Chapter 1742 General Talent

Zhou Shuren put his hand down, stopped staring at his son and turned to ask, "You rarely take a break, but you still have the time to go shopping?"

Li Zhao saw that Zhou Hou was fine, so he knew he was teasing him. He pointed to the teahouse nearby and asked, "Would you like some tea?"

"good."

The two went to the teahouse. Zhou Shuren went to Wang's house and changed into casual clothes at the Ministry of Revenue. He did not attract attention when he entered the house in casual clothes.

I ordered a pot of good tea and some dried fruits and other snacks.

Zhou Shuren was not in the mood to talk. He ate dried fruits in silence, looking out the window from time to time.

Li Zhao guessed something immediately, "Is Mr. Wang in trouble?"

Zhou Shuren put down the dried fruit in his hand and said, "Yeah."

Li Zhao also sighed, and said that he was suffering from many illnesses as he aged. “It will come to this day.”

Zhou Shuren didn't know if he could do what Mr. Wang did, so he didn't want to discuss it and asked, "You haven't said why you took to the streets yet?"

Li Zhao replied, "I have an appointment this morning."

I didn’t say who I made the appointment with.

Zhou Shuren didn't ask any more questions, but pointed at the teapot and asked, "You've got a belly full of tea, and you can still drink it?"

Li Zhao rolled his eyes, "Sometimes I really don't like what you say."

Zhou Shuren felt a little better. "There will be a bonus at the end of this year."

The emperor took the initiative to propose it, fearing that he would hold on to the money and not give it, and he persuaded him for a long time. Although he felt pained, he knew in his heart that he should give it this year.

Li Zhao asked, "How much?"

Zhou Shuren replied, "According to the official salary converted into silver, it is three months' salary."

Li Zhao calculated and said, "Wow, you are really generous this time."

Zhou Shuren also felt very painful, "The prince has a legitimate eldest son, the emperor is happy."

Li Zhao stroked his beard, "Sure enough, he made his fortune by confiscating property."

Without the confiscated money, the emperor wouldn't be so generous.

Zhou Shuren said: "There is also a tribute from the Yong'an Duke's Mansion."

Li Zhao chuckled, "Yes, yes, and half of the Duke's fortune. Tsk tsk, the old Duke was really greedy. He was a man who left a way out for himself. He passed through like a locust."

His tone was full of sarcasm.

Zhou Shuren thought to himself that it was indeed like scraping the ground. Half of the Duke's Mansion's wealth was even more memorable to the Emperor. After taking so much money and getting a title, you actually abandoned the Emperor and forgot who gave you everything. "Now the whole world knows how rich the Duke's Mansion is."

Li Zhao thought about the newspaper deliberately leaving a blank page to write about the Duke's Mansion donating half of its wealth, and couldn't help but take a breath of cool air, "How cruel."

Where did the money come from? Jiangnan, the emperor announced it, it was like cutting meat with a blunt knife. Once the newspaper came out, it sent a signal to the Jiangnan families. Oh, even the Duke's Mansion was not like that. The hatred that had been suppressed for many years could now be avenged.

Zhou Shuren has no sympathy for the Duke's Mansion. The Duke donated half of his property to ensure his life, but the Emperor will not let you go. If you are more straightforward and donate it all, the Emperor will not be able to touch you and will have to accept it.

Zhou Shuren and Li Zhao chatted for half an hour before they separated. Zhou Shuren felt much better.

At Marquis Zhou's mansion, Zhulan met Jiang Ling and Shao Xun. The two had already officially gotten engaged at the academy, and today Miss Jiang personally brought Shao Xun as a New Year gift.

Shao Xun was cautious. He had been in contact with the young master of the Marquis' Mansion, but this was his first time coming to the Marquis' Mansion.

Zhu Lan motioned for the two to sit down, "You came here in person, it's such a cold day."

Jiang Ling said, "There is a carriage to keep out the wind. You have been taking care of me, so I should personally send you here."

Zhulan motioned Qingxue to bring over the prepared list, "You happened to be here, so I don't have to send it specially."

Jiang Ling took the list and said, "Thank you, Madam, for thinking of me."

Zhulan likes Miss Jiang, "Stay and have dinner with me later."

Jiang Ling agreed with a smile. She had worked hard to maintain the relationship with Zhou Houfu for her own sake in the past, and now that she was engaged, she had to maintain it even better for her husband. She knew that the lady liked her generosity, so she always acted in accordance with her nature.

After dinner, Jiang Ling and Shao Xun left the mansion and returned to the carriage. Jiang Ling looked at the list, which was full of hard-to-find food and some books. "Take a look."

Shao Xun felt embarrassed and said, "I won't watch it anymore."

Only after they got engaged did he learn that his fiancée had a large farm and a shop, and he also knew why she had injured her eyes. He had always admired her fortitude, and after learning the story, he admired her even more.

Jiang Ling smiled and said, "Here is the book that Madam gave you."

"For me?"

Jiang Ling pointed at the books on the gift list and said, "These books are for the imperial examinations, and I'm not taking them."

Shao Xun's eyes widened a lot, "I am grateful to you."

Jiang Ling doesn't think so. The Marquis's Mansion will take care of her but will not take care of Shao Xun. The attention to Shao Xun should come from Shao Ting, but she can't say it.

Time flies, and as we get closer to the end of the year, the horse-drawn carriages delivering New Year gifts on the streets no longer attract people's attention. We have seen them so many times that we are no longer curious about the length of the convoy.

That day, Lin Xi came to the Marquis' Mansion, followed by this young general. Zhu Lan smiled when she saw him, "Jia Qing is back."

Lin Xi sat down next to her grandmother and said, "Look, he has changed so much."

Zhulan looked at him carefully and said, "He has indeed changed a lot. He has become taller and stronger."

Lu Jiaqing greeted her, "Hello, old lady."

Zhulan pointed at the chair and said, "Don't be shy, come and sit down."

Lu Jiaqing sat down and said, "I went to Beijing yesterday and gave some leather to the old lady. It's not expensive leather, but a token of my love."

Lin Xi continued, "He is very good at riding and shooting. He had a competition with the leader of the palace guards yesterday. My father said that he is a natural warrior."

Zhulan smiled and said, "Well, now you have the aura of a general."

Then he said to Lu Jiaqing: "How can I not like the gift you brought?"

Lu Jiaqing squinted her eyes and was about to speak when Changzhong came in. "I almost couldn't recognize you. You've changed so much."

Lu Jiaqing smiled and said, "You have changed a lot."

Changzhong, "You are only allowed to grow taller."

He has grown very fast this year and he is very satisfied with his current height.

Lu Jiaqing, "Would you like to do some hand gestures later?"

Changzhong sat down and shook his head, "You are bullying me."

He sent gifts to Lu Jiaqing from time to time, so how could he not ask about him? I wonder how many words praising Lu Jiaqing he had heard.

Lin Xi, "Uncle, he's really good now, don't compare yourself to him."

Chang Zhong clicked his tongue twice, "Provocation is useless."

He knows his own weight, so he won't go up and ask for trouble.

When Zhulan saw the maid bringing the fruit, she said, "Stop talking and eat the fruit."

Changzhong liked frozen pears more. It was dry and hot in the room, and eating frozen pears was comfortable. He signaled the maid to bring some up.

Zhu Lan heard this and said, "You are just taking advantage of your age to be a little greedy."

Chang Zhong chuckled, "My son is a man, so it's okay."

"You shouldn't eat too much cold food."

After a while, Li came over and said, "Linxi is here."

Lin Xi stood up and said, "Aunt."

Zhu Lan asked, "You look like something is wrong?"

Li nodded, "Yulu sent someone to deliver a message that the old man of the Wang family is in trouble."

Zhulan knew what was going on. "Yu Lu's parents-in-law must have come to Beijing."

Li said, "It will take another day or two to reach the capital."

(End of this chapter)