Chapter 172 True Love

Zhou Shuren nodded, "I just found out about this today too."

It was such a surprise to him that he took him a while to come back to his senses!

Zhulan was very puzzled. "A fifth-rank Tongzhi must be quite old. Lin is 48 and the eldest daughter is 30. You know the officials in Pingzhou well. How old is the Tongzhi?"

She was very curious. The Dong family came from a farming and scholar family and had always lived in their hometown. How come they had a son-in-law who was a Tongzhi?

Zhou Shuren was in Pingzhou, and all the officials who were in a position to take the imperial examination knew what was going on. He had heard some stories about Lord Jiang's family. "The magistrate of Pingzhou is Jiang Ming, 42 years old. His wife is a stepmother. Jiang Ming's family is in the capital, and he is from a branch family. He was one of the first batch of candidates to pass the imperial examination after the establishment of the dynasty, and he was the second place in the imperial examination that year. I heard from Zhao Bo that because the family could not tolerate the branch family, they suppressed Jiang Ming, so Jiang Ming was sent directly to Pingzhou instead of staying in the capital. It is said that Jiang Ming had a hard life before he passed the imperial examination. Under the suppression of his family, his wife died, leaving behind only a daughter. Later, after living in Pingzhou for many years, he met his stepmother and remarried."

Zhu Lan lowered her head and calculated her age. "That's not right. Lin's daughter is thirty years old. The new dynasty has only been in existence for twelve years. The first imperial examination was held in the second year. Jiang Ming was sent abroad for many years before remarrying. Shouldn't Lin's daughter have been married in her twenties? Didn't people in ancient times get married early?"

Zhou Shuren didn't keep the secret, "Because Jiang Ming married a widow. When Jiang Ming married again, she was from the fifth rank. He didn't marry a girl who was ready to be married, but married a widow instead. It was quite a sensation in Pingzhou at the time. I heard about it and asked for more information. I never thought it was a girl from the Dong family."

He is so weak that he doesn't even have anyone to ask for information. His scholar level is too low. He needs to at least raise talents to support his staff.

Zhulan was overwhelmed, "This is definitely true love!"

In ancient times, widows who remarried would marry someone of lower rank. The daughter of the county magistrate at that time married an official of the fifth rank. She could not think of any other reason except true love!

Zhou Shuren laughed. It was indeed true love. "I had a good impression of Jiang Ming. During the years Jiang Ming was exiled to Pingzhou, he worked diligently from the bottom. Although he was not promoted and was suppressed, his reputation was good. Later, he was promoted quickly because his family in Beijing lost their positions and it was difficult for them to rise. So they gave the remaining resources to Jiang Ming, which is how he rose."

Zhulan calculated based on Zhou Shuren's popular science that the runner-up was born at the seventh rank and is now at the fifth rank. Without any great achievements, her promotion speed is indeed quite good. This is the benefit of having connections. Not only does she avoid taking detours, but no one will take credit for her achievements.

Zhu Lan felt more and more distressed for Zhou Shuren who was cautious in every step. She couldn't help but hold Zhou Shuren's hand. After a while, she came to her senses and asked, "How do you know Jiang Ming so well?"

"Zhao Bo told me some things, I inquired about some more, and the rest I guessed is basically the truth."

Zhu Lan analyzed the situation and concluded, "Jiang Ming is far away from the power circles in Beijing. We don't have to worry too much when interacting with the Dong family."

She was really afraid of being dragged into the fight for the throne and involving the affairs of the entire family. She thought that the emperor was already old and his sons were all grown up. Even if the crown prince was appointed, it would still not be able to suppress the other princes' desire for the throne. The transition of power is the most chaotic time and the period with the most cannon fodder. She and Zhou Shuren must be extra careful.

Zhou Shuren was also depressed. The timing of the imperial examination was not good. He was afraid that if he climbed up, the old and new powers would take over, which would be a problem. "The emperor is 52 years old, not young anymore, and the prince is 22 years old."

Zhulan thought from the bottom of her heart that the emperor was a ruthless man. The young master who pretended to be stupid and ignorant before the age of 30 was still stripped of his position as the crown prince and was even driven back from the capital to his residence, where he remained stupid and dull. Who could have imagined that a fool would control the residence of a king of a different surname and rebel when the time came?

Moreover, he got married after the rebellion, and married the daughter of his ally. Later, he married several more women. He was a heroic figure. The founding emperor was a ruthless man. He killed many people in the first year. The only thing he paid special attention to was the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. It was all because the emperor was the legitimate son and was framed, so the current crown prince was the legitimate son.

Although the legitimate son seems stable at present, who knows that in a few years, there will be five princes in this dynasty, and except for the fifth prince, the other four will be over 20 years old.

Zhu Lan thought about this, "I heard you say that no children have been born in the palace since the establishment of the new dynasty? Is there something wrong here?"

Zhou Shuren also felt that there was a problem, but unfortunately they were low-level people and the information they knew was only from the public. "The emperor already has five sons, so it doesn't matter whether he has more or not."

On the contrary, he thought it would be better not to have children, at least to avoid a few dragons usurping the throne, which would make the capital even more dangerous.

Zhulan suddenly laughed, "You said we are worrying too much about the future. We haven't even taken the provincial examination yet, and we are already thinking about the future."

Zhou Shuren hugged Zhulan and said, "Think about it earlier and know who to befriend, otherwise I will be in the power circle and it will be too late if I am not careful."

Zhu Lan couldn't help thinking, it would be nice if she could travel through time after the power transition. Unfortunately, if that were to happen, the Zhou family would have been tricked by Wang Ru long ago, and there would be no chance for them to travel through time. "Forget it, misfortunes and blessings go hand in hand. We should just take care of ourselves and let nature take its course. Don't put shackles on yourself now. It's too tiring."

Zhou Shuren thought about it and said, "My son-in-law didn't go to the government office today. Let Xuemei and her husband come to our house for dinner tonight. I have something to talk to Jiang Sheng about."

Zhulan tilted her head, "Good news?"

"Good news."

Seeing that Zhou Shuren was silent, Zhulan knew that he was going to keep the secret, so she snorted, "Forget it if you don't want to tell me. We'll know it sooner or later anyway."