You've worked so hard managing the household, dear. Let me massage your shoulders."

From then on, he gave her presents once a month, and never the same thing twice.

She watched as, after his allowance was cut, Chen Dongyu's gifts to her gradually upgraded from wooden hairpins and wildflowers to becoming the wife of a top scholar and a first-rank noblewoman.

Chen Dongyu had someone in his heart, but the difference in their family circumstances had kept him from ever saying anything. He put off marriage again and again until he became an old bachelor.

His grandmother was clinging to life just long enough to see him married, and the whole family blamed him for being unfilial. Annoyed, Chen Dongyu went out for a walk.

That walk led him straight to a marriage.

After they married, he accidentally learned that his wife didn't like him at all and had married him hastily just to escape an arranged marriage.

He didn't show it, but he was extremely relieved. He must have been lucky, or else, among all the young men in Daliuwan who were eligible for marriage, she wouldn't have chosen him.

Then came a deep sense of crisis. Every day, he lived in fear that his wife might divorce him and leave at any moment.

From then on, Chen Dongyu had three daily worries: What surprise should he give his wife today? Had she developed even a little affection for him today? Had her desire to divorce him weakened even a little today?

Reading guide:

1. A farming novel about a transmigrated woman who wants to raise someone, only to discover that she's the one being raised.

2. A sweet romance about a reserved ancient-era male lead whose secret crush finally becomes his wife.

3. The heroine comes from an extraordinary family, though it has little impact on the story.

Theme: Enjoy every day of working hard