In the evening, Zhulan checked the gift list and put away the gifts in different categories. Most of the gifts today were furs, but there were no bright red fox furs. They were all medium-quality furs. The most collected today were mink furs. Although the furs were not top-quality, Li coveted them very much. Unfortunately, Zhulan still had no intention of sharing them.
Zhulan sent her three daughters-in-law away, locked the door of the warehouse again, and returned to the backyard with the gift list.
Zhou Shuren heard footsteps and saw Zhulan coming back and asked, "Have you finished the inventory?"
Zhulan opened the gift list. "The Shi family also came to give gifts? Didn't the Shi family move to Beijing?"
Zhou Shuren took the gift list and saw the Shi family's name on it. The gift was not small, a set of fine ceramic tea sets. "Pingzhou is the Shi family's root. The master has someone to take care of it when he goes to Beijing. The Shi family has been giving gifts to scholars and candidates all these years. The master should have left a message after he left. He would not have given gifts to only me. I guess he gave gifts to the top ten candidates."
Zhulan took the gift list and said, "It's really unexpected. When we first came here, according to my original memory, the emperor hated merchants so much and was very harsh on them. I never expected that our emperor would not hesitate to slap himself in the face and actually granted Shi Qing the right to participate in the imperial examination. This has been a start and there is no way to stop it."
Zhou Shuren was also surprised by the emperor's shamelessness. He thought he was quite shameless sometimes, but he was really incomparable to the emperor. "So the emperor is a ruthless person, but it also proves that we are too strong-willed. Shi Qing also changed his own destiny."
Moreover, the emperor has already taken the lead, which is like laying out the bait, waiting for people to take the bait!
Zhu Lan closed the gift list and said, "Shi Qing's fate has changed completely. His master has become the emperor. However, even if Shi Qing passed the imperial examination and became an official, he can only be loyal to the emperor. If he has any other thoughts, he will be killed in a minute."
Zhou Shuren chuckled, "In the era of imperial power, people were loyal to the emperor. Shi Qing's move was brilliant."
Zhu Lan said faintly: "No wonder she dumped Wang Ru so easily. She has climbed onto the thickest thigh."
Zhou Shuren curved his eyes, "In fact, I admire Shi Qing very much. He has interpreted the idea that if a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth to the fullest. It's a pity that Shi Qing was born into a merchant family when he took the imperial examination, which would greatly limit his achievements. Otherwise, he would be a real character!"
Zhu Lan's eyes sparkled. "Who do you think is more powerful, Shi Qing or Wu Ming?"
Zhou Shuren said without even thinking: "Shi Qing."
"Why?"
Zhou Shuren curled his lips, "Shi Qing has been growing up in adversity, dealing with various forces since he was a child. His intelligence and ruthlessness are not comparable to Wu Ming. On the other hand, Wu Ming's path to the imperial examination was smooth sailing because of our indirect influence. Wu Ming had long lost his determination to reach a high position."
Zhu Lan was very curious, "Do you think Shi Qing staged the kidnapping of Wang Ru himself and secretly offered her up?"
Zhou Shuren shook his head. "Shi Qing is not that stupid. He knew Wang Ru hated him, so how could he let Wang Ru see the emperor? But he couldn't kill Wang Ru because he knew that Wang Ru's traces could not be wiped away. The emperor would find out sooner or later. So the best way is that Wang Ru was kidnapped by someone else."
Zhu Lan narrowed her eyes. "Shi Qing doesn't dare to kill Wang Ru, because once Wang Ru dies, he will definitely be suspected by the emperor. The emperor will think that Shi Qing didn't tell the whole story, and that Shi Qing hid something. Once Wang Ru dies, Shi Qing will face the same dilemma as Wang Ru."
"Yes, so Wang Ru's abduction was the most brilliant move. After Wang Ru was abducted, the emperor would never trust her according to his suspicions. By the time Wang Ru was found, Shi Qing had enough time to gain the emperor's trust. For the unknown and the already known, everyone would trust the already known."
Zhu Lan continued, "And Shi Qing must have dug out almost everything in Wang Ru's mind."
Zhou Shuren said dimly, "We can guess so much because we know who Wang Ru is and have been paying attention to Shi Qing and Wang Ru. It's hard for others to guess. Shi Qing is too scheming. If his background hadn't limited him, his achievements would be immeasurable."
Zhulan recalled silently, after Wang Ru was kidnapped, Shi Qing looked for her in a big way, with notices posted all over the streets. She and Zhou Shuren saw quite a few on the way back. Well, Shi Qing looked for her in such a big way, and the people who kidnapped Wang Ru didn't dare to let her show up again, so they could only hide her tightly. Wang Ru's situation was worrying!
Zhou Shuren saw that it was getting late, "You've been busy for two days and haven't taken a shower for two days. I'll go get you some hot water for a shower."
Zhulan really wanted to take a bath, "Okay."
In modern times, Zhulan takes a bath once a day, no matter spring, summer, autumn or winter. But in ancient times, the conditions did not allow that. And in the Northeast, it was more convenient to take a bath in summer. Not only was it difficult to take a bath in winter, but it was also too cold and she didn't want to move. Zhulan's habits have changed a lot.
It was very late when Zhulan and Zhou Shuren finished taking a bath. Zhou Shuren was exhausted from pouring the water. The two of them stopped chatting and fell asleep after lying down for a while.
In the following days, fewer people came to congratulate him, but more people wanted to become his disciples. They were all scholars who wanted to become his disciples. Some of them came sincerely because they valued Zhou Shuren's abilities, while a large number of them came for future benefits.
Zhulan knew Zhou Shuren too well. These people had no hope. Zhou Shuren would not accept any apprentices. Zhou Shuren raised the Zhou family's sons just for the sake of a better life. That was why he was unwilling to spend energy to teach apprentices!
Especially in ancient times, a master was like a father, so Zhou Shuren was even more unwilling to do it because he disliked the trouble.
Those who came to his house returned disappointed, and as they all knew that Zhou Shuren did not accept disciples, the number of visitors gradually decreased.
The invitation from the Jiang Mansion has also arrived. This is the first time Zhou Shuren has received an invitation from Lord Jiang, and Zhulan also wants to go with him.
Zhulan had no plan to bring Dong with her, even though the eldest Dong was Dong's biological sister.
This time when she went to Jiang Mansion, Zhulan didn't bring anyone with her. She took out the clothes she bought in Beijing, put on some jade jewelry, packed her things, and went to Jiang Mansion with Zhou Shuren, taking the gifts.
It was Zhulan’s first time to visit the Jiang Mansion, which had four courtyards. Zhou Shuren stayed in the front yard, and she followed the housekeeper to the back yard.
Zhulan walked along with ease and grace, without looking around.
The housekeeper secretly observed and nodded, smiling a little more, "Madam, come this way."
Zhulan followed the housekeeper through the gate, smiling faintly and nodding.
In less than a cup of tea, Zhulan met Mrs. Jiang, who was sitting in the main seat. Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Dong looked very similar. Mrs. Jiang was well maintained and did not look like she was 31. She looked to be in her twenties.
Zhulan quickly glanced at Mrs. Jiang's clothes. They were all casual clothes. She thought Mrs. Jiang would give her a slap in the face because of Mrs. Dong, but she didn't expect that she was very kind to her. Zhulan knew what was going on and stepped forward to greet her, saying, "Meet Mrs. Dong."