Zhou Shuren pointed at the jewelry and said, "I guessed it from the pearl headpiece my daughter brought back."
Zhu Lan was stunned for a moment, then reacted and said, "You mean, the Xu family plans to secretly catch pearls? The Xu family wants to use this to plot against the Li family, and then plot against the Zhou family?"
Zhou Shuren nodded. "Otherwise, I can't think of how a fishing boat could plot against us. In fact, secret fishing has always existed. If you look closely, you will find that many people who disappeared from fishing villages were caught on boats fishing for pearls. For some powerful forces, it is easy to launder the pearls they caught privately."
Zhu Lan was silent. Zhou Shuren was right. In ancient times, technology was not well developed. Even if there was no strict monitoring, it would be difficult to find them if they found an island as a base. "Being caught for selfish fishing is a serious crime."
Zhou Shuren poured himself a cup of tea. "Well, the court has banned private fishing. It is a serious crime in the law code. The most serious crime is beheading, and the less serious crime is confiscation of property. Someone wants to wipe out the Zhou family."
Zhu Lan pursed her lips, and said, "It seems that the person that the Xu family has taken refuge with thinks that you are in the way. Who do you think it could be?"
Zhou Shuren thought about it. There was absolutely no way he could be the Crown Prince. He had met the Second Prince a few times, but he was actually very arrogant and preferred to face him head-on. He had never met the Third Prince, so he kept him in reserve. The Fourth Prince was ruthless enough, so he was also a suspect. As for the Fifth Prince, he had met him today, but he was afraid that there was a master behind him, such as Lord Yao.
Lord Yao was also a big suspect. Zhou Shuren counted and found that he really blocked the way of quite a few people!
Zhou Shuren put down his teacup. "No matter whose plan it was, someone must have been fishing privately, and it was a whole fishing line. The Xu family is the breakthrough point. If we follow them and catch them, it will definitely be a major case that will shock the court."
He had a premonition that this illegal fishing line must be very complicated and might reveal some new things. He was stroking his beard and wanted to use the Zhou family as scapegoats, so he had to be prepared to die.
At this time, Mrs. Song came back from going out. Zhulan picked up the unfinished sewing and changed the subject with Zhou Shuren, "I have prepared the wedding invitations here, and the name list is listed. You can take a look later and fill in any missing ones."
Zhou Shuren, "Oh, okay."
The two chatted casually. When Zhou Shuren got up and went to the study, Zhulan said, "You should also talk to the second brother and the others. They want to buy a fish farm. Don't let them set you up."
Zhou Shuren understood that Zhulan was afraid that the Xu family could not set a trap for Li, so she refused to give up and went to the second brother and the others. "I know."
While Zhou Shuren was going to the study, he asked Jinyan to notify Boss Zhou and others to come to the study.
Zhou Shuren sat and read for a while, then his four sons all came and stood in a row. Zhou Shuren put down the book and looked at his adopted sons. They had really changed a lot. When they first came, the eldest and the second son were country men, but look at them now, they wear rings on their hands, jade pendants on their waists, and are dressed in silk clothes. They no longer look like they did a few years ago.
Zhou Shuren didn't say anything, but the look in his eyes made Boss Zhou and the others feel nervous.
Boss Zhou and the others stood there obediently, not daring to move, reflecting on what they had done in their hearts, fearing that their father was coming to settle the score with them. You know, their father seldom called them together when he was busy, especially during the day off.
Zhou Shuren looked at his adopted sons speechlessly. He looked at them for a while, and sweat broke out on their foreheads. "Don't let your imagination run wild. I called you here to tell you to be down-to-earth and not rush for profit. Remember, there is no free lunch in the world. You have to pay a price for everything."
Boss Zhou was much smarter after much experience. "Dad, has something happened?"
Zhou Shuren glanced at Boss Zhou with praise. The old fool has become smart now. Very good. "Yeah."
Boss Zhou understood his father's praise. Emma, his heart, which was nervous just now, suddenly flew away and he grinned foolishly.
Zhou Laoer was worried, and sweat dripped down his forehead. "Dad, is someone plotting against the Zhou family?"
Zhou Shuren stared at Zhou Laoer. This kid had just returned not long ago. He ran out from time to time and was rarely at home during the day. He squinted his eyes and asked, "Why, did someone come to see you?"
Zhou Laoer swallowed his saliva and said, "Dad, my eldest brother and third brother want to buy a fishery. I met a merchant yesterday who said that fishing boats can make more money. I didn't agree, and I was thinking of getting more information!"
Zhou Shuren put down the teacup in his hand with a bit of force, and the cup hit the desk. "What's the surname of this merchant?"
It turns out that not only did they find Li, but they also found Changyi.
Zhou Changyi swallowed his saliva. His father's tone was filled with anger. This was really a problem. "A merchant named Zhang was engaged in the seafood business. He said that many fishing boats were very profitable."
Zhou Shuren took note and said, "I don't care if you buy the fishery, but you are not allowed to touch the fishing boats. If anyone dares to do this, don't blame me for being cruel."
"yes."
Chang Lian felt that his father's gaze was like a knife, firmly piercing the four brothers, "Dad, is someone plotting against our Zhou family?"
Zhou Shuren hummed and said without hiding anything, "Remember this, you guys, be careful when you go out."
Zhou Laoda and the others took note of it. Chang Zhi pursed his lips and said, "Dad, Su Xuan also has a fishing boat."
Zhou Shuren's mouth twitched, "That's the county lady's own, you don't have to worry about it."
Someone was watching the county lady's every move, and given her intelligence, she knew better than anyone what to touch and what not to touch.
Chang Zhi closed his mouth but was thinking in his heart that he should give Su Xuan a set of law codes so that Su Xuan could copy them when practicing calligraphy in the future. Chang Zhi's eyes fell on the bookshelf.
Soon his eyes widened. There were a few more books on the bookshelf that he had never seen before. Although he rarely came to his father's study, he knew that his father had a pattern in how he placed the books. The books were always in the right place. He forced himself to move away from the books and said, "Dad, can I take the codex back with me?"
Zhou Shuren was really stunned by Changzhi's operation, "You want to see it?"
Chang Zhi was a little embarrassed, his ears were red, "I want to go back and copy a copy and give it to Su Xuan, so that she can copy it."