My uncle is Zhu Di

Chapter 114 Let’s End It
Xu Qin heard what Xiao Ningyue said and sat there thinking.

"Mr. Xu, do you want us to make one? We will also go to the sea. Anyway, the customs will be set up by then, and we can pay taxes and then go to sea." Xiao Ningyue asked when she saw that Xu Qin didn't say anything.

"It's impossible to open customs. It's still in the discussion stage, and other factors haven't been considered. In the future, the court will still be in control of these things, so don't think about these things for now." Xu Qin smiled and said.

This matter is not so easy. Those civil officials have reminded Zhu Di and myself. If they had not wanted to assassinate me, this matter might have been accomplished.

After all, Zhu Di needed money, and Zhu Gaochi believed that the money for the court had to be obtained through taxation. But those civil officials dared to do this now, which meant that the interests involved were very huge. Once they got out of control, the imperial power would be out of control.

"Ah?" Xiao Ningyue was very surprised when she heard Xu Qin's words, and then asked Xu Qin: "Didn't you propose to set up the customs before? And I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince agreed."

"I proposed it. So, you spread the word that I am against it now. The reason I am against it is because those civil officials have joined forces with the businessmen to kill me. Now I strongly oppose this matter.
At the same time, I will also tell Your Majesty that those civil officials are now businessmen behind them. In order to make money, they dare to kill me. Tell me, who will dare to say no to them in the future? So, let's forget about this matter!" Xu Qin smiled and said, since they want to mess with him like this, he is not afraid of offending them.

"Mr. Xu, you will offend a lot of people by doing this!" Xiao Ningyue said to Xu Qin worriedly.

"Those civil officials want to kill me now, and I'm afraid of offending them? Go ahead and say it, I oppose this matter. Although I'm not a court official, the Queen and the Prince will listen to me. This matter is not that easy, and the court needs to think it over carefully before executing it." Xu Qin continued with a smile, he had to force some officials to death and make them keep an eye on him.

"Okay, if that's the case, then who will be in charge of these things in the future?" Xiao Ningyue looked at Xu Qin and asked.

Xu Qin nodded.

After chatting with Xiao Ningyue for a while, Xu Qin let Xiao Ningyue go back and kept the gifts she brought.

That afternoon, some people who went to visit Xiao Ningyue got the news. When those businessmen heard this, they were very depressed. Now Xu Qin opposes this matter and will also persuade His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince not to carry out this matter. What should they do?

Originally they thought that the opportunity had come and they could ship their goods out to sea to make money, but now it seems that it is not that simple!

The next morning, Xu Qin was woken up early. This morning, Xu Qin and his companions were going to offer sacrifices. Xu Huizu was going to take Xu Qin, Xu Jingchang, Gousheng and Xu Jingchang's younger brother Dashitou to the ancestral hall.

Xu Jingchang's younger brother Shitou is six years old and very strong.

Xu Qin was awakened by Gousheng and Dashitou. The two men directly rode on Xu Qin's belly, and Xu Jingchang stood beside him and smiled.

"Brother, get up quickly. Uncle is going to take us to worship our ancestors." Shitou looked at Xu Qin and said with a smile.

"Brother, you are so lazy. It's so late and you haven't gotten up yet." Gousheng also sat on Xu Qin and said contemptuously.

"Get them away from me quickly, I'm in so much pain all over." Xu Qin said to Xu Jingchang who was standing aside watching the fun.

Xu Jingchang then carried them down. Both of them were very heavy.

"Help me, it hurts!" Xu Qin said to Xu Jingchang. Xu Jingchang hurried over and helped Xu Qin up. Mu Feng and Shiyue came in, helped Xu Qin put on his clothes, and then washed him up.

After finishing, Xu Qin took them to the front yard. At this moment, the family was busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. The maids and servants were very happy.
The family gave them a lot of rewards this year. The maids and servants who had just come in received a reward of one or two taels of silver, while Mu Feng and the others received thirty taels. The housekeepers and stewards received a starting reward of fifty taels, but most of them received less than five taels of silver.

The reason why Mu Feng and Shi Yue were able to get so much was that their status was much higher than that of ordinary maids. Moreover, they were both Xu Qin's maids, and their rewards had been much more than that of ordinary maids since childhood.

Xu Qin arrived at the front yard, and after having breakfast, he followed Xu Huizu to the ancestral hall at home to offer sacrifices. Xu Qin followed Xu Huizu in doing those things, and the younger ones also followed suit.

After the sacrifice, there was nothing else to do. Xu Qin took the three of them to sit in his father's study. Today they were having a reunion dinner at Xu Huizu's house. It was the same every year, except that the second uncle did not come back and the fourth uncle was also gone, so they had dinner at Xu Huizu's house.

The two aunts also helped mother with the preparations for the New Year’s Eve dinner. Although the servants were preparing it, there were still many things that needed them to prepare.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, Xu Qin sent them back. Although he was in pain all over, Xu Qin still insisted on sending them back.

When he returned home, it was already dark. Xu Qin went to sit in Xu Huizu's study. At this moment, in Xu Huizu's study, Xu Huizu, his grandmother Xie, Li, and three aunts were all very happy.

There were only so many people in their family, which was why Li was anxious to get Xu Qin married. Once Xu Qin got married, he could take concubines. If he had more children, the family would be lively. Even the concubines were anxious and hoped that Xu Qin could have children quickly so that they would have something to do.

After chatting for a while, Li and the three concubines went to rest, leaving Xu Qin and Xu Huizu alone in the study.

"Bao'er, go to sleep. Dad will watch over you. I don't have to go out tomorrow. You still have to go out to pay New Year's greetings tomorrow." Xu Huizu said to Xu Qin. He couldn't go out either. No one would come to his house to pay New Year's greetings tomorrow. It's not that people won't come, but Xu Huizu wouldn't let anyone in. Xu Huizu would not see any of his old subordinates.

"Just go to a few of them, it's okay!" Xu Qin said with a smile and waved his hand.

Xu Qin will go to his second uncle's house and fourth uncle's house tomorrow, and he will not go to anyone else's house.

"Well, let's go to Duke Cheng's mansion tomorrow. They have sent gifts this time, and as they reminded us last time, we should go to wish them a happy new year! As for other people's mansions, forget it, it's okay if we don't go." Xu Huizu said to Xu Qin.

"Well, OK!" Xu Qin nodded, and then asked: "Will the sisters come back this year?"

"I don't know. Ask your mother and your aunts. I want them to come back. I have talked to your mother about it. I guess they will come back, right? They didn't come back in the past few years. Now that our family has money, it would be good to let them come back. Dad misses them a little too." Xu Huizu said with a sigh.

"Then let them come back! If it really doesn't work, Dad, buy a mansion of several acres in Nanjing City for each of my sisters, and buy a few hundred acres of land. Our family has no shortage of these. Otherwise, it will be difficult for them to come back when they are away from home." Xu Qin looked at Xu Huizu and said.

Xu Huizu waved his hand and said, "We can't let them live in the capital. It's not safe. Let them live in other places. Dad will give them tens of thousands of taels of silver each and let them buy their own property. When the Duke of Wei returns to our family, they can return to the capital to live."

After hearing this, Xu Qin remained silent. He knew in his heart that his father was worried that Zhu Di would continue to clean up his family and that his sisters would be implicated. In fact, all his sisters had married well.

Especially the eldest sister, who married Zhu Mengwan, the third son of King of Chu, and has not returned for three years. The second to fourth sisters were all married in the vicinity of Nanjing City, and the lowest official position of their brothers-in-law was already commander.

However, these sisters were all born to the concubines. Li had given birth to several daughters before, but none of them were brought up. In that era, the proportion of children who died young was still very high!
"Okay, I'll listen to you. We'll do whatever you say. Giving them some money and buying them some things is not bad!" Xu Qin nodded and said. Since his father had his considerations, he would not say anything more.

At night, Xu Qin accompanied Xu Huizu to keep watch. Xu Qin usually went to bed late, so he let Xu Huizu sleep in the study. After midnight, Xu Huizu woke up and asked Xu Qin to lie down and sleep for a while. After all, he still had to go to pay New Year's greetings after dawn.

After waking up the next morning, Xu Huizu took Xu Qin to the ancestral hall to burn incense before having breakfast.

Xu Qin first went to his second uncle's house, where he was entertained by his second aunt.

Then he went to his fourth uncle's house, and Xu Jingchang went to the palace to pay New Year's greetings. As a minister, they needed to go to the palace to pay New Year's greetings on the first day of the New Year. Zhu Di would also bring the princes to the palace to offer sacrifices.

After visiting his fourth uncle's house, Xu Qin thought about it and went to Duke Chengguo's mansion. After all, if Liang hadn't reminded him before, he wouldn't have known that group of people wanted to harm him.

When Liang learned that Xu Qin was coming, she asked Zhu Yong's brother to come out to greet him. After arriving in the living room, Xu Qin saluted Liang.

Liang was very happy. She took Xu Qin's hand and sat down, and asked with a smile if everything was going well at home. Xu Qin sat here and drank tea for a while, then went back!
After returning home, Xu Qin had nothing to do. After he was confined in his home, almost no one came to pay New Year's greetings. Even if others wanted to come, Xu Huizu would not agree to let them in. This was also the case today. Except for relatives, Xu Huizu would not let others come to his home to pay New Year's greetings.

Xu Qin also enjoyed the peace and quiet, so he took a nap in his own courtyard.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Qin was supposed to go to his grandparents' house, but his mother was the cousin of Li Jinglong, the former Duke of Cao, and his family had fallen into poverty. His mother had not returned in the past few years, but only secretly sent people to send money and provide support. There was no other way, as going back would not be good for either family, so he could only hide at home.

However, what surprised Xu Qin was that Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui came today, but Zhu Gaoxu still did not come. In previous years, they would not come. They would only go to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion and pick up their grandmother there.

(End of this chapter)