My uncle is Zhu Di

Chapter 116 Am I stupid?

Zhu Gaochi still hoped that Xu Qin would lead the entire import and export trade, make the money first and then relax the customs, and not let those civil officials succeed, as those civil officials came with other purposes.

When Xu Qin heard what Zhu Gaochi said, he stared at Zhu Gaochi.

"You go. We are really worried if anyone else goes. Besides, just think of it as helping me, okay?" Zhu Gaochi begged Xu Qin. He really didn't know who to let go.

"Cousin, do you think I, Xu Qin, am worthy of you? Ah? I solved the livelihood problem of the weavers before, and this time I brought back so much silver, which is very helpful for stabilizing the price of treasure notes.

Did I get any benefit? Nothing at all, right?
Now you let me take care of this area. Think about it, those civil officials are determined to kill me. Am I sick? I have no benefits at all, so why would I cause such a big trouble?
Your father wants me to work for him, but he doesn't give me any benefits. Why should I work for him? I dare to say this even if your father is here.

Even if I, Xu Qin, lie down and have beauties on both sides all day long, I cannot spend all the money I earn.

Tell me yourself, if I go, how will those civil officials deal with me?

There are risks in sea trade, with strong winds and waves, and you can't always make money. What if the boat capsizes and someone says I have a connection with Zhu Yunwen? What should I do? Do I have to go to the imperial prison again?
If the ship capsizes, will I, Xu Qin, be able to get out of the imperial prison?

What good is there? If something goes wrong, I will bear the responsibility. Am I stupid? If it were you, would you go? Only a fool would do such a thankless task. "Xu Qin questioned Zhu Gaochi, why should he go?
I have expressed my attitude. I can help the royal family make money, but how did your royal family treat me? How did you, Zhu Di, treat me? Who wouldn't be disheartened by what you did?

Until now, he has not summoned me, and I don't even know what he looks like? During the Chinese New Year, the children of my second uncle and fourth uncle all went to the palace to pay New Year's greetings, but I need to be searched even to go to the palace?
Since you don't trust me, but you want me to do the work? Who can agree to that?

"Hey!" Zhu Gaochi sighed when he heard Xu Qin's complaint.

"Brother, since His Majesty doesn't trust me, I have nothing to say. I won't think about those things. I will just do my own thing and obey the law. Fighting is fine. I, Xu Qin, don't cause trouble. Every time I fight, others step on me and look down on me. I, Xu Qin, am a child from a poor family and have no right to play with them.

Years ago, Qiu Jianqing took me to that small courtyard and said that I was the first person without a family to enter that courtyard. How did you feel when you heard it?
Are you a human or not? Come and step on me.

My mother lost so much face because of this incident. Originally it was a good thing and several families took the initiative to contact my family, hoping to become in-laws. But later I went to jail and there were even rumors that I might not be able to get out. All the plans fell through.

During this period, my father was scolded every day, and I was scolded too, and I even had to kneel in the ancestral hall!

Who did I offend? I listened to my aunt. My aunt said that the eunuchs in the weaving bureau were bullying her and asked me to deal with them. I went, and what happened? Do you think I would dare to go?
So, cousin, don't try to persuade me. I won't go. No matter who persuades me, it's useless. I'll just lie down, make my own money, do my own things, and other things have nothing to do with me." Xu Qin continued to complain as he sat there.

"Okay, I will tell my father and mother. You have indeed been wronged. I can understand." After hearing what Xu Qin said, Zhu Gaochi knew it was not a good idea to continue persuading Xu Qin.

Xu Qin was right. Even if it were me, I wouldn't go.

"No need to tell them, it's not that they don't understand, but they think I don't understand. They think I'm a fool, but I still go. It's ridiculous!" Xu Qin said with a sneer.

When Zhu Gaochi heard what Xu Qin said, he knew that this matter was really troublesome and Xu Qin really didn't want to go!

At noon, after Zhu Gaochi finished his meal at Xu Qin's mansion, he returned to the palace. He did not go to the Eastern Palace, but went straight to Kunning Palace. He knew that Zhu Di was in Kunning Palace.

When Zhu Gaochi walked into the greenhouse, he saw Zhu Di lying on a recliner reading a book. Empress Xu was not there, so he probably thought someone had come to visit.

"Are you back?" Zhu Di asked immediately when he saw Zhu Gaochi coming back.

"Well, where is my mother?" Zhu Gaochi asked.

"Your sisters are back and your mother is with them. What's wrong?" Zhu Di continued to ask while looking at Zhu Gaochi.

"Then how about asking my mother to come over? My sisters can come to the palace at any time anyway." Zhu Gaochi looked at Zhu Di carefully and said.

Zhu Di glanced at Zhu Gaochi, then said to the eunuch next to him: "All of you go out, and also, ask the queen to come over."

"Yes!" All the eunuchs and palace maids went out.

Zhu Gaochi sat there and sighed.

"Shakyabao is unwilling to go?" Zhu Di stroked his beard and said to Zhu Gaochi.

Zhu Gaochi sighed and shook his head.

"Well! What does this kid want to do? Or what are his conditions?" Zhu Di stood up and started walking in the greenhouse with his hands behind his back. "Let's talk about it when mom comes. It's quite troublesome anyway." Zhu Gaochi said to Zhu Di.

Zhu Di nodded and continued walking with his hands behind his back. He knew that Xu Qin would not agree so easily, but he thought that Xu Qin must have conditions, which was nothing more than restoring their family's title. Zhu Di did not want to agree so quickly, but he would consider other conditions.

Soon Empress Xu came over, saw Zhu Gaochi there, and knew what was going on.

"Tell me, tell me what you heard from your uncle?" Zhu Di said to Zhu Gaochi.

Zhu Gaochi stood up, bowed first, and then repeated all of Xu Qin's words, including those that Xu Qin complained about. Zhu Gaochi felt that they made a lot of sense, so he repeated them all.

"Eh!" Zhu Di sighed after hearing this.

Empress Xu sat there speechless. She knew that Xu Qin would no longer help the royal family.

"Let's wait and see. It's not like this job can't be done without Sakyabao. We can change someone else to do it. Since he doesn't want to do it, then he doesn't have to do it." Zhu Di sat down and said to Zhu Gaochi.

"Dad, actually he is the best person to do it. He understands these things and can control those people. In fact, those civil officials are afraid of him now. With him around, those civil officials may not dare to make trouble. But when he is not here, I guess those civil officials will still find a way." Zhu Gaochi bowed to Zhu Di and said.

"But what can we do if he doesn't go?" Zhu Di asked Zhu Gaochi in return.

Zhu Gaochi said nothing.

"Bao'er won't come tomorrow?" Queen Xu asked.

"I won't come. I made it clear that I won't come to the palace! I guess he knows that mother wants to persuade him, so he hides first." Zhu Gaochi said while shaking his head.

Empress Xu sat there and sighed, then continued, "If you don't want to come, then don't come. Tomorrow I'll ask the old lady of the Duke of Liang to come here and bring her daughter so I can take a look. If it's suitable? Your Majesty? From your side?"

"Okay, I'll grant the marriage!" Zhu Di nodded.

"Well, I will ask my sister-in-law to come and discuss this matter together. If she has no objection, we will choose her. But we also need to let the imperial physician take a look. In addition, we also need to match their horoscopes. Otherwise, my sister-in-law will probably scold Yun Gong and Bao Er at home for a while." Empress Xu said in a bad mood.

"Okay, just go and do it." Zhu Di nodded and said that he would not get involved in such matters. What he was thinking about was who would preside over the next overseas trade.

Going out to sea for trade is not as simple as making money. It requires fighting against civil officials and having enough strength to do so.

Letting civil officials go is impossible. Letting eunuchs go is because they don’t have the strength. Letting military generals go is because they don’t understand. Letting the King of Zhao go or the Crown Prince supervise is probably going to cause trouble in the end.

Therefore, Zhu Di was very troubled. The most suitable person now was Xu Qin, but Xu Qin made it clear that if he did not go, he could not ask him for help, right?
Considering this, Zhu Di asked, "What will Shakyabao do this year?"

Zhu Gaochi immediately replied, "Renovate the mansion, and maybe make a place for myself to play."

"He can do this? He can rebuild the mansion? He can tinker with the toys, though." Zhu Di said with contempt. This was just an excuse.

"Your Majesty, I think we should not make things difficult for Sakya Bao. It is true that we will offend many ministers. It is not easy for my Bao'er." Empress Xu said to Zhu Di. She was actually resentful in her heart, not towards Xu Qin, but towards Zhu Di.

"Okay, let's not trouble him!" Zhu Di nodded.

When Zhu Gaochi heard what Zhu Di said, he sighed. He actually hoped that Xu Qin would go, so that he would be much more relaxed. If someone else came up, big problems would definitely arise.

However, Zhu Gaochi did not dare to persuade Zhu Di, as he knew his father's character well.

The next morning, a large number of horse-drawn carriages transported silver to the palace. The people also knew that the weaving bureau had made a lot of money from this trade with Japan, and of course, the credit for all this went to Xu Qin.

Therefore, many people in the market are feeling sorry for Xu Qin. He made so much money for the royal family, but he still had to go to jail. Now that the silver has been returned, Xu Qin has not received any rewards. If it were someone else, he would definitely have received a lot of rewards. The eunuchs who went to sea with him this time, the Jinyiwei people, and the people from the Five Cities Bingmasi were all promoted, but Xu Qin was left out.

Xu Qin didn't care. On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Qin sent people to the port and bought all the wood, which was worth nearly one million taels. Xu Qin wanted to renovate his mansion and needed a large amount of wood. It happened that the weaving bureau got so much wood from Japan, so he bought it all at once.

The next step was to order blue bricks and tiles. However, the blue bricks and tiles from the old houses could be used during the renovation. So Xu Qin began to visit those folk craftsmen and invited them to his house to renovate those houses.

(End of this chapter)