The prince glanced at Zhou Shuren out of the corner of his eye. If Feng Huai could think of it, he could naturally think of it too. The Tao family, this family were also the elders of the Ministry of Rites. The official positions of the Tao family were not high, but the Tao family had many people. Most importantly, the Tao family, like the Wang family, were neutral.
Feng Huai glanced at the account book, then looked away. He could no longer look at it. The more he looked, the more upset he became.
The prince said, "Master Feng can go back to his work. I came to the Ministry of Rites to study. You don't need to take care of me."
Zhou Shuren, "..."
Prince, could you put down the account book in your hand when you said this? It would be more convincing. Now, it looks like a threat to Lord Feng.
Feng Huai pulled the corner of his mouth, "Then I will go and get busy. Your Highness the Crown Prince can always come to me if you have anything."
The prince touched the account book and said, "Yes."
Zhou Shuren wanted to laugh but held it back!
At the Zhou Mansion, Zhulan received an invitation from the Third Prince's Mansion, an invitation for the Third Prince's wife's birthday party. Now there is only the Third Prince in the capital, and Zhulan thought of Third Miss Ran, who is now the Crown Prince's concubine. She just doesn't know if she will be able to meet Third Miss Ran at that time.
Xue Han asked, "Mom, it will be hard for our family to keep a low profile in the future."
These days, the Zhou family is the most high-profile in the entire capital. She has a good relationship with several young ladies in the capital, and they have exchanged a lot of information in the past two days. How many people in the Zhou family are watching her!
Zhu Lan put down the invitation and said, "I couldn't get a chance to attend banquets at the prince's mansion before, but there will be more in the future. Fortunately, only the third prince is in the capital, otherwise I would have received more invitations today."
The prince wanted to find out whether Zhou Fu was completely behind the prince. She felt a little emotional that Zhou Shuren had gained such great power without realizing it.
Xue Han stood up and rubbed her mother's shoulders, "Mom, let's go shopping today."
Zhulan tilted her head, "Do you want to buy anything?"
Xue Han said, "Well, my daughter wants to carve a seal herself, and she wants to buy the material."
Zhulan tilted her head and said, "Rongchuan must have taught you how to carve."
Apart from Rongchuan, she couldn't think of anyone else who could teach her daughter.
Xue Han generously admitted, "My daughter watched him carve and found it interesting, so she asked him to teach her. She used wood to carve some time ago, and now she wants to change the material."
Zhulan was saying that this girl had some injuries on her hands. It turned out that the root was here. Touching her daughter's hands, even if she had taken good care of them, her hands were a lot rougher. This girl must want to carve a seal for Rongchuan herself. "Okay, let's go shopping today."
It just so happened that she had some money in her hand and she also wanted to go for a walk on the street.
Zhulan thought about it and decided to take her two granddaughters, Yushuang and Yulu, with her. It would help her relax if she took them out for a walk. As for Changzhong and Minghui, she did not take them with her because the two little ones were learning to read with their teacher.
Zhulan thought of Mr. Deng's son. After the Zhou family came to Beijing, Mr. Deng took his son home to live with him. Because Mr. Meng also returned home, Mr. Deng's son is now in the same academy with Mingyun and others.
At the Ningguo Mansion, the Ningguo Duke was determined to change Rongchuan's surname. "Go ask the emperor about Rongchuan's surname. We have already taken ninety-nine steps, and the last step is not enough."
Ning Xu was a little scared. The person the emperor didn't want to see the most recently was him. If he told the emperor about Rong Chuan's surname change, he would be punished. "Dad, I don't think you need to tell me about this."
Because of my father’s seniority, the emperor has to endure even if he wants to get angry.
Duke Ning choked, "Do you think the emperor would be willing to see me?"
Ning Xu was silent. The emperor didn't want to see anyone from the Ning family at the moment. "But it's not a big deal that Rongchuan has the surname Zhang. If time goes on, rumors will spread."
Duke Ningguo stood up and said, "What use do I have for you? Prepare the carriage and go to the palace."
Ning Xu stood up happily, "Son, I'll go get the car ready."
Duke Ningguo calculated in his mind that he had not been in good health in recent years and in order to keep a low profile, he had not been to the palace for several years.
In the Ministry of Rites, Doctor Liu explained some of the instruments in the accounts, and then he was a little trembling. After the Crown Prince and Lord Zhou said they knew, they lowered their heads to look at the account books. What made him tremble the most was that Lord Zhou was particularly good at using the abacus. Listening to the sound of the abacus, he couldn't help swallowing.
Doctor Liu knew that he could not complete the task assigned by the Shangshu. He wanted to say more, but every time he tried to expand on it, he was interrupted by Lord Zhou, which made him feel depressed.
Zhou Shuren had prepared an account book. When he arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, he paid more attention to the Ministry of Works and wanted to give it more money. However, Lord Xiao knew how much money he gave to the six ministries, so he had to start with the other ministries. The Ministry of Personnel was on the Emperor's mind, so he didn't look at it too much. Although the Ministry of War wanted a lot, it was all used in the right places.
Zhou Shuren paid more attention to the Ministry of Rites. The account books in his hand were for the first half of this year. This was because money was tight this year, and the Ministry of Rites was almost catching up with the Ministry of Personnel.
As for the utensils of the Ministry of Rites, there are a lot of tricks involved. The biggest problem is where to purchase them. The Ministry of Rites is not stupid. They did not buy them at high prices, so they can pass off inferior goods as good ones.
He received a hint from the Crown Prince that the Crown Prince was not looking at the account books to investigate embezzlement. He knew in his heart that the Crown Prince wanted to find out the truth about the Fourth Prince from the account books.
Zhou Shuren took note of several purchases, all of which were problematic.
When the prince heard the sound of the abacus counting stop, he raised his head and said to Doctor Liu, "You can leave now."
Liu Lang's heart was in turmoil, but he didn't dare to look any longer, so he could only go out with trepidation.
Zhou Shuren, “… .”
The prince is a vicious person. Lord Feng was already nervous, and the prince deliberately sent Doctor Liu away. He wanted to scare Lord Feng!
The prince asked, "What can you tell from the account books?"
Zhou Shuren stood up and pointed out the items he had written down to the prince, "There is a problem here."
He didn't say much. The prince asked him to obey his orders, because the prince had the emperor's order.
The prince took the account book in his hand, flipped it open to find these purchases, and smiled, "Good, very good."
The prince was happy with his own cleverness. It was the wisest decision to bring Zhou Shuren with him as it saved him a lot of trouble. Look, he only gave a few hints and Zhou Shuren understood without putting any effort into the money.
Zhou Shuren sighed in his heart, Prince, please don't look at him!
After listening to Doctor Liu's report in Lord Feng's office, he became a little restless. The Crown Prince was coming with great force, and the Fourth Prince was not in the capital yet.
Doctor Liu came over quickly and said, "Sir, the prince has left with Master Zhou."
Lord Feng was a little confused, "Who did you say left?"
Doctor Liu followed orders and watched intently, "The Crown Prince took Lord Zhou away."
Lord Feng hurried out, but when he reached the gate of the Ministry of Rites, the prince's carriage had already left. Looking at the direction, it seemed to be the imperial palace. He lowered his voice and asked, "Did the prince take anything in his hand when he left?"
Doctor Liu shook his head. "No, I didn't take anything. I just left."
Lord Feng didn't believe it, so he sent someone to check. He soon got the news that the account books were still on the table and nothing was taken. Lord Feng couldn't figure it out and felt uneasy, so he sent people to watch the palace gate.
Zhou Shuren did not expect that the prince would leave the Ministry of Rites so easily after getting what he wanted. "I thought that His Royal Highness the Prince would stay in the Ministry of Rites for a few more days."
The prince was in a good mood and said with a smile, "I just had to leave for something temporarily. I will go to the Ministry of Rites tomorrow."
Zhou Shuren, “… .”
So, you are tormenting Lord Feng over and over again!