Chapter 393: Seeing the Words is Seeing the Person

Zhulan unfolded the two pieces of "Fu" (meaning "blessing") paper. There were only two "Fu" (meaning "blessing") characters on the red paper, and no other signature or seal. It was as simple as it could be. However, these were the words written by the emperor after all, so she had to keep them carefully because they were the emperor's authentic handwriting.

Zhou Shuren also finished reading the folded paper. He saw the word "Fu" at first glance. "Usually, it is written for the first and second rank officials and the ministers of the frontier. This year, I am one of them. This time, in the eyes of the ministers, I have completely become the emperor's confidant."

Zhu Lan put down the blessing character in her hand, "Being a confidant has its advantages and disadvantages. When the imperial power is replaced, the new emperor will promote his own confidants. Then you will be a thorn in the new emperor's side."

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Our emperor is a long-lived emperor no matter how you look at it. The imperial power was passed on very early. Besides, I want to enjoy my old age. I can retire when the time comes. I am not a power-hungry person."

This year's service has exhausted him. Although it is his first year and he lacks experience, he will face constant intrigue and scheming no matter what position he holds in the future. It is too much of a drain on his energy. He is absolutely not obsessed with power and he wants to live a few more years!

Zhulan looked at the folded paper and asked, "What did the emperor write to you?"

Zhou Shuren handed the letter in his hand to Zhulan, "It contains some words of encouragement, probably written by the prince."

Zhulan quickly glanced through it. The letter had some affirmation for Zhou Shuren, and more encouragement for him to keep up the good work. Zhulan closed the letter and said, "It is said that one can tell a person's character by his handwriting. Are you sure it was written by the prince? Why can't I see any trace of the prince's personality from his handwriting?"

Zhou Shuren pulled Zhulan to sit down and said, "The letter given to me alone is different from the word 'Fu'. It must have been written by the prince. This shows the emperor's great favor and makes me serve the emperor wholeheartedly."

Zhou Shuren paused and continued, "As for why I can't tell his personality, I tell you, I've personally met the prince, and I can't tell his personality. You say he is forbearing, but he has his own temperament. The prince will not be ignored when standing next to the emperor. You say he is not forbearing, but he easily keeps silent. Add to that the words today, our prince is no less scheming than the emperor."

Zhu Lan frowned, "You said the emperor is expected to live a long life, so isn't it true that the prince will face another tragedy?"

Zhou Shuren laughed, "Have you forgotten how old the emperor was when he got married? And how old is the prince? This year the prince is only in his twenties."

Zhulan thought about it and it was true. The emperor got married late and the princes were all young.

The Zhou family received the blessing character from the emperor, and Lord Chen and Lord He soon found out.

Chen's wife, Hua, held her handkerchief in her hand and said unconvincedly, "I admit that Zhou is indeed capable, but didn't you cooperate and make contributions? Why did you only give Zhou a family name?"

What a great honor it is! I have worked hard for a year, and in the end, it is all Mr. Zhou’s credit.

Lord Chen was upset, but compared to the fact that the Chen family would have been confiscated without Lord Zhou, the sour feeling in his heart disappeared. "Okay, stop complaining. It's no surprise that Lord Zhou is the emperor's confidant. Besides, whether he is given a name or not is a favor from the emperor. We, as ministers, should be grateful."

Hua was just angry, snorted, turned around and left.

Lord He did not feel bitter, but just envious. He envied Lord Zhou's bright future, which he could not compare with. Who knows, he might even need Lord Zhou's help in the future. Lord He and Mrs. Miao were thinking about what gift to bring when they visited Lord Zhou for the New Year's greetings.

At noon, Zhulan's family has been having hotpot for several years, and it is still the same this year. After lunch, it is time to pay New Year's greetings.

This year's New Year's greetings have changed.

Li and Boss Zhou had obviously done their homework, and Li talked about everything related to his official career.

Zhou Laoer and Chang Lian looked at each other, their faces were dull. Forget it, the eldest sister-in-law is pregnant and they won’t bother with a pregnant woman.

Zhulan smiled and gave the red envelope to Li. This year's red envelopes were bigger, ten taels of silver for adults and five taels of silver for children.

Mrs. Li was very happy when she received the red envelopes. The eldest wife had many children, so she gave 15 taels to three children.

The second wife is also good, with two children and ten taels of silver.

The third wife has been married for two years, but has not yet consummated the marriage and naturally has no children.

Zhulan looked at Dong. Dong had grown fast in the past two years, but the people in the Dong family were not very tall. It was already good enough for Dong to grow to 1.6 meters.

Mrs. Dong's face has grown up and she's lost her childishness. She really doesn't look like Mrs. Dong anymore. She looks more like Mrs. Lin.

After they finished paying New Year's greetings, the children got together to play. No matter how much they studied, children were still children. Mingyun took his younger brothers and sisters to the garden.

Mrs. Dong looked at her nephew and niece running around. She was really envious. She would never feel at ease until the marriage was consummated. Unfortunately, it would take another year. The only thing that could comfort her was that her husband treated her well.

Several daughters-in-law were sitting next to Zhulan. At the end of the year, Zhou Shuren took Zhou Laoda and others to the front yard.

Li finally ate the bananas. She had been thinking about them all these days, "Mom, bananas are really delicious, but there are too few of them to eat."

Zhulan looked at the sliced ​​bananas on the plate. It was indeed too few. "Let's buy more next year."

Zhao handed the peeled pine nuts to her mother. She envied her sister-in-law in her heart. She also liked to eat them, but she was not as confident as her sister-in-law, so she didn't dare to say it.

She heard that her sister-in-law was going to sell the recipe again, and her husband said it would fetch a lot of money.

In the past, the eldest wife was the most short of money, but now the second wife has made up the difference. Zhao comforted herself that fortunately her mother-in-law let her husband take care of the family business outside. Zhao thought of the family business. She really didn't expect that her mother-in-law would have so many properties under her name.

Li blinked her eyes, and seeing that her mother-in-law was in a particularly good mood today, she asked, "Mom, can I ask you a favor?"

Zhulan was curious and asked, "You tell me."

Li took out a purse from her bosom, "Mother, this is all the money of the first wife. Mother, you also know that the head of the family and I are not smart. I thought that you would help me buy some shops, so that the first wife can also have some income of her own in the future."

Zhulan was very surprised that Li actually said this in front of Zhao and Dong. Zhulan looked at Li's eyes of complete trust and felt relieved. "As long as you trust me, I will definitely choose the one for you."

Since Li came back as the head of the family, she has been thinking about this matter. "Thank you, mother."

She has made up her mind that when the eldest wife has money in the future, she will ask her mother-in-law to help buy property. She really admires her mother-in-law's ability to grab money. Since she cannot become a mother-in-law, then she will ask her mother-in-law for help!

Zhao also wanted to speak, but swallowed the words back. She knew her mother-in-law was powerful and her husband had talked a lot with her, but she was still worried about handing the money in her hand to her mother-in-law. She preferred to hold the money in her own hands.

Dong had her own income from the shop and the land. She glanced at her second sister-in-law. Her situation was different from hers. All she could do now was to hold her mother-in-law tightly and said, "Mom, I have some money here too. I want to give it to you like my eldest sister-in-law did."

Zhulan smiled and said, "As long as you trust me, I will do it for you."

Mrs. Dong smiled and said, "Thank you, mother."

Zhao opened her mouth again, but in the end she didn't say anything.

Zhou Shuren came back, and the three daughters-in-law went back. Zhulan told them about Li's proposal.

Zhou Shuren, "Just be happy, just don't tire yourself out."

(End of this chapter)