Zhou Shuren went to Jinzhou to make the handover, and the news quickly spread. After receiving the news, everyone said "oh" to indicate that they understood.
In the capital, the emperor was speechless for a long time after hearing the news. He started to pay attention, but later he was too lazy to pay attention. He walked so slowly along the way, and the novelty of waiting for the news had long worn off.
The prince couldn't help laughing in his heart. Lord Zhou was so interesting. Lord Zhou had exhausted everyone's patience.
The emperor suddenly spoke up, "Lord Zhou really loves Yang very much."
The prince replied, "Lord Zhou is a man of temperament."
The emperor nodded in agreement, saying that he was indeed a man of character, and motioned for the prince to go back. When the emperor saw the prince turn around, he looked at him, and his previously sharp eyes softened a lot.
The prince walked out of the palace gate and took a few steps. "Fifth brother, are you waiting for me?"
Zhang Jinghong played with the jade pendant and said, "Brother, I haven't seen you for a long time."
Prince, "Ah, I've been a bit busy lately."
Zhang Jinghong asked casually, "What are you busy with? I can't even see my brother when I go to my mother's palace."
The prince frowned, "It's an errand given by my father."
He was indeed very busy, busy with accounting. The accounting he used was using an abacus, and it was really annoying. He had been using an abacus in his dreams at night these days. He never expected that his father would ask him to settle the accounts!
Zhang Jinghong pouted, "Big brother is on guard against me, but I am your brother."
The prince glanced at his younger brother out of the corner of his eye. He never thought that his younger brother would try to find out his whereabouts. The child has really grown up. He thought that he was the eldest brother and they were born from the same mother, so he would protect his younger brother. But in the end, he took it for granted. Others were very scheming!
The prince curled his lips and said, "Brother has something else to do, so I'll leave first."
Zhang Jinghong put down the jade pendant in his hand, turned and left.
In the backyard of Jinzhou government office, after a meal in Jinzhou, Zhulan stopped Dong who was about to go back to clean up. Zhou Shuren went to tidy up the study, and now only Zhulan and Dong were left in the room.
Mrs. Dong was nervous. "Mother, do you have anything to tell your daughter-in-law?"
Zhulan cursed the ancient times in her heart, but she couldn't keep holding back on the marriage. If she did, she would think something had happened to Mrs. Dong, which would be bad for Mrs. Dong and the Dong family's reputation. "Silly girl, have you forgotten that the marriage will be consummated this year?"
Dong's face flushed. Of course she knew and had always kept it in mind. She blushed and said, "Quanping mother is the boss."
Zhulan adjusted her mentality. Knowing that Mrs. Dong was shy, she made her decision directly, "I have chosen the date. The day you get married is a good day. Your wedding dress is too small. Make a new one in two days."
Mrs. Dong was delighted and said, "Thank you, mother."
Zhulan waited for Dong to leave, then picked up a pen to write a letter. Zhou Shuren had been promoted, but Zhulan had not yet told his in-laws. Now that she had arrived in Jinzhou City, she would write to tell them later.
The last letter was written to Changzhi, who had become the son of a prefect.
Zhulan thought of Changzhi. The boy was sixteen years old, but she still hadn't found a suitable girl for Changzhi. Zhulan hoped to settle down with Changzhi before he took part in the imperial examination. It would be better to settle down with him early while she hadn't made any plans for Changzhi yet.
I'm just worried. There is really no suitable girl at the moment. I don't want to look for one in Jinzhou either, as it's too complicated here.
The next day, Zhulan received a door-to-door invitation before her family had even finished packing their luggage. The next door-to-door invitation came before she could even wait to settle down.
Zhou Shuren flipped through the pages and said, "No need to see him."
Zhulan touched her belly and said, "I didn't plan to meet you until I knew Jinzhou well. I had all the reasons. I was tired from traveling and felt unwell. And who made me pregnant at such an old age?"
Zhou Shuren was nervous, "Don't keep talking about it."
Zhulan, "... ..."
Well, Zhou Shuren can’t relax until the child is born.
Zhulan's reply spread, and coupled with Zhou Shuren's gloomy face every day, somehow the rumor spread that the baby in Zhulan's belly was no longer safe. When Zhou Shuren heard the rumor, his face turned completely black, as if the rumor had been confirmed.
Zhulan looked up at the sky in silence. The rumors were outrageous. It was all Zhou Shuren's fault.
A few days later, the Zhou family's luggage was finally packed, and Zhulan had almost learned everything she needed to know. Zhulan had experience in banquets.
We can't lose face for the Zhou family this time. There are too many people who want to see the Zhou family make a fool of themselves.
Zhulan knew what was going on. There would be many people looking for trouble this time. She went through everything from the menu to the utensils carefully, and only after confirming that there were no problems did she write the invitation post.
Zhulan didn't see any official families, but Zhou Shuren was different. He saw everything he should have seen on his first day in office. Jinzhou City was okay, but no one obeyed him. Even if he was capable, he was promoted too quickly.
Zhou Shuren is the prefect, and the only person he can rely on is the emperor, but the co-prefects, the governors, etc. also have people behind them.
The previous prefects could suppress it because they had high status. Zhou Shuren, who came from a farming and scholar family, was still troubled even though he had the support of the emperor. These people didn't openly bully you, and these were all subtle things.
For Zhou Shuren, a newcomer, the initial work was not easy.
Zhulan wrote a post, and Zhou Shuren said quietly, "I said I won't do it. Just treat it as a rumor and keep it. Why bother to get angry?"
Zhulan, "Now that everyone is making things difficult for you, I will of course get more accurate information from the officials' families. Some people don't want to make things difficult for you, they just have no choice."
Zhou Shuren felt sorry for Zhulan, "I'm worried that you're too tired."
Zhulan smiled and said, "I just talk a lot, it's not tiring at all."
It would be strange if Zhou Shuren believed Zhulan. To host a good banquet, everything had to be meticulous, and Zhulan had put in a lot of effort.
Zhou Shuren, "I really don't take the embarrassment seriously. Some of them just don't obey me. Jinzhou is not as urgent as Lizhou City. I have time to play with them slowly."
Zhulan: "But I want to help you too."
The higher you move up in the social ladder, the more important it is for your wife to have social connections. Don't underestimate the wives of officials, as they are the most well-informed.
Zhou Shuren held Zhulan's hand, he knew that Zhulan felt sorry for him.
On the day of the Zhou family's banquet, everyone who received the invitation came and no one turned it down. It was simple. It was the same mentality as the Hua and Miao families, who all came to see Zhulan make a fool of herself.
The identities of Zhulan and her husband are no secret. In the eyes of some people, Zhulan is vulgar. Coupled with Zhou Shuren's high-profile hatred, they are very curious about what kind of peasant woman Zhulan is.
So no one wanted to embarrass Zhulan. They all came and did the same thing. They not only wanted to see Zhulan make a fool of herself, but also Xuehan make a fool of herself.
Every family brought a daughter, who was about the same age as Xuehan.
Zhulan admired the dumbfounded looks of the officials' wives, sipped her juice and waited for everyone to come back to their senses.
The wife of Tongzhi, Mrs. Tao, said, "I have met the lady."
Zhulan smiled and said, "Please stand up, Yiren."
Tao stood up dryly. She was really surprised. She didn't think that Lord Zhou's wife looked like a peasant woman. Looking at her sitting posture and dress, she seemed like a lady of noble birth.
Looking at the young lady of the Zhou family again, she was silent. She was a noble lady and had always demanded this from her since she was a child. However, the young lady of the Zhou family was not much worse than her own daughter. Tao was very unwilling to accept this perception.