Chapter 340: Low Expectations

Emperor Zhang Yu wanted to move his fingers but finally held back. Some subtle movements cannot be allowed as unconscious movements can easily reveal one's inner thoughts. Holding back his restless hands, Zhang Yu looked at Zhou Shuren. Among the eighty people selected this year, he was most satisfied with Zhou Shuren.

The information on Zhou Shuren only started from Pingzhou. The time was short and the information was less without a table. But there was really a lot of information on Zhou Shuren. From how Zhou Shuren made money with his ability to his wife's ability to resell things, it all made him see things clearly and he got a lot of clues!

When he first invaded the capital, he killed many people and seized many houses. In the early days of the dynasty, he killed another group of officials in order to consolidate the government. He had a lot of houses in his hands!

He regretted it so much, why did he have the brains to give away houses before? You know, the later he got the houses, the better!

The emperor thought too much and his mind drifted away. He collected his thoughts and still wanted to think about Zhou Shuren. What he valued most was Zhou Shuren's decisiveness, his unwillingness to suffer losses, and his ruthlessness. In addition, Zhou Shuren's answer sheet gave him a lot of clues, so he was looking forward to handing the Lizhou City area over to him.

You know, before he discovered Zhou Shuren, he was really worried about who to send to Lizhou City. He counted the officials in the court. They all had good fortune as officials, but most of them made their money through corruption, and the rest had rich family backgrounds.

There is really no one with such good fortune as Zhou Shuren. For example, when he participated in the antique competition, he felt that there were too many coincidences, as if he was given money. Yes, the Marquis's Mansion gave him money, and he also cheated the Marquis's money, but it was very calculated. Thinking about it this way, Zhou Shuren's fortune is really good. Although he lost some of it in the end, Zhou Shuren still made a lot of money.

His demands were not high. He just wanted to feed the hungry people and stop asking the court for money every year.

Zhou Shuren was lucky that he didn't know what the emperor was thinking, otherwise he would have vomited blood. He also had information about Lizhou City in his hands. Don't treat him as a fool. The information Wu Chun gave was really detailed. The population of Lizhou City was really large. Although many people had fled, they were returning home one after another. There was no place better than hometown, right? Once the population returned, life in Lizhou City would become even more difficult.

Fortunately, Zhou Shuren didn't know what the emperor wanted in his heart, and was still calmly watching the drama in the court with his peripheral vision.

The emperor sat high up, just like he was in an examination room, he could see any small movement below, he curled the corners of his mouth, it was worthy of the second place that he had chosen, if he had known that the number one scholar was so seeking stability, he should not have considered the age in selecting the number one scholar, it was better to be the second place, it was exactly what he wanted.

The court was in an uproar again. The imperial edict had been issued, and the emperor had been prepared. When the ministers had recovered, the emperor knew that someone would refute it. The emperor had seen enough of the drama, and everything he should know was known from their expressions. The emperor stood up swiftly and said, "I will not delay the time. The auspicious time has come. The people in the city are still waiting for the new number one scholar to show his style. I will adjourn the court."

After saying this, the emperor strode away.

The court minister, "..........."

It’s a familiar path, and I couldn’t stop myself today!

The prince hurriedly trotted to catch up. If he didn't run at this time, he would be surrounded and attacked. What did the prince say to persuade the emperor? His target was simple, the prince who listened to his father.

The reason why my father has not been killing people in the past two years is not because he is unable to wield a knife. Firstly, it is for the sake of stabilizing the government, and secondly, it is to train the princes.

The Crown Prince's eyes are deep, now that the princes have been trained, it is his turn to take action. There is only one right to be the Emperor, and if he loses, then the Queen Mother, the foreigners, his family, his wife's family, and his younger brother who is still a child will all be doomed. It is all for their lives!

The emperor and the crown prince both slipped away. The three princes who had just entered the court looked at each other, and while the ministers had not reacted, they quickly ran away. If they were surrounded at this time, it would show their low IQ!

Zhou Shuren stood up straight. The emperor and the prince had left, so he no longer had to keep his head down. It was tiring to keep his head down, and the back of his neck was a little stiff. It was really not easy to be an official in Beijing!

Zhou Shuren looked at the princes who slipped away. Hey, they were all very smart. Zhou Shuren silently thought that the emperor had really good genes, and none of the princes were stupid. He also thought that it was fortunate that the emperor had no children, otherwise there would be eighty or ninety people competing for the throne. It would be bad if there were too many people competing for the throne. They would only think about fighting for power, and there would be few people working for the people. It would be a pity that the emperor couldn't give birth to children.

When the ministers in the court saw that those who should have left had left, they decided not to waste time. As for this year's successful candidates in the imperial examinations, they really had no time to pay attention to them. The highest-ranking official among them was the fifth rank, and he was working in the poorest places on the border. The others were all grassroots officials, and it would not be too late to pay attention to them when they emerged.

Now they have to go back and calculate how much power they have lost after those blows from the Emperor!

Zhou Shuren looked at the court where only the Jinshi candidates were left. Very good, not only did this imperial examination set a precedent, but all the candidates were sent abroad and no one was paying attention to it!

In the Beijing restaurant, Zhulan really had no idea what Zhou Shuren had been through. She was waiting for the parade in the restaurant she had booked, calculating the time for it to arrive, but still no one was in sight.

Xue Han stood by the window, "Mom, why haven't Dad and Brother Wu Ming come over yet?"

Zhulan, "......."

She didn't know either. All she knew about parades were from TV dramas, which had no basis.

Li stood on tiptoe, "Here it comes, here it comes."

Zhulan stood up and saw that he had indeed arrived. He was riding a tall horse and wearing court robes and looked very energetic. But why did she feel a sense of loss?

The parade should have been a joyous one, but except for Wu Ming and Zhou Shuren who looked calm, everyone else smiled too stiffly, and seemed to be in a trance, with expressions like "Who am I? What have I been through?"

Zhulan's intuition told her that something big must have happened to Xie En today.

Mrs. Li, Mr. Zhou and the other children were the most excited. Mingteng waved his hands desperately and called "Grandpa". Even the quiet Yu Lu waved her chubby hands.

Xue Han was much more reserved. She grabbed the window frame with both hands and looked out excitedly.

Li wanted to shout but didn't dare. One of them was her brother who was the top scholar and the other was her father-in-law who was always afraid. In order to express her excitement, she could only pat the head of the family's thigh vigorously, "Look, look, the team is coming."

Boss Zhou, "........"

It hurts. It hurts so much!

Zhulan booked a private room close to the street half a month in advance and spent a lot of money. However, since Bangyang and Zhuangyuanlang became a family, when she came to the restaurant today, the owner returned the money and gave her free tea and snacks!

Zhulan drank tea and thought about what might have happened in the palace. When the team arrived, Zhulan regained her composure and her eyes fell on the third place winner. He looked to be in his twenties and was indeed handsome.

In ancient times, people were still somewhat reserved. No one threw sachets, but they did throw fake flowers, basically to the winner of the imperial examination!

(End of this chapter)