My father is Yongle, and all I want is to cultivate immortality.

Chapter 62 Zhu Di: If he wants to play, we'll play with him!

"Do you even need to tell me that?" Zhu Di retorted, "My son is indeed a treasure; he's now a master alchemist."

Yao Guangxiao shook his head: "Your Majesty, I'm not talking about that, but something else."

"you say."

"His Highness the Prince of Han knew perfectly well that the national treasury was empty and that the military funds for the war could not be raised. Yet he asked His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Prince of Zhao to raise the money. This was a wise choice," Yao Guangxiao praised.

"It's just raising money, what's the big deal?" Zhu Di was still angry and hadn't realized what was going on.

Yao Guangxiao laughed and said, "Your Majesty, think about it. His Highness the Crown Prince and the others raised the money, so are all these civil and military officials just going to stand by and do nothing?"

"All the money they've embezzled over the years, is it all going to be useless now?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Zhu Di was so excited that he stood up on the spot: "Old monk, if you remind me like that, it really is true."

"So, this time, the second brother's move was actually quite impressive."

Yao Guangxiao laughed and said, "This Prince of Han is just hiding his true abilities; he simply doesn't want to do it."

"Now that he is a master alchemist, I can guess why he went to Yunnan to take up his fiefdom."

Zhu Di realized what was happening and couldn't help but ask, "You mean he did this so he could focus on refining elixirs?"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"You insolent wretch!" Zhu Di roared. "Even if he's refining elixirs in the capital, am I supposed to stop him?"

"What's the difference between alchemy in the capital and alchemy in Yunnan?"

"He's just being dramatic!!"

Yao Guangxiao smiled but remained silent.

"If this kid really wanted to focus on alchemy, it's not like I'm forbidding him. Why did he have to run off to some damn Yunnan?"

Yao Guangxiao sighed: "I guess it's because His Highness the Prince of Han has some complaints about you."

"What if he decides to sever ties with you as father and son later?"

Zhu Di's lips twitched.

"Alright, stop talking." Zhu Di took a deep breath and summoned Ji Gang.

"Go to the Prince of Han's residence and the Prince of Zhao's residence, and have the eldest and third sons come here."

…………

The Eastern Palace.

"No money, not a single penny!" The Crown Princess exploded.

"My dear consort, I was just mentioning it briefly, why are you so upset?" Zhu Gaochi thought helplessly.

"How can I not be in a hurry?"

"What does this King of Han mean?"

"He asked you and the third son to each contribute 20,000 taels of silver, while he himself contributed 10,000 taels?"

The Crown Princess angrily retorted, "What does he mean?!"

"Look at you, getting so anxious!" Zhu Gaochi quickly said, "Don't shout, don't shout, it's undignified, it's undignified!"

"You know it's not dignified?" the Crown Princess said angrily. "Just look at his second son. Just from refining pills and selling beauty pills, he could get rich to death."

"And you?"

"You're in charge of the country every day, and you don't dare accept any gifts from the officials!"

"What does this second brother mean?"

"What could he mean?!"

The Crown Princess grew angrier the more she spoke.

"No, I need to go to the second brother's place. I need to ask him what he really means!?"

Zhu Gaochi was truly terrified: "No, no, no! You mustn't cause any more trouble."

Ji Gang walked over.

"Your Highness, Your Highness the Crown Princess."

"What's wrong?" the Crown Princess asked. "Is the old man also telling us to raise money quickly?"

"No, that's not it," Ji Gang quickly said. "His Majesty has decreed that His Highness the Crown Prince must go to Jiming Temple."

"Okay, I'll go right away!" Zhu Gaochi quickly agreed.

"Okay, I'll go too. I want to ask the old man what he really means!" Zhang Yan said.

"Stop messing around. Just stay home and feed the cat. I'll figure out how to raise the money myself."

Zhu Gaochi was truly frightened. After speaking with the Crown Princess, he followed Ji Gang to Jiming Temple.

On the way, he also met the third brother.

"Third brother, what brings you here?" Zhu Gaochi asked.

"This is our father's intention!" Zhu Gaosui said. "Our father is seeing us at this time because he probably wants to stand up for us."

Zhu Gaochi did not speak, and the two of them arrived at Jiming Temple.

Upon arriving at Jiming Temple, they saw Zhu Di playing chess with Yao Guangxiao.

"They've arrived?" Zhu Di asked.

"Your subject Zhu Gaochi greets Your Majesty!"

"Your subject Zhu Gaosui greets Your Majesty!"

The two brothers spoke.

"Alright, there are no outsiders here, no need for such formalities." Zhu Di stood up as he spoke.

He looked at his two sons.

"How did the second prince perform today?" Zhu Di asked.

"This...this..." Both of them looked troubled.

"Elder brother, you speak." Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaochi.

Zhu Gaochi said cautiously, "I feel alright."

"Not bad?" Zhu Di sneered, "How do you feel about the second prince's performance today?"

"That kid was wearing a python robe and loitering outside the main hall all morning."

"In the afternoon, he brought his own swords and spears and left them in the study. Is that acceptable?"

"This..." Zhu Gaochi didn't know what to say. He couldn't very well kick someone when they were down.

"The reason I haven't made a move is because I want to see what this kid is up to."

"I have asked him to oversee the country time and time again, but he has always postponed it. This time, the way he is doing it is obvious to even a fool that he is deliberately trying to spite me," Zhu Di said.

"Yes, yes..."

Seeing this, they all nodded.

Zhu Gaochi reacted quickly, asking, "Then, Father, what do you mean?"

"If he wants to play, we'll play with him!"

"I'd like to see if this brat can really cause any trouble."

At this point, Zhu Di gave a cold snort.

Zhu Gaochi stammered, "That makes sense, but Second Brother, he asked me and Third Brother to each raise 20,000 taels. That's 20,000 taels! I...we can't come up with that."

Zhu Gaosui nodded quickly, "Yes, we really can't produce it."

"If the eldest son can't produce it, I might believe him. But you, kid, can't produce it either?" Zhu Di asked, posing a probing question: "All these years, you and the second son have been sharing military pay, and you really haven't produced a single penny?"

"Ah...this..."

"Get out! Go back and prepare the money!" Zhu Di roared.

"Yes, yes..." Zhu Gaosui swallowed hard, and he was so frightened that he left Jiming Temple on the spot.

Zhu Gaochi swallowed hard: "Then, Father, shall I also leave?"

After saying that, he turned to leave.

"Wait a moment."

Zhu Di stopped him.

Zhu Gaochi asked fearfully, "Father, is there anything else?"

"You're just going back like this?" Zhu Di asked. "Can you come up with this twenty thousand taels of silver?"

"This, this..." Zhu Gaochi stammered incoherently.

"Take these." Zhu Di took out two silver notes from his pocket.

These two silver notes represent 20,000 taels of silver.

"Father..." Zhu Gaochi stared blankly at his father.

Zhu Di said, "If I tell you to take it, then take it!"

"This time, let's play well with the second brother. How can we play with him if we don't have any chips?"

"Yes!" Zhu Gaochi accepted it without hesitation.

"My lord, I know you've worked hard as regent during this time," Zhu Di said. "Take a good rest these next few days..."

"Yes..." Zhu Gaochi was deeply moved, but the next moment, Zhu Di spoke up again: "Of course, you can't forget to lose weight either."

Zhu Gaochi: ...