At the Zhou family, we had hotpot for dinner. Zhou Shuren’s hotpot was very light. He ate a lot of hotpot vegetables, but before he could savor them, he drank a bowl of Chinese medicine, and only the bitter taste was left.
When Zhulan came back from washing up, she saw Shuren looking at the ancient book lovingly, so she reached out and took it from him. "You are taking care of your body, don't waste your energy by reading it."
Zhou Shuren's eyes were filled with reluctance. He knew that his wife would not be returned to him, so he could only withdraw his gaze. "I was sick and was awarded a reward. I suppressed the rumors about the Yu family."
Zhulan paused while arranging the books, then quickly finished arranging them and sat down. "Today, Qi came to talk to me about the Yu family."
Zhou Shuren raised his eyebrows, "The Ran family has no legitimate daughters anymore. Qi mentioned the Yu family. Does Concubine Ran have any ideas?"
Zhulan, "I guess so. Qi went to the palace to see Concubine Ran and the princess two days ago."
"The Emperor will not allow princesses to marry into the families of powerful officials. The Yu family is the one the Emperor wants to use. The Emperor does not want his daughter to get involved in the struggles among the princes, so the prince consort he recruits will not be of outstanding origin."
Zhulan, "Not many noble families want to marry a princess. Many noble families are already glorious enough. They don't want the bonus of a princess, nor do they want to invite an ancestor home."
The emperor currently has only two daughters, one of whom has been favored for many years. Although she is not a legitimate princess, she is of high importance in the emperor's heart. There are few royal daughters, and rare things are precious. If you marry one home, you are like marrying your ancestor.
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Because of the rumors, even those who are optimistic about the Yu family dare not take any action. And because of the early reward, the capital is very lively. We are not in a hurry. Let's wait until after the New Year."
Zhulan was not in a hurry, "Yeah."
Zhou Shuren helped the Yu family block too many eyes, and Lord Yu was also thinking about the Zhou family.
The Yu family lacks allies in the capital, and Lord Yu has the emperor's advice, so the Zhou family holds a high position in his heart.
Lord Yu received the invitation and discussed with his wife, "The gift must be expensive. I owe Lord Zhou a favor."
Liu, "I'm awake. By the way, my sons want to visit the academy where Zhou Hou's grandson studied."
Lord Yu stroked his beard and said, "Go ahead. If they think it's good, they can decide on it."
Liu: "Master wants to have dealings with Zhou Houfu?"
"Well, the emperor mentioned Lord Zhou's grandson and has already reminded me. If Lord Zhou hadn't been sick recently and hadn't seen anyone, I would have wanted to visit him in person a long time ago."
Liu said, "I also want to get along with the women of Zhou Houfu, but Zhou Houfu hasn't received any invitations recently."
"No rush, take your time."
Liu, "We can only do it slowly."
The next day, Zhulan's marquis's wife clothes were not ready yet, but she also had to go to the palace to express her gratitude. She and Zhou Shuren should have gone to the palace to express their gratitude the day after they were awarded the titles. Because the rewards were too great this time, their military merits were indeed promoted quickly, and many of them were awarded titles this time.
Because Zhou Shuren was not completely recovered from his illness, the emperor allowed him to go out and then enter the palace.
I am not wearing earl's clothes today. It is unlucky to wear earl's clothes after my status has changed.
The carriage swayed into the palace and was treated as a sedan chair once inside.
Zhulan glanced sideways. It was the first time in so many years that Zhou Shuren received such high treatment.
It was a really cold day, and Zhou Shuren didn't make any excuses. He and his wife got into the sedan chair quickly. The sedan chair wasn't warm either, but it was windproof.
Zhou Shuren went to Zhengdian to express his gratitude, and Zhulan, who had benefited from the favor, went to the imperial palace's bedroom.
In the Zheng Palace, Zhou Shuren felt the emperor's gaze as he entered, "Your Majesty, long live the emperor."
The emperor asked the crown prince to personally help Zhou Shuren up, "I am very worried about Shuren. I am relieved to hear that Shuren's breathing is stable."
Zhou Shuren was grateful, "How can I be so worthy of you, sir?"
As he spoke, tears were about to flow. Well, the acting was very good. He didn't want to continue taking pictures of the horses and waste his brain. Tears of emotion were more effective than ten thousand words.
The emperor was indeed pleased. "My dear, please wipe it quickly. I have not done much. My dear, you have served the court and the people, so you deserve this honor."
Zhou Shuren wiped his eyes with a handkerchief and thought to himself that this was indeed what he deserved, as he was not exhausted to death this year.
Then Zhou Shuren came to thank him for the reward, and then the emperor came.
The emperor was still holding a thick book in his hand, and he said excitedly: "This is my autobiography. I have finally finished writing it."
Zhou Shuren remained silent. The emperor abdicated early and did have time to write his autobiography, but wasn’t it too thick
The emperor knew his autobiography very well. He flipped through it and soon found the one about Zhou Shuren. "Come, take a look at what I wrote."
Zhou Shuren had a bad feeling and didn't want to go over.
The prince said in a gloomy voice, "I only found out after reading Grandfather Emperor's autobiography that Lord Zhou was like this."
Zhou Shuren, "..."
No, Prince, please tell me clearly what happened to him!
The emperor's beard curled up, "When I saw it that year, I didn't expect Shu Ren to be able to write such a memorial."
Zhou Shuren walked over with his head held high, and then he saw some familiar words. This was a letter he wrote to flatter the emperor, and it was copied word for word from the autobiography of the retired emperor. He could already imagine that he would become very famous in the future.
The emperor smiled and said, "There's more to come."
Zhou Shuren continued to watch with a wooden face, and then everything became normal, with all of his suggestions and achievements.
In the Queen's palace, Zhulan did not leave after expressing her gratitude. The Queen was showing off her baby to her, and she couldn't help but say that the little princess was so beautiful.
The queen is content with having a daughter, "I have no regrets at all now."
Zhulan was a little embarrassed to respond as the prince had not yet ascended the throne.
The Queen did not intend to let Zhulan take over. Seeing that her little daughter was a little tired, she signaled the female official to take her back and said, "The remaining grassland tribal leaders and their children will come to the capital tomorrow."
Zhulan heard from Changyi that the Ministry of Rites has been busy with this matter recently. This time when she goes to Beijing, she will not stay in the embassy, but in the house awarded by the emperor, and the Ministry of Rites is busy making arrangements.
Zhu Lan replied, "I have heard some news."
The queen was worried. There were several girls who were old enough to get married, but she didn't know how to arrange their marriages. There were many things waiting for her to deal with.
Afterwards, Zhulan chatted with the Queen about something else. When the Queen felt a little tired, Zhulan left.
Zhulan went back alone. Zhou Shuren left the palace after she got home for a while.
In the academy, the two sons of the Yu family sat in on the class for the whole morning. At noon, they were going to have lunch. The two brothers found Mingrui and walked up to him. The second son of the Yu family said, "Mr. Zhou Si."
Mingrui was very concerned about the two Yu masters who were listening in, and politely replied, "Second Master Yu."
Mr. Yu was fifteen years old, with dimples on both sides of his mouth when he smiled. "We brothers would like to invite Mr. Zhou Si to dinner."
Ming Rui said: "You two gentlemen are new to the academy, so I should be the one to treat you. Please give me a chance to spend some money."
Mr. Yu was stunned for a moment, then he grinned with his dimples getting bigger. "Then my brother and I will not be polite. Next time Mr. Zhou Si, you have to give me a chance to spend money."
Mingrui smiled and said, "Okay."
But I was thinking, why does this guy love to laugh so much and has two dimples!