Chapter 48: The Cousin

The two of them hid in the private room, conversing in secret for nearly half an hour.

Only after the serious business was finished did Fu Changzong take a sip of tea and let out a long sigh of relief, looking at this seven-year-old nephew of his with a slightly strange expression.

He still remembered that three years ago, when Zhu Xu said he wanted to be arranged an official post, the decree had indeed come down within two days. After that, one thing after another had shocked him, even frightened him.

Was he a child prodigy, or was there some renowned teacher guiding him behind the scenes?

Fu Changzong couldn't help but doubt it in his heart—where could a seven-year-old child possibly have such schemes?

Zhu Xu also let out a long sigh of relief. Although this man was his own maternal uncle, there were still some things he couldn't say. This round of mental sparring had worn him out almost as much as running two laps around the training ground.

Zhu Xu was thinking of going to eavesdrop, and looked up at Fu Changzong, saying, "Oh, by the way, Uncle, arrange a carriage for me."

Fu Changzong was startled, and said, "Didn't you come by carriage? You walked here?"

Zhu Xu grinned, and told him what had just happened.

Fu Changzong was speechless. This nephew of his—when he was clever, he was astonishing; when he was childish, he left him with nothing to say.

"Fu Tao."

Fu Changzong called out toward the door.

A young man of eighteen or nineteen pushed open the door from outside, walked in, and bowed slightly, saying, "Father."

Zhu Xu's expression turned awkward at the sight of him. This cousin of his had once had his private affair exposed by Zhu Xu and had nearly been scared to death. Because of that, Zhu Xu was the shadow in his heart, and unless absolutely necessary, he would never cross paths with Zhu Xu.

Before Fu Changzong could speak, Zhu Xu called out in an exaggerated manner, "Ah, Brother, long time no see!"

Fu Tao stumbled, nearly fleeing on the spot.

Fu Changzong chuckled, waved at Zhu Xu, and said, "Alright, Tao'er, go find a carriage to send Xu'er back to the palace."

Fu Tao raised his head, his face sallow, his lips pale, looking at Fu Changzong with a pitiful expression.

Seeing him like this, Fu Changzong flew into a rage and said, "You worthless thing! If I tell you to go, then go!"

"Yes, yes!"

Fu Tao was very afraid of his father, so he nodded repeatedly and turned to run outside.

Zhu Xu clicked his tongue in wonder, then turned to Fu Changzong and said, "Uncle, Brother still hasn't gotten over it after three years?"

Fu Changzong's expression was somewhat embarrassed, and with a hint of worry he said, "Actually, Tao'er is fine in every other way—he's perfectly normal when you're not around. It's only when he sees you that he's like a mouse seeing a cat."

Zhu Xu looked up at the ceiling, recalling seriously whether that cousin of his had succeeded with that little maid back then... Unfortunately, he'd only caught a glimpse of a bare bottom.

Before long, Fu Tao drove the carriage over. As Zhu Xu was about to board, Fu Changzong cautioned him, "Be careful these days. His Highness Prince Xin is no kind-hearted man either."

Zhu Xu nodded and climbed into the carriage.

Fu Tao looked at Fu Changzong, and only after he nodded did he drive the carriage away.

Sitting in the carriage, Zhu Xu secretly let out a breath. That matter was settled—next was Wei Liangqing.

Zhu Xu sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain, and watched the people coming and going outside, the houses passing by.

Suddenly, he turned his head toward the front and said, "Brother, where are we going?"

Fu Tao had been sitting bolt upright the whole time, his face taut, like a schoolboy waiting for the teacher to announce his grades. He drove the carriage with the utmost care, not daring to breathe too loudly. The moment he heard Zhu Xu's voice, his hands trembled, the corners of his mouth twitching, unsure whether to cry or laugh. After a long while, he finally said, "Your Highness, I—I'll take you back to the palace."

Zhu Xu quickly lifted the curtain, reached out and patted Fu Tao's shoulder, saying, "No rush—let's go somewhere else first. Turn left up ahead, then right, then go straight."

Fu Tao's body shuddered, nearly falling off the carriage. He pulled hard on the reins and said, "Yes, yes, Your Highness."

Zhu Xu grinned as he leaned over behind him, studying his profile. Fu Tao was eighteen, somewhat thin and frail, the type who didn't look particularly sharp but was actually quite clever.

Fu Tao felt extremely uncomfortable all over, squirming as he said, "Your Highness, p-please sit back. It's not safe like this."

The more Zhu Xu looked, the more amused he became. Suddenly he said, "Brother, how about working for me?"

Fu Tao was deeply uneasy, his legs twisting together. Hearing this, he was taken aback and said, "Work for you?"

"That's right," Zhu Xu said. "I'm planning to open a money shop, and I want you to be the chief accountant."

"Chief accountant?"

Fu Tao was stunned. He wasn't much of a scholar, and being a member of the imperial in-law family, his prospects had always been difficult. On top of that, his father had always kept him confined to the residence, so to this day he had never gone out to work.

Zhu Xu looked at his expression, smiled slightly, and said, "Alright, I'll speak with Uncle about it. In a few days, I'll send someone to find you."

Fu Tao hesitated, wanting to say something more, but he opened his mouth and closed it again without saying a word.

Zhu Xu looked outside and suddenly perked up, saying, "We're here—right here."

"Ah, yes!"

Fu Tao hurriedly pulled on the reins and brought the carriage to a stop.

"Come with me."

Zhu Xu jumped down from the carriage and headed straight for the teahouse at the side, waving at Fu Tao as he did so.

Fu Tao tethered the horse and quickly followed.

"Your Highness, you've arrived," a young eunuch came out from inside to greet him just as Zhu Xu jumped down from the carriage, his face full of fawning smiles. "Eunuch Feng just went in not long ago."

Zhu Xu glanced at him—he should be one of Feng Zhu's men. Walking as he spoke, he said, "Good, take us to the room next door—the kind where we can hear their conversation."

The young eunuch smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Your Highness, this place has already been bought by Eunuch Feng. This servant has prepared a room for you—please follow me."

He glanced at Fu Tao out of the corner of his eye, presumably taking him for Zhu Xu's attendant, and paid him no further mind.

Zhu Xu nodded slightly and soon arrived at the adjoining room. Zhu Xu and Fu Tao sat down silently, while the young eunuch stood attending at the side.

"Eunuch Feng, does Mother... does the Noble Lady lack silver?"

That should be Wei Liangqing's voice, Zhu Xu thought to himself.

"The Noble Lady lacks not only silver, but also people to handle matters."

That was Feng Zhu. Zhu Xu sneered inwardly—this fellow certainly knew how to put on airs.

In the other room, Wei Liangqing nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, if the Noble Lady wishes to open a money shop, this Wei will spare no effort." He had no backing left now. Although the Emperor had pardoned his crimes, if anyone sought to strike at him in retaliation, he had no means of self-protection whatsoever—he had to rely entirely on the Noble Lady behind Eunuch Feng.

Feng Zhu seemed to be playing the part of the Kunning Palace's chief steward. While concentrating on filing his nails, he said in a flat, indifferent tone, "Enough. This eunuch still has other matters to attend to, so listen carefully. As for capital—recently quite a few Shanxi merchants and Huizhou merchants have come to the capital. These people are entangled with the Jin people. You should know what kind of business they're doing. In a moment I'll send you a squad of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If you can't scrape together one million taels of capital, the Noble Lady will have someone else do this task."

One million taels!

Wei Liangqing's expression changed. Although the Shanxi and Huizhou merchants were very wealthy, who would casually bring so much silver to the capital? And this was no longer a matter of moving against just one or two families.

These people had very complicated backgrounds. In the court there was the Shanxi clique, and the Donglin Faction was also deeply entangled. He estimated that moving against one family would alarm a Minister, and three families would alarm a Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat.