When Zhou Shuren got home that night, he told his wife about the bribery. "Liu Jing was frightened today."
Zhu Lan said, "So, whether it's the Zhang family or the Yao family, they don't have many chess pieces left to use in the capital."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have given away the banknotes for a gamble. This time it's purely gambling.
Zhou Shuren, "In recent years, various departments have been cleaned up one after another. The annual assessment of the Ministry of Personnel has been instructed. Some of those with problems have basically been transferred out of the capital in the past two years."
Zhulan felt that the emperor's plan was really smart. "This problematic official has been spoiled and used to collecting money. He will not restrain himself when he arrives at the local level. This is to be used as a warning to the prince when he succeeds to the throne."
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "So my wife is smart!"
Zhulan thought about the Liu family's situation from this incident, "Since the Liu family got engaged to our family and the Ningguo Mansion, they have been very frugal."
Zhou Shuren also knew something, "If a daughter marries up, the burden of dowry is too heavy."
Zhulan, "The eldest son's family will have a title in the future, so the Liu family's dowry will be thicker. No, if Ming Teng is really adopted, he will also have a title in the future, so the Liu family's dowry will not only be thicker."
Zhou Shuren sighed, "Raising a daughter is hard."
They have quite a few granddaughters at home. When the youngest daughter got married, they were able to save money, but they were also under a lot of pressure!
Zhulan counted on her fingers, "Although each room manages its own money and I never interfere, each room only uses the public account for food and expenses, but each room uses its own account for gifts. Every year during festivals, several rooms also buy things for us, and at the end of the year, they also give us gifts, which is a disguised way of returning the food and expenses to us. In the past two years, I really didn't spend much money, but saved a lot of money."
She made a few fortunes this year. Even if she doesn't continue to work hard, the annual income is still not small, and her family's financial situation is getting more and more substantial.
Zhou Shuren asked, "Has our son's money been saved separately?"
Zhulan, "It has been stored since he was born, in a separate warehouse."
The youngest son is the most blessed. Every year he receives birthday gifts from several of his older brothers, some of whom he has a good relationship with. He receives a lot of gifts every year, and there are really a lot of good things.
Zhou Shuren looked at the house. He had plans in mind for this house. The couple talked more about their children and kept chatting until very late before going to bed.
The next day, Rong Enqing received Zhang Yang's post. Yao Yao could sense that her husband was in trouble. He had no confidence before, but now he was confident. "Is it really okay not to go?"
Rong Enqing threw away the invitation, hurting his offspring, and he hated it. He was afraid of the imperial power in his bones, so he didn't dare to blame the emperor, but he could hate Zhang Yang, "I won't go."
He no longer needed to waste his time on Zhang Yang, he wanted to follow Gu Ren.
Yao Yao fanned herself, "If you don't want to go, then don't go. Look at your face."
Rong Enqing, "I didn't have the right to refuse before, but now I have the right, and I feel very uncomfortable."
Yao Yao understood. This was because she had been holding back her emotions for a long time and now they all burst out. "Okay, I'm inviting Fourth Grandpa and the Zhou family to dinner today. Take a look at the menu."
Rong Enqing smiled, took it and looked at it carefully, and changed two dishes, "This is what Shuren likes."
Yao Yao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "You've only been there a few times for dinner, and you've already remembered it?"
"You forgot, I've eaten at Zhou's house many times before, and I took note of it at the time."
Yao Yao smiled and said, "Look at my memory."
Zhulan brought her daughter-in-law to Ronghou Mansion in the morning. They couldn't come on time for dinner. Zhou Shuren was on a day off today, so he went to chat with Rong Enqing as soon as he arrived.
Zhulan looked at Yaoyao. The two families became relatives, but Yaoyao became more reserved. "You are still pregnant, don't greet us in person. Sit down and stop busying yourself."
Yao Yao was supported by Mrs. Song, and then she put down the teapot in her hand and sat down. "The imperial physician has checked it. It's been three months. The fetus is stable. I'm not that squeamish."
Zhulan smiled and said, "It's good as long as the fetus is stable."
Zhou Shuren came to Rong Hou Mansion today because Enqing personally invited him. He thought about it before agreeing. After all, they are relatives, so it would be good for them to visit each other more often. Most importantly, Rong Enqing is smart and can be considered a good teammate.
Zhao stared at Yao Yao's belly, "Your waist is almost as big as mine."
Yao Yao doesn't have big bones to begin with, and she lost a lot of weight this time, so her waist is more obvious.
Yao Yao touched her belly and looked at Xuemei. "Sister Xuemei has given birth to twins. I want to ask Sister Xuemei what it was like to be pregnant with twins."
Xuemei understood after hearing this, "Are you twins?"
Yao Yao, "I'm still a little unsure, we have to wait a bit, but we can see from her belly, and the Rong family has had twins before, so the Marquis and I think it's 90% certain."
Xuemei stood up and said, "Then let me touch your belly."
Yao Yao smiled and said, "Okay."
Xuemei felt it and found it was indeed not like an ordinary three-month-old belly. "It's about the same size as mine. It should be. I'll ask the imperial physician to take a closer look in a few days."
Yao Yao breathed a sigh of relief. She felt relieved when someone who had given birth spoke up. Her eyes were filled with joy. "We just hope to have more children."
Outside, Yu Yin also realized that it might be twins, "She is a lucky one."
Zhou Shuren thought it was normal, Rong Enqing's grandfather was a twin, "Then you have to be more careful."
He would not say anything else that would bring bad luck, in case it turned out to be a jinx!
Rong Enqing also knew that it was difficult for women to give birth. He was happy but also worried. He was happy that he might lose two lives, but he was worried that if something went wrong, three lives would be lost. "I have already found a doctor."
He couldn’t invite people before, and even if he did, it would cost a lot of money and people wouldn’t want to come. Now he doesn’t need to do that, people will come as soon as he hands over the invitation.
The next day, Zhou Lao Da and his wife arrived in the capital and finally returned home. Mingshan also followed them to Zhou's house first.
Zhulan prepared the yard as soon as she got the news. Mingshan's parents were much older than her. The old couple were really tired, and they forced themselves to come to see her and called her aunt. Zhulan was stunned for a while.
Next came Mingshan's wife and children. Zhulan prepared gifts for them and then let them go back to rest.
There were no outsiders in the main courtyard. Boss Zhou took out the ginseng he had collected. Zhulan was delighted. This was a life-saving good thing. "You, the eldest wife, can't pay for this money. Mother knows you are filial, but you also have to save money. I will pay for this money."
Boss Zhou said, "Mom, this is my son's way of showing filial piety to you and dad. I still have some money."
Li also hurriedly said: "Mom, we really do have some money."
Zhulan said, "I have made up my mind, you don't need to say anything."
Mr. and Mrs. Zhou shut up. How could they not shut up? What their mother and father decided over the years will never be changed.
Then they chatted and Li talked about the situation in her hometown. After a while, Zhulan asked them to go back and rest.
After dinner in the evening, Boss Zhou paid a visit to Yuyun. Among the children in the family, only Boss Zhou had to pay a formal visit. Yuyun really invested a lot of money, and the gift he gave was much more generous than that of Changyi and the others.
Boss Zhou looked at the things on the tray and his eyes widened. "It's too expensive."