Chapter 824: Chess Pieces

At the farm, Zhou Shuren and his wife were digesting their food in the garden. Zhulan sent away the maids and servants, and now only the couple were there.

Zhu Lan asked, "Who do you think is behind the rumors about the real and fake princes?"

Zhou Shuren said without thinking, "Yao Wenqi."

Zhulan said, "That's what I thought too."

Zhou Shuren picked a leaf and played with it in his hand, whispering, "Shen Yang's bomb exploded, ruining the emperor's plan. Although I don't know much, I have been following the prince and heard a few words. The progress in the Jianghuai area is good."

Zhu Lan continued, "And Zhang Jinghong's understanding has made him an important chess piece in the hands of the emperor. Now that the rumor has spread, Zhang Jinghong is effectively useless."

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Come to think of it, it seems that Zhang Jinghong must have done something to make Yao Wenqi feel the crisis and automatically detonate Shen Yang's bomb."

Zhu Lan also laughed, "This shows that Yao Wenqi's partners have their own ideas, and there is internal discord, so the company will collapse sooner or later."

Zhou Shuren replied, "However, the emperor must be in a bad mood right now. He was about to feel the pulse, but suddenly there was a disruption. You can imagine how the emperor feels."

"I realize that you are really lucky. You just happened to be able to take a rest and hide out."

You know, the Zhou family and the Ningguo Mansion are related by marriage, so there will definitely be people who will try to find out the news. Now that he has hidden away, he can avoid trouble.

Zhou Shuren threw away the leaf in his hand. "It was a little bit of luck, but the majority of it was due to my good calculations and good timing."

He thought that after the Ministry of Justice was purged, Yao Wenqi would take action, but he ignored the Jianghuai area. He didn't expect Yao Wenqi to take Shen Yang's move, which was exposed on his own, which was very different from the emperor's initiative. If it was exposed on its own, it would make Shen Yang's move more difficult in the future.

At Zhou's house, Chang Lian got off the carriage and asked Steward Wang, "Did Zhuangzi send a letter back?"

Butler Wang took out the letter from his pocket and said, "I have been keeping the reply from the master."

Chang Lian took the letter and read it as he walked. After reading it, the last trace of uneasiness in his heart disappeared. His father told him to stay in the Hanlin Academy with peace of mind, not to worry about anything, and just live his own life well.

Chang Lian smiled and asked the butler Wang beside him, "Did Mingyun come back on time?"

Butler Wang replied, "The young masters came back from school and didn't go anywhere."

Chang Lian said, "These days, you should pick them up from school in person. Yes, especially Ming Teng. You must keep a close eye on him."

The capital has been in turmoil recently and his father is not at home. He has to take good care of his grandchildren. His head hurts when he thinks of Ming Teng, as this kid is the most restless.

Butler Wang said, "I will pick you up personally."

Chang Lian returned to the yard and saw his daughter playing in the yard. He picked her up and asked, "Do you miss your daddy?"

Yuyi put her hands around her father's neck and said in a baby voice, "I want Daddy to play with me."

Mrs. Dong heard the voice and came out, "Yuyi, come down quickly, Daddy just came back and needs to change clothes."

Chang Lian kissed the girl, put her down carefully, and asked her gently, "Has the baby in your belly bothered you today?"

Since Dong found out she was pregnant, she has not had a good appetite. "She was very obedient today and ate two bowls of porridge at noon."

Chang Lian held his wife's hand, "That's good. You need to rest more in the next few days. Don't go to the posts in the next few days."

Dong Chuchu asked, "But what happened?"

Chang Lian was afraid that his wife would worry, so he wrote to his father to avoid her. He said, "Today there was a rumor that Shen Yang was the real fifth prince. My father wrote back and told me to take good care of the family."

Dong Chuchu's heart suddenly lifted up, "You have offended Shen Yang many times and even threatened him. What should we do if he is really the fifth prince?"

Chang Lian laughed out loud, "Even if he is real, what can he do to me? Don't forget, we still have our father, and our family is related to the Ning Mansion by marriage, so we are not afraid of him. Besides, it is hard to say whether this is true or not."

Dong Chuchu felt more at ease after hearing this, "Then I feel relieved."

After calculating the interest, Li returned the borrowed money to her fourth brother's wife, "Thank you, sister-in-law. Without the money you lent me, I wouldn't have made so much money."

Su Xuan looked at the interest and thought to herself, there is a reason why my mother-in-law likes my eldest sister-in-law. My eldest sister-in-law keeps her word and the interest is not a penny less. "Sister-in-law, if you need money in the future, just let me know. I have enough money here."

Li was envious. It would be great if she had the same family background as her fourth brother and sister-in-law. She wouldn't have to save money to buy dowry for her daughter-in-law. However, she just thought about it and said, "My brother and sister-in-law should rest first. My sister-in-law will go home first."

Su Xuan stood up and said, "Sister-in-law, I'll take you there."

"No, please stay."

After Li left the fourth room's courtyard, she was free of debt and could walk with her back straight. She was thinking about the dowry that her mother-in-law had prepared for her. She wanted to sell the dowry and buy land near the capital so that it would be convenient for her to take care of it in the future and avoid troubling her uncle.

Li walked quickly. Now he had money in his hand, which he intended to use to buy a shop and some land.

In the main courtyard, Zhulan had already gone to soak in the hot springs. The manor originally belonged to the prince, and the hot spring pool was elegantly renovated. When she heard the sound of water and saw Zhou Shuren sitting in, she thought, "I almost forgot what it felt like to soak in a hot spring."

She has been there quite often in modern times, but it took almost ten years in ancient times before she had the conditions to go there today.

Zhou Shuren let out a long sigh. It was indeed comfortable. This was how to enjoy life. "Let's come back and stay for a while in winter."

Zhulan, "Don't be so confident."

Zhou Shuren choked. It was a good time that he could rest this time. Winter was indeed difficult. Winter was the busiest time for the Ministry of Revenue. If he dared to rest, Lord Xiao would fight him to the death.

Zhulan smiled and said, "However, if you can't come, I can bring my son here to enjoy the beautiful scenery and hot springs in winter. It's like a fairyland."

Zhou Shuren was envious when he heard this and walked over to ask, "Are you willing to leave me alone in the capital?"

Zhulan blinked her eyes. "I heard from Gao that in winter, officials from the Ministry of Revenue often live in the Ministry of Revenue. It's not that I'm abandoning you, but you're not often at home."

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

Zhulan rubbed Zhou Shuren's shoulders and said, "I just asked the manager, the radishes and cabbages in the farm have been collected and put in the cellar. We will transport a truckload of them back when we return."

"Winter vegetables are so simple."

Zhulan, "We have farms in the south, so we can still eat vegetables in winter, which is already very good."

Last year, vegetables were shipped from the south once every half a month. Although a lot of them rotted, it was enough to last for a while. After Zhou Shuren was promoted to a higher position, her family became richer, so she never saved on food.

With the addition of seafood, the Zhou family’s winter meals are very rich.

Zhou Shuren said quietly, "It would be great if the Ministry of Industry could be more effective and glass could be popularized. It would be great to build a glass house and grow flowers and vegetables."

Zhulan, ".......glass house, you are so bold."

Zhou Shuren, "I'm talking about glass after it becomes popular. Forget the current price. If I hadn't been valued by the emperor, we would have had to wait in line for a long time to buy a few pieces of glass."

Zhulan patted her husband's shoulder and said, "So you need to support the Ministry of Industry's money!"

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "I felt good when you massaged my shoulders just now. Let me help you."

Zhulan, "Okay."

(End of this chapter)