There are some things that Zhu Houzhao could not do even if he wanted to hide them. It was like the court that he came to Huguang would sooner or later know about it.

At most, Chen Xi may not admit that he had met Zhu Houzhao, but if he said he had no idea about Zhu Houzhao's coming to Huguang, Zhu Youzhao might be even more annoyed.

Unaware of the situation, the representatives could not provide protection. Zhu Youzhang did not want his son to be in danger. Even if he saw his son returning to Beijing safely, he would still feel that Chen Xi was dereliction of duty.

Chen Xi returned to the Governor's Office and wondered whether he should inform the court of this matter.

This is much more complicated than planning for marching and combat. We must fully consider the various interests behind the matter, understand the psychology of the emperor and ministers in the court, and make the most favorable response.

Finally, Chen Xi realized that reporting to the court was not suitable, but it was okay to talk to Xie Qian. The reason was that Zhu Houzhao left Beijing and was still a secret of the court, and no one even knew the purpose of Xie Qian's trip to the south.

If Chen Xi made a memorial at this time, the memorial must pass through the General Affairs Office and then to the cabinet, so that things can no longer be concealed. However, if we discuss with Xie Qian, because Xie Qian always considers the issue from his position, Xie Qian may make a more rational report based on the situation of the court, which is more beneficial to Chen Xi.

In this way, Xie Qian must be found first.

Fortunately, Xie Qian had already said that he would go to Suzhou Prefecture before, and Yunliu and Xier were from the East Factory themselves. As long as they contact Xie Qian's subordinates, there should be no difficulty in passing the message.

Chen Xi was preparing to ask Xie Qian to return to Beijing to report after receiving the letter. If this was not explained to Xie Qian, he would probably continue to search in the south of the Yangtze River and turn around and call on Xie Qian back to Beijing when Zhu Youtang sees his son. Zhu Youtang may think that Xie Qian is in vain and Xie Qian's future will be cast a shadow.

Xie Qian's official fortune is likely to affect Chen Xi's future position in the court, and he must not be taken lightly on this issue.

...

...

The next morning, before Chen Xi could wake up, Zhu Houzhao, who was overly energetic, came to the Governor's Office early.

The naughty child didn't know what kind of politeness was, and he didn't know how hateful it was to disturb Qingmeng. He just wanted to stay with Chen Xi as much as possible, so that Chen Xi could take him to eat, drink, have fun and enjoy it.

Chen Xi got up quickly, dressed up and came to the yard to wash. Zhu Houzhao rushed in excitedly. Seeing that Chen Xi's yard was not as luxurious as he was in the official office, a look of surprise flashed across his face. Then he put aside his distracting thoughts and kept telling his feelings about going south:

"...The scenery along the river is not good, and many places are remote and far less prosperous than the canal. But Jiujiang and Wuchang Prefecture are exceptions. You can clearly feel that the shore is densely populated, and there are also obvious increases in ships on the river. Sir, what are the scenic spots and historical sites in Wuchang Prefecture? Can you take me to see it?"

Chen Xi put down the face-washing handkerchief, looked at the naughty child, and asked, "You are traveling thousands of miles south just to appreciate the scenery, not for the humanities?"

Zhu Houzhao's age can tell the difference between scenery and humanities. He thought for a while and said, "The humanities that Mr. refers to the suffering of the people? I haven't stayed in towns and villages for too long. I just walked along the river bank and occasionally stayed in towns by the river for a day or two. After a quick glance, I can only see the scenery. If Mr. thinks that I don't know enough about humanities, then I can take me to appreciate the customs and sentiments of Wuchang Prefecture and the various worlds!"

A smirk appeared on Zhu Houzhao's lips. Obviously, he had learned the skills of communicating with others, and many of them were taught to him in silence.

Chen Xidao: "I said it for three days, not more or less every day. During this period, you can see anything you want, but in three days you will set off and return to the capital. If you can agree, I will accompany you around. If you don't agree, then just walk around yourself, or even leave Wuchang Mansion by yourself. I won't stop you!"

Hearing this, Zhu Houzhao blinked and could hardly believe his ears. After a while, he asked aggrievedly: "Sir, do you really care about me?"

Chen Xi was righteous and righteous: "I will send you back to Beijing if you are forced to run away on the road, I will not be able to explain to His Majesty and the Queen. It would be better to leave from the beginning. Even if you die on the road, I can tell the court that I have never seen you at all."

"How to choose, it's up to you to decide!"

Zhu Houzhao looked reluctant. He wanted to enjoy the local scenery with Chen Xi and learn some skills from Chen Xi to govern the country and to pacify the world. On the other side, he wanted to maintain his current state of freedom and go to other places to take a walk.

These days, the naughty child has been playing wild in the place and can't help but feel a little relieved... He doesn't know how to miss his hometown and relatives at all. The outside world is much more exciting than the boring life in the palace. When he suddenly sees this colorful world, he can experience different new things every day. Zhu Houzhao wants to stay outside for a long time and not return to Beijing to be the bird in the cage.

The naughty child muttered to himself: "Looking at Mr. Chen's serious look, it seems that I can't agree. Let's do this, I promise first, and spend three days safely. Then I will sneak away quietly. Even if Mr. Chen wants to send me back to Beijing, I will not be able to find anyone... I left a letter saying that I will go north to Beijing by myself, so that I can appreciate the scenery of many places along the way. Yes, that's it!"

The naughty child had a wishful thinking. He thought he could deal with Chen Xi like he did when dealing with Liu Jin, but he didn't know that once Zhu Houzhao arrived at Wuchang Mansion, he would never escape Chen Xi's surveillance.

Chen Xi has set up checkpoints at various major transportation routes and water and land piers in Wuchang Prefecture, and arranged personnel to garrison. In this way, even if Zhu Houzhao can escape the tracking, he will not want to leave Wuchang Prefecture from the water and land without being known.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "Mr. Chen will do whatever he says! I have been out for a long time, and my father and mother must be very worried. Moreover, when I left, the empress dowager was sick, and now I want to go back to the palace to accompany the empress dowager. In this case, Mr. Chen will be with me all these days, right?"

The naughty child thought he was skillful and thought he could get through the situation with Shen Xi, but Chen Xi knew this boy's temper. It can be said that as soon as he stuck out his butt, Chen Xi knew what he was going to do.

Chen Xi sneered, hung his face-washing handkerchief on the drying rope, and gave Zhu Houzhao a vaccination in advance: "A real man said something, it is hard to catch up. Since you promised, you must fulfill it. Within these three days, I will accompany you to travel in Wuchang Prefecture and let you appreciate the industrial park I founded."

"In three days, I will send someone to escort you north. If you want to escape halfway, don't blame my people for tying you to the capital."

Zhu Houzhao looked dissatisfied, but he was afraid that Chen Xi would see the clues, so he nodded without hesitation: "Sir, it seems that I always like to speak without trust. I was going to go back to Beijing."

"You have also said that if the father dies and no one inherits the throne, maybe the mother and the ministers will support others, then I will suffer a great loss! Or... Just like Qin Shihuang at that time, if I have a secret funeral, I will need me to go back to the palace... Haha. Mr. Chen, what industrial park you mentioned must be fun, so I will take me to see it?"

No one in the world can take Zhu Youzhang's life and death so calmly, and even talk about it.

Chen Xi was speechless about this. Who made Zhu Houzhao look like a naughty child and a kind of person who was specifically cheating on her?

As for the matter of the industrial park, Chen Xi does not intend to conceal it. In the future, he will make major industries bigger and stronger. If he does not receive the emperor's support, it will be difficult to continue to promote it.

With Zhu Houzhao's character, among all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, he was already the easiest to accept new things. If it were someone else, Chen Xi felt that he would not get more support at all.

***************

ps: The second update!
Chapter completed!