Chapter 198 Xu Huizu’s Power
Xu Qin was standing at the dock watching the goods being moved. He never expected that so many sons of military honors would come to him to inquire about information. Xu Qin felt very bad.

The military merits were infiltrated by the civil officials, which was very disadvantageous to the Ming Dynasty. Everyone gave up the military and followed the civil service, so the future Ming Dynasty suppressed the military and promoted the civil service. In the end, the Ming Dynasty was constantly at war, fighting against the enemy, and losing more than it won.

In the evening, Xu Qin rushed to his mansion and saw that there were still many people waiting to see him at the gate. Most of them were strangers to Xu Qin, as he rarely dealt with civil officials.

Those who saw Xu Qin coming over immediately bowed to him and shouted, “Lord Haozhou, are you free?”

“Lord Haozhou, I have something to tell you!”

“Lord Haozhou, I want to ask you for something.”
When the ministers saw Xu Qin coming, they all called out to him. Xu Qin didn’t want to pay attention to them and went straight to the palace. Zhu Di was very angry about the affairs of the Eastern Palace. Now that the matter has not been clarified yet, he is intervening. He is just asking for trouble.

Xu Qin returned to the mansion and immediately went to the living room, where Xu Huizu and Li were waiting for him to eat.

“Is everything done?” Xu Huizu asked Xu Qin.

“It’s installed.” Xu Qin sat down and nodded.

“Then don’t go out these days. It’s a mess outside. Zhu Di is arresting people. Those people outside are all begging you. I guess they heard some news.” Xu Huizu said to Xu Qin.

Xu Qin looked at Xu Huizu in confusion.

Xu Huizu said to Xu Qin, “I guess someone leaked the news and knew that you had a good relationship with Zhu Di and could speak in front of Zhu Di, so they came to find you, but who leaked it? I don’t know.”

When Xu Qin heard this, he started to think about where he was sitting. The people in the Qianqing Palace? It is possible, but so many people know about it. I guess the people in the Qianqing Palace don’t have such courage, right?

“Dad, that’s not right. Who leaked it? So many people come to me, what’s the point? I don’t care about those things.” Xu Qin looked at Xu Huizu and said.

“No matter who leaked it, just don’t go out these few days. Don’t get involved in this kind of thing. Zhu Di will never let it go easily when it comes to the East Palace. Besides, you can never guess what Zhu Di is thinking. Maybe this time, Zhu Di will have some ideas about the East Palace?

Maybe Zhu Di himself started the fire? Maybe Zhu Di was very dissatisfied with the ministers in the Eastern Palace, but he had no reason to deal with them, so he found an excuse to deal with them?

There are many things you don’t know, so don’t get involved? Besides, the people arrested now are all from the Eastern Palace. Zhu Gaochi didn’t even ask for mercy, so why should you ask for mercy? Are there any confidants of Zhu Gaochi among them? Will Zhu Gaochi save his confidants?

So, just stay at home and don’t go anywhere. “Xu Huizu sat there and said to Xu Qin calmly.

Xu Qin felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar at this moment, looking at Zhu Di in shock.

Seeing Xu Qin like this, Li immediately smiled and said to Xu Qin: “Listen to your father and don’t get involved. His Majesty is not as simple as you think. So, in many cases, it is right to be more careful. Just go to the Trade Bureau and do your job well!”

“After the Trade Bureau organizes several voyages, you don’t have to do anything else. Leave it to Zhu Di and let Zhu Di select people to do the job. You just stay at home and write. I think something is wrong with the current situation.” Xu Huizu said to Xu Qin.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Qin asked immediately.

“This time Zhu Di may want to take action against the civil officials, but it is not that simple. You cannot kill all the civil officials because they are needed to govern the country. Taizu also wanted to kill them all at the beginning, but they can revive at any time, and the civil officials will also start to retaliate against the emperor.

So, you should stay away from this matter. This is a matter between the royal family and the civil officials. Of course, our military generals are on the side of the royal family. However, so many military generals are not very suitable for you to go up. Zhu Di himself has many trusted military generals, so let them go up first. “Xu Huizu explained to Xu Qin.

Xu Qin nodded, thinking back to what he had said to Zhu Di. It was true that Zhu Di wanted to take action against the civil officials to ensure that the Ming dynasty would continue to be passed down and that the emperor’s power would not be restricted.

I did talk too much to Zhu Di at the beginning. Fortunately, I did not agree to take up other positions, otherwise, I would definitely suffer.

“Okay, let’s go eat. Baoer knows what to do.” Li stood up and said to Xu Huizu.

After dinner, Xu Qin lay in his study, thinking about recent events. He felt that his father was right and that he still didn’t know Zhu Di well enough. His father and Zhu Di had known each other for so many years, and he knew very well what kind of person Zhu Di was.

Otherwise, my father would not have said that he would rather be imprisoned at home than follow Zhu Di. Zhu Di is my father’s brother-in-law, and my father does not trust him. This means that Zhu Di is indeed very dangerous. I have to be careful when getting along with Zhu Di in the future.

The next day, Xu Qin did not go out, but stayed at home. After returning to the Duke of Wei’s mansion, Xu Qin had not been around much, so it was a good opportunity to go out for a walk today. The temperature was not too hot in the morning, so Xu Qin could go out for a walk. In the afternoon, Xu Qin still did not go out, but just lay under a big tree to enjoy the cool, with a pot of tea and a book beside him.

It was rare for Xu Qin to enjoy such a pleasant time.

But before Xu Qin could lie down for long, he was defeated by Zhu Gaochi, who actually came to the Duke of Wei’s mansion.

“My cousin, you seem to be very leisurely. You said you were busy before, but now you are lying at home?” Zhu Gaochi entered the courtyard, saw Xu Qin lying there, and said with a smile.

Xu Qin sat up in surprise, looked at Zhu Gaochi in astonishment and asked, “What’s wrong with you? Have you dealt with the affairs of the Eastern Palace?”

“How is that possible?” Zhu Gaochi said with a wry smile. Two maids also carried a recliner over. Zhu Gaochi sat down. Immediately, a maid came over with a teacup and handed it to Zhu Gaochi.

“Oh!” Zhu Gaochi sighed.

Xu Qin did not respond, and Zhu Gaochi continued, “Shakabao. People in the capital are in a panic now. My father is determined to get to the bottom of this matter. It’s fine to get to the bottom of it, but the East Palace has arrested so many people, we can’t kick them all out. Now, I can’t deal with those memorials.”

After hearing this, Xu Qin thought of what his father said last night, so he smiled and said, “That’s not easy. You can go and tell His Majesty that some of them are indeed fine and can be released.”

Zhu Gaochi sighed and said, “My father has gone to Jiming Temple. The affairs in the capital are completely handed over to the third brother and Ji Gang. And my father also said that I don’t need to ask for mercy. I will talk to him after he investigates the matter thoroughly.”

After hearing this, Xu Qin smiled and said, “Then let’s investigate it first. Setting fire to the East Palace is indeed very bad, and we should investigate it thoroughly.”

Zhu Gaochi smiled bitterly.

“What’s wrong? You are the prince. Who can’t you protect?” Xu Qin asked with a smile.

“My father has the final say. Sakya Bao, do me a favor and go find the third brother and ask him to release a few people!” Zhu Gaochi said to Xu Qin.

Xu Qin heard this and looked at Zhu Gaochi in surprise, then said jokingly, “Brother, are you kidding me? Do you need me to go find my third cousin? Can’t you do it yourself? Besides, how can my third cousin decide to release the people? Without the consent of His Majesty, this is not a joke.”

“Well, so, you need to go to Jiming Temple and find the third brother. The third brother will definitely not agree. Then you can go to Jiming Temple and find my father. Just say that the families of those people have found you, and now their families are outside your house.” Zhu Gaochi said to Xu Qin.

When Xu Qin heard this, he immediately understood that the news of looking for him was spread by Zhu Gaochi.

“I asked them to come find you. It’s right for you not to see them. However, I have no other choice. I have looked for my father twice, but he wouldn’t agree. So I asked them to come to you. You can go find my father and beg for mercy when the time comes.” Zhu Gaochi said worriedly.

Xu Qin just looked at Zhu Gaochi, not knowing what Zhu Gaochi meant.

“Shakyabao, these people are my confidants. They are different from other civil officials. They obey my orders. However, all the officials of the Eastern Palace, except for those who are concurrently important officials in the court and directly under the Eastern Palace, have been arrested. They will not participate in such things.

However, if I don’t rescue them, I’m worried that they will get into trouble.” Zhu Gaochi said to Xu Qin cryptically.

“What’s the problem? Can something wrong be found out during the investigation? They are your people, so why is your third cousin so cruel to you? He dares to do such an obvious false accusation?” Xu Qin asked Zhu Gaochi with a smile.

“That’s not the case, Shakyabao. There are some things I can’t tell you. You just need to know that my father doesn’t allow me to have too many confidants in the Eastern Palace. As for the other things, you can think about them slowly. But if I don’t have confidants in the Eastern Palace, many things will be very difficult to handle.” Zhu Gaochi said with a wry smile looking at Xu Qin.

Xu Qin understood what was going on as soon as he heard it. It was nothing more than Zhu Di’s suspicion of Zhu Gaochi. Zhu Gaochi had great power, but Zhu Di had personnel and military power firmly in his hands. Even if Zhu Gaochi wanted to promote officials in the Eastern Palace, he needed Zhu Di’s consent.

Zhu Di handed over other matters in the court to Zhu Gaochi. It was impossible to say that Zhu Di was not on guard against Zhu Gaochi. He had originally rebelled and was suspicious by nature. Even if he was his own son, Zhu Di would not fully trust him.

But Xu Qin didn’t want to go. His father told him very clearly that he should not get involved in this matter. If he did, he would be the one in trouble.

But she didn’t know how to refuse Zhu Gaochi. After all, Zhu Gaochi had not hidden anything from her, and their relationship had always been good.

(End of this chapter)