Chapter 906: Testing

The emperor looked at the ministers. One third of them had never submitted any memorials, but two thirds of them had taken sides, which made him even more nervous.

The emperor pointed at the folder with his fingertips and said, "I am keeping all of you here today to confer the title of king."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ministers in the government hall looked at each other. They knew that the emperor would definitely confer titles on the princes, but they didn't know whether he would confer titles on several princes or all of them.

Now, when Lord Feng heard the title, he saw that no one said anything. He didn't know how many titles to give, so he asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, have you chosen a title?"

If you mention a few titles, they will also be able to know whether they are all kings.

The emperor was silent for a moment. "This title has always been used to adopt the country name during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. I don't want to come up with a special title. Just draft a title according to the country name during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Do you have any recommendations, my dear ministers?"

Lord Feng was speechless, so the emperor didn't think about it at all, and his test was in vain.

Zhou Shuren took a quick glance at the prince. The prince’s name contained the character “Chen”, which was an extension of the throne and a nickname for the emperor. The emperor had chosen the prince to ascend the throne when he named him.

Now speaking of titles, according to custom, among all the kings in history, the titles of Jin, Qin, Qi and Chu are the most honorable. The King of Jin is the most honorable and the most powerful during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Zhou Shuren thought to himself that although the current history was fictional, when history did not take a turn, the previous history was the same as the history he knew. He could not remember how many people who were given the title of King Jin finally became emperors, but he had the impression that there were quite a lot.

What Zhou Shuren could think of, the old foxes in the room naturally thought of as well. This was a test, not only a test from the emperor, but also a test from the ministers about the emperor's thoughts.

Zhou Shuren couldn't help but look at the prince again, and then met his eyes. Awkwardly, Zhou Shuren silently withdrew his gaze, his heart pounding. The prince's eyes looked more and more like the emperor's. It was as if his thoughts were seen through just now, so he didn't dare to look at him any longer.

The prince withdrew his gaze playfully. When Zhou Shuren took his first glance, he felt it. All the ministers in the room looked at him more or less. Some looked at him inquiringly, some inquired with deep meaning. Only Zhou Shuren looked like he was watching a show.

The prince's eyes deepened. This old fox Zhou Shuren was smarter than he had guessed. Fortunately, Zhou Shuren was not obsessed with power. Otherwise, he would not dare to give power to Zhou Shuren after he ascended the throne.

During the tea hour, as if they were standing in punishment, no one dared to speak. The emperor probably wanted to take this opportunity to punish his ministers, so no one said anything and the emperor refused to let anyone go.

It was not until half a cup of tea had passed that the emperor spoke, "Since you won't say anything, then write a letter and all of you can leave!"

The ministers left the government hall, and Zhou Shuren, who had been slightly bent, finally straightened his waist. He rubbed his waist and felt very tired. He had stood for more than half an hour in the morning court and stood in the government hall for a long time.

Xiao Qing coughed and signaled Zhou Shuren to hurry up.

Zhou Shuren looked up and saw that Mr. Wang and his companions had already left quickly. Afraid of being caught for a chat, Zhou Shuren touched his legs and luckily he was only wearing a pair of cotton pants today.

At Zhou's house, Gu Liufeng's mother came. Since the engagement, Mrs. Hu has never visited them.

Zhulan called Zhao to meet Hu together. Today was the day after the New Year when Hu came. Hu had never worn plain clothes before. Her clothes had a little more color, but her accessories did not change much and remained simple.

It was the first time that Mrs. Hu came to visit in person. She held the gift tightly in her hand and said, "Sister, this is a token of my appreciation."

Zhulan took it personally and said, "You are so annoying."

Seeing that Shuren was still amiable, Mrs. Hu felt relieved. "This is a little gift from me. I made it myself. Please don't reject it."

Before Zhulan opened the letter, Zhao walked in.

Zhao first called her mother-in-law, "Mother."

Zhulan asked, "I just heard you were packing your luggage, is there anything else you need?"

Zhao was already sitting next to Hu. "Mom, everything is ready."

Zhulan stopped worrying after asking. Zhao was more careful than her. As for what to pay attention to when going out to sea, Zhulan would not get involved blindly. She didn't know what to pay attention to when going out to sea in ancient times. The Xu family had experience, so it sounded right.

Zhao had also learned about the changes in her future son-in-law's family in recent days, and said to Hu, "I was planning to talk to you after my father left the house!"

Mrs. Hu was a widow. She seldom went out. She bought enough food for the family to last half a month. There were no winter vegetables, but she bought a lot of radishes and cabbages. The only thing she needed to buy when she went out was meat. This was her second time going out this year. The first time was to visit her brother's house for New Year's greetings.

Neighbors would come to visit, but most of the time she was the only one at home. After hearing what her future mother-in-law said, she smiled and said, "I'm always welcome, but they have to wait until I move into my new house."

Zhao, "Have you bought the house?"

Mrs. Hu was not surprised that the Zhou family knew about it, and nodded, "I have already bought it. I thought I would buy it sooner or later. I bought a large two-story house at once, and this time I bought a small garden. Although it is a little far from the academy, it is close to West City."

Zhao was thinking about going to take a look, "Let me know when they move, and I'll help out."

Mrs. Hu agreed verbally, but she didn't want to trouble the Zhou family in her heart. Her son was doing well in the academy, which was already a lot of trouble for the Zhou family. She was afraid that if she caused too much trouble, it would be annoying.

At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren heard a knock on the door and looked up. "You are amazing. You didn't even tell me that you had arrived in the capital."

Wang Ju snorted inwardly. He did it on purpose. "Sir Zhou, I am here to take up my post."

Zhou Shuren looked at the document in Wang Ju's hand, "Did you just come from the Shangshu Lord?"

Wang Ju nodded, "The Minister asked me to follow him."

Zhou Shuren thought that the people he brought in would naturally follow him, so he motioned for Wang Ju to sit down and personally poured tea for her, "Drink some tea to warm yourself up."

Wang Ju took the teacup in silence, "Sir, could you please stop laughing like that?"

According to his experience, the brighter Zhou Shuren smiled, the more unlucky he would be.

Zhou Shuren's mood was the same as that of the Shangshu. A capable subordinate should be taken care of. "Okay, you have some tea first."

Wang Ju didn't see Lord Qiu, so she swallowed the tea in her mouth and asked, "Lord Qiu is not here?"

Zhou Shuren explained, "He went to the Ministry of Industry and will be back in the afternoon."

Zhang Jinghong came in at this time, and was stunned when he saw Lord Zhou looking so obviously happy. He had been in the Ministry of Revenue for some time, but this was the first time he saw Lord Zhou so obviously happy.

Zhou Shuren said to Zhang Jinghong, "Put down the booklet and go get busy."

Zhang Jinghong looked at Lord Wang a few more times. He was very nervous. Lord Wang used to be Lord Zhou's right-hand man. Now that Lord Wang has gone to Beijing, will there still be a place for him in the future?

Wang Ju waited for Zhang Jinghong to leave and lowered her voice, "I heard from my father that the adults take good care of Zhang Jinghong?"

Zhou Shuren, "Well, this kid is indeed very insightful. I am also helping him in his training."

Wang Ju curled her lips. She was too young back then and fell into Zhou Shuren's trap. Now he is still thinking about her!

At Zhou's house, Zhulan waited until Mrs. Hu left before opening the box. Inside the box were some exquisite jewelry, including a delicately made hairpin. "This doesn't look like something she bought from a jewelry store. Mrs. Hu just said she made it herself, am I right?"