Chapter 1485: An unexpected turn of events

Zhulan got off the carriage and found that the person she had just seen was gone. She looked everywhere unwillingly but found nothing.

Qingxue saw the old lady's disappointed expression and was puzzled, "Old lady, who did you see just now?"

Zhu Lan waved her hands, "I seemed to see Jiang An just now, maybe I was mistaken."

Qingxue, "Master Jiang An?"

"Well, let's go."

Having said that, he returned to the carriage, looking less energetic. This time he did not look out the window, but instead pulled his cloak together and closed his eyes to rest.

The carriage drove away, and Jiang An, who had been hiding in the alley, came out. Jiang An was wearing foreign clothes. When the carriage from the marquis's mansion passed by just now, he intuited that something bad was going to happen, but luckily he hid quickly enough.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but touch his face. Even though he had grown a beard, his grandmother could still recognize him. It was indeed his grandmother who loved him the most. Then he left calmly.

At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren heard his wife coming to see him, and hurried out, got on his own carriage, and saw his wife sighing, "Didn't it work?"

Zhulan told her what happened in the palace, "It should work, but I may not be the one in charge."

Zhou Shuren also felt a bit uneasy after hearing this, "It's okay, this opportunity is gone, there will always be next time."

Zhulan, "That's all we can do. It's getting late. Shall we go have lunch?"

"good."

After ordering food at the restaurant, Zhu Lan mentioned that she seemed to have seen her grandson Jiang An. Zhou Shuren raised an eyebrow and said, "I didn't receive any news."

"Maybe I saw it wrong."

Zhou Shuren didn't think his wife was mistaken. "Did you see that Jiang An has changed a lot?"

Zhulan recalled carefully, "I only paid attention to his face and didn't pay attention to anything else. He had a beard on his face, so I don't think about it anymore. I guess I recognized the wrong person. You also know that I am old and my eyesight is not as good as before."

Zhou Shuren kept it in mind. If it was really Jiang An, it must be complicated for him to come back without any news.

After the couple had lunch, Zhulan returned home.

Zhou Shuren returned to the Ministry of Revenue and met the King of Chu. "When did the King of Chu come?"

The King of Chu looked at Zhou Shuren and asked, "I just arrived. Is there something going on at the Marquis' house?"

Zhou Shuren shook his head, "Nothing, what is the matter with you, my Lord?"

King Chu, "I just received the Emperor's order to prepare to pick up the child, so I specially asked you to go to the Royal Orphanage to see if there is anything missing."

Zhou Shuren had been thinking about it in his heart, so he stood up and said, "Okay."

The Royal Orphanage occupied a large area. In order to house the children, it occupied the homes of ordinary people. The court did not take the space in vain and arranged houses for the ordinary people and gave them silver compensation.

The houses were converted into large shops with big kangs built inside, so that more than 20 children could live in one room.

The quilts and clothes were ready. The clothes were half-worn, and since I could use the old clothes, I didn't buy new clothes to save money.

Zhou Shuren looked carefully and finally visited the grain room where grain was stored. There was not much fine grain, and it was all old grain. The rest was all coarse grain.

The King of Chu said, "This batch of food was donated by me."

Zhou Shuren replied, "Your Majesty is very kind."

He did not care that the food was stale food. In these years of food shortage, it was good to have something to eat, not to mention nutritional supplements. Meat had become a scarce commodity on the market.

The next day, Zhou Shuren went to the morning court. Lord Yu had not attended the morning court in the past few days, but he saw him today. "Lord Yu."

Lord Yu looked unhappy. "Lord Zhou."

Zhou Shuren knew that Master Yu had a headache these days, "Is the headache better?"

Lord Yu nodded, "I'm fine now. Thank you for your concern, Lord."

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and motioned to Master Yu to walk slower. "Master, would you consider arranging a marriage for your second son?"

Lord Yu had no idea what the smile in Zhou Hou's eyes was. He and his eldest son were eager to form an alliance with Zhou Hou. "I have thought about arranging a marriage for Yue Yang."

Zhou Shuren thought, the Liu family is still better, "Then we have to see each other carefully."

Lord Yu's face flushed with excitement. He never thought that his second son would catch the eye of Marquis Zhou. His son looked so silly when he smiled, and he turned out to be a very lucky man.

Wang Ju was waiting in front. Zhou Shuren nodded to the adults and went ahead.

Lord Yu was very excited. He clenched his fists to suppress the excitement in his heart. He thought about who to ask to go to the Zhou Mansion to propose marriage. After thinking about it, the color on his face faded. Alas, the Yu family had no reliable friends in the capital.

Wang Ju turned around and glanced at Lord Yu, and whispered, "What did you say to him? Why is he so excited?"

Zhou Shuren, "I think his second son is good."

Wang Ju was surprised, "I thought you would choose a son for the fourth girl."

The fourth daughter of the Zhou family has a good reputation in the capital. In addition, the third son of the Zhou family has a bright career, so it is possible for the fourth daughter to be married to the eldest son of the aristocratic family and become a clan lady.

Zhou Shuren shook his head, "Too tired."

Wang Ju was stunned and then silent. She was indeed tired. Many things were beyond her control and the responsibility was too heavy. "I have never seen anyone who loves his granddaughter more than you do."

Zhou Shuren snorted, "I am the best grandpa."

At Zhou's house, Zhulan waited for a while until the ladies left. Before she could come to her senses, she smiled and said, "Leave it to me. Really leave it to me."

Not only was it handed over to her, but an order was also issued. Although it was not the original plan to proceed slowly, she was not afraid.

Qingxue followed with a smile and said, "Yes, the Queen Mother has given it to you to take charge of."

Zhulan paced back and forth in the room excitedly. After calming down, she picked up the list given to her by the Queen Mother. This was the list of donations that the Queen Mother had taken the lead in making.

The list included 100 dan of grain, cotton, cloth, etc. It was very complete.

Zhulan felt sad in her heart that it was always the common people who suffered and it had no impact on the powerful. She signaled Qingxue to prepare paper and pen. Since she was in charge, Zhou Hou Mansion would also have to donate.

Led by the Queen Mother, the noble families had to donate supplies even if they were reluctant. These things were start-up supplies.

The Queen Mother's decree soon spread throughout the capital, and the list of donations was also made public. The Queen Mother wanted to set up a private orphanage, and the person in charge would be Lady Zhou Hou. The noble ladies in the capital were stunned.

Of the Zhou family's relatives, Tao arrived the fastest, showing her control over the news in the capital. Tao asked in disbelief, "Is everything that's been spread outside true? The Queen Mother opened a private orphanage and asked you to be in charge?"

Zhulan smiled, "Yes, the Queen Mother ordered that I be responsible for the construction of a private orphanage."

Tao's pupils shrank. Even if it was a private orphanage, she shouldn't have handed the child over to Zhulan. After calming down for a while, she asked, "How did you do that?"

The Royal Orphanage took in orphans of soldiers and was run by the King of Chu. Private orphanages should also be run by men, but this was the first time it was handed over to a woman.

Zhulan knew that this incident would shock many people, but she was not afraid. She also had the confidence that the Queen Mother would send someone to assist her. "I didn't do anything. The Queen Mother valued my ability."

If this matter is accomplished, not only can the child be saved, but the status of women can also be improved. Just thinking about it makes her happy.

Tao was still dazed. She knew that Yang was powerful, but she didn't expect that she was powerful enough to be able to do the job. The private orphanage was not run by the capital alone. The country was too big and involved all the states.

Zhu Lan smiled and said, "Don't be angry. Look at the supplies donated by the Queen Mother and the supplies donated by our Zhou Hou Mansion."

Tao looked at the two lists. Yes, the Queen Mother took the lead in donating, and the Wang family also had to donate. This time, the whole family had to donate. "Let me see."