Chapter 1723 Being Remembered

In the days that followed, Zhulan rarely went out except when necessary. As the days passed, the trial of Lord Lu's case continued, and more and more people were involved.

The Emperor seems to be planning a killing spree. The noble families in the capital have been keeping a very low profile lately. All the playboys in the capital have disappeared, and the business of horse farms in the suburbs of the capital has been very slow.

At the mansion of Marquis Zhou, Zhulan received Feng, who was supposed to be a generation younger than her, but someone made her daughter marry her son, making them equals.

Feng brought a lot of fruits, "Sent to Beijing from my hometown, for Madam and Lord Hou to taste."

Zhulan especially likes to drink fruit juice when she gets older. It was a luxury in ancient times. Honey and fruit were not cheap in ancient times. She even received honey as tribute.

Zhulan said: "Then I won't be polite."

Seeing that the lady really liked him, Feng was very happy. She knew that the Zhou Marquis Mansion was a good place. Only when she really got to know it did she understand how good it was. There were too many hardships for a daughter of a rich family to marry off. Her parents' family were not respected, and sometimes even the servants dared to give them a look.

All she got when she came to Zhou Hou Mansion was respect. She didn't need to please anyone. Just had a normal conversation and she felt comfortable!

Zhulan asked, "Why didn't you bring Xinyi with you?"

Feng replied, "She got caught in the rain the day before yesterday, and I was taking medicine, so I didn't bring her here."

"I was sick. Are you feeling better now?"

"Much better, she is still young and playful."

Zhu Lan smiled and said, "They are not that old. It's good for them to love playing when they are young. Once they get married, they won't have the chance to play anymore."

The wrinkles at the corners of Feng's eyes deepened. "You're right."

It is said that Lady Zhou loves her daughter-in-law very much, and that the daughter-in-law is blessed.

Feng added, "There have been a lot of people coming to our house recently. Hey, the old man has been frowning lately, and there are more wrinkles on his forehead."

Zhulan understood that some people were secretly trying to survive, some were asking Zhou Houfu to speak in their favor, and some were using threats and inducements to take advantage of the weak. Zhou Houfu was not afraid of offending others and refused, but the Wei family was not like that.

Zhu Lan said, "You'd better be careful recently. Try not to leave the city unless necessary. Only when you are well can Lord Wei feel at ease."

It is better to be safe than sorry. When it comes to survival, the relatives of the Marquisate cannot appease everyone, and there will always be people who want to take risks.

Especially those who know the emperor's mind well and want to stay alive will think of many ways. Anyway, as long as it is not a big mistake to exterminate all nine generations of the clan, they will be cautious about offending people who should not be provoked. And those who have no backing are not afraid. If they are guilty, one more crime is not too much.

Feng's face turned pale. Her father had reminded her to be careful recently. "I've made a note of that."

Zhu Lan laughed again and said, "The capital city now is not what it was a decade ago. No one dares to commit murder openly in the capital city, unless they are really crazy."

Feng felt much more at ease; the security in the capital was indeed good.

Zhulan also prepared a return gift, and because Xinyi was ill, she also prepared some medicinal herbs.

At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren looked at the bound new account books, five boxes in total, and said, "Not bad."

Qiu Yan looked numb, "Is it too much?"

How many households do we need to search? How many industries do we need to record?

"I'm just afraid that you will complain that I haven't prepared enough."

The amount of money the court gave for road construction every year may not seem like much, but it increased over the years, and the majority of it came from donations from merchants. The country was too big, and it was not just the prefectures in the south that were rich, some county towns were also extremely wealthy, especially in some places that needed to pay tribute, where the merchants were extremely wealthy.

He could already imagine that the treasury was full, and indeed he became rich overnight by confiscating property.

Qiu Yan's scalp tingled, "Why don't these people want to live a good life?"

"Because of greed."

Qiu Yan moved his lips and said, "Silver is indeed a good thing."

Zhou Shuren agreed, "Go ahead and get busy."

Soon the prince arrived. Zhou Shuren was surprised, "Why is the prince here at the Ministry of Revenue?"

The prince held two memorials in his arms. "Would you like to take a look, sir?"

Zhou Shuren took a quick look. Oh, it was a report from the Ministry of War. "I don't want to read it."

The prince thought to himself that he should have known better and stopped asking. He handed the memorial over and said, "Please read it, sir."

Zhou Shuren, "."

So why ask him? Why not just give it to him directly?

The Ministry of War sent a memorial to the Ministry of Revenue with no other purpose but to ask for money. Sure enough, Zhou Shuren stared after reading it and asked, "Change armor?"

The prince nodded. "It's been a few years since the war ended, and the armor we're using has never been replaced. Some of it is indeed time to replace it."

Zhou Shuren closed the memorial, feeling so heartbroken that he could hardly breathe, but he could not say anything to refute. In recent years, the money given to the Ministry of War was mainly used for cotton-padded clothes and other expenses, and the armor had been used as a makeshift tool. There was no other way, as the money in the national treasury was limited.

Now seeing that the Ministry of Revenue was about to issue the memorial, the Ministry of War, knowing that the Emperor was in a bad mood, still gritted its teeth and sent the memorial.

The prince cleared his throat, "Not all of them."

Zhou Shuren raised his eyes and said, "Even if I sell it, I can't afford the money to buy it all."

Unless the country fails, it will be too difficult for him.

The prince smiled and said, "I can sell anyone but you."

Zhou Shuren was not happy. "We should use part of the money seized from the family to repair the river dam."

He also wanted to build reservoirs in water-scarce states to minimize the damage caused by drought. In the past, there was not much extra money, and every penny had to be calculated carefully. Now that there is finally an excess of money, he feels heartbroken!

The prince had spent quite some time in the Ministry of Revenue and knew how meticulous the Ministry was in its budgeting. "Thank you for your hard work, my Lord."

Zhou Shuren glanced at the memorial, he was indeed working hard.

The prince sat for a while and asked his puzzled questions. Zhou Shuren spoke without hiding anything. The prince was puzzled. This time it was so satisfying.

Zhou Shuren thought to himself, I have to teach your son anyway, so in order for the prince to accept it faster, I should explain more to make it easier for the future.

Going down to the Hanlin Academy, Gu Sheng looked at the people around Zhuo Guyu with an indifferent expression. Ever since the Duke's Mansion donated half of its industries, Zhuo Guyu had a lot more people around him after the shock.

Gu Sheng could also feel that some people's eyes towards Zhuo Guyu had changed. In the past, Zhuo Guyu was very generous and he only thought that the Duke's Mansion was wealthy. But now that he has seen the wealth of the Duke's Mansion, he thinks Zhuo Guyu is stingy. What a human nature!

Zhuo Guyu was impatient in his heart, but the smile on his face did not change. He still had to be patient in the conversation.

Changzhi walked up to Gusheng and asked, "Let's go together?"

Gu Sheng: "Sir?"

"I'll give you a ride."

Gu Sheng said, "I want to talk to my elder brother."

"Um."

When Gu Yan arrived in a carriage and told him the situation, he said, "I'll go back first."

"good."

Changzhi took Gusheng to have tea first. Changzhi noticed that Gusheng was a little absent-minded, "What are you thinking about?"

Gu Sheng said what he was thinking, "Master Zhuo seems to have put himself in shackles."

Changzhi, "He just integrated into the officialdom."

Gu Sheng smiled after hearing this, "Your Excellency is right."

Zhuo Guyu is ambitious, but he is not, so he noticed the obvious changes in Lord Zhuo.

Changzhi touched the teacup and said, "A lot of people have been paying attention to you recently."

This was the reason why he went to have tea with Gu Sheng. Recently, Gu Sheng often went to the palace, and he looked so relaxed when he came out. People with ulterior motives noticed it. Gu Sheng was on good terms with Master Wu, and Zhuo Guyu could no longer suppress Gu Sheng's brilliance. He no longer cared about Gu Sheng's reputation, not to mention that Gu Sheng's family assets were almost gone, and he seldom sold paintings.

(End of this chapter)