The next day, after the morning court session ended, Zhou Shuren was stopped by a familiar eunuch. He followed the eunuch consciously, and was used to the jealous looks of the university scholars behind him.
The eunuch is doing well now, wearing warm clothes, and has grown a lot taller. The eunuch lowered his voice and said, "The emperor is in a good mood today."
He heard the emperor's laughter this morning. Although he didn't know what good news it was, this news was enough.
Zhou Shuren had mixed feelings. At first, he just saw the other party as a child. Of course, he didn't have such deep ancient concepts in his heart, so he didn't treat the eunuch with a tainted or contemptuous look. That's why the eunuch would give him some news from time to time. "Thank you."
The little eunuch grinned. He also led other adults along the way, but no one said thank you to these low-ranking eunuchs. Eyes could not lie.
In the Zheng Palace, the emperor was drinking hot tea, his brows were relaxed, and he was indeed in a good mood, "Shu Ren, come and sit down."
Zhou Shuren stood up with a somewhat stiff movement. He used to call her "Your Majesty" but now she called him by his name, and he felt inexplicably nervous.
Zhou Shuren was alert, but still sat down obediently.
Eunuch Liu had already handed over the hot tea, and Zhou Shuren took it with both hands. He was not actually that cold, so he drank two sips and stopped. "Your Majesty, did you ask me to come here for anything?"
For the first time in so many years, the emperor felt so relieved. The Qi family had become obedient, the Feng family had fallen, and the Chen family had also gained a lot of power. The stones that had been weighing on his heart for many years had finally been removed. "It's the end of the year, and there's nothing important to do in the court. I haven't chatted with you for a long time, so let's chat today."
Zhou Shuren rolled his eyes in his heart, have you forgotten that you deliberately delayed the morning court these days because you were jealous of him
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Indeed, I will be able to take a rest in a few days."
The emperor hummed and put down the teacup in his hand, "I heard that your second son is back?"
He was also extremely generous, giving away many different kinds of gemstones, many of which he kept for himself. He also brought back a lot of gold jewelry, which made him very concerned.
Domestic merchants can indeed make a lot of wealth when they go out to do business, but it is impossible for them to bring back so many high-quality gems at one time. No one is a fool who can be fooled by others.
Zhou Shuren sighed, and then looked distressed. "My kid likes to acquire property. My original intention was to go abroad to broaden his horizons, but he bought some land and even had the guts to contract a mountain. Now he's being targeted by a group of local gangsters, and he's had several conflicts with the locals."
Zhou Shuren explained the matter to the Emperor in great detail, not as simply as he explained it to his wife. It was dangerous to go abroad, and if one was not strong enough in arms one would really be massacred, so he had to make it clear to the Emperor.
The emperor listened very carefully, "Your second son is not good at studying, but he has the same brain as you, and he even knows how to unite with the locals."
Zhou Shuren wanted to say that he really didn't follow him, but he had educated him well. "This child is very brave. I saw the knife wound yesterday and couldn't sleep all night."
He did toss and turn and couldn't sleep, but he was not worried. His son had already returned, so he would not worry about what had already happened. What he was thinking about was how to fill in the framework built by his son so that he would not be reaped the fruits of his labor in the future.
The emperor asked again: "Your second son brought back friends?"
"yes."
Then Zhou Shuren introduced his son’s friend Ba Hu. Zhou Shuren did not hide the purpose of his visit, which was to conduct an inspection.
The emperor was silent. Among the Zhou family's sons, he only paid attention to Zhou Changlian. These days, he has also been paying attention to Zhou Changzhi because the provincial examination will be held next year. He wants to see what kind of results the most studious child of the Zhou family can achieve.
He didn't expect that the two white-bodies whom he had never paid attention to were actually capable. He stroked his beard and thought that with Zhou Shuren as a father, it was nothing surprising.
Changyi didn't go to Zhou's house today. He stayed at home and talked with his mother. As for the guests he brought back, they are still resting because it is too cold outside and they need a few days to adapt.
Zhulan fell silent as she listened to her son speaking several languages. "I heard from the Xu family that you have a great talent for languages. Now I believe it."
This is not just high, it's simply genius. Anyway, she suffered a lot when she was learning it.
Chang Yi is still very proud. "In fact, my son knows that he has found some patterns. Once he finds a little bit, it will be much easier for him to learn."
Zhulan was extremely envious. It would be great if she had such a high talent for languages. "That would be amazing."
Changyi rarely saw his mother being hit, and the smile on his face deepened. Home is still the best. Even if a nice house is built abroad, it is still not home.
Zhulan calmed down and said, "Now foreigners are required to have a residence permit. Although some foreigners have left, there are still many. I heard that many of them are learning foreign languages."
Initially, it was for the convenience of communication among merchants. Later, with daily interactions, some officials in contact with maritime trade would learn it, and those with foresight would require their children to learn it.
Because everyone knows that the emperor not only built a navy, but also invested a lot of money. This is to firmly develop maritime trade. The better it develops, the more countries we come into contact with. Diplomacy becomes very important, and language communication becomes very important.
Inside the palace, the emperor waited for Zhou Shuren to finish his words, "You mean, your son knows three foreign languages? If I remember correctly, he has only been away for a year."
Zhou Shuren said: "I dare not lie to the emperor. My son is very talented in languages. These three languages are the most widely used."
The emperor was thinking. In the past few years, he had also met envoys from some countries. The language was really difficult. He had to guess the other party's Chinese with body language. The translators on his side were all officials from the Maritime Affairs Bureau. They were skilled, but few of them could speak several languages. This required talent.
Seeing that the emperor was silent and in deep thought, Zhou Shuren knew that if the emperor did not keep him today, he would find a way to let the prince know how high Chang Yi's language talent was.
When Chang Yi was studying with the Xu family, he knew that he had talent and learned very quickly, so he considered taking advantage of this aspect. Unexpectedly, Chang Yi gave him a big surprise. He felt that learning only one subject was very painful, but this kid learned several subjects in a short time. Although they were not too profound, they were enough.
Zhou Shuren had a lot of plans in his mind, and now he had even more to plan.
The emperor narrowed his eyes and said, "I have met this foreign envoy, but our ministers have never been there."
Zhou Shuren thought for a moment and said, "I don't think there is a rush. It would be better to go on a diplomatic mission after the ship's technology and gunpowder weapons are improved."
Deterrence through the use of force. A big fist is the real truth. No matter how much you talk, it is all nonsense and a waste of time. Once advanced ships and gunpowder weapons are unveiled, and the navy follows, the diplomatic mission will be more effective and deter some countries that are ready to make moves.