Zhulan returned home and signaled her two daughters-in-law to go back and rest, especially Zhao who was still pregnant!
Zhulan touched the jewelry on her head and planned to take it with her first. When she had enough, she would put them in the warehouse. She also asked for the other gemstones and the like to be registered, as they were all family heirlooms.
In the palace, the emperor summoned Shi Qing. Shi Qing greeted him, and the emperor asked him to stand up and asked with concern, "Are you feeling better?"
Shi Qing heard the concerned voice and did not dare to relax. "I am much better now. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
The emperor motioned Shi Qing to sit down, and then said: "I didn't expect that you and I are related by blood. I didn't know it before, and I don't deny what I did."
Shi Qing's heart tightened, and he knelt down hurriedly, "I am grateful in my heart. If I hadn't been appreciated by the emperor, I would still be a businessman. I am grateful to the emperor for giving me a chance."
The emperor signaled Eunuch Liu to pull the people up, and smiled, "You have fought for this opportunity yourself, don't be nervous, after all, you are my descendant. The property you offered has been integrated into the royal property, and it cannot be divided. I have thought of other compensations."
The emperor knew best how much gold and silver he had received from the Rong family, and the emperor sincerely wanted to compensate the Rong family.
The emperor paused and continued, "The prince has the Xu family, a royal merchant, under his command. The prince uses the Xu family to control two ocean-going caravans. I will give you one of them. This is the caravan's annual income account book. Take a look first."
Shi Qing opened his mouth wide. He was in the Ministry of Commerce. Moreover, he was a businessman. He knew the profits of the ocean-going caravans very well. "To the minister?"
The prince's heart was bleeding, he knew that he must be the one who lost the familiar feeling, and he could only comfort himself by thinking of his father's private treasury. His father said that except for what was to be distributed, the rest was his.
The emperor smiled and nodded, "Yes, I'll give it to you. Take a look."
Shi Qing didn't dare to take it. This was the prince's. The emperor could only live for a few more years. What if the prince took the throne and held a grudge? His hands trembled. "Your Majesty, your Majesty cannot take it. I offered it sincerely at the beginning and never wanted to take it back."
The emperor said sternly, "Do you want to disobey my order?"
Shi Qing was scared. The emperor's attitude towards him was ambiguous, so he didn't dare to disobey the order. "Your Majesty, I obey your order."
The emperor smiled and said, "When you move back to the Rong family in the future, the cost of maintenance will be high. You should also save more money for your children and not just live off your savings. Yes, you haven't seen the ancestral home yet. I will take you there."
The prince thought to himself, if we were to say who had the most tricks, it would definitely be his father.
Zhou's family, Tao came to the door, Zhulan was surprised, "Why are you here at this time?"
"I know you are going to the palace to thank the emperor today, so I came at this hour. Let me see the new Earl's wife."
Zhulan ignored Tao's teasing, "You're not just here to congratulate me, are you?"
Tao smiled and said, "My master went home like crazy last night. It's not that he couldn't come, so I came to congratulate him first."
Zhulan thought of Lord Wang and couldn't help but smile, "Our master and Lord Wang have a good relationship."
Tao blinked, "We have a good relationship!"
Not to mention her father-in-law was ecstatic about betting on the right horse, she and her husband were also ecstatic. When she thought that Lord Zhou's eldest son would have a title in the future instead of being a commoner, she would wake up laughing in her dreams.
Zhulan smiled again, "You came at the right time. I won't send you an invitation. You can take it back yourself."
The invitation cards that had been made overtime yesterday were already placed on the table, and only then did Tao notice them.
Tao looked at the thick post and said, "Oh my goodness, so many?"
Zhu Lan nodded, "This is after careful selection. Our two families have a good relationship, so I won't be polite to you. Our housekeeper has been too busy these past two days."
Tao took his own post and said, "Then I'll take it back myself. If you need any help, just ask."
Zhulan curved her eyes and said, "I will definitely not be polite if you need me."
Tao added: "You will be busy in the future."
"I know."
Seeing that Zhulan didn't understand what she meant, Tao said, "I mean, you have a lot of children in your family, so you have a lot to do."
Zhulan, "... ..."
Yes, when it comes to children’s marriage, your own children become the focus!
In the main courtyard of Rong Mansion, Shi Qing had been looking around since he entered the door. He walked all the way to the main courtyard, but when he arrived at the door of the government office, Shi Qing was a little dumbfounded, "What is the emperor doing?"
The emperor said, "Follow me."
The emperor had already walked down the stairs. When Shi Qing saw the treasury, he froze. He closed his eyes, opened them again, and then closed them again. His mind was racing. The treasury was in the Rong family's mansion, which meant it belonged to the Rong family.
The emperor knew about the treasury and brought him here, obviously not just to tell him. Shi Qing's forehead was sweating. He was excited about the treasury. Anyone would be excited after seeing so much gold, but no one could keep it alive. Shi Qing's heart was pounding so hard that it almost jumped out of his throat.
The emperor looked at Shi Qing silently, with no intention of urging him at all.
The prince's gaze became much more unbridled, and he looked at Shi Qing with great amusement.
Shi Qing opened his eyes and knelt down. "It is the grace of the emperor that I can return to my family and the Rong family can get a good name. I think the spirits of my ancestors in heaven would hope that I can use the gold where it is needed instead of burying it underground. I am willing to donate all the gold to contribute to national construction and accumulate merits for the Rong family. I hope that the restless souls of the Rong family can rest in peace and be reborn."
The emperor was very satisfied with Shi Qing's words. He had already thought of the use of the gold: part of it would be used for road construction, part of it would be used for port construction and defense, and the last part would be used for the research of the Ministry of Works.
The emperor helped Shi Qing up and told him that he would use the gold to build a road. "Building a road will benefit future generations. It will benefit future generations. I will announce the Rong family's merits to the world. The merits belong to the Rong family. I am very pleased with Shi Qing's righteousness, Prince."
The prince took out the imperial edict from his arms. Shi Qing knew that he had made the right choice. At the same time, he did not expect that the emperor would use the gold to build roads and announce to the world that the Rong family could rest in peace. The Rong family would leave a heavy mark in the history books.
After the imperial edict was read, Shi Qing took it with very complicated feelings. How could it not be complicated? The emperor only gave him the title of marquis, but not Wang Ti. Later, he gave him compensation for the caravan. He presented gold and then got the will of Wang Ti. The title was hereditary, and as long as the country was not destroyed, his descendants would all be marquises.
Shi Qing held the imperial edict in his hand and smiled bitterly in his heart. The emperor had calculated everything. It was a good thing that the emperor gave him the title of marquis. It was reasonable for the title to be hereditary, but it was impossible for him to be a duke.
Shi Qing kowtowed heavily, "I thank the emperor for his grace. Long live the emperor."
A surge of pride surged in the emperor's heart. He had done a lot, and he had made mistakes, but he dared to say that he had never let the people down. He helped Shi Qing up and said, "You should discuss a date with your fourth uncle. Your surname should return to the Rong family, and you should also choose a date to go to the ancestral tomb to pay homage to your ancestors."