The little prince froze completely, and looked at Master Zhou's eyes that saw through everything, and said with a tense face, "Thank you, Master."
"You're welcome."
Chang Yi and the others left with a sneer. Originally, the Zhou family was unwilling to pay attention to the grassland prince pretending to be sick. This young prince had a big heart. He saw it clearly just now. When he saw Yu Yi and the others, he rushed over.
There were many servants and maids brought by their own girl, and Mingrui and others were also there. Although they were not afraid of rushing in front of Yuyi and others, it was still very annoying.
Mingrui, "Dad, Mom."
Chang Yi hummed, "What a pity."
Mingrui soon realized what a pity it was. Yu Yueyang was eliminated and got third place. Although he was third, Yu Yueyang was very happy and then he smiled.
Chang Yi was amused, "This child really doesn't look like sixteen anymore."
Yuyi looked over and felt silly, but also felt that the smile was very pure, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.
In the restaurant, in Zhou Shuren's private room, the Crown Prince came in with the Fourth Prince. Zhou Shuren said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is really brave."
The streets were full of people. Not only had she left the palace, but she had also brought the Fourth Prince with her.
Prince, "Father is here too."
Zhou Shuren, "... ..Where is the emperor?"
The prince smiled, "The restaurant across the street."
Zhou Shuren: "... ...let me pass?"
"My father asked me to pass on a message to you, sir. The Lantern Festival is over, sir, it's time for you to go to court."
Zhou Shuren touched his nose. Even if the emperor didn't urge him, he would still have to go to court tomorrow and talk to the emperor in private. Well, several grassland princes needed to be dealt with.
The next day, Zhou Shuren almost didn't get up. He slept until he woke up naturally during his recuperation period, and he was very uncomfortable with getting up early again. He was drowsy even sitting in the carriage.
When they arrived at the palace gate, Zhou Shuren got off the carriage and people who knew him came over to confirm that he had recovered and congratulated him.
Old Master Wen interrupted, "If Marquis Zhou doesn't come to court again, I thought he would retire!"
Zhou Shuren knew that Old Master Wen was angry. Who made the Zhou family win last night? He smiled but didn't smile. "You are older than me and you haven't retired yet. I will continue to work hard for the court. What do you think?"
Old Master Wen snorted, "Marquis Zhou didn't mention that he was younger than me. I looked at Marquis Zhou's hair and thought he was older than me!"
Zhou Shuren stroked his hair and said, "Who made me worry so much? This is my achievement. You don't understand, but I can understand."
Before Master Wen could speak, his eldest son pulled him back, snorted, and turned away.
Zhou Shuren was not satisfied with his argument and glanced at all the ministers. Lord Ding met his gaze and turned his head quickly. Well, this person was no longer confronting him.
The morning court discussed establishing a state on the grassland and which officials should be sent there. The grassland was in a state of disrepair and everything had to start from scratch. Moreover, the people were still herdsmen and had no experience. No one was willing to go, and they all became speechless when the emperor asked.
Zhou Shuren took a look around and thought, he liked all the good places. Anyway, the Zhou family didn’t have to worry about anything, because the emperor would not let the Zhou family produce another local official.
The emperor had expected this to happen, and he already had a candidate in mind.
The morning court ended quickly, and Zhou Shuren stayed. After the emperor looked at him carefully, he said, "Marquis Zhou has gained weight."
Zhou Shuren, "The wrinkles on my face have indeed decreased."
The emperor's mouth twitched. How could he describe himself as fat like this? "Is Marquis Zhou well-educated?"
"If I have not recovered, is it possible to continue to recover?"
Not only does he have paid vacations, but he also receives constant rewards. With days like this, he can take vacations until he dies.
Your Majesty, "No."
"oh."
The emperor rolled his eyes in his heart. This old man was too cunning. "Lord Zhou, sit down."
Zhou Shuren sat down and said without waiting for the emperor to continue speaking, "Your Majesty, I saw the young prince of the Oge tribe last night. The young prince was in very good spirits, which shows that Prince Oge is already well."
The emperor thought to himself, these people deliberately made themselves sick in order to delay. Taking cold showers in such a cold weather, haha, why didn't they die? "I saw it too."
Zhou Shuren said "oh".
The emperor continued, "I have asked the Prince of Qi to visit him personally."
Zhou Shuren's beard curled up and he went to threaten the emperor, "Your Majesty, please be merciful."
The emperor knew that the young prince of the Oge tribe went after the girl from the Zhou family yesterday. This young prince was very scheming and had some tricks up his sleeve. He killed his own brother and on the way to Beijing he also killed his wife, who he had just married not long ago. The Zhou family had a title, was valued by him, and had power in their hands, so they were targeted.
The emperor asked, "You were sick and recuperating, so I didn't have a chance to ask you. Today I want to ask you, when are you going to get married?"
Zhou Shuren, "I am not in a hurry, please wait a little longer."
Mr. Yu’s wife and daughter-in-law haven’t seen it yet.
At the Zhou family, Zhulan was planning to invite a few familiar friends to a painting viewing banquet, and she wrote several invitations to the Yu family, inviting Mr. Yu's wife to come. However, the old lady of the Yu family would not be able to meet her because she was in Dingzhou and would not come to the capital.
At the Yu family, Mrs. Liu was just happy about her second son's success last night when she received a letter from the Zhou Marquis's residence. Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "Good things have happened one after another recently."
She was still worrying about how to meet the women of the Zhou family, and then the opportunity came.
Liu thought that she got the invitation because of her second son's honor, and the young master of the Zhou family also got a lot of attention yesterday.
In the evening, Ming Teng came to the main courtyard after dinner and said, "Grandpa, Grandma."
Zhou Shuren, "I already know that Shen Xing will follow you this time."
Ming Teng, "My grandson will also unexpectedly go to the grassland to divide the state with my uncle."
Zhou Shuren was not surprised. When Rong Chuan talked to him, he thought of Ming Teng. Ming Teng represented the Rong family. The emperor would not forget the Rong family for their contribution to the division of the state. The Rong family was very important to the emperor. "Be careful on your way there. Bring more people with you."
Ming Teng was reluctant to let him go. "I don't know when my grandson will be back. Grandpa and grandma, please take care of yourselves."
Zhulan, "Take good care of yourself."
This child is no longer the same as he was when he was little. I feel relieved but also distressed. To enjoy wealth and glory, one must pay a price.
Ming Teng smiled and said, "My grandson will take good care of himself and won't let the family worry."
Zhou Shuren said, "I have talked about the division of states with your uncle, so I won't say more to you. You just need to do your job well and don't need to show off."
Ming Teng understood that his wings were not yet fully grown, and it was not good to be too prominent. "Grandson understands."
When Ming Teng returned to his yard, he saw his wife's eyes were red. Ming Teng felt a little guilty, "After we got married, I never spent enough time with you."
Liu Jia was filled with reluctance, "You are responsible for the Rong family, I understand."
Ming Teng held his wife's hand and said, "When I come back from my work, I'll take some time off and show you around."
Liu Jia didn't hold out hope, but said, "Okay."
The next day, Ming Teng, who had just returned home two days ago, followed the King of Qin to the grassland, while the King of Liang presided over the division of states in the northeast.
The major events of the next few days were that several grassland princes who came to Beijing voluntarily resigned their royal titles. The emperor received three resignations before conferring the title of marquis on several of them. However, the title was not hereditary, and was demoted from generation to generation. If they wanted to make a name for themselves in the future, they could not use force but could only use civil means. Even if they were unwilling, they had to bow their heads when under someone's roof.
In a blink of an eye, the Zhulan Painting Appreciation Banquet started. Qi arrived early and said, "If I hadn't been busy at home these few days, I would have wanted to come to see you a long time ago."
Zhulan, "What do you want to talk to me about?"