The New Year atmosphere in the capital is getting closer and closer. Zhou Shuren is resting at home, and King Qi comes to his house.
The King of Qi drank tea and said, "It's not easy to ask for tea from Lord Zhou. He said he wanted to invite me to drink tea, but he has been waiting until the end of the year. Lord Zhou is not hiding from me all the time, is he?"
Zhou Shuren, "Your Highness, you are joking. You also know that the Ministry of Revenue is always busy, especially this year, the Ministry of Revenue has added a Ministry of Commerce, plus it is the end of the year, so my rest day is taken up."
The King of Qi put down his teacup and said, "Speaking of the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Revenue has increased its revenue a lot."
Zhou Shuren, "... ... the revenue has not increased much, and the Ministry of Revenue is still short of money."
He knew that the Ministry of Commerce would only be under the Ministry of Revenue for one year, and would be separated the year after next. The thought of it made him feel painful. The happier he was to receive the money this year, the more painful he would be the year after next.
The King of Qi suddenly said, "I have discovered that you have many secrets."
Zhou Shuren knew that the King of Qi had been staring at him, but it was the attitude of His Royal Highness Prince Liang that made the King of Qi suspicious. "Speaking of which, Your Royal Highness has a lot of secrets. No, it shouldn't be considered a secret. It's the end of the year, and I have heard a lot of rumors about Your Royal Highness."
The King of Qi froze in expression, he was a color lover, he had the desire to compete in the past but he was relatively restrained, and he also needed the support of the princess, so he did not dare to be too presumptuous. Now he did not want to treat himself badly, and did whatever he wanted, while the princess was even more free-spirited than him.
In the past, the princess was still thinking about the position of queen and her son becoming the crown prince. Now, the princess doesn’t think about it anymore and is no longer polite to him. This time, she took in a concubine and made a lot of fuss.
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The King of Qi wiped his nose, and the princess took the child back to her parents' home, saying very stubbornly, "It's all rumors."
Zhou Shuren chuckled, "Oh."
Zhou Shuren sent the King of Qi away and returned to the courtyard. He saw his wife frowning, "What's wrong?"
Zhu Lan handed over two gift lists, "Take a look, the one on top is for the Crown Princess, and the one on the bottom is for Concubine Liu in the Crown Prince's Mansion. They are both expensive gifts."
Zhou Shuren looked at the gift list. The Crown Princess was of good birth and her family was wealthy, so it was understandable that the gift list was large. However, he said to Concubine Liu, "This is too large."
This gift list alone costs over a thousand taels.
Zhu Lan, "I don't know what happened. A few days ago, Xue Han went to the Crown Prince's Mansion, and the Crown Princess even talked about you with her daughter. Now Concubine Liu sent a valuable gift. I don't know why?"
Zhou Shuren had a bad feeling, and then frowned, "Forget about this gift. I can't even have a rest during the New Year holiday. I'll write a note to the prince."
Zhu Lan, "That's not good. After all, she is a concubine, and a concubine with a son. When the prince ascends the throne in the future, he will be the prince. If you return the gift list directly to the prince, you will offend him."
Zhou Shuren said: "This gift cannot be accepted. It is better to stop it from the beginning. The Crown Princess's gift represents the Crown Prince's Mansion. This concubine is a bit too much."
"People are just too impetuous. The prince hasn't even ascended the throne yet, but his concubine can't hold back any longer."
Zhou Shuren, "Leave it to me, I know what's going on."
"Um."
Zhou Shuren was an efficient man. He wrote a note directly and sent it to the prince. The prince had not put down his pen yet. When he returned home at night and saw the note, he was surprised that Zhou Shuren had taken the initiative to write to him. You know, even if Zhou Shuren concealed it well, he was still avoiding him.
The next morning, Zhou Shuren received a reply, changed his clothes and went to the teahouse the prince mentioned.
Zhou Shuren arrived first. The tea was ready. The prince also arrived. "Your Highness, I greet you."
The prince was in a good mood and said, "Sit down."
Zhou Shuren personally poured tea for the prince, who was stunned for a moment, "Your Excellency is too attentive this year."
Zhou Shuren smiled, then took out a gift list and handed it over, "I am terrified."
The prince checked Zhou Shuren's post as soon as he received it yesterday, so he was not surprised. He took the gift list and looked at it without changing his expression. He was angry when the rumor spread last time and was dissatisfied with the Crown Princess. If the Crown Princess had not stopped asking, the rumor would not have spread so widely.
Actually, it was because my father had revealed his intention to abdicate that the Crown Princess became a little anxious. It was really unfair. He had never thought of marrying Miss Wu, but his backyard was already full of enemies.
The prince felt that the gift list was not enough to crack down on the backyard. "I take back the gift list."
Zhou Shuren breathed a sigh of relief, but still wanted to explain clearly, "I don't know what's worthy of attention. I am devoted to the emperor."
The prince understood that it was all because of him. He praised Zhou Shuren so many times that the women in the harem naturally thought too much. He started to win people over before he even ascended the throne. He was really impatient.
Zhou Shuren and the prince didn't sit for a while. The prince was very busy, so he came out of the teahouse and met Shi Qing. Zhou Shuren saw the old man next to Shi Qing, and the prince also noticed him.
Shi Qing hurriedly greeted him, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Then he added: "This subordinate greets Mr. Zhou."
The prince asked, "Master Shi, what is this?"
Shi Qing said: "I brought my father to the teahouse to drink tea."
The prince only asked a few words, then got on the carriage and left. Zhou Shuren was about to leave, so Shi Qing asked, "Would you like to have a cup of tea together, sir?"
Zhou Shuren thought about it and said, "Okay."
Then he returned to the teahouse and felt that Mr. Shi was looking at him. Shi Qing hurriedly explained, "This is Mr. Zhou, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
The future Minister of Revenue, although he has not yet entered the Ministry of Revenue, he knows a lot of information. As soon as the prince ascends the throne, Lord Zhou's official position will change.
Mr. Shi hurriedly said, "Hello, Mr. Zhou."
Zhou Shuren was very curious about the old man. He knew that this man who had been locked up by Shi Qing was actually brought out today. It seemed that the relationship between the father and son had eased a lot. "Shi Qing is quite capable."
Old Master Shi already knew that his son would be promoted to the Ministry of Commerce under the Ministry of Revenue next year, and would hold a sixth-rank official position. His son's career from a merchant to an official position was very smooth, and he is still staying in the capital. He was very happy. When he saw the Minister of Revenue, he hurriedly said, "Mr. Shi still lacks a lot, and he does not deserve your praise."
Shi Qing's tense nerves relaxed. This was related to the future of the Shi family. His father was performing well now, so he took the old man out.
At Zhou's house, Zhulan asked, "Why did you come back so late?"
Zhou Shuren said: "Then I met Shi Qing, so we chatted for a while longer."
"Zhang Yang is hiding in the prince's mansion, so Shi Qing is relieved."
"Well, but Zhang Yang is still a little unusual. It hasn't been long since he took in nearly ten concubines!"
Zhulan didn't count them either. "Anyway, they never stopped, and they were all of low status."
Zhou Shuren's intuition told him that there was something bigger behind the abnormality.
Zhulan asked, "Have you settled the gift list?"
"Yeah, it's solved."
"Chang Lian's letter has arrived. Take a look."
Zhou Shuren took the letter from his wife and read the contents of the letter. "This kid has done well this year. He is top-notch at the same level."
"He also has his own worries, and he always complains about the fact that he only has two daughters. You should write him a letter and tell him that both granddaughters and grandsons are good, and this is fate."
She was afraid that if she kept repeating it for too long, it would create psychological implications.
Zhou Shuren, "I'll write it right away."
This year's New Year was celebrated the same as in previous years. After the New Year, the most attention in the capital was the Spring Examination. After the New Year, Zhou Shuren's mind was also on Chang Zhi and the young people in the clan. Zhou Shuren personally guided them, and several young people in the clan benefited a lot.
Time flies. The more I pay attention to the Spring Examination, the more I realize that the day of the exam is here in the blink of an eye.