Zhou Shuren appeared at the morning court today. Many officials present observed Zhou Shuren silently, and some were unsure whether Zhou Shuren was anxious.
The emperor was a little surprised when he saw Zhou Shuren as he sat down. He did not expect Zhou Shuren to end his rest early. It seemed that yesterday's memorial had taken effect and Zhou Shuren was afraid that he could not stop.
The emperor's eyes fell on Zhou Shuren, and all the officials in the court felt it. Those who had made small tentative moves in the past few days stood quietly, waiting to confirm the truth of the rumor.
When Zhou Shuren heard the emperor calling him, he took a step forward and said, "Your humble servant greets the emperor."
The emperor asked with concern, "Is Lord Zhou feeling better?"
Zhou Shuren, "I just caught a cold, I'm fine now."
"That's good. I've been thinking about you these past few days. It's my fault."
When the emperor saw Zhou Shuren coming to court, he knew that the game of testing was over, and he no longer had to hide what happened that day.
Zhou Shuren almost rolled his eyes in his heart. Not only did the emperor make fun of all the ministers in the court, he was also ready to stab him in the heart. After today, everyone in the court, no, everyone in the capital would know how terrible his chess skills were!
The ministers all stretched their necks, they were very curious about what happened that day. None of them was stupid, and they could tell from the emperor's tone that it was not a scolding as rumored.
The emperor was very pleased with the curiosity of his ministers. "My dear minister, you lost the whole morning's game and left in a sweat. I should let you stay a little longer to cool down before leaving."
Zhou Shuren knew this would happen. He was clearly wearing too many clothes, not because he lost the game of chess. The emperor was not satisfied with showing off to his own son, he also wanted to let everyone in the court know that the emperor just said it. Even if he could prove that he was good at chess, it would not be recorded in history books!
Zhou Shuren had a wooden face. What could he do? He could only admit it and said, "I will definitely practice chess more."
The emperor was very satisfied watching the ministers' changing expressions, and Zhou Shuren also found some comfort from the expressions of the ministers in the court!
Many ministers in the court wanted to curse, saying that neither the emperor nor his subjects were good people and they had been playing tricks on them these past few days!
After the morning court session, Zhou Shuren followed Lord Xiao. Xiao Qing was speechless. He was really surprised that Zhou Shuren left the palace because he lost so badly in chess. "I am good at chess. I will teach you a few moves another day."
Zhou Shuren said with a wooden face, "Sir, if I were to say that my chess skills are not bad, would you believe me?"
Xiao Qing didn't quite believe it. How could he lose in the whole morning if he had good chess pieces
After that, anyone who passed by Zhou Shuren would ask about his chess skills.
Zhou Shuren, “… .”
At the Zhou family, Zhulan was counting Wu Ming's betrothal gifts. Wu Ming had already handed the betrothal gift list to Zhulan. She had already been to the Song family yesterday and selected a day to bring the official matchmaker to the house. This time, there was no need to hire a matchmaker. She could just act as the matchmaker and bring the official matchmaker.
Wu Ming's betrothal gift list was still a little thin, so Zhulan took Mrs. Song to the warehouse and selected a few pairs of decorations with good meanings, which made the betrothal gift list look much better.
Xuemei sat next to her mother. She still felt that the five hundred taels of silver were too hot to handle. "Mom, is it really okay to take the five hundred taels of silver?"
Zhulan signaled Mrs. Song to put away the newly written betrothal gift list, and then said to the eldest daughter, "Keep it. There will be no more rumors about your father after today."
Xuemei said, "Mother, my parents-in-law gave this money to my daughter."
Zhulan smiled and asked, "Your parents-in-law didn't stay?"
"No, I gave it to my daughter the same day I took it back, and I haven't asked about the money in the past two days."
Zhulan asked, "What do you mean?"
Xuemei shook her head and said, "My daughter can't accept it. Since it's okay to take the money, my daughter wants to return it to her parents-in-law."
She didn't want to take it. The money was not small but not easy to take. Now she got along well with her parents-in-law and didn't want to have any conflicts because of the money.
"Your idea is very good. Let your parents-in-law arrange the money themselves. Don't interfere."
Otherwise, you would have to take five hundred taels now and pay back double in the future.
Xuemei leaned against her mother's side and said, "It's better to be close to my parents."
If there is any problem, she can discuss it with her mother instead of worrying about it herself, which makes her life much easier than before.
At the Ministry of Revenue, Zhou Shuren felt Qiu Yan's enthusiasm. He asked him if he wanted tea, and then asked him if the room was too hot and whether he needed to remove the charcoal fire.
Zhou Shuren twitched his lips, "Master Qiu, I'm not thirsty or hot, please sit down first."
Qiu Yan, "I'm just worried that you'll catch a cold. I've been having a hard time with you away."
Zhou Shuren laughed, "I thought you would like it."
Qiu Yan waved his hand, "Don't cheat me, I don't like it."
He has been avoiding the Fifth Prince for the past two days, fearing that Lord Xiao might have some ideas about him!
It was already afternoon when Zhou Shuren saw Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang was trying to avoid him, but Zhou Shuren stopped him and said, "I've been recuperating. I heard that Your Highness has been thinking about me."
Zhang Yang turned around, and he wanted to strangle Zhou Shuren to death. "Ah, yes, I was thinking about going to visit you."
Zhou Shuren, "Your Highness is concerned about me. I am very touched and will definitely remember your kindness."
Zhang Yang's face changed. What he heard was that Zhou Shuren was holding a grudge and remembered his little tricks. Damn it, he still had a brain. He didn't cause trouble for Zhou Shuren directly, but just went to Lord Qiu. What made him depressed was that Qiu Yan didn't listen to him and even avoided him!
Zhang Yang looked at Zhou Shuren who turned and left. Thinking of the several times Zhou Shuren had plotted against him, he felt that he could not stay in the Ministry of Revenue any longer!
Xiao Qing was well aware of the Ministry of Revenue's movements. After he knew the conversation between Zhou Shuren and Zhang Yang, he waited for Zhou Shuren to come over and said, "This is not like your character today."
Zhou Shuren knew that the Shangshu was talking about the Fifth Prince, and lowered his head, "The Fifth Prince has been in the Ministry of Revenue for some time."
This time Zhang Yang dared to reach out to Qiu Yan. He felt that Zhang Yang should not continue to stay in the Ministry of Revenue. Some of the lower-level officials in the Ministry of Revenue had been influenced by Zhang Yang. It would be better for this troublesome Zhang Yang to leave as soon as possible.
Xiao Qing also had a headache. The Fifth Prince was no longer the same prince as when he first came to the Ministry of Revenue. He now made a lot of small moves.
Zhou Shuren had tricked Zhang Yang several times, but this time he didn't do it secretly. He told Zhang Yang openly that he also hoped that Zhang Yang would leave on his own. He thought the emperor was also tempted but just didn't have a suitable reason.
At the Ministry of Rites, Wu Ming saw Lord Tao off. He felt that he should have a good talk with his godfather when he returned home tonight.
Gu Zhuomin already knew what happened in the morning court today. He was speechless to Lord Zhou and looked at Wu Ming, "You knew it a long time ago?"
Wu Ming, "I really don't know."
He was also a little amused and helpless. He didn't lie. He really didn't know why his godfather lost the game of chess!
Gu Zhuomin no longer had any trust in Wu Ming. In his eyes, Wu Ming was a man of deep thoughts at a young age.
Wu Ming spread his hands and said, "I'm telling the truth, but you don't believe me?"
Gu Zhuomin smiled and said, "I believe it."
Wu Ming, “… .”
His expression clearly showed that he didn't believe him!
In the afternoon, Zhou Shuren left the Ministry of Revenue, and Wang Ju chased after him, "Don't run."
For the first time, Zhou Shuren got on the carriage flexibly and urged the driver to hurry up. Wang Ju was so angry that he jumped up and down as he watched the carriage running away. Zhou Shuren actually did not approve his application for leave!