Zhulan sent Xuemei's dazed parents-in-law away, and told Xuemei what had happened in the past two days so that her daughter could feel completely at ease.
Mrs. Song came back very quickly. Zhulan knew who was stopping the old couple from the Jiang family. It was the Tao family. Zhulan thought to herself that after the death of Grandpa Tao, the Tao family declined without a shrewd helmsman. Every time the Tao family mentioned their eldest brother, they were disappointed.
Since it was the Tao family, Zhulan had no scruples and sent someone to tell the Jiang family.
After Zhou Shuren woke up, Zhulan told him about the Tao family's actions, "From the current point of view, either Mr. Wang can't control the Tao family's thoughts, or Mr. Wang doesn't want to manage the Tao family."
Zhou Shuren just woke up and was very thirsty. He drank some water and said, "It must be that the old man doesn't want to manage the Tao family. The old man was able to manage it for so long because of the face of the late old man Tao and the Tao family. The old man is an outsider, so it's not good for him to interfere too much, and it's not good to always stop him."
Zhu Lan curled her lips, "Mr. Wang will definitely be scolded for meddling in other people's business!"
Zhou Shuren put down the water cup. "However, this time when I got the information, the Tao family was used as a knife. As expected, as long as I am not really demoted or convicted, the old fox and the old slick will not take any action."
"Not to mention the old foxes, even Liu Jing and others will not be fooled. No one can guarantee that there will be no reversal until the last moment."
There are too many twists and turns in the capital city. The reason why we like to cut the weeds and root them out is also because we are afraid of leaving behind troubles.
Zhou Shuren chuckled, "Not all officials are old foxes, there are many stupid ones. I still deceived some people, but those who made a move did not necessarily believe me. They were mostly tests. I blocked too many people's paths, or our family has a shallow foundation in the capital. If I was from a big family, there would be no real or fake tests."
Zhulan knew very well that this time it was not because Zhou Shuren's acting was good, but because the Zhou family had no family to rely on. If Zhou Shuren's tree was broken, the Zhou family would have no support.
Everyone in the capital can see it clearly, and because they can see it clearly, there are many small moves. The old foxes and experienced people can see it clearly, but there are also people who are willing to take the opportunity to act behind the scenes, fan the wind and light the fire. What if someone pries the roots of the Zhou family? Small amounts can add up to a lot, and as long as no handle is left, it will be a cost-free business.
As for the fence-sitters in the Ministry of Revenue that Zhang Jinghong mentioned, there are fence-sitters everywhere. However, Zhou Shuren's prestige is still very high. Some officials who lean towards Qiu Yan are not in Zhou Shuren's eyes. These people are also on Zhou Shuren's list, and he plans to find an opportunity to clean them out in the future.
There are people who just want to get by in every department. They don't have much ability but many of them have their own ideas. They rely on the grace of their ancestors and their family, so they dare to join the party without hesitation. Of course, there are also testing pawns among them.
Ministry of Revenue, Qiu Yanshen is annoyed with the Fifth Prince. He doesn't want to listen to what the Fifth Prince says because it makes him feel stupid. Whenever he thinks of what the Fifth Prince said, he gets angry. Is he stupid and brainless in the eyes of the Fifth Prince
The Fifth Prince actually dared to speak up, saying that he would take the opportunity to pull Zhou Shuren down, and that the Ministry of Revenue would support him in the future. God, this was the first time he knew that the Fifth Prince had such a big idea.
As for Zhou Shuren, haha, having only been in contact with him for a year, he didn't know what Zhou Shuren was thinking, but he knew clearly that Zhou Shuren would be fine. Just look at how generously the Shangshu gave him vacation. As for what Zhou Shuren was thinking, he really didn't want to know. He just hoped that he would not be involved in the future. He just wanted to live a peaceful and stable life.
Xiao Qing naturally knew what was going on in the Ministry of Revenue and curled her lips. Some of Zhou Shuren's reforms in the Ministry of Revenue had caused the families behind some officials in the Ministry to hold a grudge against him.
In the evening, Mingyun and others came back. Mingteng, who couldn't control his mouth, told them about the academy.
Zhulan didn't take it seriously. The children in the academy were all young and believed everything they heard. It was normal for them to behave so obviously. On the contrary, she thought it was a good training.
Zhulan was concerned about, "Where is the Hanlin Academy?"
Chang Lian smiled, "Mom, except for one or two people, everyone else is the same as usual."
What is the Hanlin Academy? It is a place that directly faces the emperor. Even if there are fence-sitters, it will take a strong wind to move them. It is very quiet now.
In the following two days, there were memorials impeaching Zhou Shuren every day. Zhou Shuren was careful, so those who were targeted were his personal friends. Those who caught Zhou Shuren's eyes were all capable people, and since they were capable, it would be natural for them to hold good official positions. This implied that Zhou Shuren was forming a clique for personal gain.
The emperor looked at the memorials from the past two days and was speechless. "They are all the same. Didn't you find anything else?"
The prince thought, Zhou Shuren is an old fox, how could he have any evidence against him? "I can only blame Lord Zhou for being too cautious. Even those who want to frame Lord Zhou can't find any evidence against him."
The emperor flipped through another memorial and finally found a different one. "This one says that Zhou Shuren did not respect the emperor's authority and failed to live up to the emperor's grace."
The prince looked closer and saw that the memorial said that Zhou Shuren was deeply loved by the people in Lizhou, and that he had made the reward given by his father into jewelry.
The emperor threw down a memorial and said, "These people don't believe that I want to punish Zhou Shuren. They are accusing Zhou Shuren. This is a thorn in my heart and trying to sow discord between me and Zhou Shuren."
The prince looked at his father carefully, and only when he confirmed that his father did not take the contents of the memorial to heart did he feel completely relieved, "Lord Zhou is a pillar of talent, but he has also blocked the way for too many people."
The emperor patted the prince on the shoulder and said, "A pillar of talent should be used well, but you can't rely too much on him in the future. Find a suitable person to take over and let him stay in the position to stabilize the government."
This was the emperor's thought after he gradually got to know Zhou Shuren. He was confident that he could control Zhou Shuren, but after the prince registered, he became worried.
The prince's heart was beating wildly. Was his father's words a clear indication that he would take the throne? He pinched his palm hard and said, "Father, my son."
The emperor raised his hand and didn't want to hear what the prince had to say.
At night at Zhou's house, Zhou Shuren looked through the memorials impeaching him and said to his wife, "Fortunately, the Qian family returned the money, otherwise it would have been a real handle."
Zhulan was speechless, "The emperor actually asked Rongchuan to bring the memorial to you. The emperor is showing that he trusts you and wants you to be grateful!"
She really didn't expect that the emperor would do this!
Zhou Shuren threw away the memorial and said, "This also shows that the emperor is a little afraid of me. It is true that being too talented is not good. Not only does it make people hate you, but it also makes people afraid of you."
Zhulan pointed at the memorial and said, "You have achieved your goal of testing. The emperor trusts you."
Zhou Shuren, "The test of the emperor was incidental, but the result was good."
When Zhulan held her husband's hand, Zhou Shuren would think too much and become dazed, especially in the power arena of the capital.
Zhou Shuren changed the subject, "These people can't find any other handles. In order to avoid getting out of hand and giving them the opportunity to frame me, I will return to the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow. This time, I have already gotten what I wanted from the test."
Zhulan: "Yeah."