Looking at the Third Prince's letter, Zhou Yi'an felt somewhat agitated. After thinking about it all night, she finally decided to withdraw.
So he immediately wrote back to the Third Prince, frankly admitting his incompetence. He said that in the past few months, he had not even been able to enter Xie Yushu's manor, let alone win Xie Yushu's heart. He had also been caught doing something wrong by Han Zhongyu and could no longer continue.
He also told the Third Prince that he had resigned from his official post and that he didn't want to do anything now. He just wanted to stay in Tai'an Prefecture and contemplate life, and asked the Third Prince to pretend that he didn't exist.
When the Third Prince received the letter, he was furious. Zhou Yi'an was someone he had placed high hopes on, but he just abandoned his post like that. Now that he should be making a lot of money and making great strides, he ended up with nothing. How was he supposed to compete with his brothers?
How can he restore his mother's status if he doesn't fight for her?
If you're slow on one step, you'll be slow on every step.
The Third Prince, in a fit of rage, smashed the entire tea set before calming himself down. He then summoned Grand Tutor Zhou and showed him Zhou Yi'an's letter.
When Grand Tutor Zhou saw this, he was also puzzled. How could he have known that his son would suddenly go on strike!
He was full of confidence when he left, so why did he suddenly quit?
Despite their doubts, the Grand Tutor's Mansion had already boarded the Third Prince's ship, so they naturally dared not offend him easily. They could only make excuses for Zhou Yi'an, saying that he was young and immature, and that he might be heartbroken after a setback in his relationship. They suggested that he calm down and make a more careful decision.
The Third Prince spoke with dissatisfaction.
"According to the original plan, Zhou Yi'an should have been able to get the money back by now, so we could move on to the next step. But now he just dismisses it with a single sentence of incompetence. Does he think he's playing with my great cause?"
How can I entrust such a person with important responsibilities?
Seeing that the Third Prince was dissatisfied, Grand Tutor Zhou had no choice but to promise that he would find a way to make up for the shortfall in silver.
So, after returning home, Grand Tutor Zhou began to rummage through his belongings again.
They dared not touch the chests of gold and silver for fear of attracting attention, so they could only tidy up the banknotes in their house and sell a large estate of 1,000 acres in the south, raising 50,000 taels of silver to give to the Third Prince.
The Third Prince then beamed with joy and promised Grand Tutor Zhou that as soon as he ascended to the throne, he would give Grand Tutor Zhou the position of Left Prime Minister, second only to the Emperor. He also asked Grand Tutor Zhou to persuade Zhou Yi'an to cheer up as soon as possible, since Xie Yushu's business empire was a real money-maker.
Zhou Yi'an was unaware that his father had sold off his family's assets because he had temporarily abandoned the family business. At this moment, he was having people clean up the Zhang family mansion, which had been abandoned for more than a year, and set up his orphanage.
At first, it was just a momentary impulse, but after these two days of reflection, he felt more and more that he should do it. Moreover, his original intention of only helping orphans has expanded to include the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled.
Anyway, the Zhang residence is big enough, with four courtyards in the front and back, it can accommodate several hundred people.
When Han Zhongyu confiscated the property, he only seized the gold and silver jewelry. The tables, chairs, benches, beds, cabinets, and other items were still there. These items were made of the finest materials and craftsmanship. Zhou Yi'an had taken four or five sets of these items to the pawnshop and pawned them, getting six or seven hundred taels of silver in return.
The rest, which weren't very valuable, I kept for my own use.
They also bought some single beds and a dozen or so dining tables.
There's no shortage of pots, pans, and utensils.
The bedding was readily available and made of good materials, but it had been sitting unattended for over a year and had developed a musty smell. Zhou Yi'an simply had it washed and remade.
It has to be said that ever since Zhou Yi'an learned that three copper coins could buy a pound of rice, she has suddenly become very good at managing her finances!
After everything was settled, the custom-made plaque was delivered, simply bearing the three characters "Ciyu Yuan" (meaning "Orphanage").
After hanging the invitations up and decorating the courtyard inside and out, Zhou Yi'an began sending out invitations to prominent figures in Tai'an Prefecture. Three days later, the Ciyu Academy was officially established, and everyone was invited to come and support it.
Han Zhongyu and Xie Yushu were naturally among those invited.
This time, Qu Xiaodie didn't keep the invitation; she gave it directly to Xie Yushu, who read it aloud.
"Orphanage?"
Wow! That's rare! Young Master Zhou is actually going to become a Bodhisattva. This is something we can support!
Go and check on it in three days.
Qu Xiaodie said somewhat disbelievingly
"Is he trying to get close to you on some kind of stunt?"
I think he's still after you! You'd better be careful, or you'll upset the jealous person next to you!
Xie Yushu laughed nonchalantly.
"Great! Vinegar is good for beauty, digestion, and makes food more palatable!"
It's nice to eat it occasionally!
It's normal for people to like me because I'm beautiful and cool. As long as I make it clear to him that I don't like him, that's enough!
After all, my sister has such a large business, and we all work in the same industry, I can't just refuse to see her!
Qu Xiaodie shrugged and sighed.
"What sins did they commit in their past lives to have fallen for you in this life!"
"How would I know!"
While Xie Yushu and the others were preparing to go to the banquet, Zhou Yi'an's personal maid, Ruyi, was also secretly planning to do something big—poison Han Zhongyu, avenge Zhang Zhidao, and become Zhou Yi'an's concubine.
When she arrived, Madam Zhang specifically instructed her that as long as she poisoned Han Zhongyu, she would become the young master's concubine when she returned. For her, being a concubine was already quite prestigious, so Ruyi took this matter very seriously.
Unfortunately, since arriving in Tai'an Prefecture, she has not seen Han Zhongyu. The young master does not take her with him when he goes out, so she has no chance to poison him.
But now the opportunity is coming soon.
After Zhou Yi'an cleaned up the Zhang residence, she was transferred here to help. Although the cleaning and tidying were tiring, she was happy to do it because she could turn her life around after a few days.
Especially after learning that Zhou Yi'an had invited all the prominent people in Tai'an Prefecture to a banquet, including Han Zhongyu, wasn't this an opportunity delivered to their doorstep?
The thought of becoming a concubine soon gave Ruyi the energy to keep working.
While working, he kept thinking about how to get the poison into Han Zhongyu's stomach without anyone noticing.
After thinking for a long time, he realized that the banquet that day would definitely involve steaming auspicious buns. To be appropriate for the occasion, the buns would certainly have to be dotted with red dots. So he decided to put the poison on the red dots on the buns and hand them precisely to Han Zhongyu. When he ate the poison and died, there would be no way to prove it.
Perfect!
Blinded by the title of concubine, Ruyi only thought about poisoning Han Zhongyu, without considering that Han Zhongyu was a third-rank official in the court and the grandson of Imperial Censor Han. If he died, would it be a death in vain?
First of all, Zhou Yi'an is inextricably linked to the death of a high-ranking official at his banquet. Even if he doesn't die, he'll still suffer a heavy loss.
None of these young maids serving food could escape.
Madam Zhang ordered her to do it simply to make her a scapegoat, to exchange her life for Han Zhongyu's to avenge her brother. It's a pity that Ruyi only had ambition but no brains, and was destined to end up with nothing.
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