My uncle is Zhu Di

Chapter 118 Xia Yuanji's Visit

Zhu Di was shocked when he learned that Xu Qin did not come to the palace!

He had originally thought that the Queen would definitely have a good talk with Xu Qin today, so he would wait for a while and then let Xu Qin go to the Weaving Bureau to take charge. But now, Xu Qin was hiding and not coming?
"You really didn't come?" Zhu Di sat there and asked Li Xing.

"Indeed, he didn't come. Moreover, many craftsmen went to Xu Qin's mansion this morning, probably to discuss building a house. A few days ago, Xu Qin bought one million taels of wood from the Weaving Bureau. Almost all of the wood shipped back from Japan this time. It was a big deal. Moreover, I heard that he ordered blue bricks. I guess he was going to build a house." Li Xing stood there and said with a bow.

"He knows how to build a house. If a house on nearly 400 acres of land is not well planned, what will it look like?" Zhu Di said jokingly.

Li Xing stopped talking. How would he know about such things?
"Okay, keep keeping an eye on this kid. He probably still has something against me." Zhu Di waved his hand, motioning Li Xing to go down.

Then he sat there worrying. He had just attended court this morning and there was nothing to do. It was his first court session in the new year and the purpose was to look ahead. But today, the ministers again mentioned that they hoped to set up a customs office.

Those ministers learned that the court would not set up a customs office and that this news was leaked by Xu Qin. Therefore, those ministers also impeached Xu Qin, saying that Xu Qin was discussing state affairs recklessly and should be punished.

After hearing this, Zhu Di smiled. He was happy that Xu Qin had released the news, otherwise those ministers would keep urging him, as if he didn't know why they were so anxious to set up a customs!

Now that Xu Qin says it will not be established, then it will not be established. Even if there is money, the court needs to make it first, otherwise, those civil officials will have to control the purse strings tightly.

However, Xu Qin's refusal to go to the Weaving Bureau was indeed a headache for Zhu Di.

In the afternoon, Li went back, very happy. The marriage was basically settled. However, Li still needed to take Xu Qin to the mansion of Duke Chengguo to get engaged, and a banquet would be held for the engagement.

However, the engagement date also needs to be agreed upon. This has nothing to do with Xu Qin, but is something that Li and Liang will discuss!
After Li returned to the mansion, she went to Xu Qin's courtyard to tell Xu Qin the news first.

"Where is Baoer?" Li asked the servant at the door as soon as she stepped into the courtyard.

"Madam, the young master is still communicating with the craftsmen. He has been busy all morning and continued after lunch!" The servant saluted Li.

"Oh, okay!" Li nodded, took her maid and went to the living room of Xu Qin's courtyard.

As soon as I stepped into the living room, I saw Xu Qin and the craftsmen discussing how to build it.

"Bao'er!" Li greeted Xu Qin with a smile. Xu Qin looked up and found it was his mother. He immediately went over to salute. The craftsmen also saluted. Although Li did not have any status now, she was the wife of the Duke of Wei before, so the craftsmen still respected her very much!
"Mom, you're back so soon?" Xu Qin said with a smile as he walked over and bowed.

"Bao'er, it's settled now. Mother has seen Zhu Jinxi and thinks she's a very good girl. She's even on your side!" Li said as she helped Xu Qin tidy up his clothes with a smile.

"Okay, mother, you make the decision. I still need to modify the drawings." Xu Qin said to Li.

Li nodded and picked up the drawing on the table. When she saw the words on it, she knew that it was from her son's hand. She was not surprised that her son had this ability, because the previous drawings of spinning machines, looms, and printing and dyeing machines were all from her son's hand.

"Everyone, I'm troubled to renovate the mansion of my Xu family. My Baoer is still young. If he has offended you in any way, please forgive me, or send someone to inform us. In addition, we in the Xu family will recognize what my Baoer said, so you can rest assured!" Li said to the craftsmen with a smile.

"We dare not, Madam Xie!" Upon hearing this, those people bowed to Li again.

"Well, I'll be counting on you from now on. Don't worry about the wages. You all probably know my family's income, so I will definitely not underpay your wages. I also ask you to help renovate my mansion with all your heart. Here, I would like to thank you all first." Li said and bowed to them. The ancient people had great respect for craftsmen.

"Of course not, Madam Xie! Don't worry, we will build it carefully." The craftsmen said to Li.

Li smiled and nodded, then said to Xu Qin: "Bao'er, your aunt is very angry, you should be careful."

"Besides, I'm not afraid. I won't be cheated by them. They are still angry. Mom, don't worry, it's okay." Xu Qin waved his hand disdainfully. He knew the rumors outside. Now those officials have been writing letters hoping to set up a customs.

But he also spread rumors that the court should not set up customs because the officials would become lawless and would definitely dare to sell anything.

Therefore, now, the two rumors in the capital are intertwined, and it seems that the rumor about Xu Qin makes the people more convinced. First of all, the people have no good feelings towards officials, so when those officials are so active, the people will oppose them even more.

That afternoon, Xu Qin discussed with the craftsmen until dark. Xu Qin invited them to have dinner in his courtyard before sending them back. The next day, Xu Qin left the city. Xu Qin wanted to burn lime and cement, but he needed a place, so Xu Qin was going to buy land, and it seemed that the land would require a large area.

Xu Qin searched outside for a day and found a place, so he bought it directly.

They returned to the city after dark, and Xu Qin's actions were reported to Zhu Di by Li Xing. Of course, Zhu Gaosui would also report it, but the previous events made Zhu Di think that Zhu Gaosui was too inefficient, and Ji Gang did not dare to show up in the palace now.

He was being targeted by the Queen, so in order to protect him, Zhu Di asked him to go out and do some work first.

After all, Ji Gang was a good dog, and Zhu Di didn't want to beat him to death now.

"What are you going to do by going out of the city to buy land?" Zhu Di asked Li Xing.

"Your Majesty, it's not clear yet. He just bought the lands! I didn't find out what he was going to do with them, and he didn't say anything either." Li Xing said to Zhu Di.

"Well, okay, keep watching." Zhu Di nodded, and became more worried. Could this guy really just want to build his family's mansion? If so, don't count on Xu Qin to do anything this year.

Zhu Di also wanted to meet Xu Qin now, but this guy had hardly been to the workshop in the past few days. The things in the workshop were already mature and there was no need for Xu Qin to go there. Besides, ever since Xu Qin defeated Qiu Jianqing and fought Zhu Gaoxu to a draw, almost no one dared to provoke Xu Qin.

The most crucial thing is that of the two fires set by Xu Qin years ago, one fire destroyed Yuan Fu’s mansion. Now Yuan Fu’s entire family has been detained, and the affairs of his father-in-law’s family are still being investigated. The other fire burned down Princess Nankang’s mansion. Now Princess Nankang is under house arrest in Hu Guan’s mansion.

The punishment for those princesses has not yet been announced.

For the following period of time, Xu Qin was busy building kilns and preparing to burn lime and cement, so he went to the suburbs almost every day. This continued until the end of the first lunar month.

However, those civil officials could no longer sit still. Zhu Di had not approved the establishment of a customs office, and it had already been shown that Zhu Di might not really set it up because of the rumors spread by Xu Qin.

That evening, Xu Qin came back on horseback. As soon as he entered the city gate, he saw Xia Yuanji walking towards the middle of the road.

Xu Qin reined in his horse and stared at Xia Yuanji.

"Mr. Xu, are you free? I would like to invite you to dinner. Could you please move aside?" Xia Yuanji came in front of Xu Qin and bowed to him.

Xu Qin stared at Xia Yuanji. He knew Xia Yuanji's purpose very well, but it surprised him very much. Those civil officials actually asked Xia Yuanji to take action directly? It was a trump card, which showed that they had no way to deal with him.

"You're so brave! You dare to invite me to dinner? Aren't you worried that His Majesty will punish you then?" Xu Qin asked Xia Yuanji with a smile.

"No, Your Majesty does have some tolerance. Besides, I am not here to invite you for personal matters." Xia Yuanji said with a smile.

"Really? So it's for official business? I'm not a court official, nor am I a noble. Do you have the right to come to me for official business? Okay, I don't have any official business to discuss with you. Get out of the way. Court matters should naturally be resolved by the court. You've come to the wrong person." Xu Qin urged his horse and walked past Xia Yuanji.

"Mr. Xu, I come here with sincerity, please move!" Seeing Xu Qin was about to leave, Xia Yuanji said to Xu Qin anxiously.

"I'm busy! Don't come to me for anything." Xu Qin said without turning his head.

Xia Yuanji stood there helplessly and could only watch Xu Qin go away.

The next morning, Xu Qin woke up and prepared to continue to watch the construction of the two kilns, especially the lime kiln. Xu Qin urgently needed him to build it quickly. The burned quicklime still needed water to become mature lime. In order for the quicklime to fully absorb water and react completely, it took time.

And his own mansion was about to be built. His father had already set a date, the sixth day of February, when he would officially start demolishing the house and starting construction.

"Young Master, I heard that the Minister of Revenue Xia Yuanji and the Minister of Justice Huang Fu came to visit. I didn't let them in. Instead, I told them that you were still sleeping and you can decide whether to see them or not when you wake up. They are here to see you, Young Master." Mu Feng said to Xu Qin while he was dressing him.

Xu Qin frowned after hearing this. What were they thinking? They came to him? Would he help them?

(End of this chapter)