Chapter 802: It is better to study more steadily

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were in the carriage. Zhulan asked, "Would you like to go home with us?"

Zhou Shuren finally got the chance to slip away. He didn't want to go back to the prince. "It's okay. The prince didn't send anyone to follow me. He probably guessed that I would go home with you guys."

Zhulan heard this and asked, "So you didn't come out to do work, but came out with the prince?"

Zhou Shuren nodded without saying anything more. Mrs. Song couldn't bring up the Ministry of Rites anymore, so she changed the subject, "Why are you guys out on the street?"

Zhu Lan smiled and said, "Your daughters wanted to buy materials for carving seals. I also wanted to go shopping, so I took them out for a stroll. I just didn't expect anything to go wrong."

Zhou Shuren said, "In the future, bring two servants with you when you go out. Servants are more useful than maids when you go out."

Zhulan was still feeling scared. Fortunately, she was not hit today. Otherwise, if she was hit and trampled, she would be crippled if not dead. "I'll make a note of it."

Zhou Shuren was also a little scared. What would he do if something happened to Zhulan? He held his wife's hand tightly and thought to himself that if Shenxing stayed at home in the future and he went out with Zhulan, he would feel more at ease.

Inside the prince's carriage, the prince rolled his eyes in his heart. He didn't try to stop him, and Zhou Shuren actually slipped away. This guy was really slippery and ruthless.

He originally wanted to take Zhou Shuren to see Tang Yan, but forget it, he was not in a hurry and signaled the driver to return home.

Outside the palace, Ning Xu did not go in with her father, but waited outside. She thought her father would come out soon, but she didn't expect to wait for two hours.

Finally seeing his father coming out, Ning Xi quickly jumped off the carriage to support him, "Dad."

Duke Ning hadn't walked this long in a long time, and his forehead was covered with sweat. "Get in the carriage first."

Ning Xu glanced inside the palace gate and could see the sedan chair. This was prepared by the emperor for her father, but her father refused to sit in it, which made her feel uncomfortable. Her father was already this old, and he still had to take care of the Ning family. She carefully helped her father onto the carriage.

Duke Ning drank tea and wiped his sweat. The carriage drove for a while before it slowed down. He pounded his weak legs and said, "I didn't realize how big the palace was before, but today it feels like it has been expanded."

Ning Xu reached out to rub his father's legs, "Dad, you've worked hard. I'm an unfilial son. I shouldn't have let you worry about Rongchuan's surname. It should be your son who entered the palace."

Duke Ning enjoyed his youngest son's filial piety. Although he was physically tired, he was happy in his heart. He was desperate when his youngest son didn't come back. Now he was tired physically but in good spirits. "The emperor originally planned to give Rongchuan the surname Zhang because of his appearance. Actually, this makes sense, but I, your father, am unwilling to do so. Even if Rongchuan only has the surname Ning for a while, it will have a different meaning to the Ning family. After all, Rongchuan has had the surname Ning. When Rongchuan regains his status in the future, he will take extra care of the Ning family."

Ning Xu's throat was a little tight. He knew too well how stubborn the emperor was. "Dad, the emperor must have guessed your plan. The emperor doesn't want Rong Chuan to change his surname. On the one hand, he wants to be his biological son, but he also doesn't want to give too much care to the Ning family."

As long as the prince ascends the throne, the Ning family's wealth and prosperity will be secure for generations. Even if their generation won't have any thoughts about it, there's no guarantee that future generations won't have any thoughts. The emperor has always been a person who plans ahead, and he has spent all his efforts on the prince, so he is still on guard against the Ning family.

Duke Ning smiled and said, "Fortunately, I have your elder brother's kindness. I am a person whose body is mostly buried in the ground, so the emperor finally agreed to change my surname."

Ning Xu felt even more upset. Dad said it lightly. If it was really easy, Dad would not have stayed in the palace for two hours, and Dad would not have insisted on leaving the palace. In the end, the emperor was unhappy. "Dad, you have worked hard."

Duke Ning grinned, "It's not bitter, not bitter at all. Only when Rongchuan changed his surname to Ning did I really feel that your elder brother had returned."

At Zhou's house, when Zhulan arrived home, the servant had already invited a doctor to the house and he examined Yushuang's feet directly.

Zhulan asked, "Doctor, is my granddaughter's foot okay?"

The doctor heaved a sigh of relief after seeing it, and said with a smile: "It's not a big deal, it's just a slight twist. I'll go to the clinic and get some medicated oil to rub it on. It will be healed in seven days."

Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad she was fine. "Excuse me, doctor."

Zhao asked, "Doctor, do I need to take any medicine?"

The doctor said, "No need, medicated oil will do."

This time, Zhao was completely relieved.

After the doctor left, Zhulan also returned to the main courtyard. Zhou Shuren had already changed his clothes and was sitting on a recliner reading a book and eating grapes.

Zhou Shuren asked, "How are Yushuang's feet?"

"It's alright, I'll go change my clothes first."

"Um."

When Zhulan changed her clothes and came out, Zhou Shuren had already eaten half a plate of grapes and sent the maids out before asking, "Aren't you in the Ministry of Rites with the prince? Why are you on the street?"

Zhou Shuren briefly explained what happened in the Ministry of Rites, "I don't want to get involved, so I took the opportunity to come back and have some free time."

Lord Xiao said that he was taking a vacation with the Crown Prince and he would not go back to the Ministry of Revenue.

Just as Zhulan was about to speak, Changzhong ran in, "Dad, you actually came home!"

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Why did you come back when you were here instead of learning to read?"

"I miss you. You are finally home, so I want to accompany you. I have memorized all the characters that you taught me. If I hadn't been waiting for Minghui, I would have asked you to teach me new characters a long time ago."

Zhou Shuren knew his son was smart. He knew that he could recognize characters but not necessarily write them. He stood up and said, "Dad will test you. If you make a mistake in writing a character, you will be punished by writing a long essay."

Don't underestimate this kid because he is small and doesn't have much strength in his hands, he can still write.

Changzhong was full of confidence. He had been learning so smoothly recently that he felt he could do everything. "Okay."

Zhulan smiled but said nothing. Zhou Shuren wanted to teach his son a lesson, to help him learn a lesson, and it was better to be down-to-earth when learning knowledge.

Zhulan hadn't written for a long time. She could recognize Chinese characters, but sometimes she would make mistakes. Traditional Chinese characters were really distressing. She guessed how many large characters her son could write.

In the Hu family, Jin couldn't bear to scold her daughter, so she naturally doted on her younger daughter. After coaxing her daughter, she looked at her husband's older sister. If she wasn't her husband's biological sister, she would have run away long ago.

Hu had returned home for many years and had a two-year-old son with her. She had the opportunity to remarry, but she returned part of her natal dowry just to take her son with her and not remarry. She knew in her heart that if she did not remarry, her son would have a mother. Of course, she was also afraid to get married, fearing that she would not marry a good man, so she gave up on marriage and wanted only to train her son well.

For so many years, she had endured it all for the sake of her son. Next year would be the examination for the position of Tongsheng, and she just had to get through it. But she didn't expect that something like this would happen today.

Jin was furious. She lost more than sixty taels of silver today. Her husband's annual salary was only a small amount. The family could make ends meet, and it was all supplemented by her dowry. This girl had given out some of her dowry and had never received a large sum of money since then. She felt contempt when she thought of her dowry. The dowry of the Hu family was really small.