Zhou Shuren saw it clearly. He knew about it but couldn't say anything. He could only pretend to be confused and said with a smile, "Why are you still sighing? Did you encounter any problems in the Hanlin Academy?"
Rong Chuan shook his head, "No, I'm doing fine in the Hanlin Academy, and the dean takes good care of me."
Zhou Shuren saw Chang Lian coming in, "That's good, now that you're all here, let's eat!"
Time passed quickly. In a blink of an eye, Zhou Shuren had been in the capital for eight days. He rested for three days and then went back to the palace again. Today he mainly talked about the planning of the provincial capital.
After the emperor understood the plan thoroughly, he sighed that he had a good vision and took a liking to Zhou Shuren at first sight. "My dear minister, you are so talented. I am very pleased."
Although they had been together for a short time, he could clearly see Zhou Shuren's talent and thought it would be a waste for him to stay in Jinzhou.
Zhou Shuren, "It is my duty to help the emperor share his worries. This is what I should do."
The emperor felt complicated. Many people said so, but few could actually do it. Zhou Shuren's sincerity made him seem rare.
Zhou Shuren really didn't know that the emperor had so many inner thoughts. He was able to keep his original intention and not get lost in power because he had a bottom line in his heart. With Zhulan and his son by his side, he knew what was most important to him.
If he came here through time and space himself, that’s not certain!
Zhou Shuren went home with the reward. Zhulan looked at them one by one. Mrs. Song was not there, and the maids were all sent out. Zhulan whispered, "The emperor is really generous this time. You have gained a lot of favor!"
Zhou Shuren looked at the gems in the box and said, "My favorability didn't account for much. Look at the rewards. The only two ancient books are useful to me. The others are just decorations, just gems. Isn't it obvious that I'm asking for a dowry?"
In the end, he returned to the royal family. Zhou Shuren looked at the two ancient books. To be honest, this time they were authentic, so he made a profit.
Zhulan closed the box, "It's a box. The emperor doesn't know that we know the truth. There must be a part of it for me."
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "You're right. I'm used to looking at things from a bystander's perspective."
Zhulan happily put them away. These gems were not raw stones, but polished ones. They were rarely seen in jewelry stores. She was also a woman and liked jewelry and clothes. "I'll pick some out and make a set of jewelry. I'll keep one or two for Yushuang and the rest for Xuehan as a dowry."
Zhou Shuren said: "You can arrange these."
Zhulan went out and asked the maid guarding the gate to call Song Pozi back. When Song Pozi came back, she asked Song Pozi to seal up all the boxes. Zhulan waited for Song Pozi to take people out and said, "Tomorrow, can we go back to Jinzhou?"
Zhou Shuren shook his head, "No, I think the Queen will meet you and Xuehan."
Zhulan: "Then I can't go back with you?"
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "I don't mind one more day. The emperor didn't urge me to go back. I will wait for you for one more day."
Zhulan was happy, "That's good."
Then he added: "I don't know what kind of person the queen is."
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and whispered, "The emperor has feelings for the queen. For the emperor to have feelings for her, the queen must not only be good-looking, but also smart."
Zhu Lan was curious, "How did you figure out that the emperor and empress were in love?"
Zhou Shuren saw that Song Po would be back in a while, so he lowered his voice and said, "Although I didn't see the Queen in the palace, I saw the Queen's maids delivering food to the Zheng Palace more than once. Every time the Emperor ate something sent by the Queen, his mood would improve. This is proof."
He is a man who understands best that if it is not someone he likes, no matter how good the food is, it will at most make him feel good in the mouth, but it will not affect his mood too much.
Zhou Shuren continued, "Moreover, other concubines also sent food, but the emperor never ate a single bite."
Zhulan: "It seems that the two of them are indeed in love."
When Zhulan saw Mrs. Song coming back, she shut her mouth and stopped talking. However, she was happy in her heart. The more affectionate the better. Rongchuan would be stable in the future, and the Zhou family would also be stable.
In the afternoon, the lady-in-waiting from the Queen's palace arrived at the mansion and summoned Zhulan into the palace.
Zhulan said: "Luckily I brought the imperial robe with me. I didn't expect that I would actually use it."
Zhou Shuren, "Well, go help Xuehan pick out clothes."
Zhulan was a little worried. She didn't know what the queen liked. This time she said she was summoned, but in fact the queen really wanted to see her daughter. This was the future mother-in-law wanting to see her daughter-in-law. "I'll go and take a look."
Zhou Shuren thought for a moment and said, "Just be as cautious as possible. There are no secrets in our house anymore."
Zhulan smiled and said, "I'll listen to you."
Now, in the entire Zhou Mansion, the only secret is between her and Zhou Shuren. In other aspects, the Zhou Mansion is transparent in the eyes of the emperor.
Zhulan went to her daughter's yard, where she was choosing clothes. "Mom, you're here."
Zhulan looked at the three sets of clothes her daughter had chosen. She skipped the green one and picked a relatively festive one. This was for entering the palace, so forget about the plain ones. "Let's go with this one. It's newly made."
Xue Han asked Liuli to hang up the clothes and took her mother's hand, "Mom, where are the jewelry?"
Zhulan came to the dressing table. Xuehan didn't bring many jewelry this time, only three sets in total. The butterfly jewelry was not good and did not match the clothes. In the end, she chose a set of jewelry that matched the clothes.
Although she had chosen her clothes and jewelry, Xue Han was still nervous, "Mom, please watch me perform the ceremony. I'm afraid I'll make a mistake."
Zhulan patted her daughter's hand and said, "Your etiquette is the best in the mansion. You have to believe in yourself and don't be nervous. Mother is by your side!"
Zhulan knows best how much effort Xuehan puts into etiquette. Now Xuehan practices etiquette every day, as if he wants to engrave it in his bones. Hard work will naturally pay off. Although Xuehan's etiquette is not as good as that in textbooks, it is also very good.
In the evening, Chang Lian and Rong Chuan knew they were going to the palace. Rong Chuan was worried, so after dinner, he followed Xue Han for the first time.
Xue Han had already reached the gate of the courtyard and turned around. "How long are you going to follow me?"
Rongchuan coughed, "I'm worried about you."
Xue Han's eyes narrowed, her cheeks slightly reddened, "Don't worry, I entered the palace with my mother."
Rong Chuan looked at the girl in front of him. He had accompanied Xue Han to grow up, and he didn't want the girl he was guarding to suffer any grievances. "When the time comes, you must follow your aunt closely."
Xue Han nodded, "Yeah."
Rongchuan had been to the palace several times and had some experience. He knew that his experience was useless, but he still shared it all.
Xue Han just stood there listening. She couldn't bear to leave Rong Chuan and didn't want to go back to the yard!
An hour later, in the palace, the empress listened to what the visitor had said, and after the others left, she said to the emperor, "Look, she hasn't even been married yet, and you're afraid that I'll be wronged, as if I can eat Miss Zhou."
The emperor laughed out loud, "Doesn't Rongchuan know?"
The Queen snorted, "If the child knew, he would definitely be worried."
The emperor was silent. It was indeed so. He couldn't tell. Instead, he became even more worried. To be honest, Qing Ran was a pretty good mother-in-law. She had never made things difficult for the Crown Princess. Instead, she had always protected her!