Chapter 1721 Miss Jiang
After dinner, Zhulan and her husband went outside to enjoy the cool air. The night was beautiful. They lay on the rocking chair, looking at the stars and smelling the faint scent of mosquito repellent. It was so comfortable.
Zhou Shuren admired it for a while and said, "Time flies by so fast."
"yes."
Zhou Shuren asked, "It seems like I haven't received any letters from the Yang family for a long time."
Zhulan calculated the date and said, "It will probably be soon."
"You wrote last time saying that my eldest brother was ill. I don't know if he is better now."
Zhulan fell silent as she thought about the people she was familiar with who had passed away one after another in recent years. She felt bad seeing off the people she was familiar with.
Zhou Shuren added: "Brother is in good health, he will be fine."
Zhulan nodded and raised her head to continue looking at the starry sky. It was so beautiful, the Milky Way was so brilliant, and her mood became much better.
Zhou Shuren held his wife's hand, a smile on his face. It was great to have his wife by his side.
The next morning, after the court session ended, Zhou Shuren was stopped by the emperor and left with the emperor. Zhou Shuren walked with the prince.
The prince looked a little tired, and it was obvious that he had not rested well. The emperor also had a gloomy face.
Zhou Shuren's mouth twitched. He really didn't want to stay. The emperor had just asked him to stay, and he clearly felt that the ministers were relieved.
Back in the government hall, the emperor handed over a booklet and said, "Take a look."
Zhou Shuren flipped through the pages one by one, his face becoming darker and darker. "Damn it."
The emperor had already sat down to drink tea. In the past few days, the emperor had been drinking tea to reduce internal heat. Even so, bubbles still formed in his mouth. "I know that corrupt officials are not allowed. As long as they are not excessive, I will turn a blind eye. But I am too lenient with this shocking list."
The last time Zhou Shuren encountered such a long list was when he was investigating the salt tax. “I was also shocked.”
The list is an extended network of relationships, layer upon layer. However, the bribes received by Lord Lu are only a small part. The amount of money invested in road construction every year is huge. This is only the money taken by the court. What about the donations from merchants in various states?
The emperor rubbed his forehead and said, "I am most angry that the dikes were built with shoddy materials. Should I be thankful that there have been no major floods in the past two years?"
Zhou Shuren took a deep breath. He felt sorry for the money, but also angry that the people's safety was ignored for the sake of money. "We should be thankful."
Your Majesty, "They should be made aware that there is a knife hanging over their heads."
Zhou Shuren put down the list and said, "Only lessons learned in blood can be remembered."
The emperor touched the list and said, "The person who wrote the list is dead. The girl who brought the list to the capital is dead."
After a pause, the emperor continued, "Leave it to your wife."
Zhou Shuren, "Girl?"
The emperor nodded. "It's just a girl. You'll know when you see her."
Zhou Shuren admired this girl very much and she knew how to find opportunities to report her.
The girl was in the palace. She arrived soon, but Zhou Shuren was stunned when he saw her. The girl was blind in one eye and had a scar on her face.
The emperor said, "Miss Jiang wants to go to a women's college."
Zhou Shuren didn't stare at the girl. Why would a good girl be blind? He had already guessed it. "I will take her back to the Marquis' Mansion first."
The Emperor: "Yes."
Eunuch Zhang was holding a box in his hand. Miss Jiang took it and said, "I thank the emperor for his grace."
On the way out of the palace, Zhou Shuren didn't want to chat with a teenage girl, so he walked in silence.
When they returned to the mansion, Steward Ding saw that the girl was stunned, and then he looked away, fearing that the girl was uncomfortable.
In the main courtyard, Zhulan listened to Shuren's words, and Miss Jiang introduced herself again. She felt sorry for the girl in front of her, "Okay, I'll take you to the academy tomorrow."
Miss Jiang smiled and said, "Thank you, ma'am."
Zhulan said to Qingxue, "Take Miss Jiang to rest."
After Miss Jiang left, Zhulan said, "I really admire this girl."
Not everyone can remain sane in despair.
Zhou Shuren, "The emperor didn't tell me what Miss Jiang had been through, so don't ask."
Zhulan nodded, "I know what I'm doing."
Zhou Shuren continued, "The children at home have been restrained recently."
"Okay, are you going back to the Ministry of Revenue?"
Zhou Shuren didn't want to go back, but unfortunately he couldn't, "Yeah."
After Zhou Shuren left, Zhulan sent someone to the academy to write a letter to the female official, asking the academy to clean up a bedroom for Miss Jiang to live in. When Qingxue came back, Zhulan called the embroiderer at home. Miss Jiang only brought a box, and clothes and other things needed to be prepared.
There was a new girl in the family. Yudie and the others knew about it and wanted to go and see what was going on but were stopped, so they all came to the main courtyard.
Zhulan explained Miss Jiang's background, "She went to the academy to teach."
Miss Jiang introduced herself as being proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and hoped to teach students. Zhulan admired the girl's broad-mindedness and the hardships that did not defeat her.
Yuwen listened quietly. She knew there was a Miss Shao, and now there was a Miss Jiang. Her intuition told her that the academy would be very exciting. Should she go there more often?
In the afternoon, Gu Sheng returned from the palace at the Hanlin Academy. He was a little dazed until he met Zhuo Guyu, and then he came to his senses.
Zhuo Guyu frowned when he was looked at, "Master Gu?"
Gu Sheng retracted his gaze, thought for a moment and said nothing. Today in the palace, he met the Duke of Yong'an. Thinking of this, he sighed twice, thinking that the Duke's Mansion really had a lot of money.
Zhuo Guyu's heart was pounding with fear. He was relieved that Gu Sheng entered the palace today, but he also felt a little gloating, hoping that Gu Sheng would also be angered. Unexpectedly, Gu Sheng came back fine and looked at him strangely!
Zhuo Guyu was in a state of anxiety. He stood up and asked, "Master Gu, may I have a word with you?"
Gu Sheng: "Okay."
After leaving the house, Zhuo Guyu checked around to see if there was anyone around, and asked, "I owe you a favor, Lord Gu. Can you please tell me if anything happened in the Duke's Mansion?"
Gu Sheng was silent for a while. Zhuo Guyu lost his patience after such a long time and replied, "The Duke entered the palace today and donated half of his property."
Anyway, Zhuo Guyu will know when he returns.
Zhuo Guyu was confused. How could it happen so suddenly? He didn't know anything. And wasn't Grandpa lying down with a broken leg?
Zhuo Guyu wanted to ask more, but when he looked up, he saw that Gu Sheng had already gone back.
At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren also received the order, "Half of the family property?"
Eunuch Zhang came to the Ministry of Revenue in person, "Yes, the Princess of Yong'an donated money to the national treasury."
Zhou Shuren blinked his eyes. Was the Emperor angry with the Duke's Mansion again today?
Zhou Shuren's gaze was too obvious. Eunuch Zhang lowered his head and said, "The princess dragged her injured leg into the palace."
Zhou Shuren said, "I will clean out the warehouse."
After Eunuch Zhang left, Zhou Shuren said to Qiu Yan, "Clear out a few more warehouses."
Qiu Yan's heart was pounding with fear. "My Lord asked us to clear out the east warehouse this morning. Isn't that enough?"
The entire east warehouse is filled with so much silver!
Zhou Shuren thought to himself that there might not be enough. He thought about the names on the roster and said, "You go and arrange it."
Qiu Yan left with a heavy heart. How many people’s homes would the emperor confiscate?
Before the time to leave the government office, the carriage from the Yong'an Mansion arrived, carrying boxes and boxes of silver. Zhou Shuren's eyelids were twitching. How much silver had they collected that year?
(End of this chapter)
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