Mingrui returned to Beijing in a low-key manner, and the Zhou family did not show it. No one in Beijing knew the news of the prince's return. Mingrui could not go out and enjoyed the meticulous care at home.
When he got home, he relaxed his body and mind, without the caution and tension outside. It was a rare opportunity for Mingrui to relax himself. He would lie down instead of sitting every day. His mind was busy while lying in the rocking chair, thinking about how to meet his future brother-in-law.
In the imperial palace, the prince does not need to go to the Zheng Palace, and it is not convenient for him to go to the harem to see his mother when he returns to the palace. He can only write his thoughts in his own palace every day.
The queen knew that her son had returned to the palace and she no longer had to worry about him. She felt much better and was able to go out for a walk as the weather was nice.
The entire harem was paying attention to the Queen. Many of them cursed her behind her back, and when they saw the Queen walking around, they tore up countless handkerchiefs.
In a blink of an eye, the King of Qi brought the princes back to the capital. Some of the seriously injured princes were lucky, while others were unlucky. Some were left with a chronic disease, and the imperial examination became a big problem. Some of the major families in the capital were happy while others were sad.
The next day at the Ministry of Revenue, Qiu Yan drank tea and sighed, "Master Wei's second son is just unlucky. I asked a doctor when I returned to Beijing yesterday. The child has injured his lungs. I'm afraid he can't stand the environment of the Spring Examination. Whether he can take the imperial examination depends on his luck."
Zhou Shuren, "What a pity."
Qiu Yan nodded, "This child is very talented. When he saw Lord Wei this morning, his eyes were all blue."
A family cannot support itself alone, and every talented legitimate son is a treasure. Now that one of the treasures has been lost, how can we not feel hatred
Zhou Shuren thought to himself that it was easy for people to feel resentful of unfairness, especially when the gap was huge. If his grandson got the reward, it would definitely attract a lot of hatred, so he decided to let the Wen family attract the hatred.
Originally, people in the capital thought that the Zhou and Shangguan families would receive rewards, but after waiting for two days, they finally confirmed that there would be no rewards.
The old fox quickly figured out what was going on and watched the Wen family's show with ill intentions.
Old Master Wen gritted his teeth. He had thought that the Shangguan family and the Zhou family would share the attention and attract all the attention, but in the end, the Wen family was still hated.
The Wen family has been secretly offering gifts of apology these past few days, some of which have been accepted and some of which have been confiscated. Today, members of the Wen clan have been targeted.
During the morning court, Zhou Shuren watched the opera happily. Every day when he saw Old Master Wen with a sad face during the morning court, he would eat an extra bowl of rice.
Li Zhao coughed and said, "That's enough. You've been watching the excitement for several days in a row. Aren't you tired of it?"
Zhou Shuren, "I can't get enough of their plays."
Li Zhao thought to himself, the vengeful old man, "Lord Wen is watching you!"
Zhou Shuren noticed it and gave a big smile in return. Old Master Wen turned his head away with his smile. Only then did he retract his smile with satisfaction. Anyway, as long as the Wen family was not good, he was happy.
Li Zhao lowered his voice and said, "I see you are in a good mood. Is the Ministry of Revenue well-funded?"
Zhou Shuren instantly turned cold and didn't look at Li Zhao. These people all wanted silver, but there was no silver. He didn't know how much hair he had lost in order to buy the medicinal materials. Apart from the silver that the national treasury had already prepared to take out, the Ministry of Revenue could no longer come up with a large sum of silver.
Li Zhao, "..."
Zhou Shuren has not been generous at all recently, he is very stingy!
Today's morning court was very serious. An urgent report was sent to Beijing last night that there were unusual movements on the northeastern border. Floods were occurring in several states of the country, which made the tribes on the northeastern border feel that they had an opportunity to take advantage of.
Zhou Shuren frowned. Because of the natural disaster, an inevitable war would be brought forward.
Today's morning court ended very late. After the court was over, the emperor left many ministers to continue discussions and prepare for war.
Zhou Shuren was worried. Although the emperor had set aside silver for the war early on, he also had to prepare some silver for emergencies. Silver, silver.
Zhou Shuren left the palace in a hurry. In a war, the Ministry of Revenue must do a good job of logistics, and logistics is crucial.
In the harem, Aruna touched her belly. She wished she was really pregnant. But the truth was, the emperor had never touched her since she entered the palace, and he only pretended to come to her palace every month.
The emperor was warning her, but what could she do? She had to accept her fate for the sake of her tribe.
The maid came in and said, "The princess of Yi Banner is here."
Aruna took her hands off her stomach, “You said me.”
"What do you want to say, sister?"
Aruna's expression changed for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. "Sister, don't you think you come to my place too often?"
Princess Yiqi said, "It's because you are favored. I haven't seen the emperor many times since I entered the palace."
"Sister, what you said is not right. I am favored because I only see the emperor twice a month. You are favored because you see him at least three times a month. It seems that you are favored by the emperor less. Black and white cannot be reversed like this."
Princess Yiqi did not respond, but asked, "Sister is about to give birth, right?"
Aruna looked down, "It's still early."
Princess Yiqi: "We are both princesses of the grassland. Sister is really lucky."
Aruna thought to herself, it was because she was honest, but the princess of the Yi Banner was not. She touched her belly and realized that they were all pawns of the emperor. She could live well, but the one in front of her could not.
In the evening, Zhou Shuren did not come back on time. He dragged his tired body home very late. His waist was uncomfortable because he had been sitting all day.
Zhulan helped rub her waist, "I asked the kitchen to make some soup for you, will you drink it later?"
Zhou Shuren waved his hand, "I drank soup in the Ministry of Revenue, so there's no need to bring the soup from the kitchen."
"Hasn't the money for the medicinal materials been settled? Why are you still frowning?"
"There are unusual movements in the Northeast. The war will start earlier."
The unusual movements in the Northeast are a test. Once a war breaks out in the Northeast, it will be an all-out war.
Zhulan paused, and thought for a moment, "Because of the flood?"
"Well, this year's floods were severe, and the food production in the states was reduced due to the weather. The grasslands and other tribes felt that this was a great opportunity, and did not want to wait until autumn to give the court a chance to catch its breath."
The grassland tribes don't know that the emperor had purchased long-lasting food early on. Although more states have been affected by disasters this year, there is only a shortage of medicine and there is no food shortage in the disaster areas.
Zhulan thought of the replies from her elder and second brothers. They were unwilling to come to the capital. She knew that they had noticed something, but in order not to affect Wuchun and Wuhe, they would not leave unless it was absolutely necessary.
"I just hope this war can lead to real peace."
Zhou Shuren has confidence in the court. The emperor has been preparing for this war for too long. If it were not for the natural disaster, the emperor's plan could be said to be foolproof.
Zhu Lan worriedly said, "Since there are unusual movements in the northeast, there will be spies in the disaster area to incite the people. I don't know what happened to Chang Lian."
Zhou Shuren, "At this time, it depends on the force. If you appease the people and find the spy, it will be a great achievement. If you really let the people cause trouble, it will be a serious fault."
Now is the critical moment. If we fail to appease the people, the autumn harvest will be the lightest punishment, and our career will be ruined.
Don't try to show some mercy to the royal family. They are ruthless to their own descendants, let alone their subjects. He has always been sober and will never be confused by the attitude of the emperor emeritus, nor will he relax his vigilance because of the emperor's trust, and he will not forget who he is because of the prince's closeness.
The imperial family is the most ruthless, he always remembers that.
Zhou Shuren was also worried about his son and daughter. "The emperor ordered the Prince of Qin to return to the capital. I don't know if Xuehan and the baby in her belly can bear the long journey."
Zhu Lan was silent for a while, "Will the King of Qin join us in the war?"