Zheng Hong personally went to the trouble to verify his son-in-law, and found out that his son-in-law was also a successful candidate for the second-class Jinshi degree, and was also on the Ministry of Rites' training list. After his names were on the list, the two families got engaged and were just waiting for the Queen's anniversary to get married.
Li also lamented, "It hasn't even been half a year."
Zhao couldn't help but raise her hand to touch her hair. Her husband also had white hair. "Time flies fast when you get older. We are all grandmothers now."
Su Xuan interrupted, "Don't take me with you."
She is still young, and both her son and daughter are not married yet!
In the palace, Zhou Shuren and others finished discussing state affairs, and heard Eunuch Zhang say outside the study, "Grandson, please slow down."
Then the door of the study was pushed open. Although the door was half-closed, the emperor's eldest grandson was quite strong.
The little guy was very brave and not afraid of people. It was not the first time he had seen so many people. Seeing that they were all looking at him, his chest puffed up and he walked in step by step with his little head held high.
The emperor waved, "Yao'er, come here."
This is the nickname of the emperor's eldest grandson. His real name is Zhang Ruihui.
The emperor's eldest grandson passed by Zhou Shuren, and Zhou Shuren's heart was lifted. With so many people around, wouldn't the young apprentice call him? To be honest, he and his young apprentice tried to avoid colleagues in the court, and the emperor didn't want to announce this matter too early, so his colleagues only knew that the emperor's eldest grandson was close to him, but didn't know why he was so close.
The emperor's eldest grandson, with a jade pendant hanging around his waist, walked up to Zhou Shuren and stopped.
Everyone in the study looked at the emperor's eldest grandson, who patted the jade pendant and grinned, "I like it."
Zhou Shuren thought that the truth would be revealed today, but he didn't expect that the young disciple didn't call him master. He took a closer look at the jade pendant he gave him and saw that the young disciple liked it and smiled.
The eldest grandson of the emperor turned his head. He remembered that his father said that he should not call Master when there were many people around. Well, he was an obedient child.
The prince was so proud that his son was so smart.
Old Master Shangguan stroked his beard. His granddaughter was the Crown Princess, and he had not seen the Emperor's eldest grandson many times. Counting carefully the third-day bath, the full moon, and the one-year-old celebration, including the few times he had seen him in the palace, he had never had any contact with the Emperor's eldest grandson. He felt sad. If you didn't know, you would think Zhou Shuren was the Emperor's eldest grandson's relative from outside the family!
When the emperor picked up his grandson and touched the jade pendant, he thought of his own beads, "Yao'er likes you very much."
Seeing the emperor lighting the jade pendant, Zhou Shuren untied it neatly and said, "It is my honor that my eldest grandson likes it. This piece of jade was given to me by the emperor."
Eunuch Zhang reached out his hand to take it swiftly, but couldn't pull it budge, so he used some more force to finally get it.
Zhou Shuren looked calm and confident on the outside, but his heart was bleeding. All the things left to him by the retired emperor were good things, but the two best jade pendants were gone!
After a while, the emperor wanted to take his grandson with him, so Zhou Shuren and others retreated.
Lord Gong and the Minister of Rites stopped Zhou Shuren.
Lord Gong, "There are not many people in this court that I admire, but Marquis Zhou is the one in my heart!"
Saying this, he gave a thumbs up!
The new Minister of Rites is the emperor's confidant, so he knows more. For example, the emperor said casually that the eldest grandson should not be wronged in the future, and he also said that the ceremony of establishing the crown prince should be more grand.
What does this prove? It proves that after the crown prince succeeds to the throne, the eldest grandson will be the new crown prince. It also proves that in the emperor's mind, the only person who can succeed to the throne is the crown prince.
The Minister of Rites thought of the Second Prince and curled his lips inwardly. There are also princes around, look at the Third Prince from the Ministry of Works!
Zhou Shuren said modestly: "I am just lucky to have caught the eye of the emperor's eldest grandson."
In addition, before the child was born, their fate as a master had already been determined!
The Minister of Rites smiled and said, "I congratulate the Marquis."
The royal family really trusts Zhou Shuren. Sometimes he thinks that Zhou Shuren is indeed powerful, but why does the royal family trust him so much for several generations? This is very confusing!
Time flies. As the maritime case involves more and more people, Wu Shangheng has already hidden in the palace, which also means that there will be a result.
In the evening, Zhulan and her husband chatted, and Zhou Shuren said, "The Emperor will deal with it before the Queen's anniversary."
Zhulan, "The Emperor has deep feelings for the Empress."
Zhou Shuren has the most say, "I have seen the portrait that the emperor painted for the queen."
Zhulan was silent for a while and said, "He died at the best time."
Constant reminiscing will deepen past feelings, and with his legitimate children in front of him all day long, it would be hard for the emperor not to reminisce. The queen will only become more and more beautiful in the emperor's heart.
Zhou Shuren, "Yeah, so just wait and see. Whoever mentions the establishment of the Queen after the anniversary is going to be in trouble."
"The Emperor is still young."
At this point, Zhu Lan lowered her voice again and asked, "Will the emperor abdicate early like the emperor emeritus?"
Otherwise, given the emperor's physical condition, he would have no problem continuing to reign for a few decades!
Zhou Shuren, "The Emperor is waiting."
Zhulan was puzzled, "Waiting for what?"
Zhou Shuren pointed at himself and then pointed in the direction of the Crown Prince's Mansion. "The Emperor is waiting to see how the Crown Prince will teach his eldest grandson. The Emperor is waiting to see how the eldest grandson grows up."
He also wondered in his heart whether the emperor would learn from the emperor emeritus. The imperial power was fascinating, but from his observation over the years, the emperor did not follow the prince's lead and suppress the prince, nor was he afraid of the prince's high reputation. The emperor and the prince were truly a loving father and a filial son!
So he gradually came to the conclusion just now.
Zhu Lan sighed, "The Emperor gave us a good education."
Zhou Shuren laughed out loud, "I think the emperor has set a good example."
She abdicated as soon as she said she would, handed over her power to others and never interfered in state affairs. Thanks to the guidance of the Empress Dowager during her period, she has achieved today's results.
Thinking of this, Zhou Shuren became depressed, and he thought of the emperor again!
In the following days, the court was tense. The maritime case finally came to a conclusion. The Zhuo family survived, which meant that the five aristocratic families were gone.
Many people were implicated in this, and the emperor did not do anything extreme and gave them a chance.
Most people thought so, but Zhou Shuren, who knew the inside story, understood clearly that the emperor stayed not to show leniency, but as bait, waiting for another chance to clean up.
The emperor was the biggest winner. With the cleanup, he strengthened his control over the five aristocratic families, made the maritime affairs clear and so on.
The next major event was the Queen’s anniversary. After the anniversary, the Zhuo family held a funeral and Old Man Zhuo died.
In the palace, the emperor snorted coldly when he heard the news, "He knows how to choose the time to die."
Zhou Shuren raised his eyes, "He knows that you have already given me grace."
Old Master Zhuo knew that he could not live. If he lived, it would mean betraying the retired emperor. Now that the Zhuo family has lost their title, the only one they can rely on in the future is the emperor. In order to prevent the Zhuo family from being completely swallowed up, he can only choose death!
The prince said, "Zhuo Guyu is not bad."
Zhuo Guyu made the greatest contribution to the Zhuo family's success, and now he is the head of the Zhuo family.
The emperor hummed, "Forget it."
Zhou Shuren knew that the Zhuo family could survive.
The emperor suddenly asked, "I remember you said that Changzhong was going to set a date for his wedding?"
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Yes, I will go to the Wei family to discuss it after my day off."
The emperor smiled and said, "It was father who gave Changzhong his name."