Zhou Shuren told the story of how he had been tricked. Now that Mrs. Song was not around, Zhou Shuren whispered, "The emperor did not recognize Rongchuan, nor did he recognize Shen Yang as planned by the forces behind him. Now he has the fake fifth prince as an obstacle, and he is still being ambiguous with Shen Yang. This is fishing, and he has already caught a lot at the beginning."
The emperor must have already known what he had gotten out of it. Hey, interesting, really interesting.
Zhu Lan said quietly, "The Emperor didn't recognize Rong Chuan. In fact, he didn't want Rong Chuan to get involved. He was protecting Rong Chuan!"
Zhou Shuren hummed, paused, and then said, "So, the emperor has always been a dad."
In the capital, the emperor closed his eyes tiredly. He had been overworked these days and his eyes were a little dry.
The prince heard the noise and asked with concern, "Father, do you want to rest for a while?"
The emperor closed his eyes without opening them, "It's no use not accepting old age. When you get older, you won't be able to take care of your body any more."
He never rested before, but now he has to rest for an hour or two during the day. He is getting old.
The prince was closest to his father, and he knew his father's situation best. His father did not hide anything from him, "Father, you are still very young."
The emperor opened his eyes and teased, "Then I will reign for another ten years."
The prince choked and could not bear to calculate his age in a dozen years, but he could not show it on his face, "Then my son will enjoy a happy life."
The emperor snorted. A prince who didn't want to be an emperor was not a good prince. How could he not know his own son? He stood up and said, "I'll take a nap. These memorials are handed over to you. Remember to review them all when I wake up. It's good to be young. Work hard."
The prince glanced at the stack of memorials. He really should work harder. Who knows how long his father will rest? "Yes."
The emperor went back to the inner hall to rest, lying on his side on the bed, motioning to Eunuch Liu to touch his head. Time passed little by little, and just when Eunuch Liu thought the emperor had fallen asleep, the emperor spoke, "Shen Yang, whom I asked you to pay attention to, should he be back by now?"
When Eunuch Liu heard the emperor's voice, his hands couldn't help shaking. With years of experience, he replied in a low voice, "Yes, Master Shen already has a house, and he will return to the capital in the next two days."
The emperor signaled to Eunuch Liu not to press anymore, and his head felt much better. "You continue to stare."
Eunuch Liu wondered why they didn't use someone from the Anbu to do this kind of surveillance work, but instead used him. The only one he could use was Xiao Taijia. Eunuch Liu thought that the current emperor was becoming more and more difficult to understand. The emperor was only more real in front of the empress and the prince. At other times, he was really afraid of the emperor.
It’s a pity that when I told the emperor about my retirement, he didn’t agree. Even though I’m old, I still have to continue working hard.
The emperor was not asleep. His mind was constantly turning. All the officials that Shen Yang had visited kept flashing through his mind. There were quite a few of them, but he didn't know who was the fish among them. But there was no rush.
In the afternoon in Jinzhou, Zhulan woke up first from her nap, while Zhou Shuren was still sleeping soundly with his arms around his son. Zhou Shuren was especially good at playing with his son, and the little guy was surprisingly brave, thanks to Zhou Shuren's pampering.
Zhulan stood up and signaled Mrs. Song to comb her hair into a simple and loose style. She thought that it was afternoon now and no one would come.
Then I changed into looser clothes and used the prepared fuel to color the painting of the parade. This painting took a long time to complete, and I kept adding details during this time. The main painting is very long, and many details of the parade are on it.
Zhulan was still not satisfied, because there were many places that were not drawn well, but she couldn't find the feeling when she wanted to redraw it, so this was the only way.
Now only the last part needs to be painted. If you want to preserve it for a long time, you need to find a professional master to do it.
Zhou Shuren didn't know when he woke up. He waited until Zhulan had finished painting before he spoke, "Wait for me to submit it like a poem, and this painting can stay in the family and be passed down from generation to generation."
Zhulan turned around and said, "You're awake, son, too?"
"My son is still asleep. He is a little tired from playing today and can't wake up for a while."
Zhulan stood up and washed her hands. "Then you have to think of a good poem. It's a pity to paint a picture of you parading in the streets. You were the runner-up at that time. There are Chang Lian and Rong Chuan in this painting. You say, if we paint a picture every time someone in our family passes the imperial examination, how many paintings will be left when we die?"
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard, "This is a good idea. We will know when the time comes. At present, as long as Changzhi doesn't get cheated, he has a great chance. Mingyun is also good. Mingteng and Mingrui need to work harder to have a chance. With this calculation, the sons of the Zhou family are all good at studying."
Zhu Lan laughed, "We have a runner-up and a third place winner in our family, the only thing missing is a champion."
Zhou Shuren said quietly, "This third place winner is not from our family. We only have the runner-up at the moment."
Zhulan chuckled. Indeed, their family couldn't afford a third place in the imperial examination now. Rongchuan's biological father was Tian. This was a perfect interpretation of the ancient era of competing with one's father. No one could compete with Rongchuan.
Zhulan got up to see her son. The little guy was so tired that he was not sleeping well and had kicked off the quilt. Zhulan covered her son with the quilt. When she came out, Zhou Shuren had already prepared the poem.
Zhulan, "I'll ask the master to take care of it tomorrow."
"good."
In the evening, there must be wild vegetables for dinner, which are the results of Changzhong's hard work. Zhulan likes wild vegetable soup. Although the heat in spring is not so strong, it is good to reduce the heat.
Zhulan waited for dinner before announcing the decision, "Starting tomorrow, Changzhong will learn to read from your fourth brother."
Changzhong, "Mom, why is it Fourth Brother?"
The nephews all avoided the fourth brother, especially Ming Teng, who would run away as soon as he saw the fourth brother. He had encountered this several times, and as a result, he didn't like the fourth brother very much.
Zhulan tapped her son's nose and said, "Because most of the children in the family were taught by your fourth brother, he has experience."
Especially the experience in dealing with naughty boys.
Changzhong asked, "Mom, why are my nephews so afraid of our fourth brother?"
"Because they were naughty and were punished, so, as an uncle, you have to set an example for your nephews and make sure they are obedient and don't make trouble."
Changzhong was conflicted. He was the uncle and he wanted to be a role model for his nephews. "Mom, I don't want to."
Zhu Lan interrupted the little guy, "You are the uncle."
Changzhong blinked his eyes. He always felt that his mother was bullying him, but he didn't know how to refute, "Dad."
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Son, your mother is the eldest in our family."
You little rascal, you know to call me daddy now? Why didn’t you call me daddy sweetly when I bullied you?
Changzhong lowered his head and said, "Mom, I'm going back to sleep."
"Be good and go."
Zhou Shuren, “… .”
Because he didn't help talk, is there no goodnight kiss?
Zhulan waited for her son to leave and said, "This child is too smart. I don't even remember what I did when I was his age, but I'm definitely not as smart as him."