Chapter 31: The Stingy Imperial Father-in-law

Pushing the Wuqing Earl out now is precisely to muddy the waters.

By using another matter of greater heat to suppress the affair of Feng Bangning, the two will clash, and this matter of the Wuqing Earl will then be accomplished.

As Zhang Yunxiu was thinking, a maid suddenly stepped inside, carrying a fruit platter in her hands.

Li Wei stepped forward, took the fruit platter from the maid's hands, and peered at the only two duck pears in the platter.

After hesitating for a moment, he directly picked up the largest one and put it into his mouth.

Then he looked at Zhang Yunxiu and smiled honestly: "These pears don't keep well; they spoil easily if washed too much. We wash only what we eat."

Zhang Yunxiu had long heard that this Wuqing Earl was stingy, but he hadn't expected him to be this stingy.

He gave a sheepish smile, picked up the duck pear, which was only the size of an infant's fist, and put it into his mouth to gnaw on.

After finishing the duck pear, Zhang Yunxiu took a piece of xuan paper from his bosom and handed it to the Wuqing Earl, Li Wei.

The Wuqing Earl took it and saw it was a letter, then couldn't help but ask: "What is the meaning of this?"

"This is a letter I wrote to the River Patrol Censor Wang Zhuan, asking him to reserve a grain transport boat for you." Zhang Yunxiu looked completely at ease.

"Wonderful! Go and wash two more big pears for Young Master Zhang!" Li Wei stood up abruptly and ordered the maid.

That River Patrol Censor Wang Zhuan was a confidant of Zhang Juzheng and was in charge of grain transport; although he was a fourth-rank official.

The power he held was not inferior to a third-rank Vice Minister at all.

On the thousand-mile canal, officials and bandits were as numerous as ox hair; they would extort and demand, and a merchant's cargo ship traveling from the south to the north would have most of it eaten up by these official-bandits.

Grain transport boats were different; they were for transporting goods for the imperial court, so who would dare to obstruct them? Therefore, every grain transport boat was a hot commodity that merchants scrambled for.

Zhang Yunxiu brazenly asked for four in total.

He would give one to Li Wei, keep one for himself, and would still have to think about how to make money for the little emperor with the remaining two.

Having received a great gift, Li Wei was naturally grinning from ear to ear, and he looked at Zhang Yunxiu with increasing favor. "My worthy nephew, our family has been farmers for generations and we are terrified of poverty. If there are such good things in the future, you must think of us."

"The Marquis can rest assured; I will not forget."

Subsequently, the two chatted about trivial matters, domestic affairs, and exchanged pleasantries.

Zhang Yunxiu took the opportunity to state his purpose: "Marquis, that Feng Bao is also a ruthless character, and he has always shown you much respect in the past. Now that his nephew has met with disaster, you must not kick a man when he is down."

"What, what kind of talk is this?" As the saying goes, one who eats another's food is soft-mouthed, and one who takes another's gifts is soft-handed. Li Wei pursed his lips and replied, "I have no grudge against Eunuch Feng, why would I mess with his nephew?"

"I know you have a grudge against my father," Zhang Yunxiu said calmly.

"You, you must not talk nonsense. When have I ever had a grudge against the Senior Grand Secretary?" Li Wei shrank his neck and suddenly became nervous.

"Not just you, which of the nobles in the entire Great Ming doesn't have a grudge against my father?" Zhang Yunxiu did not hide or cover up, but went straight to the point, "Rest assured, I will make up for the money you lost in other places."

"How will you make it up?"

"At sea."

"At sea?" Li Wei muttered in a low voice, then shook his head and said, "There is a lot of money at sea, but the risks are also great."

"The risk is not great. At that time, we will let the imperial court's army scout the path in front, and we will just follow behind to pick up the ready-made gains." Zhang Yunxiu stood up and asked with a smile, looking at Li Wei, "Does the Imperial Father-in-law know of Woguo?"

"Of course I know. That place is still under a ban now; we aren't allowed to go there, otherwise the fabric from Woguo wouldn't be so expensive."

"What Woguo has the most of is silver."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and continued: "I heard they have a silver mountain there called 'Iwami Ginzan', and even if they mined it day and night, it might not be exhausted for several hundred years."

"That much?" Li Wei's eyes turned bloodshot, and his breathing became rapid. "If the Imperial Father-in-law doesn't believe it, you will know when I bring the silver back in a few years."

"Wonderful! I must go tell the Emperor quickly, lest it be dug up by others." Li Wei's tone was filled with excitement.

Such a large silver mountain—how many years would it take to eat it all?

Just as he was thinking, a sound of footsteps rang out outside the courtyard.

The two turned their gazes to the side and saw Qian Yu leading Wei Qing as they walked in, looking travel-worn.

Li Wei recognized that as the Managing Eunuch of the Qianqing Palace, so he smiled and went up to greet him, asking: "Eunuch Wei, has my grandson sent me a reward again?"

"Oh my, Imperial Father-in-law, this time I have come to call Young Master Zhang to enter the palace, not to bring you a reward." Wei Qing shook his head with a fawning smile.

Li Wei's mood instantly plummeted, and at the same time, he secretly felt jealous that Zhang Yunxiu was so favored.

"Young Master Zhang, let's go quickly. The Emperor is still waiting for you; it won't be good if you go late." Wei Qing bowed to Li Wei, then stretched his neck and shouted to Zhang Yunxiu.

Zhang Yunxiu responded, bowed to Li Wei, and walked out of the Wuqing Bo Mansion with Wei Qing.

Half an hour later.

The Wanli Emperor finally saw Zhang Yunxiu. He stood up from the dragon throne, walked to Zhang Yunxiu's side, and laughed, "Zhang Yunxiu, aren't you sick? I see you are full of vigor, not at all like someone who is sick."

"Could it be that you are deceiving the Emperor?!"

"Your subject is truly sick." Zhang Yunxiu thought of a clever excuse and flattered him, "It is just that as soon as I see the Emperor, my mood becomes happy, and the illness is suddenly cured."

"Good, you sycophant, you dare to use flowery words to coax me." The Wanli Emperor feigned anger and shouted.

"Your subject is a great loyal official! An emperor like Your Majesty who dislikes listening to flattering words is rare even if one searches through all historical records."

That was true.

Wanli felt proud in his heart from this praise, but suddenly remembered the main business, so he waved his hand and urged: "Let's go. The Great Companion is not here, I want to go see what my subjects are doing today."

"Today..."

"What about today?" The Wanli Emperor shot out a cold glare.

"Your subject has not prepared for today," Zhang Yunxiu replied, biting the bullet.

"Prepare for what?!" The Wanli Emperor waved his hand with a smile, looking completely casual, "I just want to see what the common people are doing every day. If it is deliberately prepared, I would lose interest instead."

Zhang Yunxiu's brain spun rapidly, and after weighing the pros and cons, he agreed.

"Then, as usual, I will leave the palace first, and you and a few eunuchs can mix into the crowd leaving the palace and come out together."

"I know, I know." The Wanli Emperor was full of impatience and urged, "Today I want to have a good time. You hurry up and come to pick me up, otherwise I will punish you for taking me out of the palace without authorization."

Zhang Yunxiu had black lines on his face.

This dog-thing must also be a dog by nature, turning his face as soon as he says so. But who let him be the Emperor while he himself was just a worker? Complaining twice in his heart, Zhang Yunxiu bowed to the Emperor and was about to leave.

"Wait."

The Wanli Emperor called out, and Zhang Yunxiu stopped his steps, turned around, and asked, "Does Your Majesty have any other matters to instruct?"

"Ahem, I have already finished reading those picture albums from last time; it is time to send some new ones in."

(End of this chapter)