Chapter 81: Eighty-First Chapter: A Father-Son Conversation

Zhu Di had just finished the morning court session and returned to his Study, thinking about the infighting that had occurred during the morning assembly.

Given Zhu Di's sensitivity to court affairs, he clearly sensed that something was amiss with today's morning court.

It was yet another struggle between the sovereign and his ministers.

But plagued by a lack of relevant information, Zhu Di did not know what Zhu Yuanzhang was fighting these ministers over.

This was the helplessness of a Feudatory Prince.

Lao Zhu would not take the initiative to tell Zhu Di anything, and those ministers, in their struggle against the Emperor, would naturally not share information with Zhu Di, who was merely a son.

The crux of the matter was that he himself could not take the initiative to ask.

Why would a Feudatory Prince be inquiring about so much?

It was enough to just do one's own job well.

After all, the dynasty was different; the Great Ming had just been established, and the Crown Prince, Zhu Biao, had deep roots, so no one was willing to pay attention to him, a mere Prince of Yan.

Sighing, Zhu Di clearly felt that upon this return to the capital, there was a sense of a storm about to break.

Could this matter have something to do with Xu'er?

Just as this thought occurred to Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoxu had already inquired about Zhu Di's location from the servants.

He then pushed the door open and walked straight in, meeting his old man.

Seeing his old man frowning behind the desk, Zhu Gaoxu walked inside while asking, "Father, is there something troubling you?"

Zhu Di had not expected that just as he thought of his son, he would appear right before his eyes.

Not blaming Zhu Gaoxu for pushing the door open and entering, Zhu Di felt a strange sensation in his heart as he looked at his son.

He felt more and more that the events of today's morning court were inseparable from this son of his.

Thinking this, Zhu Di's eyes lit up.

Why not ask this son of his?

After all, this son was currently far more favored in front of Lao Zhu than he was.

Thinking it, he asked; Zhu Di pointed to a chair nearby, signaling for Zhu Gaoxu to sit, and then said, "At today's morning court, some officials from the Ministry of War reported that the North is unstable, saying that the military forces and armaments on the northern border need to be increased."

"The North being unstable is pure nonsense; the North is indeed chaotic at present, but those remnants of the previous dynasty on the border have never made any moves."

"It is mainly because there are many local mountain bandits, and some have shown signs of growing in power, but your grandfather knows this; they are nothing but a rabble, and once he frees up his hands, he can wipe them out in less than a year, so your grandfather refused to yield at all and rejected the proposal directly. Anyway, the morning court was exceptionally lively today; do you know the reason for this?"

After Zhu Di finished speaking, he glanced at Zhu Gaoxu indifferently and then picked up the teacup on the desk to take a sip.

Zhu Gaoxu knew his old man's temperament, so he didn't beat around the bush and told his old man directly about the Seven-Day Agreement.

After hearing this, Zhu Di was suddenly enlightened and understood the stakes involved.

"Your Imperial Grandfather has played a brilliant move, but you must win that Seven-Day Agreement and bring as much glory to your Imperial Grandfather as possible."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded; he could be said to be full of confidence regarding the competition seven days later.

Zhu Di was increasingly satisfied with this son of his, and seeing Zhu Gaoxu nod, knowing his son had confidence in his heart, he said no more.

Having resolved the doubts in his heart, Zhu Di asked Zhu Gaoxu about another matter.

"I heard you got into a fight with Hu Weiyong's grandson yesterday?"

Zhu Gaoxu was not surprised that his old man knew about this.

Since his mother knew about it yesterday, it was impossible for his old man not to know.

However, Zhu Gaoxu was in no hurry to admit it.

He carefully observed the expression on Zhu Di's face.

Seeing no anger on Zhu Di's face, he felt relieved and nodded, admitting to it.

And indeed, Zhu Di was not angry.

It was just as Zhu Gaoxu had thought before.

This belonged to a dispute between the younger generation.

If Hu Wenzheng, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old, couldn't even beat a four-year-old toddler, it only meant he was trash.

It was already a bargain for the Hu family that he, Zhu Di, hadn't stepped in to stand up for his own child.

Of course, Zhu Di did not know that his son had already swindled quite a few good things from Hu Weiyong.

Subsequently, Zhu Di instructed Zhu Gaoxu: "It's just a grandson of Hu Weiyong; as long as you don't kill him, beating him is fine, but you should still pay attention to the impact; drawing a blade to wound someone in the street is, after all, not a good look."

Zhu Di was clearly concerned for his son, pointing out the shortcomings in how Zhu Gaoxu handled things.

And Zhu Gaoxu had already realized it, so he nodded without refuting, indicating he would remember it.

Seeing his son so well-behaved, Zhu Di's affection for Zhu Gaoxu grew even deeper.

"Tell me, what do you want this time coming back?"

A smile appeared on Zhu Di's face; he knew his son wouldn't visit without a reason, and coming back in such a hurry to find him must mean there was something going on.

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned when he heard his old man's words.

He had thought his old man would continue to ask about the Daming Gun, but he didn't expect him to change the subject and ask what he wanted instead.

After a moment of thought, Zhu Gaoxu understood his old man's intention.

His old man was also a sensible person who knew that some things could not be forced.

If he wanted to say it, he would naturally say it; if he didn't want to, his old man wouldn't ask.

It had to be said that Zhu Di really had his ways.

Zhu Gaoxu had originally had the news of the Daming Gun on the tip of his tongue, but since the other party suddenly stopped asking, he didn't intend to say it either.

He would wait until a month later when everything was finalized to talk about it.

Let's wait until a month later when everything is finalized before talking about it.