Chapter 1270 Rely on Yourself

The first month of the year had passed in the blink of an eye, and the ceremony to establish the crown prince would be held in a few days. Before the ceremony, the princess who was to be married off would also have to come to the capital.

Zhulan was very curious, but there was nothing she could do. After coming to the capital for so many years, this was the first time she saw a princess who came to marry.

Zhu Lan asked Xue Han, "It is rumored that Princess Aruna is a rare beauty. Have you seen her portrait in the palace?"

Xue Han shook her head, "Mom, I didn't see any portraits. There were none in my mother's palace, nor in the empress's palace. I don't think any portraits were sent over."

Zhulan heard this and thought, "This is interesting. There is no portrait but rumors about the beauty are spreading. Is this a self-directed and staged event, or is there some other plan?"

Xue Han, "Anyway, if he is sent here for marriage, he must not be a simple person."

The purpose of marriage is to fight for interests. Sending someone who knows nothing is like sending food to the harem?

Zhu Lan said quietly, "It's a coincidence that the princess came here, just before the ceremony of establishing the crown prince."

The Queen must be feeling very upset right now.

Xue Han spoke in a very low voice, "I went to the palace to see the queen yesterday and met Concubine Liu. Concubine Liu mentioned this princess several times."

Zhulan, "I thought the prince had been appointed, and the harem should be quiet now!"

Xue Han replied, "How is that possible? The harem is a place of disputes. Concubine Liu is upset. Someone will enter the harem sooner or later anyway. She deliberately mentioned this princess to dislike the queen, and she also mentioned the double happiness of the crown prince's ceremony every time."

She regretted so much yesterday that she went to the palace. No matter how generous the Empress Dowager was, she was still very angry because of this thing that hit her so hard. The Prince was the Empress' life.

Zhulan thought, "Concubine Liu is going to be in trouble."

Xue Han blinked her eyes, "I don't know. I don't want to go to the palace recently."

Zhulan thought that the Emperor would not be happy if Concubine Liu compared the marriage of a princess to the establishment of a crown prince as a happy event.

In the Hanlin Academy, Changzhi came back from the palace and saw Mingshan as soon as he got off the carriage. It was said that ever since Mingshan took a concubine, his parents' attitude towards Mingshan changed again. During the New Year this year, they did not keep this clan member for long.

Mingshan was a scholar-official, so the reason why he was able to stay in Beijing was indeed because of Zhou Shuren.

Was Mingshan arrogant? A little bit. He was a man with a good background. With Lord Zhou becoming the Minister of State, there would be people trying to persuade him. However, he was weak-willed and could not resist the beauty, so he insisted on taking a concubine.

As a result, after taking a concubine, Uncle Changyi warned him and he suddenly came to his senses. He realized that everything he had was thanks to Lord Zhou. Without Lord Zhou, no one would stop him. It was not because of his ability that people stopped him. There were many capable people in the capital and he was not a big deal.

Mingshan went to pay New Year's greetings with trepidation. His heart sank. He didn't get a word in. The only person who still had some face in the Zhou Mansion was his wife.

Changzhi nodded to Mingshan and walked inside. He still had a lot of errands to do.

Mingshan opened his mouth. He was clearly here to wait for Uncle Changzhi, but he couldn't open his mouth to stop Uncle Changzhi. He could only watch Uncle Changzhi walk away.

Mingshan pursed his lips. Who was the one who entered the palace the most from the Hanlin Academy? Zhou Changzhi. Even the newly crowned top scholar had to be ranked behind him. He was really upset.

Changzhi doesn't care about Mingshan's psychological activities. It's not on the same level. Paying attention to him is a waste of time. It would be better to use this time to read more literature to enrich himself.

At Zhoujia Village, Ming Qing saw the servant who arrived earlier. "I was still worried about them. I was afraid they would be late. Fortunately, they still have three days to arrive and can rest for seven days."

The servant said, "The gentlemen were afraid of delaying the trip, so they hurried along the way. Hold on, I have to go to the mansion to make arrangements, so I will be leaving now."

Ming Qing became the clan leader and said, "If there is anything I can help you with, please let me know."

The servant smiled and thanked him.

The Zhou family's servant arrived at the village first. News spread extremely fast, and he left reluctantly when he realized that no help was needed.

At this time, everyone wanted to win the favor of the Zhou family. What people talked about most now was not that Zhou Shuren was close to the royal family, but that Zhou Shuren was the Minister of Revenue. In the hearts of the people, the position of Minister was something Zhou Shuren had worked hard for, and this was worth showing off.

Because Zhou Shuren became the Shangshu, not only students in the county wanted to come to the Zhoujia Village clan school, but even students from neighboring counties wanted to send their children there. Unfortunately, it was difficult to get in.

At the Jiang family, Dong Yiyi was seeing her sister-in-law off. Since last year, the long-awaited affection from her parents' side had returned, and they had been caring about her all the time. Dong Yiyi no longer felt anything in her heart. With the ups and downs in life, she had let go of everything.

Dong Yiyi saw the neighbor auntie, "Auntie."

Zhang smiled and said, "I was just looking for you."

Dong Yiyi was puzzled, "Auntie, is there anything you want to talk to me about?"

Zhang said cheerfully, "Good news, great joy. Mr. Zhou's eldest grandson and his great-grandson have returned together to take the Tongsheng exam. Isn't this a great joy for you?"

Zhang had no bad intentions and was really happy for Dong Yiyi. After all these years of getting along with each other, she found that Dong Yiyi was a good person. Moreover, Mr. Jiang's knowledge was also the best in the academy. All the children of the family that Mr. Jiang had made friends with said that Mr. Jiang was amazing.

Now, some scholars and judges would ask Mr. Jiang if they didn't understand something. Mr. Jiang never evaded the question and answered it very seriously, winning the favor of the entire Zhou family.

Dong Yiyi smiled happily, "Thank you, auntie, for telling me the news."

Zhang said, "You are just too annoying. I will go back first."

Dong Yiyi waited until her aunt left before turning around and going home. Dong Yiyi received Xuemei's letter and naturally knew that Jiang Du had returned. She was looking forward to his return sooner.

Dong Yiyi wanted to go and tell her husband, but it was getting late, so she waited for her husband to come back and tell her. Thinking of her husband, Dong Yiyi's face was all smiles. Her husband's monthly salary had doubled, and he also enjoyed teaching. Their lives were really getting better and better.

In the capital, at the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren saw Rongchuan coming over, but he didn't see the folded paper, so he didn't come to ask for money. "Why are you here?"

Rong Chuan took the article and painting from the guard behind him, "This is my brother-in-law's article and painting, Dad, would you like to take a look?"

Zhou Shuren put down the pen in his hand when he heard it, "Why is it so thick?"

Rong Chuan sat down and said, "I asked someone to draw more pictures based on my elder brother-in-law's article and paintings. Few people can read, so if we want to promote it better, pictures are the most effective. What you have in your hand is a template. After the emperor has read it, he will show it to you. If there is no problem, I will print it according to this template."

Zhou Shuren flipped through the pictures, articles and paintings. He had seen them before, and now he looked at the paintings added by Rongchuan. It was already very good to be able to achieve the current template in ancient times. "It's good. You have worked hard recently."

Rong Chuan grinned, his father's praise was worth his efforts, "Then let's use this template. Then my brother-in-law's name will be known in all states."

Zhou Shuren was also satisfied. It was rare for him to care so much about his eldest son-in-law. He had specifically told the emperor that he was the one who sent the article and painting to the emperor. "As for the promotional manuscripts and paintings in the future, it will depend on your eldest brother-in-law's own ability."