Chapter 967: A Miraculous Turn

Zhulan went home, changed her clothes and looked at the invitations that had been sent to her. The top one was the invitation from Shangshu Feng's family. It was Shangshu Feng's wife's birthday. The rest of the invitations were not too important, so she could go or not.

Just take out the invitation from Minister Feng's family. Feng's family must be visited, as King Liang's greatest reliance is the Feng family.

Mrs. Song counted the days, "The mistress's birthday is coming soon."

Zhulan, "We celebrate birthdays every year, but it's boring now. But we still have to prepare. Now the birthday represents the Zhou family."

She prefers a simple birthday.

Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren was happy to have wiped out the pirates. Although he paid the price of a ship, at least he won. At the same time, he also taught the navy a lesson. There is still a big gap between the ships of this dynasty and those of some maritime countries. If it weren't for the obstruction of multiple ships, the pirates would have almost escaped. The technology of ships also needs to be improved.

After the joy, Zhou Shuren sighed. Improving technology requires money, money is needed everywhere, and even though he won, the losses were also heavy.

In the evening, Zhou Shuren went home. Zhulan mentioned her birthday. Zhou Shuren was thinking about a gift for his daughter-in-law. This time he wanted to give her a surprise, so he said, "Li Zhao's birthday is tomorrow."

Zhulan raised her eyebrows, "You've already chosen the gift, why are you still feeling the pinch?"

Zhou Shuren rubbed his chest, "How can I not feel pain? All the treasures in our family were collected by me bit by bit, but he was so rude that he asked for a rare copy or an ancient book."

Zhulan comforted him, "Next year you can also open your mouth and ask for gifts."

Zhou Shuren curled his lips, "If I don't upgrade, Li Zhao won't return a gift of equal value."

"We won the fight against pirates this time. Lord Li's birthday is not a big deal. There will be a banquet tomorrow night. Will you go and give him a gift in person?"

Zhou Shuren nodded, "I'll go, but I won't be back for dinner tomorrow night."

Although he said he was reluctant, he still wanted to go there in person. He thought his brother-in-law's plan was feasible, but it was risky. Many people died in the crackdown on pirates this time, and some of them fell into the sea and their bodies were never pulled out. Not a single bone was left.

Having said that, no matter how high the risk is, if the Yang family really wants to go this route, his friendship with Li Zhao can still play a significant role. He doesn't even need Li Zhao to ask, it's enough for him to just go to the Li Mansion, and he doesn't even need to ask for favors.

After the meal, Chang Lian stayed behind while Zhu Lan took Mrs. Song and the maids out to digest the food. After taking the people away, the father and son could talk more freely.

Chang Lian whispered what he saw, "Dad, I went to the palace these few days and the emperor punished Prince Qi. Today, Prince Qi was kneeling outside as punishment."

Zhou Shuren, "There have been many memorials submitted to the King of Qi in the past few days, involving many ministers, and several officials have been punished one after another."

Chang Lian was terrified when he entered the palace these days. The emperor had already recognized him. Since he returned to the Imperial Academy, he has been the center of attention. "The Fifth Prince has been entering the palace quite frequently these days. I don't know what happened, but I have heard that the Fifth Prince never comes empty-handed."

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, "The Emperor is angry with the King of Qi, this is forcing the Chen family!"

Chang Lian's face changed. He had been to the palace many times, and it was hard for him to cover his ears and not hear anything. Knowing more was not necessarily a good thing. Now, after hearing what his father said, it was a bit beyond his tolerance. "Dad, does your son know too much?"

Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows, "Why, are you scared now?"

Chang Lian said with a bitter face, "My son thinks it's better for me to leave the capital as soon as possible. Now the fifth prince is obviously going to cause trouble, and the emperor is still tolerating it. My son is worried."

Zhou Shuren also wanted to send Chang Lian away from the capital earlier, but unfortunately it was not possible because the time for the assessment had not yet arrived, and the emperor repeatedly summoned Chang Lian to the palace, which showed that he thought highly of Chang Lian and the Zhou family, and of course it was also a kind of compensation.

Zhou Shuren was worried about his son, so he warned him, "When you enter the palace, cover your ears and keep your mouth shut. If anyone tries to trick you, don't say a word. Learn how to act dumb."

Chang Lian kept this in mind, "Dad, I'm going back first."

"Um."

At the next morning court session, Zhou Shuren was in high spirits. There was no quarrel today. Lord Qi spoke a lot in a very proud manner, the main point of which was that the fifth prince should get married.

This must not be arranged by Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang is currently in the midst of a storm, and this is not the right time to marry a princess.

Zhou Shuren looked at the King of Qi who was standing in the front. The King of Qi had suffered a lot in the past few days. Zhang Yang's ability was not as good as the King of Qi's. However, the King of Qi suffered a loss because the forces behind Zhang Yang had too many hidden chess pieces, and the King of Qi was caught off guard.

The emperor looked at Zhang Yang expressionlessly. Zhang Yang was also panicked. How could this matter be brought up in the court? Moreover, he really didn't want to get married. He had not found a way to solve the problem of offspring.

Zhang Yang stepped out, "Father, I am your son."

The emperor raised his hand and turned his gaze to Qi Heng, "I am also worried about the marriage of the fifth son. Since Qi Aiqing has mentioned it, I remember that you have a legitimate daughter, who is just the right match."

Qi Heng was dumbfounded, but then he was delighted. He was worried about finding a husband for his daughter, but now she is the imperial concubine. Although the fifth prince has not been crowned a king, he will definitely be a king in the future. "I accept your order and thank you."

This situation developed so quickly that before Zhou Shuren could react, the marriage was settled.

Zhang Yang's face almost turned green. Even if he wanted to marry, he would not marry the daughter of Lord Qi from the Yu Shitai family. Not to mention that the Qi family did not have much influence in the capital, he also did not want Lord Qi, a father-in-law with a bad mouth.

The King of Chu almost laughed out loud. This is a good turn of events!

After the court session, Zhang Yang wanted to leave but was stopped by the King of Qi, "Congratulations, fifth brother."

Zhang Yang was very jealous of his second brother. He had exposed many of his second brother's secrets and even caught him at a house where he kept a master. But the emperor only punished the second brother. It was possible that the second brother had arranged for Lord Qi to be here today. With a stiff expression, he said, "All of us brothers combined are not as important as the second brother in the emperor's heart. The younger brother should congratulate the second brother."

The smile on the King of Chu's face disappeared. Although the palace had been cleaned by the Queen, there were still some things that had not been cleaned. There was a lot of news about the King of Qi, and his father's punishment of making the King of Qi kneel was proof of that.

None of them is clean, but their crimes have never been exposed. Just like this assassination, although everyone knew it was done by the fourth brother, there were many scapegoats. However, Zhang Yang exposed many things about Prince Qi, but the emperor did not punish the second brother. So Zhang Yang's words had to be taken seriously.

Prince Liang's eyes fell on Zhang Yang. "You, the fifth brother, really opened the eyes of the brothers. If you didn't say anything, it would have been fine. But when you did, it was amazing. You really surprised the brothers."

He was scared. In just a few days, Zhang Yang got so many things.

Zhang Yang pretended to be stupid, "Fourth brother, you don't know my ability. How can my brother have so many abilities? Fourth brother, think about it carefully."

Lord Xiao did not come today, and no one pulled Zhou Shuren away. Even though the princes were far away, they heard some of the things from time to time. Zhou Shuren looked at Zhang Yang with admiration. This was an allusion to the prince's work, but I don't know how much the princes believed it.

The corners of Wang Wang's mouth twitched. He had walked to the palace gate, but when he saw Zhou Shuren, he turned back and whispered, "We've almost all left!"

(End of this chapter)