Chapter 800: Black Heart

The prince glanced at Zhou Shuren. If Feng Huai could think of it, he could naturally think of it too. The Tao family, which were also the elders of the Ministry of Rites. The officials of the Tao family did not hold high positions, but there were many people in the Tao family. Most importantly, the Tao family, like the Wang family, were neutral.

Feng Huai glanced at the account book, then looked away. He could no longer look at it. The more he looked at it, the more upset he became.

The prince said, "Master Feng, you can go back to your work. I came to the Ministry of Rites to study. You don't need to take care of me."

Zhou Shuren, "......"

Prince, could you put down the account book in your hand when you said this? It would be more convincing. Now, it looks like a threat to Lord Feng.

Feng Huai pulled the corner of his mouth, "Then I will go and get busy. Your Highness the Crown Prince can always find me if you have anything."

The prince touched the account book and said, "Yes."

Zhou Shuren wanted to laugh but held it back!

At the Zhou Mansion, Zhulan received an invitation from the Third Prince's Mansion, it was the birthday party of the Third Prince's wife. Now there was only the Third Prince in the capital, and Zhulan thought of Third Miss Ran, who was now the Crown Prince's concubine. She just didn't know if she would be able to meet Third Miss Ran then.

Xue Han asked, "Mom, it will be hard for our family to keep a low profile in the future."

These days, the Zhou family is the most high-profile in the entire capital. She has a good relationship with several young ladies in the capital. They have exchanged a lot of information in the past two days. How many people in the Zhou family are watching her!

Zhu Lan put down the invitation and said, "I couldn't get a chance to attend banquets at the prince's mansion before, but there will be more in the future. Fortunately, only the third prince is in the capital, otherwise I would have received more invitations today."

The prince wanted to find out whether Zhou Fu was completely standing behind the crown prince. She felt a little emotional that Zhou Shuren had unknowingly gained such great power.

Xue Han stood up and rubbed her mother's shoulders, "Mom, let's go shopping today."

Zhulan tilted her head, "Is there anything you want to buy?"

Xue Han said, "Well, my daughter wants to carve a seal herself, and she wants to buy some materials."

Zhulan tilted her head and said, "Rongchuan taught you how to carve, right?"

Apart from Rongchuan, she couldn't think of anyone else who could teach her daughter.

Xue Han admitted generously, "My daughter saw him carving and found it interesting so she asked him to teach her. She used wood to carve a few days ago and now wants to change the material."

Zhulan said, why is there some injury on this girl's hand? It turns out that the root is here. Touching the lady's hand, even with maintenance, the hand is rough. This girl must want to carve a seal for Rongchuan personally. "Okay, let's go shopping today."

It just so happened that she had some money in her hand and she also wanted to go for a walk on the street.

Zhulan thought about it and decided to take her two granddaughters, Yushuang and Yulu, with her. It would be relaxing to have them take her out for a walk. As for Changzhong and Minghui, she didn't take them with her because the two little ones were learning to read with their teacher.

Zhulan thought of Mr. Deng's son. After the Zhou family came to Beijing, Mr. Deng took his son home to live with him. Because Mr. Meng also returned home, Mr. Deng's son is now in the same academy with Mingyun and others.

At the Ningguo Mansion, the Ningguo Duke was determined to change Rongchuan's surname. "Go ask the Emperor about Rongchuan's surname. We have already taken ninety-nine steps, and the last step is not enough."

Ning Xu was a little scared. Recently, the person the emperor was most reluctant to see was him. If he told the emperor about Rong Chuan's surname change now, he would be punished. "Dad, I think you don't need to tell me about this."

Because of my father's generation, the emperor has to endure his outburst.

Duke Ning choked, "Do you think the emperor would be willing to see me?"

Ning Xu was silent. The emperor didn't want to see anyone from the Ning family at the moment. "But it's not a big deal that Rongchuan has the surname Zhang. If time goes on, rumors will spread."

Duke Ning stood up and said, "What use do I have for you? Prepare the carriage and go to the palace."

Ning Xu stood up happily and said, "Son, I'll go get the car ready now."

Duke Ning calculated in his heart that he had not been in good health in recent years, and in order to keep a low profile, he had not entered the palace for several years.

In the Ministry of Rites, Doctor Liu explained some of the instruments in the accounts, and then he trembled a little. After the Crown Prince and Lord Zhou said they knew, they looked down at the account book. What made him tremble the most was that Lord Zhou was particularly good at using the abacus, and he couldn't help swallowing when he heard the sound of the abacus.

Doctor Liu knew that he could not complete the task assigned by the Shangshu. He wanted to say more, but every time he tried to expand, he was interrupted by Lord Zhou, which made him feel depressed.

Zhou Shuren prepared an account book. When he arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, he paid more attention to the Ministry of Works and wanted to give more money to the Ministry of Works. However, Lord Xiao had a fixed amount of money to give to the six ministries, so he had to start with the other ministries. The Ministry of Personnel was on the emperor's mind, so he didn't pay much attention to it. Although the Ministry of War wanted a lot, it was all used in the right places.

Zhou Shuren paid more attention to the Ministry of Rites. The account books in his hand were for the first half of this year. This was because money was tight this year, and the Ministry of Rites was almost catching up with the Ministry of Personnel.

As for the utensils of the Ministry of Rites, there are too many to count. The biggest problem is where to purchase them. The Ministry of Rites is not stupid. They don't buy them at high prices, so they can pass off inferior goods as good ones.

He received a hint from the Crown Prince that the Crown Prince was not looking at the account books to investigate corruption. He knew in his heart that the Crown Prince wanted to find out the Fourth Prince from the account books.

Zhou Shuren took note of several purchases that had issues.

The prince heard the sound of the abacus counting stop, raised his head, and said to Doctor Liu, "You can leave now."

Liu Lang's heart was in turmoil, but he didn't dare to look any longer, so he could only go out with trepidation.

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

The prince is a vicious person. Lord Feng was already worried, and the prince deliberately sent Doctor Liu away. He wanted to scare Lord Feng!

The prince asked, "What can you tell from the account book?"

Zhou Shuren stood up and pointed out the items he had written down to the prince, "There is a problem here."

He didn't say much. The prince asked him to obey orders, and who told the prince that he had the emperor's order.

The prince took the account book in his hand, opened it to find these purchases, and smiled, "Good, very good."

The prince was pleased with his own cleverness. He thought it was the wisest decision to bring Zhou Shuren along, as it saved him a lot of trouble. Look, he only gave a few hints and Zhou Shuren understood. He didn't have to spend any effort on money at all.

Zhou Shuren sighed in his heart, Prince, please don't look at him!

Lord Feng was in his office. After listening to Doctor Liu's report, he became a little restless. The Crown Prince was coming in a strong force, and the Fourth Prince was not in the capital yet.

Doctor Liu came over quickly and said, "Sir, the prince has taken Master Zhou away."

Lord Feng was a little confused, "Who did you say left?"

Doctor Liu followed orders and watched intently, "The Crown Prince took Lord Zhou away."

Lord Feng hurried out, but when he arrived at the gate of the Ministry of Rites, the prince's carriage had already left. Looking at the direction, it seemed to be the imperial palace. He lowered his voice and asked, "Did the prince take anything in his hand when he left?"

Doctor Liu shook his head, "No, I didn't take anything. I just left."

Lord Feng didn't believe it, so he sent someone to check. Soon they got the news that the account book was still on the table and nothing was taken. Lord Feng couldn't understand why and felt uneasy, so he sent people to watch the palace gate.

Zhou Shuren didn't expect that the prince would leave the Ministry of Rites so easily after getting what he wanted. "I thought that His Royal Highness the Prince would stay in the Ministry of Rites for a few more days."

The prince was in a good mood and said with a smile, "I just left temporarily because of something. I will go to the Ministry of Rites tomorrow."

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

So, you are tormenting Lord Feng over and over again!