Chapter 302: Hit Yourself in the Face Without Ambiguity
In the evening, Zhulan checked the gift list and sorted the gifts. Most of the gifts today were furs, but there were no fiery red fox skins. They were all medium-quality furs. The most collected today were mink skins. Although the furs were not top-quality, Li coveted them very much. Unfortunately, Zhulan still had no intention of sharing them.
Zhulan sent her three daughters-in-law away, locked the door of the warehouse again, and returned to the backyard with the gift list.
Zhou Shuren heard footsteps and saw Zhulan coming back and asked, "Have you finished the inventory?"
Zhulan opened the gift list, "The Shi family also came to give gifts? Didn't the Shi family move their entire family to Beijing?"
Zhou Shuren took the gift list and saw the Shi family's name on it. The gift was not small, a set of fine ceramic tea sets. "Pingzhou is the Shi family's roots. The master has someone to look after him when he went to Beijing. The Shi family has been giving gifts to the scholar's assistants all these years. The master should have left a message when he left. He would not have given gifts to only me. I guess he gave gifts to the top ten assistants."
Zhulan took the gift list and said, "It's really unexpected. When we first arrived, according to my original memory, the emperor hated merchants so much and was very harsh and oppressive towards them. I never thought that our emperor would not hesitate to slap himself in the face and actually granted Shi Qing the right to participate in the imperial examination. Now that this has been done, there's no way to stop it."
Zhou Shuren was also shocked by the emperor's shamelessness. He thought that he was quite shameless sometimes, but he was no match for the emperor. "So the emperor is a ruthless person, but it also proves that we are too powerful. Shi Qing also changed his fate."
Besides, the emperor has already started, just laying out bait and waiting for people to take the bait!
Zhu Lan closed the gift list and said, "Shi Qing's fate has changed completely. His master has been replaced by the emperor. However, even if Shi Qing passed the imperial examination and became an official, he can only be loyal to the emperor. If he has any unfaithful thoughts, he will be destroyed in a moment."
Zhou Shuren chuckled, "In the era of imperial power, loyalty to the emperor is the norm. Shi Qing's move is brilliant and wise."
Zhu Lan said quietly, "No wonder she got rid of Wang Ru so easily. She has finally found the thickest thigh."
Zhou Shuren narrowed his eyes, "In fact, I admire Shi Qing very much. He has interpreted the saying that if a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth to the fullest. It's a pity that Shi Qing was also from a merchant family when he took the imperial examination, which greatly limited his achievements. Otherwise, this man is really a character!"
Zhu Lan's eyes sparkled, "Who do you think is more powerful, Shi Qing or Wu Ming?"
Zhou Shuren said without thinking: "Shi Qing."
"Why?"
Zhou Shuren curled his lips, "Shi Qing has been growing up in adversity, dealing with various forces since he was young. His intelligence and ruthlessness are not comparable to Wu Ming. On the other hand, Wu Ming's path to the imperial examinations was smooth sailing because of our indirect influence. Wu Ming had long lost his determination to ascend to a high position."
Zhu Lan was very curious, "You think Shi Qing would stage a kidnapping of Wang Ru and secretly offer Wang Ru to the emperor?"
Zhou Shuren shook his head, "Shi Qing is not that stupid. He knew Wang Ru hated him, so how could he let Wang Ru see the emperor? But he couldn't kill Wang Ru because he knew Wang Ru's traces could not be wiped away, and the emperor would find out sooner or later, so the best solution is for Wang Ru to be abducted by someone else."
Zhu Lan narrowed her eyes, "Shi Qing doesn't dare to kill Wang Ru, because once Wang Ru dies, he will definitely be suspected by the emperor. The emperor will think that Shi Qing did not confess everything and that Shi Qing hid something. Once Wang Ru dies, Shi Qing will face the same dilemma as Wang Ru."
"Yes, so Wang Ru's abduction was the most clever move. After Wang Ru was abducted, the emperor would definitely not trust her based on his suspicions. By the time Wang Ru was found, Shi Qing had already had enough time to gain the emperor's trust. As for the unknown and the known, anyone would trust the known."
Zhu Lan continued, "And Shi Qing must have dug out almost everything in Wang Ru's mind."
Zhou Shuren said quietly, "We can guess so much because we know who Wang Ru is and have been paying attention to Shi Qing and Wang Ru. It's hard for others to guess. Shi Qing is too scheming. If his background hadn't limited him, his achievements would be immeasurable."
Zhulan recalled silently that after Wang Ru was abducted, Shi Qing looked for her in a big way, with notices posted all over the streets. She and Zhou Shuren saw quite a few on the way back. Well, Shi Qing looked for her in such a big way, and after abducting Wang Ru, the people dared not let Wang Ru show up again and could only hide her tightly. Wang Ru's situation was worrying!
Zhou Shuren saw that it was getting late. "You've been busy for two days and haven't showered for two days. I'll go get you some hot water for a shower."
Zhulan really wanted to take a bath, "Okay."
In modern times, Zhulan takes a bath every day, no matter it is spring, summer, autumn or winter. But in ancient times, the conditions did not allow this. Besides, when she moved to Northeast China, it was more convenient to take a bath in summer. Not only was it tiring to take a bath in winter, but she was also too cold to move. Zhulan's habits changed a lot.
It was very late when Zhulan and Zhou Shuren finished taking a bath. Zhou Shuren was exhausted from pouring the water. The two of them stopped chatting and fell asleep soon after lying down.
In the following days, fewer people came to congratulate him, but more people wanted to become his disciples. They were all scholars who wanted to become his disciples. Some of them came sincerely because they valued Zhou Shuren's abilities, while a large number came for future benefits.
Zhulan knew Zhou Shuren too well. These people had no hope. Zhou Shuren would not accept any apprentices. Zhou Shuren raised the Zhou family's sons just for a better life, so he was not willing to spend energy to teach apprentices!
Especially in ancient times, a master is like a father, so Zhou Shuren would be even more reluctant to give up the trouble.
Those who came to visit him returned disappointed, and as they all knew that Zhou Shuren did not accept any disciples, the number of visitors gradually decreased.
The invitation from the Jiang Mansion has also arrived. This is the first time Zhou Shuren has received an invitation from Lord Jiang, and Zhulan also wants to go with him.
Zhulan had no plan to bring Dong with her, even though the eldest Dong was Dong's biological sister.
This time when she went to Jiang's house, Zhulan didn't bring anyone with her. She took out the clothes she bought in the capital, put on her jade jewelry, packed her things, and went to Jiang's house with Zhou Shuren, taking the gifts.
It was Zhulan’s first time to visit the Jiang Mansion, which had four courtyards. Zhou Shuren stayed in the front yard, and she followed the housekeeper to the back yard.
Zhulan walked along the way with her eyes straight ahead, looking very gracefully.
The housekeeper secretly observed and nodded, smiling a little more, "Madam, this way."
Zhulan followed the housekeeper through the gate, smiling faintly and nodding.
In less than a cup of tea, Zhulan saw Mrs. Jiang, who was sitting in the main seat. Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Dong looked very similar. Mrs. Jiang was well maintained and did not look like she was 31. She looked to be in her twenties.
Zhulan quickly glanced at Mrs. Jiang's clothes. They were all casual clothes. She thought Mrs. Jiang would give her a slap in the face because of Mrs. Dong, but she was unexpectedly very kind to her. Zhulan knew what was going on and stepped forward to greet her, saying, "Meet Mrs. Dong."
(End of this chapter)