Chapter 1724 Zheng Family

Chang Zhi's long silence made Gu Sheng a little uneasy. His heartbeat became faster and faster, and he almost lost the calmness on his face.

Gu Sheng held the teacup in his hand and said, "I don't know."

Chang Zhi nodded to show his belief. The boy listened to his suggestion but didn't say anything, didn't listen, and didn't ask questions. He really didn't realize it. "I heard that you have saved enough money for the family?"

Gu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, and was a little excited. "Yes, the fields and shops are enough. They cover my expenses and I can save some."

His biggest expenses were drawing paper and dyes. He was not so particular about food. A bowl of noodles was also a meal, and he did not indulge in the extravagant idea of ​​eating fish every day.

Chang Zhi raised his eyes and asked, "Is this enough money to marry a wife?"

Gu Sheng's excitement was gone. He decided to marry someone who was well-matched. There weren't many small officials who were rich enough. His family background was pretty good among them. He didn't have high hopes for the county lord. He was a little disappointed. "My paintings didn't sell well this year. I want to sell more."

Changzhi curled his lips and said, "I know a lot of people. I'll introduce them to you."

Gu Sheng said, "Thank you, sir."

Chang Zhi's smile deepened. "You need to be careful recently. Don't be surrounded by people with ulterior motives."

Gu Sheng said seriously, "Yes."

A few days later, Mr. Lu's case was closed. With the name on the list, the interrogation went smoothly. The people involved in the case from various states were escorted to Beijing, and the capital also began a house search operation.

Zhou Shuren received the imperial order and went to Lord Lu's house in person. Lord Lu's mansion had always been surrounded by soldiers and officers. Today, their house was searched and the elderly, the weak, women and children were driven into the yard.

To be honest, Zhou Shuren didn't like coming here. He didn't like the whole family being implicated by one person's mistake. When the retired emperor was still alive, he had expressed his feelings tentatively. He always remembered the retired emperor's sharp eyes at that time and never mentioned it again.

Mr. Lu's family members did not cry, perhaps they had cried themselves dry. The women waited woodenly for their future fate. The boys who stayed at home were all young, the oldest was only fifteen years old, and the other adult men were in prison.

Zhou Shuren looked at several children aged five or six. The children were shivering. Mr. Lu had climbed very fast while building the road. He had enjoyed a great time all the way, but now he was covered in dust.

Zhang Jinghong said: "Sir, the Minister."

Zhou Shuren, "Let's go in and take a look."

Zhang Jinghong responded. He didn't feel much about the confiscation of property and exile. He enjoyed the wealth brought by his status and had to bear everything when he fell. It was fair, just like he was a member of the royal family of the previous dynasty and the constraints of his status could not be erased.

He is also lucky. So far, the emperor is very tolerant of him. The last time he met the prince, the prince asked about his son's schoolwork. This is a signal, meaning that his son can pass the imperial examination. He drank too much that day and cried for most of the night while hugging his wife.

Lord Lu knew he couldn't escape, so he left clear instructions about the secret room and also told about another villa.

When Zhou Shuren arrived, boxes of silver were carried out.

Zhang Jinghong: "How daring!"

Zhou Shuren sneered, "Greed can never be satisfied."

Zhang Jinghong snorted, "It's all blood-stained money. If there's a flood and countless people are killed or injured, they won't be able to pay it back even if they go to hell."

Zhou Shuren thought to himself, when you were the fifth prince, you also had a black heart.

Zhang Jinghong added: "The emperor has shown mercy and exiled the entire family."

Zhou Shuren, "!!"

How could he not feel that he had been shown mercy? Lord Lu and his sons who knew about it were beheaded, and those who did not know about it were given twenty strokes of the cane and exiled together. Twenty strokes of the cane, exiled with wounds all over, it was hard to say whether they could survive to the place of exile.

Zhou Shuren asked Zhang Jinghong to watch over him, as he didn't want to stay any longer because he saw that the registration was almost over.

Before he reached the front yard, he heard a child crying and someone scolding him. Soon the crying stopped and he reached the front yard, only to see several women covering the children's mouths.

Zhou Shuren took a deep breath, "What's wrong?"

The guard stepped forward and said, "It's all right now."

Zhou Shuren looked at the Lu family under the eaves. It was he who asked them to go under the eaves, otherwise they would have been sunburned long ago. "Prepare some water and food."

The officer hesitated, "This."

"Um?"

"Yes, I'll have someone prepare it."

Zhou Shuren thought about the antique calligraphy and paintings that needed to be moved from the backyard, and he said, "Let's find an empty house and let them in."

The officer said, "Yes."

Zhou Shuren said nothing more and left Lu's house with his men.

In the evening, Zhou Shuren was in a bad mood and didn't eat much for dinner. He sent away all the maids, leaving only his wife in the room. He then let out a long sigh, "After staying here for so many years, there are still some things I can't stand."

Zhulan, "You have done very well."

"After repeated rectification, the escorting officers no longer dared to act lawlessly."

Zhulan smiled and said, "Look, you have changed a lot."

Without Shu Ren's repeated advice, there would have been no rectification. Now many of the exiled yamen runners have been regulated.

Zhou Shuren cannot change the collective punishment at present. "I will talk to the emperor tomorrow. The yamen runners need to be punished from time to time."

"good."

There have been continuous house searches in the capital these days. Those with serious crimes have been beheaded and exiled, while those with less serious crimes have been demoted and sent back to their hometowns. Some official positions in the capital have been vacated.

As more and more officials and finances were escorted to Beijing, the Ministry of Revenue was very busy and the prepared books were not enough.

Zhou Shuren was busy for nearly a month before he finished the statistics and took the final account book into the palace.

The emperor had long since calmed down and finished reading the account book with a calm expression, "This year is a prosperous year."

Zhou Shuren: "Yes."

The emperor asked, "Your fourth son has been in the Imperial Academy. Do you have any other ideas?"

Zhou Shuren blinked and said, "The Hanlin Academy is pretty good."

“There are a lot of vacancies right now.”

Zhou Shuren lowered his head and said, "I am telling the truth. Changzhi is doing well in the Hanlin Academy."

The emperor motioned Shu Ren to sit down, "If all my subjects were like you, I would have a lot less trouble."

Vacating the official position is another game, the game between him and the aristocratic family.

The emperor touched the beads and wanted Zhou Changzhi to help him take a place for a few years. Finally, he sighed and said, "Forget it."

Zhou Shuren's sharp radar has gone out. The situation of the Zhou family is very good now and Chang Zhi does not need to make any further progress.

The emperor added: "I remember that you are familiar with the Zheng family."

"Zheng family?"

"The Zheng family in the northwest."

Zhou Shuren said, "Not really. We haven't exchanged letters in these years."

The emperor said cheerfully, "Okay, okay, I'm not familiar with him. Someone from the Zheng family will be coming to Beijing in a few days."

Zhou Shuren was surprised. The emperor trusted the Zheng family, and the guards were basically his confidants. He was curious why the Zheng family came to Beijing.

The emperor added: "Your Yue family is also at the border. No, it is not considered a border now, it is in the northwest."

Zhou Shuren, "Yes, my nephew is in the northwest."

“All good.”

If it weren't for Zhou Shuren and Yang, he wouldn't have paid too much attention to the Yang family. Yang's ability made him pay more attention to the Yang family. He didn't discover anything else, but he discovered loyalty, which was beyond the limit.

There are many gray areas connected to the grassland, which the Yang family has never touched. It's a pity. There will be no war in the northwest, and because of Zhou Hou, the Yang family will be like this in the northwest.

(End of this chapter)