Chapter 834: Sharpening the Knife

In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the funeral of Bai from Yaohou Mansion. Zhulan thought of Liu from Jinzhou. Liu died before the accident in Min Mansion and finally rested in peace after death.

As for those who survived the confiscation of the Min family's property, all the adult men were killed, and the survivors were enslaved. The women were even more miserable. Those who were brave enough could commit suicide, while those who were not brave enough could only live in fear.

Zhulan lamented the cruelty of the ancient system. If one person made a mistake, the whole family would be affected, and seriously the entire clan would be affected. Coupled with the strict hierarchical food chain in ancient times, survival in ancient times was really not easy.

Xue Han accompanied her mother and had heard her mother sigh a few times. "Mom, why are you sighing?"

Zhulan looked at the handkerchief in her lady's hand and said, "I just feel that time flies by so fast. Birth, aging, sickness and death seem to happen in the blink of an eye. Life is too short."

Xue Han was shocked when she heard this, "Mom, please don't say that. I hope you and Dad will live a long life."

Xue Han thought that it must be the wife of Marquis Yao, Bai, who had passed away and scared her mother. Come to think of it, Bai was not very old, so how could she be gone in such a short time?

Zhulan also wanted to live a hundred years, but it was just a thought. It was hard to live a hundred years in modern times, let alone in ancient times. "You are getting married in the blink of an eye. I remember that a few years ago, you were still a child who loved to hide in my arms and act coquettishly."

Xue Han's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. "Mom, please stop sighing. It will scare your daughter."

Zhulan looked at the frightened look in the lady's eyes and was amused. She changed the subject, "What gift did Rongchuan give you yesterday?"

Xue Han blushed. She thought she and Rong Chuan were keeping it a secret, but her mother actually knew about it. "Bracelet."

Zhulan thought to herself that ever since Rongchuan had more money, this boy has been buying gifts for his lady. Four or five times a month is considered a small number. He buys jewelry with messages, travel notes and paintings that his lady likes, etc. She is jealous of him.

She also told Zhou Shuren that Zhou Shuren lost this time.

Inside the palace, Shi Qing was the only one in the Zheng Palace. The emperor asked about the affairs of Yao Hou Mansion, "I heard that your wife is not feeling well. You can ask the imperial physician to take a look."

Shi Qing did not dare to look up, but he was grateful in his heart. He had no background. The emperor used him as a knife. If the emperor did not use him, it would be difficult for him to climb up. His status restricted him. The emperor always told him directly that he would not do anything behind his back. He said excitedly, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The emperor asked the imperial physician to see his wife, which meant that the child was saved.

The emperor nodded and asked Shi Qing to leave.

After Shi Qing left, the prince came out from behind the screen, and the emperor asked, "Do you understand why I did this?"

The prince nodded, "Father used the child to test Shi Qing. Shi Qing's choice reassures Father. Because the child is not yet born, Shi Qing has a knife hanging over his head. He must do his best. As long as Father gives him some grace, he will be grateful."

To put it bluntly, my father is sharpening the knife himself. Whether the knife can be used for a long time depends on how many times it is sharpened.

The emperor's attitude towards Shi Qing was always one of truth and falsehood. Shi Qing thought he had guessed it, but he never saw it clearly.

Because of Shi Qing's background, he can only rely on his father, who is very confident in using him. This is different from Yao Zheyu. His father seems to treat Yao Zheyu as a knife, but he will not use him for a long time, nor will he sharpen the knife himself. Once Yao Zheyu's value is gone, the knife will become useless.

The fact that Yao Zheyu is now in the Ministry of War is proof that he doesn’t even have the chance to attend court, and he cannot even enter the palace without being summoned.

And Shi Qing is slowly getting in touch with deeper things.

The emperor really felt that there was nothing left for his eldest son. The child did not explain his intentions clearly, but he understood them in his heart. He touched the table and thought about the Shen Mansion. Although its power had decreased a lot in the past two years, it was still too much.

At Zhou's house, Dong received a letter from the eldest brother. Since warning the eldest brother, the eldest brother has been watching the other brothers carefully. After reading the eldest brother's letter, it turned out that the eldest brother intercepted the second brother's letter. The second brother's family thought that it was a good idea and fell in love with the eldest son of the eldest sister-in-law, Jiang Du.

Dong's emotions fluctuated greatly due to her pregnancy. She was upset when she read the letter. Her second brother had good taste. Not only did she not agree with the eldest sister-in-law, she also disagreed.

She didn't want to have constant trouble in the future. She had been in the Zhou family for so many years, and her parents-in-law treated their children equally, treating their daughters the same as their sons. She realized this from the dowry her parents-in-law gave to her eldest sister-in-law that her eldest sister-in-law held a very high position in their hearts. The dowry they gave was a large sum of money, and it was given as soon as they said it would.

Although the elder sister-in-law will divide this money among her own sons, it is really no different from giving it to the Jiang family. The parents-in-law really love the elder sister-in-law, and her daughter-in-law is jealous of her.

Mrs. Dong took the letter and prepared to reply, writing down her nephew's situation and asking her eldest brother to keep a close eye on it and not to cause any trouble. After checking it carefully, she sent the letter away.

Mrs. Dong touched her belly. Each family had a son, so she hoped this one would be a son.

In the Hanlin Academy, Chang Lian looked at Shi Qing who had returned from the palace. Shi Qing rarely showed joy every time she entered the palace. He lowered his voice and asked, "Is there any good news?"

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Shi Qing said generously, "I received the award. Because my wife was not feeling well, I used the award to ask the imperial physician to see her."

This matter cannot be concealed. He is only a scholar-official and cannot hire an imperial physician.

Chang Lian was still quite worried. He remembered that Shi Qing's wife was pregnant. It seemed that Shi Qing had been gloomy these days because of the child.

Chang Lian looked at Shen Yang's position again. Shen Yang had already taken two days off as he was said to be sick.

Shi Qing looked over and saw that Shen Yang was indeed sick. He had frightened himself and became sick. He stayed in the house and dared not go out.

In the afternoon, at the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren finished his work for the day and rubbed his shoulders. It had been a long time since he had to sit and hold a pen all day. "Master Qiu, I'm leaving first."

Qiu Yan stared at Zhou Shuren's desk, not daring to think about it. How could he leave early when he had more work to do than him? "Mr. Zhou's abacus skills have become even better."

Zhou Shuren, "I also think I am quite good."

Practice makes perfect. When he was a prefect, he really didn't know how to use an abacus every day. But since he came to the Ministry of Revenue, he has been dealing with an abacus every day, and his calculation speed has become much faster.

Qiu Yan was envious. He thought he was good at math, but he felt that he was not much different from Master Zhou. He thought that Master Zhou could accompany him today, so he said in a depressed tone, "Master, go first. I will finish my math first."

Zhou Shuren was humming a little tune. Fortunately, he was smart enough to send the Shangshu's work back, otherwise, he would have to work overtime. As soon as he went out, he saw Hu Xia.

Zhou Shuren was about to walk over, but he stopped and turned around, "Master Hu."

Hu Xia ran over excitedly, "Sir, do you have any instructions for me?"

Zhou Shuren thought of his wife's words, and he had nothing else to say. "It's okay."

Hu Xia was disappointed, he thought Lord Zhou was good to his nephew and would take better care of him. He was a person who never expressed himself and just worked hard. It was not easy for him to get the attention of his boss!

Zhou Shuren was a little hungry. He hadn't eaten the food in the Ministry of Revenue for a long time. Today's meal was a little too greasy, so he didn't eat much. He walked out of the door of the Ministry of Revenue, "Prince Yao, why are you at the door of the Ministry of Revenue?"

. . . One chapter, I didn’t dare to split it up, so I didn’t write enough chapters,,,, ahem, people without credibility... are just sheep.

Yes, yes, I will. I will definitely make up for it.

(End of this chapter)