Chapter 551: Fear

The three princes chuckled and drank the wine in their glasses. The second prince signaled the guards outside the door to urge for more wine, "Since Lord Zhou said so, there's no need to be polite."

It's a pity. The prince's annual salary is really not that much. The maids and eunuchs in the prince's mansion have a fixed number of salaries, and their monthly salaries are also paid by the palace. Without this expense, the prince's salary is really not high. Of course, princes who only rely on salary are too useless. They never rely on salary.

Zhou Shuren kept smiling. He felt uncomfortable. The more uncomfortable he felt, the better. He just drank it.

Zhou Shuren glanced at Lord Yao and smiled even more happily.

At Zhou's residence in Jinzhou City, Zhulan got up carefully. Seeing that her son was still asleep, she tiptoed out, put on her cloak and went to the gate of the courtyard. Her nephew Wuqiu had arrived. Seven or eight carriages had stopped at the gate. Yang Wuqiu walked up quickly, wrapped in his cloak, and asked, "Aunt, why did you come out in person?"

Zhulan hadn't seen the Yang family for a long time. The Yang family gave her the warmth of family love. "I won't come out until I can't wait in the yard. You've worked hard along the way."

Yang Wuqiu smiled innocently, "It's not hard. Aunt, please go into the yard quickly. The wind is a bit strong today."

Zhulan was indeed feeling a little cold. "Let's go."

Back in the main courtyard, Zhulan waited for Wu Qiu to drink some hot tea and waited for a while before asking, "Is everything okay at home?"

Wu Qiu felt warm not only physically, but also in her heart. Although her aunt's status had changed, she was still as kind to her family as ever. "Aunt, everything is fine at home."

My aunt really misses my grandparents, but it’s a pity that they are too old to go out, and it is difficult for my aunt to go back.

Zhulan knew that everything was fine with the Yang family, but she would not feel at ease until she asked. "As long as everything is fine, you can stay a few more days this time."

Wu Qiu shook his head, "Chinese New Year is almost here, I want to go back before the New Year, and I will definitely stay longer next time if I have the chance."

Zhulan asked regretfully, "How many days do you plan to stay?"

"I'll leave the day after tomorrow."

Zhulan counted the days and said, "It doesn't matter if I stay a few more days. It won't be too late to leave after your uncle comes back."

Wu Qiu was stunned, "Isn't my uncle at home?"

How could the governor of a state not be in the provincial capital?

Zhu Lan smiled and said, "What a coincidence! Your uncle went to Beijing yesterday and will stay in the capital for a few days."

Wu Qiu was no fool, he reacted immediately and asked worriedly, "But what happened?"

Zhu Lan waved her hands, "Nothing happened, your uncle just went to the capital to report, everything is fine at home, and today he even brought back the reward from the emperor."

Having said that, Zhulan paused, and then asked the fourth child to come and take the books awarded by the emperor to the children at home to copy some, so that Wu Qiu could take them back. What the Yang family lacked most was books, and Zhulan still hoped that the Yang family could be both civil and military.

Wu Qiu's heart dropped to the ground, and he said with a smile: "Uncle is very capable."

I have received a reward from the emperor, but not everyone has this ability. I was very proud. Thinking of my grandmother's instructions, I looked at my aunt carefully. What my aunt wore and what she wore were all exquisite. I felt relieved. My grandmother was just afraid that my aunt would not tell the truth.

Boss Zhou came in and said, "Mom, the things Wu Qiu brought have been put into the warehouse."

Wu Qiu clapped his hands, then he remembered, "Auntie, this is the account book and the bill. Look at me, I was so busy talking that I forgot about the business."

Zhulan motioned for Mrs. Song to take it and said shyly, "I'm sorry to bother the family this year."

Wu Qiu shook his head, "No trouble, no trouble."

The higher my uncle's position, the better it is for the Yang family. Although my uncle is far away in Jinzhou, he can still influence Pingzhou City. The officials in Pingzhou all think that my uncle will go further and are very polite to the Yang family. Few people bully the daughters of the Yang family when they go out!

Wu Qiu saw Chang Yi coming in and said with a smile, "Chang Yi, this is the account book of your orchard."

Chang Yi narrowed his eyes. He had accumulated a lot of wealth, but the orchard was still his biggest source of income. He thanked Wu Qiu for taking care of it this year.

Yang Wuqiu accepted the thanks with a smile. He was in charge of all the Zhou family's businesses in Pingzhou this year. "We two brothers must have a good drink later."

He and Changyi could still get along well, and both liked to manage and operate the family business.

Zhou Laoer smiled and said, "Okay."

Wu Qiu also brought the rent of the three houses' shops and the income from the fields and gave them to Chang Lian, who arrived last.

Zhulan heard her son's voice in the house and said to the eldest brother, "Eldest brother, your father is not at home, you should entertain Wu Qiu well. The food should be almost ready, you can eat and chat."

Wu Qiu saw her little cousin being carried out of the house. She felt relieved that the child was well-raised. She smiled and said, "Aunt, we'll leave first."

Zhulan took her son and said, "Go ahead."

After everyone left, Zhulan played with her son for a while. When her son sat down and played by himself, Zhulan picked up the account book. The expenditure and income for the year were very clear. The income from the fields was not much, and it was all from the orchard. Nearly three thousand five hundred taels were recorded in the account book. Zhulan felt relieved and silently calculated that the people sent by Steward Ding to Jinzhou should be back soon.

In the Beijing Tavern, Zhou Shuren left the tavern in a good mood, turned around and said to the three princes: "I've drunk too much, I'll go first."

The second prince and his two sons had toothaches. Lord Zhou was the most sober among the five. He sympathized with Lord Yao in the box and was not only forced to drink, but also forced to stay to pay the bill.

Zhou Shuren got on the carriage and glanced at the restaurant's private room. He really acted like Lord Yao. He didn't expect that he would fall into his trap.

In the private room, Lord Yao sat up straight with a cold look on his face. If it wasn't for the purpose of ending this damn dinner, why would he fall into the trap on purpose? He gestured to settle the bill and his face turned green. Damn, a meal cost more than a hundred taels. He looked at the ginseng in the ginseng chicken soup, then at the fine wine on the floor, and finally at the teapot. He gritted his teeth and paid the bill.

Zhou Shuren returned home, took a rest to sober up, rubbed his neck, and took the paper from Jianyan's hand. It was given to him by the emperor. He felt a little depressed because he couldn't return the job he had taken over. However, there were also advantages. With more of the emperor's people in his hands, it would be more convenient to protect the Zhou family from being ambushed.

Zhou Shuren burned some paper and said, "Get ready. I'll be back home the day after tomorrow."

Jianyan felt relieved. The capital was a place where fierce competition arose. His Excellency's current strength did not allow him to stay there for long. It would be better for him to return to Jinzhou.

Zhou Shuren touched his purse. He had saved some money today, so he could buy some gifts for his wife and son when he got home.

The next morning after breakfast, Zhou Shuren arrived at the teahouse that Lord Shen had booked. When Zhou Shuren entered the private room, Lord Shen had already arrived. "Lord, I'm late."

Lord Shen smiled and said, "I came too early. As I get older, I sleep less. I couldn't stay in the mansion, so I left first."

Zhou Shuren sat down and said, "Me too, I've gotten much less sleep in the past two years."

By the way, this was not the first time Zhou Shuren had met Lord Shen. Lord Shen was nearly sixty years old. As a military commander, he was in very good health. Compared with Master Zheng, Lord Shen looked like a military commander.

Shen Shi looked at Lord Zhou. He had heard the emperor mention Lord Zhou many times and he had heard the emperor praise him so much that he wanted to make friends with him. The Shen family was already at the top of its power. When the imperial power was passed on, the Shen family did not want to be envied by the new emperor. In order to protect themselves, they had to hand over power. In that case, they needed a suitable partner.

(End of this chapter)