In the evening, after Zhou Shuren came back and heard what happened at the flower banquet, he told his wife what the emperor had told him.
Zhulan paused while sorting out the account books. "Who do you think wrote this memorial?"
Zhou Shuren snorted, "It doesn't matter who wrote it. I am a senior official who has been valued by the emperor for two dynasties, but I am still too eye-catching."
Zhu Lan pondered, "This memorial has two purposes. One is to test whether the emperor and our family are interested. The second is to test whether our family is plotting for the position of Crown Princess. The purpose is to expose the Zhou family's ambitions and thus undermine the emperor's trust in the Zhou family."
Zhou Shuren fiddled with the glass vase. "It's a pity they don't know that I pushed the position of the prince's master before the emperor succeeded to the throne. Now the emperor and the emperor are just trying to trick me."
Zhulan glared at her husband, "Don't pull the petals. Why are you so rude? These are the flowers my granddaughters put in today."
Zhou Shuren loosened his hands that were pinching the petals, his eyes full of regret. He had pinched them already, and he wanted to pluck the petals right in front of him!
Zhulan, "This explains why Miss Shen is hostile to Yuyi. She heard some rumors."
Zhou Shuren hummed, and then said affirmatively: "Let's not talk about whether the emperor wants to choose a princess for the prince. As for the Shen family, tsk tsk, there's no hope."
Zhulan also felt that there was no hope. The internal strife in the Shen family was serious, and the emperor would not choose such a family. "By the way, should the matter in the south be concluded?"
Zhou Shuren said dimly: "Well, it will be revealed in a few days."
The emperor did not go through the court. After his own people handled the matter, he gave the order directly to the King of Chu. Even Rongchuan left the capital in the name of a mission. Only some well-informed people knew the news, but it was too late to pass on the news. The emperor kept it secret too well.
Zhu Lan said meaningfully: "So after the emperor ascended the throne, he started a big fire in the south. Many people in the south will fall from power, and Changlian Pingtiao will also have a place."
Zhou Shuren, "Yeah."
After this cleanup, the emperor will select officials who are loyal to him, and the Zhou family is a force supported by the emperor. He no longer needs to plan for Chang Lian’s transfer, as the emperor will arrange it himself. Therefore, although the south is still chaotic after the cleanup, it is a good place to go.
With him in charge of the capital, some forces in the south of the Yangtze River will be wary of him and will be hesitant to take action against Chang Lian. This is exactly what the emperor wants. As long as Chang Lian takes root in the south, he will be a sharp blade in the emperor's hand. Of course, opportunities and dangers coexist, and danger is certain.
Zhulan sorted out the account books and said, "Ms. Dong has already left for Beijing with Ming Ling. I don't know if the little guy can handle the long journey."
Zhou Shuren said to his youngest grandson, whose only knowledge was from his son's letter, "Chang Lian said he has recovered and his temperature is not high now, which is suitable for traveling. Don't worry about him."
Zhulan, "Okay, let's stop talking. It's getting late. Get up, wash up and rest."
Zhou Shuren didn't want to move. Now that he was back home, he was feeling lazy. He lay down for a while before getting up to wash.
The next day, as the ladies who attended the banquet told their stories after returning home, it was revealed that the fourth daughter of Minister Zhou had become famous. She was the eldest daughter of Minister Zhou's third son and a previously unknown girl, but after the banquet, people had a new understanding of this unknown girl.
From the girl Yuyi, the men thought of Zhou Changlian, the third son of Shangshu Zhou. He was rated as excellent every year, and now it was time for him to be transferred. People who didn't know about the rumors thought that the fourth daughter of the Zhou family was a good candidate for daughter-in-law or granddaughter-in-law.
Among those who knew the rumor, the Shen family came to the fore, while others who were more informed were waiting for news in the palace.
No matter what, Zhou Yuyi, the fourth daughter of the Zhou family became famous in one battle.
Inside the palace, the Emperor came to the Queen's bedroom after the morning court session, which was rare. It was because he was too busy yesterday and did not return to the harem. He came today to talk to the Queen.
The emperor walked into the palace and stopped the queen to greet her. "There's no need for us to be polite."
Ever since talking with the Queen, the Emperor has been very satisfied with his wife and they have become more casual in their interactions.
The Queen responded with a smile on her face. Her happiness was genuine. No matter how many people there were in the harem, she was the only wife and only she was worthy of standing beside the Emperor.
The emperor handed the list in his hand to the queen, "Take a look at this list."
The queen took it with confusion, and saw that the list was full of the names of the girls, with their ages, family backgrounds, etc. clearly recorded. The queen understood, "What is this?"
The emperor sat down and made tea himself. "That's what you thought. This is the list I have selected."
The queen quickly glanced over the list and did not see the name she wanted to see. She paid attention to the situation of yesterday's flower banquet for her son's sake, so she knew a lot about it.
The queen did think about the granddaughter of the Zhou family, but there were better options, so she just thought about it. However, the performance of the fourth girl of the Zhou family yesterday made her think a lot.
The Emperor naturally noticed the Empress's slightly frowned brow. If it weren't for the outstanding performance of the fourth Miss Zhou yesterday, he would not have brought the list over as soon as he finished his work. His original intention was to inform the Empress after a while and test the actions of the Wen family.
The emperor spoke, "Father has given an oral order that the Zhou family will only be loyal to the emperor for generations."
Well, this is what the emperor wanted to express, and he thought so too. Now, with the emperor's oral order, he can save the trouble of explanation.
The Queen's eyes paused, "I understand."
The emperor hummed, and then said: "There is no rush to select from this list. The prince is still young, you have plenty of time to consider."
The Queen saw the name of the person she originally liked on the list and said, "Hmm."
After the emperor left, the queen was in a good mood. The Zhou family was only loyal to the emperor, which meant that the Zhou family would only produce one Princess Qin and would not marry into the royal family in the future. This was good.
The Queen also admired Minister Zhou's foresight. If Minister Zhou had not had such intention, her father and the Emperor would not have trusted her so much. At the same time, she reminded herself of Yang's status in her heart, because Yang really knew how to teach her granddaughter.
In fact, there is another fundamental reason why Zhou's granddaughter is so outstanding. She has maintained her temperament. Every girl has her own personality, which makes her stand out among the noble ladies.
Because the emperor had no intention of involving the Zhou family in the dispute over the Crown Princess, he directly rejected the memorial. This was the emperor's most direct response.
Because of the memorial, Zhou Shuren also paid attention to it and was the first to know about the emperor's actions. The emperor expressed his trust in the Zhou family directly, but also sent a signal that his offspring would be reused.
Of course, the meaning behind this is not yet obvious. We will only become clear once the events in the south are exposed.
At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren noticed that Zhang Jinghong had glanced at him several times, "What do you want to say?"
Zhang Jinghong, "Nothing."
Zhou Shuren looked over again and saw that Zhang Jinghong was already concentrating on sorting out the accounts. After observing for a while and not noticing anything, Zhou Shuren stopped paying attention.
Why did Zhang Jinghong look at Shangshu Zhou more? Because he thought of his own son. At present, he, an orphan of the previous dynasty, was living a good life, but he was afraid that the royal family would not be able to accommodate his descendants.
Whenever Zhang Jinghong looked at his son growing up, he would think about making more plans for him. But as for the girl from the Zhou family, it was a pity that he could only think about it.