Zhou Shuren snorted, "Then it depends on your ability."
He will never let go of the grandson-in-law he likes easily.
The next morning, Zhou Shuren and Lord Xiao attended the morning court together. After the morning court, Xiao Qing said, "A lot of things happened in the capital during my absence."
Zhou Shuren, "With your return, the Ministry of Revenue has a backbone, and no matter how many problems arise, they will not be implicated in the Ministry of Revenue."
Xiao Qing thought of what the emperor said yesterday and patted Zhou Shuren on the shoulder, "Do a good job."
Zhou Shuren felt the burden on his shoulders become heavier, "Yes."
Xiao Qing smiled and said, "I'll wait for you to come back, so I'll give you a break these days."
Zhou Shuren laughed in his heart. He didn't think that leaving the Ministry of Revenue was a vacation. The Crown Prince would not let him slack off. Zhou Shuren looked at the Minister of Rites and was actually looking forward to seeing him in the Ministry of Rites.
Xiao Qing was soon surrounded by other ministers. The Minister of Rites said, "Old Xiao, it seems that it doesn't matter whether you are in the Ministry of Revenue or not. Your Lord Zhou in the Ministry of Revenue is very capable."
The Minister of Rites's attempt to sow discord was too obvious, and the other ministers looked at him with awe.
Xiao Qing didn't care. He wished Zhou Shuren could come up earlier. He moved his seat and said, "We are busy in the Ministry of Revenue. I wish there were more people to help me share the burden, unlike Lord Feng who clings to the power of the Ministry of Rites. I'm telling you to give the people below some opportunities. People who don't know would think the Ministry of Rites is named Feng."
The atmosphere was quite tense, and Lord Feng was so angry that he threw his sleeves away. "Lord Xiao, you should think before you speak."
Xiao Qing, "Same here, brains are good things. Next time Lord Feng wants to stir up trouble, he'd better think twice."
Zhou Shuren smiled in his heart. The Minister of Rites had no one to support him. Look, the Minister of Personnel was fiddling with his sleeves as if he was counting how many patterns there were. The Minister of War, Lord Li, was looking up at the sky, which was cloudless and no one knew what he was studying.
The Minister of Justice was chatting with the Minister of Works. These two departments rarely interacted with each other, but they were able to talk to each other and it was quite lively!
Other officials who attended the court, those with lower ranks, disappeared long ago as soon as they saw that things were not going well. The grand secretaries who were at odds with the six ministries just watched the fun, but they didn't have to say anything. If they did, they would be rebuked, so it was better for them to watch the show quietly.
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard. Every move and behavior in the officialdom was a learning. He still had a lot to learn.
Hanlin Academy, Rongchuan's two-day vacation has passed. Today, he returned to Hanlin Academy. When he entered, the dean was very kind to him, as if he was looking at his grandson. "When I first met you, I was pleased with your appearance. It turns out that your life experience is not simple. Good boy, now that you are home, you must work harder in the future."
Rong Chuan was used to it. He had heard these words too many times yesterday. "I will definitely live up to the expectations of the dean."
The dean stroked his beard and thought, it was a good thing that he had always been nice to Zhang Rongchuan. Of course, every time Zhang Rongchuan came to the palace, he either ate or took things, and he had to pay attention to him because of his background. He also looked carefully at Rongchuan's appearance, and the news had spread. Some people even said that Zhang Rongchuan was the reincarnation of Master Ning!
Rongchuan returned to the house and was polite to his colleagues again. Originally, because he was the confirmed son-in-law of the Zhou family, his colleagues were very caring and polite to him. Now it was even more so. He would inherit the title of Marquis in the future. Not only was the Queen his aunt, the Crown Prince was also his cousin. In addition, he was in the Ningguo Mansion. This change in status was indeed a big one.
Now his colleagues are not only polite to him, but also flattering in their tone. Fortunately, he can keep his mind steady, otherwise, it would be easy for him to become arrogant because of the change in status. Thinking of Uncle Zhou, it was all because of Uncle Zhou's good teaching.
The Minister of Rites came back angrily. The Left Vice Minister had not yet attended the court and had been waiting at the door. "Sir, the Crown Prince is here at the Ministry of Rites."
Lord Feng was stunned, "The prince didn't go to the Ministry of Revenue?"
The Left Assistant Minister shook his head and said, "I arrived at the Ministry of Rites early in the morning and was looking at the account books of the Ministry of Rites in previous years."
Lord Feng was very calm. He just watched and saw that the fake accounts were done very well. He was not afraid of being discovered. He took a step forward, rubbed his face, and went in to see the prince.
Just after walking two steps, another carriage stopped. Lord Feng looked back and found that this carriage was familiar. If he remembered correctly, it seemed to be the carriage that Zhou Shuren was riding in at the palace gate. It stopped and it turned out to be Zhou Shuren.
Lord Feng said calmly, "Why did Lord Zhou come to the Ministry of Rites?"
Zhou Shuren got off the carriage and said, "The Crown Prince asked me to come here. As for what's going on, you can ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Lord Feng, who had been calm just now, finally panicked. Zhou Shuren could see the problem with the salt tax from the numbers. This man was extremely sensitive to numbers. Thinking of the prince looking at the account books of the Ministry of Rites, he curled his lips. The truth slapped him in the face. If he had known, he would not have tried to sow discord today. Not only did he fail, but he was also very angry. Now, Zhou Shuren didn't know how to hold a grudge in his heart!
Lord Feng forced a smile and said, "It turned out that it was Lord Zhou who was invited by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Please come in."
He said to the Left Assistant Minister and the others, "Don't just stand there, go make some tea. Yes, make the tea I brought from home and send it to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhou Shuren extended his hand, "Please, sir."
Feng Huai was very annoyed. Why did the Crown Prince come to the Ministry of Rites and not the Ministry of Justice? The Second Prince had a lot of people in the Ministry of Justice. He was also thinking about Zhou Shuren. The Zhou family was getting more and more involved with the Crown Prince. He was trying to sow discord because he thought that by striking at Zhou Shuren, he could weaken the Crown Prince's power. Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince brought Zhou Shuren to the Ministry of Rites.
The prince saw Zhou Shuren and said, "I was just talking about Lord Zhou and Lord Zhou is here."
Zhou Shuren greeted him, "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
The prince pointed to a chair and said, "Sit."
Feng Huai was a little slow to greet him. The prince smiled and said, "Lord Feng, please take a seat. I was just looking for you. There are some things I don't understand here. Lord Feng, I need someone to introduce me."
Although the Ministry of Rites does not have much power, it has a lot of affairs to deal with. Because of the priests and others, it ranks third among the six ministries. The prince has never paid much attention to the Ministry of Rites. Of course, the main reason is that there is so much to learn, so it is inevitable that there will be some things that are overlooked. The Ministry of Rites is one of the most easily overlooked ones.
The prince felt that his father was right to assign him to the six ministries. Only by getting to know them personally could he become more proficient in the future.
Lord Feng said, "Your Highness, if you don't understand something, I will help you."
The prince didn't want to look at Feng Huai, so he smiled and said, "Lord Feng is the Shangshu, and he must have a lot of things to do as he is in charge of the Ministry of Rites. I won't bother you anymore, just find a doctor."
Lord Feng was thinking about who to choose. Among the doctors in the Ministry of Rites, only a few leaned towards him. The others who didn't lean over were all from poor families. Lord Feng looked at Zhou Shuren and said with a smile, "I will let Doctor Liu come over."
Zhou Shuren thought of the Tao family, the surname of Wang Juyue's family. He remembered that there were people from the Tao family working in the Ministry of Rites. Lord Feng just glanced at him. It seemed that he had investigated everyone he knew, so he deliberately avoided him.