The third prince sat down and said, "Brother, please don't wrongly accuse me. I just happened to want to go to the Ministry of Revenue, and I met you and came to say hello."
Zhang Jingyang snorted, "Now that I've greeted you, you can go down."
The Third Prince ate the fruit and said, "No, I don't have any urgent matters. My brother is more important."
Zhang Jingyang chuckled twice, "I just realized that my brother cares so much about me. I'm really touched!"
"As long as the younger brother is kind to the second elder brother, the elder brother will remember it."
Zhang Jingshi glanced around the carriage and looked at Zhang Jingyang who was resting with his eyes closed. The Minister of Revenue is a fox that has lived for thousands of years. With Zhou Shuren around, his second brother should have retreated, so he would not go and challenge him.
Zhang Jingshi said, "This Zhou Shuren is really capable. His two methods not only solved the Ministry of Revenue's difficulties, but each method also touched the heart of the emperor. It's a pity that Zhou Shuren can't be won over."
Zhang Jingyang opened his eyes, "We brothers are not on good terms to discuss things together, but I am loyal to our father. Third brother, your idea is dangerous!"
Zhang Jingshi was disgusted, "Second brother, you must be guilty, don't pretend in front of your younger brother."
Zhang Jingyang, "Today, brother, just pretend that you didn't hear what your third brother said. For the sake of our brotherhood, it's better not to say it out loud in the future."
Zhang Jingshi felt defeated, "Stop the car."
In the Mansion of Marquis Yao, ever since Yao Wenqi came back from the court meeting, he has regretted again and again not killing Zhou Shuren. Whenever he thought of Zhou Shuren, his head would buzz. If he had killed Zhou Shuren earlier, things would not have developed to the point where everything is going wrong today.
Yao Wenqi closed his eyes. He knew the situation of the Ministry of Revenue and the national treasury better than anyone else. All arrangements for flood control in the south had been made. As soon as Zhou Shuren took office, he felt a pain in his heart. Now he dared not make any big moves. How hateful!
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was two days. The Ministry of Revenue had already met with several sea merchants, and they all gave prices for the jewelry, without any empty words at the beginning.
Xiao Qing would not consider who the masters behind these maritime merchants were. He only remembered that the emperor said that he would just choose whoever gave the money.
When Zhou Shuren saw the silver, it was the day for salary payment. After the salary was paid, the Ministry of Revenue had some silver, and the officials of the Ministry of Revenue could also breathe a sigh of relief and go home to have a rest.
At the Zhou family's house, resting at night, Zhulan asked curiously, "How much silver did the merchant give?"
Zhou Shuren held up two fingers, "Two hundred thousand taels."
Zhulan took a breath and said, "I thought the maximum was 100,000 taels."
Zhou Shuren lowered his voice and said, "Two hundred thousand taels is not a lot for these sea merchants. The Shangshu even thinks this amount of silver is not enough. It's a pity that no one offered a higher price."
Zhulan was silent, "Where is the library?"
Zhou Shuren, "This library has just been cleaned up, and no one is ready to take action now, but there is no rush."
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "There is indeed no rush. They will not delay until the army returns to the capital."
Zhou Shuren was also amused, "Yes, who would have thought that the emperor would clearly indicate several princes!"
He was completely convinced by the emperor, which made it clear that he was really trying to trick the princes!
Zhu Lan couldn't help laughing, "The princes must be scolding you to death now."
Zhou Shuren didn't care at all, "They scolded me a lot anyway."
Zhulan stopped laughing and got down to business. "The Xu family came again today. When I was chatting with the Xu family, the mistress of the Xu family, Xu Zhao, mentioned Shi Qing several times. Her tone was full of envy, and she kept saying it was a pity!"
Zhou Shuren said: "It's a pity indeed. The Xu family's identity limits us."
Zhu Lan smiled, "So I have an idea, which is to make the Ministry of Revenue more flexible. Only then can the soldiers defend their country and the people live and work in peace. Don't you think so?"
Zhou Shuren immediately understood what Zhulan was going to say, "That's a good idea."
Zhulan curled her eyes and said, "I think it's a good idea too. The first person to bring it up will get the benefit!"
Zhou Shuren whispered, "Let me think about it, think about it carefully."
The next day was a day off for the Hanlin Academy, and Zhou Shuren was in the Ministry of Revenue. As the Ministry of Revenue had breakfast, it was a different day off from the Hanlin Academy.
Zhulan saw Rongchuan had eaten breakfast but did not leave, "I finally got a break, I don't need you to accompany me, go back and rest!"
Rongchuan felt ashamed, he really didn't come here to talk to his aunt. Now he and Xue Han no longer had to be separated, and he finally had a day off. It would be inconvenient for him to go to Xue Han's yard, so he thought about inviting his aunt to appreciate the paintings.
Zhulan saw Rongchuan blushing, and she knew the child well, so she was just being sentimental. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Rongchuan had good experience in the Hanlin Academy and soon recovered. "Aunt, I know a good painting studio, so I want to ask you to go take a look."
Zhulan was quite interested. "Okay, just treat me alone?"
Rong Chuan blushed, his thoughts were seen through, "Also, there is also Sister Xue Han."
In order not to be a third wheel, Zhulan thought she should bring a few more with her. "I've been in the capital for a while now, and I haven't been out yet. The weather is really good today, and it's too few to bring only Xuehan. I should also bring Yulu and Yushuang. The two girls also like painting. Yes, and your third sister-in-law."
After saying this, Zhulan couldn't help laughing. Among the daughters-in-law in the family, the eldest daughter-in-law couldn't understand paintings, the second daughter-in-law didn't like them, and the fourth daughter-in-law was too lazy to even look at them. Only Dong could go with them.
Rongchuan counted the number of people and told himself that ignoring his aunt was the same as ignoring her. It would be no problem if there were a few more people. He could just ignore them all.
There are not only scholars but also many female relatives in the painting towers in the capital.
Rongchuan explained: "The women are all on the second floor, and the men on the ground floor will not go up."
Rongchuan knew about this place because he was brought here by Lord Ning. Lord Ning didn't like painting, but he did it all for him. His calligraphy and painting were quite good.
Just as Rong Chuan was thinking about Lord Ning, he saw the carriage of Lord Ning's mansion. The carriage stopped. Rong Chuan was delighted. He hadn't seen Lord Ning for a long time. "Hello, Lord."