The emperor already knew the contents of Zhou Shuren's letter before it left the capital. After listening to the recitation, the emperor looked at his father with admiration, "You guessed it all correctly."
The Emperor asked the Prince, "What did you see in the letter?"
The prince let go of the walnut kernel in his hand and replied seriously, "Lord Zhou expressed two meanings. First, the royal family remembered the Zhao family of Pingzhou, and the Zhao family left a bad impression on the emperor. Second, the friendship between Lord Zhou and Lord Zhao is over. In the future, it is only about favors. Lord Zhao must remember to repay the favors he has asked for several times."
The Emperor, "It's more than that."
The emperor also looked at his son, waiting for him to discover it.
The prince blinked and thought for a while, "Also, Lord Zhou expressed the royal family's trust and concern for him, which makes people think twice before plotting against the Zhou family in the future."
What this letter wants to express most is to use the royal family to intimidate some evil spirits.
The emperor nodded in satisfaction. "I like what Zhou Shuren said. He said that people tend to forget things easily. We need to look them up and remind them when appropriate."
The little prince remembered, "Grandson thinks Lord Zhou is amazing, grandson has learned a lot."
The emperor touched his son's head. Well, his son is still young and it feels good to touch his head. Moreover, the emperor looked at his son's hands. His son seemed to have gained weight
Listening to the sound of cracking walnuts, the emperor saw the grandfather and grandson cracking walnuts again. Very good, it was the father who led the way.
The emperor whispered, "Father, has Xuhao gained some weight?"
The Emperor looked at his grandson carefully and said, "What nonsense! You are still very thin. Come here and eat more."
Your Majesty, "..."
No, Dad, his son is really fat.
A few days later, at the Zhou family, Zhulan started to like going out of the capital to pick wild vegetables. She has recently fallen in love with wild vegetables. For Zhulan, who didn't dare to go out of the capital before, now it's very fun.
Especially since the Empress Dowager was brought along, Zhulan dug a lot, so the family can eat wild vegetable wontons tonight.
The Empress Dowager dug so quickly and well that Zhulan was really surprised, as this was not how she taught her.
The Queen Mother also dug up a lot, sat down to rest, and said in a light tone: "During the war, food was scarce, and I also dug wild vegetables. It was really hard back then."
The whole country was in chaos. Not only was there war everywhere, but there were also bandits. What to do if there was not enough food? Some food could be bought with silver, but more people just robbed it directly.
The grain production was already low, the people were uneasy, even fewer people were farming, and some were running away. She and the emperor were so worried about food that they couldn't sleep for a long time.
Zhulan is grateful to have been born in a comfortable time. It is said that it is better to be a dog in prosperous times than a human in troubled times, because human life is the least valuable in troubled times.
The Queen Mother continued, "I've been digging up some wild vegetables these days, and I really like them."
Zhulan thought, it’s just to try something new, she wouldn’t like it if she ate too much, “That’s enough, it’s getting late.”
The Queen Mother also felt that she had been out for long enough, so she stood up and moved her hands and feet. It felt really good to be out of the palace.
After returning to Beijing, the carriages separated. Zhulan went home to change clothes and rest for a while before the fourth daughter-in-law came back.
Zhu Lan asked, "Why did the Liu family invite you?"
Su Xuan curled her lips and said, "The Liu family has taken a fancy to Yuwen and has mentioned Yuwen in every word and deed."
Why did he choose her daughter instead of the third brother's? It was all because of her status. She was a county princess and had an eye-catching dowry.
Zhulan, "I thought he would miss Yuyi from the third family."
Su Xuan sneered, "The daughters-in-law that the Liu family married into the family all had the best family backgrounds and dowries."
Zhulan understood that the Liu family wanted to marry the most valuable daughter-in-law for their daughter-in-law. "No wonder the current number one scholar has not yet been engaged."
A year has passed, and Liu Zhuangyuan is still not married.
Su Xuan, "The Liu family wants a good daughter-in-law, but it's a pity that the famous families in the capital would rather their daughters fight for their place in the palace."
Zhulan felt a little sorry for Liu Zhuangyuan. He had a good hand, but his family ruined it. "The longer you keep it, the worse your reputation will be."
Su Xuan looked down on the Liu family. She got angry when she thought of the Liu family's attitude.
At Zhao Bo's home, after Zhao Bo finished reading the letter, there were only two words in his mind: it's over, and his hands were shaking.
It was too late for him to regret now. Zhao Bo hated the family's constant demands, but because of his family's training, he could not escape from the corrupt family.
Zhao Bo thought about the letter he wrote to his family. Why the Zhao family treated the Zhou family as a straw had something to do with him. He said too much about the power of the Zhou family.
Zhao Bo was thinking about Zhou Shuren. Zhou Shuren was already in a high position, but he still had to drag the family forward. He knew when his mentality changed a long time ago.
Maybe he changed from the moment he borrowed the money. He had the intention of taking advantage of the Zhao family. No matter whether the Zhao family succeeded or not, it would only be good for him. If they succeeded, he would be the Zhao family's life-saving straw. If they failed, even if Zhou Shuren made trouble, he could still get rid of the corrupt family.
Zhao Bo couldn't control the growth of his thoughts. Now he felt that it was fine this way, fine this way. It would all depend on himself in the future.
Zhao Bo calmed down, wrote a letter and asked his housekeeper to rush back to Pingzhou.
The clan members who returned from the exams did not say much about what happened in Zhoujia Village and Pingzhou City, but the news still spread back.
The rumor has been circulating for several days, and it has become more and more outrageous. In the end, it has little impact on Mingyun. At most, she is just a concubine.
This had a huge impact on Jiang Du, as he was going to marry a daughter of the Zhao family.
The Jiang family was affected in the village. When the returning clansmen heard the rumors, they hurried forward to explain, but some people just liked to hear what they wanted to hear, so explanations were useless.
At the Jiang family, Dong Yiyi looked at her daughter who was embroidering a handkerchief and said, "Don't mind the gossip."
Mu Lan put down her handkerchief, "Mom, I don't care."
If she was panicked at first, she calmed down after knowing the truth.
Dong Yiyi, "The Zhou family values their promises."
Speaking of which, what surprised Dong Yiyi was Jiang Du's grandparents. The old couple came here specifically because of the rumors, and when people asked about it, they said it was just a rumor and it didn't happen.
The old couple also gave Mu Lan a gold hairpin. I heard that it was bought by Xuemei for the old lady, but the old lady had never been willing to use it. Now that she gave it to Mu Lan, it was also a clear statement of her attitude.
A few days later in the capital, the King of Qi became famous. Zhulan listened to her daughter's words and spit out the tea in her mouth, "How did it get out?"
Xue Han couldn't help laughing, "King Qi chased Rong Chuan yesterday, thinking that it was Rong Chuan who spread the news and Rong Chuan died unjustly. Later, after checking, it was found that King Liang was drunk and let the secret slip."
Zhulan also laughed. The King of Qi used to like beauties, but later he no longer liked beauties. Now he likes love stories. Although they are fake, they cannot be explained clearly. "The King of Qi must be so angry that he must die."
Xue Han, "Not only am I so angry, but I can't even go to their house to fight. If I do, I'll just confess."
Zhu Lan asked, "The King of Qi is so pitiful."
Xue Han agreed. Thinking of her second sister-in-law, she felt even more sympathetic towards King Qi. Then she sighed that now her second sister-in-law ignored King Qi, but King Qi was hanging around her. Wow, the relationship between the couple has changed.