Time passed quickly, and Zhang Yang's child was brought into the palace to be raised. He did not mind any waves, and Zhang Yang became more and more low-key, staying in the Fifth Prince's Mansion all day long.
Changzhi finally returned to Beijing. When the carriage arrived at the city gate, Changzhi felt relieved, "I'm finally home."
Su Xuan was even more excited than Chang Zhi, "This time the Zhou family did well and produced four juren."
Changzhi leaned on his wife's shoulder and said, "My big three yuan is gone."
Su Xuan patted her husband's shoulder. She remembered his expression of wanting to cry when he heard the ranking. She never expected that her husband's goal was so big. "If you don't tell me and I don't tell you, my parents won't know your goal. Well, you said you wanted to come home as the top scorer. Cheer up."
Changzhi held his wife's waist with both hands, "My wife is still the best."
Su Xuan twisted her husband's waist instead, "Humph, if I hadn't stopped you from bringing outsiders, you would have agreed."
Chang Zhi rolled his eyes, "I'm not stupid. He went to Beijing to take the exam and walked ahead of us. We went to Beijing so early, so we are going home. I was thinking, shouldn't I bring him back and give him directly to Dad?"
The wife, on the other hand, had a very bad temper. When she saw that the other party was with a girl, she pulled him into the car and drove away quickly, without giving him a chance to do anything.
Su Xuan snorted, "My reaction is normal. The trip to Pingzhou made me sick."
She knew very well that the Zhou family would not take concubines, but she was still the county lady. What would happen after the ranking was announced? She would try her best to get a concubine. Just thinking about it made her angry.
Changzhi shut up, as if he had mentioned something he shouldn't have.
At the Zhou family's house, the eldest brother Zhou was already waiting at the gate. When he saw the carriage, he smiled and went down the steps to wait. When the fourth brother came back, he hugged him and said, "Go home and let your brother take a good look. The fourth brother is now also a scholar."
Chang Zhi's face froze, "Brother, stop patting my back. How did your strength grow so much?"
Boss Zhou laughed happily, "I've been at the village for almost a year, so I've developed a lot of strength in my hands."
The other three candidates from the Zhou family also came over and shouted in unison, "Uncle Changli."
Boss Zhou was the most familiar with Ming Qing. He smiled and nodded in agreement, and said to Ming Qing: "Old Patriarch has got what he wanted."
Ming Qing grinned, "Yes."
Li had already brought her brother and sister-in-law into the courtyard. Boss Zhou smiled and said, "Let's go into the mansion as well."
Changzhi asked, "Are mom and dad okay?"
Changli replied, "Everything is fine. You haven't seen my daughter yet, right? Today, I found out you were home, so I brought the child back."
Changzhi was thinking about his blessed niece very much, "I brought back a gift for my niece."
In the main courtyard, Zhulan chatted with Changzhi for a while and asked Mingqing about some family situations. Changzhi introduced the other two, "Mom, this is Mingshan, he returned to the family later. These two are Mingqi and Mingzhen, you know them."
Zhulan looked at Mingshan a few more times. This young man from the clan was not very old, only twenty-six years old, but he was obviously good at studying. Mingqi was older, thirty-seven years old, and Mingzhen was the oldest, forty-five years old.
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "Okay, okay, if your father is not on leave, he will definitely come to greet you youngsters in person today."
Including Changzhi, there are four juren. The chances of four people taking the imperial examination together are very high, especially since Zhou Shuren made two major suggestions this year. The court has two more departments. Plus, the court was originally short of talents. With many people taking the exam this year, many people will stay.
Zhou Shuren often went to the palace and had already received some news.
Afterwards, Ming Qing and the others went down to rest, leaving only their family members. Chang Zhi hugged Lin Xi and said, "My niece is so beautiful. She will definitely be a beauty when she grows up."
Zhulan smiled widely. She was not afraid of how beautiful Linxi was, as no one dared to think about her.
At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren looked at the list of merchants sent by the King of Liang and thought to himself that the King of Liang would only target selected merchants if he dared to do so. He did not do anything to some merchants controlled by large families. He put the list down and said, "Your Highness, show me the list. I don't understand."
King Liang felt so upset that he wanted to ask Zhou Shuren. He endured it and said, "Regulating merchants affects the interests of too many noble families. Lord Zhou, you are very clear about this, right?"
Zhou Shuren thought to himself, it is clear, very clear, after the regulation, many black interests have been hit hard, no one is willing to cut flesh, and he smiled, "This is your highness's job. I have received the decree and have separated the Ministry of Commerce from the Ministry of Households. I am just waiting for your highness's action."
King Liang scolded the prince and Zhou Shuren even more. It was Zhou Shuren who proposed this. The prince asked him to offend people. He could imagine that he would offend all the noble families. The dignity of a noble family requires a large amount of silver. If it is an ordinary business, the money comes slowly, but if it is a habit, the money comes quickly. Who would be willing to give it up
King Liang's scalp tingled at the thought. Aristocratic families were constantly intermarrying with each other, and cutting off someone's money was like killing his parents.
Zhou Shuren looked at the dark-faced Prince Liang and felt relieved. He lowered his eyelids and took out the list he had and pushed it over. "These are the merchants controlled by the major families. This is all I can do for Your Highness."
King Liang took the list and looked through it. Zhou Shuren was really careful. It not only recorded some merchants controlled by the noble families, but also some open transactions. "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Zhou."
Zhou Shuren listened to the sound of King Liang gritting his teeth, which was very pleasant to the ear. He did it on purpose. This was not to help, but to urge King Liang to act faster. In a small revenge, Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "The emperor ordered the Ministry of Revenue to accompany His Highness. These are what the Ministry of Revenue should do."
King Liang's face was calm, "I have something else to do."
He cursed in his heart, damn it, Zhou Shuren had been an official for many years, but the Zhou family had not controlled the merchants. The only merchant with whom he had a close connection was the prince who had passed the imperial examination in front of his father. He had no handle to hold over Zhou Shuren.
Zhou Shuren saw King Liang push the door, then he patted his head and said, "Yes, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gave me a letter this morning, saying that if I meet His Royal Highness, I should give it to His Royal Highness. It depends on my memory."
Zhou Shuren did not read the memorial. Although he was extremely curious, he did not have the courage to read it as it was not good to know too much. However, from the expression on Prince Liang's face when he tore open the letter, Zhou Shuren, while sipping his tea, could guess that Prince Liang's past must have been exposed by the Crown Prince.
Not long after King Liang left, Shi Qing came. Zhou Shuren was very surprised, "Why are you here?"
Shi Qing closed the door, and Jin Yan was guarding outside. Shi Qing said, "Recently, there have been many small actions against your family. You better be more careful."
Zhou Shuren accepted Shi Qing's kindness and said, "I'll take note of this. You don't have to come here in person in the future."
Although Zhang Yang was hiding in the mansion, the people behind Zhang Yang were planning something big. Shi Qing didn't have to see Zhang Yang often, but it was still better to be careful.
Shi Qing said: "I know what's going on. I will not arouse suspicion if I come here openly. I will have many dealings with the Ministry of Revenue in the future."
Zhou Shuren heard a lot of news from this sentence. Shi Qing would need three years of assessment. In fact, some of the Hanlin Academy's scholars with outstanding abilities had already been selected and divided up early. It seemed that Shi Qing would enter the Ministry of Commerce that he proposed.
Shi Qing was happy. Although he was not given important positions in business and it was a relatively leisurely job, he was already very satisfied.