In Zhoujia Village, Chang Zhimo wrote several books and asked the servant to send them to the clan school. He stretched his shoulders and walked out of the house, "Sister, what are you doing?"
Xuemei motioned Changzhi to sit down and said with a smile, "Your nephews like to eat walnuts. These are the walnuts my father-in-law picked on the mountain. They are ready to dry. I will pack them up."
Changzhi reached out to help pack it, "The pecans are too small."
"Yeah, it's not as big as the one my parents sent back."
Changzhi helped pack the walnuts and asked, "Sister, did Jiang Miao go to the Jiang family again?"
Xuemei stood up and dusted herself off, "Ah, she and Jiang's Mu Lan are having a good time."
Chang Zhi said calmly: "I have examined Jiang Muchen in the clan school. This kid is not bad. He has been through so much but still managed to stay calm and study. He also has a good character."
Xuemei understood what her brother meant, "You've learned to beat around the bush when you talk now."
Chang Zhi smiled and said, "I'm just worried that you might have some thoughts. Sister, do you like Jiang Muchen?"
Xuemei lowered her voice, "Before, I didn't think much about it. Later, your brother-in-law said that this child is good. After hearing it many times, I paid more attention to it. However, the two children are still young, and Miu Miu doesn't go there often. I know what I am doing."
"It's good that I know what's going on."
Chang Zhi has only one niece, and he cares about her very much, especially because she is so well-behaved. It is not easy for a girl, so he hopes that his niece can have a good marriage and find a man who can treat him sincerely.
Xuemei smiled happily. From childhood to adulthood, Changzhi never cared about anything. After meeting this time, Changzhi really matured.
In the capital, at the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren drank a cup of tea. The prince did not speak, but kept looking down at the book in his hand. He spoke only after he had finished reading it, "Lord Zhou, would you like to take a look?"
Zhou Shuren was not blind. This was not the account book of the Ministry of Revenue, but the assessment book of the Ministry of Personnel. "I dare not go beyond this."
The prince turned to the page with Wu Ming on it. "Wu Ming was promoted this year. There is very little record of him, just a few words."
Zhou Shuren was not surprised. For a controller who wants to control everything, he naturally wants to check everything clearly. He controlled his tone and said, "Wu Ming is not an easy child. The eldest brother is like a father. He has two younger brothers and a younger sister. He lost his father and mother at an early age and has a bad reputation. He is worried about his younger brothers and sisters."
The prince hummed, "Wu Ming is still very responsible. It's a pity that the top scholar of that year stayed in the border state. By the way, Lord Zhou, if you were to go to Jianghuai, where would you start your investigation?"
Could Zhou Shuren curse in his heart? The prince used Wu Ming to make him speak. Look at this method. He endured the stomachache. This opportunity was rare, and it would make the prince remember Wu Ming thoroughly, so he started to speak. "If I go to Jianghuai, I will first send people to contact the relatives of the servants in each mansion, especially those who have some power."
The prince raised an eyebrow, "A relative of the servant?"
Zhou Shuren said, "Each mansion can control its servants, but it is difficult to control the relatives of these servants. There are bound to be omissions, especially the female relatives. Some of them will show off and gossip when chatting. Don't underestimate these news, they are often clues. I will sort out the good news first, and then proceed to the next step of the investigation."
The prince curled his lips and asked, "What's the next step?"
Zhou Shuren coughed and said, "I will keep an eye on the prefect of Huaizhou. He is the prefect of a state, and the prefect of a higher state. He knows the whole state best. Even if it has nothing to do with him, he will definitely know something."
He spoke from experience. He had been a prefect, and he knew very well that it was very easy for the prefect to know something, especially within the boundaries of the state. It would be difficult to hide things from the prefect.
The prince felt that Zhou Shuren must have something else to say, but this was enough.
Zhou Shuren returned to the house. As long as his method worked, Wu Ming should be able to move next year.
At the Duke's Mansion, Mrs. Du came out of the main courtyard with her two daughters-in-law. Mrs. Du was in a bad mood. Her mother-in-law didn't ignore her, but she just didn't have much energy.
Mrs. Du waved her hand, "You guys can go back to your own yard. You don't have to follow me."
Song was at ease. She just ignored her grandmother's praise of Zhang Rongchuan. Her husband was the eldest son of the Duke's Mansion, and it would be her husband who would inherit the Duke's Mansion in the future. It didn't matter who the old lady favored. The only thing that would be lost was the old lady's private money. Anyway, their family would inherit the Duke's Mansion, and that was the big deal.
Yu looked haggard and anxious. In the past, the elders in the mansion were more tolerant of the second wife because of her husband's poor health. But now Zhang Rongchuan has become the apple of her grandmother's eye. What status does the second wife have in the Duke's Mansion
Yu lowered her head. She could imagine that once Zhang Rongchuan's identity was completely revealed and all the servants in the mansion knew about it, they would definitely not be attentive to the second wife. The reason was very simple: the second wife had lost all hope of being adopted!
In the main courtyard, the Duke's wife talked to her husband, "In order to keep a low profile, Ning Hui was not in good health, so we deliberately chose the Du family, whose family background was not very high. The Du family has declined after all, so they are not very picky. As for the two granddaughters-in-law, Song was chosen by us, and it's better not to talk about Yu."
The Duke patted his wife's hand and said, "Don't worry about it."
Madam Guogong, "I'm just worried that Rongchuan will be wronged."
The Duke smiled and said, "We will not do that as long as we are watching. Besides, Ning Hui and Ning Xu are here. They know Rong Chuan's true identity."
The Duke's wife smiled and said, "You are right."
At the Zhou Mansion, Zhulan was holding the letter she had just received. What a coincidence, she had just been talking about Zhao Bo when Zhao Bo's letter arrived. Zhulan opened the letter and looked very serious. Zhou Shuren's coming to Beijing had a great influence on Zhao Bo. Although Zhao Bo did not say it explicitly, he made his meaning clear. Thanks to Zhou Shuren, his life has been much smoother these days.
Since there are smooth sailings, there will also be rough sailings. Zhao Bo was indeed put in a difficult position.
In the evening, after dinner, Zhulan took out the letter and said, "Take a look."
After Zhou Shuren read it, he said, "It's similar to what I guessed. If it weren't for Wu Ming, I would have introduced Zhao Bo to the prince. Now it's fine as long as Zhao Bo doesn't get involved."
Zhulan said: "Also be careful not to take the blame."
Zhou Shuren put down the letter and said, "We can't alert the enemy now, and I can't write a letter to him. I can only hope that Zhao Bo can be more alert."
"Um."
In the third room, Chang Lian held his daughter in his arms. The daughter was so cute, "It seems that our daughter has grown taller these days."
Dong Chuchu put down her needlework and said, "She has indeed grown a lot, and her clothes are too small. By the way, mother told me about Rongchuan's life story today. What do you think we should add to my little sister's makeup?"
She thought about it for the whole afternoon and took out all her dowry, but unfortunately, there was not much to show for it.
Chang Lian said, "Please add more money. We don't have enough good things in our house."
Dong smiled and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye it was Zhou Shuren's day off. Early in the morning, all the masters of the Duke's Mansion got on the carriages, followed by servants carrying gifts. The team was huge, and the Duke's Mansion's actions spread quickly throughout West City!