My Emperor Father Can Read Minds
Chapter 45

Wei Yu had said he’d “raid” them, but in fact he didn’t trouble anyone else.

He went straight to his father.

Under the Son of Heaven’s feet, how could anyone be allowed to run rampant with loan shark?!

Going to his father about it was absolutely the correct move!

Wei Yu arrived just in time for his father’s dinner.

The emperor’s meals were good—dishes Wei Yu normally never got to taste.

He could save a little silver and still enjoy the feast; such a perfect win‑win only demanded a thick skin to endure his father’s scowl.

Fortunately, Wei Yu had no shame to lose.

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, father and son sat together at the same table, each eating their fill.

There were over twenty dishes. Emperor Wei ate with refined manners, Li Cheng beside him occasionally offering a bite, while Wei Yu opposite looked like he wished for eight arms to shovel food and rice nonstop.

“Mmm, Father, this meat is done well—no gamey taste at all; impressive… this meat, too, though it’s a bit sweet… hiss, this vegetable is somewhat bitter—must be the seasoning…”

He talked so much, utterly ignoring the rule that one says nothing while eating.

Emperor Wei chewed, watching coldly as Wei Yu complained over each bite and yet stuffed them down as fast as possible, his mind a blank.

Emperor Wei: …

Truly someone who only knows how to eat.

—

Relying on the fact that the emperor was his father, Wei Yu knew he wouldn’t be punished over a small matter, so he ate his fill in comfort.

After rinsing and tidying up, Emperor Wei sat on the cushioned couch, sipping tea, and asked, “You never visit when there’s nothing, but when there’s something. Before, you were dodging me—afraid I’d come looking for you again, weren’t you?”

His tone felt off.

Smart Wei Yu immediately deflated.

He chuckled, settled onto the other couch, propped his hand on the table, and said solicitously, “No, no, how could I hide from you? Hearing you say that was so frightening. I’m so filial—if I weren’t busy with studies lately, I’d come every day to pay respects!”

“Oh? Is that so? Then tomorrow I’ll ask the Grand Tutor to give you fewer assignments. You can come every day to pay respects.”

Oh no!

Wei Yu snapped his mouth shut, determined not to touch that dangerous topic again.

He thought for a moment, recalling the sugar‑refining and steel‑forging formulas he’d given his father.

Being lazy, he’d never followed up, so he truly had no idea, after nearly half a month, how far they’d progressed.

So he asked, “Father, has the sugar yield increased with the formula I provided?”

He didn’t ask about the steel forging—knowing too much might cause trouble.

After all, copper and iron were precious in ancient times, their trade strictly controlled by the court, and craftsmen registered and regulated.

Wei Yu wasn’t vying for influence or power there, so he didn’t need to know the steel progress.

At mention of sugar yield, delight visibly lit up Emperor Wei’s face.

He gave Wei Yu an encouraging smile, his eyes glinting. “Yes, your sugar formula is indeed effective.”

Emperor Wei set down his teacup, voice a little excited. “I had Pei Zhi test it. He sent a hundred jin of mulberry bark from Jiaozhou. Normally, Jiaozhou’s bark yields one jin of sugar per eighteen jin of bark, but with your method, only about eleven jin are needed! That’s nearly a fifty‑percent saving!”

He still remembered how thrilled he’d been two days ago when Pei Zhi presented the refined white sugar to him.

Though Wei Yu’s method was somewhat cumbersome, saving nearly half the raw material—so what if it was a bit more tedious?

The sugar it produced was even purer white!

Emperor Wei rubbed his hands. “Jiaozhou’s bark isn’t as good as Yizhou’s. Yizhou only needs fifteen jin. If we used Yizhou’s bark for the new sugar, we’d save even more. Alas…”

“Alas what?” Wei Yu blurted.

“Alas how many great clans are entrenched in Yizhou.”

Emperor Wei sighed and glanced at him. “Were it not for all those clans in Yizhou, every time the court sent an inspector to regulate sugar prices, they wouldn’t always return empty‑handed.”

[Officials colluding with merchants? Money‑for‑power deals? Corruption?]

Those very terms popped into Wei Yu’s mind.

“Money‑for‑power deals?”

Emperor Wei who heard this mused and nodded, “It seems you do understand officialdom after all.”

Wei Yu gave a dry smile.

Understand? He’d just watched too many TV dramas—especially anti‑corruption ones; he’d seen a new series not long ago…

Emperor Wei paid him no mind and continued explaining Yizhou.

“Yizhou borders Great Liang. When Great Wei and Great Liang were at odds and frequently at war, the court had no time to control Yizhou’s clans, so they grew powerful. Some have ruled there for over a century. Their grip on Yizhou surpasses the court’s.”

“Mulberry bark flows from Great Liang into Great Wei. Only Yizhou and Jiaozhou can grow it well, and it’s the sole source of sugar. Jiaozhou’s yield is low; the Yizhou clans controlling the bark are like holding a gold mine—if they want to set the price, they can.”

A classic seller’s market.

Supply is scarce, buyers compete, and sellers hold the power.

Like the Yizhou clans monopolizing sugar, reaping huge profits. Even if others seethed, they had no choice—they couldn’t produce sugar themselves, only accept the clans’ prices.

Wei Yu saw his father’s face grow serious as he spoke, cleared his throat.

“Er… Father, actually, other plants can yield sugar too—beets, stevia, sugar maple trees!”

Huh?

Emperor Wei sat up straight.

He looked at Wei Yu eagerly. “Beets, stevia? What are those? Where can we find them? What do they look like? I’ll send men at once!”

Such is the advantage of being emperor: you name it, you get it.

Compared to Fourth Brother, who boasted about finding chili peppers and building ships but ended up asking Dad to pay, Wei Yu felt going straight to his father was far more appropriate.

He only had a vague idea of sugar plants; to explain them properly…

Sorry, Father—let me look them up on my tablet.

“Um…”

After scrolling, Wei Yu fell silent.

He glanced at his father’s expectant look and awkwardly smiled. “Well, Father, those plants… hehe… it seems… they aren’t here. The ones I mentioned grow overseas, you see. You might not believe it, but there are many good things abroad.”

“Gold mountains and silver mountains are small matter. High‑yield corn, potatoes, peanuts, even chili peppers, watermelons, grapes… all of these can fill people’s bellies!”