Chapter 1030: Dead Souls

Li smiled awkwardly, "I can't afford the dowry for my daughter, so my husband and I did some calculations and decided that a son is better."

Zhulan was depressed, she really felt that her family had too many children. Fortunately, she had built up a good financial foundation over the years and had a lot of income every year. Now that the young lady was getting married, the family did not have any big expenses.

Li changed the subject, "Mom, Xuehan hasn't been home for a while."

"She wanted to come back, but this time her miscarriage scared Rong Chuan so much that she basically wouldn't leave the Ninghou Mansion until the baby was born."

Li, ".......Ah?"

Zhulan didn't explain. For the sake of caution when the Ning family took action, Xuehan could only stay there obediently. Fortunately, she lived nearby, so she could go to see her daughter whenever she wanted.

In the evening, Zhulan told Zhou Shuren about the post from Yaohou Mansion. "My intuition tells me that there are bad intentions."

Zhou Shuren snorted, "He just has bad intentions. This time Yao Wenqi got sick and suffered a lot. He has bad intentions."

Zhulan felt a little sorry, "He survived. It would be better for everyone if he really died."

"It's not his time to die yet. This time the emperor is deliberately forcing Yao Wenqi to take action!"

Zhulan heard this and said, "The emperor is afraid that the cleaning is not done properly."

"Well, the more I investigate, the more frightened I am. The Emperor is a good Emperor and a good father. He wants to leave the Crown Prince a country without any worries."

Zhulan, "It's getting late, go to bed."

Zhou Shuren held his wife's hand. Today's post reminded him that these people dared not do anything to him, but they would not be polite to his wife. "Like you always say, there are too many kinds of poison. Recently, you also claimed to be sick and did not want to attend banquets."

Zhulan was afraid of death. She was afraid of dying and leaving Zhou Shuren alone. "Okay."

At the Yaohou Mansion, Yao Zheyu couldn't stand his wife tossing and turning anymore, so he sat up and asked, "What are you thinking about that can't you sleep?"

Shen Yile couldn't see her husband's face clearly. "It was Dad who suggested this banquet. I remember what you said, so I didn't want to invite Yang Shuren. But Dad mentioned it and said that Lord Zhou paid much attention to you, so I added your name. I sent the invitation to the Zhou family today, but they rejected it directly. I'm so nervous and I always feel something is wrong."

Yao Zheyu was so focused on checking who his father had contact with that he neglected his family. "In the future, I will have less contact with the Zhou family."

Shen Yile noticed that her husband's tone was particularly serious. Although she couldn't see her husband's face clearly, she also realized the seriousness of it. "I'll remember that."

Yao Zheyu lay down again with his eyes closed. His father had recovered from his illness this time, and no matter what his father planned, neither he nor his wife would be used by him.

Yao Wenqi did not sleep either. Many candles were lit in the room. A serious illness took away a lot of his anger. His cheeks were sunken. He turned the Buddhist beads in his hands and muttered to himself that it was not the right time yet. The emperor was very alert now and he had to endure it.

In a blink of an eye, it was the day when the envoys from the Ministry of Rites were leaving the capital. Because Changzhong was acting like a spoiled child and her two grandsons were also going, Zhulan waited at the street corner in a carriage.

Changzhong opened the carriage curtain and found that it was not as grand as he had imagined. There were only a few carriages and some guards. "Mom, why are there so few people?"

Zhu Lan laughed, "This time we are on a naval mission, there are a lot of people, but we can't see them in the capital."

She heard from Zhou Shuren that there were four ships on the mission and several thousand navy personnel. This time the navy was not only on a mission but would also patrol nearby waters to prepare for future route patrols. They were currently unable to manage other countries' waters and had to ensure the safety of their own waters.

So Zhou Shuren was worried, because every trip he took would cost him money, food, herbs, etc. These were the basics, and some losses were the big expense.

Changzhong looked longing, "Mom, I want to go abroad someday. My second brother said there are many countries out there, and I want to go see them all."

Zhulan touched her son's hair, which was already very long. "It's good to have an idea, but I will only allow it if you have the ability to match it."

Changzhong smiled and said, "My son is very smart."

The twins raised their hands, and Jiang An said, "Grandma, we will go with our uncle. We will protect him. Grandma, we are very powerful."

Zhu Lan laughed, "Okay, when the time comes, you guys protect your uncle."

The twins felt that they had been recognized and said, "We will definitely work hard in martial arts training."

Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren rubbed his shoulders, "Another sum of money has been approved. I just hope that I can sell the blueprints and ships and bring back a large sum of money."

Qiu Yan felt a pain in his heart. "The navy's rations are really expensive. They are twice as expensive as the previous rations. And they took away the shells. I get a headache just thinking about it now."

Zhou Shuren spread his hands, "There's no way. The sea is different from the land. We need more things. Besides, it's not easy to train the navy, so their food must be better."

Qiu Yan, "Whenever I think about the annual expenses of the Navy in the future, my heart aches."

Zhou Shuren also grinned. The country had a large number of troops. The ambitious emperor and prince meant that the military force would not be weakened. The annual salary and food were all in silver. With the addition of the navy, which was a money-burning force, he was now afraid of meeting Lord Li.

Doctor Lei came in and said, "Sir, Mr. Fang from the Ministry of Works is here."

Zhou Shuren said to Qiu Yan, "I met Lord Li yesterday, it's your turn today."

Qiu Yan, "......."

No, he didn't want to. Zhou Shuren met Lord Li. That was Lord Shangshu entering the palace. It had nothing to do with him!

Lei Lang felt exhausted. He regretted going to the Ministry of Revenue. Although his official position was promoted, the work he had to do was too much.

Zhou Shuren glanced at Doctor Lei. It had been such a short time and Doctor Lei had lost weight. It was said that he had been pulling his hair a lot in recent days!

Rong Garden, the garden where the emperor entered after leaving the palace, had been cleared last year and is now being rebuilt. As the land has not yet thawed, wood and stones are being piled up.

The emperor did not bring the crown prince with him. When he entered the garden and saw the King of Qi, he was surprised to see him.

Prince Qi was surprised to see his father, and was secretly delighted that his father really cared about Rongyuan. He was right to personally supervise this move. "Father told me that I would only feel at ease if I personally supervised it."

The emperor actually just wanted to walk around Rongyuan by himself. He didn't even bring the crown prince with him. "Come with me for a while."

King Qi rarely receives such treatment. "Yes."

The emperor walked in front, and the people around him followed. The prince of Qi was not too close. The emperor looked at the garden. The burned buildings were demolished. The whole garden was particularly desolate. "I came here once when I entered the capital and was not registered. I have never been here since then. This is the first time I have set foot here in all these years."

This is a sad place, too many souls are buried here.

Prince Qi sensed his father's sad tone and was stunned for a moment. His father, who was ruthless and decisive in his heart, also had moments of sadness. "Father, is there really no one left alive in the Rong family?"

The emperor did not answer, but stood at the place he liked to come when he was a child. After so many years, he still remembered this place. It seemed that he saw his uncle carrying him and running. The cold wind blew, "Hear the crying of the dead souls? Even though I became the emperor and founded a new dynasty, the dead souls of the Rong family still have no rest."