Chapter 788: Luck

In the afternoon, Zhulan did not call all the daughters-in-law back home, but found one individually and called them together. She was afraid that it would be difficult for the daughters-in-law, especially the first three daughters-in-law, who did not have as much money as the county lord.

Zhulan started looking for the money alone, starting with the eldest son. "This is what happened. I don't have that much money, so I want to borrow some from you guys and return it to you in two months."

Li thought about many things, but she didn't expect her mother-in-law to lend her money. The eldest wife didn't have much money, and the money she had now was the dividend from the snack shop. "Mother, the eldest wife bought the shop with you, and now she still has 800 taels. Mother, this money is the eldest wife's filial piety, but the eldest wife doesn't have much money, so she can't help much."

Zhulan did not expect how much money the eldest wife had. She knew exactly where the eldest wife's money went. She knew that the eldest wife did not have much money, but she asked Li for money not to test her filial piety. She just hoped that the several wives would be more united and contribute, no matter how much it was, it was a token of her kindness.

She also hopes that her daughter will know that she can help her brothers more in the future. She is a mother who is more attentive than her own mother.

Zhulan smiled and said, "I know how filial you are. If I say it's borrowed, it's borrowed."

Mrs. Li has known her mother-in-law for so many years and she knows that her mother-in-law will not change her mind easily.

Zhulan sent Li away, and Zhao came over. What Zhulan didn't expect was that Zhao told the second wife the truth after hearing the story. "Mother, my husband took some silver when he left, and I bought jewelry for Yushuang. Now I still have more than 2,000 taels. I'll take it all when I go back. Mother, don't talk about whether to lend it or not. You said we are all a family, and parents worry about the whole family. This silver is for my second wife to be filial to them."

Zhulan looked into Zhao's eyes. She knew that Zhao had changed. In the past, she could not hide her sorrow, but now her eyes were peaceful. What Zhao said was sincere. "I appreciate your kindness. I just don't have enough money at the moment."

Next came Mrs. Dong. She said something similar, but the third branch was poor and would invest in household assets whenever they had money. They didn't have much cash on hand, so in the end, Su Xuan took the lion's share.

Zhulan had enough money, so she asked housekeeper Wang to hand it over to Scholar Deng. The manor was transferred earlier, and she felt at ease.

In the teahouse in the east of the city, the third prince and the fourth prince sat opposite each other, neither of them said a word, both of them were waiting for news. The crown prince had entered the palace, bringing Lord Zhou with him. According to the news from the palace, he was holding an account book in his hand.

The third prince was a little nervous. He had been in the palace for several hours, but the crown prince and Lord Zhou had not left yet.

The Fourth Prince also felt heavy in his heart. After so many years, his father finally stopped caring about the Crown Prince. He must not let the Crown Prince find out anything. If the Crown Prince turned over a new leaf, they would have to be cautious if they wanted to act rashly.

Inside the palace, Zhou Shuren was drawing a picture with a wooden face. In order to display it more clearly and intuitively, a trend chart was the most appropriate. He really didn't want to check the numbers one by one, which would give him a headache.

Zhou Shuren cursed the Salt Transport Bureau in his heart and also wanted to slap himself. What was the point of mentioning the population? Now he had to check the population and report to the emperor. What a scam.

Eunuch Liu took the tea from the young eunuch and said, "Master Zhou, you haven't had any water for a long time. Have some tea."

Zhou Shuren didn't dare to ask Eunuch Liu to serve him. This person was specially assigned to serve the emperor. The emperor was very suspicious at the moment, so he had to be careful. He quickly took over and said, "Excuse me, eunuch."

Eunuch Liu actually came here with a mission. Looking at the drawings on the table, he was stunned. What was this?

Zhou Shuren drank his tea and continued to work. He had to finish his work soon so that he could finally leave the palace.

The Emperor and the Crown Prince are busy looking after the manuscripts. The Crown Prince is not in the palace, so these are the Emperor's jobs. A lot of manuscripts have been squeezed in these days, so the two have been busy all the time.

The emperor rubbed his neck, "Has Zhou Shuren finished his calculations?"

Eunuch Liu, "Your Majesty, Lord Zhou has not yet finished his calculations."

The emperor hummed and continued to look at the folding paper. Time passed little by little. After another cup of tea, Zhou Shuren came over with two sheets of paper and unfolded them without wasting words. "Your Majesty, this is the trend chart I drew. The red line represents death, and the black line represents population growth. Because there are omissions in the household registration, the number of deaths is not very accurate. However, these are enough to clearly see the population changes in the past few years."

The emperor walked to the diagram held by several eunuchs. This trend diagram was more intuitive than numbers, not to mention that the numbers were marked on the lines. The emperor could see it clearly, unlike before, when he had to remember the numbers in his mind every time he looked at it. He couldn't remember too many numbers. The emperor sighed and said, "My dear minister, you are really talented."

Zhou Shuren thought to himself, this is really not a rare talent, this kind of convenient trend chart can be seen everywhere in modern times.

The prince felt that Lord Zhou was like a treasure, who would surprise him from time to time. He thought to himself that he must take good care of Lord Zhou's health when he returned to the Ministry of Revenue.

The emperor felt that the gift of the manor was not in vain. Thinking of Zhou Shuren's talents, he finally sighed and decided to keep him in the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue also needed people. Xiao Qing had been in the Ministry of Revenue for too long. There was no one there before, and the emperor trusted Xiao Qing, so Xiao Qing had always been the Minister of Revenue.

In the evening, Zhou Shuren brought the snacks given by the emperor home. Zhulan helped Zhou Shuren change into his official uniform. "You mean you have been in the palace all the time and just came out now?"

Zhou Shuren was exhausted. He thought he could leave after reporting, but the emperor asked the prince to consult him. He became the teacher again and did not leave the palace until now. "Master Qiu will not be able to sleep tonight."

Zhulan chuckled, "I see, many people can't sleep tonight."

Zhou Shuren lowered his voice, "The Jianghuai area has deep roots. Although the emperor has not said it explicitly, I think there will be big moves."

Zhulan asked, "But what happened?"

Zhou Shuren told Zhulan about his discovery. Zhulan patted Zhou Shuren on the shoulder and said that he had dreamed of retiring early, but this wish would never come true.

Zhou Shuren, "......."

He felt that his wife was not comforting him!

Zhu Lan frowned and said, "Zhao Bo suddenly asked us to borrow money. You still remember that he didn't tell me why. Something must have happened. Just like you said, there have always been problems in the Jianghuai area. Zhao Bo got into trouble after he was promoted. Why do I feel that Zhao Bo has fallen into a den of thieves!"

Zhou Shuren whispered, "I have always understood that there is corruption in the salt tax, but I didn't expect that after more than ten years, I still haven't found the root cause. I didn't think so before, but today I feel a chill on my back. Zhao Bo has indeed fallen into a den of thieves. However, since he borrowed money, I guess someone has set him up. If he really went along with the gang, Zhao Bo wouldn't have to borrow money and could have compromised to settle the matter."

Zhu Lan frowned, "I hope he won't be dragged into this."

Zhou Shuren also hopes so. Zhao Bo is his first friend in ancient times and a friend he has always kept in touch with.

Zhou Shuren continued, "The power dynamics in the Jianghuai region have always been very complex. Many families in the capital have some power in the Jianghuai region. The complexity is no less than that in the capital. It is not easy to find the root. However, this discovery is very important. This account has not changed much over the years, and we can get some clues by following it."

Zhulan listened and looked at Zhou Shuren with a strange expression. Zhou Shuren felt uncomfortable being looked at, "Madam, why are you looking at me like that?"

Zhu Lan chuckled, "Have you noticed that you have helped the emperor discover many hidden dangers along the way? Jinzhou and Jianghuai have been hidden for many years. Why do I feel that you have been increasing the fortune of the royal family?"

She could imagine that if Zhou Shuren had not discovered it, even if the emperor won, he would be exhausted, the government would be affected, and the people would be directly affected. If chaos occurred, it would take many years to recover.

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "It seems to be true."

Zhu Lan smiled and said, "I think this is good. When the court is stable, the people can live in peace, and you will also accumulate blessings."

Zhou Shuren curled his lips, "So one manor is too few. The emperor should at least give two, or exchange them with the manor awarded to the prince."

Zhu Lan was stunned. "What village?"