novelAbuy Chapter 67: Copy it ruthlessly, copy it to death!
Chapter 67: Copy it ruthlessly, copy it to death!
"You, you unfilial son!"
"You're really going to drive me crazy!"
"I'm going to beat you to death!"
Zhu Di was furious and took off his shoe to hit Zhu Gaoxu.
Zhu Gaoxu said, "Your Majesty, without distinguishing right from wrong, you sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard to surround my house, and now you want to beat me without distinguishing right from wrong."
"Where is justice? Where is justice?!"
Zhu Gaoxu's eyes were red.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards: ...
Zhu Di himself: ...
They hadn't expected Zhu Gaoxu to be such a good actor.
The more he acts like this, the only two possibilities are either that he genuinely doesn't know, or that he's faking it—he's definitely faking it.
Zhu Di suppressed his anger and watched as he walked over.
"Tell me, where is the stuff?"
Zhu Gaoxu feigned ignorance: "What is it?"
"Looks like you really are faking it. I'm asking you, what about the 220,000 taels of silver?"
Zhu Gaoxu said, "I don't know. I only know that the silver was all given to Xia Yuanji."
Zhu Di took a deep breath.
"Let me put it this way," Zhu Di said. "Last night, 220,000 taels of silver vanished without a trace. Tell me the truth, did you take this silver?"
"Absurd!" Zhu Gaochi said, his eyes red. "Your Majesty, you may not trust anyone, but you cannot distrust me!!"
"These past few days, I have been overseeing the country, and I don't know how much I have sacrificed to prepare for this war."
"Whether it's to make money for the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, or to confiscate the property of officials, isn't it all for the sake of the national treasury?"
"His Majesty wants to wage war, and knowing that things aren't going well with the Crown Prince, he appointed me as regent, which means he wants me to strengthen the army and increase military spending!"
"Now, I have done it, and I have even managed to raise more than 220,000 taels of silver."
"But what about Your Majesty?"
"The money is gone, but you're blaming me."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, doesn't your conscience hurt?"
Zhu Di: ...
He subconsciously touched his conscience.
To be honest, his conscience doesn't hurt at all.
Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaoxu, who had a distressed expression on his face. As his father, he couldn't help but feel bad.
"But...but the silver is really gone," Zhu Di said.
"That can't be blamed on me," Zhu Gaochi said, his eyes red. "Your Majesty, these past few days, I don't know how much I've sacrificed for the Ming Dynasty, for the entire Ming Dynasty."
After saying this, he said with even greater heartache, "These past two days, I don't know how many people I've offended in order to raise money for you."
"I've offended everyone in the court, both civil and military officials. Can't you see that?"
Zhu Gaoxu unleashed a barrage of attacks, leaving Zhu Di completely bewildered.
"But...but the silver is really gone." Zhu Di persisted, "If you didn't take it, then tell me, who took it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, his whole body began to tremble.
"That's easy!!"
Zhu Gaoxu asked, "Where are the Embroidered Uniform Guards?"
"Search them! Search my house too!"
"Wouldn't that solve the problem?"
Ji Gang was stunned: "This...this..."
"copy!"
"This is my idea. To put Your Majesty at ease, you can go ahead and copy it without worry," Zhu Gaoxu said.
Ji Gang still knew how to behave; he secretly glanced at Zhu Di.
Zhu Di nodded slightly.
The Imperial Guards swarmed forward!
They started copying like crazy.
Zhu Gaoxu, standing to the side, shouted, "Copy it all up! Copy it like crazy!"
It was as if this wasn't his home.
"You should also investigate thoroughly; leave no corner of this mansion unchecked."
It has to be said that Zhu Gaoxu is truly fearless and unafraid nowadays.
Zhu Di observed this and tried to find a clue in his son's face.
But damn it, there's not a single flaw in it!
This baffled Zhu Di; he truly couldn't understand it.
Could it be that this kid really didn't take the money?
If it wasn't him, then who could it be?
Time flew by, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards investigated relentlessly, just as Zhu Gaoxu had said.
Unfortunately, nothing was gained.
Zhu Di asked, "Have you investigated every place?"
Ji Gang replied, "Your Majesty, I have searched the entire Han Prince's residence, inside and out, but I have not found the 220,000 taels of silver."
Upon hearing his words, Zhu Di's expression darkened.
He took a deep breath.
"That's a full two hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver!"
Zhu Gaoxu asked, "Your Majesty, did Xia Yuanji secretly transfer all this silver?"
"Did he embezzle this batch of silver?"
Inside the Fengtian Hall, Xia Yuanji, who was still following along, suddenly sneezed violently.
Who?
Who's talking badly about me?
Zhu Di's Imperial Guards could not find the silver.
This made Zhu Di's heart bleed, because he knew very well that 220,000 taels of silver would be of great help to his expedition to the northern desert.
"Two hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver," Zhu Di muttered to himself as he turned to leave, still muttering to himself.
"Your Majesty!" Upon seeing this, Ji Gang and the Imperial Guards hurriedly followed, worried that something might happen to His Majesty.
Zhu Gaoxu watched them go.
After Zhu Di and his entourage left, the Princess of Han looked at her husband.
"My lord, is what we're doing not quite right?" asked the Princess Consort of Han.
Zhu Gaoxu: "What's wrong with it?"
"Back during the Jingnan Rebellion, he dragged me into a rebellion without any fear. Now that we've lost a mere few hundred thousand taels of silver, does he think he'll die of anger?"
The Princess Consort of Han said, "..."
"Then, my husband, what shall we do next?" asked the Princess Consort of Han.
"Take a nap first," Zhu Gaoxu said. "Given the current situation, His Majesty is unlikely to let me continue as regent."
"Since that's the case, why don't we take a nap?" Zhu Gaoxu said, holding the Princess of Han in his arms. "My beloved, let's take another nap."
"Waaah!" Princess Han nodded. This "waaah" was something Zhu Gaoxu had recently taught her, saying that the sound was very evocative.
…………
He didn't know how Zhu Di got back to Fengtian Hall; all he knew was that his hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were gone!
"Investigate the Immortal Elixir House run by the Prince of Han, and the places where he stores his money. Investigate them thoroughly!" Zhu Di clenched his fists and said, "I just have a feeling that he took this money."
"No one else would dare to do this except him. Even if they had a hundred times the courage, they still wouldn't dare!!"
Zhu Di knew it perfectly well!
In the entire capital, only the Prince of Han dared to touch his money.
And besides him, no one else would dare to do that!
"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly!"
"Yes, yes!"
Ji Gang began his investigation at the place where the Prince of Han was operating. It seems that this time, Zhu Di is serious.