Chapter 504: Beating

Zhou Shuren pointed at the jewelry and said, "I guessed it from the pearl headpiece that the lady brought back."

Zhu Lan was stunned for a moment, then responded, "You mean, the Xu family is planning to secretly catch pearls? The Xu family wants to use this to scheme against the Li family, and then scheme against the Zhou family?"

Zhou Shuren nodded. "Otherwise, I can't imagine how a fishing boat could plot against us. In fact, secret fishing has always existed. If you look closely, you will find that many people who disappeared from fishing villages were caught on boats fishing for pearls. It is easy for some powerful forces to launder the pearls they secretly caught."

Zhu Lan was silent. Zhou Shuren was right. In ancient times, technology was not advanced. Even if there was strict surveillance, it would be difficult to find them if they found an island as their base. "It would be a serious crime if they were caught for selfish fishing."

Zhou Shuren poured himself a cup of tea. "Well, the court banned private hunting. It's a serious crime in the law. The punishment is beheading at the most serious level and confiscation of property at the least serious level. Someone wants to wipe out the Zhou family in one fell swoop."

Zhu Lan pursed her lips, this set was very deep, "Then it seems that the person that Xu's family has taken refuge with thinks you are blocking the way. Who do you think it could be?"

Zhou Shuren thought about it. It was absolutely impossible for him to be the Crown Prince. He had met the Second Prince several times, but he was actually very arrogant and preferred to face off head-on. He had never met the Third Prince, so he kept it to himself. The Fourth Prince was ruthless enough, so he was also a suspect. As for the Fifth Prince, he had met him today, but he was afraid that there was a master behind him, such as Lord Yao.

Lord Yao was also a big suspect. Zhou Shuren counted and found that he had blocked the way of quite a few people!

Zhou Shuren put down his teacup. "No matter who planned this, someone must have secretly captured them. And it was a whole line of capture. The Xu family was the breakthrough point. If we follow them and catch them, it will definitely be a major case that will shock the court."

He had a hunch that this private fishing line would not be easy, and he might be able to uncover something new. He was stroking his beard, and if he wanted to lure the Zhou family into the water as a scapegoat, he would have to be prepared to die.

At this time, Mrs. Song came back from the outing. Zhulan picked up the unfinished sewing and changed the subject with Zhou Shuren, "I have prepared the wedding invitations here, and the name list is listed. You can take a look later and fill in any missing ones."

Zhou Shuren: "Oh, okay."

The two chatted casually. When Zhou Shuren got up and went to the study, Zhulan said, "You should also talk to the second brother and the others. They want to buy a fish farm. Don't let them set you up."

Zhou Shuren understood that Zhulan was afraid that the Xu family would not be able to trap Li, so she refused to give up and went to the second brother to find him. "I know."

While Zhou Shuren was going to the study, he asked Jianyan to notify Zhou Lao Da and others to come to the study.

Zhou Shuren sat and read for a while, then his four sons came and stood in a row. Zhou Shuren put down the book and looked at his adopted sons. They had really changed a lot. When they first came, the eldest and the second son were country men, but now, they wore rings on their hands, jade pendants on their waists, and were dressed in satin clothes. They no longer looked like they did a few years ago.

Zhou Shuren didn't say anything, but the way he looked at him made Boss Zhou feel nervous.

Zhou Lao Da and the others stood there obediently, not daring to move, reflecting on what they had done in their hearts. They were deeply afraid that their father was looking for them to settle the score. You know, their father was busy and seldom called them over together, especially during the day off.

Zhou Shuren looked at his adopted sons speechlessly. He looked at them for a while, and sweat broke out on their foreheads. "Don't let your imagination run wild. I called you here to tell you to be down-to-earth and not rush for profit. Remember, there is no free lunch in the world. You have to pay a price for everything."

Boss Zhou was much more experienced and wiser, "Dad, has something happened?"

Zhou Shuren glanced at Boss Zhou with approval. The old fool has become smart now. That's great. "Yeah."

Boss Zhou understood his father's praise. Emma, ​​his nervous heart suddenly relaxed and he grinned foolishly.

Zhou Laoer was worried, and sweat dripped down his forehead. "Dad, is someone plotting against the Zhou family?"

Zhou Shuren stared at Zhou Laoer. The boy had just returned and ran out from time to time. He was rarely at home during the day. He squinted his eyes and asked, "Why, did someone come to see you?"

Zhou Laoer swallowed his saliva and said, "Dad, my eldest brother and third brother and I want to buy a fishery. I met a merchant yesterday who said that fishing boats can make more money. I didn't agree, but I was thinking of finding out more information!"

Zhou Shuren put down the teacup in his hand with a little too much force, and the cup hit the desk. "What's the last name of this merchant?"

It turns out that not only did they find Li, but they also found Changyi.

Zhou Changyi swallowed his saliva. His father's tone was filled with anger. This was really a problem. "A merchant named Zhang, who was engaged in the marine goods business, said that many fishing boats were very profitable."

Zhou Shuren took note, "I don't care if you buy the fishery, but you are not allowed to touch the fishing boats. If anyone dares to do this in secret, don't blame me for being cruel."

"yes."

Chang Lian felt that his father's gaze was like a knife, firmly piercing the bodies of the four brothers, "Dad, is someone plotting against our Zhou family?"

Zhou Shuren hummed and said, "You guys should remember this: be careful when you go out."

Zhou Lao Da wrote down a few of them. Chang Zhi pursed his lips and said, "Dad, Su Xuan also has a fishing boat."

Zhou Shuren's mouth twitched, "That belongs to the county lord himself, you don't have to worry about it."

Someone was watching the county lord's every move, and given his intelligence, he knew better than anyone what should be touched and what should not be touched.

Chang Zhi closed his mouth, but in his heart he was thinking that he should give Su Xuan a set of law codes so that Su Xuan could copy the codes when practicing calligraphy in the future. Chang Zhi's eyes looked at the bookshelf.

Soon his eyes widened. There were several new books on the bookshelf. Although he rarely came to his father's study, he knew that his father had a pattern in how he placed the books. The books were always in the right place. He forced himself to move away from the books, "Dad, can I take the code back with me?"

Zhou Shuren was really stunned by Changzhi's operation, "You want to see?"

Chang Zhi was a little embarrassed, his ears were red, "I want to go back and copy a copy and give it to Su Xuan so that she can copy it."

(End of this chapter)