In the afternoon, Zhulan did not call all the daughters-in-law back home, but found them one by one and called them together. She was afraid that the daughters-in-law would be embarrassed, especially the first three daughters-in-law, who did not have as much money as the county lord.
Zhulan looked for them individually, starting with the eldest. "This is what happened. Mother doesn't have that much money, so I want to borrow some from you guys and return it to you in two months."
Li thought a lot, but she didn't expect her mother-in-law to lend her money. The eldest wife didn't have much money, and the money she had now was the dividend from the dim sum shop. "Mother, the eldest wife bought the shop with you, and now she still has 800 taels in her hand. Mother, this money is the eldest wife's filial piety, but the eldest wife doesn't have much money, so she can't help much."
Zhulan didn't expect the first wife to have much money. She knew where the first wife's money went. She knew that the first wife didn't have much money, and she asked Li for help, not to test her filial piety. She just hoped that the several wives would be more united and contribute, no matter how much, it was a token of her kindness.
She also hopes that her daughter will know that she can help her brothers more in the future, and that she is a more caring mother than her own.
Zhulan smiled and said, "Mother knows how filial you are. If I say it's borrowed, then it's borrowed."
After so many years, Li also understands her mother-in-law, and her mother-in-law will not change her mind easily.
Zhulan sent Li away, and Zhao came over. What Zhulan didn't expect was that Zhao told the second wife the truth after hearing the reason, "Mother, my husband took some silver when he left, and I bought jewelry for Yushuang. Now I have more than 2,000 taels. I will take them all when I go back. Mother, don't talk about whether to lend it or not. You said we are all a family, and parents worry about the family. This money is for my second wife to be filial to parents."
Zhulan looked into Zhao's eyes. She knew that Zhao had changed. In the past, she could not hide her sorrow, but now her eyes were peaceful. What Zhao said was sincere. "I appreciate your kindness. I just don't have enough money to make ends meet."
Next was Mrs. Dong. She said something similar, but the third branch had a poor foundation. Whenever they had money, they would use it to build up their household assets. They didn't have much cash on hand, so in the end, Su Xuan took the lion's share.
Zhulan had enough silver, so she asked housekeeper Wang to give it to Scholar Deng. The sooner the farm was transferred to her, the more at ease she felt.
In the teahouse in the east of the city, the third prince and the fourth prince sat opposite each other. No one said a word. They were both waiting for news. The crown prince had entered the palace, and he brought Lord Zhou with him. According to the news from the palace, he was holding an account book in his hand.
The third prince was a little nervous. He had been in the palace for several hours, but the crown prince and Lord Zhou had not left yet.
The Fourth Prince also felt heavy in his heart. After so many years, his father finally stopped caring about the Crown Prince. He must not let the Crown Prince find out anything. If the Crown Prince turns over, they will have to be cautious even if they want to jump around.
Inside the palace, Zhou Shuren was drawing a picture with a wooden face. In order to display it more clearly and intuitively, a trend chart was the most appropriate. He really didn't want to check the numbers one by one, which would give him a headache.
Zhou Shuren cursed the Salt Transport Bureau in his heart and wanted to slap himself. What was he talking about the population? Now, he had to check the population and report to the emperor. It was really a scam.
Eunuch Liu took the tea from the young eunuch and said, "Master Zhou hasn't had any water for a long time. Have some tea."
Zhou Shuren didn't dare to ask Eunuch Liu to serve him. This was someone who served the emperor specially. The emperor was very suspicious right now, so he had to be cautious. He quickly took it and said, "Thank you, Eunuch."
Eunuch Liu actually came here with a mission. Looking at the drawings on the table, he was stunned. What was this
After drinking the tea, Zhou Shuren continued to work. He was about to finish and could finally leave the palace.
The Emperor and the Crown Prince are busy reading memorials. The Crown Prince is not in the palace, so these are the Emperor's jobs. A lot of memorials have been squeezed in these days, so the two of them have been busy.
The emperor rubbed his neck, "Has Zhou Shuren finished his calculations?"
Eunuch Liu said, "Your Majesty, Lord Zhou has not yet finished his calculations."
The emperor hummed and continued to look at the memorial. Time passed little by little. After another cup of tea, Zhou Shuren came over with two drawings and unfolded them without any nonsense. "Your Majesty, this is the trend chart I drew. The red line is death, and the black line is population growth. Because there are omissions in the household registration, the number of deaths is not very accurate. However, these are enough to clearly see the population changes in recent years."
The emperor walked to the drawing supported by several young eunuchs. This trend chart is more intuitive than numbers, and there are numbers marked on the lines. The emperor can see it clearly, unlike before, when the emperor had to remember the numbers in his mind every time he looked at it. He couldn't remember too many numbers. The emperor sighed: "My dear minister, you are really talented."
Zhou Shuren thought to himself, this is really not a great talent, this kind of convenient trend chart can be seen everywhere in modern times.
The prince felt that Lord Zhou was like a treasure, who would give him surprises from time to time. He thought to himself that he must take good care of Lord Zhou when he returned to the Ministry of Revenue.
The emperor felt that the reward of the manor was not in vain. Thinking of Zhou Shuren's talents, he finally sighed and decided to let him stay in the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue also needed people. Xiao Qing had been in the Ministry of Revenue for too long. There was no one there before, and the emperor trusted Xiao Qing, so Xiao Qing had always been the Minister of Revenue.
In the evening, Zhou Shuren took the snacks given by the emperor home. Zhulan helped Zhou Shuren change into his official uniform. "You mean you have been in the palace and are only coming out now?"
Zhou Shuren was exhausted. He thought he could leave after the report, but the emperor asked the prince to consult him. He became the teacher again and did not leave the palace until now. "Master Qiu will not be able to sleep tonight."
Zhulan chuckled, "I see that many people can't sleep tonight."
Zhou Shuren lowered his voice, "The roots in the Jianghuai area are deep. Although the emperor has not said it explicitly, I think there will be big moves."
Zhulan asked, "But what happened?"
Zhou Shuren told Zhulan about his discovery. Zhulan patted Zhou Shuren on the shoulder and said, "This man is still dreaming of retiring early, but this wish will never come true."
Zhou Shuren, “… .”
He felt that his wife was not comforting him!
Zhu Lan frowned and said, "Zhao Bo suddenly asked us to borrow money. You still remember that he didn't tell us why. Something must have happened. Just like you said, there have always been problems in the Jianghuai area. Something happened after Zhao Bo was promoted. Why do I feel that Zhao Bo has fallen into a den of thieves?"
Zhou Shuren whispered, "I have always understood that there is corruption in the salt tax, but I didn't expect that after more than ten years, I still haven't found the root cause. I didn't feel it before, but today I feel a chill down my spine. Zhao Bo has indeed fallen into a den of thieves. However, since he borrowed money, I guess someone has set him up. If he is really in cahoots with them, Zhao Bo doesn't need to borrow money, and he can just compromise and it will be settled."
Zhulan frowned, "I hope he won't be implicated."
Zhou Shuren also hoped so. Zhao Bo was his first friend in ancient times and a friend he always kept in touch with.
Zhou Shuren continued, "The power in the Jianghuai area has always been very complicated. Many families in the capital have some power in the Jianghuai area. It is no less complicated than in the capital. It is not easy to find the root. However, this discovery is very important. The accounts have not changed much over the years, and we can find some clues by following them."
Zhu Lan listened and looked at Zhou Shuren with a strange expression. Zhou Shuren felt uncomfortable being looked at, "Madam, why are you looking at me like that?"
Zhu Lan chuckled, "Have you noticed that you have helped the emperor discover many hidden dangers along the way? Jinzhou and Jianghuai have been hidden for many years. I feel that you have been increasing the luck of the royal family."
She could imagine that if Zhou Shuren had not made the discovery, even if the emperor won, he would be seriously injured, the government would be affected, and the people would be directly affected. If chaos occurred, it would take many years to recover.
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "It seems to be true."
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "I think this is good. Only when the court is stable can the people live in peace, and you will also accumulate blessings."
Zhou Shuren curled his lips and said, "So one manor is too few. The emperor should at least give two, or exchange them with the manor given to the prince."
Zhulan paused, "What Zhuangzi?"