The next evening, the emperor's men arrived. There were four of them, and they all looked insignificant among the crowd. One was twenty years old, and the rest were seventeen, all men.
Zhou Shuren didn't expect the emperor to be so generous and give it to four people at once. These people are all treasures.
Zhou Shuren called Chang Lian, Chang Zhi, and his eldest grandson, as they were the most important to the future of the Zhou family.
Chang Lian and his men arrived. Zhou Shuren pointed at the two Seventeens, the ones with the best skills, and said, "Take these two with you when you leave Beijing."
Chang Lian felt relieved. This was a guarantee of safety. "Yes."
Zhou Shuren pointed at Twenty and said to Changzhi, "This person will follow you in the future."
The last one belongs to the eldest grandson Mingyun.
Now that all the personnel have been assigned, Zhou Shuren can rest assured about the safety of his descendants.
There are new members in the Zhou family, but no one else knows about it except the family members themselves. The Zhou family is the hardest place to get information.
Chang Lian stayed for half a month. No matter how busy Zhou Shuren was, he would take Chang Lian to educate him alone after returning home. He would also give Chang Lian the classified taxes and tell Chang Lian that he could bring them up when appropriate. As long as he brought them up, no one would dare to take the credit. Of course, to be on the safe side, he could write him a letter first and do the whole show.
On the first night before Chang Lian left the capital, he didn't want to leave. His father had taught him too many useful things these days. "Dad, can I stay a few more days before I leave?"
Zhou Shuren knocked Chang Lian on the head with the book, "You can't chew too much if you are greedy. Remember this, no matter what you get in the future, you must not be greedy."
Chang Lian hissed, the blow from his father really hurt, "Son, I will remember this."
"What your father can pass on to you is my experience, which is not yours. You have been learning from me, but I hope you can find your own way. In the future, I will not interfere with your career unless there are difficulties. You have to figure it out on your own. My son, what you understand on your own is the most suitable for you."
Chang Lian understood his father's expectations of him, "Dad, I will not let you down."
Zhou Shuren nodded in satisfaction, "Alright, I, your father, have said everything I should have said in the past few days. You should also have a good rest. We will leave Beijing tomorrow."
Chang Lian's nose was slightly sour. Dad was very busy. It had been snowing heavily since the beginning of the year. If it weren't for the disaster reserve silver that Dad had raised, the Ministry of Revenue would have been even busier. Even with such a busy dad, he still had to come back every day to teach him. "Dad, you've worked hard."
Zhou Shuren was also tired. He was a human being, not a machine. He was also getting older, and his physical functions were declining year by year. Fortunately, his tiredness was productive. "Now that I've finished your work, your second brother is the only one left. Once your second brother has made arrangements, I can relax for a while."
Chang Lian heard from his second brother that his father had made arrangements. He had been so busy with his own affairs these days that he forgot to ask, "Dad, what arrangements do you have for my second brother?"
"The Ministry of Rites is going to set up a new department."
Chang Lian took a breath, "Ministry of Rites?"
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "Don't worry, we need to take our time. There are many things involved."
Chang Lian swallowed his saliva. Dad must not have just come up with this idea on the spur of the moment. Dad must have been thinking about it for a long time. "Dad, is it possible?"
"I never had such a big idea before. Who would have thought that your second brother had such a good talent for languages? But, don't be impatient."
The new department of the Ministry of Rites has not been established yet. After it is established, the emperor should verify his words, so he asked Changyi to continue studying and deal more with foreigners in the capital to prevent his language skills from regressing. He also knew Changyi's shortcomings, that he did not pass the imperial examination, but it didn't matter. He could be sent out for a few years in the future and then take up a sinecure. No matter how high the rank was, he was still an official. The second house was a qualitative change.
Chang Lian returned to his own courtyard and was still consuming his father's words. He was about to leave when his father gave him a big surprise, "Dad is Dad, a famous old fox in the capital."
Even he, some people call him little fox behind his back.
Chuchu didn't understand, "Huh?"
Chang Lian smiled. This matter could not be discussed. "Go to sleep. You have to get up early tomorrow."
The next morning, Chang Lian's family of four left home in a carriage. Yudie cried the most miserably and almost didn't go with them.
Zhulan hugged Yudie and said, "Okay, stop crying."
Yudie cried so sadly, "My sister is gone."
Zhao patted her daughter's head and said, "Nonsense, my sister is fine."
Yudie cried even harder. Zhulan wanted to laugh. The two little girls were like conjoined twins. The little girls couldn't adapt to being separated.
Su Xuan said: "You also have sister Yuwen, you can bring her to play together."
Yudie stopped crying and looked at her aunt with wide eyes, "Aunt Si, please let Yuwen leave the house first, and I will take her out to play."
She is active and doesn't like staying in the house.
Su Xuan choked. She also wanted her daughter to leave the house, but her daughter just stayed there and didn't move.
Mingjia was in her father's arms, "Sister is too lazy, Third Sister, I will play with you."
Yudie despised her brother and wiped her tears, "You can't bring flowers, and you can't wear a pretty dress."
Mingjia wanted to say "I can", but unfortunately his father covered his mouth. He looked at him with dissatisfaction and complained about his father's behavior.
Chang Zhi snorted and said, "Son, your father is trying to save you. Yudie is a really troublesome girl and she is very cunning. He is afraid that his son will cry when he grows up."
Su Xuan calmly blocked her son's way. Well, it's better not to let her son fall into Yudie's hands.
Chang Yi really loves his little girl. Her ideas are so similar to his. "Okay, stop crying. Dad will take you to the street later."
Yudie stopped crying. Dad was very generous and said, "Okay."
Zhao gritted her teeth. When her husband was not at home, Yudie was still afraid of her, but now, this girl is not afraid of her at all!
After Chang Lian left, Zhulan had been looking forward to her son's letter. Twenty days later, Chang Lian's letter arrived in the capital. Chang Lian had bought a house, a small house with two entrances. There was no garden in the house and it was very small. Chang Lian had settled down smoothly and his two children were not sick. Zhulan was relieved.
Zhulan had just finished writing her reply when Xuehan came back, "You haven't been home for a while."
Xue Han, "Mother, I am busy. In the past, there was no female family member in charge of the Ning Marquis' Mansion, so there were few posts. Now that I have a daughter, there are a lot of posts after the beginning of the year. I want to meet the Ning family members and some of the Ning family's connections, so I have time."
Zhulan looked at her daughter. The little girl used to be very awkward even after getting married, but now she is much more mature. "No matter how busy you are, you must take good care of yourself. Look how thin you have become."
Xue Han, "Mom, I heard that foreign envoys are coming to Beijing?"
"You are well-informed. Why are you asking this?"
Xue Han smiled and said, "I heard it from Rong Chuan. Mom, Dad didn't let my second brother go with Ba Hu. He must be waiting for an opportunity."
Zhulan raised her eyebrows, "Did you hear it from Rongchuan again?"
"We guessed it together."
"You are not here to miss me, your mother, but to get information."
Xue Han held her mother's arm and said, "Mom, I am concerned about my second brother too. Rong Chuan often goes to the palace and hears a lot of news. He even heard the emperor mention my second brother's name!"
Zhulan also knew that a few days ago, the emperor mentioned to Zhou Shuren that this envoy's visit to the capital was indeed an opportunity for Changyi. "You have already guessed it, why do you still need to ask me?"
Xue Han's eyes widened, "Really? Dad is so awesome."