Zhulan sat on one side of Qi, while Liu sat on the other side. Zhulan felt a little headache. Liu's presence seemed to be ill-intentioned, so she wanted to go back home.
After Liu sat down, she said, "I have never seen the granddaughter of the Zhou family in so many banquets. I thought I would see her today, but I didn't expect to see her again."
Zhulan didn't think Liu's words were casual, "They are too young and are still learning from the teacher."
Liu smiled a little, "Come to think of it, my grandson is the same age as Miss Yu Lu from the Zhou Mansion. This is also fate."
Zhulan thought to herself that he was waiting for her here. He was targeting Yulu. "Oh."
Liu's smile froze. She really wanted to marry into the Zhou family. She was talking about her eldest son's youngest son, the legitimate grandson. She showed her sincerity. You have to know that Zhou Shuren's second son was nothing, while his eldest son was already a fifth-rank official.
Qi sneered. She knew that the Min family had no future, let alone the shrewd Zhou family. Let alone a little grandson, even if it was the Min family's eldest grandson, the Zhou family would not be tempted.
Qi waved her fan and said, "Some people can never see themselves clearly."
Liu sneered, "It's better than some people. They can't go back to their parents' home. Lord Ran's life must be hard too."
Don't think she doesn't know that the Qi family supports the third prince. Ran Qi didn't listen to the Qi family, refused to have any contact with them, and cut off many of Lord Ran's personal connections.
When Zhulan heard this, she really didn't know that every time she met Qi, Qi was always cheerful and didn't look like anything was wrong.
The smile on Qi's face did not change. She looked at Liu with a look of "you don't understand", "I know my own business, you should just take care of the Min Mansion!"
Liu frowned, then saw that the officials' wives were all looking at her. She moved her mouth, but it was not appropriate to show off now, so she snorted and lowered her head to drink tea.
Qi curled her eyes. She was so content now. It was not her daughter who brought the trouble, but her husband. She could not do anything to hurt her own daughter, so she did not listen to her father. Her father was furious, and she was afraid of implicating her husband.
Her father suppressed her husband, and she completely gave up on her natal family. Her husband finally confessed to her, but she didn't expect that her husband was the emperor's man and had always been loyal to him. The current difficulties were only temporary, and everything would be fine. She no longer had the burden of the family and now lived an easy life.
Tao arrived at Zhulan's place and came over to talk to Wu Ning. Wu Ning was nervous at first, but then relaxed. Zhulan watched from the side. She behaved properly and spoke in moderation. Zhulan nodded with satisfaction.
In Zhoujia Village, Jiang Sheng arrived home. Xuemei came out with a big belly. "How is County Master Dong doing?"
Jiang Sheng supported his wife, "The situation is not good. The doctor said that Master can only rest in the future and can't worry too much."
Xuemei sighed and said, "Why did the carriage overturn? Did you find anything?"
Jiang Sheng shook his head. "I didn't find out. Maybe it was just a coincidence. I met Master, and Master said that I couldn't continue to be the county magistrate."
Xuemei felt very sorry. As the county magistrate, Mr. Dong was also considered a family member. As long as the county magistrate was alive, she would protect her husband. If the county magistrate was gone, it would be less convenient. Although her father could also protect them, he was still far away. "I hope Mr. Dong can recover soon."
Jiang Sheng felt a little cold in his heart when he thought of his master's children and grandchildren. His master was lying on the bed, and everyone in the room was more concerned about the future. He saw the disappointment in his master's eyes, "Actually, it's good for him to retire. His master is old, and he can enjoy some peace and quiet after retiring."
Xuemei smiled and nodded, "Yes."
In the evening, at Zhou's residence, Zhou Shuren came back, changed his clothes and ate dinner. He ate absent-mindedly, and Zhulan saw that he didn't have much appetite. When Zhou Shuren put down his chopsticks, Mrs. Song went to the kitchen. Zhulan asked, "What are you thinking about? Why are you so absent-minded?"
Zhou Shuren said: "I went to the examination room again today and took a careful look around."
Zhulan was waiting for the next words, but Zhou Shuren paused, "And then?"
Zhou Shuren blinked his eyes and said, "I saw a student. Who do you think he looks like?"
Zhulan looked into Zhou Shuren's eyes. They knew each other best. Zhou Shuren asked her this question, which showed that she was a very important person. She reacted quickly and pointed to the sky. "Really?"
Zhou Shuren nodded, "Yes, I looked at the candidates one by one. Standing to the side, they really looked like the emperor's profile. Not only was I stunned at the time, but Lord Wang was also stunned. I looked at the front face and they also looked about 40% similar."
My goodness, this is the first time he was stunned in all these years!
Zhu Lan's heart beat rapidly, "Isn't he the same age as the Fifth Prince?"
Zhou Shuren looked at Zhulan approvingly, "You guessed it right, otherwise I wouldn't be stunned. There are many people with similar facial features, but the probability of them being the same age is much lower."
Zhu Lan still thought it was a coincidence, "Even if they are the same age, you forgot about the real and fake fifth prince last year, so it's not a problem to make them look the same!"
Zhou Shuren suppressed his doubts and said, "So I kept thinking about it. I always felt like I had overlooked something."
Zhu Lan lowered her voice and said, "It would be great if it were in modern times. Paternity testing would be straightforward. It was too unreliable in ancient times."
Zhou Shuren agreed. It would have been convenient to do paternity tests in ancient times. "However, I will pretend I didn't see anything, as the emperor doesn't know I guessed the fifth prince is fake. I won't know whether it was a coincidence, a deliberate arrangement, or the fifth prince is real. There are so many similar people in the world. I won't care, I won't ask, and I won't guess."
Zhu Lan chuckled, "I'm as steady as a mountain!"
Zhou Shuren finally smiled, "That's the truth. I'm going to go play with my son."
Zhulan looked at Zhou Shuren who was playing with his son and curled the corners of her mouth. This is good. Zhou Shuren is worried enough, so it's better for him not to ask too much.
The next morning, Zhou Shuren just arrived at the government office and saw Lord Wang standing at the door like a door god. Zhou Shuren was speechless, "This seems to be the first time you have come so early since your youngest son was born. You really think you are a door god. Don't block the way."
Lord Wang's eyes were dark. He made way for Lord Zhou and walked in. He asked Jin Yan to watch from a distance and closed the door carefully. "Lord Zhou."
Zhou Shuren's mouth twitched, "Why did you close the door? Is our chat so shameful?"
Lord Wang was depressed and asked, "Sir, can't you be more normal?"
Zhou Shuren sat down, "It's normal now, you say."
Lord Wang came over, bent over and said, "I thought about it all night when I returned home yesterday. The emperor's attitude towards the fifth prince is not right. Lord Zhou, you see, of the emperor's five sons, except for the crown prince, the emperor also likes the second, third and fourth sons. As long as the second, third and fourth sons don't go too far, the emperor will always treat them with care. Why is he so cruel to the fifth prince?"
When he thought about it last night, he didn't scare himself easily. His heart was pounding all night, and his mind kept echoing his grandfather's evaluation of the emperor, which was both ruthless and affectionate.