Chapter 526 Obtained a Clue to Wang Qiu
Recently, there has been a disaster in the south, and the emperor has ordered all officials in the court to donate silver.
Most of those officials were stingy, so they set their sights on these merchants.
The emperor's own merchants are now few in number, so they've set their sights on the Zhou family.
He specially hosted a banquet for Zhou Ruiyuan, Zhou Feng, Du Wanchun, and Han Yan'er.
Zhou Feng was still the emperor's nominal adopted son, and he had been living a leisurely life as a marquis all these years, and the emperor had not mistreated him.
As the saying goes, "An army is raised for a thousand days to be used for one." It's time to put it to use.
Consort Li was also present at this banquet.
The emperor had a palace maid pour a cup of wine for each of them and then told them about the disaster relief efforts.
Zhou Ruiyuan put down his wine cup, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, there is a disaster in the south, and we have already donated silver to the local people."
The emperor was very surprised, "You've already donated?"
Zhou Ruiyuan replied, "Your Majesty, my wife sent people to deliver silver and supplies to the disaster area three days ago."
Since donations are inevitable anyway, why wait for the emperor to ask for them? If the emperor gets the money, he will definitely embezzle half of it. In the end, he will gain fame and money, while the Zhou family will get nothing.
Du Wanchun had anticipated this. Upon learning of the disaster in the south, before the emperor could even contact them, they prepared silver and supplies and sent people in the name of Minister Zhou Ruiyuan to personally distribute them to the disaster victims one by one.
Although it cost a lot of money, it was the right thing to do to save the people from suffering.
Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression changed drastically, and he lowered his eyes and slowly sat down.
He had originally planned to rebuild the villa after receiving a sum of money from the Zhou family, but it seems that this plan is going to fall through.
Consort Li, who was standing to the side, picked up where Zhou Ruiyuan left off and said, "Lord Zhou is truly dedicated to the people, which is really commendable."
After saying that, he specifically said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, it just so happens that you no longer need to worry about disaster relief. The Zhou family has done us a great favor."
The emperor was still displeased with Zhou Ruiyuan's actions, but after hearing what Consort Li said, he suppressed his anger and raised his wine cup again, saying, "Lord Zhou and Manager Du are truly loyal and righteous."
His words sounded somewhat sarcastic.
Zhou Ruiyuan and Du Wanchun listened silently, a slight chuckle escaping their lips.
Zhou Feng and Han Yan'er ate silently to the side, as if the Emperor's words had nothing to do with them.
This infuriated the emperor, who put down his wine cup once again.
Fortunately, Consort Li smoothed things over and allowed the dancers to come up and perform.
The expressions on everyone's faces gradually softened.
After Du Wanchun and the others left.
The emperor was so angry he almost smashed everything on the table. "This Zhou family is becoming increasingly outrageous."
Consort Li quickly advised, "The Zhou family has not done anything wrong. They donated a large amount of their silver to disaster relief, which also reduced the burden on our court. Your Majesty need not be angry."
The emperor raised his eyes and said, "I..."
He hesitated, not wanting to say anything, but he couldn't very well say it was because he hadn't benefited from it.
He didn't want Consort Li to know, so he didn't say anything more.
Du Wanchun and Zhou Ruiyuan left the palace in a carriage.
The Zhou family not only gained fame from this incident, but also profited.
After returning from Consort Li's palace, the emperor was heartbroken for a long time. Just as he was about to go to sleep, the palace guards brought news.
"Your Majesty, the assassin has been found."
The emperor was overjoyed and immediately stood up, excitedly asking, "Where is he?!"
The guard bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, we have so far discovered that the assassin went to Qingzhou Prefecture."
The assassin he was referring to was Wang Qiu.
Wang Qiu faked his death to avoid Consort Wu's notice, but nothing is foolproof. If the emperor wanted to investigate, he could find out.
"Qingzhou Prefecture..." the emperor murmured, his brows gradually furrowing.
"Why is it this place again?!"
The guard asked suspiciously, "Your Majesty, is there anything unusual about this place?"
Reflecting on the past, the emperor replied, "Over the years, I have sent many people to Qingzhou Prefecture, but they have all returned empty-handed."
After a moment of contemplation, the guard said, "Your Majesty, do you think the Empress might be here?"
The emperor said solemnly, "But I have searched for many years and have not found it."
The guard said meaningfully, "The stranger the place, the more suspicious it is."
As he spoke, his eyes darted around, and he continued, "Since we haven't been able to find them every time we go searching, is it possible that His Majesty has spies around him?"
The emperor began to have doubts after hearing this.
He thought carefully about the past eunuchs, Liu and Zhang.
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