Chapter 990: Rong Family

At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren looked tiredly at the money applied for by the Ministry of Works. In the past, he was most eager to invest money in the Ministry of Works, but now his heart was bleeding. "If I remember correctly, this is the third time this month?"

Zhang Jinghong was also shocked when he saw the amount. The Ministry of Industry was really burning with money. "Yes, this is the third time."

Zhou Shuren was a little upset. Since the emperor approved it, the Ministry of Works has been working hard to make money. As a result, they have been burning money every month, and the national treasury has been shrinking little by little. "What does the Minister say?"

Zhang Jinghong lowered his head and said, "If the Minister says anything, it won't be delivered to you."

Zhou Shuren was silent. The Minister did not want to write a letter, so he asked him to write, "It is not a big deal for the Ministry of Works to just burn silver."

He is really having a headache now. He used to be able to chat and drink tea with Lord Fang, but now he really avoids Lord Fang.

Zhang Jinghong felt heartbroken every month when he calculated the money that flowed out. If he didn't work in the Ministry of Revenue, he would never have felt this kind of pain.

Zhou Shuren accepted the application and said, "Okay, give this to me to write."

Zhang Jinghong continued, "Sir, the money for temporary residence permits received from foreigners will arrive in Beijing in two days."

Zhou Shuren hummed, but the pain in his heart was not relieved at all. Because of this policy, some foreigners protested and left, so the money collected could not solve any problems.

Zhou Shuren stroked his beard. He felt that the taxation of various commodities could be classified more carefully. However, the current Maritime Affairs Bureau was not capable of this. It still needed to be classified more finely. The Ministry of Revenue could also open two specialized taxation departments.

But the passion in his heart soon died down. For now, it would be better for him to be honest. He had already given a lot, so he had to suppress it. Chang Lian was still growing too slowly. If he grew quickly, his previous credit would be shared with Chang Lian, and he would not sell it to the emperor at a low price.

Zhou Shuren pulled his beard, feeling a little anxious. Chang Lian would not leave the capital until next year. He hissed and pulled out several strands of his beard!

Inside the palace, the emperor paused for a long time before speaking, "I have always asked your grandmother why I could not see him. Later, I thought I could see him if I became sick, but in the end, I only received your grandmother's heartache. I still could not see him. When I grew up, I learned to play dumb."

Especially after his mother passed away and the people around him disappeared one by one, he pretended to be stupid, thinking that only by living could there be a future.

The prince knew who his father was talking about. His father's father was not someone his father was willing to call him. When his father rebelled, the emperor of the time was furious and wanted to use the Zhang family in the capital to threaten his father. His father ignored him and the emperor of the time destroyed the Zhang family.

He knew all about it from his mother. His mother said that his father had taken advantage of the previous emperor to take revenge, and after founding the dynasty, he specially built a mausoleum for his grandmother, a mausoleum for her alone.

The Emperor looked at the Prince, "When we were fighting everywhere, you were a naughty kid and you often got sick. I stayed with you all night, and I thought you would be happy to see me when you woke up. Sure enough, you woke up and jumped into my arms."

The prince's memory was fuzzy. His father should have been talking about the time when he was two or three years old. The prince's eyes softened when he thought of his son's appearance when he was sick.

The emperor sighed again, "It's been so many years, and I've been the emperor for almost 20 years. When I get old, I miss the people in my memory. Your grandmother was a very wise woman. She left me many tricks back then, which is why I am where I am today."

The prince saw that his father was willing to speak, and he was curious, "Father, what kind of person is the Royal Grandmother?"

The emperor's smile deepened. "Back then, your grandmother married into the Zhang family. My uncle was the first to die in the Rong family. Your grandmother had just gotten pregnant with me. At that time, your grandmother knew something was wrong. She secretly prepared a way out and sent people out of the palace on various charges."

The emperor's smile disappeared, and he continued, "The Rong family's direct descendants had a series of accidents, and finally a big fire burned down the Rong family. The empty place in the capital now is the original Rong family. Your grandmother knew that she couldn't leave."

The emperor shut his mouth. He didn't want to talk any more. He didn't know how his mother died. He knew that when he came back from his trip, his mother was dead and she died with her eyes open. He still remembered receiving the blood letter, which his mother had written long ago and left for him. When he received it, the blood on the letter had changed color, but he could still feel his mother's hatred.

When the prince saw his father's eyes, he really remained silent this time. As for the Rong family, he didn't know much about them. The ten years of war had covered up a lot of things. With the replacement of aristocratic families, the Rong family had become a thing of the past, even though the Rong family had left a strong mark in history.

At night, Chang Lian was depressed, "Dad, what's wrong with my son?"

Zhou Shuren snorted, "You grow too slowly."

He was so slow that he couldn't move his hands and feet, and now he felt as uncomfortable as if he was tied up.

Changzhi wished he could just put his head down and forget about his job. His third brother was already amazing enough. He was one of the best in Beijing. But his third brother was disliked by his father, so wouldn't he be disliked even more? The more he thought about it, the more he felt depressed.

Zhou Shuren glanced at Changzhi and said, "Fortunately the bowl is not big. If it were bigger, wouldn't your whole head go into it?"

Changzhi raised his head quickly, then sat up straight to eat.

Boss Zhou shrank his neck, feeling happy that his father had just scanned him but didn't say anything to him.

Fortunately, Boss Zhou didn’t know that the old man had no expectations of him!

Zhou Shuren stared at Changzhi until he was too afraid to move, then he spoke: "Next year you will take part in the provincial examination. If everything goes well, you will take part in the metropolitan examination in the capital at the beginning of the year after next."

Changzhi was still very confident, "Dad, your son is ready."

Zhou Shuren, "I remember you said you would get a top scorer for our family, am I right?"

Changzhi didn't say anything, so Changzhong interrupted, "Dad, that's what I said. I said I would take the top spot in the imperial examination."

Zhou Shuren tapped his youngest son's forehead and said, "You're the one who interrupts me everywhere."

Changzhi looked at his father who was so pleased with his younger brother. His expression changed so quickly. He looked at his younger brother with envy, "Dad, it was my son who said that."

Zhou Shuren hummed, "I'll wait for you to come back with the top score in the exam."

Chang Lian gave Chang Zhi a sympathetic look. The strength of the class he participated in was not very strong. This time, let him count, there was Ran Xun, the eldest grandson of the Ran family, Meng Jie, his father's apprentice, and He Shu, Wu Ning's husband. These were just the ones he knew. There were also children of Beijing's aristocratic families who he was not familiar with.

Plus Jiangnan, this round is fatal, he thinks he shouldn't have too much hope.

When we rested at night, Zhulan asked, "What happened to you today?"

"I'm just depressed. The Ministry of Revenue is short of money, very short of money. I have a solution in my mind but I can't say it. I can only worry about the national treasury. I really spend every penny very carefully. So I thought, if my two sons can help, I can share the credit with them. They can move forward faster in the future and help me solve some of the money problems."

(End of this chapter)