In a blink of an eye, it has been nearly half a month since the crown prince was confined to his house. The crown prince's mansion is still tightly closed. The crown prince has never shown up once, and the emperor has never mentioned him. The ministers in the capital are also exhausted by the emperor's fluctuating temper.
Zhou Shuren returned home exhausted, changed his clothes and lay down, unwilling to move, "I'm so tired."
Zhulan felt distressed. She took the cup and passed it to her husband, feeding him water. After putting the cup down, she said, "So forget about your thoughts of resting."
Zhou Shuren pressed his brows and said, "The emperor has been making more trouble these days. He has already dismissed several officials, causing panic among the people. The efficiency of various departments has dropped a lot. I have long given up the idea of taking a break. If the Ministry of Revenue is not stable, the efficiency will be even lower."
He missed the best time to rest and now he really has no mood to rest.
Zhulan fanned Zhou Shuren with a fan, "The emperor is also taking this opportunity to clean up one last time."
"He's happy. Never mind. I won't eat. I'm not that hungry."
I drank refreshing tea every day, but I drank too much and my stomach felt bloated and uncomfortable.
Zhulan didn't have much appetite either, "I won't eat either."
"lose weight?"
Zhou Shuren said this with a smile in his eyes, Zhulan's figure!
Zhu Lan was unhappy, "You have a good figure, like a bone spirit, and you have the nerve to laugh at me, humph!"
Her body was depleted from giving birth to a child, and then she replenished it in order to stay alive longer. Now she is in great shape!
Zhou Shuren, "Hurt each other!"
"You spoke first."
Zhou Shuren laughed softly, "Okay, okay, I was wrong, beautiful lady."
Zhulan rolled her eyes. Her shout was not sincere. She squinted her eyes and said, "Just wait for me. If we go back, we will be alive. Haha."
Bah, old thing, you’re still dreaming of getting married. She thinks having good neighbors is great!
Zhou Shuren, “… .”
Zhulan didn't even bother fanning herself, and handed it to Zhou Shuren, "Fan yourself!"
Zhou Shuren held the handle of his fan and changed the subject awkwardly, "Well, Changzhi has been in the Hanlin Academy for some time, but he has never been to the palace!"
Zhulan, "It's better to be low-key."
It is best to keep a low profile at this time. It is not good to attract attention, as you may become cannon fodder.
The next day, Xue Han brought Lin Xi here. The little girl was really pretty, fair and clean, and loved to laugh. She was very cute. Zhu Lan hugged her little granddaughter and kissed her twice. "Didn't you just come back yesterday? Why are you bringing your luggage back today?"
Xue Han said, "Rongchuan has gone out of the capital on business, and I have no interest in staying in the Marquis' Mansion, so I will go back to my parents' home to stay for a while."
Zhulan handed the fruit in her hand to her granddaughter and turned her head. "Leaving the capital on business?"
Xue Han nodded, "The eunuch sent the decree this morning. He left in a hurry and took a lot of officers and soldiers with him."
Before she could say a few words, Rongchuan asked her to go back to her parents' home, saying that he would pick her and her up when he returned to Beijing.
Zhulan thought to herself that it must be a big deal, otherwise, Rongchuan would not be allowed to leave the capital, and he would bring soldiers with him. "You two should live in the main courtyard."
Xue Han smiled and said, "Okay."
Zhulan didn't ask any more questions and just listened to her daughter talking about the interesting stories of her granddaughter.
On the other side, Rongchuan got out of the carriage as soon as he left Beijing. There was another person in the carriage, wearing Rongchuan's clothes and with the same face. However, Rongchuan had changed into low-key clothes. After getting off the carriage, he jumped on the horse and went to the small road without taking anyone with him.
A group of people had already been waiting at the path, led by the guards from the Prince's Mansion, and they quickly rode away.
In fact, the guards of the Prince's Mansion were confused. They didn't understand why Prince Ning had left the capital, but they still had to obey the Prince's orders.
Rongchuan could feel the military token hanging around his neck. This was the token that could mobilize the garrison of the state capital. He never expected that his father would trust him so much and give him this thing.
In the evening, Zhulan asked Zhou Shuren, "What errand did Rongchuan go on when he left the capital?"
Zhou Shuren, "Rongchuan went to Pinggang. There were foreign slaves in Pinggang who were sick. Rongchuan was not in the medical department, so he went to Pinggang to take charge."
Zhulan's eyes widened. Although she didn't know much about history, she knew some diseases that caused mass deaths in history. She was a little nervous, "No, it won't."
Zhou Shuren lowered his voice, "No, you should know how strict the management of our port is. The slaves of these foreign merchants are not allowed to move around freely, and they have to take a bath with Chinese medicine to disinfect themselves when they get off the ship. Don't worry."
In fact, it was not so strict at the beginning, but he mentioned it to Rongchuan during a chat. In ancient times, it was better to be strict. It is better to be careful than to lose your life.
He heard from Rongchuan that the Medical Department of the Imperial Hospital had good Chinese medicine for disinfection.
Zhulan, "What is Rongchuan going to do?"
Zhulan had little contact with him at that time, so she really couldn't guess.
Zhou Shuren lowered his voice, "Gu Ren asked Rong Enqing to take care of a few caravans, so he has to take care of them. So now he is using this as an excuse to inspect the port and delay for some time, so that the Zhang family will be in a state of panic and their attention will be focused on the port."
Zhulan understood, "These caravans are very important to the Zhang family!"
"I guess so. When Gu Ren registered with the Ministry of Commerce, these caravans were not there. It was only after Rong Enqing deceived his trust that he brought them out. This shows how important they are."
Zhulan: "This is all under the control of the Emperor!"
Zhou Shuren thought that there must be something that the emperor had not controlled, otherwise, the emperor's character would have dealt with it cleanly and efficiently long ago.
Rongchuan's reason for leaving Beijing was reasonable, but not many people paid attention to it.
However, the King of Qi and the King of Chu felt that something was wrong. As people who knew the truth, they felt that it was not simple for Rongchuan to leave the capital.
The King of Qi left the capital the next day. When he saw Grandpa, he used a fan as a headrest. It was such a nasty day, and Grandpa was working in the fields in his coat. "Grandpa."
Old Master Chen held up a hoe and asked, "Why is His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi here?"
His tone was full of disdain. It was obvious that the old man didn't want to see his grandson. Now that he had done what he should do, he just wanted to live a quiet life for a while.
The King of Qi ignored the old man's dislike and felt a little aggrieved. Grandpa didn't represent him, and neither did the princess. Fortunately, he was strong and it was only a momentary emotion. "Grandpa, do you know what's going on in the capital these days?"
He was scolded by his father and dared not leave the capital, but now he can't bear it anymore.
Old Master Chen's eyes deepened, and he naturally knew what was going on. He picked up the hoe again and said, "The emperor I know is a man of strong willpower. How could such a person be easily angered?"
The King of Qi naturally knew that he admired his father very much in his heart, "But there is something wrong with my father recently."
Old Master Chen sneered, "It seems that everyone has forgotten how the emperor pretended to be crazy and stupid in his childhood. Didn't you tell me that Ning Rongchuan is the real fifth prince? Now Ning Rongchuan can leave the capital, don't you understand?"