Chapter 447: Your Own Pot

Zhou Shuren went to Jinzhou to make the handover, and the news spread quickly. After receiving the news, everyone said "oh" to indicate that they understood.

In the capital, the emperor was speechless for a long time after hearing the news. He started to pay attention, but later he was too lazy to pay attention. He was walking so slowly along the way, and the novelty of waiting for the news had long worn off.

The prince couldn't help laughing in his heart. Lord Zhou was so interesting. Lord Zhou had exhausted everyone's patience.

The emperor suddenly said, "Lord Zhou really loves Yang very much."

The prince replied, "Lord Zhou is a man of character."

The emperor nodded in agreement, saying that the prince did have personality. He motioned for the prince to go back. When the emperor saw the prince turn around, he looked at him, and his previously harsh eyes softened a lot.

The prince walked out of the palace gate and took just a few steps, "Fifth brother, are you waiting for me?"

Zhang Jinghong played with the jade pendant, "Brother, I haven't seen you for a long time."

Prince, "Ah, I've been a bit busy lately."

Zhang Jinghong asked casually, "What are you busy with? I can't even see my brother when I go to my mother's palace."

The prince frowned, "It's a task given by my father."

He was indeed very busy, busy with accounting. The accounting he did was using an abacus, which was really annoying. He had been dreaming about using an abacus at night these days. He never thought that his father would ask him to do the accounting!

Zhang Jinghong pouted, "Big brother is on guard against me, but I am your younger brother."

The prince looked at his younger brother with the corner of his eye. He never thought that his younger brother would try to find out his whereabouts. He has really grown up. He thought that he was the eldest brother and they were born of the same mother, so he would protect his younger brother. But in the end, he took it for granted that his younger brother was very conceited!

The prince curled his lips and said, "Brother has something else to do, so I'll leave first."

Zhang Jinghong put down the jade pendant in his hand, turned around and left.

In the backyard of Jinzhou government office, after a meal in Jinzhou, Zhulan stopped Dong who was about to go back to clean up. Zhou Shuren went to tidy up the study, and now there were only Zhulan and Dong in the room.

Mrs. Dong was nervous, "Mom, do you have anything to tell your daughter-in-law?"

Zhulan cursed the ancient times in her heart, but she couldn't keep making excuses for not consummating the marriage. If she did, she would think something had happened to Dong, which would be bad for Dong and the Dong family's reputation. "Silly girl, have you forgotten that the marriage consummation is scheduled this year?"

Mrs. Dong blushed. She knew it and had kept it in mind. She blushed and said, "Quan Ping Niang is the boss."

Zhulan adjusted her mentality. Knowing that Mrs. Dong was shy, she made her decision directly, "I have chosen the date. The day you get married is a good day. Your wedding dress is too small. Make a new one in two days."

Mrs. Dong was delighted and said, "Thank you, mother."

Zhulan waited for Dong to leave, then picked up a pen and wrote a letter. Zhou Shuren had been promoted, but Zhulan had not yet told his in-laws. Now that she had arrived in Jinzhou City, she would write to tell them later.

The last letter was written to Changzhi, who had become the son of a prefect.

Zhulan thought of Changzhi. The boy was sixteen years old, but she still hadn't found a suitable girl for Changzhi. Zhulan hoped to settle on a girl before Changzhi took part in the imperial examination. It would be better to settle on a girl early while she hadn't made any plans for Changzhi yet.

I'm just worried. There is really no suitable girl at the moment. I don't think I should look for one in Jinzhou because it's too complicated here.

The next day, Zhulan's family hadn't even packed their luggage yet when they received a door-to-door invitation. The invitation came before she could even wait to settle down.

Zhou Shuren flipped through the pages and said, "No need to see him."

Zhulan touched her belly and said, "I didn't plan to meet Jinzhou until I knew him well. I had all the reasons. I was tired from traveling and felt unwell. Who would let me get pregnant at such an old age?"

Zhou Shuren was nervous, "Don't keep talking about it."

Zhulan, "......."

Well, Zhou Shuren can’t relax until the child is born.

Zhulan's reply spread out, and coupled with Zhou Shuren's gloomy face every day, somehow the rumor spread that the baby in Zhulan's belly was no longer safe. When Zhou Shuren heard the rumor, his face turned completely black, as if the rumor had been confirmed.

Zhulan looked up at the sky in silence. The rumors were so outrageous. It was all Zhou Shuren's fault.

A few days later, the Zhou family's luggage was finally packed, and Zhulan had almost understood everything she needed to know. Zhulan had experience in banquets.

We can't lose face for the Zhou family this time. There are too many people who want to see the Zhou family make a fool of themselves.

Zhulan knew what was going on. There were many people looking for trouble this time. She went through everything from the menu to the utensils carefully, and only after making sure that everything was OK did she write the invitation.

Zhulan didn't see any official wives, but Zhou Shuren was different. He saw all the officials he should have seen on his first day in office. Jinzhou City was okay, but no one obeyed him. Even if they were capable, they were promoted too quickly.

Zhou Shuren is the prefect, and the only person he can rely on is the emperor, but the co-prefects, the governors, etc. also have people behind them.

The previous prefects could suppress it because they had high status. Zhou Shuren, who came from a farming family, was still troubled even though he had the support of the emperor. These people were not openly bullying you because they were not obvious.

As an outsider, Zhou Shuren had a hard time doing his job at the beginning.

Zhulan wrote a post here, and Zhou Shuren said quietly: "I said I won't do it anymore, so just treat it as if the rumor is true and keep it to yourself. Why bother to get angry?"

Zhulan, "Now everyone is making things difficult for you. Of course I have to get more accurate information from the officials' wives. Some people don't want to make things difficult for you, they just have no choice."

Zhou Shuren felt sorry for Zhulan, "I was worried that you were too tired."

Zhulan smiled and said, "I just talk a lot. It's not tiring at all."

It would be strange if Zhou Shuren believed Zhulan. To organize a good banquet, everything had to be meticulous and Zhulan had put in a lot of effort.

Zhou Shuren, "I really don't take the difficulties seriously. Some of them just don't obey me. Jinzhou is not as urgent as Lizhou City. I have time to play with them slowly."

Zhulan, "But I want to help you too."

The higher you go up in the official ladder, the more important your wife's social connections become. Don't underestimate the wives of officials; they are the most well-informed.

Zhou Shuren held Zhulan's hand, he knew that Zhulan felt sorry for him.

On the day of the Zhou family's banquet, everyone who received the invitation came. No one turned it down. It was simple. It was the same mentality as the Hua and Miao families. They all came to laugh at Zhulan.

The identities of Zhulan and her husband are no secret. In the eyes of some people, Zhulan is vulgar. Coupled with Zhou Shuren's high-profile hatred, they are very curious about what kind of peasant woman Zhulan is.

So no one wanted to embarrass Zhulan. They all came, with the same routine. They not only wanted to see Zhulan make fun of her, but also Xuehan make fun of her.

Every family brought a daughter, who was about the same age as Xuehan.

Zhulan admired the dumbfounded looks of the officials' wives and sipped her juice while waiting for them to come back to their senses.

The wife of Tongzhi, Mrs. Tao, "I have seen Gongren."

Zhu Lan smiled and said, "Please stand up, Yi Ren."

Tao stood up dryly. She was really surprised. She didn't think that Lord Zhou's wife looked like a peasant woman. Looking at the way she sat and dressed, she looked like a lady of noble birth.

Looking at the young lady of the Zhou family again, she was silent. She was a noblewoman and had demanded to be a lady of the royal family since she was a child. However, the young lady of the Zhou family was not much worse than a lady of the royal family. Tao was very unwilling to accept this understanding.

(End of this chapter)